The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and welcome to another imaginary music time travel excursion to leave any current worries you may have on your mind behind for a while or simply listen to some great music. As always, our itinerary includes six stops in six different decades with tracks in different flavors.

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie/Bloomdido

Our journey today starts in July 1952 and an album by two jazz greats: saxophonist Charlie Parker, aka. Bird, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Parker was known for his blazing speed and introducing new harmonic ideas. Gillespie was a virtuoso and improviser building on Roy Eldridge’s style but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. Both musicians are credited as key figures for the development of bebop. On Bird and Diz, they came together. Bloomdido, a jazz standard, was composed by Parker who also wrote or co-wrote all other tracks except one. Feel free to groove along!

Little River Band/Lonesome Loser

Next, let’s head down under and pay a visit to Little River Band, a pop rock group formed in Melbourne in March 1975. I’ve always dug their great harmony vocals. They have also had some catchy songs. One of my favorites is Lonesome Loser, written by guitarist David Briggs who was a member from 1976-1981. The song was on the group’s fifth studio album First Under the Wire. It also appeared separately as the first single, reaching no. 6 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the group’s highest-charting songs there. Check out that killer three-part a cappella intro!

World Party/Is It Like Today?

Earlier this week, news broke of the untimely death of Welsh singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger at age 66. He was best known as the man behind World Party and as a member of The Waterboys from 1983 until 1985. After leaving the British-Irish folk rock band, Wallinger formed World Party as a solo project in 1986 and released his debut Private Revolution in March 1987. In February 2001, a brain aneurysm sidelined his career until 2006. He slowly returned to performing and recording thereafter. In a 2022 interview, Wallinger said he was working on a new album. Is It Like Today? appeared on World Party’s third studio album Bang! released in April 1993. It also became the lead single – love that song and its retro vibe!

Monster Truck/Don’t Tell Me How to Live

Our next stop takes us to Canada and Hamilton, Ontario rock band Monster Truck. The group was formed in 2009 by guitarist Jeremy Widerman, drummer Steve Kiely and keyboarder Brandon Bliss, who teamed up with vocalist and bassist Jon Harvey. Following two EPs in 2010 and 2011, Monster Truck released their first full-length album Furiosity in June 2013. Don’t Tell Me How to Live is a song from their sophomore album Sittin’ Heavy that came out in February 2016. This rocks nicely!

Yes/Every Little Thing

Time to head to the ’60s for a dose of progressive rock by one of my favorites in a genre that has been an acquired taste: Yes. The British band were formed in London in 1968 by Jon Anderson (lead vocals), Peter Banks (guitar), Tony Kaye (keyboards), Chris Squire (bass) and Bill Bruford (drums). That line-up also recorded the group’s eponymous debut album, which dropped in July 1969. Apart from six original tracks, Yes featured two covers: I See You by the Byrds and Every Little Thing by The Beatles. Shout-out to my dear longtime German music friend Gerd for suggesting the latter, a song that first appeared on the December 1964 album Beatles For Sale. This is a dynamite cover – and, yes, after a 2-minute instrumental opening, there’s singing – gorgeous singing!

The Fixx/One Thing Leads to Another

And once again we’re reaching the point where we need to wrap up our little music excursion. This time, the trip ends in May 1983 with a song that kind of sums up how The Sunday Six oftentimes come together: One Thing Leads to Another by English new wave rock band The Fixx. I’ve always thought this song has a cool sound. Credited to all members of the band at the time – Cy Curnin (lead vocals), Jamie West-Oram (guitar, backing vocals), Rupert Greenall (keyboards, backing vocals), Alfie Agius (bass, backing vocals) and Adam Woods (drums, percussion) – One Thing Leads to Another is from the group’s May 1983 sophomore studio album Reach the Beach. It also became a single and their biggest hit on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (no. 4) and in Canada where it topped the pop charts.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above goodies. As always, I hope there’s something you like and you will be back for more!

Sources: Wikipedia; The Big Takeover; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are when reading this – welcome to another Sunday Six. In this weekly feature, I’m embarking on imaginary time travel journeys to celebrate the beauty of music in different flavors from different decades, six tunes at a time. Hop on for the ride and fasten your seatbelt.

Wayne Krantz/For Susan

Today, I’d like to start our little trip with beautiful instrumental music by Wayne Krantz, an American guitarist and composer who has been active since the ’80s. Telling you he “was good enough” for Walter Becker and Donald Fagen to tour with Steely Dan and appear on Fagen’s 2006 solo album Morph the Cat should suffice. Krantz has also worked with jazz artists Billy Cobham, Chris Potter, David Binney and Carla Bley. And since 1990, he has released eight studio albums as a band leader. Let’s give a listen to For Susan, a soothing track from what appears to be Krantz’s first solo album Signals, released in 1990. Check out this amazing guitar tone – not surprisingly, it was instant love for me!

Fleetwood Mac/Sometimes

I think it’s safe to assume most folks best know Fleetwood Mac from their “classic period” between 1975 and 1987, which among others includes their most successful album Rumours (February 1977). But there’s more to the Mac who started out as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac in July 1967, a blues rock band led by amazing blues guitarist Peter Green. In April 1970, Green who was in the throes of drug addiction and mental illness left the group. This started an interesting transitional era that initially featured Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan on guitars, in addition to co-founders John McVie (bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums). They were soon officially be joined by Christine McVie (born Anne Christine Perfect), who in 1968 had married John McVie – the first of many complicated relationships among members of the Mac! By the time they released their fifth studio album Future Games in September 1971, Spencer had been replaced by guitarist Bob Welch. Here’s Sometimes, a great country rock tune off that record, penned by Kirwan – the Mac’s early blues rock days were in the distant past!

Fastball/Fire Escape

With their recent release of a nice new album, The Deep End, Fastball have been on my mind. The Texan band was formed in 1994 in Austin by Tony Scalzo  (vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar),  Miles Zuniga  (vocals, guitar) and Joey Shuffield (drums, percussion), a lineup that remarkably remains in place to this day. You can read more about the group and their ups and downs in this feature I posted in February this year. I’d like to take us to March 1998, which saw the release of Fastball’s sophomore album All the Pain Money Can Buy, their breakthrough and most successful record. Instead of The Way, their biggest hit that initially brought the band on my radar screen, I’d like to highlight Fire Escape, another excellent tune. Written by Zuniga, the song also became the album’s second single. While it made various charts in the U.S. and Canada, surprisingly, it did fare far more moderately than The Way.

World Party/The Ballad of the Little Man

I still remember when I heard Ship of Fools for the first time in the ’80s and thought, ‘gee, the vocalist sounds a bit like Mick Jagger.’ The vocalist, of course, was singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger, who had started World Party in 1986 as a solo music project after his departure from The Waterboys. His debut album under the World Party moniker was Private Revolution, which came out in March 1987. It would be the first of five released over the following 13 years. In February 2001, Wallinger had an aneurysm that left him unable to speak and sidelined his career until 2006. While over the next 14 years he occasionally toured with a backing band as World Party and released the compilation Arkeology (2012) and a live album, World Party Live! (2014), Wallinger appears to have been inactive since 2015. Here’s The Ballad of the Little Man, a tune from Private Revolution. I love the cool ’60s vibe in many of Wallinger’s tunes!

The Doors/Light My Fire

The time has come to travel back to the ’60s for real. In January 1967, The Doors, one of my favorite groups, released their eponymous debut, and what a great record it was! Break On Through (To the Other Side), Soul Kitchen, Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) and the apocalyptic The End are among the gems here. And, of course, the mighty Light My Fire, which was primarily written by guitarist Robbie Krieger, though it was credited to the entire band. The song also became the group’s second single and their breakthrough. But I’m not featuring the shortened single edit. At CMM, we don’t do things half-ass! Ray Manzarek’s organ part is sheer magic to my ears. I never get tired of it!

Santana/Anywhere You Want to Go

Once again we’re entering the final stretch of yet another Sunday Six. When it comes to Carlos Santana, who has been a favorite since I listened to the 1974 compilation Santana’s Greatest Hits as an 8-year-old, I’ve always loved his first three albums the most. This “classic period” spanned the years 1969 to 1971 and includes gems like Evil Ways, Jingo, Soul Sacrifice, Black Magic Woman, Samba Pa Ti and Everybody’s Everything. Needless to point out I was intrigued when sometime in early 2016 I learned Carlos had reunited with most of the surviving members from the band’s early ’70s lineup for a new album: Gregg Rolie (lead vocals, keyboards), Neal Schon (guitar, vocals), Michael Carabello (congas, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Shrieve (drums). Sure, 46 years is a very long time and I couldn’t expect Santana IV would sound the same as those first three records. But I still liked what I heard. Perhaps best of all, I got to see that version of Santana live during a short supporting tour, which also featured Journey. I’m leaving you with Anywhere You Want to Go, penned by Rolie. Feel free to groove along!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify list of all the above tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Welcome to the second installment of this feature, which I spontaneously launched last Sunday. Now I guess I gotta keep feeding the bear! 🙂 The good news is in music the possibilities are endless. With that being said, let’s start it nice and easy, before we finish it nice and rough!

Donald Fagen/I.G.Y.

I’d like to kick things off with some smooth pop jazz from the great Donald Fagen, who together with Walter Becker was the mastermind behind one of my favorite music acts of all time, Steely Dan. I.G.Y., which stands for International Geophysical Year, is the opener to Fagen’s solo debut album The Nightfly. Released in October 1982, it remains my favorite Fagen solo effort. I.G.Y., which ran from  July 1957 to December 1958, was a global project to promote collaboration among the world’s scientists. The tune, written by Fagen, also became The Nightfly’s lead single in September 1982.

Paul Simon/Train in the Distance

For some reason, that Paul Simon song randomly popped into my head the other day, so what could be a better selection for this feature? Of course, this may pose the question what’s going to happen when something like Itsy Bitsy Spider suddenly comes to my mind – well, I guess we have to wait and see. As for Train in the Distance, I’ve always dug this tune. Simon wrote and recorded it for his sixth solo album Hearts and Bones from November 1983. Interestingly, the track wasn’t released as a single…Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance/Everybody thinks it’s true/Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance/Everybody thinks it’s true…Love the soothing sound of that song and the great image of the sound of a distant train.

Sade/Smooth Operator

Let’s do another smoothie – after all, it’s Sunday morning! Smooth Operator was the first Sade tune I recall hearing on the radio in Germany back in the ’80s. It’s on the British songwriter and vocalist’s smash debut album Diamond Life from July 1984. Sade, also professionally known as Sade Adu, began her career as a model before becoming a backing vocalist in a British band called Pride. Subsequently, she and three other members of the band, Paul Anthony Cook, Paul Denman and Stuart Matthewman, left to form a group named after her, Sade. Co-written by Ray St. John, another member of Pride, and Sade, Smooth Operator also appeared separately as a single in September 1984 and became a major international hit. Yes, the tune about a con man and pimp sounds like gentleman club music. I still love Sade’s soulful singing and the smooth jazzy sound.

World Party/Ship of Fools

My dear long-time music friend from Germany reminded me of this great tune yesterday, which is a perfect fit to our crazy times. Ship of Fools was the debut single by World Party, released in January 1987. World Party was the name of a music solo project by Welsh multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer Karl Wallinger. He started it in 1986 after his departure as keyboarder of The Waterboys. Ship of Fools, written by Wallinger, was also included on World Party’s 1986 debut album Private Revolution. Wallinger’s love of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and other ’60s music is quite evident, both sonically and visually. In fact, the vocals on Ship of Fools at times remind a bit of Mick Jagger. In 2001, Wallinger was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, which required surgery and put his music career to a near-full stop for five years. He was able to resume touring in 2006, though no additional World Party albums have appeared since Wallinger’s dangerous health episode. Based on World Party’s website, the project appears to have been on hiatus since 2015. No idea what Wallinger is doing these days.

Leon Russell/Crystal Closet Queen

Let’s get it going with some great rock & roll from Leon Russell. When my streaming music provider recently served up Crystal Closet Queen as a listening suggestion, I decided right away to feature this tune in my next Sunday Six installment. Why? Coz I can! Plus, that’s the beauty of a feature about random songs. Composed by Russell, the tune is from his second solo album Leon Russell and the Shelter People, which came out in May 1971. This really cooks!

The Spencer Davis Group/Gimme Some Lovin’

To wrap up this collection, what’s even better than a rocker like Crystal Closet Queen? Yep, you guessed it correctly – more rock! I’ve always loved this gem by The Spencer Davis Group. When then-18-year-old Steve Winwood hits and holds those keys of his mighty Hammond B3, it still sends chills through my spine, not to mention his amazing soulful voice! Co-written by Winwood, Spencer Davis and Steve’s older brother Muff Winwood, Gimme Some Lovin’ appeared as a non-album single in October 1966 and became one of the band’s biggest hits. The title is also a good motto we should all embrace, especially these days.

Sources: Wikipedia; World Party website; YouTube

Clips & Pix: World Party/Ship Of Fools

This morning, I was reminded of this great tune, when my music streaming service served it up as part of a “favorites mix” playlist: Ship Of Fools by World Party. I dug that song instantly the moment I heard it for the first time on the radio back in Germany in the mid ’80s, and I still think it rocks!

Essentially, World Party was a one-man solo project by Welsh singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger. Ship Of Fools was included on World Party’s first studio album Private Revolution from 1986. Apart from the great music, I always liked Wallinger’s vocals, which sometimes sound a bit like Mick Jagger, especially in this song. The lyrics also resonated with me and remain eerily relevant to this day when we have so-called leaders who ignore science for the sake of short-term profit. Sad.

According to Songfacts, when asked about the lyrics in 2012, Wallinger said, “I wasn’t trying to be ahead of the curve, I was just writing about things that seemed obvious at the time. We still haven’t done anything about it. I can’t get my head around the stupidity of materialism.” Well, in countries where elections are free people deserve the leaders they have. They can also vote them out of office. To borrow from Tom Hanks and one of my all-time favorite movies Forest Gump: That’s all I have to say about that.

We’re setting sail to the place on the map
from which no one has ever returned
Drawn by the promise of the joker and the fool
by the light of the crosses that burned.
Drawn by the promise of the women and the lace
and the gold and the cotton and pearls
It’s the place where they keep all the darkness you need.
You sail away from the light of the world on this trip, baby.
You will pay tomorrow
You’re gonna pay tomorrow
You will pay tomorrow

Save me. Save me from tomorrow
I don’t want to sail with this ship of fools. No, no
Oh, save me. Save me from tomorrow
I don’t want to sail with this ship of fools
I want to run and hide right now

Avarice and greed are gonna drive you over the endless sea
They will leave you drifting in the shallows
or drowning in the oceans of history
Traveling the world, you’re in search of no good
but I’m sure you’ll build your Sodom like you knew you would
Using all the good people for your galley slaves
as you’re little boat struggles through the warning waves, but you don’t pay

You will pay tomorrow
You’re gonna pay tomorrow
You’re gonna pay tomorrow

Save me. Save me from tomorrow
I don’t want to sail with this ship of fools
Save me. Save me from tomorrow
I don’t want to sail with this ship of fools
Where’s it comin’ from?
Where’s it goin’ to now?
It’s just a It’s just a ship of fools

Sources: Wikipedia, Songfacts, YouTube