Birds / Byrds / Thunderbyrd

Three singles today:

I was surprised and delighted, when I put on Neil Young's "Birds" to find a totally different arrangement from the the spare piano version on After The Goldrush. This abbreviated take features guitar, bass, and drums - and is probably an early one - with only one verse and one chorus.

Download:



"Birds" mp3
by Neil Young, 1970.
alternate take - non LP B-Side

The b-side to The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" single is an early Gene Clark masterpiece, that turned up on their box set in a different version. Clark recorded it again later on his Roadmaster LP in 1972. You can hear echoes of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" which was the #1 record in the US, shortly before The Byrds started sessions for their second record. The 12 string sound on "Ticket to Ride" owes a huge debt to the Jim (soon to be Roger) McGuinn. The Byrds, on "She Don't Care About Time," are in turn emulating a Beatles record, or more precisely, a Beatles record that emulates a Byrds record.





"She Don't Care About Time" mp3
by The Byrds, 1965.
available on Turn! Turn! Turn!

The third single of today's selections I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago. In 1977, Roger McGuinn, perhaps a little lost, and looking for inspiration again from those that he had inspired, made his final solo record, Thunderbyrd, before retreating from recording for another 13 or so years. "American Girl" is his take on a Tom Petty song from his debut of the previous year. It's no secret that Petty's early sound was hugely indebted to McGuinn and the Byrds. McGuinn's 12 string sound is large and instantly recognizable.




"American Girl" mp3
by Roger McGuinn, 1977.
available on Thunderbyrd


*************************

"Birds" mp3
by Neil Young, 1970.
available on After the Gold Rush

"She Don't Care About Time" mp3
by Gene Clark, 1972.
available on Roadmaster

"American Girl" mp3
by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1976.
available on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

top photograph: Alabama Hills, California, 2004. © Ted Barron

Peace on Earth

Editors Note:

I'd like to thank all of the contributors for their thoughtful posts here this week at the Boogie Woogie Flu. As I sit here on the eve of the last night of Hanukkah, trying to write something about today's selections from the songbook of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, I am, perhaps at a loss for words, but more than likely, humbled by the quality of writing turned out by everyone's entries. I'm really floored, thank you. It's hard to keep this thing going, and to have such generous and talented friends and cohorts makes it much easier.

The idea for this week's Hanukkah posts was simple: first night - one song, second night - two songs, etc. Some of these were assigned, and some not. I tried to get everything up at sundown each night, and miraculously, like the oil in the temple - it all worked out. All the writers and all the subjects are Jewish, but as Alex so poignantly pointed out in his post, we'd all be better off by a softening of these distinctions. Does it really matter what we are? We're humans, and from the look of things in the news right now, we don't treat each other very well. These very distinctions are the basis for most of the the hate and war we inflict on one another.

So, excuse me while I break free of format, and play one by a non-jew: Steve Earle, who introduces the following song every time he performs it by saying that he's "gonna keep on playing it until there's peace in the Middle East." I think it fitting that we listen to it today.

"Jerusalem" mp3
by Steve Earle, 2002
available on Jerusalem

********************************

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming: Eight songs written by the Jewish songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Happy Hanukkah.

Spin your dradles and rock.




Download:

"Long Way To Be Happy" mp3
by Darlene Love, 1965.
available on Back to Mono (1958-1969)

"Don't Bring Me Down" mp3
by The Animals, 1966.
available on Animalisms

"Is This What I Get For Loving You" mp3
by Marianne Faithfull, 1967.
available on Marianne Faithfull's Greatest Hits

"Halfway To Paradise" mp3
by Nick Lowe, 1977.
available on Jesus of Cool

"Let Me Get Close To You" mp3
by Alex Chilton, 1987.
available on High Priest/Black List

"Goin' Back" mp3
by Nils Lofgren, 1975.
available on Nils Lofgren

"Wasn't Born to Follow" mp3
by The Byrds, 1968.
available on The Notorious Byrd Brothers

"I Can't Make It Alone" mp3
by The Continental Drifters, 1994.
available on Continental Drifters

dradle photo by Lincoln Barron © 2008

This Will Be Our Year

Take your pick...

Download:

"This Will Be Our Year" (stereo) mp3
"This Will Be Our Year" (mono) mp3
"This Will Be Our Year" (demo) mp3
by The Zombies, 1968.
available on Zombie Heaven 4-CD Box Set

**********************************

"New Year's Eve" mp3
by Amy Allison, 2001.
available on Sad Girl

"New Year's Resolution" mp3
by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, 1966.
available on The Otis Redding Story

"New Years Resolutions" mp3
by Bob Dylan, 2006.
from Theme Time Radio Hour #34

************************************

"Year 1" mp3
by X, 1981.
available on Wild Gift

"Five Years" mp3
by David Bowie, 1972.
available on The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust

"100 Years Ago" mp3
by The Rolling Stones, 1973.
available on Goats Head Soup

"One Hundred Years From Now" (rehearsal take 2) mp3
by The Byrds, 1968.
available on Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Happy New Year.

Photograph: © Ted Barron, 2007.

Porter Wagoner R.I.P.

The management here in Fluville is saddened to learn the news of the passing of the great Porter Wagoner. I'm grateful that I did get to see him perform once about 10 years ago when the Opry was holding court at the old Ryman.

Here's a repost from April with some added tracks...














Download: "A Satisfied Mind" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1954.
available on The Essential Porter Wagoner















Download: "Itchin' For My Baby" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1954.

The birth of cosmic country music.

"A Satisfied Mind" mp3
by The Byrds, 1965.
available on Turn! Turn! Turn!

"A Satisfied Mind" mp3
by The International Submarine Band, 1967.
available on Safe At Home

























**** BONUS ****

"I'll Go Down Swinging" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1964.
available on The Essential Porter Wagoner

"Green, Green Grass of Home" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1965.
available on The Essential Porter Wagoner

"The Carroll County Accident" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1967.
available on The Essential Porter Wagoner

"The Cold Hard Facts of Life" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1967.
available on Rubber Room

"The Rubber Room" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 1972.
available on Rubber Room

"Committed To Parkview" mp3
by Porter Wagoner, 2007.
available on Wagonmaster

****************************

"Hey, Porter!" mp3
by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, 1955.
available on With His Hot And Blue Guitar

"Rubber Room" mp3
by Alex Chilton, 1987.
available on High Priest

Tehachapi to Tonopah

Sometimes a song will make you do foolish things.

Over the years I've driven many American roads making photographs. Partially inspired by Robert Frank's The Americans and partially by Jack Kerouac's On The Road, which I'm currently re-reading for the first time since I was a teenager in its "restored" single paragraph scroll version. Not to mention my favorite film genre- the road movie. On all of these drives, music has been central to my relationship to wherever I am - sometimes by accident and sometimes quite deliberately.

One of my favorites for California has always been the first Little Feat record, which contains two truck driving songs by the late Lowell George: "Truck Stop Girl" and "Willin,'" the latter of which inspired me last week to drive from Tehachapi to Tonopah. I know, I know.

I don't know yet if the photographs are gonna be any good, but I do believe I've exorcised from my obsessive self the need to do this again. I found some lovely scenery out there in the empty spaces between Tehachapi, CA. (quaint small western town) and Tonopah, NV. (decrepit dying one-horse casino town,) but quickly found myself hightailing it to Yosemite to cleanse my palate.

Anyway, below are a few versions of each of these numbers. Little Feat recorded "Willin'" twice in the studio on each of their first two records. The first version features Ry Cooder on guitar, and the second is anchored by Bill Payne on the piano and Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel. Also, a radio broadcast of Lowell George joined by Linda Ronstadt on harmony vocal, and Steve Earle's version with the Bluegrass Dukes. Then, It's "Truck Stop Girl" by Little Feat, Kelly Willis, and my favorite version by the Byrds, who also have a live version of "Willin''' but I've excluded it because I've always found the vocals to be a little weak.

Okay, here goes...


Download:

"Willin'" mp3
by Little Feat
from Little Feat, 1971.

"Willin'" mp3
by Little Feat
from Sailing Shoes, 1972.

"Willin'" mp3
by Lowell George with Linda Ronstadt
from WHFS-FM Radio Broadcast, 1974.

"Willin'" mp3
by Steve Earle
from SideTracks, 2002.

"Truck Stop Girl" mp3
by Little Feat
from Little Feat, 1971.

"Truck Stop Girl" mp3
by Kelly Willis
from Rig Rock Deluxe, 1996.

"Truck Stop Girl" mp3
by The Byrds
from Untitled, 1970.

**********************************************
***************** BONUS *********************
**********************************************
Download:
"The Heart of California (for Lowell George)" mp3
by Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band
from Smokin' The Dummy, 1980.

**********************************************
**********************************************