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Travelin' Prayer - Billy Joel
This song is the first track off the Piano Man album of 1973, and so it seemed fitting to kick off this mix CD with it. It's the prelude to the beginning of Joel's powerhouse tenure, as the title track comes right after the jawharp-shuffle fades out. Definitely a good toe-tappin' jam. |
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Kool - John Scofield
From Sco's Steady Groovin' early 90's Blue Note era, "Kool" is hot. With an array of horns and a smoke-soaked B3, it's the recipe for old-school funk, Scofield-style. |
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Sookie, Sookie - Steppenwolf
This takes me back to high school, when I was absorbing all things classic rock. John Kay's voice suggests rock and beer--a classic classic rock set of pipes. Nothing too complex about this piece...just a song that makes you wanna move. |
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Uncle Walter - Ben Folds Five
"Walter" ranks as one of a handful of favorites from BFF's first eponymous disc. Ryan McCall (aka McWeed) turned my entire dorm floor at Webster U on to these guys, who hijacked the controls of piano rock in the mid-nineties, full of cynicism and melancholy. Not so much of the latter with this jam, though. |
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Henry And Louise - Kubla Khan
My buddy Kai turned me on to the Minneapolis-based Kubla Khan, a piano-centric trio with horns to boot. This is just a funny song, with lyrics about an old married couple with homicidal tendencies: "Henry cracked a Grain Belt and put the revolver beneath the lime green quilt/Louise got the shotgun down from behind the cookies in the pantry shelf." Leaves you scratching your head with a whimsical chuckle. |
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Sunrise - Norah Jones
Norah's been melting men's hearts for a couple of years now, and the melting begins once again with the opening track to her new album. It's amazing how the sound of a voice can evoke images of a lazy afternoon, napping in a hammock. "Hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo"....my heart can melt with the best of them. |
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Crazy Horse - Dave Weckl Band
In paralyzing contrast to Norah, "Crazy Horse" is vintage Weckl: fusion keys (thank you, Jay Oliver) over ever-twisting rhythms. From the same disc that gave us "Dis'place Dis", "Horse" pulls out ultra-cool chord changes, and gives my musical mind something to pull apart, both harmonically and rhythmically. |
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Someday After A While - Eric Clapton
In '94, Slowhand went back to the roots and churned out a blues album. This disc runs the gamut of the blues genre, but caught my attention with this slow-burning tune. It brings things back into the mainstream after the fusilicious departure of Weckl, and carries it on into.... |
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Wolfman's Brother - Phish
Again, another track from freshman year. McCall was also BIG into Vermont's Phinest, and this was the sole disc of theirs he brought into our world. "Brother" is a fun, traditionally-wacky funk jam, specializing in layered instrumentation and layered vocals, boiling down to drummer Jon Fishman's "Shirley Temple". |
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April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel
I actually bought "The Graduate" soundtrack for this song. Granted, it has score tracks by Dave Grusin, which never hurt ANY record, but it was this sweet little tune, clocking in at less than two minutes, that merited my greenbacks. Art Garfunkel's voice soars as always, and it served as a nice way to clear the palette in the middle of this mix. |
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Matriarch - Owsley
I just saw this guy in concert. Probably one of the most lyrical soloists next to Miles Davis. I picked up the album a few days later, and stumbled upon this song, which wasn't played in concert. It's a tribute to his late mother, and the hook has not yet left my head. |
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Superwoman - Stevie Wonder
Ah, Stevie. I'm so glad he was able to hang onto his artistic freedom. This tune, 8+ minutes in length, is actually two different songs. The first part, "Superwoman", is about Mary, who wants to be a superwoman. The second part, "Where Were You When I Needed You", laments the absence of a friend in the winter. |
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Cookin' In Style - Johnny Adams
I heard this song on a jazz radio station, and the horn-organ ending caught my ear. Of course, Johnny Adams lends his easy-going, rich voice to the altered blues changes. (For another excellent JA track, check out his duet with Harry Connick, Jr., on "Lazybones", found on HC's 25 disc). |
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Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel - Todd Rundgren
Though there aren't any tracks on A Wizard, A True Star that aren't weird, this one is less so. He basically sings "sometimes I don't know what to feel" over and over for four minutes. But, when you're packing 20 tunes into studio albums, you can afford to throw a few away. |
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Wait - Earth, Wind & Fire
After lacking EWF in my collection for years, I picked up the Essential 2-disc set a couple of weeks ago. "Wait" jumped out at me, being a polished, harmonically-rich 12/8 tune...that feel is hard to beat, and impossible not to bop to. As the "Essential" series has finally broken from the "Greatest Hits" mold, and actually includes songs, both hits and misses, but nevertheless just good songs, the EWF edition is stellar, but this track seemed to fit well into the mix. |
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One Of These Nights - Eagles
And another track off a "best-of" compilation, from a band whose catalogue was also absent from my collection for years. I always enjoy hearing this song on the radio. The high vocal harmonies, the major-7 chords and the punchy guitar just all sound so 70s. Good times. |
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Weight Of The World - Chantal Kreviazuk
I heard this song on the film, "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days", which isn't typically my type of movie, but it happened to boast a terrific, esoteric soundtrack. Likewise, I hadn't heard any Chantal before this song, but her voice is quite sweet, and, as it played over the end credits of the movie, felt like a good penultimate track. |
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Morning Song - Zero 7
Since I first heard Zero 7's Simple Things (an album which blew me away at first listen) a couple of years ago, I couldn't wait to hear more of their musical cocktailery. "When It Falls" just came out, and it sports a handful of very colorful tracks. The closer "Morning Song" ranked sweetly. After vocalist Mozez is done, a piano begins playing chords by itself, gradually joined by drums, bass and the trademark Zero 7 rhodes and vibes. And there's an end. |
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