Category Archives: Featured Articles

Here we will display longer, deeper, more thorough posts about different topics, but all related to Johanna’s Visions

Country, Featured Articles

Billy Joe Shaver – Best Songs & more…

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A stone thrown from Heaven, skippin’ ‘cross the water
Would disappear in ripples left behind
A book with no cover, a rhyme with no reason
Guess i’ll always be one of the rovin’ kind

‘Cause movin’s in my soul, i guess a gypsy boy got a hold
Of somebody in my family long ago
If some night while half asleep you hear the back door softly squeak
You’ll touch my empty pillow,then you’ll know

That restless wind,is calling me again
Her warmin’ hand is tuggin’ at my soul
Summer’s gone,and winter’s comin’ on
And i can’t let it catch me standin’ in the cold

– From “Restless Wind” (one of his best songs)

–

“He may be the best songwriter alive
today” – Willie Nelson

«He’s a real writer like Hemmingway.
He’s timeless» – Kris Kristofferson

«Billy Joe is unique. One of a kind.
They threw away the mold. The best.»
– Robert Duvall

I’m listening to Billy Joe Shaver
And i’m reading James Joyce
-Bob Dylan (I Feel a Change Comin’ On)

Billy Joe Shaver turned 73 yesterday.

He is one of my greatest “Honky Tonk Heroes”, but due to Elvis’s  death the same day in 1977.. I could not put him first in yesterdays calendar post.

I need to honor him someway.. this is it…

«Throughout my career as a songwriter, I’ve just written songs about me – the good and the bad, the funny and the sad….. – Billy Joe Shaver

«The songs are my story…» – Billy Joe shaver

«..I’ve lost part of three fingers, broke my back, suffered a heart attack and a quadruple bypass, had a steel plate put in my neck and 136 stiches in my head, fought drugs and booze, spent the money I had, and burried my wife, son & mother in the span of one year…»… .. «I’m not proud of my misfortune – I’m proud of my survival» – Billy Joe Shaver

Continue reading Billy Joe Shaver – Best Songs & more… →

Bergenfest, Featured Articles, Great Bands, Interview, Tom Petty

The Rise of The South – Bergenfest 2012 – a talk and some pictures

All photos by Hallgeir (click on them to get better quality, if you want even better resolution, feel free to contact us)

Concert review from Bergenfest 2012

From their official Facebook page:

A band calling themselves “The South” in spite of being from Trondheim, Norway need to have their compass in order

When you hear The South’s self titled second album, produced by Bent Sæther of Motorpsycho, it becomes clear that this sextet has a remarkable grip on their rock history, both the map and the terrain.
They actually lift what many hold to be the zenith of rock, the music of Little Feat, Grateful Dead and The Band from the first half of the 1970’s, into our time.

Bringing with them marvellous songs, the tightness of a good oldfashioned BAND and vocal harmonies to die for.

When we decided to go to Bergenfest this year we decided to try to get an interview with The South, they’re so obviousley right up our alley, they embody most of the musical styles that JV is about. They use the rich musical past to create fresh new songs. The press people at Bergenfest said we could get a 15 minute talk, we were happy just to get an interview.

We met in the “lounge” at the hotel where both The South and we stayed. We talked for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I’ll be the one:

The South are:

Alexander Pettersen – Vocals, guitar
Terje Uv – guitar, steelguitar
Stein Spjelkavik – Guitar, Keys, vocals
Sander Olsen – Keys
Pål Brekkås – Bass, vocals
Stian Lundberg – Drums, vocals

Continue reading The Rise of The South – Bergenfest 2012 – a talk and some pictures →

Bob Dylan, Featured Articles, List

Bob Dylan’s 5 Worst Albums

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This might not be the best idea for a list, I know. We here @ JV don’t write about music we don’t like. But this is different, this is my fav artist..by far, and the 5 worst Bob Dylan albums still contains much great music. A bad Dylan album might still be a good album.

It’s always easy to write negative critique, but I chose not to comment on the 5 albums on the list… except highlighting the best song/songs.

To set the record strait: on my “all time greatest albums” list I have 3 Dylan records @ top 3:

  1. Blonde On Blonde
  2. Highway 61 Revisited
  3. Blood On The Tracks
  4. Exile on Main St. – The Rolling Stones
  5. Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

 

My rules:  I’ve excluded Greatest Hits/Best of albums, but bootleg series & live albums are in. And Christmas in the Heart is also excluded from this “competition”, it’s not really a Dylan album after all.

Then we are down to 52 albums.. and here are the worst:

  1. Down In The Groove

    Released May 30, 1988
    Recorded 1983–1987
    Genre Rock
    Length 32:10
    Label Columbia
    Producer unlisted

    Best song: Silvio

  2. Dylan

    Released November 19, 1973
    Recorded April 24, 1969 – June 4, 1970
    Genre Rock, folk rock
    Length 33:22
    Label Columbia
    Producer Bob Johnston

     Best Song: Mr.Bojangles

  3. Dylan & The Dead
    Released February 6, 1989
    Recorded July 1987
    Genre Rock
    Length 43:07
    Label Columbia
    Producer Jerry Garcia
    John Cutler

    Best Song: Queen Jane Approximately

  4. Self Portrait
     

    Released June 8, 1970
    Recorded April 24, 1969 – March 30, 1970
    Genre Country rock, rock
    Length 73:15
    Label Columbia
    Producer Bob Johnston

    Best Songs: Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight), Days of’ 49, Early Mornin’ Rain, Let It Be Me & Living The Blues

  5. Real Live
    Released November 29, 1984
    Recorded Summer 1984
    Genre Hard rock
    Length 50:15
    Label Columbia
    Producer Glyn Johns

     Best Songs: Highway 61 Revisited, Masters of War & Tombstone Blues

Here is a spotify playlist with the best songs from the worst albums:
(PS – I did not find “Dylan” on spotify… hence the missing “Mr. Bojangles”)

4 runners up:

  • Knocked Out Loaded (1986)
    remove Brownsville Girl and it might be the very worst
  • Bob Dylan at Budokan (1979)
    ok in small portions and contains a great Is Your Love In Vain 
  • Saved (1980)
    the tame & toothless sound nearly kills it off, still it contains some really good songs: Saved, Solid Rock, In The Garden,..
  • Empire Burlesque (1985)
    with typical bad 80’s production (horrible drum sound), and leaving best versions of key songs in the studio. This one also have some strong songs: Emotionally Yours, Dark Eyes & Tight Connection To My Heart
-Egil
Country, Elvis Presley, Featured Articles, List, Memphis, Sun

Best early country songs – up to 1955

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In this spirit-numbing information age, we gorge on the web and on CNN, we cannot free our hands of our Blackberrys and lap-tops and cellphones, but, in the end, we know less and less … of each other … of our hearts … of our souls.
But Johnny Cash singing “I Walk The Line” or Hank sorrowing through “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” still gives us more insight in three minutes, tells us more about what matters most in our lives, than we get in an entire twenty-four-hour news cycle.
– Dana Jennings, in his magnificent book “Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death, and Country Music“

This is our first article in a series highlighting the best country songs. We start off by nominating songs from the start up till 1955. The next post will focus on songs from 1956-1965.

When we are through nominating songs.. probably around 70-80 songs.. we will pull it all together and put a list of the 20 best Country songs ever.. in JV’s humble opinion.

Our goal is to only nominate one song from each artist.. I’ve managed to do so on this first article (although it was tough only including one Hank Williams song….)

… and btw .. the songs are presented in random order…

 

Can The Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye), The Carter Family

Produced by Art Satherley
Written by A.P. Carter
1935

Continue reading Best early country songs – up to 1955 →

Bob Dylan, Featured Articles, List

The 5 best songs Bob Dylan left in the studio – updated..

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Bob Dylan left many a jewel in the studio. Some were rerecorded for later albums, others were abandoned for good.

All the songs on this list have been officially released at a later date.. they might not be the best version of the song.. I will point out.. but at least he eventually put a version out.

The List:

  1. Blind Willie McTell
  2. Idiot Wind – New York version
  3. She’s Your Lover Now
  4. Red River Shore
  5. Caribbean Wind

Details:

Continue reading The 5 best songs Bob Dylan left in the studio – updated.. →