All posts by Hallgeir

Beatles, List

The Beatles 40 best songs: at 20 Paperback Writer

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pw_Beatles

Paperback Writer was recorded between 13 and 14 April 1966. It was released 30 May 1966 (US) and 10 June 1966 (UK).

“I think I might have helped with some of the lyrics. Yes, I did. But it was mainly Paul’s tune.”
– John Lennon (Hit Parade in 1972) 

“Paperback Writer is son of Day Tripper, but it is Paul’s song. Son of Day Tripper meaning a rock ‘n’ roll song with a guitar lick on a fuzzy, loud guitar.”
– John Lennon (Playboy, 1980)

“I took a bit of paper out and I said it should be something like ‘Dear Sir or Madam, as the case may be…’ and I proceeded to write it just like a letter in front of him, occasionally rhyming it. And John, as I recall, just sat there and said, ‘Oh, that’s it,’ ‘Uhuh,’ ‘Yeah.’ I remember him, his amused smile, saying, ‘Yes, that’s it, that’ll do.’ Quite a nice moment: ‘Hmm, I’ve done right! I’ve done well!’ And then we went upstairs and put the melody to it. John and I sat down and finished it all up, but it was tilted towards me, the original idea was mine. I had no music, but it’s just a little bluesy song, not a lot of melody. Then I had the idea to do the harmonies and we arranged that in the studio.”
– Paul McCartney (“Many years from now” by Barry Miles)

I love the sound on this single, Paperback Writer/Rain, the bass lines are incredible. The story according to Mark Lewisohn goes that it was John Lennon who demanded to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. This single certainly changed that.

“‘Paperback Writer’ was the first time the bass sound had been heard in all its excitement,” said Beatles’ engineer Geoff Emerick in Mark Lewisohn’s book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. “Paul played a different bass, a Rickenbacker. Then we boosted it further by using a loudspeaker as a microphone.

These are the probable credits:

  • Paul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar
  • John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar
  • George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
  • Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

The Beatles – Paperback Writer (promo):

Continue reading The Beatles 40 best songs: at 20 Paperback Writer →

Country, folk, Music Calendar

July 21: The late Sara Carter was born in 1898 – 116 years ago

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sara_carterSara Carter (with banjo)

Sara Carter (July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1979) was an American Country music musician. Known for her deep and distinctive singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Carter Family:

The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars. Their recordings of such songs as “Wabash Cannonball”, “Can the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Wildwood Flower” and “Keep On the Sunny Side” made them country standards.

BBC Documentary on Country Music – here is 15 glorious minutes about The Carter Family:

Continue reading July 21: The late Sara Carter was born in 1898 – 116 years ago →

Bob Dylan, Cover versions

Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder sings Bob Dylan


eddie vedder

We really like Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, we especially like it when they slow things down and of course when they sing the songs of our hero Bob Dylan. We have trawled the web to find some of her great cover versions.

Please tell me in the comments section if I have missed any of their Dylan covers.

Pearl Jam – Masters Of War (live at the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary):

Neil Young & Pearl Jam – All Along the Watchtower (live, 2004):

Continue reading Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder sings Bob Dylan →

Music Calendar

July 20 in music history

Bob Dylan released Like A Rolling Stone in 1965 (read more)

“Like a Rolling Stone” is a 1965 song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England. After the lyrics were heavily edited, “Like a Rolling Stone” was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.

 

Check out Egil’s post on Like A Rolling Stone in his countdown of the best Dylan songs

 Bob-Dylan-like-a-rolling-stone

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican and American rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, Latin music and jazz fusion. The band’s sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms featuring percussion instruments such as timbales and congas not generally heard in rock music.

Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Check out: Carlos Santana and Bob Dylan moments

 CarlosSantana
Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle; July 20, 1964) is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave.He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1991. He is known for his wide vocal range, spanning B1-G5 in full-voice, and up to E6 in falsetto, as well as his powerful vocal belting technique.
He was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew Wood.
He has released three solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning (1999), Carry On (2007), and Scream (2009).Cornell was ranked 4th in the list of “Heavy Metal’s All-Time Top 100 Vocalists” by Hit Parader.		 chris-cornell-image-2
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam.

Gossard is also known for his work prior to Pearl Jam with the 1980s Seattle, Washington-based grunge rock bands Green River and Mother Love Bone, and he has made contributions to the music industry as a producer and owner of a record label and a recording studio. Gossard has also been a member of the side project band Brad. In 2001, Gossard released his first solo album, Bayleaf.		 stone gossard
Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956 in Hammersmith, London) is an English drummer and member of Sex Pistols.He met Steve Jones. In 1972–1973, Cook and Jones, along with their school friend Wally Nightingale, formed a band, The Strand. Cook was the first member of the group to actually invest in a piece of equipment (a drum kit).  Within the next three years The Strand evolved into the Sex Pistols. Paul_Cook

Spotify Playlist – July 20
Blues, Muddy Waters, video of the day

Muddy Waters Live in Dortmund Germany 1976

Muddy Waters Dortmund 1976

Superb pro-shot concert of the Muddy Waters Blues Band at the Blues & Jazz Festival, Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West Germany, on 29 October 1976.

Sound and picture quality is great. The band is fantastic and look great!

Muddy Waters: Vocals, Guitar
Bob Margolin: Guitar
Luther Johnson: Guitar
Jerry Portnoy: Harmonica
Pinetop Perkins: Piano
Calvin Jones: Bass
Willie Smith: Drums
Guest: Junior Wells: Vocals, Harmonica

Enjoy!

Set list:

01. Intro & After Hours
02. Soon Forgotten
03. Howlin’ Wolf Blues
04. Hoochie Coochie Man
05 Blow Wind Blow
06 Can’t Get No Grindin’
07 Long Distance Call
08 Got My Mojo Workin’
09 Got My Mojo Workin’ (First Encore)
10 Theme
11 Got My Mojo Workin’ (Second Encore)

 

– Hallgeir