Your Daily Song Fix

Aloha, this is Taylor here. Angel From Montgomery has been in my head for the past week or so, although the song maybe well known it is honest and touches the soul. It feels somewhere in the middle of the spectrum set by the recent amazing posts from Marcus and Danny, expressive female vocals with lots of range and strong roots in folk and country music.

Covered by many artist including Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Carly Simon and Dave Mathews Band, the song was originally written by John Prine a key artist in the Chicago Folk Revival of the late 60’s and early 70’s. The song first appeared on Prine’s self titled debut album that was released in 1971. The version here is a duet with Bonnie Raitt from John Prine Live, also released on a Tribute to Steve Goodman.

Serving in the Army and working for the United States Postal Service for five years, Prine developed a fan base and gained positive reviews once he began playing open mic nights in the Chicago area. At one of his early appearances in New York City, Bob Dylan showed up unannounced and anonymously provided backing harmonica. Prine has released 19 albums over his career; the latest Standard Songs for Average People was released in 2007. He is touring in 2010.

From their 1977 album of the same name, this song rocks, plain and simple. Richard Hell is best known for his influence on punk fashion (spiked hair, clothing held together with safety pins, etc.) and for his roles in the band Television (who was infinitely instrumental in the popularization of New York’s CBGB club) and then later with Johnny Thunders’ The Heartbreakers.

Since the 80s, Hell has focused primarily on writing novels, but still releases some music.

South Memphis String Band are an acoustic blues-folk-country supergroup comprised of Alvin “Youngblood” Hart, Luther Dickinson of The North Mississippi Allstars, and Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers (yes, those Squirrel Nut Zippers). Their debut album, Home Sweet Home, is an old-fashioned, foot-stompin’, moonshinin’ good time that feels like it was recorded on a hot July night on someone’s front porch well below the Mason-Dixon line. Check out “The Carrier Line,” their rendition of a railroad ballad by old-time Mississippi multi-instrumentalist Sid Hemphill.

If a man writes this song for you and you don’t fall in love with him your heart is made of stone. The Chicago-based group Pieces of Peace is also, almost certainly, the only band to ever be created in Chicago and disband in Singapore.

"Why would you deny me?"

If you’ve made it to Singapore as a band you’ve probably done something right, or have you?

I love my Dap Kings and my Amy Winehouse but sometimes there is nothing like the real deal.  This is song is 1960s soul that melts your heart and reminds you that you have to treat your lady right.

In 1998 Animal Liberation Orchestra (aka ALO) debuted their first album “Animal Liberation Orchestra & The Free Range Horns Vs. L.A.G.” under the label Lagmusic. The Saratoga, CA quartet pairs jam band bounce with balmy Hawaiian twinge. ALO was originally a nine-piece ensemble which was streamlined to consist of the four core members.  ALO keyboard player Zach Gill attended college with the king of the mellow sound, singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, who eventually signed ALO onto his label Brushfire Records.

"I hate conventional blues, but I love myself."

When you hear the break in this song you’ll wonder why this band didn’t do that kind of thing all the time. JSBE provides the kind of music you think you’d play after 15 glasses of whiskey and it feels awesome.  Boogie down + sledgehammer over the face rock  = me dancing/screaming at the top of my lungs.

JoSpence was a member of the Washington-based (What! What!) Pussy Galore.  After the band broke up in 1990 it seems Jon Spencer set out to destroy everything he loved about to the blues.  Thank god I love every minute of it.

SPN

Sam Cooke began his career singing gospel, first with siblings and later as part of other various groups through the early 1950s.  In the second half of that decade, Cooke transitioned to pop music, releasing “Lovable,” his first pop single in 1956.  “Having a Party” was recorded in 1961 under his own record label after he had gained significant notoriety.  The studio version of this song features Cooke’s clear, soothing voice; something he carried over from his gospel days and a quality his fans adored him for.  The live version of the song appeared on “Live at the Harlem Square Club,” recorded in 1963, just one year before his controversial death in December, 1964.  In this live cut, a coarseness can be clearly heard in Cooke’s voice, probably as the result of time spent touring and performing live shows.  This grittier version of the song exemplifies something closer to rock and roll, and captures Sam Cooke’s true versatility as a singer and performer.

Studio version:

Live version:

In honor of the New Orleans Jazz Festival this past weekend, here is a New Orleans classic originally written by James “Sugar Boy” Crawford.