Every now and then I go tooling around youtube. This is usually brought on by a desire to hear a specific song that I haven’t yet added to my library and I invariably get caught up in listening to covers of the intended song. Tonight was such a night and Moondance was the song I sought to delight my ears with. Being such an iconic song by Van Morrison
, with covers by the Allman Brothers Band, Michael Bublé and Joe Cocker to name a few, it wasn’t difficult to find other upcoming vocalists wishing to try their hand at this tried and true love song from the 70s.
That is how I stumbled across Charlese, a British vocalist wishing to make a name for herself. The composition was simple, her vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar played by Matthew Shaw. It wasn’t overworked or over done and I admit that I found it more engaging than the version by Mr. Bublé. Charlese has a deep, throaty sorta sensual sound that easily lends itself to a smokey (or not so smokey, given the times) jazz club in a hole-in-the-wall dive that everyone visits to hear the best music in town. If you don’t believe me, visit charlese.co.uk for yourself and give her a listen. Read the rest of this entry »
There are times when you hear a song and it just seems to resonate so well with your current situation that you would swear that the lyricists peaked into your mind to find inspiration. That is how I feel about Low Tide of the Night by Everything But the Girl. Off of their album, Temperamental
, released in 1999, I know that is not the case but in listening to the song, I imagine myself in Tracey’s shoes with only the names of the places changing. I can but wonder if Tracey or Ben may have experienced feelings, thoughts similar to my own; thoughts that caused them to put pen to paper and record
When you’re down and troubled
You don’t tell you friends
You don’t tell your family
I won’t let them talk about me
I’m gonna let nobody down
It is as if, at that moment, we are both living our lives not for ourselves, but because we feel obligated to do so out of loyalty to our friends and family. We endure the pain, put on our mask and play the role that is expected of us so as to keep others from talking about us. As if we know that the talk won’t bring help, but only more pain and ridicule for being being weak or broken or just not right in the head. We have given over to altruism, leading a painful and thankless existence so that others may continue theirs unburdened. ”I’m gonna let nobody down,” except for myself.
But in the end it is worth it as you don’t force others to question if they did all that they could have. You don’t force them to doubt their actions, to wonder what more they could have done. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday we listened to 面影の先, a track from SOUR’s 2008 release, Every Undone Dawn. Today we have another track from Every Undone Dawn, 影踏み (Kage Fumi), or Shadow Stepping for the Japanese impaired. Clocking in at 7:26, it is the second longest track on the album and contains longer jam sessions where it is just you and the music. We also are treated to a few more effects, both vocal and instrumental, but not to the point where you loose the melodic soul rhythm or organic sound that I’ve come to enjoy; the additions simply add another layer of texture to help draw you into the song. Also thrown in with this song is a guitar solo with effects. This caught my attention as it was the first time I felt as if the song I was listening to wasn’t played on simple acoustic instruments. Read the rest of this entry »
Lately I have taken quite the liking to the Japanese trio, SOUR (not to be confused with SöuR). They first came to my attention after their video for 01 日々の音色 (hibi no neiro) attained near viral status. The group consists of Hoshijima (guitar/vocals), Sohey (bass) and 高橋ケ無 (Ken Takahashi, drums and other toys) and they describe themselves as “都会的且つオーガニック、タイト且つメロウ、研ぎ澄まされた心地よさを奏でる3ピースバンド。” Or in English, “A 3 piece band that plays organic, urban, tight, mellow, sharpend, and totally comfortable sound.” Read the rest of this entry »