Wedding Wednesdays - Johnny Cash - Flesh And Blood

I love Johnny, I do. And his marriage with June is one of the stories I think about when I consider love (though, naturally, I hope never to emulate the first eleventeen years of that story).

This is the stripped-down, bare-bones version from Johnny's last years, not the one with the shimmery strings from 1970. Ultimately, this feels more like I hope my wedding will be -- smaller, more intimate. Still perfectly composed and executed, but no pomp or bombast, just quiet satisfaction and happiness with life and love. (If we were having a bigger, more expensive wedding, the other version might be more appropriate, especially since I love June's backing vocals on that take.)

This song is one of those comparative love songs, the ones like "In My Life" which say I love a lot of wonderful things, but I love you most of all. And this song says a lot about the transient beauty of our world, and the durable, lasting beauty of love between humans.

I haven't forgotten what tomorrow is -- click here to see last year's Thanksgiving post. I'm a lucky boy, in a lot of ways, and (not unlike Johnny) one of the things I've been luckiest about is to get a second chance with love. Thanks, sweetie. Happy Thanksgiving.

Johnny Cash - Flesh and Blood
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Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer - Redemption Song

Bob Marley, dying from cancer, wrote "Redemption Song" in 1979, borrowing some words from a speech by Marcus Garvey. Twenty-odd years later, another music legend in the last years of his life recorded a version of the song.

Bob and Johnny didn't share a religion, or a race, or a musical style. I think they would've liked each other, though, and Johnny's take on Bob Marley's original is haunting, moving, and uplifting.

I composed a twelve-hour mix of music for a friend's birthday party last week, and this is one of two songs I got specific raving compliments about. Here you go, Julian. I hope this makes up for us running out of corn.

Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer - Redemption Song
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Johnny Cash - A Day In The Grand Canyon

Forty-eight years ago, Johnny Cash released an album entitled The Lure of the Grand Canyon. It contained a new recording (by king of the thrift store conductors, Andre Kostelanetz) of Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, with added sound effects and followed by this long explanatory track from Johnny.

This album has been out of print for decades, and I haven't been able to find the whole album, though this track was reprinted in the Bear Family's awe-inspiring collection of box sets.

This track is over 10 minutes long, and almost 20 MB in size. Download with care. Before this week of posts is over, I hope to upload some of my own sound recordings from the recent trip. Stay tuned!

Johnny Cash - A Day In The Grand Canyon
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Have Yourself A Country Little Christmas

Here is one of last year's two CD-length mixes. This one focuses on country, western swing, bluegrass and folk music. (In two days, I'll post the other mix from '07, focusing on blues and soul.)

I had a hard time whittling this down to one CD's worth of music. At the earliest stage, I had almost three hours of music to pick from, all songs on the theme which I loved. (The second mix was a little easier to choose from -- I only had to delete about half an hour from that one.) I'm well aware this is a totally subjective collection of "country" Christmas music -- you'll notice there's not one note, not one second of "new country" -- the only hitmakers on this CD recorded back in the 60's or earlier. That's MY country music.

Tracklist:

01. George Jones - My Mom and Santa Claus
02. Tennessee Ernie Ford (with The Mellomen featuring Thurl Ravenscroft) - A Root'n Toot'n Santa Claus
03. Asleep At The Wheel - Santa Loves To Boogie
04. Whit Hill and John Latini - Going With My Cousin To See Santa At The Mall
05. Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys - Christmas Time's A Comin'
06. Earl Scruggs - Jingle Bells
07. Jerry Webb - Christmas Time On The County Line
08. John Fahey - In The Bleak Midwinter
09. Bobby Goldsboro - Look Around You (It's Christmas)
10. The Wailers - Christmas Spirit
11. Bill Kelly - Here Comes Christmas
12. Del McCoury - Call Collect On Christmas
13. Roger Christian - Little Mary Christmas
14. Woody Guthrie - Hannukah Dance (alternate take)
15. Brigid Kaelin - Mazel Tonk
16. Mindy Smith - My Holiday
17. Nancy Hanson - All Wrapped Up
18. Michael Bishop - Rock-A-Billy Christmas
19. Mark Jungers and The Whistling Mules - The Christmas Song
20. Brenda Lee - I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus
21. Hank Snow - Reindeer Boogie
22. Johnny Horton - They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose
23. Holly Golightly - Christmas Tree's On Fire
24. Jimmy Martin - Old-Fashioned Christmas
25. Ernest Tubb - Merry Texas Christmas You All
26. Johnny Cash - Blue Christmas
27. Trainwreck Riders - Christmas Time Blues

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Cat Power

I've had a crush on Cat Power for a few years now. Last week, when I finally got to see her live (at the mostly-restored Tabernacle), that crush became full-blown love. I know this seems a little weird, and if Chan ever reads this I hope she understands, but her performance style is so open, so emotional and moving, I couldn't help but fall in love.

The show was dominated by songs recorded for her latest album, Jukebox. (By my count, 12 songs were from these sessions, though one, "Fortunate Son," has yet to see release -- I can't wait.) And so is this post:

"Aretha, Sing One For Me" is a cover of George Jackson's 1972 paean to the Queen of Soul, and expresses a lot of the emotion listeners can get out of, and put back into, music. Similarly, "Song to Bobby" (the only Cat Power original in this post, one of two on the album) expresses Chan's love and admiration for Robert Allen Zimmerman, and tells a story about the two. "She's Got You" is a Patsy Cline cover, a song which isn't on the album proper (but the deluxe edition is only $2 more, and the buy link goes there anyway). Finally, my favorite song on the album, "Silver Stallion," is about freedom and horses and hope and the future (a cover of Lee Clayton, though the song might be better known as by The Highwaymen).

Chan roamed the stage all night, and as there was only one row of people between me and her, I got a great view of the show. She sang directly to the audience all night, dancing, grooving on the band (who, incidentally, are great) and working off her nerves. She even sang directly to me for about a minute, and that's when I fell in love. After the concert was over, Chan came out, sans band, and tossed us all flowers, one by one, and made a point of pulling the setlists off the stage and throwing them into the audience too. The crowd was appreciative and loving (even before getting the flowers) and we were paid back tenfold with a great, heartfelt show.

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Multiple Mondays (kinda): (Ghost) Riders In The Sky

I missed last week's Multiple Monday, and I'm in the middle of compiling a monster for next week. But I couldn't let two Mondays in a row go by without something. So I'm going to let someone else do my work for me. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you lilgorgor, and his tribute to (Ghost) Riders In The Sky!

(For background on the song, click through to Wikipedia's entry.) My favorites on this page are, in no particular order:

Johnny Cash
Frankie Laine
The Ventures
Peggy Lee (edited to add this, so as to point out that it's Peggy Lee's birthday today!)
And Walter Brennan's spoken version (I haven't been able to verify this yet, but I'm almost positive the backing vocals are from The Mellomen, one of whom is, yes, our patron saint, Thurl Ravenscroft).

The more observant among you will note that I also used another of these versions as a secret bonus track on a recent collection here. I won't tell you which -- that will remain an exercise for the reader.

Chicken Phat!

I have to be completely honest here, or what's the point? I love "Chicken Fat." Ever since I first heard it last month, I've been trying to post it to this blog in some way. I got my chance Sunday, but here's a collection of songs about chickens and fat and, yes, schmaltz. (It's entirely appropriate that my post about schmaltz also includes my first post of a Pat Boone song.)

This is the second volume in a VERY irregular series of fun collections, entitled Phat Booty Beats. The first volume was all pirate music, collected two and a half years ago to commemorate the first annual Pirate Movie Night at my house. Volume three, when it comes, will likely be subtitled "Does Sir Mix-A-Lot Like Booty?"

Phat Booty Beats Volume Two: Chicken Phat

01. Robert Preston - Chicken Fat
02. Fats Domino - The Fat Man
03. Corky and The Juice Pigs - Chicken In A Bucket
04. Carl Malcolm - Fatty Bum Bum
05. Lynn Roberts - Chicken Fat
06. Dana Gillespie - Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style
07. Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Chicken
08. Al Tijuana and His Jewish Brass - Chicken Fat
09. Johnny Cash - The Chicken In Black
10. Apostle Of Hustle - Animal Fat
11. Jack Jones - Dixie Chicken
12. Los Lobos - The Fat Man
13. Lynn Roberts - Chicken Fat (Instrumental)
14. Pat Boone - Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
15. Dennis Weaver - Chicken Mash

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Qu'est-ce Que C'est? -- It Don't Look Like Anything.

So I'm currently rereading (this is my third time through) Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. It's a lot darker and more complex than the movie (which I don't particularly care for -- watch John Malkovich play Tom Ripley in Ripley's Game for a much closer portrayal). The novel is disturbing the freaking hell out of me.

And then, this week, I went to see Okkervil River live, and their song "Westfall" is a disturbingly danceable portrayal of insane murder. So you all get to hear this. (I've been holding onto some of these songs since I put together the Crazy? Probably mix, since I thought I might do something like this.) If you didn't already do so, remember to download yesterday's post too, since only the original version of "Psycho Killer" is in this mix, and there are five more covers there.

01 - Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
02 - Johnny Cash - Delia's Gone
03 - Neko Case - Make Your Bed
04 - Violent Femmes - Country Death Song
05 - The Byrds - Pretty Polly
06 - Springtime Is Wartime - Psycho Killer
07 - C. W. McCall - Comin' Back for More
08 - Jason Isbell - Psycho Killer
09 - Okkervil River - Westfall
10 - Bishop Allen - Psycho Killer
11 - Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
12 - The Faint - Psycho Killer
13 - Lou Reed - The Gun
14 - The Beatles - Maxwell's Silver Hammer
15 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Curse Of Millhaven
16 - Wyclef Jean - Delia's Gone

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