Song Musings

Happy Wednesday! I’m back from a one-week hiatus and like to welcome you to a new installment of Song Musings. This weekly feature takes a closer look at tunes I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all to date. My pick for today is Sunday Papers by Joe Jackson.

Written by Jackson, Sunday Papers first appeared on the versatile English musician’s and singer-songwriter’s debut album Look Sharp!, which came out in January 1979. Combining new wave and ska, the precursor to rocksteady and reggae, the tune also became the album’s and Jackson’s overall second single in February 1979 after Is She Really Going Out With Him?.

Just like the initial release of Is She Really Going Out With Him? in October 1978, Sunday Papers didn’t make the UK Official Singles Charts and also failed to chart in other countries. Unlike Jackson’s first single, Sunday Papers wasn’t reissued, possibly a mistake. When Is She Really Going Out With Him? appeared for the second time in 1979, the single received much more attention, reaching no. 13 in the UK, and climbing to no. 8, no. 9, no. 15 and no. 18 in Ireland, Canada, Australia and the U.S., respectively.

“It started out with this riff, which is really a standard sort of rhythm and blues riff,” Jackson explained in a 2011 mini-documentary about the making of Sunday Papers, posted on YouTube channel Top 2000 a gogo. According to their description, these mini documentaries are part of an annual Dutch television programme, made by NTR for NPO3. [Jackson playing piano] “I was putting it more on the off beats, so it has almost more like a ska reggae feel to it” [continues playing piano]. “And then the bass is going…” [continues playing piano, demonstrating the bass line] Here’s how the great song sounded live in June 2022, captured at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.

I’ve really come to dig Sunday Papers and Jackson’s debut album overall. One important reason is the terrific bass playing by Graham Maby who continues to work with Jackson to this day and can prominently be seen in the above live clip. The other members of Jackson’s original band, Gary Sanford (guitar) and David Houghton (drums), certainly were no slouches either.

Look Sharp! did better in the charts than Sunday Papers, reaching no. 40 in the UK and no. 20 in each the U.S., Canada and Australia. It performed best in New Zealand where it peaked at no. 13. The album has since secured Platinum certification in Canada (80,000 units); Gold certifications the U.S. (500,000 units) and The Netherlands (50,000 units); and Silver certification (60,000 units) in the UK. While the chart performance and sales figures are pretty modest compared to Jackson’s most successful album Night and Day (June 1982), they aren’t too shabby for a debut.

Following are some additional insights for Sunday Papers from Songfacts:

One of the few songs on Joe Jackson’s debut album Look Sharp! that isn’t about interpersonal relationships and matters of love, “Sunday Papers” is a takedown of the Fleet Street press, the UK print media that were prone to cover sensationalistic and frightening news stories to boost readership. Jackson had his battles with the press, who often categorized him in ways that weren’t to his liking (New Wave?). His message here: don’t trust everything you read, and don’t let it affect your lifestyle.

In 2011, it was revealed that the British newspaper News of the World was involved in phone hacking, and it produced quite a scandal. In 2012, we asked Joe Jackson about this event and if his song was prophetic. His reply: “I think that what applied now applied then. I think that some of the worst people just got busted, that’s all. All that stuff with the News of the World, I think it was business as usual. There are certain publications in the UK that have gone down market, that have gotten trashier. And there are some that are still at least trying to maintain a certain dignity. But yeah, I’m not a big fan of the UK media in general.”

Jackson used a reggae beat on this song, which is something The Clash, The Police, and Elvis Costello were also up to. Another Jackson song with a reggae influence is “Fool in Love.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Top 2000 a gogo; Songfacts; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and welcome to another trip into the beautiful and diverse world of music, six tracks at a time. Hop on, fasten your seatbelts and let’s go!

Miles Davis/So What

Today, I’d like to start our journey in August 1959 with some early Miles Davis. I have to admit I find this more accessible than Bitches Brew and other of his later more experimental music I’ve heard. I guess I’m not alone. According to Wikipedia, many critics regard Davis’s Kind of Blue album as his masterpiece, the greatest jazz record, and one of the best albums of all time. In 1976, it became his first album to reach Gold certification in the U.S., and as of 2019, it has reached 5X Platinum. More importantly, the album’s influence reached far beyond jazz. None other than the great Duane Allman, guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band, said his soloing on songs like In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, “comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind of Blue.” Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright noted the chord progressions on Kind of Blue influenced the structure of the introductory chords to the song Breathe on their 1973 gem The Dark Side of the Moon. Meanwhile, Davis ended up viewing Kind of Blue and his other early work differently. During a 1986 interview, he said, “I have no feel for it anymore—it’s more like warmed-over turkey.” Here’s the album’s opener So What composed by Davis. BTW, Davis (trumpet) was in formidable company on the album, including saxophone greats John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, as well as Paul Chambers (double bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums).

Christine McVie/One in a Million

For our next stop, we’re jumping 25 years ahead to January 1984. I trust Christine McVie (born Christine Perfect) doesn’t need much of an introduction. It’s safe to assume most folks know her as a long-term member of Fleetwood Mac. She joined the group as keyboarder and vocalist in 1970 after her departure from blues band Chicken Shack and the release of her first solo album Christine Perfect. Following the Mac’s 13th studio album Mirage from June 1982, they went on a temporary hiatus, giving McVie the time to record her second eponymous solo album, Christine McVie. She was backed by Todd Sharp (guitar, backing vocals), George Hawkins (bass, backing vocals) and Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion) who 10 years later would join Tom Petty’s band The Heartbreakers. Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham (guitar) and Mick Fleetwood (drums) had guest appearances on certain tracks, as had Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. Clearly, McVie didn’t have any challenges to secure high-caliber talent for the album. Here’s One in a Million, co-written by her and Sharp. It’s one of the tunes featuring Winwood who in addition to synthesizer also provided lead and backing vocals. Nice pop-rocker!

The Moody Blues/Watching and Waiting

This next pick has been on my list of earmarked Sunday Six songs for several months – not quite sure what took me so long! Watching and Waiting is the beautiful closer of the Moody Blues’s fifth studio album To Our Children’s Children’s Children, released in November 1969. Co-written by band members Justin Hayward (vocals, guitar, sitar) and Ray Thomas (vocals, flute, tambourine, bass flute, oboe), the tune also appeared separately as a single. It didn’t chart, unlike the album, which climbed to no. 2 in the UK, no. 11 in Canada and no. 14 in the U.S. The band’s remaining members at the time were Mike Pinder (Mellotron, piano), John Lodge (bass) and Graeme Edge (drums, percussion). During a 2014 interview Hayward said, “when we heard that song in its studio beauty, we thought, “This is it! All of those people who had been saying to us for the past 3 or 4 years, “You’ll probably just do another Nights in White Satin with it” — no! We had shivers up the spine, and that kind of stuff. But when it came out and you heard it on the radio, you kept saying, “Turn it up! Turn it up!! Oh no, it’s not going to make it.” So it didn’t happen.”

Tom Faulkner/River On the Rise

On to the ’90s and Tom Faulkner, a great American singer-songwriter who isn’t exactly a household name. My former bandmate and longtime music buddy from Germany brought him and his excellent 1997 album Lost In The Land Of Texico on my radar screen last year, and this is the second track from that album I’m featuring on The Sunday Six. To date, Faulkner has only released two albums. His most recent one, Raise the Roof, appeared in 2002. For the most part, he has made his living with commercial music for radio and TV. According to this bio on last.fm, Faulkner has created hundreds of national jingles and scores, including some of the most memorable commercial music on television and radio. Most notably, he composed and sang the wildly popular “I Want My Baby Back” for Chili’s, a jingle that has since found its way into motion pictures (Austin Powers) and over a dozen major network TV shows. He also created the multi-award winning music theme for Motel 6 and Tom Bodett, the longest running commercial campaign in the history of advertising (23 years, 5 CLIOs, and counting). Check out River On the Rise, a nice bluesy tune!

Joe Jackson Band/Take It Like a Man

It’s time to feature a couple of songs from the current century, don’t you agree? First, let’s go to March 2003 and Volume 4, the 16th studio album by versatile British music artist Joe Jackson, released as Joe Jackson Band. For this project, Jackson (piano, organ, electric piano, melodica, lead vocals) brought back together his original backing band of Gary Sanford (guitar, backing vocals), Graham Maby (bass, backing vocals) and David Houghton (drums, backing vocals). And there’s definitely some of that cool vibe from Jackson’s first three albums Look Sharp! (January 1979), I’m the Man (October 1979) and Beat Crazy (October 1980). Over his now 50-plus-year career, Jackson has touched many different genres ranging from pub rock, new wave, swing, and jazz-oriented pop to even classical music. Here’s the album’s great opener Take It Like a Man, which like all other tunes was penned by Jackson.

Candy Dulfer/Jammin’ Tonight (feat. Nile Rodgers)

And once again, it’s time to wrap up. For this final track, we’re traveling back to the present and a funky tune by Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist Candy Dulfer: Jammin’ Tonight featuring Mr. funky guitar Nile Rodgers. Dulfer, the daughter of Dutch tenor saxophonist Hans Dulfer, began playing the drums as a five-year-old before discovering the saxophone a year later. Since the age of seven, she has focused on the tenor saxophone. By the time she was 11, Dulfer made her first recordings for her father’s jazz band De Perikels (the perils). Three years later, she opened up two European concerts for Madonna with her own band Funky Stuff. Two years later, in 1989, she duetted with Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics) on the worldwide instrumental hit Lily Was Here, from the motion picture soundtrack of the same name. The following year, she put out her solo debut album Saxuality. The above tune Jammin’ Tonight is from Dulfer’s forthcoming album We Never Stop, which is scheduled for October 28. Funky!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above tunes. Hope there’s something for ya!

Sources: Wikipedia; last.fm; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Little darling, it’s been a long, cold lonely winter – well, it actually wasn’t that bad, at least here in lovely Central New Jersey, but the line from George Harrison’s Here Comes the Sun was the first thing that came to mind in connection with spring, which officially started today! With that being said, let’s get to the first spring edition of The Sunday Six.

Tangerine Dream/Underwater Twilight

Today’s trip starts with a soothing instrumental by German electronic music stalwarts Tangerine Dream. This track was part of a “chill mix” playlist my streaming music provider served up the other day. Founded as a five-piece in 1967 by Edgar Froese, the group has seen numerous line-up changes over its long and still ongoing history. Wikipedia notes their best-known line-up was a trio, which in addition to Froese (keyboards, guitars) included Christopher Franke (keyboards, drums) and Peter Baumann (keyboards). Spanning the years 1971-1975, that line-up’s albums included Alpha Centauri (March 1971), Zeit (August 1972), Atem (March 1973), Phaedra (November 1973) and Rubycon (March 1975). To get to Underwater Twilight, a track from Tangerine Dream’s 16th studio album Underwater Sunlight, we need to jump forward 11 years to August 1986. By that time, Froese and Franke were joined by Paul Haslinger (synthesizer, grand piano, guitar). Froese remained with Tangerine Dream until his death in January 2015. The group’s current line-up has no original members. The only connection to the past remains Froese’s widow Bianca Froese-Acquaye who acts as the group’s manager.

Grant Lee Buffalo/Rock of Ages

Our next stop takes us to the ’90s and Grant Lee Buffalo, a rock band from Los Angeles, who initially were active between 1991 and 1999. Their members included Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals, guitar), Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All of the group’s four studio albums came out during that period. After they disbanded in early 1999, Phillips launched a solo career. In late 2010 and early 2011, Grant Lee Buffalo briefly came back together for a reunion tour. Rock of Ages, penned by Phillips, is a great track from the group’s sophomore album Mighty Joe Moon, released in September 1994. Its vibe reminds me a bit of Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. I’m completely new to this group and dig what I’ve heard so far. I’d welcome listening tips any of you may have.

Joe Jackson/Friday

For this tune, we’re gonna step on the gas and go back to October 1979 and the sophomore album by Joe Jackson, aptly titled I’m the Man. The record, which I received as a present for my 14th birthday in 1980, was my introduction to the British artist. Initially, he gained popularity with post-punk and new wave before embracing a jazz-oriented pop sound. With Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive from June 1981, he also did an all-out jump blues and swing record. His most recent album Fool, which I reviewed here, appeared in January 2019. It’s quite compelling! Back to I’m the Man and Friday, which was penned by Jackson. One of his ingredients is excellent bassist Graham Maby, who continues to play with Jackson to this day. Check out Maby’s pulsating bassline – so good! I should also acknowledge Gary Sanford (guitar) and David Houghton (drums, vocals), which rounded out Jackson’s band at the time – the best backing group he has had, in my view.

The Association/Never My Love

After three tunes into our journey, it’s high time to visit my favorite decade the ’60s. And, boy, do I have a sunshine pop goodie that has California written all over it. The Association have been active since 1965, except for a short one-year break-up from 1978 to 1979. Their heyday was in the ’60s where they had a series of top 10 hits. The group also opened the Monterey International Pop Festival that took place June 16-18, 1967. Never My Love, co-written by American siblings Don Addrisi and Dick Addrisi, is among The Association’s biggest hits, climbing to no. 2 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Canadian charts. The tune first appeared on the band’s third album Insight Out from June 1967, before being released as a single in August that year. The Association are still around. As one can imagine, they have had numerous line-up changes, and if I see this correctly, only guitarist and vocalist Jules Alexander remains as an original member. Check out that beautiful harmony singing – gives me goosebumps!

Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers/Vinyl

A few days ago, I featured The Boneshakers in a post dedicated to blues and blues rock. This cool group was formed in the early 1990s by Was (Not Was) guitarist Randy Jacobs and Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson, one of the group’s vocalists, after Was (Not Was) had gone on hiatus. Since 2015, The Boneshakers have repeatedly worked with American saxophonist and vocalist Mindi Abair. This lady is one firecracker. Check out Vinyl, the opener of an album titled The EastWest Sessions that came out in September 2017. Love the funky groove and the soulfulness of this tune!

The Flaming Lips/Can’t Stop the Spring

As we’re once again reaching the final destination of our six-tune music time travel, I thought it would make sense to end this post where it started – spring! I give you Can’t Stop the Spring by psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips, which I found through a search of my streaming provider’s music library. Somehow that title sounded familiar, so I searched my own blog, which sadly I’ve done more than once to see whether I already covered an artist or song. And, full disclosure, I previously included the tune in a post from March 2021 titled Here Comes the Spring. There’s nothing wrong to repeat a song, even if it’s what I like to call weirdly catchy. As I noted at the time, Can’t Stop the Spring, credited to the entire band, is from their sophomore album Oh My Gawd!!!…, released in January 1987. Formed in Oklahoma City in 1983, The Flaming Lips are still around. 

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Welcome to Sunday and another installment of The Sunday Six, a journey celebrating music six random tunes at a time. If you’re impacted by tropical storm Henri, I hope you are safe. My area of Central New Jersey has been under a tropical storm warning since Friday afternoon, but other than rain, so far, so good -knock on wood!

Weather Report/A Remark You Made

The fact I’m kicking off this post with jazz fusion group Weather Report has nothing to do with the storm but instead can be attributed to coincidence. A few days ago, my streaming music provider served up A Remark You Made as a listening suggestion. While jazz fusion remains a largely unknown genre to me, this track blew me away immediately. Appearing on Weather Report’s eighth studio album Heavy Weather from March 1977, the tune undoubtedly has to be one of the most beautiful instrumentals I’ve heard in a long time. Written by Austrian jazz keyboarder and Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul, the track also features Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Jaco Pastorious (fretless bass) and Alex Acuña (drums). What matters more to me than all these big names is the incredible music, especially Pastorious who literally makes his fretless bass sing – check out that amazing tone! As a huge saxophone fan, I’m also drawn to Shorter’s tenor sax playing – just incredibly beautiful and a perfect match to the singing fretless bass! I realize this very accessible jazz fusion isn’t typical for the genre. Perhaps not surprisingly, Heavy Weather became Weather Report’s highest charting album on the U.S. mainstream chart Billboard 200 where it peaked at no. 30. It also was one of the group’s two records to top Billboard’s jazz albums chart.

Joe Jackson/Geraldine and John

Let’s stay in the ’70s and move to October 1979. Joe Jackson’s sophomore album I’m the Man brought the versatile British artist on my radar screen in 1980, when I received it on vinyl as a present for my 14th birthday – still have that copy. The album is probably best known for its singles I’m the Man, It’s Different for Girls and Kinda Cute, while the song I picked, Geraldine and John, is more of a deeper but nevertheless great cut. And it’s another bassist who absolutely shines on that tune, in my view: Graham Maby. He still plays with Jackson to this day. Rounding up Jackson’s backing band were guitarist Gary Sanford and drummer David Houghton. Jackson worked with them on his first three albums that are among my favorites by the man. Check out Maby’s great melodic bassline on Geraldine and John!

The Beatles/Something

Speaking of great basslines, here’s yet another master bassist who conveniently also played in my favorite band of all time. Not only is Something from the Abbey Road album among the absolute gems written by George Harrison, but I think it’s also The Beatles tune with the best bassline Paul McCartney has ever come up with. In addition to Harrison (vocals, lead guitar) and McCartney (bass, backing vocals), the tune featured John Lennon (piano), Ringo Starr (drums) and Billy Preston (Hammond). BTW, Something is also a good example of Ringo’s creative drumming. The Beatles Bible notes the song was recorded and mixed during six sessions between April 16 and August 15, 1969. At this late stage of The Beatles when they took full advantage of the studio, McCartney oftentimes recorded his bass as one of the last instruments. That way he could hear all other instrumental tracks and come up with complementary basslines. In this case, the outcome was truly magnificent!

Sheryl Crow/If It Makes You Happy

Okay, time to get off my little bass obsession – something I admittedly can get excited about as a former bassist! On to Sheryl Crow, an artist I have dug since her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club from 1993. Oh, did I mention she also plays bass in addition to guitar and piano? 🙂 Perhaps my favorite tune by Crow is If It Makes You Happy from her eponymous sophomore album that came out in September 1996. She co-wrote the nice rocker with Jeff Trott who became a longtime collaborator and appeared on almost every Sheryl Crow album thereafter. In August 2019, Crow released what she said would be her final full-length album, Threads, citing changed music consumption habits where most listeners make their own playlists with cherry-picked songs rather than listening to entire albums. I previously reviewed it here. Well, the good news is Crow’s statement at the time apparently didn’t include live albums. On August 13, she released Live From The Ryman & More, a great looking 27-track career spanning set I’ve yet to check out. Meanwhile, here’s the excellent If It Makes You Happy. Yep, it surely does!

Neil Young/Hangin’ On a Limb

Next I like to come back to Hangin’ On a Limb, a Neil Young tune I first had planned to include in the August 1 Sunday Six installment. But inspired by a tornado warning that had been issued for my area of central New Jersey a few days earlier, I decided to go with Like a Hurricane instead. BTW, earlier this week, we had another tornado warning and as noted above, there is a tropical storm warning in effect for my area. You can’t make this stuff up – climate change is real, whether the naysayers like it or not! Anyway, Hangin’ On a Limb is a beautiful tune featuring Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals. It’s from Young’s 17th studio album Freedom that appeared in October 1989 and is best known for the epic Rockin’ in the Free World.

Pretenders/Buzz

And this brings me again to the final tune. Wrapping it up is Buzz, a great track from Hate for Sale, the 11th and most recent album by Pretenders released in July 2020. Time has been kind to Chrissie Hynde’s voice that sounds just as compelling as back in 1980, the year the band’s eponymous debut album came out. There’s another commonality: Original drummer Martin Chambers who had returned after eight years. Apart from Hynde (rhythm guitar, lead vocals, harmonica) and Chambers, Pretenders’ current line-up also includes James Walbourne (lead guitar, backing vocals), Eric Heywood (pedal steel guitar, backing vocals) Carwyn Ellis (keyboards) and Nick Wilkinson (bass). Hate for Sale is pretty solid. In case you’re curious, check out my previous review here. Like all other songs on the album, Buzz was co-written by Hynde and Walbourne.

Sources: Wikipedia; The Beatles Bible; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Welcome to another installment of The Sunday Six. For first-time visitors, this recurring feature celebrates music in many different flavors and from different eras. If you are in my neck of the woods, hope you’re staying cool coz now you’re getting some hot music on top of the heat! 🙂

Dr. Lonnie Smith/Seesaw

Is there a doctor in the house? Okay, I stole that line from Bon Jovi, who I believe frequently uses it during live shows to announce the band’s song Bad Medicine. I got a very cool doctor for you, and I’ve featured him before: Dr. Lonnie Smith, a jazz Hammond B3 organist who first came to prominence in the mid-60s when he joined the quartet of jazz guitarist George Benson. After recording two albums with Benson, Smith launched his solo career with his debut album Finger Lickin’ Good Soul Organ in 1967 – then still known as Lonnie Smith. At some point, he decided to become Dr. Smith and wear a traditional Sikh turban. Why? Nobody really knows but why not? Here’s a cover of Seesaw from Smith’s third album Turning Point that came out in 1969. The tune was co-written by Don Covay and Steve Cropper, and first released as a single in September 1965 by Don Coway and the Goodtimers. The song also became the title track of Coway’s sophomore album from 1966. BTW, the mighty doctor is now 78 and is still practicing. His most recent album Breathe appeared in March this year. Okay, nuff said, let’s get some of his groovy medicine!

Stealers Wheel/Stuck in the Middle With You

Warning: When I heard this tune for the first time, it got stuck right in the middle my head. The same may happen to you. But, hey, at least it’s a great song! Steelers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock band formed in 1972 by school friends Joseph Egan and Gerry Rafferty. By the time they disbanded in 1975, three albums had come out. A version of the band that included two members from the original line-up, Rod Coombes (drums) and Tony Williams (bass), briefly reformed in 2008 but only lasted for a few months. Post Steelers Wheel, Rafferty focused on his solo career. In February 1978, he released his biggest hit, the majestic Baker Street, which I featured in a previous Sunday Six installment. Sadly, Rafferty passed away from liver failure on January 4, 2011 at the young age of 63. His Steelers Wheel partner in crime Joseph Egan still appears to be alive. Stuck in the Middle With You, co-written by Rafferty and Egan and included on their eponymous debut album from October 1972, became their biggest hit. It climbed to no. 6 and no. 8 in the U.S. and UK mainstream single charts, respectively, and peaked at no. 2 in Canada. According to Wikipedia, Rafferty’s lyrics are a dismissive tale of a music industry cocktail party written and performed as a parody of Bob Dylan’s paranoia (the vocal impression, subject, and styling were so similar, listeners have wrongly attributed the song to Dylan since its release). This is one catchy tune! Aren’t you glad to be stuck with it? 🙂

Crowded House/Don’t Dream It’s Over

Since I included a new song by the reformed Crowded House in yesterday’s Best of What’s New, the Aussie pop rockers have been on my mind. In particular, it’s their biggest hit Don’t Dream It’s Over, released in October 1986 as the fourth single of their eponymous debut album that had appeared two months earlier. Crowded House were formed in Melbourne in 1985 by former Split Enz members Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) and Paul Hester (drums, backing vocals), along with Nick Seymour (bass). Together with various guest musicians, who included producer Mitchell Froom (keyboards) and Jim Keltner (drums), among others, they recorded their debut album. The band first broke up in June 1996, had a couple of reunions thereafter and was reformed by Finn in December 2019 after he had finished his 2018-2019 tour with Fleetwood Mac. Including their new album Dreamers Are Waiting, Crowded House have released seven albums to date. Don’t Dream It’s Over was written by Neil Finn. Even though it was overexposed, I’ve always loved that song.

Joe Jackson Band/Awkward Age

For this next tune, let’s jump to the current century and Joe Jackson, a versatile British artist I’ve enjoyed listening to for many years. My introduction to Jackson was his second album I’m the Man from October 1979, which I received on vinyl as a present for my 14th birthday the following year. I still own that copy! I’m the Man was recorded by Jackson’s initial band, which apart from him (lead vocals, piano) included Gary Sanford (guitar), Graham Maby (bass, backing vocals) and David Houghton (drums, backing vocals). Which brings me to Awkward Age and Volume 4, Jackson’s 16th studio album released in March 2003, featuring the same classic lineup. While the sound of Volume 4 isn’t quite as raw as on I’m the Man, there are some clear similarities between the two albums. Like all other tracks on the record, Awkward Age was written by Jackson. I saw the man in May 2019 in the wake of his most recent album Fool that had come out in January that year and thought he still looked sharp.

Rod Stewart/Maggie May

For several months, I’ve wanted to feature this tune in The Sunday Six, but there was always a reason why I didn’t do it, such as avoiding to have too many ’70s songs in the same installment. Screw it, the time has come to get what is one of my longtime favorite Rod Stewart songs out of my system. Maggie May dates back to the days when the man with the smoky voice did what he does best: Performing roots and blues-oriented rock! Co-written by Stewart and British guitarist Martin Quittenton, the catchy song is from Stewart’s third solo album Every Picture Tells a Story that came out in May 1971 – yet another great record that recently had its 50th anniversary! Quittenton was among the many musicians that backed Stewart on this record, who also included his Faces mates Ronnie Wood, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones, among others. Stewart remained a member of Faces until they disbanded in December 1975, though tensions between him and the rest of the band had been brewing since the making of their final studio album Ooh La La from March 1973. Maggie May was also released separately in July 1971 as the b-side to the album’s first single Reason to Believe. Both songs became major hits, as did the album, which topped the charts in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia.

The Beatles/If I Needed Someone

Time to wrap up this installment with my favorite band of all time. The song selection was triggered by a recent post from fellow blogger Hans at slicethelife about the top 100 Beatles songs, as voted as the listeners of The Beatles Channel on SiriusXM and presented over the recent Memorial Day holiday. While If I Needed Someone made the list, I thought the placement at no. 70 was measly and it bugged me. I happen to love this tune that was written by George Harrison and included on Rubber Soul, The Beatles’ studio album from December 1965 and the second record they released that year after Help! The track wasn’t featured on the North American release of Rubber Soul. Instead, it appeared on Yesterday and Today, the U.S. album that caused a storm over its cover showing The Beatles dressed in white coats and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of raw meat. I guess you can put that one in the “What were they thinking?!” department. If I Needed Someone is a simple tune and more of a deep cut, but I still dig it. In fact, I would even go as far as calling it my favorite Beatles tune, depending on the day of the week! Ah, that jingle-jangle Rickenbacker sound did it once again! 🙂

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

Clips & Pix: Joe Jackson/Geraldine And John

Lately, I’ve been listening quite a bit to I’m The Man by Joe Jackson. His sophomore album from October 1979 is my favorite among his records I know. The timing is not entirely a coincidence.

One of the reasons I dig the album is because of the bass parts by Graham Maby, with whom Jackson works to this day. A few months ago, I decided to get inexpensive bass equipment for home use to see whether I could revive the moderate skills I once had close to 30 years ago.

Since I’ve always liked Maybe’s bass playing, I’ve been working to figure out some of his bass parts. I’m not gonna lie – some of this stuff ain’t easy, especially when you’re rusty, but fortunately there’s YouTube. Plus, I’m doing this to relax and have some fun, not because of any bigger ambitions. I simply don’t have the time to take things to any higher level, not to mention that my skills would certainly need to improve!

Anyway, this is where Geraldine And John came into the picture. Except for a cover of Chuck Berry’s Come On, all tracks on the album were written by Jackson. Not only do I love the laid back groove of the tune, but I also dig Maybe’s bass line. It’s not super complicated, which is why I guess I’ve been able to figure it out 95 percent. But it’s just great, both rhythmically and melodically, effectively helping propel the song forward – exactly what a bassist is supposed to do!

I also like to acknowledge the two other musicians in Jackson’s band at the time: Gary Sanford (guitar) and David Houghton (drums, backing vocals), who both do an excellent job as well. On December 15, 1980, the band played their last gig in the Netherlands in the wake of Jackson’s third studio album Beat Crazy. Jackson decided to reunite them for his 2003 album Volume 4. They also toured together leading up to the record’s release and thereafter.

Sources: Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, YouTube