Elegance In Perfect Simplicity

A Truly Elegant Taste Is Accompanied By The Simplicity Of A Heart Full Of Wonder.

Chuck Berry – Carol (1958)
Carol was the B Side of Johnny B Goode both rock and roll foundation stones from the Poet of Rock N Roll. Chuck Berry who combined his influences Blues, Ballads and Country music into a winning formula that inspired generations of guitarists in technique and presentation. His playing has shaped electric guitar music like no one else’s. Chuck Berry’s music is the essential guide to Rock N Roll and every branch of music that has evolved since the mid 50’s. Vintage clips of Chuck at the top of game is like is like watching an American vintage car  in all its splendour, more feel,more history and takes your breath away and keeps it. 
Widespread Panic – Little Lilly (2001)
An American Southern Jam Rock Band from Athens, Georgia following in the steps of The Allman Brothers & The Grateful Dead. Little Lilly is from the 2001 album Don’t Tell The Band. A loyal fan following and a team spirit between band and audience has been their secret  for success.
Together Everyone Achieves More   
Chicago – Feelin Stronger Every Day (1973)
Chicago combined horns with rock and roll earning a hard working reputation on the circuit in the late 60’s in venues like the Whiskey A Go Go  that got them support slots with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. By the time they released their Chicago V1 album they had refined their skill set into a smooth funky rocking sound with the icing on the cake being Peter Cetera’s tenor vocal.
Feelin Stronger Every Day was a vibrant smooth as silk hit that contributed to making Chicago one of the bestselling most successful groups of all time  
Good timber does not grow with ease the stronger the wind the stronger the trees.
Mary Black – Bright Blue Eyes (1991)
Mary Black has a voice that is pure and easy to listen and comes across as a nice person who loves to sing.Seen Mary down in the new Convention Centre few years back and was delighted to meet such a warm and friendly down to earth entertainer.Mary has a gift for interpreting the mystery of an enchanting beautiful traditional or modern lyric  that provokes an admiration and pleasure in the listener.Her fans are devoted to her simply I believe because she brings out a respect niceness and good humour in life.
Paddy decides to take up boxing and goes for the required medical. A few days later the doctor phones and says Paddy, you realise you’ve got sugar diabetes. Paddy says, Nice one, when do I fight him?
Neil Young – Cripple Creek Ferry (1970)
After The Goldrush was going to be a movie and Neil Young set about writing tunes like Cripple Creek Ferry  for the soundtrack in his home studio with his Crazy Horse backing band which included a teenage Nils Lofgren on keyboards. The movie never seen the light of day but it’s album  soundtrack has become a classic Neil Young LP.
Chance is a part of reality: we are continually shaped by the forces of coincidence, the unexpected occurs with almost numbing regularity in our lives.
Petula Clark – Who Am I (1966)
Nothing erases unpleasant thoughts more effectively than concentration on pleasant ones and nothing adds more value than plenty of music in your life as in this beauty from Petula Clark from 1966 whose big voice was a regular soundtrack growing up in the mid 60’s.
Wilco – Hate It Here (2007)
Seen the Chicago band Wilco at the New Orleans Jazz Fest and loved the wall of sound they created on stage taking us on an exploration of modern music that climbs over many fences. Confident musicians who make you cosy and comfortable then lead you on some delightful detours that are accessible and spontaneous. It’s like trying to describe the flavours in a glass of wine  as they bounce you around their sound teasing and pleasing with an infectious wholesome well-rounded cohesive  musical groove.
Life is a paradise for those who love many things with a passion.
Boz Scaggs (Greg Wilson Mix) – Lowdown (1976 & 2008)
A silky mix by Greg Wilson of the 1976 classic from Boz Scaggs who was backed up by a team of session musicians that would go on to form Toto on the original Silk Degrees LP. Regarded as a classic Blue Eyed Soul single  DJ Greg Wilson (King of the Edit) who was a master of the legendary Northern Clubs in the early 80’s took a 20 year sabbatical and returned in the early noughties added his mixing flair and finesse to update golden era disco music for modern audiences.
Bobby Bland – Stormy Monday (1962)
Often called the Lion of the Blues his early 60’s records do it for me big time much more than his later material. Pure unvarnished instrumentation and a polished Willie Mitchell production ambiance that is pure heaven to my ears. Disciplined tender blues drenched soulful vocals on this melodic chord arranged version of  T Bone Walker’s Call It Stormy Monday which would have been the version influencing The Allman Brothers version almost a  decade later. Took me awhile to appreciate Bobby Bland due to listening to some of his later live recordings which were punctuated with a gravel sounding vocal squall which I didn’t get at all.  
She had that rolling pin in her voice
Joni Mitchell – Love (1982)
The first lady of Canadian Rock mastered the art of painting incredibly visual pictures with her lyrics complemented with bizarre hypnotic guitar tunings she invented herself along her musical journey. Love from her Wild Things Run Free LP in 1982  finds Joni wiser to the ways of the world looking to the bible and Corinthians 13 to find hope in the words of the old scriptures for a more cautious future.
The first rule of love is to love yourself first.
Simon & Garfunkel – America (1968)
Good songs like diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs. This is a song that nourishes and massages the mind body and soul. A clean confident melodically rich song that has the ability to change despair into joy and chaos into rest. Young lovers searching America for beauty, adventure, and optimism.
Foreigner – Woman In Black (1981)
Seen Mick Jones with the current lineup in Dublin in recent years but the real deal for me is listening to this soft rock masterpiece from the legendary Lou Gramm & Mick Jones  lineup that produced powerful, catchy, hard-driving rock with the perfect captivating Mutt Lange produced mix of lava flowing melody and power back in 1981 on the 4 album.
Hollie Cook – Milk And Honey (2011)
I love reggae grooves particularly when they are as relaxing and as enjoyable and chilled out as this. Hollie is a musical child daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and her mother Jeni was a singer in Culture Club with Boy George as her godfather.
All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of music in your life.
Frank Zappa – Little Umbrellas (1969)
A fascinating musician with an ability to expand beyond boundaries with results that inhabit a space of their own. An experimental trailblazer, an eccentric taboo challenging musician driven by uncompromising intellectual integrity I have only absorbed a small amount of his music over the years but this is one of my favourites from the Hot Rats LP.
Deep within us is a creative spirit desiring to be free and we may as well get out of its way for it will give us no peace until we do. 
HozierSomeone New (2014)
First time seeing Hozier was at the New Orleans’s Jazz Festival with a well oiled touring band of musicians who were effortlessly picking up new fans. Classy songs that catch the ear with a tapestry of well crafted influences spirituals, blues, folk and many more traditional ingredients. I was very proud of our local hero Andrew Hozier Byrne on a world stage with that  great voice  and a musical canvas totally fluent in the most internationally language on our planet.
Grechen Peters – When All You Got Is A Hammer (2015)
Seen Grechen in the Button Factory on the Blackbirds album tour a wonderful warm performer on stage and off writing very emotional songs about life and death and the need to protect yourself from the negativity of life when you move away from the bulletproof decades of life into the more vulnerable middle and old decades. Grechen and her equally nice husband and musical partner Barry spent ages after the show conversing and listening with fans and her monthly newsletter is one of my favorite optimistic pick me up reads these days.
Die young at an old age.
When a pessimist has nothing to worry about he worries about why he has nothing to worry about.
Atlanta Rhythm SectionLarge Time (1978)
One of the most anticipated events of my week in the late 70’s early 80’s was Tommy Vance’s Friday Night Rock on BBC Radio on a dodgy FM signal via the Mourne mountains to the Donabate – Portrane Peninsula. Tommy was my filter for great rock music old and new, he was passionate about what he liked and it rubbed off on the listener effortless much like Pat James Off The Record show on Nova every Sunday night. Large Time by Southern Rockers Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) exploded out of the speakers on the Friday Night Rock Show and has stayed with me faithfully ever since. A high-energy tribute song from their Champagne Jam LP in 1978  following the tragic plane crash that cut short the lives of their mates in Lynyrd Skynyrd the previous year. ARS was already on my radar following a review of their support gig with The Who at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Jack Costanzo Orchestra – Peter Gunn Mambo (1961)
This Afro Cuban Hollywood dance music from Mr Bongo takes me back to going to the cinema on a Sunday afternoon with my mates and waiting for the lights to dim and the curtains to open while stuffing ourselves with E number laced refreshments and wondering why we were jumping out of our skins. My hyperactive brain was responding then as it does now to the rip-roaring congas, bongos, timbales and mambo horns which is irresistible good time danceable music. The infectious rhythms and playful melodies keep my toes tapping from beginning to end.
An ulcer is an unkissed imagination taking its revenge for having been jilted it is an undanced dance an unpainted watercolor an unwritten poem
Patsy Cline – Blue Moon Of Kentucky (1963)
The classic country music singer with the emotionally charged perfect pitch voice who became a huge top-selling crossover Country Pop success on the mainstream Charts up to her tragic death in a plane crash. The music business had already made her an awesome character and like Chuck Berry she also had a rule with promoters demanding payment before she went on stage “No Dough No Show. The bitter law of life and the hectic touring demands on our heroes over the years has taken many artistic souls to such a horrible end to their lives like Patsy such as Buddy Holly, Glenn Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Otis Redding, Jim Reeves, Jim Croce, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant & Steve Gaines, John Denver, Ricky Nelson. Our days are numbered it is part of being human but we must live our lives with hope and be grateful for our blessings in remembering those we have lost along the way.
Manfred Mann – Fox On The Run (1968)
Used to sing this on Turvey Avenue back in 1968  in the mornings on my way to the Christian Brothers invariably the nicest part of my school experience where I always felt disconnected from the curriculum and its authoritarian curators. When I finally bailed I was more like a greyhound on the run than a fox such was my urgency to get as far away from those school days in Ireland in those days. 
Jamiroiquai – Black Capricorn Day (1999)
I often think of London funky acid jazz rockers Jamiroquai as a cart before the horse creation in that their music evolved from London DJ’s mixing funky jazz records with their own percussive beats and electronic effects. Frontman rap singer Jay Kay known as the Mad Hatter because of his stage head gear personified this groove-based jazz-funk hip-hop sound genre movement  more than anyone else in the 90’s sending Black Capricorn Day to the top of the charts in places like Japan.
The O’Jays – Backstabbers (1972)
One of the highlights of my visit to the New Orleans Jazz Festival was seeing The O’Jays one of my favorite 70’s Soul & RnB groups perform on stage with those soothing harmonies and stage moves. Back Stabbers was a No 1 in 1972 warning men about their best mates lustful intentions smiling to their faces while planning to steal away their women.
Remember a friends of mine being told one night in the pub that his wife might be gone some night when he gets home to which he replied it wouldn’t be long until they leave her back
Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville (1977)
Jimmy’s music takes my mind aways to a laid-back tropical place in my mind where the sun always shines and you quench your thirst with sweet cocktails. Also seen Jimmy live at the Jazz Fest with a stage full of colourful sunshiny people on stage all creating a fun atmosphere. Always pay a visit to one of his restaurants when I am in America and have accumulated a nice collection of his signature shirts which reflect the themes of his songs and bring sunshine to the dullest day.
Buddy Guy – She’s Out There Somewhere (1981)
The planet’s most able practitioner of genuine well fused Chicago Blues.
From doing medley’s of rock and blues riffs at the Temple Bar Festival, walking through the audience at Bishopstock, Crossroads Guitar Festival and New Orleans Blues Tent Buddy is one of the most exciting blues guitarists ever to step on a stage a master of the sizzling Chicago Blues performance. His stinging guitar runs and command of the stage always ups everyone’s game on the stage.
Glenn Gould – Goldberg Variations (Excerpt) (1955 & 1981)
My adoration of Karishmeh Falfeli’s excellent radio programs guided me towards the music of Glenn Gould, the Canadian Classical Piano player whose extraordinary talent and short life has made him classical music’s Elvis. His interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in the 50 becomes a best seller because of his stunning, vibrant, energetic pursuit of the spirit and ideal of the music rather than the historically accurate conception. A lovable Aspergers like eccentric and philosopher of music who guarded his privacy fiercely in a hermit-like existence at times he believed music matters more than anything else because of the wonder and serenity that comes from the internal combustion it ignites in the heart. He also advocated solitude for artistic creation and like Karishmeh he hated the spirit and enthusiasm destroying stuffy snobbish competitive hierarchical ranking of musicians in classical music training.
Tom Waits – Irene Goodnight (2006)
Tom Waits covered Leadbelly’s Goodnight Irene on his box set of rarities called Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards which was kindly gifted to me by music fan Northside Eddie. Tom Waits is an artist impossible to pigeonhole and enjoys a cult following from people who like their music to be unexpected, unpredictable and outside their comfort zone. He is one of the most imaginative artists on the planet who likes to work behind the plaster of life in a subterranean sleazy space where human habits and scabs of life from the junkyards around us that we would prefer to forget about are picked apart in his own uncompromising artistic way.
He is the cocktail lounge piano player from hell who refuses to play what is confident and pleasing in favour of music for lifestyle choices that are grotesquely unbelievable bizarre and unprecedented which we prefer to observe from a safe distance. in a voice that sounds like a clapped out Hells Angel motorbike.
Jerry Lee Lewis – Matchbox (1964)
Matchbox is a song that has evolved from Blind Lemon Jefferson in the late 1920’s to Carl Perkins mid 50’s pioneers of rock and roll Sun sessions era release with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich in the house around that time. The wild man of rock n roll Jerry Lee in one of the last left standing at this stage having played his style unbridled rock n roll style of uptempo boogie-woogie country blues for the last piano pounding 60 years with over 40 albums released.I also love Albert King’s Live version at the Montreux Jazz Festival in the mid 70’s with our own Rory Gallagher jamming along.
“I’m sitting here wondering will a matchbox hold my clothes”
Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? 
The Who – Legal Matter (1965)
Pete Townshend’s  first lead vocal on this Who track from their first LP My Generation.  Great guitar intro similar to The Rolling Stones Last Time and with Nicky Hopkins hyper upbeat piano runs driving the song along. Music evolves in time and what was an illegal gesture in musical terms 100 years ago is now in common usage.
The Tubes – Talk To Ya Later (1981)
My introduction to this song came via a promotional interview one Saturday Afternoon on BBC radio back in ’81 with Fee Waybill explaining The Completion Backwards Principle the title of the experimental irreverent Tubes then savvy business motivational concept LP about seeing the end result of an idea and letting nothing distract your focus until you get to that result. It was fast-talking hard sell showmanship from the masters of satirical theatrical rock mixing it up with lewd underground comedy, dancers and weird visually explicit stage shows predating the audience fashion for  MTV band rock video excitement in the 80’s. Talk To You Later was a chart land success with its smooth production and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather adding some six-string polish.
If plan A didn’t work the alphabet has 25  more letters! so stay cool.

 

 

Music Speaks For Itself

It’s Nice To Be Important But More Important To Be Nice And In The Company Of Good Music

  • Blue Mink – Good Morning Freedom
  • Philip Mitchell – It Hurts So Good
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Rockin’ Around With You (Live)
  • The Tenors – Weather Report
  • Tim Buckley – Dolphins
  • Bobby Bland – Your The One (That I Adore)
  • Grainne Duffy – Test Of Time
  • Willie Mitchell – That Driving Beat
  • Humble Pie – Black Coffee ( Live with The Blackberries)
  • Ray Stevens – Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
  • Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy In New York
  • The Who – Naked Eye
  • Dave Specter – Hot Cha
  • Peter Wolf – Never Like This Before
  • Rory Gallagher – I’m Not Surprised
  • Leonard Cohen – In My Secret Life (Live)
  • Freddie King – Sweet Home Chicago (Live)
  • Rod Stewart – Maggie Mae (Live)
  • Mike Brookfield – Catfish Missile
  • Amen Corner – If Paradise Is Half As Nice
  • Johnnie Bassett – Blues Guitar Hero Tribute R.I.P. 1935-2012
  • Jaxon Haldane – Birds Fly South
  • Ronnie Greer & Friends – Never Make Your Move Too Soon (featGrainne Duffy 
  • Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who’ll never find it out.

Nourishing Food For Encouragement

Life is like a Pot Of Tea

 

Music is the most important food in my life it satisfies an appetite for contentment excitement and fills mind body and soul with nourishment.

The Moonglows – Sincerely (1954)
This song was recorded in Chess records the same year I was born. The Kentucky harmony group had paid their dues at this stage touring and releasing records for Alan Freed with little success. Chess got behind them and that made the difference. The Moonglows would also feature on background vocals for Chuck Berry and Etta James. Marvin Gaye joined the group 1959 and became a lead vocalist as various founder members went their separate ways in search of a solo career. Their unique blow harmonising style became a big influence on the birth of Rock & Roll and for me the tasty understated rhythm guitar is infectious.
Amy Winehouse – He Can Only Hold Her (2006)
My read on this song in hindsight puts poor Amy’s life into focus in that she was haunted by demons and addictions  from her past. Sometimes addictions have no logic and all the support and love available still can’t penetrate the mind to change the behavior. Two lives pulling in opposite directions within one body can be to much for this world to comprehend.The tragedy is not that things are broken but in the sad realisation that they are never mended again.
Chris Farlowe – Out Of Time (Live) (1995)
The Small Faces – Collibosher (1969)
This instrumental gem was a backing track that got left off the Ogden Nut Gone Flake LP and finally seen the light of day after the band broke up in 1969. Steve Marriot on guitar and Ronnie Lane on bass worked very well together with Ian McLagan on Keyboards and Kenny Jones nailing down the foundations with his solid drumming style. History tells us that Steve went on to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton and Rod Stewart and Ron Wood stepped in to make the Small Faces a good time rock and roll band called The Faces.
In life some things happen by accident and we should embrace and enjoy them.
Gerry Rafferty – Waiting For The Day (1978)
The late fantastically great Gerry Rafferty
Alex Puddo – Hot Mouth (2014)
Johnny Cash – One Piece At A Time (1976)
Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot (1980)
Rumplestiltskin – Rumplestiltskin (1970)
This group had the makings of a classic rock band with top session musicians in  Alan Parker Guitar, Herbie Flowers Bass, Alan Hawkshaw Keyboards, Clem Cattini Drums, Peter Stirling Vocals aka Danial Boone with Shel Talmy (The Who) at the buttons in the Studio. These guys were also in the engine room of Blue Mink. The record company let them down and the Rumpelstiltskin project never got off the ground.
The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it’s here is up to us. 
John Martyn – Over The Hill (1973)
Chris Cain – I Still Want To Believe (1997)
Alan Stivell – Foggy Dew (1993)
Tony Joe White – Run With The Bulls (2008)
Medicine Head – Pictures In The Sky (1971)
Linda Ronstadt – Tumbling Dice (1980)
Yo Yo Ma & Allison Krauss – Simple Gifts (2008)
Cannonball Adderley – Autumn Leaves (1958)
Rory Gallagher – 20/20 Vision (1973)
Lynn Tait – Love Is Blue (1968)
Joe Vitale – Sailor Man (1981)
Weatherman – Stormy Daze (2016)
Bobby Goldsboro – Summer The First Time (1968)
Ike & Tina Turner – Early In The Morning (1969)
10CC – Mandy (1974)
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Last Of My Kind (2017)
David Porter –  I Don’t Know Why I Love You (1970)
Cash Box Kings – Sarah (2003)
Herbie Mann – Claudia Pie (1969)
Joan Osborne – Bold As Love (2002)
George Martin – Theme 1 (1967)
Halpin & Kaley – Glory Daze (1997)
Sonny Landreth – I Know You Rider (2009)
Charles Bradley – Changes (2016)
The Who – Love Ain’t For Keeping (1971) feat Leslie West
AC/DC – Overdose 
 

Your future self is watching you right now through memories.

Winter Warmers Comfortable Music

Winter is a time for comfort and the pure invincible warmth of music to bring a glow and perseverance to your heart.

Elvis Presley – (Marie’s The Name ) His Latest Flame (1961)
Sam Baker – These Broken Fingers (2007) www.sambakermusic.com
Carlos Johnson  – Delta Blues (2004)
The Jayhalks –   Miss Williams Guitar (1995)
The Band & Eric Clapton  – Further On Up The Road (1976)
Scott McKenzie –  San Francisco ( 1967)
Ella Mae Morse – Cow Cow Boogie (1942)
Greenshine – Ruby Tuesday (2013) www.greenshinemusic.com)
Pete Townshend – There’s A Heartache Following Me (1972)
Neil Diamond – Last Thing On My Mind (1971)
Sonny & Cher – All I Ever Need Is You (1971)
Smokie –  Don’t Play Your Rock And Roll To Me (1975)
Ella Washington – He Called Me Baby (1969)
Dave Mason – Only You Know And I Know (1970)
Rhythm Makers – Zone (1976)
Odyssey – If Your Looking For A Way Out (1980)
Ed Deane –  Queen Bee (2016) www.eddeane.com
Buddy Holly – Valley Of Tears (1957)
Texas born gospel reared country and western musician who refined his style after playing support on early Elvis Presley shows to become a pioneer of popular rock & roll music.My association with this song is linked to my awareness and attention to news bulletins on Radio Luxembourg when news broke the night Keith Moon passed away September 8th / 9th 1978. The Fats Domino written cowboyish vibe of the song was already there growing up since Buddy released it on his self titled 1958 LP but added a poignant soundtrack to the news that another music hero had gone to the great beyond. 
I was too young to appreciate the great loss of Buddy in a plane crash in 1959 but for me the music died the night Keith Moon left us.
Freda Payne – Band Of Gold (1970)
The Beatles – No Reply (1964)
Marv Johnson – I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose (1968)
Perry Como  – When You Were Sweet Sixteen (1947)
Charles Lloyd & Nora Jones – You Are So Beautiful (2016)
Beres Hammond – Just Like A Woman (2004)
Laura Nyro & LaBelle – Jimmy Mack  (1971)
Bill Howl N Madd Perry & Alphonso Sanders –  Boo-Ga-Loo (2010)
Bob Dylan – Where Are You Tonight (1978)
Chuck Berry – Come On (1961)
Greg Kiln Band  – Jeopardy (1983)
One Kind Word Can Warm Three Winter Months

Carlos Johnson Chicago Bluesman
Carlos Johnson Chicago Bluesman

 

Soundtrack For Sound Seekers

Welcome  new thoughts and beginnings with the sound of music to nourish and encourage the spirit.

Bobby Vee  – Flyin’ High  (1959)
The Turtles – Can I Get To Know You Better (1966)
Supertramp – Give A Little Bit (1977)
James Taylor – Me And My Guitar (1974)
Mick Ronson – Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (1974)
Taj Mahal – Statesboro Blues (1968)
Joan Baez – It Ain’t Me Babe  ( 1964)
Mike Bloomfield  – Stop (1968)
Devon Allman – Stop Dragging My Heart Around (2012) feat Samantha Fish
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Noah (Live) (1978)
Carole King – Smackwater Jack (1971) Tapestry
Steve Freund –  Folks Like You (1999) feat David Maxwell R.I.P.
The Doors – Gloria (Live) (1970)
Rush – Lessons (1976) 2112 LP
Coloseum – Walking  In The Park (1968)
The Tymes – Ms Grace (1974)
Ike & Tina Turner – Black Coffee (1970)
Henry Priestman – Same Circus Different Clowns (2014) www.henrypriestman.com
U2 – 40 (How Long) (1983)
Stephanie Winters – Precious Lord, Take My Hand  (1970) www.stephaniewinters.com
Keith Jarret – Excerpt from Koln Concert (1975)
Buck Owens – Together Again (1964)
Red Hot Chili Peppers –  Under The Bridge (1991)
Bobby Darin  – Bes’ Friends (1967)
Ken Boothe – The Train Is Coming (1966)
Joe Walsh – Happy Ways (1973)
Ray Charles – Take These Chains From My Heart (1962)
B.B.King – The Thrill Is Gone (1969)
Alexsandra Something – Faith (George Michael) (2014 ) Alexsandra llijevski You Tube
The Who – Lets See Action (1971)

Beauty Elegance Plain Simple

Musicians seek to find the best in the worst, discover the great in the small, see beauty in the plain, and detect the elegant in the simple. 

The Temptations – Just My Imagination 
Guy Davis – We All Need More Kindness In This World
Van Morrison – Satisfied 
Sister Sledge – We Are Family
Niall Toner – Lock And Key 
Daoirí Farrell – Fergie McCormack 
Terrie Odabi – When You Love Me  
Albert King – Put It All In There 
Jon Cleary – All Good Things 
Laid Back – Happy Dreamer 
Wes Montgomery – Pretty Blue 
Birds Of Chicago – Baton Rouge 
Sweet – Funny Funny 
Johnny McEvoy – The Galway Shawl 
Joanna Connor – Rock N Roll Gypsy 
Olivia Newton-John – Let Me Be There 
John Littlejohn – Treat Me Wrong 
Albert Pla – Walk On The Wild Side 
Freddie King – Goin  Down 
Guy Clark – Magnolia Wind 
Doug MacLeod – The Up Song 
Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat 
Petula Clark – If You Leave Me Now
Lindisfarne – Meet Me On The Corner 
Electric Light Orchestra – Roll Over Beethoven 
The Who – Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand 
Aretha Franklin – The Weight (feat Duane Allman)
The Youngbloods – Statesboro Blues 
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River 
Cleo Laine – My Funny Valentine 
Steve Miller – Jet Airliner 
Leo Kottke – Corina Corina 
The Fortunes – Storm In A Tea Cup 
Hopeton James & Rankin Joe – Just My Imagination
J Geils Band – Whammer Jammer

 

Nature’s Saying Let’s Party

Spring Is Natures Way Of Saying Let’s Party – Even If You Have To Hug A Tree. 

Albert Hammond – I’m A Train  (Greatest Hits LP)
Willie Mitchell – Prayer Meetin’
Yvonne Elliman – I Can’t Explain (feat Pete Townshend)
Tony Joe White – Storm’s Comin’
Streetwalkers – Mama Was Mad (Vicious But Fair LP 1977)
Jackie Mittoo & Soul Brothers  – Home Made
Tom Principato Band – They Called For Stormy Monday
Dr Feelgood – Another Man
The Style Council – You’re The Best Thing
Richard Thompson – Beeswing  (DADGBE Tuning ) (Mirror Blue Album)
Pete Townshend – And I Moved ( Empty Glass LP)
Leo O Kelly – Blew My Clouds ( Proto CD) www.leookelly.ie
Donald Byrd – Black Byrd (7″ Single Version 1973)
Teddy Pendergrass – Don’t Leave Me This Way Pt 1 & 2)
Grin (Nils Lofgren) – White Lies (The Music People 3 LP Sampler 1972)
Little Green Cars – My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me
Jackie Moore – Precious Precious Baby Of Mine
Rosanne Cash – Modern Blue
George Thorogood & The Destroyers – High Heeled Sneekers feat Buddy Guy – (2120 South Michegan Avenue Album)

When we accept that the night is just part of the day, we cease to argue with the dark moments in our lives

Beautiful Discoveries Simple Pleasures

The most beautiful discovery is to be found in the simple pleasures of life.
Allen Toussaint –  Tequila
Atomic Rooster – Devils Answer
The Rossington – Collins Band – Gonna Miss It When It’s Gone
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Midnight Train To Georgia
Roger Daltrey – It’s A Hard Life
Del Shannon – Go To Pieces
Mr Bloe – Groovin With Mr Bloe
Grateful Dead – New Minglewood Blues
Niall O Sullivan – Let It Be Me
Solomon Burke – Ooooooo You
The Beatles – Get Back
Johnny Taylor – I Found A Love
Dedringer – Direct Line
Michael Martin Murphy – Carolina In The Pines
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians – What I Am
Elvis Presley – I Just Can’t Help Believing
K D Lang – Tears Don’t Care Who Cries Them
Christy Moore – The Cliffs Of Dooneen
The Marvelettes – When You’re Young And In Love
J J Cale – Midnight In Memphis
Zack Boone – Beautiful www.zackboone.com/
Tom Robinson Band  – 2 4 6 8  Motorway
Junior Parker – Mother In Law Blues
Mose Allison – Young Man Blues
The Dixie Chicks – Landslide (Sheryl Crow Mix)
Count Basie – Take Me Back, Baby (1941)
The Carpenters – Goodbye To Love
Warren Zevon – Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead
Clarence Carter – The Road Of Love
Horslips – Trouble With A Capital T
Brandy Zdan – More Than A Man www.brandyzdan.com/

Music Magically Connects People

Music magically connects people, follows you like a soundtrack grows  and matures with you to express and communicate what cannot be said or forgotten in life

Johnny Burnette – The Cincinnati Fireball 
Esther Philips – And I Love Him
Frank Wilson – Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
Carolina Chocolate Drops – Rare Auld Mountain Dew
Nils Lofgren – It’s Not A Crime
Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi
Don Carlos – Blowing In The Wind
Rolling Stones – It’s Only Rock N Roll
Tab Benoit – In It To Win It www.tabbenoit.com
Roy Bookbinder – Travellin’ Man
Big Mama Thornton – Ball & Chain 
Xray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents
John Lee Hooker – Serves You Right To Suffer (The Avener Mix)
People’s Choice – Do It Any Way You Wanna 
Albert King – Going Back To IUKA
Grinderswitch – Pickin The Blues
Crow Black Chicken  – Freedom www.crowblackchicken.com
Big Star – Thirteen
Man – A Hard Way To Live
John Entwistle – Heaven and Hell
Miles Davis – Sketches From Spain Excerpt
Richie Havens – Dreaming As One
Monty Alexander – Redemption Song www.montyalexander.com
Kern Pratt – Greenville Mississippi Blues www.kernpratt.com
Frankie Miller – When I’m Away From You
Lynyrd Skynyrd – I’m A Country Boy
John Verity Band – 5000 Miles
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap – Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep  
The Urges – Corners Of Her Mind www.facebook.com/theurges
Chubby Checker – Gypsy
Free – Highway Song
Bonsoir Catin – Baby, Please Don’t Go 
Bruce Springsteen – Tougher Than The Rest
Philip Fankhauser – Are U Outta Your Mind www.philipfankhauser.com

 

Life Time Music Blossoms

Discover and let us be grateful for musicians who make us happy they are gifted gardeners who create a treasure to make our souls blossom like sunshine

Buddy Holly – Your The One (1958)
Picked up this as a 7 inch single in a record shop bargain bin on one of my Saturday Afternoon trawls for music around Dublin’s music shops in the early 70’s’ I grew up emotionally crippled by Buddy’s tragic departure in a touring plane crash in a frozen landscape in 1959 and I have always listened to his music with the thought not very far from my mind that life is fragile.
Gerry Rafferty – Right Down The Line (1978)

None of us can help the things life has done to us. They’re done before you realize it, and once they’re done they make you do other things until at last everything comes between you and what you’d like to be, and you’ve lost your true self forever.
I think of Eugene O Neills words when I think about Gerry Rafferty a beautiful songwriter who wrote upbeat groovy tunes. Like many of my favourite artists he was a perfectionist socially awkward who had been disillusioned by the music business and its pernicious grip on your spirit after legal battles during his Stealers Wheel phase. Gerry wanted to let his melodic music do the talking and was a reclusive addictive figure trying to find a balance between his personal and public life.
Humble Pie Say No More (1973)

Eat It was a double LP from Humble Pie which covered the many sides of the band’s talent and in particular Steve Marriott. From the live high energy cover of Honky Tonk Woman and the superb studio version of Ike and Tina’s Black Coffee to this gentle acoustic gem which has stayed with me ever since as one of my favourite love songs.
“Cause if you’re the sea then I’m your rock
And if I’m a key then you’re my lock
Well if you’re a foot then I’m your sock, so wear me well”
Otis Rush – Homework (1962)

Had the pleasure of meeting Otis at a guitar workshop at the Temple Bar Blues Festival in Dublin in the mid 90’s.Very friendly he generously shared the secrets of his style which led the way for electric blues guitarists since his records appeared in the late 50’s. A left-handed guitar player who likewise to Albert King and Ed Deane make magic on the fretboard in the most mysterious ways to us guitar fans & enthusiasts. The purpose of life is to discover your gift and the meaning of life if giving your gift away. R.I.P. Otis 
Andrew Gold – Never Let Her Slip Away

Such a talented musician whose presence always added so much class to the collaborations I came across particularly his work with Linda Ronstadt. Andrew always reminds me of his mother Marni Nixon who was the uncredited voice in popular terms behind some of the great Hollywood musicals My Fair Lady, West Side Story and Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend hitting all the high notes for Marilyn Monroe. It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. 
Status QuoIn My Chair (1970)

Came across a motivational term many years ago KISS an abbreviation for Keep It Short & Simple which describes perfectly the crowd pleasing hard blues rock boogie sound of Status Quo. The studio single version of In My Chair was one of the first additions to my own record collection back in 1970 having been blown aways by the previous release Down The Dustpipe. I loved the early 70’s sound of Status Quo and the live ambiance on this record captures the heads down hair swinging groove.
Rodriguez – I Wonder  (1970)

www.rodriguez-music.com
Good friend in work Liam Boylan gave me the Searching For Sugar Man DVD which exceeded all expectations in that I had never heard of Rodriguez prior and left me further intrigued and  amazed at the spontaneous beauty of his songs and life story. A Detroit singer songwriter who recorded 2 LP’s in the early 70’s and then disappeared with rumours that he had committed suicide at a gig. Belatedly his music connected with the resistance movement in South Africa and he found success in the late 90’s and has been enjoying great success on the back of the Academy Award winning film about his life story.
Japan – I Second That Emotion
This is a  Smokey Robinson and The Miracles Motown classic being interpreted in the early 80’s by British New Wave Romantics Japan who incorporated Glam and Ambient ideas into their image and sound. When I hear the song it reminds me of a Prince’s Trust Concert on the tele in the early 80’s featuring Pete Townshend playing Slit Skirts with Japan bassist Mick Karn R.I.P. on stage by his side.
Sweet Cecilia La Vie C’est Une Bataille (Life is a Battle)  (2015) www.sweetceciliagirls.com
Met this wonderful band at the New Orleans Jazz Festival a super confident rousing Louisiana family band with dynamic harmonies and energy bouncing around the stage. St Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and it’s also the name of their hometown and they left me with one of my favourite live music memories of my trip to the New Orleans Jazz Festival. There is a mesmerising almost spiritual atmosphere in the air around these two sisters Laura and Maegan and their cousin Callie singing and playing their hearts out with clear eyed honesty and good time cajun country rock rhythms. 
“Life is a battle that’s what my grandpa said
Life is full of scratches it’s what you make of it”   
Lil’ Ed & The Blues ImperialsI Love My Baby (2002)

Lil’ Ed Williams is a smiling flamboyant high energy torch bearer for Chicago Blues driven along by the classic Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore James and his uncle JB Hutto’s  bottleneck razor sharp stomping slide style. A fantastic live band who hit the stage with their three decades of road tested electrifying good time joyful fun boogie behind them they never fail to satisfy. I have been in an elated audience in Lucerne and New Orleans when this tour de force hits the stage and goes full throttle through a performance. One of my favourite live music experiences. 
Moskus – Tandem Med Sankt Peter     www.moskustrio.no
Chris Issak – Wicked Game
Rhiannon GiddensShe’s Got You
One of my favourite musicians to see live who consistently takes my breath away with her passion and natural charisma. Rhiannon brings history to life on stage and in her story telling song craft with a rootsy integrity and honesty in her convictions  that resonates within the most intimate reaches of the audience’s heart. A magnificent voice that shakes your foundations as she takes you on a modern soul,gospel,jazz faithful to the old time and fearless to the new time trad interpretation of the music of resistance that is blended to perfection for the mission at hand. She’s Got You is a classic Patsy Cline Country & Western standard written by Hank Cochran in the early 60’s getting a makeover that brought the song to life for me. Always makes time to meet the audience after her shows with a big heart and a smile that lights up life Rhiannon appears to be relentlessly touring and picking up awards and praise all over the globe but when it’s time to go home  it is to Limerick she lays her hat and we are blessed to have such a compassionate talent in the neighbourhood.
Al Berard – Ten Years Gone     www.alberard.com
Dean Martin – Gentle On My Mind
Brad Vickers And His Vestapolitans – Raisin’ Praise www.bradvickers.com
Gregory Issacs – House Of The Rising Sun
Sonny Condell – Down In The City
Sam Philips – Lying
Fanny – Summer Song     www.fannyrocks.com/
Ray LaMontagne – You Are The Best Thing
Sonny Landreth – Walking Blues     www.sonnylandreth.com/
Elvis Presley – Steamroller Blues (Live Aloha From Hawaii)

White man’s blues parody classic written by James Taylor and made famous by The King himself. This is the sound of rural backwaters rhythm’s meeting the bright lights and getting a big city sound with the great
Leftover Salmon – Two Highways     www.leftoversalmon.com/
JR Walker & The All Stars – Cleo’s Mood
Los Lonely Boys – Hollywood
Dusty Springfield – Son Of A Preacher Man
Peter Novelli –
Bourban Street Blue (2015)
www.peternovelli.com
Walked into a brightly lit bar on Bourban Street when my ears picked up his exciting guitar sound on my rambles. Peter is a really nice guy who guided me towards some great shows on my trip to New Orleans. Peter is a highly respected, storytelling songwriter and local hero who loves to play and lend his expertise to other cohorts on the New Orleans scene with his production and fretboard expertise.
Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
The Who – Drowned     www.thewho.com/classic-quadrophenia
Gary Bartz NTU Troop – Celestial Blues
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Don’t Cry No Tears
Gov’t Mule – Hard To Handle
The Beatles – Hello Goodbye
Bryan Adams & Tina Turner – It’s Only Love
AC/DC – Playball