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General Comments for all Naweedna CDs

 Will Moyle’s Jazz Alive, a locally produced master collection of classic jazz. The Will Moyle stuff is the best collection of jazz I’ve ever heard. I taped it in the 80s from WXXI broadcasts.

 FFUSA: Folk Festival USA, a nationally distributed collection of excerpts recorded live at various folk festivals around the country – varying from traditional country to purely ethnic, to socio-political (one lesbian festival, in fact). FFUSA is eclectic, and the live recordings often catch a lot of crowd noise as well as bad microphone placement. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

 GTWG: The Glory That Was Grease, another locally produced broadcast that featured the formative years of Rock and Roll from the 50s and 60s – my youth. The “Grease” may have been “Greece”, the Rochester suburb where the program originated. The GTWG is marginal but good for reminding my generation of their teenage years – if that can be considered a good thing. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

 BBGR: Big Band Go Round, yet another local program featuring … Big Band, but also including most anything recorded from the 20s to 50s. The BBGR is so broad that it is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere. However, you have to have a fondness for the crackle of scratchy old 78’s and an appetite for schmaltz to fully appreciate it. Originally taped in the 80s.

 PHC & PHC-D: Prairie Home Companion – the middle years. I didn’t get started with PHC until the 80s, so I missed the early period, and I stopped taping when Garrison retired – for the first time. Remember the unfortunate guy who took over the time slot from Garrison? Me, neither. AS IF anyone could do that – a classic no-win situation. When Garrison un-retired (like Michael Jordan), the second version of the show was based in NYC, and I didn’t care for it that much, so I didn’t tape it. A few years later I discovered that he had gone back to the old format and was broadcasting from St Paul MN again. I’ve been digitizing those programs in real time ever since, and they are designated as PHC-D. The PHC stuff contains the essence of American music – in my not-so-humble opinion. The only nationally broadcast show that ever came close to matching PHC for quality and variety was the TV show, Northern Exposure – go figure. I have two Northern CDs; if there are more, I would like to know about them ASAP.

 Recording & Release Dates: The parenthetical numbers appended at the end of track titles represent the release date of the album or CD source. These dates are as accurate as I can obtain. The dates for some tracks from compilations reflect the release date of the compilation. Format: (xx, yy) where xx = last two digits of recording date; yy = last two digits of release date.

As usual, my comments are in blue. The other information comes from www.allmusic.com and various lyrics sources. Additions and corrections are welcome … encouraged, in fact.

In Memoriam … 2010:  Kate McGarrigle Obituary

The Playlist and Notes for Naweedna 2010-YAY(Sides)

01 Not Easy - Dan Hicks Where's The Money 1971

This track intro always elicits a smile from us … we thought it might do the same for you. Dan’s got it right … it’s not easy. But it sure is fun ;-)

Lyrics Okay, I think you can figure out the lyrics …

Where's the Money? 4.5 Stars Checked 1971 Pop/Rock Before they could release a second album of their patented good-time hippie acoustic swing, Hicks and his band parted company with Epic records. That their fresh start would be marked by the release of a live set may seem odd at first. But the album does in fact capture a certain intimacy missing from their studio debut. Songs that would remain staples of the Hot Licks repertoire for years to come are found in their most well-known versions here, including the title track, "I Feel Like Singing," "Shorty Falls in Love," and "By Hook or By Crook." The between-song banter even stands up to repeated listenings. It's not often that can be said about a live recording.

Dan Hicks

Throughout his decades-long career, Dan Hicks stood as one of contemporary music's true eccentrics. While steeped in folk, his acoustic sound knew few musical boundaries, drawing on country, call-and- response vocals, jazz phrasing and no small amount of humor to create a distinctive, albeit sporadic, body of work which earned him a devoted cult following.

Hicks was born December 9, 1941 to a military family then living in Arkansas, and grew up in California, where he was a drummer in a number of high school bands. He attended college in San Francisco, where he switched to guitar and began playing folk music. He returned to the drums, however, when he joined the Charlatans, one of the Bay City's first psychedelic bands. Although the Charlatans were short-lived - they issued only one single during their existence - they proved influential throughout the San Francisco musical community, and were one of the first acts the play the legendary Family Dog.

Hicks had formed the acoustic group Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks in 1968 as an opener for the Charlatans, but soon the new band became his primary project. After adding a pair of female backing vocalists - "the Lickettes" - the group issued its debut LP Original Recordings in 1969. After a pair of 1971 records, Where's the Money? and Striking It Rich, they issued 1973's Last Train to Hicksville, which proved to be the Hot Licks most successful album yet. At the peak of the group's popularity, however, Hicks dissolved the band, and did not resurface until 1978, releasing the solo LP It Happened One Bite, the soundtrack to an uncompleted feature by animator Ralph Bakshi. He then phased in and out of the music industry for more than a decade, and did not issue another major recording until 1994's Shootin' Straight, a live recording cut with a new band, the Acoustic Warriors In 2000, over two decades after the group's dissolution, Hicks reformed the Hot Licks and issued Beatin' The Heat. Alive and Lickin' arrived a year later.

02 The World's Green Laughter - The B-52's Good Stuff 1992

Oh, this one’s been sitting in the Naweedna queue for a couple years. We decided this was the year to include it, so here it is. It makes me chuckle and that seems appropriate for this year’s offerings. I really don’t know anything about The B-52’s … but I do know I like this track … a lot. Music doesn’t have to be serious to be good. The CD came to us through the good graces of Joe Spollen – thanks, Joe.

Lyrics Hmmm, no lyrics again …

Good Stuff 2 Stars 1992 Rock

If Cosmic Thing found them returned to most-favored party band status, this followup gamely soldiers on in similar fashion. Without Cindy Wilson, Good Stuff becomes Kate Pierson's showcase, while even Fred Schneider turns in his most purely musical performance to date. If the B-52's hit some dead ends while trying to stretch out a bit, be assured there are enough classic bits to make this one worthwhile.

The B-52's The first of many acts to cement the college town of Athens, GA, as a hotbed of alternative music, the B-52's took their name from the Southern slang for the mile-high bouffant wigs sported by singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, a look emblematic of the band's campy, thrift-store aesthetic. The five-piece group, which also included founding members Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother), and drummer Keith Strickland, formed in the mid-'70s after a drunken evening at a Chinese restaurant; the bandmembers had little or no previous musical experience, and performed most of their earliest shows with taped guitar and percussion accompaniment.

After pressing up a few thousand copies of the single "Rock Lobster," the B-52's traveled to the famed Max's Kansas City club for their first paying gig. Subsequent appearances at CBGB's brought the group to the attention of the New York press, and in 1979, they issued their self-titled debut album, a collection of manic, bizarre, and eminently danceable songs which scored an underground club hit with a reworked version of "Rock Lobster." The following year, they issued Wild Planet, which reached the Top 20 on the U.S. album charts; Party Mix!, an EP's worth of reworked material from the band's first two proper outings, appeared in 1981.

1982's Mesopotamia arose out of a series of aborted sessions with producer David Byrne which saw the B-52's largely abandon their trademark sense of humor, a situation rectified by the next year's Whammy!, a move into electronic territory. After a Schneider solo LP, 1984's Fred Schneider & the Shake Society, the group returned to the studio to record 1986's Bouncing Off the Satellites. On October 12, 1985, however, Ricky Wilson died; though originally his death was attributed to natural causes, it was later revealed that he had succumbed to AIDS. In light of Wilson's death, the group found it impossible to promote the new album, and they spent the next several years in seclusion.

In 1989, the B-52's finally returned with Cosmic Thing, their most commercially successful effort to date. Marked by Strickland's move from drums to guitar and club-friendly production from Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the album launched several hit singles, including the party smash "Love Shack," "Roam," and "Deadbeat Club." In 1990, Cindy Wilson retired from active duty, leaving the remaining trio to soldier on for 1992's Good Stuff. A year later, dubbed the BC-52's, they performed the theme song for Steven Spielberg's live-action feature The Flintsones. Wilson returned to the group for a tour supporting the release of 1998's hits collection Time Capsule.

03 Navajo Rug – Ian Tyson Cowboyography 1987

This was slated for inclusion the very first time I heard it. The more I hear it; the more I like it. Just good and simple music. We got this track from Bob Mahoney … think I need to buy the whole CD ;-)

Lyrics Well it's two eggs up on whiskey toast, home fries on the side, Wash it down with road house coffee, burns up your insides, Just a canyon Colorado diner, and a waitress I did love, I sat in the back ‘neath an old stuffed bear, and a worn out Navajo rug. Now old Jack, the boss, he left at six, and it's Katie bar the door, She'd pull down that Navajo rug, and spread it across the floor, Hey I saw lightning cross, the sacred mountains, saw woven turtle doves, I was lying next to Katie, on that old Navajo rug.

Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue, Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you Katie, shades of red and blue?

Well I saw old Jack, about a year ago, said the place burned to the ground, And all I saved was this old bear tooth, and Katie, she left town, Ah, but Katie got her souvenir to; Jack spat a tobacco plug, Well you should have seen her comin’ through the smoke, Draggin’ that Navajo rug,

Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue, Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you?

So every time I cross the sacred mountains, and lightning breaks above, It always takes me back in time, to my long lost Katie love, But everything keeps on moving, and every body’s on the go, Hey, you don't find things that last anymore, like an old woven Navajo,

Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue, Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you, Katie, shades of red and blue, Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you?

Cowboyography 3 Stars 1987 Country

One of the few Ian Tyson albums to be released in the United States, Cowboyography is also one of his best records, demonstrating his skill for melding traditional western musical and lyrical themes with contemporary arrangements, productions and sensibilities.

Ian Tyson

Half of the early-'60s folk group Ian & Sylvia, Ian Tyson retreated from performing and recording after the duo disbanded in the mid-'70s to become a rancher in the foothills of Southern Alberta, Canada. He quietly returned to music-making in the 1980s, releasing a series of albums that focused on detailed songs about the concerns of the working cowboy.

Tyson was born in Victoria, British Columbia. As a child he was involved in rodeo, not music -- he didn't learn to play the guitar until he was recovering from rodeo-related injuries. In the late '50s, he began performing as a folk singer. In 1961, he met singer/songwriter Sylvia Fricker and the two musicians began performing together; they also married three years later. Ian & Sylvia and their band, Great Speckled Bird, became popular on the folk scene and released their self-titled debut album in 1962. In 1963, they released Four Strong Winds; the title track, written by Tyson, became a folk standard. Ian & Sylvia successfully recorded together through the mid-'70s. The duo also began hosting a television show, Nashville North, which became the Ian Tyson Show when the couple split up in the middle of the decade.

After Ian & Sylvia's break-up, Tyson recorded Ol'Eon. He temporarily retired from recording in 1979 to work his ranch, but returned with Old Corrals and Sagebrush in 1983. In 1984, he toured with Ricky Skaggs and also released an eponymous album. Tyson released a third album, Cowboyography, two years later, and in 1991, he released another popular Canadian album, And Stood There Amazed, which contained the hits "Springtime in Alberta" and "Black Nights." Subsequent releases include 1994's Eighteen Inches of Rain, 1996's All the Good 'Uns and 1999's Lost Herd. Tyson released Live at Longview in 2002, followed by Songs from the Gravel Road in 2005.

04 Blue Light Boogie, Part 1 – Louis Jordan Anthology 1938-1953

I’ve wanted to include a Louis Jordan track from the very first. However, picking one of his many great tunes was very difficult – just look at the tracks mentioned in the CD review and Jordan bio below. Then, sometime over the last year, I heard this track and thought: Yeah, that’s the one; it goes into Naweedna 2010 for sure. Hope you like it as much as we do. We purchased the Anthology CD set on Mahoney’s suggestion … and are very glad we did.

Lyrics BLUE LIGHT BOOGIE (Robinson)

Recorded by: Mary Coughlan; Jellyroll; Jive At Five; Louis Jordan; Magic Sam; Taj Mahal; Jim Mesi; Texana Dames.

They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low

1 I went to a party, was nothin’ there but bobby socks Went to a party, man you oughta seen ‘em to reel and rock They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low

2 I started rockin’, man I threw my left foot out. I started swingin’, somebody begin to shout You got to Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low You got to Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low

3 The girls boys, they made so much noise They even had a raid But when the police got there all they could find Was ice cream and lemonade

4 Oh what a party I'm so glad I didn't stay at home Oh what a party They didn't treat me like I was a chaperone They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low

repeat 2

5 The Women had they're heads laid on their fellas' shoulders Who were boogie-woogeyin’ and squeezin’ em up in the room I couldn't see how they was dancin’ Cuz their feet, they didn't move

repeat 4

Let the Good Times Roll: Anthology 1938-1953 1938-53, 1999 5 Stars Jazz

Overlooking Bear Family's comprehensive nine-disc box, this double-CD set is the best reissue ever on Louis Jordan, and the first truly comprehensive domestic release on Jordan's work to feature state-of- the-art sound. There are holes — only a relative handful of the tracks that Jordan and the Tympany Five recorded in 1939 and 1940 are included, although those that are here represent most of the best of them — but not huge ones, and every major Jordan track from 15 years of work is present. The quality of the digital transfers is as alluring than the selection, the mastering so clean, that it sounds 20 years newer than one could ever expect any of it to, based on their actual ages. The 1941 vintage "Pan Pan" and "Saxa-Woogie" place the band practically in the listener's lap, with solos on clarinet, tenor sax, etc., that have smooth, rippling textures and barely a trace of the noise one should expect from early '40s tracks bumped to digital — and the fidelity of these, and "Boogie Woogie Came to Town," "Rusty Dusty Blues," etc., all run circles around any earlier reissues. Similarly, the drums, high-hat, trumpet, sax and ensemble singing on "Five Guys Named Moe" are crisp enough to pass for modern re-records, except they're not. Indeed, until you get to "Ration Blues," from 1943, there aren't many overt hints of the compression inherent masters of this vintage, and that's the exception — "G.I. Jive" and "Caldonia," cut one and two years later, have the kind of sound textures one more expects out of audiophile releases. Disc Two opens with "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," a perfect blueprint in style and execution (check out Carl Hogan's guitar intro) for the sound that Chuck Berry popularized ten years later. Of the later material, only "Run Joe" sounds a little less distinct than the rest. "Life Is So Peculiar" features Louis Armstrong, as vocalist with Jordan, in a beguilingly funny duet from 1951. By that time, Jordan's formula for success was past its prime, and he and Decca records were looking for new approaches — "Teardrops from My Eyes" wasn't it, adding an obtrusive organ played by Wild Bill Davis to the mix. The later incarnation of Jordan's band on these tracks is a more restrained and sophisticated big-band unit, without much of the wild jump-blues feel of the '40s Tympany Five — a 19-year-old Oliver Nelson can be heard on alto sax, incidentally — but occasionally they capture the feel of the old band, as on "Fat Sam from Birmingham." This version of the band and the way they're recorded are still superior to the incarnations of Jordan's group that turn up on his later recordings for Aladdin and Mercury.

Louis Jordan

Effervescent saxophonist Louis Jordan was one of the chief architects and prime progenitors of the R&B idiom. His pioneering use of jumping shuffle rhythms in a small combo context was copied far and wide during the 1940s.

Jordan's sensational hit-laden run with Decca Records contained a raft of seminal performances, featuring inevitably infectious backing by his band, the Tympany Five, and Jordan's own searing alto sax and street corner jive-loaded sense of humor. Jordan was one of the first Black entertainers to sell appreciably in the pop sector; his Decca duet mates included Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The son of a musician, Jordan spent time as a youth with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and majored in music later on at Arkansas Baptist College. After moving with his family to Philadelphia in 1932, Jordan hooked up with pianist Clarence Williams. He joined the orchestra of drummer Chick Webb in 1936 and remained there until 1938. Having polished up his singing abilities with Webb's outfit, Jordan was ready to strike out on his own.

The saxist's first 78 for Decca in 1938, "Honey in the Bee Ball," billed his combo as the Elks Rendezvous Band (after the Harlem nightspot that he frequently played at). From 1939 on, though, Jordan fronted the Tympany Five, a sturdy little aggregation often expanding over quintet status that featured some well-known musicians over the years: pianists Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, guitarists Carl Hogan and Bill Jennings, bassist Dallas Bartley, and drummer Chris Columbus all passed through the ranks.

From 1942 to 1951, Jordan scored an astonishing 57 R&B chart hits (all on Decca), beginning with the humorous blues "I'm Gonna Leave You on the Outskirts of Town" and finishing with "Weak Minded Blues." In between, he drew up what amounted to an easily followed blueprint for the development of R&B (and for that matter, rock & roll — the accessibly swinging shuffles of Bill Haley & the Comets were directly descended from Jordan; Haley often pointed to his Decca labelmate as profoundly influencing his approach).

"G.I. Jive," "Caldonia," "Buzz Me," "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie," "Ain't That Just like a Woman," "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens," "Boogie Woogie Blue Plate," "Beans and Cornbread," "Saturday Night Fish Fry," and "Blue Light Boogie" — every one of those classics topped the R&B lists, and there were plenty more that did precisely the same thing. Black audiences coast-to-coast were breathlessly jitterbugging to Jordan's jumping jive (and one suspects, more than a few Whites kicked up their heels to those same platters as well).

The saxist was particularly popular during World War II. He recorded prolifically for the Armed Forces Radio Service and the V-Disc program. Jordan's massive popularity also translated onto the silver screen — he filmed a series of wonderful short musicals during the late '40s that were decidedly short on plot but long on visual versions of his hits (Caldonia, Reet Petite & Gone, Look Out Sister, and Beware, along with countless soundies) that give us an enlightening peek at just what made him such a beloved entertainer. Jordan also cameo-ed in a big-budget Hollywood wartime musical, Follow the Boys.

A brief attempt at fronting a big band in 1951 proved an ill-fated venture, but it didn't dim his ebullience. In 1952, tongue firmly planted in cheek, he offered himself as a candidate for the highest office in the land on the amusing Decca outing "Jordan for President."

Even though his singles were still eminently solid, they weren't selling like they used to by 1954. So after an incredible run of more than a decade-and-a-half, Jordan moved over to the Mesner brothers' Los Angeles-based Aladdin logo at the start of the year. Alas, time had passed the great pioneer by — "Dad Gum Ya Hide Boy," "Messy Bessy," "If I Had Any Sense," and the rest of his Aladdin output sounds great in retrospect, but it wasn't what young R&B fans were searching for at the time. In 1955, he switched to RCA's short-lived "X" imprint, where he tried to remain up-to-date by issuing "Rock 'N' Roll Call."

A blistering Quincy Jones-arranged date for Mercury in 1956 deftly updated Jordan's classics for the rock & roll crowd, with hellfire renditions of "Let the Good Times Roll," "Salt Pork, West Virginia," and "Beware" benefiting from the blasting lead guitar of Mickey Baker and Sam "The Man" Taylor's muscular tenor sax. There was even time to indulge in a little torrid jazz at Mercury; "The JAMF," from a 1957 LP called Man, We're Wailin', was a sizzling indication of what a fine saxist Jordan was.

Ray Charles had long cited Jordan as a primary influence (he lovingly covered Jordan's "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Early in the Morning"), and paid him back by signing Jordan to the Genius' Tangerine label. Once again, the fickle public largely ignored his worthwhile 1962-64 offerings.

Lounge gigs still offered the saxman a steady income, though, and he adjusted his onstage playlist accordingly. A 1973 album for the French Black & Blue logo found Jordan covering Mac Davis's "I Believe in Music" (can't get much loungier than that!). A heart attack silenced this visionary in 1975, but not before he acted as the bridge between the big-band era and the rise of R&B.

His profile continues to rise posthumously, in large part due to the recent acclaimed Broadway musical Five Guys Named Moe, based on Jordan's bubbly, romping repertoire and charismatic persona.

05 NaCl (Sodium Chloride) – Kate & Anna McGarrigle McGarrigle Hour 1998

From the CD jewel case insert …NaCl: This little gem originally appeared on Pronto Monto. Kate studied Chemistry in high school and at McGill and hated it, but something must have stuck. One afternoon in 1972, she wrote this at the piano in about 10 minutes.

Kate McGarrigle: singer and songwriter … (Obituary)

We lost a good one this year. Kate & Anna have quite the extended family: Kate's ex-husband Loudon Wainwright and their progeny, Rufus. Then there all the artists they’ve worked with over the years – including Maria Muldaur who did a good job with “Cool River”. Mahoney put us onto the McGarrigle Hour CD and it has loads of great tunes – many of which have been in the Naweedna queue for some time. Thus, it seemed appropriate to commemorate Kate’s passing with one of her tunes. I picked NaCl because its humor seemed to fit with this year’s special offerings … and it’s Geochemisty. Oh, and I just love the “whoop, whoop” background.

Lyrics NaCl (Sodium Chloride) Kate McGarrigle, Garden Court Music ASCAP

Just a little atom of chlorine Valence minus one Swimming thru the sea, digging the scene Just having fun She's not worried about the shape or size Of her outside shell It's fun to ionize Just a little atom of Cl With an unfilled shell

But somewhere in that sea lurks Handsome Sodium With enough electrons on his outside shell Plus that extra one Somewhere in this deep blue sea There's a negative For my extra energy yes Somewhere in this foam My positive will find a home

Then unsuspecting Chlorine Felt a magnetic pull She looked down and her outside Shell was full Sodium cried "what a gas be my bride and I'll change your name from Chlorine to Chloride"

Now the sea evaporates to make the clouds For the rain and snow Leaving her chemical compounds in the absence

Of H2O But the crystals that wash upon the shore Are happy ones So if you never thought before Think of the love that you eat When you salt your meat Think of the love that you eat When you salt your meat

The McGarrigle Hour 4 Stars 1998 Folk

An interesting idea, given the talented family tree of the McGarrigle Sisters: Gather the family together (including Kate's ex-husband Loudon Wainwright) and record a CD as they play the family piano and sing traditional folk tunes, originals, and old pop standards. Add in some friends (Emmylou Harris turning in a stirring vocal on "Skip Rope Song"), Linda Ronstadt, and Chaim Tannenbaum, and the end result is a pleasant yet somewhat mediocre CD. But even a mediocre release from this family has several redeeming qualities. Kate and Anna's harmonies have never sounded tighter, and the choice of using Joe Boyd as producer (he produced their first two albums) was a good one, as he seems able to highlight their vocals and harmonies. There are some truly amazing songs as well, especially when they tackle pure, traditional folk tunes. Loudon Wainwright's "Schooldays," the opening track, is an early highlight, featuring great vocals and a great tune. The traditional folk song "Dig My Grave," featuring Chaim Tannenbaum, is chilling, and Anna's version of her own "Cool River" is incredibly moving — all beautiful songs. The problem with this album is that there are no new songs, which is a real shame since this is the follow-up to 1996's brilliant Matapedia. This may be a small complaint, as the songs all mean something to the family, as evidenced in the notes in the package. Overall, however, a good album, but not the best release from the McGarrigles.

McGarrigles Kate (b.1946) and Anna (b.1944) McGarrigle are Canadian songwriting sisters whose work first came to international recognition in 1974 when Linda Ronstadt recorded Anna's "Heart Like a Wheel" as the title song to one of her albums. The sisters were signed to Warner Brothers and recorded Kate & Anna McGarrigle, an album of deeply felt (sometimes deeply funny) songs with a homey, eclectic folk backing and tart, striking vocals. It was widely hailed. Its two follow-ups seemed rushed, though they contained some good songs. In 1981, the sisters (having left Warner) recorded French Record for Joe Boyd's Hannibal label, and it showed considerable charm. Love Over and Over, in 1982, marked a move toward rock that cheered fans but also turned out to be their last album for almost a decade.

In the meantime, they raised families and ventured out every now and then to play a few rapturously received dates, especially in the Northeast. At one of these in the late '80s, they said they'd been working on a musical with producer Roma Baran. That project never came to fruition, but in 1990 they finally returned to the record racks with Heartbeats Accelerating. The McGarrigle Hour followed in 1998.

06 Mfan' Omncane - Dorothy Masuka Putumayo - Women Of Africa 2004

Name this tune – in English, please! It is familiar, but none of us – including The Music Man, Mahoney – can come up with a title. I just know it is a standard Big Band Jazz tune but … what’s the name? I tried translating the title to no avail. Soooo, if you can come up with the name, you win a free CD next year ;-)

After Adam Schroeder gave us some Putumayo stuff, I went about collecting all their offerings I could find. We now have 67 Putumayo CDs in our collection. Impressive, eh? The very first time I heard this track on the Women Of Africa compilation, I was hooked … but bugged by not knowing the title in a language I understand. Now I’m looking for more Dorothy Masuka ;-)

Lyrics You tell me ;-)

Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa 3 Stars 2004 World

While the African music scene is currently dominated largely by men, there has never been any stigma to speak of against women performing (with the possible exception of some of the North African Islamic nations). The catch is that women tended historically to spend less time playing instruments in favor of other portions of the rituals and work, and stayed primarily within the vocal field as a result. Putumayo is taking advantage of this to combine three of their favorite forms of compilation: African music, women's music, and vocal music. The range here covers essentially the whole of Africa, with representatives from each of the major areas. South African Judith Sephuma opens the album with a contemporary piece, followed by Benin's great Angélique Kidjo with something based on Brazilian idioms. Following the Portuguese influence a step further (or closer, as the case may be), Maria de Barros performs a bit of morna from Cape Verde before the album makes a return to South Africa with Sibongile Khumalo. A quick run to the east allows for a nice Malagasy work from Tarika, and a jump north to Cameroon precedes the third South African piece, this time a bit of classic jazz from Dorothy Masuka. Firmly moving away from the South African sphere of influence, a wonderful piece from the often-excluded Comoros is included, preceding Ivorian Dobet Gnahore with a chipper work. A beautiful ballad from Souad Massi's Island release takes up the North African end, followed by an acoustic guitar-based rhythm from Burundi's Khadja Nin. Closing the album is a bit of female isicathamiya, courtesy of the Women of Mambazo, led by Joseph Shabalala's wife prior to her murder. Overall, it's quite a good album, with nice coverage of the various regions and the use of some underexposed but noteworthy artists. The only possible complaint would be that it's a bit heavy on South African music.

Dorothy Masuka Dorothy Masuka was born in Rhodesia but received her schooling in South Africa and chose to stay there after graduating in order to pursue a musical career. She started out in a show called African Jazz and Variety, with Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and others, imitating American jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald. With the full-blown emergence of Apartheid in Rhodesia, she moved to London where she lived for many years, performing on one occasion at Wembley during Harold Wilson's election campaign. Masuka went back to Rhodesia in 1965 but left again and did not return until 1980.

Masuka's musical style is known as mabira: a fusion of swing and Zulu melodies, sung with great force and intensity. Her earlier songs, and most notably "Kutheni Zulu," were hard-edged and political, but she has since chosen to de-emphasize polemics in favor of poetics. Masuka's songs in the 1990s are upbeat and chipper. A veteran performer now, with more than 40 years of performing and touring under her belt, she is finally enjoying celebrity status in the world music world and hopes to crown her career by attaining the financial security that most African performers still lack.

07 Deed I Do – Hot Club Of Cowtown PHC (2004.03.27)

Oh yeah, I’m a push over for Western Swing. Apparently, Garrison Keillor is too – he’s had the Hot Club Of Cowtown on PHC several times over the years. Elana Fremerman, for whatever reason, changed her name to Elana James, but no matter what name she goes by, she’s a great proponent of Western Swing and this track shows off her talents particularly well.

Lyrics Do I want you? Oh my! Do I! Honey, deed I do!

Do I need you? Oh my! Do I! Honey, deed I do!

I'm glad that I'm the one who found you, That's why I'm always hangin' around you . . .

Do I love you? Oh my! Do I! Honey, deed I do!

( instrumental repeat of verse )

Honey, deed I do!

( instrumental repeat of verse )

Hmm! Honey, deed I do! I'm glad that I'm the one who found you, That's why I'm always hangin' around you . . .

Oh! Do I love you? Oh my! Do I! Honey, deed I do!

Ah Deed I Do!

Hot Club Of Cowtown

Western swing revivalists Hot Club of Cowtown formed in San Diego in 1996; originally a duo pairing singer/violinist Elana Fremerman and singer/guitarist Whit Smith, a subsequent move to Austin, TX made room for the addition of bassist Billy Horton. Signing to HighTone, the trio issued their debut album Swingin' Stampede! in the fall of 1998; the follow-up, Tall Tales, appeared a year later. New bassist Matt Weiner joined Smith and Fremerman for 2000's Dev'lish Mary. 2002's Ghost Train came two years later, and it showed the group focusing more on original material and cutting back on the amount of covers.

Elana Fremerman (violin/vocals) Whit Smith (guitar/vocals Billy Horton (bass/vocals) Peter Ecklund (cornet) Marty Laster (violin)

08 She Just Wants To Dance – Keb’ Mo’ Keb’ Mo’ 1994

Oh, I’ve been wanting to include a Keb’ Mo’ for years. I just couldn’t pick a track. Well, during our evaluation this last year, we came across this one … a definite for inclusion. After putting in all the “must includes” for this year’s offering, I found I had a little room for … She Just Wants To Dance.

Lyrics When the music starts to playin She slides out on the floor Dancing without a partner Swaying on the two and four

There's a rhythm in her footsteps And a flower in her hair A smile on her face Cause she's in a place Where she don't have a care

She ain't looking for no lover She ain't looking for a romance She just wants to dance She just wants to dance Yeah she just wants to dance Ooo she just wants to dance

Well she's moving kinda lazy And it's obvious to me This little girl ain't crazy She's as wild as she is free

She can feel it in her fingers And it moves on down her spine And when it hits her hips She parts her lips And you know she's feeling fine

She ain't looking for no lover She ain't looking for a romance She just wants to dance She just wants to dance Yeah she just wants to dance She just wants to dance Oh go on get it girl

She ain't looking for no lover She ain't looking for a romance She just wants to dance She just wants to dance Get out the way and let the girl dance Yeah she just wants to dance Yeah she just wants to Slide along the floor She wanna shuffle her shoes and shake her hips She wanna wave her hands in the air She wanna shake that hanky Yeah But she don't want no hanky panky Yeah she just wants to dance Leave her alone And let her dance

Keb' Mo' 4 Stars Checked 1994 Blues

Keb' Mo's self-titled debut is an edgy, ambitious collection of gritty country blues. Keb' Mo' pushes into new directions, trying to incorporate some of the sensibilities of the slacker revolution without losing touch of the tradition that makes the blues the breathing, vital art form it is. His attempts aren't always successful, but his gutsy guitar playing and impassioned vocals, as well as his surprisingly accomplished songwriting, make Keb' Mo' a debut to cherish.

Keb’ Mo’

Keb' Mo' draws heavily on the old-fashioned country blues style of Robert Johnson, but keeps his sound contemporary with touches of soul and folksy storytelling. He writes much of his own material and has applied his acoustic, electric, and slide guitar skills to jazz and rock-oriented bands in the past as well. Born Kevin Moore in Los Angeles to parents of Southern descent, he was exposed to gospel music at a young age. At 21, Moore joined an R&B band later hired for a tour by Papa John Creach and played on three of Creach's albums. Opening for jazz and rock artists such as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jefferson Starship, and Loggins & Messina helped broaden Moore's horizons and musical abilities. Moore cut an R&B-based solo album, Rainmaker, in 1980 for Casablanca, which promptly folded. In 1983, he joined Monk Higgins' band as a guitarist and met a number of blues musicians who collectively increased his understanding of the music. He subsequently joined a vocal group called the Rose Brothers and gigged around L.A. 1990 found Moore portraying a Delta bluesman in a local play called Rabbit Foot and later playing Robert Johnson in a docudrama called Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? He released his self-titled debut album as Keb' Mo' in 1994, featuring two Robert Johnson covers, 11 songs written or co-written by Moore, and his guitar and banjo work. Keb' Mo' performed a well-received set at the 1995 Newport Folk Festival. Keb' Mo's second album, Just Like You, was equally well-received. Slow Down followed in 1998 and Door was issued two years later.

09 Fernando - Pancho Sanchez Jazz Alive (Will Moyle) unknown date

This is one of those Will Moyle selections … there are ever so many. As with several other tracks on Naweedna-2010, this one’s been in the queue for a while. It’s time has come and here it is. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Lyrics Fernando, cha, cha, cha …

Pancho Sanchez The imaginative rhythms of Pancho Sanchez have made him one of the most influential conga players and percussionists in Afro-Cuban jazz. In addition to recording as a soloist, Sanchez has been featured on albums by the Jazz Cusaders, Eddie Harris, Freddie Hubbard, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Dianne Reeves, Joey DeFrancesco, and Terrance Blanchard. Becoming a member of vibraphonist Caj Tjader's Band in 1975, Sanchez remained with the group until Tjader's death on May 5, 1982. By then, he had already planted the seeds for his own career as a bandleader. He recorded two solo albums — Poncho in 1979 and Straight Ahead in 1980 — and had begun performing with his own group, during Tjader's vacations, in 1980. A native of Loredo, TX, Sanchez moved to Los Angeles at the age of four, where he was deeply influenced by the music he heard in the Chicano neighborhood in which he lived. Initially a guitarist, he played with a series of junior high school and high school rhythm & blues bands. Teaching himself to play congas, he spent hours practicing to Caj Tjader, Machito, and Tito Puente records. He was also deeply influenced by the hard bop sounds of the Jazz Crusaders. After more than two decades in music, Sanchez's efforts paid off when his album, Latin Soul, received a Grammy award as Best Latin Album of 1999.

10 Dreams – Brandi Carlile PHC (2010.03.20)

Oooooo, I just love the “1, 2, a1, 2, 3 … and … Dreams” and all that follows … especially the cello in the background. This track gets in your head, so be careful. We saw Brandi on Austin City Limits a while back. She didn’t do Dreams. The tracks she did perform were really good, but not up to Dreams – in our estimation. I bought the CD (Give Up The Ghost) with Dreams on it, but the studio version didn’t seem as good as the live performance on PHC … especially the “1, 2, a1, 2, 3 … and … Dreams”.

I’d love to know what you think of this track … and all the others, for that matter ;-)

Lyrics Dreams, I have dreams when I'm awake when I'm asleep And you, you are in my Dreams You're underneath my skin, how am I so weak

And now in my dreams,

I can feel the weight, I can just come clean I keep it to myself, I know what it means I can't have you, but I have dreams

How long, can you hold your breath? Can you count to ten, can you let it pass? Keep, can you keep it in? Keep it behind lashes, can you make it last?

And now in my dreams, I can feel the weight I can just come clean

I keep it to myself, I know what it means I can't have you, but I have dreams Oh, I have dreams, I have dreams

(And then an amazing guitar solo)

Mind, can you read my mind? Has it come undone, am I showin' signs?

And now, in my dreams I can feel the weight, I can just come clean I keep it to myself, I know what it means I can't have you, but I have dreams I have dreams, I have, I have, I have Dreams

Brandi Carlile

A gifted singer/songwriter whose rich voice and literate storytelling belie her youth (she was only 23 when she released her major-label debut), Brandi Carlile was born in the small town of Ravensdale, WA, an isolated community 50 miles from Seattle. With few neighbors or friends nearby, she grew up learning to make her own entertainment, which included hiking trips in the nearby woods and self-taught vocal lessons. Carlile also grew attached to the classic country music her parents doted on, specifically Patsy Cline, and she made her stage debut at the age of eight after she was taken to a local country radio show by her mother. At 17 years old, Carlile picked up the guitar, having developed a taste for rock & roll through Elton John's classic albums of the 1970s, and began hitting the Seattle bar scene, playing anywhere she could get a gig (including a stint singing backup for an Elvis Presley tribute act).

While playing clubs, she encountered a band called the Fighting Machinists, featuring twin brothers Tim Hanseroth on guitar and Phil Hanseroth. Impressed by their instrumental skills and spot-on harmonies, Carlile became an instant fan of the Fighting Machinists, and when the group broke up, she persuaded the Hanseroth twins to form a new group with her. While they started out as an aggressive rock & roll band, Carlile's emotionally powerful songwriting and acoustic guitar work soon became the dominant component of their sound, and they began touring regularly, headlining small venues and opening shows for Dave Matthews, Shawn Colvin, and India.Arie.

In 2000, Carlile recorded the first of several self-released recordings that sold briskly at shows, and in 2005 she was signed to Columbia Records, releasing a self-titled album later that same year. The album earned enthusiastic reviews, and Carlile was named one of 2005's "Artists to Watch" by Rolling Stone. In 2006, Carlile and her band began work on her second Columbia album, The Story, with T Bone Burnett producing. The record was released in spring 2007 to warm reviews, and the inclusion of its title track in several commercials (most notably a General Motors ad that aired during the 2008 Beijing Olympics) helped boost sales. Give Up the Ghost followed in late 2009 and cracked the Top 40, and Carlile rang in 2010 by issuing a Valentine's Day-themed EP, XOBC.

11 Once Upon A Time – Jay McShann Just a Lucky So and So 1983

From : http://able2know.org/topic/1871-1 It was a lazy Sunday afternoon; I changed the channel to see Meg Ryan in a movie entitled, "Hanging Up". It was the story of 3 sisters and an aging father, and how his care was mostly given by one daughter (Meg Ryan) because she was geographically closer to him, while one sister was busy trying to become an actress, and the other sister was totally involved in her career as a magazine editor.

At the end of the movie, Jay McShann sang the following song. Listening to this song made me feel very nostalgic. For one, Jay McShann did a beautiful job, I was spellbound, and the other, of course, were the words.

I’ve been holding off on this track because … well, I was just afraid I’d included too many Jay McShann tracks (this is the third). Ah, but can you ever get too much Jay McShann? Not me. This is a slow piece but full of emotion so I put it in the middle of the selections with Dreams before and the happy Lilizela Mlilizela following. Hope you don’t find the transitions too jangling. We play everything in shuffle, so we’re used to abrupt genre and tempo changes.

Lyrics From the 1962 Stage musical "All American" Music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams

Once upon a time, A girl with moonlight in her eyes, Put her hand in mine, And said she loved me so . . . But that was once upon a time, Very long ago!

Once upon a hill, we sat beneath the willow tree, Counting all the stars, And waiting for the dawn, But that was once upon a time, Now, the tree is gone!

How the breeze ruffled through her hair, How we always laughed, As though tomorrow wasn't there . . . We were young, And didn't have a care, Where did it go?

Once upon a time, The world was sweeter than we knew, Everything was ours, How happy we were then . . . But, somehow, once upon a time, Never comes again!

Just a Lucky So and So 4 Stars 1983 Jazz

Pianist/vocalist Jay McShann was having a full-fledged comeback at the time of this Sackville date, which has been reissued on CD. Teamed with Jim Galloway (who doubles on soprano and baritone), bassist Don Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke, McShann is in a particularly good mood on such standards as "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Red Sails in the Sunset" and even "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." This set gives one a good sampling of Jay McShann's timeless playing.

Jay McShann

The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) has had a long career and it is unfair to primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939 had his own big band. In 1940 at a radio station in Wichita, KS, McShann and an octet out of his orchestra recorded eight songs that were not released commercially until the 1970s; those rank among the earliest of all Charlie Parker records (he is brilliant on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Lady Be Good") and also feature the strong rhythm-section team McShann had with bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Gus Johnson. The full orchestra recorded for Decca on two occasions during 1941-42 but they were typecast as a blues band and did not get to record many of their more challenging charts (although very rare broadcasts have since surfaced and been released on CD by Vintage Jazz Classics). In addition to Bird (who had a few short solos), the main stars were trumpeter Bernard Anderson, the rhythm section and singer Walter Brown. McShann and his band arrived in New York in February 1942 and made a strong impression but World War II made it difficult for any new orchestras to catch on. There was a final session in December 1943 without Parker but McShann was soon drafted and the band broke up. After being discharged later in 1944, McShann briefly reformed his group but soon moved to Los Angeles where he led combos for the next few years; his main attraction was the young singer Jimmy Witherspoon.

McShann was in obscurity for the next two decades, making few records and mostly playing in Kansas City. In 1969 he was rediscovered and McShann (who had first sung on records in 1966) was soon a popular pianist/vocalist. Sometimes featuring violinist Claude Williams, he has toured constantly, recorded frequently and appeared at many jazz festivals since then, being active into the mid-'90s. Jay McShann, who has recorded through the years for Onyx (the 1940 radio transcriptions), Decca, Capitol, Aladdin, Mercury, Black Lion, EmArcy, Vee Jay, Black & Blue, Master Jazz, Sackville, Sonet, Storyville, Atlantic, Swingtime and Music Masters among others, is a vital pianist and an effective blues vocalist who keeps a classic style alive.

12 Lilizela Mlilizela (South African Ululations) - Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens Global Celebration: Gatherings 1987-1992)

Oh how happy and bouncy. I just love the juxtaposition of the male leads guttural growling and the soft, melodic female choir. Wonder what this is all about … hope it is something happy. This comes from a marvelous four CD set Janie got me for Christmas many, many years ago. We included a track in a Naweedna compilation (NWN-04: Wet Me Down) … and there are many more in the queue.

Lyrics Yeah, right!

Global Celebration 4 Stars 1992 World

...Superb 4 part collection of authentic world music from forty countries...Over fifty tracks showcase stellar performers such as the Klezmatics, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, Mongo Santamaria, the New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band and Matt Molloy of The Chieftains. These are songs that people around the globe use to mark important events and joyous occasions. The four titles of Celebration include: Dancing With the Gods, music from uplifting religious ceremonies; Earth Spirit, celebrating the cycles of nature; Passages, which marks turning points in life, such as birth, death, and rites of initiation; and Gatherings, global festival music from many countries. These four titles from the boxed set are also available individually.

13 Gone Woman Blues - Rory Block Gone Woman Blues: The Country Blues Collection 1997

Brian Tomaszewski gave me some Rory Block and, after a brief listening, I got busy searching out some of her higher rated CDs and downloading them from Amazon. We have yet to hear all the downloads, but when this one came up … oh my. I found myself playing it over and over and wanting more. It was a done deal. You may have to listen to it a few times before it grows on you … like it did us.

Lyrics Vocalization, yes; lyrics, no ;-)

Gone Woman Blues 4.5 Stars 1997 Blues

Subtitled "The Country Blues Collection," Rory Block sticks to what she may do better than any other contemporary player around. These cuts have all been heard scattered about on various other albums going back to High Heeled Blues from 1989; here they are pulled together into one comprehensive whole. She explores the wide variety of country-blues, and even at 69-plus minutes this disc never gets repetitive. Except for five cuts, she is unaccompanied, and when she is, it only enhances what she does. Her youngest son, Jordan Block Valdina, helps out by doing the male vocal on a stunning a cappella version of "Be Ready When He Comes." The harmonica backing by Little Annie Raines (a frequent collaborator with Paul Rishell) just perfectly walks that line of being enhancing without intruding. If you like country- blues, this is one you don't want to miss. Rory Block

Aurora "Rory" Block has staked her claim to be one of America's top acoustic blues women, an interpreter of the great Delta blues singers, a slide guitarist par excellence, and also a talented songwriter on her own account. Born and raised in Manhattan by a family that had bohemian leanings, she spent her formative years hanging out with musicians like Peter Rowan, John Sebastian, and Geoff Muldaur, who hung out in her father's sandal shop, before picking up the guitar at the age of ten. Her record debut came two years later, backing her father on The Elektra String Band Project, a concept album. She met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who, like her, was in love with the blues. The pair would often travel to the Bronx to visit Reverend Gary Davis, one of the greatest living bluesmen.

At the tender age of 15 Block left home, hitting the road in true '60s fashion and traveling through the South, where she learned her blues trade at the feet of Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt, her greatest influence, before ending up in Berkeley. It was there that she developed her slide technique (she uses a socket wrench as her slide), but she didn't record until 1975, when she released I'm in Love (a compilation of earlier material, The Early Tapes 1975-1976, appeared later). After two records for Chrysalis, she recorded the instructional How to Play Blues Guitar for Grossman's Kicking Mule label, and later moved to then-fledgling Rounder, with whom she enjoyed an ongoing relationship. She toured constantly, often playing as many as 250 dates in a year, which kept her away from her family -- she'd married and begun having children in the early '70s -- but developed her reputation as a strong, vibrant live performer, and one of the best players of old country blues in America.

In 1987 the best of Block's Rounder cuts were compiled on Best Blues & Originals, which, as it said, featured her interpretations of blues classics and some of her own material. Two of the tracks, released as singles in Belgium and Holland, became gold record hits. In addition to her regular albums, Block made a series of instructional records and videos, as well as a children's record, Color Me Wild. Although she had been performing for a long time, the plaudits didn't really begin until 1992, when she won a NAIRD Award for Ain't I a Woman, a feat repeated in 1994 and 1997. In 1996 she began winning W.C. Handy Awards, first for Best Traditional Album (When a Woman Gets the Blues), and in 1997 and 1998 for Best Traditional Blues Female Artist. In 1997 she was elected to the CAMA Hall of Fame, and in 1999 she received yet another Handy Award, for Best Acoustic Blues Album (Confessions of a Blues Singer).

Block continued to tour, although not as heavily as in earlier times, and she's often accompanied by her grown son Jordan Block, who also plays on her albums. She remained busy in the early part of the 2000s, releasing six albums, including a live recording. 2005's From the Dust drew raving critical reviews, as did 2006's The Lady and Mr. Johnson, an album that sees Block taking on select songs of her musical hero, idol, and biggest influence, Robert Johnson. A digital video disc, The Guitar Artistry of Rory Block, was issued in 2008.

14 Listen To The Rhythm Kings - Rhythm Kings BBGR 1930s

How can you not like this? It comes from the Big Band Go Round FM show I recorded back in the 80s. I’ve never been able to find any information for The Rhythm Kings or this particular track. So, if you know anything about ‘em, you better let us know pronto. We have Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Delta Rhythm Boys, Chicago Rhythm, Blue Ridge Rhythm, Sun Rhythm, Sweethearts of Rhythm, McLean’s Rhythm Boys, Spirits of Rhythm, Inkwell Rhythm Makers, and African Rhythm … but only this one Rhythm Kings – and we don’t know how to get more. Damn!

Lyrics Can’t find anything for the Rhythm Kings … so just Listen To ‘Em ;-)

No AMG listing for Rhythm Kings ... or Listen To The Rhythm Kings …

15 Sugardaddy - Billy Bragg William Bloke 1996 We have 62 Billy Bragg tracks, and this one is by far my favorite. I have to conclude that this isn’t a typical Billy Bragg, but that’s not why I like it. I expect I like it because it echoes the old Doo Wop style what with all the falsetto Sha-La-Las and such. Even with the lyrics, I’m not the least bit sure what this is all about. I just like the tune, so here it is for your enjoyment.

Lyrics Sugardaddy took me to wonderland Gave me so many presents I could not stand To see you I really couldn't stand to see you Sugardaddy took me far away On a holiday, I didn't have to pay Just be there All I had to do was be there Sugardaddy comes with his pockets full of fun Sugardaddy's blowing kisses from his gun What will he do and where will he run When the real world comes to town? Sugardaddy took all my pain away Now I have to say I'd let him get away with murder I'd let him get away with murder He drives a car that doesn't have a roof And he dares the Big Ol' World to tell him the truth By buying silence He buys your silence Silence, so you'll never have to ask him why Silence, so you'll never say he makes you cry Silence, so you'll never look him in the eye And say you want his time 'cos time is money Sugardaddy can't help but overfill his cup Sugardaddy always rides heavy on his luck What will he do when his baby grows up And doesn't want the toys he's provided? Sugardaddy comes with his pockets full of fun Sugardaddy's blowing kisses from his gun What will he do and where will he run When the real world comes to town?

William Bloke 3 Stars 1996 Rock

Billy Bragg took a five-year break from recording (and became a parent for the first time) after releasing 1991's Don't Try This at Home, but William Bloke suggests he still wasn't ready to get back to work when he returned to the studio. William Bloke was Bragg's sparest and most musically concise album since Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, and beyond the upbeat and horn-fueled "Upfield" and the loopy ska of the set closer, "Goalhanger," most of the songs feature little besides Billy's voice and guitar (or in the case of "Everybody Loves You Babe," Billy's voice and a piano). More striking, however, is the downbeat tone of the album; from the philosophical uncertainty of "From Red to Blue," the loss of innocence of "The Space Race Is Over," and the crumbling relationship of "Brickbat," William Bloke sounds like the work of a man somewhat overwhelmed by the world around him and not sure what to do about it -- which is not the way Billy Bragg usually sounds. While the piss-and-vinegar adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "A Pict Song" and the cheerful wrath of "Goalhanger" indicate the old Billy wasn't gone for good, there's a lingering air of defeat and dashed hopes that permeates William Bloke, and the songs lack the generosity and rabble-rousing brio of his best work. Bragg would rally two years later with his excellent adaptation of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics, Mermaid Avenue, but William Bloke is the work of a man stuck in a creative rut, and while there are still things worth hearing here, they're outnumbered by songs that speak more of Bragg's personal disappointments than his muse.

Billy Bragg

Finding inspiration in the righteous anger of punk rock and the socially conscious folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg was the leading figure of the anti-folk movement of the '80s. For most of the decade, Bragg bashed out songs alone on his electric guitar, singing about politics and love. While his lyrics were bitingly intelligent and clever, they were also warm and humane, filled with detail and wit. Even though his lyrics were carefully considered, Bragg never neglected to write melodies for songs that were strong and memorable. Throughout the '80s, he managed to chart consistently in Britain, yet he only gathered a cult following in America, which could be due to the fact that he sang about distinctly British subject matter, both politically and socially.

Bragg began performing in the late '70s with the punk group Riff Raff, which lasted only a matter of months. He then joined the British Army, yet he quickly bought himself out of his sojourn with 175 pounds. After leaving the Army, he began working at a record store; while he was working, he was writing songs that were firmly in the folk and punk protest tradition. Bragg began a British tour, playing whenever he had the chance to perform. Frequently he would open for bands with only a moment's notice; soon, he had built a sizable following, as evidenced by his first EP, Life's a Riot With Spy Vs. Spy (1983), hitting number 30 on the U.K. independent charts. Brewing Up With Billy Bragg (1984), his first full- length album, climbed to number 16 in the charts.

During 1984, Bragg became a minor celebrity in Britain, as he appeared at leftist political rallies, strikes, and benefits across the country; he also helped form the "Red Wedge," a socialist musicians collective that also featured Paul Weller. In 1985, Kirsty MacColl took one of his songs, "New England," to number seven on the British singles chart. Featuring some subtle instrumental additions of piano and horns, 1986's Talking to the Taxman About Poetry reached the U.K. Top Ten.

Bragg's version of the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home," taken from the Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father tribute album, became his only number one single in 1988 - as the double A-side with Wet Wet Wet's "With a Little Help From My Friends." That year, he also released the EP Help Save the Youth of America and the full-length Workers Playtime, which was produced by Joe Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, R.E.M.). Boyd helped expand Bragg's sound, as the singer recorded with a full band for the first time. The following year, Bragg restarted the Utility record label as a way of featuring non-commercial new artists. The Internationale, released in 1990, was a collection of left-wing anthems, including a handful of Bragg originals. On 1991's Don't Try This at Home, he again worked with a full band, recording his most pop- oriented and accessible set of songs; the album featured the hit single, "Sexuality." Bragg took several years off after Don't Try This at Home, choosing to concentrate on fatherhood. He returned in 1996 with William Bloke. In 1998, he teamed with the American alternative country band Wilco to record Mermaid Avenue, a collection of performances based on unreleased songs originally written by Woody Guthrie. Reaching to the Converted, a collection of rarities, followed a year later, and in mid-2000 Bragg and Wilco reunited for a second Mermaid Avenue set. While touring in support of Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2, Bragg formed the Blokes in 1999 with Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan. Lu Edmonds (guitar), Ben Mandelson (lap steel guitar), Martyn Barker (drums), and Simon Edwards (bass) solidified the group while Bragg moved from London to rural Dorset in early 2001. One year later, the Blokes joined Bragg for England, Half English, his first solo effort since William Bloke.

16 Girl's Town Ska - The Baba Brooks Band Phoenix City: A History Of The World's Greatest Ska 2004

Bruce Ng has loaded me up with ethnic stuff from around the world. Guess what? I really like it. Well, most of it. I haven’t had the tracks long enough to properly familiarize myself with them. However, sometimes you just hear something and are immediately attached to it. That’s exactly what happened when I heard the first track from the CD (Phoenix City). The more I heard, the more I wanted to include one in this year’s compilation. One morning I auditioned all 27 tracks from the CD. Let me say this about that: although they are all very good, you don’t want to listen them one after another – at least I don’t. The results of the audition left Girl’s Town Ska standing alone, so in it went. Happy, bouncy, and full of horns, cow bells, and lots of heavy Reggae beat. Hmmm, bet you could dance to this …

Lyrics Who needs words ???

Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska 4.5 Stars 2004 Reggae

So just how productive were the Skatalites? Well, this collection features 54 cuts, nearly all of which the group (in various combinations) recorded between 1963 and 1965, and by the admission of Mike Atherton's liner notes, it isn't even close to being complete. Ridiculously prolific, the Skatalites were also remarkably consistent -- a spin through Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska Band (which focuses on music the Skatalites cut for producer Duke Reid, though a few stray Leslie Kong and Coxson Dodd cuts are thrown in for good measure) confirms that these musicians held the good grove in the palm of their mighty hands, and apparently never thought of letting go. While the "chugga-chugga" ska beat propels everything here (and drummer Lloyd Knibb and bassist Lloyd Brevett are one indefatigable rhythm section), it's the relaxed but confident horn work from trombonist Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso on tenor sax, and Lester Sterling on trumpet that really makes this stuff such a joy to hear. Like the jazz cats they were at heart, the horn players locked down the melody but also showed a witty and clever sense of aural invention, often quoting classic pop tunes and weaving their way in and around the tunes in their solos with the uptown grace of a rude boy on roller skates. Disc one of Phoenix City is primarily devoted to earlier material and cuts which allowed the musicians a greater chance to blow, while disc two picks up the tempo and offers more potent dancefloor burners (especially the gloriously eccentric cuts they released under the billing of Oswald "Baba" Brooks, such as "Nuclear Weapon," "Vitamin A," and "Teenage Ska"). With a group who cranked out so much material so consistently strong, it's difficult to declare anything a "definitive" Skatalites collection, but along with the excellent Foundation Ska, Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska Band captures the group doing what they do best at the height of their powers, and if you have a taste for original Jamaican ska, you'll find this set to be pure pleasure from beginning to end.

No AMG bio for The Baba Brooks Band …

The Skatalites

More than a band, the Skatalites were and are an institution, an aggregation of top-notch musicians who didn't merely define the sound of Jamaica, they were the sound of Jamaica across the '50s and '60s. Although the group existed in its original incarnation for less than 18 months, members brought their signature styles to hundreds upon hundreds of the island's releases. The Skatalites officially lined up as guitarist Jerome "Jah Jerry" Hinds, bassist Lloyd Brevett, teenaged pianist Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo, drummer Lloyd Knibbs, trumpeter Johnnie "Dizzie" Moore, Cuban-born tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook, alto saxophonists Lester Sterling and Cuban born Roland Alphonso, and trombonist Don Drummond. Moore, McCook, Sterling, and Drummond were all alumni of the Alpha Cottage School for Boys, an educational institution for troubled and troublesome boys in Kingston, run by the Catholic diocese. Besides the regular lashings of studies, the school was renowned for its music program, and over the years turned hundreds of wayward boys into performers of note. All four ended up playing the hotel circuit, churning out R&B and jazz covers for the tourists.

Previous to the late '50s, this was Jamaica's only real music industry outside the mento scene, and as there were no local record labels, resorts were the only way for musicians to seriously ply their trade. The hotel bands were an ever-shifting conglomerate of players, but over time, they would crisscross each other's paths so often, that all became familiar with everyone else's style. Knibbs and Drummond, for example, had both once played with Eric Dean's Band. When Knibbs departed for the Sheiks, he joined a lineup that included Mittoo and Moore. However, new career opportunities presented themselves when local businessmen Duke Reid and Clement "Coxsonne" Dodd both launched record labels and the era of the sessionmen arrived in Jamaica. Although both McCook and Alphonso had previously cut acetates, this was the first time any of the future Skatalites would appear on vinyl. Between 1959, when Reid released his first vinyl single, and 1962, most of the band's future members worked regularly at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, playing on a swathe of R&B, boogie, and ballad releases. The Heartbeat label's Ska After Ska After Ska bundles up an album's worth of this early material, as does the Dutch label Jamaica Gold, on Shuffle'n'Ska Time. In 1962, Dodd opened his own Studio One recording studio, and the future Skatalites now quickly gravitated in his direction as well. Joining them was McCook, who'd missed all the previous action, having left Jamaica in 1954 to join the house band at the Zanzibar Club in Nassau. The studio was inaugurated with the release of the album Jazz Jamaica From the Workshop, which featured McCook, Alphonso, Drummond, and guitarist Ernest Ranglin, amongst others.

The Skatalites came to fruition in June 1964, according to the members' own reckoning, although they have given conflicting stories about just how it happened. Ranglin credits Moore, Knibbs credits himself, but there's no doubt who came up with the name -- that honor goes to McCook. Drafting in vocalists Jackie Opel, Tony DaCosta, Doreen Schaeffer, and calypso star Joseph "Lord Tanamo" Gordon, the group debuted live on June 27, 1964, at the Hi- Hat club in Rae Town. It didn't take long for the Skatalites to grab a residency at the Bournemouth Beach Club in Eastern Kingston, where they performed three nights a week, as well as a Sunday residency at the Orange Bowl on Orange Street.

With the growth of Dodd's Studio One label, the group soon found themselves with almost more gigs than they could handle, touring the island as the backing band for most of the label's artists, whilst also performing on-stage themselves. It must have been grueling, the constant driving to and from venues and playing a minimum of two sets a night, but in truth, the Skatalites were having a whale of a time. And in between the gigs, the band seems to have spent virtually all their waking hours recording. Besides working for Dodd and Reid, the group also played on a multitude of records for Prince Buster and Duke and Justin Yap. The actual number of recordings they performed on is anyone's guess, an approximation made more difficult by the fact that the musicians normally went unaccredited on the singles themselves. To add to the confusion, the Skatalites in the studio could be any of a number of musicians, not just the aforementioned lineup. Guitarist Ranglin, pianist Gladstone Anderson, trombonist Rico Rodriguez, and trumpeter Baba Brooks are just a few of the many men who took part in the Skatalites recording sessions.

And what actually defines a Skatalites record? Many of their recordings were understandably released under the vocalist's name, not theirs. But what of Prince Buster's U.K. smash "Al Capone"? Buster may have intoned the title across the track, but wasn't it the Skatalites who truly made the song? Even amongst the group's own repertoire, the records were credited to the composer, not the band. Thus, the seminal "Guns of Navarone" was originally released under Roland Alphonso's name, not the Skatalites'. Modern archivists have attempted to address these injustices with compilations featuring the band, regardless of original accreditation. The West Side label's Skaravan -- Top Sounds From Top Deck, for example, is currently into the eighth CD of their Skatalites' compilations, all taken from their sessions for the Yap brothers, while Heartbeat's Foundation Ska bundles up a batch of Studio One cuts. Thankfully, the members' styles are so unique, as to be instantly recognizable within a few notes. In truth, most ska compilations are awash in the members' music, credited or not. That bouncy swing tempo, the jazzy brass, and the steady, skanking beat, all shout the Skatalites louder than any written credit, as easily heard on the vocal releases as on their own instrumentals.

But the instrumentals were the group's glory. Songs like "Guns of Navarone," "Phoenix City," "Addis Ababa," "Silver Dollar," "Corner Stone," and "Blackberry Brandy," to name just a small handful of their most seminal cuts, not only defined the island's sound, but created a whole new genre of music -- ska. The group have ofttimes been quoted as saying their invention of ska was never intentional, but merely the byproduct of their flawed attempts at American R&B. But this self-deprecating explanation neglects the jazz and big band swing sound that was also crucial to ska in its original form. And anyone good enough to play in those styles would have little problem mastering R&B. What the Skatalites actually did was drag these older styles into the contemporary scene, merge it with modern R&B, and propel it into the mainstream via a faster syncopated island beat. And with it, the group's musical legacy spread around the world and across generations. But that must have seemed ridiculous at the very end of 1964. The Skatalites were playing at the La Parisienne club in Harbour View for New Year's Eve, a show that went on without Drummond. The trombonist had a history of mental illness and late that night, in a fit of rage, he stabbed his common-law wife and band vocalist, Marguerita, to death. Drummond was arrested and sent to Bellevue Sanitarium; he died there in 1969. The Skatalites continued on for six more months after this tragedy, but the spark was dying with it, and finally in July 1965, the members called it quits. Several from the group did continue playing together. Alphonso, Moore, Mittoo, and Brevett eventually formed the Soul Brothers, which later become the Soul Vendors. McCook formed the Supersonics, which was virtually Reid's house band at Treasure Isle Studio, and Sterling went off to work with producer "Sir" Clancy Collins. As their session work continued apace, inevitably many of the former members found themselves back working together. Then in 1975, most of the Skatalites reunited to record Brevett's solo album, African Roots. McCook, Alphonso, Sterling, Ranglin, Mittoo, and Knibbs all took part in the proceedings. Two years later, the Hot Lava album appeared, credited to Tommy McCook & the Skatalites, but in contrast to Brevett's "solo" album, this really was one. 1978's Jackie Mittoo may sound like a solo outing by the pianist, but actually features a clutch of former Skatalites. That same year, Island head Chris Blackwell convinced the members to reconvene again and recorded the Big Guns album. However, due to discord between the label man and McCook, the record sat on the shelf until 1984, when it was finally released as Return of the Big Guns. The previous year, the group had again reunited under the aegis of producer Bunny Lee for the Skatalites With Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang.

It took a few more years for the members to finally agree they were a band again; in 1986 they made it official and began gigging regularly. In 1989, they toured the world as Bunny Wailer's backing band, and the next year performed the same service for Prince Buster. In 1993, an album of new material, Skavoovee, finally appeared. Now boasting a core lineup of McCook, Brevett, Sterling, and Knibbs, the album was highly acclaimed. Their timing was perfect as the U.S. was in the grips of ska fever, and the band's constant touring abroad had cemented a worldwide following. Over the intervening years, the Skatalites had returned to their jazz roots with a vengeance, but ska fans didn't mind one bit. Alphonso now permanently rejoined the Skatalites for 1994's Hi-Bop Ska: The 30th Anniversary Recording, which also featured such illustrious guests as former vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, Prince Buster, and Toots Hibbert, and an all-star gathering of jazz musicians. The album deservedly earned the band their first Grammy nomination. Even McCook's heart attack in 1995 barely slowed the group down. The band continued their hectic touring schedule without him until the tenor saxophonist rejoined them early the next year.

However, even though he was forced off the road for good due to health problems a few weeks later, he was still able to record, and 1996's excellent Greetings From Skamania remains a tribute to his determination, and earned the group a second Grammy nomination. On May 5, 1998, the legendary saxophonist passed away; he was 71. Later that year, the Skatalites released Balls of Fire, on which the band re-created many of their old ska hits in their newer jazz style. That autumn, Alphonso collapsed on- stage at Hollywood's Key Club. He slipped into a coma soon after, and on November 20, he, too, died. But no matter how great the contributions of individual members, the Skatalites were always greater than the sum of their parts, and thus the band carried on. In 2000, they released Bashaka and their touring schedule continues unabated. While touring Europe in late 2001, they reocrded yet again, resulting in the 2003 release of From Paris With Love. Each year brings another slew of compilations of their recordings from labels around the world. Decades on, their music remains timeless.

17 Teach Me Tonight (Live) - Amy Winehouse Frank B-Sides [Explicit] 2008

Whoa, what’s this? Amy Winehouse on a Boger CD? You bet, and the reason is right there in the first paragraph of Amy’s bio: Billie Holiday. We don’t have Teach Me Tonight by Billie, but we do have it by Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Teresa Brewer, and Jo Stafford. If we had a Billie version, I expect it would sound very much like Amy track. My very first Winehouse tracks came by way of Amy Carey. After that, I busied myself with Amazon downloads until I had a representative sampling of 52 tracks. I liked a surprisingly large number of them, but Teach Me Tonight stands out for inclusion in a Naweedna compilation.

Lyrics Did you say I've got a lot to learn? Well babe, don't think I'm trying not to learn Since this is the perfect spot to learn Go on, teach me tonight

Starting with the ABC of it Right down to the XYZ of it Help me solve the mystery of it Go on, teach me tonight

The sky's a blackboard high above you If a shooting star goes by I'll use that star to write "I love you" A thousand times across the sky

One thing isn't very clear, my love Should the teacher stand so near, my love? Graduation's almost here, my love Teach me tonight

I'll use that star to write "I love you" A thousand times across the sky

One thing isn't very clear, my love Should the teacher stand so near, my love? Graduation's almost here, my love Oh oh teach me... Oh oh Teach me tonight

Frank B-Sides [Explicit] No AMG Rating 2008 R&B

No AMG review ...

Amy Winehouse

Much can be said about Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior and heavy consumption of alcohol, but fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm, brash sense of humor, and distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-selling breakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong cockney accent and vernacular, one can often hear aspects of each of those singers' vocal repertoire in Winehouse's own voice. Nonetheless, her allure has been her songwriting -- almost always deeply personal, but best known for its profanity and brutal candor.

Born to a taxi-driving father and pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of northern London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and even her paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott at one time. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents' selection of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others. However, in her teens, she was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts of the time.

At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, she caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led to her recording contract with Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album, Frank. With contributions from hip-hop producer/keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit awards, and its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.

Following Winehouse's debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her tempestuous public life. Several times she showed up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing a whole set. In 2006, her management company finally suggested that she enter rehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit "Rehab," the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed album, Back to Black. Containing evocative productions from Salaam Remi and British DJ/multi-instrumentalist Mark Ronson, the album somewhat abandoned jazz, delving into the sounds of '50s/'60s-era girl group harmonies, rock & roll, and soul. The fanfare over the release was so great that it started to spill over onto U.S. shores; several rappers and DJs made their own remixes of various songs -- not to mention covers by Prince and the Arctic Monkeys.

One month after Winehouse won Best Female Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal released Back to Black in the U.S. The LP charted higher than any other American debut by a British female recording artist before it, and it remained in the Top Ten for several months, selling a million copies by the end of that summer. Just as in the U.K., she became the talk of the town, landing on the covers of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines. Not long afterward, though, Winehouse canceled her North American tour. Early reports revealed that she was entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction, but her new management denied the claims, stating it was due to severe exhaustion. Her erratic behavior kept her and her new husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, constantly in the tabloids and on and off stages on both sides of the Atlantic, but in late 2007 American fans were finally given a chance to hear Winehouse's early work, with a slightly abbreviated (two songs removed and one added) version of Frank.

18 Jesus On The Mainline - Ry Cooder Show Time 1977

Okay, this is the SEVENTH Ry track on Naweedna CDs. You gotta problem with that? Me neither. AND … there will be more – trust me. While we were fleshing out the 2010A playlist, we ended up with some space to fill. I had just heard Dark End Of The Street (the instrumental version) and had bumped it up to the NWN category for tracks to be considered later. Hmmm, maybe it would go in this year. Nope, it just didn’t seem to fit with the other “must haves” so I started looking for other NWN-class Ry tracks. Hey, there’s Available Space. Really like that one. But look, how about Jesus On The Mainline. Hmmm, what to do? As you might recall, we had a DOOCs outing wherein we ended up in Elora Ontario. They have an annual BluesFest and we found ourselves sitting in a bar listening to two musicians … and they played two Cooder songs – Jesus On The Mainline being one of them. Sooooo, I decided to include it in this compilation. We have five versions of Jesus On The Mainline; three by Cooder (from Paradise & Lunch, Slide On Dropdown D, and Show Time). I did another audition and picked the version from Show Time – just about my all-time favorite Cooder CD. The professional music-critics seem to disagree with me, but what do they know ; -)

Lyrics I know Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Call him up and tell him what you want

Well, the line ain’t never busy Tell him what you want Wo, that line ain’t never busy Tell him what you want Well, the line ain’t never busy Tell him what you want Keep on calling him up And tell him what you want

Well, if you want his kingdom Tell him what you want If you want his kingdom Tell him what you want If want his kingdom Tell him what you want Call him up, call him up, call him up, call him up You can call him up and tell him what you want

Well, if you’re sick and wanna get well Tell him what you want Well, if you’re sick and you wanna get well Tell him what you want If you’re sick and you wanna get well Tell him what you want Call him up and tell him what you want

And if you’re feeling down and out Tell him what you want And if you’re feeling down and out Tell him what you want And if you’re feeling down and out Tell him what you want Call him up and tell him what you want

I know Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell him what you want Call him up, call him up, call him up, call him up Call him up and tell him what you want

Show Time 3.5 Stars 1976 Pop/Rock

Following the odd, but entertaining Hawaiian, southwestern mix of Chicken Skin Music, Ry Cooder hit the road with a group of Tex-Mex musicians led by the great accordionist Flaco Jiminez. To make things even more interesting, he also included three soul- and gospel-based backup singers in the lineup (two of whom had appeared on Chicken Skin Music). Recorded in December of 1976, over a span of two nights in San Francisco, Show Time documents these shows by Cooder and his "Chicken Skin Revue." And while Cooder's guitar -- along with his usual eclectic assortment of songs -- is the star of the show, each of the principles has his chance to shine throughout the evening. Terry Evans, Bobby King, and Eldridge King's soulful rendition of "The Dark End of the Street," as well as the lovely "Volver, Volver," which features Jiminez, are a couple of the highlights. Cooder's selection of material here is as eclectic as ever, but Jiminez and the band stay with him every step of the way. They seem equally at home with the R&B of "Smack Dab in the Middle" as they do with the Jiminez instrumental "Viva Seguin," which leads into a Tex-Mex reworking of Woody Guthrie's "Do Re Mi." Still, as good as the fit may be between leader and band, it's the Negro spiritual, "Jesus on the Mainline," stripped down to just four voices and Cooder's remarkable bottleneck, that's the real showstopper here. Cooder is not usually one to stray too far outside the confines of the song on record, but in this setting he gets a chance to really stretch. Like most live recordings, Show Time isn't necessarily essential, though there's enough to make it worthwhile for fans. Also, included is a terrific Dixieland take on Gary "U.S." Bonds' "School Is Out" recorded with the same band in the studio.

Ry Cooder

Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder's chameleon-like fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles, including rock & roll, blues, reggae, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Dixieland jazz, country, folk, R&B, gospel, and vaudeville. The 16-year-old Cooder began his career in 1963 in a blues band with Jackie DeShannon and then formed the short-lived Rising Sons in 1965 with Taj Mahal and Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy. Cooder met producer Terry Melcher through the Rising Sons and was invited to perform at several sessions with Paul Revere and the Raiders. During his subsequent career as a session musician, Cooder's trademark slide guitar work graced the recordings of such artists as Captain Beefheart (Safe As Milk), Randy Newman, Little Feat, Van Dyke Parks, the Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers), Taj Mahal, and Gordon Lightfoot. He also appeared on the soundtracks of Candy and Performance.

Cooder made his debut as a solo artist in 1970 with a self-titled album featuring songs by Leadbelly, Blind Willie Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, and Woody Guthrie. The follow-up, Into the Purple Valley, introduced longtime cohorts Jim Keltner on drums and Jim Dickinson on bass, and it and Boomer's Story largely repeated and refined the syncopated style and mood of the first. In 1974, Cooder produced what is generally regarded as his best album, Paradise and Lunch, and its follow-up, Chicken Skin Music, showcased a potent blend of Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, gospel, and soul music, and featured contributions from Flaco Jimenez and Gabby Pahinui. In 1979, Bop Till You Drop was the first major-label album to be recorded digitally. In the early '80s, Cooder began to augment his solo output with soundtrack work on such films as Blue Collar, The Long Riders, and The Border; he has gone on to compose music for Southern Comfort, Goin' South, Paris, Texas, Streets of Fire, Bay, Blue City, Crossroads, Cocktail, Johnny Handsome, Steel Magnolias, and Geronimo. Music By Ry Cooder (1995) compiled two discs' worth of highlights from Cooder's film work.

In 1992, Cooder joined Keltner, John Hiatt, and renowned British tunesmith Nick Lowe, all of whom had played on Hiatt's Bring the Family, to form Little Village, which toured and recorded one album. Cooder next turned his attention to world music, recording the album A Meeting by the River with Indian musician V.M. Bhatt. Cooder's next project, a duet album with renowned African guitarist Ali Farka Toure titled Talking Timbuktu, won the 1994 Grammy for Best World Music Recording.

19 This Ol' Cowboy - The Marshall Tucker Band Where We All Belong 1974

Oh, I just love this piece. It has a rolling quality … that reminds me of “Roll, Roll, Rolling Along” by Roy Evans … maybe I’ll do that next year. Anyway, I liked this song from first hearing and finally got around to putting it in a Naweedna CD. Hope you like it too.

Lyrics Well I'm sittin' down in San Anton' Waiting on an eight o'clock train My woman left me here last night Things ain't been quite the same I gotta get back to Dallas And tie up a few loose ends I'm gonna work a week make a hundred dollars Aw and hit the road again So I don't want you to think

That you're the first one To leave me out here on my own Cause this ain't gonna be the first time This ol' cowboy spent the night alone

Now honey I've been a fool but a bigger fool I can't remember when I've been Just to open up my heart And let you walk right in Now there's one thing in this life Ain't hard for me to do That's as soon as I kiss the lips of another woman I'm gonna forget all about you So I don't want you to think

That you're the first one To leave me out here on my own No this ain't gonna be the first time This ol' cowboy spent the night alone

(Solo)

If you wrote all the woman's names down I know And let me pick one out I don't think there'd be one in the whole bunch Aw I'd give a hoot about So I don't want you to think

That you're the first one To leave this ol' boy out here on his own Cause this ain't gonna be the first time This ol' cowboy spent the night alone No this ain't gonna be the first time This ol' cowboy spent the night alone

Where We All Belong 4.5 Stars 1974 Western Rock

Although it runs a little long, Where We All Belong captures the sound of The Marshall Tucker Band coming into its own. Half the tracks are new studio recordings, which are more focused than their previous releases; the other half is a harder-edged, jam-oriented live set. Taken together, they show that the band was progressing musically.

Marshall Tucker Band

One of the major Southern rock bands of the '70s, the Marshall Tucker Band was formed in Spartanburg, SC, in 1971 by singer Doug Gray, guitarist Toy Caldwell (born 1948, died February 25, 1993), his brother bassist Tommy Caldwell (born 1950, died April 4, 1980), guitarist George McCorkle, drummer Paul Riddle, and reed player Jerry Eubanks. The group's style combined rock, country, and jazz and featured extended instrumental passages on which lead guitarist Toy Caldwell shone. The band was signed to Capricorn Records and released their debut album, The Marshall Tucker Band, in March 1973. They gained recognition through a tour with the Allman Brothers Band and found significant success during the course of the '70s, with most of their albums going gold. Their peak came with the million-selling album Carolina Dreams and its Top 15 single "Heard It in a Love Song" in 1977. The band was slowed down by the death of Tommy Caldwell in a car accident in 1980 and faded from the album charts after 1982. Toy Caldwell left for a solo career soon after, and the original lineup disbanded in 1983. Later that same year, Doug Gray and Jerry Eubanks hired some Nashville studio musicians and took the band back out onto the road; a little over a year later, the second wave of the Marshall Tucker Band began, as Gray and Eubanks returned home to Spartanburg, SC, and hired guitarist Rusty Milner, bassist Tim Lawter, drummer Ace Allen, and guitarist Stuart Swanlund. During the years since the original band dissolved, the group has had country chart hits, toured constantly, made forays into the blues and adult contemporary, and suffered the loss of founding member Toy Caldwell, who died in 1993. Some bandmembers left, some joined, and some stayed right where they were, but through it all, the Marshall Tucker Band endured. The band continued to record steadily, maintained a loyal fan base, and eventually began to receive their due as Southern rock pioneers. The 1998 Marshall Tucker Band consisted of Gray, Milner, Lawter, Swanlund, David Muse (formerly of Firefall, on sax, flute, and keys), and drummer B.B. Borden (formerly of Mother's Finest). The band took several stylistic detours with 1998's all-blues outing Face Down in the Blues and the 1999 spiritual album Gospel. A thorough reissue campaign was inaugurated in 2003, and the new studio record Beyond the Horizon appeared one year later. In 2006, the group released a live 1980 concert, Live on Long Island, and another new studio project, The Next Adventure, appeared in 2007.

20 Collared Blues - Dan Hicks It Happened One Bite 1978

Hicks … can’t get too much Hicks. This is our fourth Dan Hicks track and there are many more in the Naweedna queue for future inclusion. So how did we go about picking this specific track for this year’s offering? Well, it is a classic example of the system working. We had all the other tracks in place and ended up about four minutes short of a full CD. Okay, let’s sort the library for NWN-class tracks, sort them by time, and scroll down to the four minute entries. Viola, Collared Blues at 3:46. We gave it a listen to refresh our memories and … there’s whistling. I love whistling. Gotta have some whistling. Bam, it goes in … and there are only 16 seconds left blank on the CD. Done deal. Oh, be sure to read the review of the It Happened One Bite (below) ;-)

Lyrics Lyrics, what lyrics? Whistling, ba, ba, ba … that’s it, just one song to the next, folks.

It Happened One Bite 4.5 Stars 1978 Rock

A cherished rarity among even his most die-hard fans, It Happened One Bite finds Dan Hicks and company – not exactly his Hot Licks, but close enough for hipster folk swing – providing the soundtrack for a 1978 animated film set during the gangster ‘50s. Unfortunately, the cartoon in question, at least with Hicks’ exceptional soundtrack for it, was shelved. A reworked version of the film eventually released in 1982 featured none of the tunes Hicks wrote and recorded. Too bad, too, because his 13 songs are all top-notch tomfoolery of the patented Hicks variety. Though a Warner Brothers album made a brief appearance on store shelves back in the days of vinyl records, U.S. consumers looking for it on CD had only the choice of a pricey Japanese import or going without. Enter Rhino Handmade. The reissue label remedied the dilemma with a widescreen limited-edition CD pressing of 4,500 in late 2001. This disc includes the original album, plus an additional nine tunes (including the standard “It’s Only a Paper Moon”). Available only from the Rhino Handmade Internet site.

Dan Hicks

Throughout his decades-long career, Dan Hicks stood as one of contemporary music’s true eccentrics. While steeped in folk, his acoustic sound knew few musical boundaries, drawing on country, call-and- response vocals, jazz phrasing and no small amount of humor to create a distinctive, albeit sporadic, body of work which earned him a devoted cult following.

Hicks was born December 9, 1941 to a military family then living in Arkansas, and grew up in California, where he was a drummer in a number of high school bands. He attended college in San Francisco, where he switched to guitar and began playing folk music. He returned to the drums, however, when he joined the Charlatans, one of the Bay City’s first psychedelic bands. Although the Charlatans were short-lived – they issued only one single during their existence – they proved influential throughout the San Francisco musical community, and were one of the first acts the play the legendary Family Dog. Hicks had formed the acoustic group Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks in 1968 as an opener for the Charlatans, but soon the new band became his primary project. After adding a pair of female backing vocalists – “the Lickettes” – the group issued its debut LP Original Recordings in 1969. After a pair of 1971 records, Where’s the Money? And Striking It Rich, they issued 1973’s Last Train to Hicksville, which proved to be the Hot Licks most successful album yet. At the peak of the group’s popularity, however, Hicks dissolved the band, and did not resurface until 1978, releasing the solo LP It Happened One Bite, the soundtrack to an uncompleted feature by animator Ralph Bakshi. He then phased in and out of the music industry for more than a decade, and did not issue another major recording until 1994’s Shootin’ Straight, a live recording cut with a new band, the Acoustic Warriors In 2000, over two decades after the group’s dissolution, Hicks reformed the Hot Licks and issued Beatin’ The Heat. Alive and Lickin’ arrived a year later.

21 Blowin’ The Fuse – Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry Best Of The Blues (Vinyl) 196?

This was on a vinyl I bought back in the 60s. It has been one of my house favorites ever since. Just a lot of good harp work and a fitting ending piece: “Brownie, you know we blew the fuse, man. Lights out.”

Lyrics Can’t find any lyrics for this track.

No AMG info for Best of the Blues ...

Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry

Brownie McGhee's death in 1996 represents an enormous and irreplaceable loss to the blues field. Although he had been semi-retired and suffering from stomach cancer, the guitarist was still the leading Piedmont-style bluesman on the planet, venerated worldwide for his prolific activities both on his own and with his longtime partner, the blind harpist Sonny Terry.

Together, McGhee and Terry worked for decades in an acoustic folk-blues bag, singing ancient ditties like "John Henry" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton" for appreciative audiences worldwide. But McGhee was capable of a great deal more. Throughout the immediate postwar era, he cut electric blues and R&B on the New York scene, even enjoying a huge R&B hit in 1948 with "My Fault" for Savoy (Hal "Cornbread" Singer handled tenor sax duties on the 78).

Walter Brown McGhee grew up in Kingsport, TN. He contracted polio at the age of four, which left him with a serious limp and plenty of time away from school to practice the guitar chords that he'd learned from his father, Duff McGhee. Brownie's younger brother, Granville McGhee, was also a talented guitarist who later hit big with the romping "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; he earned his nickname, "Stick," by pushing his crippled sibling around in a small cart propelled by a stick.

A 1937 operation sponsored by the March of Dimes restored most of McGhee's mobility. Off he went as soon as he recovered, traveling and playing throughout the Southeast. His jaunts brought him into contact with washboard player George "Oh Red" (or "Bull City Red") Washington in 1940, who in turn introduced McGhee to talent scout J.B. Long. Long got him a recording contract with OKeh/Columbia in 1940; his debut session in Chicago produced a dozen tracks over two days.

Long's principal blues artist, Blind Boy Fuller, died in 1941, precipitating Okeh to issue some of McGhee's early efforts under the sobriquet of Blind Boy Fuller No. 2. McGhee cut a moving tribute song, "Death of Blind Boy Fuller," shortly after the passing. McGhee's third marathon session for OKeh in 1941 paired him for the first time on shellac with whooping harpist Terry for "Workingman's Blues."

The pair resettled in New York in 1942. They quickly got connected with the city's burgeoning folk music circuit, working with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly. After the end of World War II, McGhee began to record most prolifically, both with and without Terry, for a myriad of R&B labels: Savoy (where he cut "Robbie Doby Boogie" in 1948 and "New Baseball Boogie" the next year), Alert, London, Derby, Sittin' in With and its Jax subsidiary in 1952, Jackson, Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo (1953), Dot, and Harlem, before crossing over to the folk audience during the late '50s with Terry at his side. One of McGhee's last dates for Savoy in 1958 produced the remarkably contemporary "Living with the Blues," with Roy Gaines and Carl Lynch blasting away on lead guitars and a sound light years removed from the staid folk world.

McGhee and Terry were among the first blues artists to tour Europe during the 1950s, and they ventured overseas often after that. Their plethora of late-'50s/early-'60s albums for Folkways, Choice, World Pacific, Bluesville, and Fantasy presented the duo in acoustic folk trappings only, their Piedmont-style musical interplay a constant (if gradually more predictable) delight.

McGhee didn't limit his talents to concert settings. He appeared on Broadway for three years in a production of playwright Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955 and later put in a stint in the Langston Hughes play Simply Heaven. Films (Angel Heart, Buck and the Preacher) and an episode of the TV sitcom Family Ties also benefited from his dignified presence.

The wheels finally came off the partnership of McGhee and Terry during the mid-'70s. Toward the end, they preferred not to share a stage with one another (Terry would play with another guitarist, then McGhee would do a solo), let alone communicate. One of McGhee's final concert appearances came at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival; his voice was a tad less robust than usual, but no less moving, and his rich, full-bodied acoustic guitar work cut through the cool evening air with alacrity. His like won't pass this way again.

22 Goodnight - They Might Be Giants Here Come The ABCs 2005

But wait, we still have a little room left on the CD. How about this 23 second-long ditty. Goodnight … from Naweedna-land ;-)

Lyrics Goodnight my friends. Goodnight my friends. Sweetdreams from ABC land.

Here Come the ABCs 4 Stars 2005 Childrens

They Might Be Giants have always had a flair for educational songs. More than a decade after its release, the refrain of "Why Does the Sun Shine" ("The sun is a mass of incandescent gas/A gigantic nuclear furnace") still has a pesky way of lodging itself in the brain. And, as the band's wonderful first children's album, No!, demonstrated, They Might Be Giants' music speaks to kids in a way that few other bands' work can; they never sound like they're talking (or singing) down to their smaller fans. Here Come the ABCs makes the most of the band's ability to teach and reach children, and more than delivers on its promise to "learn ABCs the fun way!" Since this is a more educational enterprise than No! was, Here Come the ABCs is a little more straightforward and like a traditional children's album than its predecessor. Several songs, like "E Eats Everything," are more or less recitations of the alphabet, albeit with a few twists: "Z Y X" brings the album to a close with a dramatic backwards reading of the alphabet, and "The Alphabet of Nations" is a mini-atlas, spanning Algeria to Zimbabwe. This is still a They Might Be Giants album, though, and the band's catchy melodies and smart wordplay haven't been dumbed down. "Flying V," with its charming, Vince Guaraldi-like pianos and images of migrating geese and electric guitars, is another of John Linnell's seemingly effortless but brilliant songs, and "C Is for Conifers" offers an extra-credit lesson in botany as well as the alphabet. Here Come the ABCs brings personality to the alphabet's characters, with some letters sharing songs and others getting songs of their own. The bouncy "Go for G!" is an immediate kid-pleaser, while "Q U" casts these letters as pals that "make a cool sound together" -- much like Linnell and Flansburgh themselves. F gets "Fake-Believe," a celebration of imagination so good that they had to include it on the album twice. Other songs are more conceptual: "Pictures of Pandas Painting," which is all about alliteration, lives up to its psychedelic title, while "Who Put the Alphabet in Alphabetical Order?" gets downright meta. Amidst all the learning, there's still plenty of room for plain old fun, as shown by the squiggly synths on "Letter Shapes"; the self-explanatory "Clap Your Hands"; and "Rolling O," which celebrates the joy of making silly mouth noises with scat-like babbling. Though some of the songs feel a little incomplete without the dazzling visuals of the DVD version, Here Come the ABCs is still a delight. It might be slightly less magical than No!, but it's a far cry from a by-the-numbers (or letters) children's album.

They Might Be Giants

Combining a knack for infectious melodies with a quirky, bizarre sense of humor and a vaguely avant-garde aesthetic borrowed from the New York post-punk underground, They Might Be Giants became one of the most unlikely alternative success stories of the late '80s and early '90s. Musically, John Flansburgh and John Linnell borrowed from everywhere, but their freewheeling eclecticism was enhanced by their arcane, geeky sense of humor. The duo would reference everything from British Invasion to Tin Pan Alley, while making allusion to pulp fiction and President Polk. Through their string of indie releases and constant touring, They Might Be Giants built up a huge following on college campuses during the late '80s, switching to a major label in the early '90s. With support from MTV, 1990's Flood became a gold album, and with it, the duo began to reap commercial rewards, moving into the status of one of the most popular alternative bands before grunge. However, They Might Be Giants' whimsical outlook became buried in the avalanche of post-grunge groups that dominated MTV and modern rock radio in the mid-'90s, and the group retreated to its cult following.

Flansburgh and Linnell met when they were children in Lincoln, MA. During high school, they began writing songs together, yet they never officially formed a band. Both Johns went to college after high school, with Linnell playing in the Mundanes, a new wave group from Rhode Island. By 1981, the pair had reunited, deciding to move to Brooklyn to pursue a musical career. Taking their name from a George C. Scott film and performing their original material with a drum machine, They Might Be Giants soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. Although Flansburgh and Linnell were building a cult following, they had a hard time getting a record deal, so they set up Dial-A-Song -- a phone line that played songs on an answering machine -- as a way to get their songs heard. The gimmick worked. Not only did it lead to a deal with the indie label Bar/None, but over the years it was a successful venture; at one point, the service was receiving hundreds of calls a day.

They Might Be Giants released their eponymous debut in 1986, and the album became a college radio hit; it also made waves on MTV due to the inventive video for "Don't Let's Start." Two years later they released Lincoln, which expanded their following considerably. Featuring the college hit "Ana Ng," Lincoln climbed to number 89 on the charts, earning the attention of major labels. They Might Be Giants decided to sign with Elektra Records in 1990, releasing Flood later that year. Flood worked its way to gold status, thanks to the singles "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," which both had popular videos. In the wake of the group's success, Restless/Bar/None released the B-sides and rarities compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991.

Apollo 18, released in 1992, wasn't quite as successful as Flood, yet it consolidated the group's cult. For the album's supporting tour, They Might Be Giants performed with a full backing band for the first time, hiring former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. The shift toward a full band coincided with the dominance of grunge in alternative rock. Though they were strengthened by the powerful sound of a full band, They Might Be Giants failed to receive much attention from MTV, mainstream modern rock radio, or college radio when they released John Henry in the fall of 1994. Recorded with the full band, John Henry lost the group a number of fans, yet the group's concerts remained popular attractions, especially on American college campuses. Still, the band's next album, 1996's Factory Showroom, was virtually ignored by the press, MTV, and radio. The live Severe Tire Damage followed two years later.

They Might Be Giants maintained their "hardest working men in show business" status in 2001 when they issued Mink Car, a stunning follow-up to Factory Showroom that boasted collaborations with M. Doughty, Adam Schlesinger, and the Elegant Too. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in summer 2002 with the release of their first children's album, No! Rhino also celebrated the band's tenure with the first-ever They Might Be Giants retrospective, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants. A year later, Flansburgh and Linnell joined Canadian artist Marcel Dzama for the children's book and CD set Bed, Bed, Bed. The Indestructible Object EP arrived in spring 2004, just a few months before the band's eighth full-length album, The Spine. Early in 2005, Here Come the ABCs and its accompanying DVD were the band's first releases for Disney Sound. Later that year, They Got Lost arrived.

Over the course of the next two years, TMBG released a series of monthly and bimonthly podcasts. They also contributed to various film soundtracks, including Disney's Meet the Robinsons and the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. The band's 14th studio release, The Else, hit stores in the summer of 2007. Here Come the 123's, the sequel to Here Come the ABC's, appeared in early 2008. Later that year, the CD/DVD set Venue Songs, which featured appearances by actor/comedian John Hodgman, was released. Here Comes Science, which featured songs about paleontology, astronomy, and chemistry and included a DVD with animated versions of "the Johns" and videos by Divya Srinivasan, Tiny Inventions, David Cowles, Hine Mizushima, and Feel Good Anyway, was released in fall 2009.

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