Tag Archives: Peter Rowan

Great albums, Music Calendar, Steve Earle

Feb 28: Steve Earle released Train a Comin in 1995

Steve-Earle_train

“This ain’t no part of no unplugged nothin — God, I hate MTV”
~Steve Earle (Liner notes)

I got to thinking,…if I don’t make this record now, I won’t get the chance to make it. .. I’m singing the best I’ve sung in years. Mainly [because of] no dope. Heroin relaxes your vocal cords, it lowers the top of your range a little bit, and then when you try to sing over it…
~Steve Earle (to SPIN in 1995)

I wish I’d never come back home
It don’t feel right since I’ve been grown
I can’t find any of my old friends hangin’ ’round
Won’t nothin’ bring you down like your hometown

Hometown Blues – From Later With Jools Holland 1995:

Wikipedia:

Released February 28, 1995
Genre Folk, country, country rock, bluegrass
Length 40:21
Label Warner Bros.

Train a Comin’ is an acoustic studio album by Steve Earle. The album, Earle’s first in five years, was released in 1995. In addition to Earle, it features Peter Rowan, Norman Blake, Roy Huskey, and Emmylou Harris. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

steve earle 1995

If you see her out tonight
And she tells you it’s just the lights
That bring her here and not her loneliness
That’s what she says but sometimes she forgets

Sometimes She Forgets:

Continue reading Feb 28: Steve Earle released Train a Comin in 1995 →

Music Calendar

July 04 in music history

Happy 76th Birthday Bill Withers (read more)

I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
~Bill Withers
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, It’s not warm when she’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, And she’s always gone too long, Anytime she goes away.
~Bill Withers (Ain’t No Sunshine)

 Bill Withers
 “Honky Tonk Women” is a 1969 hit song by the Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom and a week later in the United States, it topped the charts in both nations.  Rolling-Stones-Honky-Tonk-Women
 Peter Rowan (b. July 4, 1942, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings.  Peter Rowan
 American V: A Hundred Highways is the 93rd overall album and a posthumous album by Johnny Cash released on July 4, 2006. As the title implies, it is the fifth entry in Cash’s American series. Like its predecessors, American V: A Hundred Highways is produced byRick Rubin and released on Rubin’s American Recordings record label via Lost Highway Records, as they currently distribute country releases from the American Recordings label. It was certified Gold on 8/18/2006 by the R.I.A.A.  JohnnyCash-AmericanV

Bob Dylan: Rich Stadium, Buffalo, New York 4 July 1986 (videos)

 bob dylan Buffalo 1986

Spotify Playlist – July 04
Music Calendar, Soul

Today: Bill Withers is 75

Bill Withers

I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
~Bill Withers

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, It’s not warm when she’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, And she’s always gone too long, Anytime she goes away.
~Bill Withers (Ain’t No Sunshine)

Ain’t No Sunshine (Live 1971):

Wikipedia:

Birth name William Harrison Withers, Jr.
Born July 4, 1938 (age 75)
Slab Fork, West Virginia, U.S.
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Soul, smooth soul, R&B, blues
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active 1967–1985
Labels Sussex Records
Columbia Records
Website billwithersmusic.com

William Harrison “Bill” Withers, Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded a number of hits such as “Lean on Me”, “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “Use Me”, “Just the Two of Us”, “Lovely Day”, and “Grandma’s Hands”. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.

Bill Withers

Here is a lovely interview from 2007:

Lean on Me (Live 1973):

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow

But if we are wise
We know that there’s
Always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on

Album of the day:

Still Bill (1972)

Bill Withers still bill

Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and ’70s singer/songwriterism. It’s rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album’s best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem “Lean on Me.” That’s the genius behind Withers’ music: it’s warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays — and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it’s easy to want to play this again and again. …..
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Other July 4:

Continue reading Today: Bill Withers is 75 →

Great albums, Steve Earle

Steve Earle – Train a Comin’

Steve Earle - Train a comin

“This ain’t no part of no unplugged nothin — God, I hate MTV”
~Steve Earle (Liner notes)

I got to thinking,…if I don’t make this record now, I won’t get the chance to make it. .. I’m singing the best I’ve sung in years. Mainly [because of] no dope. Heroin relaxes your vocal cords, it lowers the top of your range a little bit, and then when you try to sing over it…
~Steve Earle (to SPIN in 1995)

I wish I’d never come back home
It don’t feel right since I’ve been grown
I can’t find any of my old friends hangin’ ’round
Won’t nothin’ bring you down like your hometown

Hometown Blues – From Later With Jools Holland 1995:

Wikipedia:

Released February 28, 1995
Genre Folk, country, country rock, bluegrass
Length 40:21
Label Warner Bros.

Train a Comin’ is an acoustic studio album by Steve Earle. The album, Earle’s first in five years, was released in 1995. In addition to Earle, it features Peter Rowan, Norman Blake, Roy Huskey, and Emmylou Harris. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

steve earle 1995

 

If you see her out tonight
And she tells you it’s just the lights
That bring her here and not her loneliness
That’s what she says but sometimes she forgets

Sometimes She Forgets:

Continue reading Steve Earle – Train a Comin’ →

Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: The Rolling Stones released the “Honky Tonk Women” single in 1969 – 43 years ago

I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind.

From Wikipedia:

“Honky Tonk Women” is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom and a week later in the United States, it topped the charts in both nations.

B-side “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
Released 4 July 1969 (UK)
11 July 1969 (US)
Format 7″
Recorded June 1969
Olympic Studios, London
Genre Hard rock
Length 3:02
Label Decca F.12952 (UK)
London 45.910 (US)
Writer(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer Jimmy Miller

Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2); and a honky-tonk version entitled “Country Honk” with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let It Bleed. The concert rendition of the song featured on Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! differs from both the hit version and the country version, with a markedly different guitar introduction and an entirely different second verse, but is much closer to the single version than the album version.

Live from Hide Park, London – 1969:

Live from Madison Sq Garden, NYC – Nov 1969:

album of the day:

 

Other July-4:

Continue reading Today: The Rolling Stones released the “Honky Tonk Women” single in 1969 – 43 years ago →