Jimmy Buffett – Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches I’ve seen more than I can recall

When I got Jimmy Buffett’s greatest hits in the 80s this is one song that stood out to me. The greatest hits was called “Songs You Know By Heart.” I didn’t know much about the guy before then but he was intriguing. This song grew on me more through the years because I could start relating to the song more and more. 

Of course, I knew Margaritaville well and I remembered Come Monday but the rest were new to me. He had some serious songs like A Pirate Looks At Forty and then he had Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

In my past posts about Buffett I told people if they had a chance to see him…do it. His concerts were the perfect place to take a date to. I’ve never been to a concert that was such a party atmosphere. I saw him twice and remember Beach Balls being up in the air the entire concert…swatted by the audience. 

The song is the title track of Buffett’s 1977 album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. This album marked a turning point in Buffett’s career, contributing to his growing popularity and being known as “Gulf and Western,” a blend of country, folk, rock, and Caribbean influences.

This was also the name of his seventh studio album which included the song he was forever known for, Margaritaville. The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Album Charts, #2 on the Billboard Country Charts, and #43 in Canada in 1977. 

The song peaked at #37 on the Billboard 100, #24 on the Billboard Country Charts, #34 in Canada, and #21 on the Canadian Country Charts in 1977.

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I took off for a weekend last month just to try and recall the whole yearAll of the faces and all of the places wonderin’ where they all disappearedI didn’t ponder the question too long, I was hungry and went out for a biteRan into a chum with a bottle of rum and we wound up drinkin’ all night

It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudesNothing remains quite the sameWith all of our running and all of our cunningIf we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I’ve beenVisions of good times that brought so much pleasure makes me want to go back againIf it suddenly ended tomorrow I could somehow adjust to the fallGood times and riches and son-of-a-bitches I’ve seen more than I can recall

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudesNothing remains quite the sameThrough all of the islands and all of the highlandsIf we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane

I think about Paris when I’m high on red wine I wish I could jump on a planeSo many nights I just dream of the ocean, god I wish I was sailin’ againOh, yesterday’s over my shoulder, so I can’t look back for too longThere’s just too much to see waiting in front of me and I know that I just can’t go wrong

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudesNothing remains quite the sameWith all of my running and all of my cunningIf I couldn’t laugh I just would go insaneIf we couldn’t laugh we just would go insaneIf we weren’t all crazy we would go insane

..

Don Mclean – American Pie

Thanks to Dave for posting this on his site. Below is the request that we got to write about. “There are many great songs about music, so let’s highlight them. Pick a song you like either about music itself (eg, ‘I love Music’ and so on)  or about the life of a musician making music . Or anything else you can think of about music… about music! “

I sometimes go for the B sides or ones that aren’t heard as much. Not this time!

I remember when I was 5-6 years old and listening to this song. The verses I ignored at the time and enjoyed the chorus immensely going around singing it and being told to shut up already by my sister. I guess a six-year-old singing Bye, bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die, This’ll be the day that I die… would get old but hey…I had good taste anyway (better than my sister).

It’s a song that I don’t get tired of…ever. When I think of it I think of my childhood and also a big dose of pop culture. We all know that the day the music died was pointing to the Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper plane crash. The rest builds up and between the lines, he sings about a lot of events and artists.

Where do I begin with this one? The song has so many references that it acts as a pop culture index by itself. I have read about college classes just on this song. It has been inspected and dissected since its release. Long after Don McLean leaves this earth…the song will be inspected and dissected again and again.

We do know the song was inspired by Buddy Holly… What does it all mean? While being interviewed in 1991, McLean was asked for probably the 1000th time “What does the song ‘American Pie’ mean to you?,” to which he answered, “It means never having to work again for the rest of my life.” Now that is a great and honest answer by Mclean.

In 2015 he opened up about the song and sold the original lyrics for 1.2 million dollars. This time he answered the question seriously. “It was an indescribable photograph of America that I tried to capture in words and music.” He also said that American Pie was Buddy Holly’s airplane that crashed…it was a made-up name by McLean because the company that owned the plane didn’t name any of them. “People ask me if I left the lyrics open to ambiguity, of course, I did. I wanted to make a whole series of complex statements. The lyrics had to do with the state of society at the time.”

In later years I would buy the single and try to figure out who he was talking about. Some of the lyrics include references to Karl Marx (or Groucho Marx), Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (or John Lennon), the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, The Byrds; James Dean; Charles Manson; the Rolling Stones; the “widowed bride,” Jackie Kennedy, Jimi Hendrix, the Vietnam War, The Fillmore East, and more.

This song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in New Zealand, and #2 in the UK in 1972. If you want more… here is a website PDF that breaks down the song line by line of their interpretation.

I’ll let Don McLean talk about the song: “For some reason, I wanted to write a big song about America and about politics, but I wanted to do it in a different way. As I was fiddling around, I started singing this thing about the Buddy Holly crash, the thing that came out (singing), ‘Long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.’

I thought, Whoa, what’s that? And then the day the music died, it just came out. And I said, Oh, that is such a great idea. And so that’s all I had. And then I thought, I can’t have another slow song on this record. I’ve got to speed this up. I came up with this chorus, crazy chorus. And then one time about a month later I just woke up and wrote the other five verses. Because I realized what it was, I knew what I had. And basically, all I had to do was speed up the slow verse with the chorus and then slow down the last verse so it was like the first verse, and then tell the story, which was a dream. It is from all these fantasies, all these memories that I made personal. Buddy Holly’s death to me was a personal tragedy. As a child, a 15-year-old, I had no idea that nobody else felt that way much. I mean, I went to school and mentioned it and they said, ‘So what?’ So I carried this yearning and longing, if you will, this weird sadness that would overtake me when I would look at this album, The Buddy Holly Story because that was my last Buddy record before he passed away.”

American Pie

A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn’t take one more step

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now, do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin’

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Now, for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But, that’s not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin’

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast

It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

‘Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin’

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again

So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan’s spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin’

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

They were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die

Jo Jo Gunne – Run Run Run

I was reading an article by Dave about Jay Ferguson and he mentioned this band. I thought the band’s name sounded familiar. When I heard it I remembered this song on A.M. radio as a kid.

They formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they left the band Spirit. They were known for their hits like I Got A Line On You, Nature’s Way, and the song “Taurus” which Spirit claims resembles Stairway To Heaven a little too much.

In the early seventies, David Geffen tried to get someone to sign Jackson Browne. He was turned down by almost all of the record companies. What is that old saying? “If the Mountain won’t go to Mohammed, then Mohammed must come to the Mountain.” So Geffen made his own record company to sign Jackson Browne. He called this record company Asylum.

His first signing was, of course, Jackson Browne. His second signing was Jo Jo Gunne. After Jo Jo Gunne came The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill, Bob Dylan (for two albums), Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, and Warren Zevon. That is a hell of a roster.  The band included Jay Ferguson (vocals, keyboards) and Mark Andes (bass), the original lineup of Jo Jo Gunne included Matt Andes (guitar) and William “Curly” Smith (drums).

Jo Jo Gunne debut album

This song peaked at #27 on the Billboard 100, #30 in Canada, and #6 in the UK in 1972. The song was on their self-titled debut album. They released 5 albums altogether and the last one was in 2005 called Big Chain.

Despite the initial success of this song… Jo Jo Gunne did not achieve lasting mainstream popularity and they are often considered a one-hit wonder. Jay Ferguson went on to have hits on his own hit, Thunder Island peaked at #9 in America in 1978, and Shakedown Cruise #31 in 1979.

Run Run Run

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

You’d better ride on baby,You was born outside of the lawRunRun

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Oh load up your mama,W’ll ride on out to the lineRunRun

RunOhRun

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Oh welcome to the party,We’re all just papers in the windRunRun

Elton John – Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) 

A fun song that has a bit more of a kick than a regular Elton John song.

The song was written by Elton, who wrote the music, and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin who wrote the lyrics. He said it was his first attempt at writing a rock song that was totally English. Up until then, he focused on American Culture.

This song is about Taupin’s teen years going to British dance clubs, where fights were common. Many of Taupin’s songs are written to relate to Elton’s life, but not this one…it’s very unlikely that Elton would be fighting in a bar. Elton recorded this song while leaping around and standing up to get a certain feel.

The song was on the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and parts of it were recorded in Jamaica. This could very well be Elton John’s best album. It contained the title song, Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, and more. It was during a period when John and Taupin could do no wrong…they had the Midas touch. Everything they touched turned to gold and more times platinum. Between 1969 to 1976 the pair released 11 albums. Six of those were #1 in the Billboard 100 and all of them made it to the top ten.

The album was released in 1973 and it peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in the UK, and #5 in New Zealand in 1973.

The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100, #20 in Canada, #7 in the UK, and #12 in New Zealand in 1973.

As with other Elton songs…I was surprised when I saw the lyrics. He is one of the hardest singers to nail down the words I’ve ever heard…for me anyway. The line about getting drunk is brilliant…”Get about as oiled as a diesel train” but for the longest, I would just mumble… blah blah blah blah DIESEL TRAIN. This song though is clearer than some of his others.

Bernie Taupin on recording some of the album in Jamaica: “The climate was hospitable, but the natives weren’t. To use the terminology of the time, it was not a ‘good vibe.’ I remember a lot of barbed wire around the studio and armed guards. We spent a lot of time congregating around the pool area of the hotel, feeling there was safety in numbers. The Stones did manage to record there, but in retrospect, I think they had a mobile unit with them. The only thing I remember trying to record was ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting.’ It was an aborted attempt, just atrocious.”

Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

It’s getting late, have you seen my mates?
Ma tell me when the boys get here
It’s seven o’clock and I want to rock
Want to get a belly full of beer

My old man’s drunker than a barrel full of monkeys
And my old lady she don’t care
My sister looks cute in her braces and boots
A handful of grease in her hair

Don’t give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night’s alright for fighting
Get a little action in

Get about as oiled as a diesel train
Gonna set this dance alight
‘Cause Saturday night’s the night I like
Saturday night’s alright alright alright

Well they’re packed pretty tight in here tonight
I’m looking for a dolly who’ll see me right
I may use a little muscle to get what I need
I may sink a little drink and shout out “She’s with me!”

A couple of the sounds that I really like
Are the sounds of a switchblade and a motorbike
I’m a juvenile product of the working class
Whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass

Don’t give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night’s alright for fighting
Get a little action in

Get about as oiled as a diesel train
Gonna set this dance alight
‘Cause Saturday night’s the night I like
Saturday night’s alright alright alright

Don’t give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night’s alright for fighting
Get a little action in

Get about as oiled as a diesel train
Gonna set this dance alight
‘Cause Saturday night’s the night I like
Saturday night’s alright alright alright

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday,
Saturday night’s alright

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday,
Saturday night’s alright

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday,
Saturday night’s alright

Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris – In My Hour of Darkness

I was talking to a friend of mine who is reading a Gram Parsons book and I learned something from him that I didn’t know about this song. This song is a tragic song about three friends. Linda Ronstadt also appears on this one. The song is credited to Parsons and Harris. 

 The song is structured as a series of verses recounting the stories of three real individuals, each meeting a tragic end. The first verse of this song is about actor/musician Brandon deWilde. Parsons was friends with deWilde in the sixties and early seventies. He was in films and TV shows such as Shane, The Virginian TV Series, Hawaii Five-O, and many others. He started a music career and Gram Parsons helped him out in the sixties. Some have said no one could sing harmony better with Gram than deWilde excluding Harris. 

In 1972 he was in Denver doing a stage production of Butterflies Are Free and he was killed in a camper van that hit a guardrail, truck, and then rolled. He was 30 years old. 

The second verse was about Byrds’ extremely gifted guitar player Clarence White. An incredible country guitar player who co-invented with Gene Parsons the B-Bender that Telecasters use. He joined the Byrds around the time that Gram was leaving. He and his brother Roland White were loading equipment in their car and a drunk driver killed Clarence but Roland survived. 

The third person was Sid Kaiser, a talent agent and producer in Los Angeles.  He died of a heart attack a few days after Clarence White. Gram would pass on a few months after Keiser. 

The sessions for “Grievous Angel” took place in 1973, primarily at Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles. Parsons worked with renowned musicians, including members of Elvis Presley’s TCB Band: James Burton (guitar), Glen D. Hardin (piano), and Ronnie Tutt (drums), among others.

Rock critic Ben Fong-Torres: “Because Gram never lived to see through the details of the album including the order of songs…’Darkness’ was placed at the end of the second side, partly because it made sense, and partly because it could easily be read as a song about Gram himself, in particular, the lines he wrote for Clarence:”

In My Hour of Darkness

In my hour of darknessIn my time of needOh Lord, grant me visionOh Lord, grant me speed

Once I knew a young manWent driving through the nightMiles and miles without a wordWith just his high beam lightsWho’d have ever thought they’d buildSuch a deadly Denver bendTo be so strong, to take so longAs it would ’til the end

In my hour of darknessIn my time of needOh Lord, grant me visionOh Lord, grant me speed

Another young man safely strummedHis silver string guitarAnd he played to people everywhereSome say he was a starBut he was just a country boyHis simple songs confessAnd the music he had in himSo very few possess

In my hour of darknessIn my time of needOh Lord, grant me visionOh Lord, grant me speed

Then there was an old manKind and wise with ageAnd he read me just like a bookAnd he never missed a pageAnd I loved him like my fatherAnd I loved him like my friendAnd I knew his time would shortly comeBut I did not know just when

In my hour of darknessIn my time of needOh Lord, grant me visionOh Lord, grant me speed

Oh Lord, grant me visionOh Lord, grant me speed

1970s Amicus Anthology Horror Films

I love horror anthologies. They were really big in the early seventies. The Amicus Productions company made quite a few good ones. I remember some of these as a kid…especially Tales from the Crypt. I’m going to list my top 5 of only Amicus today.

I am working on a post that lists my favorite 5-10 Anthologies of all time. Today I want to focus on the British film company Amicus. One actor that they depended on a lot was Peter Cushing. He is in all of the ones below except for Vault Of Horror.

Amicus Productions was a British film production company specializing in horror and suspense anthology films during the 1960s and 1970s. The company was founded in 1962 by Americans Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, who aimed to replicate the success of Hammer Film Productions, another prominent British studio known for its horror films.

Despite their success, Amicus struggled financially in the late 1970s due to changing audience tastes and the declining popularity of horror anthology films. Milton Subotsky eventually left the company in 1975, and without his creative leadership, Amicus gradually faded from the spotlight.

The good news though… it was announced in 2023 that Amicus will be coming back to film production…they are trying to make a film called In The Grip of Terror.

Below are the 5 and most descriptions I got from IMDB. My favorite anthology horror is at the bottom.

Asylum 1972

A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to satisfy a requirement for employment. He hears stories about 1) the revenge of a murdered wife, 2) a tailor who makes a suit with some highly unusual qualities, 3) a woman who questions her sanity when it appears that her brother is conspiring against her, and 4) a man who builds tiny toy robots with lifelike human heads.

Vault Of Horror 1973

Five strangers board a descending lift, one by one, in a modern office block in London. They reach the sub-basement and find a large, elaborately furnished room that appears to be a gentlemen’s club. Resigned to waiting for help, they settle down with drinks and talk. The conversation turns to dreams, and each man tells of a recurring nightmare. Tom Baker is in the last episode of this one. My personal favorite Doctor of the Doctor Who franchise.

The complete movie!

From Beyond The Grave

The first tale, titled “The Gate Crasher” stars David Warner and has a sort of Hellraiser feel about it, as he buys an old mirror from the antique store and it turns out to be inhabited by a ghost-like thing that entices Warner into bringing it fresh blood. It’s not a bad story, though I feel that more could have been made of it. 2) Story number two is the best and focuses on a man who steals a war medal from the antique store to impress a former army man and ends up getting more than he bargained for. This tale is very strange and stars Donald Pleasance in one of his weirder roles. It’s imaginative and inventive, and therefore interesting as it’s impossible to tell where it’s going. 3)  Story number three, “The Elemental” is a fun little story, though there isn’t really a great deal of point to it. 4) The fourth and final tale appears to be the centerpiece and focuses on an old wooden door that gives way to an expansive blue room. This is a decent little story and we get to watch Lesley-Anne Down wielding an axe, which makes it worthwhile.

Overall, From Beyond the Grave is everything an anthology should be: it’s fun and interesting in the right places. There are plenty of plot holes, but also no need to pay them any mind. From Beyond the Grave comes highly recommended to horror fans!

The House That Dripped Blood

Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Joss Ackland, Jon Pertwee all star in this 4 story anthology.

A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house and its tragic previous tenants: 1) A hack novelist encounters a strangler who’s the villain of his books, leading his wife to question his sanity, 2) Two men are obsessed with a wax figure of a woman from their past, 3) A little girl with a stern, widowed father displays an interest in witchcraft, and 4) An arrogant horror film actor purchases a black cloak which gives him a vampire’s powers.

Here is the complete movie!

Tales From The Crypt

Joan Collins, Peter Cushing are among the actors in the movie.  To me… this is the best anthology horror. Five people meet deep in a cave and they don’t know how they got there. They soon find out how and why and what is about to happen to them.

Five people come upon a catacomb and take the tour. After they get lost, they find they’re trapped, and they see The Crypt Keeper (Sir Ralph Richardson). He asks them each to see why they’re there: (1) And All Through the House: Christmas Eve, Joanne Clayton (Dame Joan Collins) kills her husband (Martin Boddey) expecting to receive his insurance. She hears on the wireless that the police are seeking an escaped homicidal maniac posing as Santa. When the man knocks on her door, she can’t phone the Police, and she has a Christmas surprise. (2) Reflection of Death: Carl Maitland (Ian Hendry) leaves his wife (Susan Denny) and children for his mistress, but something happens during his journey. (3) Poetic Justice: the widowed janitor, Arthur Edward Grimsdyke (Peter Cushing) is a good man who spends his leisure time with the children from the neighborhood. His heartless neighbor doesn’t like him and destroys his life, leading Grimsdyke to commit suicide on Valentine’s Day. A year later, Grimsdyke rises from his tomb seeking revenge. (4) Wish You Were Here: dirty businessman Ralph Jason (Richard Greene) is bankrupt, and his lawyer and friend, Charles Gregory (Roy Dotrice), tells him he must sell his real estate. When he tells his wife Enid (Barbara Murray), she recalls they have a statue with a legend; it’ll grant three wishes to the owner. She makes the wishes, and leads Ralph to eternal damnation. (5) Blind Alleys: cruel Major Rogers (Nigel Patrick) comes to the Elmridge home for the blind, with his dog, to be the new director. He tortures the internees until the day they get revenge. Soon, the internees discover they’re at the gate of Hell.

Thin Lizzy – Bad Reputation

Happy Mother’s Day!

What a groundbreaking band Thin Lizzy was at the time. You had a black Irish singer, Phil Lynott,  who reminded people of Van Morrison singing and a little of Springsteen in some of his writing…all in a harder rock format. Thin Lizzy revolutionized the dual synchronized guitar attack. Other bands that did the same in the future would use Thin Lizzy as a how-to guide.

The dual guitar is on display here…one playing lead and the other playing the same lead an octave higher. Other bands had two and sometimes three guitarists but they usually didn’t play in unison like Thin Lizzy. It made for a different sound. Now you can use a guitar effect to get close to that on one guitar. Brian May would do it with Queen at times on recordings.

The song was written by Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, and Phil Lynott. It was on the album Bad Reputation released in 1977. The album peaked at #4 in the UK, #39 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #44 in Canada. The album sold very well and went gold.

The song was not a hit but it was played on FM radio stations at the time. It’s one of the songs they are remembered by like Whiskey In A Jar, The Boys Are Back In Town, Jailbreak, and my personal favorite The Cowboy Song.

The members of Thin Lizzy were bassist and singer Phil Lynott, Drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Brian Robertson, and guitarist Scott Gorham. Gary Moore was a member for a few months and also Them’s keyboardist Erix Wrixon but Moore and Wrixon didn’t stay long.

Scott Gorham: “Well, I had the riff down. Phil came up and he says, ‘We need to do an off-time thing with this.’ He started to work with Brian Downey on that, and that’s when they came up with this strange timing that you don’t usually associate with Thin Lizzy. I listened to that and went, ‘Man, that is so fu–ing cool, it’s unbelievable,’ and I jumped in on it. Then it kind of developed itself from there.”

“‘Bad Reputation’ was one of those songs that came together really quickly, as soon as we had that off-timing tagline come in, everything just fell into place, all the harmony guitar work and all that, the lead guitar thing. Phil’s idea from it, from the riff itself, he just thought, you know, something along the lines of, ‘Man, this could give us a really bad reputation. That’s it. That’s what we’re going to call this song.’ And he started writing this song called ‘Bad Reputation.'”

Bad Reputation

You’ve got a bad reputationThat’s the word out on the townIt gives a certain fascinationBut it can only bring you down

You better turn yourself aroundTurn yourself aroundTurn it upside downTurn yourself around

You had bad breaks, well, that’s tough luckYou play too hard, too much rough stuffYou’re too sly, so coldThat bad reputation has made you old

Turn yourself aroundTurn yourself aroundTurn it upside downTurn yourself around

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Shotgun Blues

You know I’m gonna shoot my woman
Cause she’s foolin’ around with too many men

Before I start this I want to thank Randy from Mostly Music Covers. While writing this up the song title I had was “Bring Me My Shotgun” but I couldn’t find the album it was on. I’m a babe in the woods with blues…so I asked Randy and Shotgun Blues was recorded in 1948. As far as I can tell he did re-record many of his songs and this one around 1960. I’ll include the earlier version of Shotgun Blues and the 1960 version named Bring Me My Shotgun..at least for this post. He would change up the lyrics in some versions. What made it confusing was that he changed the way he did the vocals a little as well… again thank you, Randy.

I’m sitting with headphones on listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins and it’s like he is in the room with me. I’ve never posted anything about him before but I wanted to clear that up today.

He was born in Texas and He grew up in a musical family and learned the blues from his older cousin, country blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson. Jefferson and Hopkins started to play together at church gatherings. Hopkins started performing in the 1920s and 1930s in the local Texas blues scene. By the mid-30s Hopkins was sent to a prison farm but the reason is unknown. He described working on a road gang and being shackled to his bunk at night.

In the mid-1940s he was teamed with a Houston piano player named Wilson “Thunder” Smith. They were known as Thunder an’ Lightnin’ and they had a local hit named Katie May with Aladdin Records. Hopkins would record with many different labels throughout the rest of his life. The Folk-Blues revival was stirring in 1959, and Folkways producer Sam Charters persuaded Lightning (with the help of a bottle of gin!) to record 10 tracks in the shabby room where he had been living in Houston. I have one of them below called “Hopkins Sky Hop.” Bring Me My Shotgun was released in 1960.

He started to get popular, especially with the British white soon-to-be musicians. He worked the College and club circuit, toured Europe with the Folk/Blues Festival, and starred at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. He found an appreciative new audience of rock fans who heard this great guitarist who lived the blues.

He later headlined over the Jefferson Airplane and he played with the Grateful Dead a few times. He recorded dozens of albums through the 60s and 70s. He finally left us in 1982.

Bring Me My Shotgun

Woah, go bring me my shotgun
Oh I’m gonna start shootin’ again
Go bring me my shotgun
You know I just got to start shootin’ again
You know I’m gonna shoot my woman
Cause she’s foolin’ around with too many men

Yes bring me my shotgun
Yes man and a pocket full of shells
Yes go bring me my shotgun
Yes man and a pocket full of shells
Yeah you know I’m gonna kill that woman
I’m gonna throw her in that old deep dug well
Hide her from everybody they won’t know where she at

That woman said Lightnin’ you can’t shoot me
She said now you is dead of tryin’
I don’t take a day off for nobody
She said Lightnin’ you can’t shoot me
She said yes and you dare to try
I said the only reason I don’t shoot you little woman
My double barrel shotgun, it just won’t fire

Tom Robinson Band – Up Against The Wall

High wire fencing on the playgroundHigh rise housing all aroundHigh rise prices on the high streetHigh time to pull it all down

I’ve heard of this band…Dave posted something before but I never listened to a lot of their songs. CB sent me a link and off I went. The Tom Robinson Band was a British rock band formed in 1976. The band was named after its frontman, Tom Robinson, a singer-songwriter and bassist. Their music was influenced by punk rock and new wave, and they were associated with the punk scene in London during the late 1970s.

Truth is…I could have picked MANY songs but this one talked to me. It’s fairly well known and since I always like to pick a song that would ring a bell for the first song of an artist I never posted before…I picked this one. He did have a top 10 hit in the UK in 1977 with 2-4-6-8 Motorway. More than punk or new wave…he reminds me a lot of Springsteen, Joplin, and Phil Lynott…spitting out words like his life depended on it. You can see, feel, and hear the intensity as he sings. These are the kind of artists that I like… the ones that give you everything they have. Robinson not only gave everything but is a hell of a writer on top of that.

He often addressed political and social issues, including themes of anti-racism, LGBT rights, and other causes. Tom Robinson himself was openly gay in the 1970s, and this was reflected in his music, making him an important figure in that community at the time.

This song was inspired by actual events, particularly the “Battle of Lewisham” in 1977, where anti-fascist protesters clashed with members of the National Front during a march. The song captures the tension and conflict between protesters and police.

TRB Power In the Darkness

This song was on his album Power in the Darkness album released in 1977. Robinson and Roy Butterfield wrote this song. The album peaked at #4 in the UK and #144 on the Billboard Album Charts. One note about the album which I think is brilliant. They included a stencil much like the album cover but with a warning…”This stencil is not meant for spraying on public property!!!

The song peaked at #33 in the UK in 1978.

Up Against The Wall

Darkhaired dangerous schoolkidsVicious, suspicious sixteenJet-black blazers at the bus stopSullen, unhealthy and meanTeenage guerillas on the tarmacFighting in the middle of the roadSupercharged FS1Es on the asphaltThe kids are coming in from the cold

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wall…

High wire fencing on the playgroundHigh rise housing all aroundHigh rise prices on the high streetHigh time to pull it all downWhite boys kicking in a windowStraight girls watching where they goneNever trust a copper in a crime carJust whose side are you on?

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wall…Against the wall

Consternation in BrixtonRioting in Notting Hill GateFascists marching on the high streetCarving up the welfare stateOperator get me the hotlineFather can you hear me at all?Telephone kiosk out of orderSpraycan writing on the wall

Look out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallLook out, listen can you hear itPanic in the County HallLook out, listen can you hear itWhitehall, up against a wallUp against the wallUp against the wall

Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey Album

I don’t do many album reviews because frankly…I think other people do them better but sometimes I cannot resist…and this is one of them.

When I was 18 or so, I ordered exports from Tower Records because you could not just go to many record stores in America and buy a Them album in the eighties.

I bought the “Backtracking” album which was a compilation of Them. His voice blew me away. That is when I looked in the Van Morrison section for the albums I could buy there. The first album I bought…just by chance…was Tupelo Honey.  Compared to the raw intense Them songs…this was a totally different ballgame. The songs’ production values and sophistication were in a new league.

Van Morrison - Tuepelo Honey 2

Personally, I really like this album. I thought it was a great introduction to his catalog.  Is it his best? No, it’s not, but for a beginner Van fan, it was a great introduction album. The songs on Tupelo Honey are very radio-friendly. After this album I bought Moondance, His Band and Street Choir, Veendon Fleece, etc…the 8 albums up to Wavelength. After that, I started on the 80’s catalog.

He made this album in 1971 when he moved to Northern California with his wife Janet Planet who was from that area. He originally wanted to make a country album. Soon that idea was dropped and he worked with Ted Templeton as producer. He used a lot of unused songs that he had.

The opening track Wild Night has an irresistible hook and is one of Van’s best-known songs. The title track may be my favorite Van Morrison song period. The only song that I would skip when I got the album, and still do, is I Wanna Roo You. In Moonshine Whiskey and some other songs, you can hear some of the country album he was going to make.

Another favorite on the album is Old Old Woodstock and he puts you there with his lyrics and the feel of the song. You’re My Woman was a song for Janet Planet and I’ve always liked that one.

The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard Album Charts and #32 in Canada in  1971.

Again, this is not Van’s best album but it got me into his solo career. It’s a great-sounding album and one of Van’s most commercial. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to explore Van the Man’s catalog.

Tracklist

Wild Night
(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball
Old Old Woodstock
Starting a New Life
You’re My Woman
Tupelo Honey
I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative)
When That Evening Sun Goes Down
Moonshine Whiskey

I could not find the complete album on Spotify so I found it all grouped together on YouTube with this link

Tupelo Honey

You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail right around the seven oceans
Drop it straight into the deep blue sea
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You can’t stop us on the road to freedom
You can’t keep us ’cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor bent on chivalry
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You can’t stop us on the road to freedom
You can’t stop us ’cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor intent on chivalry
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

You know she’s alright
You know she’s alright with me
She’s alright, she’s alright (she’s an angel)

You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail it right around the seven oceans
Drop it smack dab in the middle of the deep blue sea
Because she’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
She’s an angel of the first degree
She’s as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like the honey, baby, from the bee
She’s my baby, you know she’s alright…..

Crow – Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)

I was browsing through songs to write about and this title jumped out at me. I had to listen to it and I recognized it right away. It’s probably been the 70s since I heard this one last. Who ever recorded the bass in this song knew what they were doing…it’s crystal clear in front.

Crow was a blues rock band from Minneapolis and their first band name was South 40. They formed in 1967 and their members were brothers guitarist Dick Wiegand and bassist Larry Wiegand, singer David Wagner, keyboardist Kink Middlemist, and drummer Harry Nehls who was replaced by Denny Craswell.

Crow gained popularity locally in Minneapolis and then expanded their reach by touring regionally. They built a strong reputation for their live performances and powerful blues-rock sound. In 1969, Crow signed a record deal with Amaret Records.

This song was on their debut album called Crow Music. It was their only big hit. and peaked at #15 in Canada and #17 on the Billboard 100 in 1969. Many people will know the song because Black Sabbath covered it with the name of just Evil Woman and it was their first single.

The band broke up in 1972…they reformed in 1980 with a different lineup. In 2005,  they were inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame and, in 2009, the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Hall of Fame. I had no clue they had those Hall of Fames in those states. They still play once in a while in the Midwest.

Larry Wiegand bass player:  “It was not a fictional story but had the same inspiration as Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Both tell the story of a guy who was accused of being the father of a gal’s baby. He claims he isn’t the father. ‘Evil woman, don’t play those games with me’ is his response to her accusations. Not an uncommon story for young folks – then or now. All the Crow songs were about what young folks had to deal with at one time or another. I like to think each song is a snapshot of what was happening to us at the time.”

Black Sabbath’s cover

Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)

I see the look of evil in your eyes
You’ve been filling me all full of lies
The morrow will not change your shameful deed
You will be someone else’ fertile seed
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me

Now I know just what your looking for
You want me to claim this child you bore
But I know that it was he, not me
And you know just how it’s got to be
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me

Wickedness lies in your moistened lips
Your body moves just like the crack of a whip
Black cats lay atop your satin bed
You sure wish that you could see me dead
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me
Evil woman, don’t play your games with me

Jim Croce – I Got A Name

When I hear this song it automatically makes me feel good but it’s also tinged with sadness because of what happened before this was released.

Whenever I think of Jim Croce…I think of his album that my sister and I played when I was 6 and 7 years old.  It was the first time I ever heard about a star dying. I heard it on the radio when I was 7. My sister had his greatest hits and I played it non-stop. This one is easy for kids to remember. This song has been played to death and I wasn’t going to post it…but after listening to it I admit I was enjoying the song again.

Jim Croce and guitarist  Maury Muehleisen died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973. The song peaked at #1 in July of 1973 and was still on the charts when the accident happened. There were 3 stars around this time that died and that stuck with me for the rest of my life. Jim Croce, David “Stringbean” Akeman, and Don Rich the lead guitarist for Buck Owens a year later. As a kid I knew Croce the best and I couldn’t fully comprehend what was going on.

On September 20, 1973, a chartered small plane attempted to take off in thick fog from Natchitoches in Louisiana, bound for Sherman, Texas. On reaching the end of the runway, the pilot suffered a heart attack and lost control of the aircraft and they hit a tree. No one survived.

Jim Croce was not a pin-up model…he looked like a regular blue-collar worker going to work on a construction site. He and Maury Muehleisen were pure magic on guitars. I didn’t realize how good they were together until years later after I started playing guitar.

This song was the title track to his album, released 3 months after he died. The song was used as the theme song of the soundtrack to a 1973 movie, The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges and based on the life of stock-car racing driver Junior Johnson. Croce and Muehleisen didn’t write this song which surprised me. The song is credited to Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It’s been used in other movies as well since then like the 2012 film Django Unchained.

The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100 and #8 in Canada in 1974. The album I Got A Name peaked at #2 on the Billboard Album Charts and #2 in Canada.

Ingrid Croce (Jim’s wife):   “More people think he wrote that song. His voice was so unique… the timbre in his tone and his warmth and his generosity, everything came through that voice. So when he took a song, he’d make it his own, and I think he did a great job with ‘I’ve Got A Name.’ So many people like to think of Jim with that song that I hate to tell them it isn’t his.”

Producer Terry Cashman:  “We recorded it because Jim was going to get a lot of money to record the song, and if it was released as a single, it would be the main title of a movie called The Last American Hero. So it wasn’t a song that Jim wrote on the guitar with Maury [Muehleisen]. Tommy and Jimmy and Maury and myself came up with the arrangement together. It was a different kind of animal. We did that song with just the tracks for us, and then recorded Jim’s voice over it, which is the way most people did records in those days. But most people think that Jim wrote that song because it sounds like the other songs, and then the production of course is a little bit more elaborate. It was different in that way, but Maury has a big guitar part and it certainly sounded like one of his records. And it became one of his most popular records. You know, a lot of people have covered that song, and it’s been used in a number of other movies.”

I Got A Name

Like the pine trees linin’ the windin’ road
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
Like the singin’ bird and the croakin’ toad
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I’m living the dream that he kept hid

Movin’ me down the highway, rollin’ me down the highway
Movin’ ahead so life won’t pass me by

Like the north wind whistlin’ down the sky
I’ve got a song, I’ve got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby’s cry
I’ve got a song, I’ve got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I’ll go there proud

Movin’ me down the highway, rollin’ me down the highway
Movin’ ahead so life won’t pass me by

And I’m gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I’ll always be
I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream
They can change their minds but they can’t change me
I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream
Oh, I know I could share it if you want me to
If you’re goin’ my way, I’ll go with you

Movin’ me down the highway, rollin’ me down the highway
Movin’ ahead so life won’t pass me by
Movin’ me down the highway, rollin’ me down the highway
Movin’ ahead so life won’t pass me by

New Riders of the Purple Sage –  Lonesome L.A. Cowboy

This is a band I’ve read about and I’ve liked most of what I’ve heard. They have a long history and are still going now. The membership is fluid in this band. Many have performed with them including Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Spencer Dryden, Robert Hunter, and more.

This band grew out of jam sessions between Jerry Garcia and John “Marmaduke” Dawson in 1969. Their name was based on a band that included Foy Willing and The Riders of the Purple Sage…yea they just added the “new” and off they went…it worked. Jerry Garcia was learning the pedal steel guitar and they played a few small clubs initially. The two soon picked up Peter Grant on banjo, David Nelson on lead guitar, Bob Mathews on bass, and Mickey Hart on drums and that was the beginning of  The New Riders of the Purple Sage.

They would often open for the Grateful Dead. Garcia would leave in 1971 but he would go back to them from time to time and play with them live and on albums. Garcia had many side projects going on when the Dead were not touring and recording.

From what I’ve heard of this band…I think of the Flying Burrito Brothers. I love name-dropping songs and this one has them. Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and Martin Mull was mentioned. Along with L.A.’s music hangouts like Barney’s Beanery and the Troubadour. The song was on the album The Adventures of Panama Red and was written by Peter Rowan. It peaked at #55 on the Billboard 100.

And off of their website: The New Riders of the Purple Sage received a Lifetime Achievement Award from High Times magazine at their Doobie Awards in September 2002 and performed a brief set (which included “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” and “Panama Red” with Peter Rowan) at the festivities at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York City.

Henry’s taken the brakes off and 2006 finds the New Riders of the Purple Sage back on the road with a revived and inspired lineup, bringing the songs of John Dawson back to the ears of adoring crowds nationwide as well as taking those songs to places they’ve never been before musically. Led by David Nelson and Buddy Cage, the current touring lineup includes Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna) on guitar and vocals, Ronnie Penque on bass and vocals and Johnny Markowski on drums and vocals. John Dawson passed away on July 21 2009 but before he passed he had given the guys his blessing and was excited to know his music is being heard live again by a whole new generation of fans. The new lineup vows to keep the NRPS spirit and tunes alive by taking them to fans everywhere.  In 2009 the band released its first studio album in 20 years called Where I Come From on Woodstock Records. It features new songs written by David Nelson and Robert Hunter, Michael Falzarano, Johnny Markowski, and Ronnie Penque. The band continues to grow breaking out new songs on every tour while staying true to the legacy that was started over 40 years ago by John Dawson and Jerry Garcia.

Lonesome L.A. Cowboy

I’m just a lonesome l.a. cowboy,Hangin’ out, hangin’ onTo your window ledge, callin’ your nameFrom midnight until dawnI been smokin’ dope, snortin’ coke,Tryin’ to write a songForgettin’ everything I know‘Til the next line comes alongForgettin’ everything I know‘Til the next line comes alongThere’s so many pretty people in the city,I swear some of them are girlsI meet’em down at Barney’s beaneryWith their platform heels and spit curlsI buy’em drinks, we smoke our hopesTry to make it one more nightBut when I’m left all alone at lastI feel like I’ll die from frightRepeat Well, I know Kris and Rita, and Marty MullAre meeting at the troubadourWe’ll get it on with the joy of cookingWhile the crowd crys out for more‘Round six o’clock this morningI’ll be gettin’ kind of slowWhen all the shows are over, honey,Tell me, where do you think I go?Repeat

Quicksilver Messenger Service – Fresh Air

This is a band I knew nothing about going in but I have a new respect for them now. I didn’t think I knew any of their songs…but I have heard this one. When I pick these bands that I’m learning about I usually pick a radio-friendly song to introduce them. After listening to their songs…there are songs I like a little more but this one is great and I’ve heard it somewhere at some point. It’s a cool song.

Quicksilver Messenger Service was formed in 1965 and quickly rose to prominence alongside peers like Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape,  and Grateful Dead. With their melodies, guitar work, and some experimentation, Quicksilver became synonymous with the psychedelic scene. The members included John Cipollina on guitar, Gary Duncan on guitar, Greg Elmore on drums, David Freiberg on bass, and Jim Murray on guitar and harmonica…it also included the famous British session player Nicky Hopkins at one time. In 1970 it included Dino Valenti.

Their history is confusing because I get different stories as I read on. One of the members and possibly the founding member was Chester William Powers, Jr. He was known as Chet Powers and his stage name was Dino Valenti. But we are not done…as a songwriter he was known as Jesse Oris Farrow. He wrote the very popular “Get Together” made famous by The Youngbloods in 1967. He and Gary Duncan wrote this song…Fresh Air.

It seems that Cipollina and Duncan helped form the band with Dino Valenti in 1964-65. Valenti was busted for pot and amphetamine possession right after and sold his rights to Get Together for a legal defense. He spent time in jail until 1968. When he got out he made a solo album and even opened up for Jimi Hendrix at the Fillmore West. He would finally join Quicksilver in late 1969 or early 1970.

Fresh Air was released as a single in 1970 and also appeared on their album Just for Love. The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard Album Charts and #49 on the Billboard 100. Dino Valenti does the lead vocals on this song. They were a popular band because 4 of their album were in the top 30 of the Billboard Album Charts.

There is much more history to this band than I have of course. I will post another one by them shortly and expand on some of their history.

The band is still going with David Freiberg.

David Freiberg on the name: “Originally there were four Virgos in the band, and one Gemini. Of the four Virgos, there were only two birthdays: John and I were born on August 24, and Gary and Greg were born on September 4…. The ruling planet for Virgo in astrology is Mercury, and it is for Gemini also. So in searching for a name, we said, ‘Well, let’s see – mercury’s the same as quicksilver, right? Mercury’s the messenger god? Quicksilver Messenger Service.’” 

John Cipollina: It was Valenti who organized the group. I can remember everything Dino said. “We were all going to have wireless guitars. We were going to have leather jackets made with hooks that we could hook these wireless instruments right into. And we were gonna have these chicks, backup rhythm sections that were gonna dress like American Indians with real short little dresses on and they were gonna have tambourines and the clappers in the tambourines were going to be silver coins.” And I’m sitting there going, ‘This guy is gonna happen and we’re gonna set the world on its ear.’

Gary Duncan: That’s the story Cipollina told everybody. But according to Dino, that wasn’t the case at all. When he’d been looking for a band, he’d talked to Cipollina, and everybody somehow put two and two together. He actually lived with us when he got out of prison, and while we played some music together and wrote songs, he had no interest in playing in Quicksilver; he wanted to start his own career. Well, when his own career didn’t do so well, he had more interest in playing in Quicksilver!

Fresh Air

Oh, what you do to me
Oh, what you do to me, little girl
Oh, have another hit of sweet air
Oh, have another hit

I want to know where you going
I want to know, sweet mama, where you gonna go?
Oh, have another hit of fresh air
Oh, have another hit

Oh, baby what you gonna do?
I what to know what you gonna do sweet thing?
Oh, have another hit of sweet love in the morning
Oh, have another hit

I love you, yes I do
I love you, god knows I do
Oh, have another hit of sweet California sunshine
Oh, have another hit

Take me home, take me home
Take me home, I wanna go home with you
Oh, have another hit of fresh air
Oh, have another hit

Savoy Brown – A Hard Way To Go

I’ve heard a lot about this band but never listened to them much. Yesterday I did and they were stacked with great musicians. They have a big blues punch and melodic songs.

I just started to listen to many of their songs and this one caught my attention because of the tight bass intro. That is when I noticed a little of Santana’s sound in there as well. This song is a brief 2:20. If you get a chance on Spotify or Youtube…check them out. So far I’ve been going through their first 4 albums.

They are a British blues rock band formed in 1965 by guitarist Kim Simmonds. They are one of the pioneering bands of the British blues rock scene and bands like The Rolling Stones and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

Over the years, the band’s lineup has changed numerous times, with Simmonds being the only constant member. Savoy Brown has released over 30 albums, with their early work being highly influential in the blues-rock genre.

Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna

They have Kim Simmonds’ expressive guitar work and the band’s tight rhythm section. The song was on the album Raw Sienna released in 1970. The album peaked at #75 in Canada and #121 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was written by the then lead singer Chris Youlden who would be with Savoy Brown from 1967 to 1970.

A Hard Way To Go

Ain’t got time for doubts or fearsAin’t got time for shallow tearsAin’t got time to bare my soulBecause I still got a hard way to go

Said that you got a losing handAin’t no point in you raising sandAin’t got time to bare your soulBecause I still got a hard way to go

And it’s a crying shameThat you can’t lay the blameOn anybody else but yourself

Wish that you had my sympathyYou ain’t got no hold on meAnd my heart is getting coldAnd I still got a hard way to go

And it’s a crying shameThat you can’t lay the blameOn anybody else but yourself

And I still got a hard way to go