The Stones were great in the 80s, better than many thought at the time. “Over the hill, too old”. Much the same things are said today about them, but who won Glastonbury this year? The Rolling Stones!
Let it Bleed:
– Hallgeir
All posts by Hallgeir
The wonderful Nanci Griffith was born in 1953 – Happy birthday
I got to know Nanci Griffith through the seminal music paper Beat (norwegian music magazine), this music magazine has been extremely important in my musical upbringing. They made it ok to say that you loved country music. This was a big step for us rock/punk youth. Anyway, they praised Nanci Griffith very early and we listened and we agreed, this was very special indeed.
Her voice, her way of singing, especially other peoples’ songs, it was and is beautiful. My first entry into her world was John Prine’s The Speed of The Sound of Loneliness, it is still the best song in her catalogue. Hell, it would be the best song in almost anybody’s catalogue!
Speed of the sound of Loneliness (with John Prine who wrote this masterpiece):
Nanci Griffith, (born Nanci Caroline Griffith, July 6, 1953, Seguin, Texas) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter based in Austin, Texas.
Allmusic: Straddling the fine line between folk and country music, Nanci Griffith has become as well-known for her brilliant, confessional songwriting as her beautiful voice. A self-styled “folkabilly” singer, Griffith began as a kindergarten teacher and occasional folksinger. The country scene took her to heart in the mid-’80s, giving her a reputation as a quality songwriter through hit covers of Griffith’s songs by Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss. Finding no luck with commercial country radio however, Griffith recorded several pop-oriented albums and then returned to her folk roots by the mid-’90s.
Another wonderful cover version, Tecumseh Valley (with a wonderful intro):
Lets include a fantastic Dylan interpretation, Boots of Spanish leather:
Happy birthday, Nanci!
Other July-06:
Continue reading The wonderful Nanci Griffith was born in 1953 – Happy birthday
Vikedal Roots Music Festival 11-14 July
Next week I’m visiting a local festival, Vikedal Roots Music Festival. It is the 15th year anniversary for this gem of a festival and they have some really great acts on their program.
It is located in Vikedal a beautiful little place here in the western part of Norway. They are setting up several stages and have concerts in the church, the harbour and in a big festival tent.
We are talking about 23 concerts in 3 days, all of them firmly placed in the roots oriented music scene. Sometimes it’s roots-rock other times more folksy stuff.
The festival has given us some very good concerts through the years, and we have a long and loving relationship with this little, but great festival.
We here at Johannasvisions will try to see as many shows as we can, and we have chosen some favorites from this years
Here are our three must see artists at Vikedal Roots Music Festival 2013:
1. Ida Jenshus (with band)
Ida Jenshus is always a safe bet, she and her band delivers on all shows, and she has a terrific band. Her latest release is less straight country and more into the Daniel Lanois /Emmylou Harris sound scape. We love it!
Here’s a concert taped for the Norwegian Broadcast Company (NRK). 22 minutes of great music with Ida Jenshus and her band:
Place/Time: The Harbour, Thursday 11th July at 21:30
Our next choice is the up and coming “prairie-rock”-band, Yuma Sun.
2. Yuma Sun
We have seen Yuma Sun in concert a few times, and they’re getting better with each show. They’ve toured extensively the last year and we are really looking forward to hear an even tighter band. As I write this they are playing at The Hove Festival, one of Norway’s biggest festivals.
Yuma Sun – Another Day:
In between all the gigs they are recording their second album. Hopefully we will get a release this fall.
Place/Time: The Harbour, Thursday 11th July at 23:30
Continue reading Vikedal Roots Music Festival 11-14 July
Video of the day – Nick Cave at Glastonbury 2013
Photos from Bergenfest 2013 by Johannasvisions
The Guardian:
“…slowly the set takes focus; Deanna roars along with a savage edge but Tupelo introduces a hint of Cave’s inherent grandeur, allowing him to slip from there to the piano to croon a moving People Ain’t No Good. At which point restraint becomes as powerful as the Seeds’ ravenous beer-hall bluster; a ten-minute Stagger Lee is a masterclass in tension and drama, Cave balancing precariously on the crowd barrier with audience members holding him up by the boot-heel as he leans out to sing his tale of a deviant killer directly into the eyes of a hypnotised girl in white hoisted on someone’s shoulders.”
This set (Glastonbury 2013) is well worth seeing, but they were a lot better in Bergen, Norway (Bergenfest), there they were fantastic!
Here is the set from Glastonbury 2013:
Setlist:
Jubilee Street
From Her to Eternity
Deanna
Jack the Ripper
Tupelo
People Ain’t No Good
The Mercy Seat
Stagger Lee
Push the Sky Away
Encore: Red Right Hand
– Hallgeir
11 favorite performances from The Johnny Cash Show
The Johnny Cash Show
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
The show lasted a little under two years, but in that time it hosted a lot of fantastic musical guests. Johnny Cash had great taste in music and had to fight to get his choices on tv on several occasions.
There are so many great artists and they’re giving some of the best performances ever done for TV.
Here are my 11 favorite You Tube clips from the magnificent, The Johnny Cash Show:
Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away , Living The Blues and Girl From The North Country (duet with Johnny Cash):
Neil Young – The Needle and the damage done and Journey through the past:
Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Morning Coming Down:
Cash fought hard to keep the word, “stoned” in the lyrics that were broadcast.
Kris Kristofferson – Loving her was easier:
Ray Charles – Ring of Fire:
Continue reading 11 favorite performances from The Johnny Cash Show