I had
always liked a lot of Jesse Winchester’s material, but remember being
frustrated many years ago because the domestic Best-Of compilation didn’t
include this song, despite it being one of only two songs he ever did that
cracked the U.S. Hot 100 chart (albeit only very briefly). I was delighted one
day when, browsing through the bins of a now-defunct used CD store in Silver
Spring, I found a 25-track imported compilation that did include “Nothing But a
Breeze,” as well as my other favorites by him. I brought the jewel box to the
counter and paid for the CD, not knowing that this was one of those places that
kept the actual CDs behind the counter. Naturally I was unpleasantly surprised
when I got home to find nothing but an empty box, and highly irritated that,
despite a couple of calls to the shop, I had to drive back down to the store to
pick up the actual CD. (I never went back there again.) It was well worth the
wait, however, and as far as I know is still the only Jesse Winchester
collection containing this classic.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
#81 A Quiet Place -- Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters (1964)
Although I
listened to Top 40 radio almost constantly from the age of 12 and fairly often
even afterwards, only once can I remember actually requesting a specific song. WBT
radio (1110) out of Charlotte NC could be heard easily in Pennsylvania after
dark, and at one point I frequently listened to Rockin’ Ray’s “Sunday Night
Hall of Fame,” which was on the air from 1971 through 1995. On one show he
played “A Quiet Place”, which I had never heard before. I liked it so much that
I sent in a postcard requesting the song the next week. What I can’t remember
is whether or not he actually played it again.
The song
is widely considered to be a classic example of “Carolina Beach Music”, although
it’s much slower and more melancholy that most other CBM songs.
#82 Any Day Now -- Chuck Jackson (1962)
Soul
singer Chuck Jackson had a long recording career without a lot of big hits – “Any
Day Now” was his biggest, and it didn’t even make the top 20. It’s a great song
nonetheless, even if more people may be familiar with Elvis Presley’s cover
version.
This past
Tuesday, which was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first
American concert (at the Washington Coliseum), the Smithsonian presented a
program featuring Mark Lewisohn, who has published several books on the Fab
Four, including the recently-released first volume of a planned three-volume
biography of the group. He noted that at one point while visiting America, the
Beatles sat in on a broadcast by famous DJ Murray the K, who let them request
songs to play. Lewisohn presented slides featuring the songs, which included a
variety of both well-known and obscure Motown tunes, along with songs by Chuck
Berry, Richie Valens, and the Ronettes. “Any Day Now” was among the songs on
their request list.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings / Valerie June at the Lincoln Theater, 2/10/2014
Concert-wise
at least, there can’t be too many experiences like sitting in the front row of
a show by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Since this
was my first time at the Lincoln in years, with one of the hottest acts around
(two sold-out shows) and general admission seating, I figured I’d better arrive
early, but wound up overdoing it a bit, getting off the Metro around 4:50 with
doors scheduled to open at 6:30. No line yet. I walked a few blocks down U
Street, picked up a few things at a CVS, and got back to the theater at 5:00 –
there was now a line consisting of one person. Stopped next door at Ben’s Chili
Bowl, got some chili, and went back outside around 20 minutes later, at which
point person #1 had been joined by her friend, making me #3 in the line.
More folks
gradually arrived, and with quite a bit of time to wait plenty of conversation
ensued, including a discussion of the best place to sit. We all agreed to shoot
for the front row, which turned out not to be quite as easy as it sounded. They
finally opened the outer doors around 6:45 and let people into the lobby area.
Maybe 10 minutes or so later, they opened the lobby doors so we could get into
the hall and stairs leading to the theater, but not into the theater itself. Of
course, by this point the original order of the line had not exactly managed to
hold up all that well. Miraculously, however, once they opened the final set of
doors a few members of the original group managed to secure enough front-row
seats for all of us early-arrivers. (Another note – “doors open” apparently
also meant that the outer doors remained open, at least until the show started,
which meant that the lobby was absolutely frigid. I felt really sorry for the
folks who were running the two small bars out there.)
Valerie
June opened around 8:00 for a half-hour set that was enthusiastically received
by the crowd. She characterizes her sound as “Organic Moonshine Roots Music,”
which is probably as good a description as any, with shades of country, blues,
and especially Appalachian. She has quite an unusual voice – check out “Working
Woman” (which has been getting some play on WXPN) on her web site.
The
Dap-Kings (who may be best known for providing backing
instrumentals for Amy Winehouse’s breakthrough CD Back in Black), came out around 9:00, with a short warm-up to
prepare the crowd for Sharon’s entry. Despite recently overcoming bile duct
cancer, there was no decrease in her energy level, as she prowled all over the
stage for nearly the entire set of soul originals and a few great covers (“This
Land Is Your Land” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”). Other highlights
included “I Learned the Hard Way,” “Stranger to My Happiness” (her current
single), and “100 Days, 100 Nights” (my personal favorite and the first song of
hers I ever heard), although there really wasn’t a weak moment in the show.
To get an
idea of Sharon Jones and the band live, check out this performance from SXSW a
few years back.
Schooner Fare at Wolf Trap Barns, 2/1/2014
I believe
this is the first time we had seen Maine folkies Schooner Fare for a full show
since they were down to a duo after the passing of former member Tom Rowe. The
Romanoff brothers nevertheless continued to perform at a high level, beginning
the show with Bill Staines’ “Roseville Fair” and continuing with a mix of
original songs and those borrowed from others, accompanied by a variety of
humorous and other anecdotes. The set list managed to include three of my
favorites: “Red, Red Robin,” “Calgary, My Home Away from Home,” and of course “Portland
Town.”
Good-sized
crowd – looked to be either a sellout or very close to it. Unfortunately for
the band, due to a shipping screw-up the CDs that were supposed to be available
for sale at the show didn’t manage to arrive in time.
Serendipity #8
Can’t Get Used to Losing You – The English Beat (1980)
Heard 2/12/2014 around 5:45, Potbelly (downtown Rockville
location)
Friday, February 7, 2014
Serendipity #7
Runnin’ Around – Colbie Caillat (2009)
Put the Message in the Box – World Party (1990)
Both heard 2/7/2014 shortly after 1:00, Wegman’s in
Germantown
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Serendipity #6
Legend in Your Own Time – Carly Simon (1972)
Hospital Food – David Gray (2005)
Passionate Kisses – Mary Chapin Carpenter (1993)
A tripleheader, heard 2/6/2014 shortly after 6:00 at
Jerry’s Subs in Rockville (Fallsgrove)
#83 This I Swear -- The Skyliners (1959)
Although
some (including Wikipedia) would call them a doo-wop group, “harmony group” or “vocal
group” seems like a more appropriate term. Regardless, the Skyliners were
great, whether doing material they wrote themselves such as “Since I Don’t Have
You” and this classic, or standards such as “Pennies from Heaven.” Picking one
favorite from these three was not an easy task. According to the liner notes
from manager and lyricist Joe Rock from their Greatest Hits CD, the “very
creative vocal arrangement [made] the bridge of [This I Swear] too difficult
for other groups to copy. With the several later remakes of the song, no one
had been able to figure out who goes where vocally in the bridge…”
#84 Anchorage -- Michelle Shocked (1989)
2013 was
not a particularly good year for Barack Obama. It was a bad year for just
about everybody associated with Washington’s NFL team. But it may have been
even a worse year for singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked.
Not
following either Michelle or entertainment world news all that closely, I didn’t
become aware of this until recently, when I was trying to find “Anchorage” on
YouTube. (Michelle apparently doesn’t like to have her material out there, so
no link to the song from here.)
So maybe
there is something to GrooveLily’s “Screwed-Up People Make Great Art.” It’s a
shame, because she put out some great music in the late 1980s and 1990s.
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