MsMcDucket,
And, darnit, I'm not going to post something, just to fit it, that conforms to everyone elses idea of good!
Easy does it...it is all good. HS
hillary_step
JoinedPosts by hillary_step
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
Amicus,
Bert Jansch should be a household name. One of the best "folk" guitarists out there.
Well, thankfully he is in the UK. I will admit he is an acquired taste, especially vocally, but I have never understood quite why he is not taken to heart in the US. This man revolutionised the 'baroque' style of acoustic playing and so many young musicians are playing what he styled without even knowing it.
Bert is a very shy man, and quite the opposite of the 'in your face' ambition expressed by many young musicians these days. He got 100 quid for his first album that you linked above, perhaps he is still reeling from that. ;) In fact 'Angie' (written by Davey Graham) from that album is the first thing I ever learned to play acoustically.
Have you heard his 'Live Downunder?' It is a bucket of shivers.
I am enjoying this thread so much I even feel moved to {{{{{{{{Flipper}}}}}}}}}}}}
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
Dan,
Another singer/songwriter whose work is worth hunting for. Very simple songs, but the melodies reach deep.
Bill Withers. 'Ain't No Sunshine', recorded in 1972 and covered by Sting, Jose Feliciano, Lenny Kravitz etc..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo&feature=related
HS
PS - Apologies for the double post, have no idea why this is happening, probably Junction's confused sexuality messing me around.
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
-
-
hillary_step
Avishai,
To add to HS comments, w/ me it's a short attn span, i.e, can't stand to hear the same hing over and over, which is why bands like "Rage against the machine" that have talented musicians and lyricists drive me up the wall, after awhile it all sounds like the same song. Also, mediocrity, low common denominator music that seems to be the norm (though not always) with the music industry. Hate that too. So, while being an old fart helps, having a love for music and a need to find good stuff also helps.
Now that is a very valid point, thank you. Yes, the repetitious nature of musicians who get caught in a groove and cannot shift the tide is matched only by those who try to play anything until they are noticed.
Here is one of the most talented female songwriters that struck a keyboard, Laura Nyro, playing a song that is especially close to my heart and laid down in 1968. Much copied, never bettered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNd-oR39_9U
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
Dan,
So where do y'all hear about these people??
Being an old fart helps. The reality is that very little 'new' music is being produced these days. I know that some think people like Seeker, Six Amicus and I are locked in a bygone era musically, but the fact is that creatively the music world is filled with many copyists and few innovators these days.
I do not listen to the radio and never have. I have been attached to the music industry for years so end to hear about what is happening from my peers. What I do when presented with music is to read about the band/songwriter and find out who they were influenced by, inevitably it is a name that erupted in the late sixties or early seventies.
For example, a few years ago someone sent me the masters of a 'Badly Drawn Boy', a singer/songwriter from Manchester. I listened with interest as the kid most definately has potential. Dylan, Nick Drake, Smiths...he was an open book and needs to polish up his picking. When I heard that he had played the Festival Hall I was disappointed. As a promoter I could think of several dozen people who deserved that spot more than he.
So the first thing to do is to forget the time, and ageist thing and search back in history. You will find that the past has much to offer. Just as there are no new Mahler's, Tchiakovsky's, Beethoven's and bach's roaming the earth these days, neither are there many Townes Vand Zandt's.
An example. Somebody mentioned 'Moby Grape' earlier, here is a track from the eccentric genius Alexander Spence from his disastrously uncommercial 'Oar' album recorded in 1969. Despite its lack of PC lyrics, it still sings. I have yet to read the bio's of many serious lyricists who do mention him somewhere. An unfortunate life was lived, but face it, most of us would be happy to die producing half an 'Oar'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DouiBOOlEok&feature=related
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
Avishai,
Thank you for the Maria McKee clip. I caught her, in a manner of speaking, in Dublin a few years ago and was very impressed.
lbh,
My knowledge of music is limited, but is opening up as i have a 12y son who is just learning the saxophone.
Barbara Thompson is, as you know, a superb musician and has been around for a long while. She played, and cut a disk with one of the UK's (and the World's) best woodwind jazz players Don Rendell. I think it is called 'Just Music'. Barbara, who I met a few times through Don, is married to Jon Hiseman who drummed with Colosseum and Tempest. I hear that Barbara has sadly contracted MS in recent years.
Don Rendell, you may know is a JW and was a good friend until I lost contact with him after my exit. He is a very kind, gentle and incredibly gifted man and I have only good to say about him. Not showing bias here, as he was one of the most listened to jazz players in my home before I became a JW, but he definately is a name that every 'jazzer' should remember. He is in his eighties now, teaching music at the London School of Music and still blowing up a storm in the jazz clubs on occasion.
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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hillary_step
Amicus,
It's too bad "Love" didn't record more, although Alvin Lee wrote most of what they did record, some of their best songs were written and sung by Bryan Maclean.
Arthur Lee you mean.
I own a master disc of 'Forever Changes' given to me by Arthur and Bryan way back in the early 70's who signed it for me. As to content, well Bryan songs were very 'sweet', a little too sweet for Arthur's tastes at times, but yes, he was a great songwriter. Together they had a magic. I think Bryan became a Born Again preacher, or a missionary or something, soon after 'Forever Changes' was released.
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
-
-
hillary_step
Seeker,
hilary step and Avishai - we could hang together.
Actually my main bag is Jazz, and even then much more UK based than US. I am not terribly into Country music, most of it washes over me but I have heard many of the names you note as some of my musical aquaintances are heavily leant that way.
That having been said, Townes van Zandt has been an icon for me for many years as have Danny O'Keefe and Jimmy Webb, imo three of the finest songwriters and musicians in their genre for the past forty years, though O'Keefe is not really a country singer. His 70's album 'American Roulette', which has recently been re-released at long last, is a must. It should have signposted the way for embryonic lyricists to walk, but thankfully was not a commercial success. ;)
Thank you for noting these names. I hope that it opens up the musical tastes of many reading. After all, few things in life are as important as good music.
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
-
-
hillary_step
Avishai,
Yeah, Tim Buckley. I tuned his guitars for his London concert way back when, badly as it turned out, at least for the twelve string. Have you heard his 'Star Sailor"? Surely his finest hour, but a commercial failure (always a good sign of creative brilliance when it comes to popular music).
Another band who did actually have some very brief commercial success was LOVE. They are probably the most copied band in the history of modern music and yet you seldom hear them mentioned, unless the rhythm guitarists are drunk. Here is one of their love songs from 'Forever Changes':
LOVE 'Softly To Me'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RhIh_HuFmE
HS
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178
Singer Songwriters who should be household names....
by hillary_step inover the decades musicians rise and fall like a spring wind.
some stay where they should never be, some never are where they should be; such is the roulette of time.
this thread is dedicated to singer songwriters who influence the rest of the best, but are seldom known - 'gamblers in the neon, clinging to guitars...' .
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-
hillary_step
Speaking of Rod Stewart, this Kenny Everett clip is a classic: