Tag Archives: list

Townes Van Zandt: His 11 best songs

Townes

Marie she didn’t wake up this morning
She didn’t even try
She just rolled over and went to Heaven
My little boy safe inside

I laid them in the sun where somebody’d find them
Caught a Chesapeak on the fly
Marie will know I’m headed south
So’s to meet me by and by

Marie will know I’m headed south
So to meet me by and by

– Townes Van Zandt

Townes Van Zandt is one of the greatest songwriters in music-history. To narrow down my choice to just 11 songs is a pain. His 9 studio albums, and some compilations released after his death in 97 are so full of great songs that my task has been nearly impossible. I could pick 11 other songs in his songbook that are just as good, but today this is my list.

Marie:

Kurt Wolff (allmusic):
Townes Van Zandt’s music doesn’t jump up and down, wear fancy clothes, or beat around the bush. Whether he was singing a quiet, introspective country-folk song or a driving, hungry blues, Van Zandt’s lyrics and melodies were filled with the kind of haunting truth and beauty that you knew instinctively. His music came straight from his soul by way of a kind heart, an honest mind, and a keen ear for the gentle blend of words and melody. He could bring you down to a place so sad that you felt like you were scraping bottom, but just as quickly he could lift your spirits and make you smile at the sparkle of a summer morning or a loved one’s eyes — or raise a chuckle with a quick and funny talking blues. The magic of his songs is that they never leave you alone.

Continue reading Townes Van Zandt: His 11 best songs

These are the 20 Greatest albums of all time according to the JV community

 

Bob_Dylan_-_Highway_61_Revisited

The votes have been counted.

Read further down in the post…..

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I hereby challenge all readers to put out their personal list of the 20 Greatest albums of all time.
Top 15 /10 is also appreciated.

Use the comments section in this post or check out our Facebook page.

The poll will be open till Tuesday’ish.

The rules:

  • ONLY 5 Bob Dylan albums allowed
  • It’s an album list, but 2 exceptions are allowed (Greatest Hits/Very Best/..)
    This is meant to cover artists that didn’t really put out many “albums”, typically older music 40/50s.

Again: Don’t take theses lists so seriously ! It’s meant to be FUN.

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It was a great poll to host, and we got lists in from 52 musicologists.

notes:

  • It’s nice to see (though hardly a surprise) 3 Dylan albums on top (as on my list)
  • lists with fewer than 5 did not count
  • Live albums did not count, including my own “Live @ San Quentin”, as stated above.. this will be a separate poll
# Album Artist votes
1 Highway 61 Revisited (1965) Bob Dylan 29
2 Blood On The Tracks (1975) Bob Dylan 26
3 Blonde On Blonde (1966) Bob Dylan 25
4 Revolver (1966) The Beatles 18
5 Exile On Main St. (1972) The Rolling Stones 17
6 Astral Weeks (1968) Van Morrison 15
7 Rubber Soul (1965) The Beatles 14
8 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) The Beatles 13
8 White Album (1968) The Beatles 13
10 Abbey Road (1969) The Beatles 12
10 Let It Bleed (1969) The Rolling Stones 12
10 Who’s Next (1971) The Who 12
13 Kind Of Blue (1959) Miles Davis 11
14 John Wesley Harding (1967) Bob Dylan 10
14 The Band (1969) The Band 10
16 Bringing It All Back Home (1965) Bob Dylan 8
16 Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd 8
16 Music From Big Pink (1968) The Band 8
16 Beggar’s Banquet (1968) The Rolling Stones 8
16 Sticky Fingers (1971) The Rolling Stones 8

Lurking under:

  • Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
  • Crosby Stills & Nash
  • Neil Young – After The Gold Rush
  • Van Morrison – Moondance
  • Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
  • Crosby Stills & Nash  – Deja Vu
  • Pink Floyd – Wish You Where Here
  • Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin Bob Dylan
  • Bruce Springsteen – Darkness On The Edge Of Town
  • George Harrison – all Things Must Pass
  • Grateful Dead – American Beauty
  • The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced
  • Tom Waits – Rain Dogs

 

My list – 20 favorite  albums:

Continue reading These are the 20 Greatest albums of all time according to the JV community

The Beatles 40 best songs: at 18 Ticket To Ride

ticket to ride beatles picture sleeve

The Beatles were such a prolific album act that it’s sometimes hard to abstract their later singles; here, they ride their roots as a bar band in Liverpool and Hamburg to a new kind of glory.
~Dave Marsh (The Heart of Rock & Soul)

The opening circular riff, played on 12-string guitar by George Harrison, was a signpost for the folk-rock wave that would ride through rock music itself in 1965.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Wikipedia:

Released 9 April 1965
Recorded 15 February 1965,
EMI Studios, London
Genre Rock
Length 3:10
Label Parlophone
Writer Lennon–McCartney
Producer George Martin

John Lennon: double-tracked lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass and lead guitar
George Harrison: rhythm guitar
Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine and handclaps

Ticket to Ride” is a song by the Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. In 2004, this song was ranked number 394 on Rolling Stone‘s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

beatles ticket to ride

They say this was one of John’s personal favorites, probably because it has his most soulful vocal ever. But “Ticket to Ride” is intricate and interesting all the way through, with Paul playing mean lead guitar and Ringo dispelling all doubt about his prowess as a drummer: The groove comes straight out of his pure backbeat.
~Dave Marsh (The Heart of Rock & Soul)

Ticket To Ride was slightly a new sound at the time. It was pretty fucking heavy for then, if you go and look in the charts for what other music people were making. You hear it now and it doesn’t sound too bad; but it’d make me cringe. If you give me the A track and I remix it, I’ll show you what it is really, but you can hear it there. It’s a heavy record and the drums are heavy too. That’s why I like it.
– John Lennon (Anthology)

Ticket To Ride (Video-Mix 1965) HD 0815007:

Continue reading The Beatles 40 best songs: at 18 Ticket To Ride

Wilco, Jeff Tweedy and Bob Dylan – covers and collaborations

Jeff_Tweedy

Wilco is one of our favorite bands.

Here are covers by Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, collaborations.. and a song about Bob Dylan’s beard!

Wilco – Simple Twist of Fate (Solid Sound – MASS MoCA – June 21, 2013):

Wilco – I Shall Be Released (Live Toronto), The Bob Dylan classic made famous by The Band is performed with panache by Jeff Tweedy and his band:

Continue reading Wilco, Jeff Tweedy and Bob Dylan – covers and collaborations

10 underrated Rolling Stones songs released after 1975 you must hear

rolling stones hand of fate

I’m a “Stones 68-72” junkie.. I must admit. 
But the last 5’ish years I’ve been listening more closely to later stuff and there are many gems. My list could easily included 20 songs.
Lots of fans like myself often get hung up on the “golden early stuff” & mostly listen to old bootlegs & recordings. And don’t give newer albums enough attention. Keep an open mind & listen…