Recordings and their stories

[sandawa]

i was listening to Poco's album "From the Inside" last night and the song that caught me in a trance-like mood was "Bad Weather". it was raining hard here in Davao last night and that song reminded me of failed friendships while in college.

one of my favorites, it was written by Paul Cotton (not part of the original Poco formed after Buffalo Springfield's demise) about his old band Illinois Speed Express breaking up. that song's high point was a pedal steel guitar solo by Rusty Young and a 12-string guitar part played by Richie Furay, both formerly of Buffalo Springfield (along with Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Jim Messina.)

anyway, Cotton has a new version of "Bad Weather" on his last CD "Firebird". this time, the high point of the updated version is a Dobro and pedal steel guitar acoustic arrangement by his good friend Rusty Young.

here's an excerpt:

"in every day that passes us by
i can’t help the feelin’ that you and i
won’t get to see another day together.
looks like bad weather.

"i can see it all there in your eyes
and it comes to me as no surprise
that you don’t need me here no more.
your feeling tells the score."

[bb3]

i was listening to Poco's album "From the Inside" last night and the song that caught me in a trance-like mood was "Bad Weather". it was raining hard here in Davao last night and that song reminded me of failed friendships while in college.

one of my favorites, it was written by Paul Cotton (not part of the original Poco formed after Buffalo Springfield's demise) about his old band Illinois Speed Express breaking up. that song's high point was a pedal steel guitar solo by Rusty Young and a 12-string guitar part played by Richie Furay, both formerly of Buffalo Springfield (along with Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Jim Messina.)

one of my favorites too (together with "from the inside" and "faith in the families"). has that lazy, country feel.

hi sandawa, long time no hear.

[sandawa]

was a bit busy sir, but comparatively active in the other boards.

[Bedroom Eyes]

Bad Weather by Poco

Most people who listen to the song think it's a one-on-one thing, a guy and his girl breaking up. It's actually a rather autobiographical song about lead guitarist Paul Cotton's old band ("Illinois Speed Press") breaking up.

When Cotton joined Poco in the early 1970s, the song was included on Poco's album From The Inside and featured a pedal steel guitar solo by virtuoso Rusty Young and a memorable 12-string guitar interlude by Richie Furay, formerly of Buffalo Springfield and the Souther, Hillman and Furay Band.

P.S. Im Sleepless in Tokyo :cry:

[sandawa]

starting in mid-70s, without Jim Messina and Richie Furay, Poco was turning into a two-man band starring Paul Cotton and Rusty Young. But in the group's 1975 album Head Over Heels, one of the songs the critics hailed - Dallas - wasn't by the duo. that song, written specifically for Poco, was by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

OT: uy, sarap mamasyal dyan sa Akihabara, Sir. my friend here in Davao, EGP in this board i think, just came back from Nagoya and Kyoto area last weekend with a boxful of used Japanese-pressed vinyl. ang mura daw.

[Bedroom Eyes]

starting in mid-70s, without Jim Messina and Richie Furay, Poco was turning into a two-man band starring Paul Cotton and Rusty Young. But in the group's 1975 album Head Over Heels, one of the songs the critics hailed - Dallas - wasn't by the duo. that song, written specifically for Poco, was by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

OT: uy, sarap mamasyal dyan sa Akihabara, Sir. my friend here in Davao, EGP in this board i think, just came back from Nagoya and Kyoto area last weekend with a boxful of used Japanese-pressed vinyl. ang mura daw.

Sandawa, just came from Disk Union somewhere in Tsukiji and bought several vinyl's (pre owned). All stone mint copies but the price is almost Manila price din

[bb3]

Gibson Les Paul Classic

Not really about music, but just a little trivia about the man and instrument which is closely associated with rock and roll

At the age of only 14, Les Paul invents the electric guitar when he takes the stylus (needle) from his record player and jams it into the wood beneath the strings of an acoustic guitar.
The sound from his guitar comes out of the phonograph and gives birth to the amplification required for rock and roll.

[sandawa]

in Peter Cetera's recent live Salt Lake City performance, a song that was radically re-arranged was "25 or 6 to 4." the acoustic treatment was simply beautiful. written by Robert Lamm and a major hit for Chicago in the '70s, the song's title refers to the time when it was written (25 minutes to 4 am or 26 minutes to 4 am). Lamm wrote it early morning and was so sleepy he couldn't think of better lyrics to his tune. others said the title also has reference to drugs, as suggested by its lyrics, which some of the group's members were into at that time.

here's an excerpt:

"Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should have tried to do some more
25 or 6 to 4... "

[bb3]

and while we're into the topic of drug induced/related songs:


Ang Himig Natin
Juan De La Cruz Band

"I wrote it in the toilet twenty minutes before going onstage. I was on acid at the time - Pink Elephants."
Joey "Pepe" Smith on Ang Himig Natin

Pepe actually had the melody and a few wandering lyrics for several years. But probably because of finely-honed improvisational skills coupled with “chemically induced” inspiration, Pepe managed to pull everything through in that short span of time.
Call it fate, but that 20 min “call of nature” blazed the trail for PinoyRock.

[discophile]

Another on drug related songs. Casey Jones was one of the 1st songs which was banned on air due to open references to Cocaine...


Casey Jones - Grateful Dead

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.
This old engine makes it on time,
Leaves Central Station 'bout a quarter to nine,
Hits River Junction at seventeen to,
At a quarter to ten you know it's drivin again.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Trouble ahead, Lady in red,
Take my advice you'd be better off dead.
Switchman's sleeping, train hundred and two is
On the wrong track and headed for you.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you beter watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, you know trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
Got two good eyes but WE still don't see.
Come round the bend, you know it's the end,
The fireman screams and the engine just gleams...

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, you know, trouble behind.
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, you know, trouble behind.
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

[jamants]

these are two great songs boy and chris. There are really some albums in rock and roll history that is undeniably one way or the other influenced by the band/songwriter taking psychedelics. Are drugs really part of the songwriting process?

Take for instance Abbey Road, or Sgt Pepper's, i would bet they were definitely on something, but i could be wrong.

[marty_e]

Are drugs really part of the songwriting process?

I believe the 2 can really be rolled (pun intended) into one... From JT to Marley to Snoop Dogg I think substance abuse will often play a role in the creation music. Seems cliche though when you think of "sex, drugs and rock and roll...".

What's your take in this?

Children we have it right here
It's the light in my eyes
It's perfection and grace
It's the smile on my face

Tonight when I chase the dragon
The water will change to cherry wine
And the silver will turn to gold
Time out of mind

[detubo]

hmmmm........me thinks i'll write some music tonight....hehe. joke only.

[sandawa]

how about William Blake's 'hallucinating lines' written in 1794 (Auguries of Innocence)?

"to see the world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour."

[Bedroom Eyes]

I was listening last night to Richard Harris (A Man Called Horse) sing Mcarthur's Park on the LP I got from IHJ. It was not really the voice but the passion,drama and soul of the man when he was singing it that glued me to my seat always.

The story behind the song ofMacArthur Park by Richard Harris is as interesting as the manner he put his soul into the song...

In the summer of 1967, songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Up Up and Away") composed a 22-minute cantata that ended with a seven-minute coda called "MacArthur Park." He offered it to Bones Howe, who produced The Association, for possible inclusion on the group's fourth LP. Howe loved it, but the group did not want to give up half the album for Webb's project, so they rejected it.

Harris was an actor, not a singer. His performance on this was essentially "acting," as he read the lyrics with a great deal of drama. He recorded this shortly after starring in the movie Camelot. Some of his other films include This Sporting Life, Unforgiven, and Wrestling Earnest Hemmingway. He also played Professor Dumbledore in the first 2 Harry Potter movies.

Webb produced this for Richard Harris, crossing the Atlantic Ocean several times in the process.

[onedown]

Mecca for Moderns -- Manhattan Transfer

The title for their album, "Mecca for Moderns" was was inspired by another album. Tim hauser was at the house of Janis Siegel when he saw an album of Duke Ellington lying around. The album was entitled "Live at the Blue Note 1952." Tim picked it up and read the notes on the jacket. A line of the notes said, "The Blue Note was a haven for the smart set, in fact, the real mecca for moderns."

The quartet liked the line, and thought that it would fit well with the concept of their upcoming album. Janis added, "A mecca is a paradise. We are presenting all different types of songs that are hopefully a paradise to your ears. Modern people are becoming more eclectic. They are

listening to all different types of music."

Mecca for Moderns, released in 1981, peaked at #22 at Billboard's top pop album chart. It also helped Manhattan Transfer make history. They became the first group to win Grammys both in pop and jazz categories in the same year. the song "Boy from New York City" won a Grammy for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". The second Grammy was for "Best Jazz Performance, Duo or Group" for their performance in the song, "Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)".

[sandawa]

Davao kid, kumusta? Get in touch with me when you're in town. Mecca for Moderns is my favorite Manhattan Transfer vinyl. Their cover of Duke Ellington's Corner Pocket (Until I Met You) is quite memorable to me and an old flame. The group's first Manila visit was sometime in early '80s I think and their performance in PICC was dream-like. The last visit in 1992 (Araneta Coliseum) was just okay but not as good as their first one, in my opinion.

[onedown]

sandawa,

doing well, albeit busy. hope you're well there.

mecca is also my favorite manhattan transfer album, although my favorite manhattan song isn't in that album. i have been looking for mecca as well as extensions on cd, but no luck so far.

sige, i'll get in touch when i'm there. kaya lang christmas na siguro.

[sandawa]

I was listening last night to Richard Harris (A Man Called Horse) sing Mcarthur's Park on the LP I got from IHJ. It was not really the voice but the passion,drama and soul of the man when he was singing it that glued me to my seat always...

had to pull out my Richard Harris vinyl of Greatest Performances because of this post and one song that quickly made an impact was "Too Many Saviours on My Cross," the track before "Fill the World With Love."

Harris wrote this in protest of the wars in Ireland at the height of his popularity as a movie actor. the poem was heard on the radio all over Northern Ireland, recited live by Harris, before it was released in his album "Slides" in 1972. he took the role of Jesus Christ on this one.

here's an excert:

TOO MANY SAVIOURS ON MY CROSS

"...Go home to your knees and worship me in any cloth,
For I was never tailor made.

"Take my beads in your crippled hands,
Can you count the decades?
Take my love in your crippled hearts,
Can you count the loss?

"...Shame on you again and again,
For converting me into a bullet,
and shooting me into men's hearts."

[onedown]

A Samba Song -- Bong Peñera

Hard to believe, but what probably is the most recognizable song of Jose Elias "Bong" Peñera almost didn't get to be recorded. It was actually a last minute addition to the independently-produced album. In earlier sessions at Joe Mari Gonzalez's Cinema studio, Peñera had already recorded eight sessions. Each session had one song, and there were eight tracks per session. Included in the sessions were the Brazilian Portuguese version of the title track that was recorded by Maria Dulce Soares, and the English version sung by Cecile "Quito" Colayco of the pop group, Cinderella.

After some production work, Peñera, along with his friend and business partner, Chito Silva, moved the project to Sampaguita studios, where Peñera was to record Rosita Maria. While at the studio, Peñera thought of closing the album ala-Gilberto, Getz, and Jobim when João Gilberto sang the Pottuguese part of the song, "Garota de Ipanema," while his then wife, Astrud, sang the English portions.

Peñera then grabbed a pen and some sheets of paper and began to write the Tagalog lyrics of "A Samba Song." The song was later recorded with Peñera singing the Tagalog lyrics, while the English vocals featured Norma Ramirez.

The song recorded by Colayco never got to be released commercially. Peñera though, is planning to include Colayco's version of the song in the third installment of his three-part compilation, "Samba through Life: The best of Bong Peñera."