Wonderful love letter to an old friend that has clearly inspired you for decades.
And, I am with you on the old Edsel (as well as other labels, including some of the original bootleg labels like Psycho and Eva). Back then, before the internet, Spotify, and Discogs, this is how we discovered these albums. And, I, too, first heard "Beacon" via Edsel (but have since found an original copy).
PS, have you heard the Euphoria record ("A Gift From Euphoria")? It's an album that I think you might really like (very eclectic and musically all over the place, but quite special and nothing quite like it then, or now).
It's a wild album that could only have been recorded in the late 60s. One of the two guys behind it was also the guitarist on the first Lee Michaels album ('A Carnival of Life'). It flirts between so many different headspinning musical styles, but its foundation is stoned hippie country music from SoCal. I think it's right up your alley.
Oh, and the 'Better Days' rewrite: from 'see the wings unfolding that weren't there just before / on a ray of sunshine she dances out the door' to 'see the wings unfolding that weren't there just before / she has no fear and now she's out the door'.
Slightly off-topic (but then again not) there is a single word in TVZ's 'Tecumseh Valley' that has always put me off, it's when the narrator talks of Caroline 'turnin' to whorin' with all the lust inside her' - the word 'lust' sits uneasily, one reason actually why the song isn't one of my favourites, maybe I'm nit-picking. (But if the narrator was one of those who 'lay beside her' then perhaps it makes more sense.) But anyway, they say that a true marker (perhaps the truest) of writing about music is the desire of the reader to go listen (again) to the music under consideration. You've done your job. I've been listening to Old No. 1 (and Texas Cookin') all day! It's past five where I am.
P.S. Is the blue shirt on the cover of Old No. 1 the same shirt referenced in Stuff That works, you think?
P.P.S Your 'fragmentary' style is very Perec-ian. A compliment!
I agree about the 'lust' lyric. It never sat well with me.
In one of the books I've got, Guy talks about moving around the order of the lines in his version of TVZ's 'To Live Is to Fly' and how mad Steve Earle got about that. I'm a sucker for these songwriter details!
The blue shirt? I'd like to think so.
Fragmentary style. Thank you, I do take that as a compliment. I'm increasingly leaning to wards this kind of writing, partly because of writers like Perec and Barthes, and partly because of my favourite contemporary stylists, including Ian Penman.
What a wonderful tribute to Guy Clark! He's a great songwriter (one of the very best) and your writing is personal and also feels like an appropriate appreciation of his particular use of language.
It's also interesting that my path to appreciating Guy Clark was much less direct. I discovered Townes Van Zandt when I was in college but, for various reason, I didn't make the step from him to listening to other Texas singer-songwriters. It wasn't until _This One's For Him_ came out that I fell in love with Guy Clark and also started listening to more Country singer-songwriters. It marked a significant change in my listening and sense of my own musical tastes!
Amusingly I would pick out very different favorite tracks. To my ears clearly the most distinctive and irreplicable track on the album is James McMurty's version of "Cold Dog Soup" after that, the songs that I am most likely to think about are Lyle Lovett's "Anyhow I Love You", Rosie Flores "Baby Took a Limo to Memphis", and Patty Griffin's version of "The Cape."
It's quite likely that some of what accounts for the differences in which songs caught my attention is that, in many cases, I was hearing them for the first time, rather than re-visiting a familiar song.
Thanks for that. I'll check out the McMurtry-Clark piece; don't think I've read that one.
Well, we overlap on 'The Cape' anyhow! But, yes, those other versions you mention are also excellent. As I said, I could have continued listing - it's a great tribute album.
I just listened to the Emmylou Harris & John Prine, ‘Magnolia Wind’ and it is absolutely great. I'll need to re-listen to the other tracks you mentioned, I expect I'll find that your appreciation is well founded. . .
That's great. I've watched some of the Transatlantic Sessions and my favorites are, like that video, ones in which you have world-class musicians looking relaxed and like they're enjoying hanging out and making music.
Wonderful love letter to an old friend that has clearly inspired you for decades.
And, I am with you on the old Edsel (as well as other labels, including some of the original bootleg labels like Psycho and Eva). Back then, before the internet, Spotify, and Discogs, this is how we discovered these albums. And, I, too, first heard "Beacon" via Edsel (but have since found an original copy).
PS, have you heard the Euphoria record ("A Gift From Euphoria")? It's an album that I think you might really like (very eclectic and musically all over the place, but quite special and nothing quite like it then, or now).
Thanks Michael. I'll have to check Euphoria out. I can see how it would have been an ideal contender for Edsel reissue.
It's a wild album that could only have been recorded in the late 60s. One of the two guys behind it was also the guitarist on the first Lee Michaels album ('A Carnival of Life'). It flirts between so many different headspinning musical styles, but its foundation is stoned hippie country music from SoCal. I think it's right up your alley.
Now, now Richard. 'Queenie's Song' is a lovely piece!
I remember The Plough and Harrow gig still. How weird to see Guy (and Robert) at the top of Buckland estate, in tiny non-descript Newton Abbot!
'Better Days' lyric - what was the rewrite?
Robert Forster: 'Wonderin' who sounds better in the dark / is it Townes Van Zandt / or is it Guy Clark?'
Great stuff, Richard. Keep it coming.
I like dogs but have an allergy to songs about dogs (there are maybe one or two exceptions: hairless dog songs).
Darn it, I was going to include the Forster lyric as one of my fragments, then forgot to. Glad it’s here now.
Oh, and the 'Better Days' rewrite: from 'see the wings unfolding that weren't there just before / on a ray of sunshine she dances out the door' to 'see the wings unfolding that weren't there just before / she has no fear and now she's out the door'.
Slightly off-topic (but then again not) there is a single word in TVZ's 'Tecumseh Valley' that has always put me off, it's when the narrator talks of Caroline 'turnin' to whorin' with all the lust inside her' - the word 'lust' sits uneasily, one reason actually why the song isn't one of my favourites, maybe I'm nit-picking. (But if the narrator was one of those who 'lay beside her' then perhaps it makes more sense.) But anyway, they say that a true marker (perhaps the truest) of writing about music is the desire of the reader to go listen (again) to the music under consideration. You've done your job. I've been listening to Old No. 1 (and Texas Cookin') all day! It's past five where I am.
P.S. Is the blue shirt on the cover of Old No. 1 the same shirt referenced in Stuff That works, you think?
P.P.S Your 'fragmentary' style is very Perec-ian. A compliment!
I agree about the 'lust' lyric. It never sat well with me.
In one of the books I've got, Guy talks about moving around the order of the lines in his version of TVZ's 'To Live Is to Fly' and how mad Steve Earle got about that. I'm a sucker for these songwriter details!
The blue shirt? I'd like to think so.
Fragmentary style. Thank you, I do take that as a compliment. I'm increasingly leaning to wards this kind of writing, partly because of writers like Perec and Barthes, and partly because of my favourite contemporary stylists, including Ian Penman.
What a wonderful tribute to Guy Clark! He's a great songwriter (one of the very best) and your writing is personal and also feels like an appropriate appreciation of his particular use of language.
[As a side note this interview of Clark by James McMurtry is incredibly good and also captures something distinctive about him https://lonestarmusicmagazine.com/qa-guy-clark-by-james-mcmurtry/ ]
It's also interesting that my path to appreciating Guy Clark was much less direct. I discovered Townes Van Zandt when I was in college but, for various reason, I didn't make the step from him to listening to other Texas singer-songwriters. It wasn't until _This One's For Him_ came out that I fell in love with Guy Clark and also started listening to more Country singer-songwriters. It marked a significant change in my listening and sense of my own musical tastes!
Amusingly I would pick out very different favorite tracks. To my ears clearly the most distinctive and irreplicable track on the album is James McMurty's version of "Cold Dog Soup" after that, the songs that I am most likely to think about are Lyle Lovett's "Anyhow I Love You", Rosie Flores "Baby Took a Limo to Memphis", and Patty Griffin's version of "The Cape."
It's quite likely that some of what accounts for the differences in which songs caught my attention is that, in many cases, I was hearing them for the first time, rather than re-visiting a familiar song.
Thanks for that. I'll check out the McMurtry-Clark piece; don't think I've read that one.
Well, we overlap on 'The Cape' anyhow! But, yes, those other versions you mention are also excellent. As I said, I could have continued listing - it's a great tribute album.
I just listened to the Emmylou Harris & John Prine, ‘Magnolia Wind’ and it is absolutely great. I'll need to re-listen to the other tracks you mentioned, I expect I'll find that your appreciation is well founded. . .
I agree. Great series for going down a rabbit hole. The video suggestions just from watching this one were amazing.
Hey, how about this? (with Emmy and Guy much on our minds lately):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOzpPOXfymA
That's great. I've watched some of the Transatlantic Sessions and my favorites are, like that video, ones in which you have world-class musicians looking relaxed and like they're enjoying hanging out and making music.
In addition to the Teddy Thompson video that I referenced earlier, I like this Paul Brady performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhIR57nmNns