Last week in the YouTube comments column someone had remarked the Obi track reminded them of Nick Drake's 'From the Morning'. This in turn triggered my memory of when Margaret, unfamiliar with his music, asked Alexa to play songs by Nick Drake.
The resulting playlist that followed included a veritable who's who of classic singer/songwriters:- Tom Waits, John Martyn, Gordon Lightfoot, CSNY, America, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Donavan, Cat Stevens, Tracy Chapman & Sandy Denny - all came up...
Explore your own playlist, starting with 'From the Morning' by Nick Drake > 

"Now we rise / And we are everywhere"

I noticed another comment on YouTube that said:- 

"I like the fact that the final song on the last album recorded in Nick Drake's lifetime was actually a song of hope and inspiration! "

 

This week I have mostly been cycling !
But what music was in my head ? ...on our route along the Kennet & Avon canal from Bristol to Reading (and onto Hurley).
I did some research on Beats Per Minute & Heart Rate and toyed with the idea of finding a nice steady beat (a cadence) to pedal along to. Nothing to energetic. This resulted in various speeds [108-115 bpms] and many tracks on playlists and 'Happy Cycling Mixes', with some great pieces to consider. Then I came upon this video about actually cycling along the Kennet and Avon that ends with this track which seemed ideal. 'Somewhere Nicer' too.

So this is British indie-pop group Obi singing 'Somewhere Nicer' > 

The video of the actual cycle I found is here for those interested. Pedal here 👉

Not exactly our route, but mostly the same.

 

Big band. Big concert.

And when The Edge's guitar comes chiming in - the reaction, is just amazing !

Clearly that tells you this is U2. In concert from 2001 on their Elevation Tour Live in Boston [video: strobe warning] - go Full Screen. 

Performing 'Stay + Bad + Where the Streets Have No Name' - 'No barriers, no limitations'

U2: Elevation Tour - Live In Boston [DVD] - check out the whole concert, it's brilliant. 

 

I seem to remember I promised awhile ago another performer from Rick Beato's Top Female artists list.
Brazilian Lari Basilio plays guitar with a smooth latin vibe, jazzy and rocky, while clearly enjoying herself enormously. 

Here she is playing a track titled 'Not Alone' in the 'Guitarguitar' music store in Birmingham. Dare I say she needs the money for some new jeans ? No, that would make me sounds old fashioned right 😏

There's plenty of different tracks (and different guitars) on YouTube: 

Check out:-  'Far More' [with a band in the studio]; Her Signature Ibanez guitar track 'Novo'; & 'New Time' - [beach video]. Simply search Lari Basilio 

 

I somehow can't ignore all these rousing Football singalongs any longer. Side-stepping the obvious 'Three Lions' and 'Seven Nation Army', likewise 'Yes Sir, I Can Boogie' and going for a screamer. 
'Chelsea Dagger' by The Fratellis comes to mind, especially after seeing the fun McDonalds ad currently showing during most half-time breaks [link]. But that is possibly a bit much, so I've gone for the full on goal celebration that is 'Song 2' by Blur. Woo-hoo...

> This track is also being used in another ad right now for airbnb. 

Action Replay - just hit the play button again 😁

The Smiths have been described, among other things, as 'miserablists'. It is something of a joke that most of the songs before you even get to the chorus there's been mention of panic, murder, being dragged down, corrodes my soul, dreaded sunny day, bludgeoned, murderous desire, feel so lonely, so sad. I'll stop there, but you get the idea…. However their songs were often as not far more cheerful and full of life, almost Merrie Melodies (looney tunes) > no not that !!

'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' from 1984 by The Smiths was only 2 minutes long, this version by the band's guitarist Johnny Marr features some beautiful guitar work. (You don't get Morrissey's voice here but instead you get Marr's astonishing guitar work) > mellow out everyone, and get what you want

KCRW session from 2013: [KCRW is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California]

More Summery sounds this week.

Tristen Gaspadarek was discovered via Cerys on Radio 6 when I heard her version of 'A Case of You' - a cover of a Joni Mitchell song [though very different from her original] containing some nice laid-back guitar. Known simply as Tristen, I then came across 'Glass Jar' with it's wonderful Rickenbacker Guitar Sound (guitars known for their bright jangle and chime) and it immediately feels like Summer and a jingle jangle morning - hope you like it 

- She has a new album just out called 'Aquatic Flowers' 

We have waited long enough for some Summer sunshine, so finally I can spin this track and greet the day with a warm outlook and recount this tale from yester year.

From the John Peel column in 'Sounds' - September 1976

He writes of a new ritual at his home .... "Whosoever rises first - and this is usually me - goes straight to the stereo and cranking the decrepit machinery up to full volume, fills the house with the stirring strains of Poco's 'Rose of Cimarron'. 

Naturally, being decent, god-fearing folk, we eschew the mildly beastly edited single version and go instead to the full-blooded 6 minute and 40 second version. As soon as the ecstatic guitar break has faded away, the rest of the house rise from their beds, their eyes shining with a strange light, the spirits uplifted. 

I suspect that repeated exposure to 'Rose of Cimarron' could raise you to a similar state of bliss." 

So here it is [remember full volume] > Poco - and one of my favourite tracks ever -

"Hey Joe"- famously the first single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is also a real 'Whodunit' ? The authorship of the song is contested by quite a cast of writers and the credits roll at some length.
Californian-based folk musician Billy Roberts registered the copyright in 1962. Scottish singer Len Partridge claimed he helped write the song. Friend of Roberts, Dino Valenti also copyrighted the composition in 1963. All this while claims of inspiration to various earlier works with similar lyrics and chords plus the assertion that "Hey Joe" was a traditional song. Which includes Tim Rose, who recorded the song in 1966 and said he'd learned it in 1960 from folk singer Vince Martin, but added his own arrangement to the traditional song.
Either way the Jimi Hendrix version, most of us know, was inspired by Rose's rendition. While in the year 2000: 'Total Guitar' magazine ranked it as their 13th greatest cover version of all time.
All that said today's Star Track is another cover of "Hey Joe" - this one an extraordinary performance from 1976 'live' in Austin, Texas by Roy Buchanan. A pioneer of the Fender Telecaster sound he never achieved stardom in his life but is definitely a highly influential and versatile guitar player. This almost languid run through showcases his style and ends with a brief tribute to Jimi, from Roy Buchanan > 

> Check out "The Messiah Will Come Again' - it's a must ! [here] - with no effects pedals !

Plenty more on YouTube, including a 1973 OGWT, with three songs and an interview with 'Whispering Bob'. [link to] 

And finally to the 'Covers' of Bob Dylan songs. 

There's a crazy amount to choose from and personal preference is always going to be the case, but some versions really did add something to the original and have gone down in music history as classics in their own right.

I'll not contemplate a list here, only to suggest that today's Star Track is widely considered one of the very best cover versions: 'All Along the Watchtower' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Say no more >

By way of a little diversion, I found this clip of Jeff Beck as he demonstrates the amazing Fender Stratocaster - "Same guitar" [click here]