The Sunday Six

After a busy week with two back-to-back “big ticket” concerts, I’m ready to take a short break from live shows and celebrate the beauty of music from home with another Sunday Six. Hope you’ll join me on my trip to visit six tunes of the past and the present.

Weather Report/Forlorn

Let’s get underway gently with some jazz fusion by Weather Report. Forlorn is a smooth track from their ninth studio album Night Passage, which came out in November 1980. The piece was composed by Austrian jazz keyboarder Joe Zawinul, who is regarded as one of the creators of jazz fusion. Zawinul co-founded Weather Report in 1970 with saxophone maestro Wayne Shorter. By the time Night Passage was released, the group also featured the amazing Jaco Pastorius (fretless bass), Robert Thomas Jr. (percussion) and Peter Erskine (drums). Weather Report would record six more albums before they disbanded in early 1986 after Shorter had left to focus on solo projects.

The Guess Who/Hand Me Down World

While I’ve only heard a handful of songs by The Guess Who, I know one thing for sure: I love this next tune! The Canadian rock band’s origins go back to 1958 when Winnipeg singer and guitarist Chad Allan formed a local group called Allan and the Silvertones. In January 1965, the band, then called Chad Allan & The Expressions, released their debut album Shakin’ All Over. The group’s cover of the Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song also became their fourth single. The band’s American label Quality Records thought it would be clever to disguise the group’s name by crediting the tune to Guess Who? Not only did the publicity stunt work but it also gave birth to the band’s new name. Hand Me Down World, written by lead guitarist Kurt Winter, is from The Guess Who’s seventh studio album Share the Land, released in October 1970. It also became one of their hit singles, reaching no. 10 in Canada and no. 17 in the U.S. A version of The Guess Who is still around and currently touring the U.S.

Tal Bachman/She’s So High

Let’s stay in Canada for this next pick from April 1999. There’s also another connection to the previous tune. Tal Bachman is the son of guess who? Yep, Randy Bachman, who in turn was a co-founder of The Guess Who and, of course, Bachman–Turner Overdrive. When I heard She’s So High in 1999, I loved it right away and got Tal Bachman’s eponymous debut album on CD. It’s pretty good power pop, and I’m a bit surprised Bachman junior only issued one additional studio album, Staring Down the Sun, in July 2004. Man, with this jangly guitar sound and the catchy melody, I still love this song as much as I did back in 1999. Beware, it might get stuck in your brain!

The Kinks/Till the End of the Day

After some catchy power pop music, I think it’s time for some ’60s rock, don’t you agree? I’ve said it before. The Kinks are among my favorite British rock bands, together with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. Till the End of the Day, written by the great Ray Davies, first came out as a single in November 1965. Subsequently, it was also included on the band’s third studio album The Kink Kontroversy, which appeared a week after the single – clever and quite appropriate title. If you’d like to know why I’d encourage you to read this post by fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day, who just discussed The Kinks’ volatile behavior the other day. Till the End of the Day became their sixth top ten single in the UK (no. 8). It was most successful in The Netherlands where it peaked at no. 6. Elsewhere, it charted in Germany (no. 19), Canada (no. 34), Australia (no. 63) and the U.S. (no. 50). Baby, I feel good!

Band of Horses/The Funeral

If I recall it correctly, it was on Eclectic Music Lover’s blog where I first learned about Band of Horses. In fact, his most recent Weekly Top 30s installment features Warning Signs, a tune by the indie rock band from Seattle, off their current album Things Are Great. Band of Horses have been around since 2004 and released six studio albums to date. The Funeral, despite its grim title, is a great tune from their March 2006 studio debut Everything All the Time. The music is credited to the entire group, with lyrics written by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell who has been the band’s sole constant member throughout numerous lineup changes. The Funeral also became Band of Horses’ debut single – check out that great sound!

Rival Sons/Pressure & Time

And once again it’s time to wrap up another Sunday Six. Let’s make it count with a kickass rocker by Rival Sons: Pressure & Time. The band from Long Beach, Calif. was founded in 2009 and still includes three original members: Jay Buchanan (lead vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar), Scott Holiday (guitar, backing vocals) and Mike Miley (drums, backing vocals). Dave Beste (bass, backing vocals) who has been with the group since 2013 completes the current lineup. Pressure & Time, credited to the entire band, is the title track of the group’s sophomore album. Released in June 2011, it was their first to make the charts, climbing to no. 19 in the U.S. on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers. Wikipedia notes that while Rival Sons oftentimes are compared to ’70s rock, they have cited Prince, D’Angelo, The Roots, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as influences. Whatever the case may be, when listening to Pressure & Time, I can hear some Zep in here, and that makes me really happy!

Last but not least here’s a Spotify playlist featuring the above tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify