A Fistful of Selections

Here’s another sampling from the DJStan Selections playlist – some will be familiar, some – I hope – will not.

1. Liebeslied - Itzhak Perlman
The ultimate Viennese café composer, Fritz Kreisler’s music was always destined to be played by Itzhak Perlman, inheritor of the great schmaltz virtuouso slot that use to be Isaac Stern’s. This light, elegant bit of sweetness transports me; it’s a musical dobosche torte, and doesn’t spare the schlag.

2. People Are Strange - The Doors
I 've always been partial to the cover photo on “Strange Days”; it’s one of those weird circus sideshow references (like the thematic concept that just sank Twyla Tharpe’s mis-take on Dylan which closed shortly after opening). There’s a strongman and a dwarf and a juggling mime – you know the drill. But in this case, it really serves as a good background setting for “People Are Strange”. The song has a Brecht-Weill Cabaret of Lost Souls sound that resonates with me and which few artists can really pull off without sounding pretentious or phony; Morrison could (as can Tom Waits and Marianne Faithfull, and Lou Reed). Then there’s that 60’s thing (being “strange” was not an uncommon event). Add it all up and you get one of my favorite Doors’ songs.

3. Feels Like Rain - Maria Muldaur
A beautiful song (and if you don’t know the songs of John Hiatt, you need to get out more) and a perfect, warm and flowing rendition by Maria Muldaur, whose last few albums have been gems. She’s got one of those rich, honey-toned but lived-in voices that can do any kind of blues you can imagine. I think I saw her perform once as Maria D’Amato, back in the early 60’s in the Village. It was a coffeehouse called – as I recall – The Four Winds, located on MacDougal Street, right next door to the Kettle of Fish, a bar over the Gaslight. She played fiddle and was teamed with another girl on guitar; the one song I remember was an old mountain piece called “Run Mountain”. I can’t prove it was her, but not too long after, a fiddle-playing Italian folkie from the Village moved up to Boston and joined Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band (where she also met and married Geoff Muldaur – about whom there is much to say, too). So, even if it was some other performer I saw that night, I prefer to recall that it was Maria Muldaur (and let me repeat, her recent albums like “Richland Woman Blues”, “Sweet Lovin’ Old Soul”, “A Woman Alone With The Blues”, and “Heart of Mine” have been outstanding).

4. Cry Baby - Janis Joplin
I picked this one out of the Janis songbook partly because of the semi-spoken section, but mainly because for me this song embodies the power and painful rawness of her singing. If an open wound could sing, it would sound like this. She’s a Texas woman blues shouter, and while she was never Bessie Smith or Ma Rainey (who could be?), she left her mark on a million hearts, mine included. This song takes off at the opening, and locks you in its embrace until the end. Just like Janis.

5. Old Blind Barnabas - Blind Boys of Alabama
I’ve got a few tracks from the “original” Blind Boys of Alabama, but this current incarnation hit the ground running with the gospel/pop crossover “Spirit of the Century” CD (everyone should own this one), and has been going strong since then. This track, a traditional gospel song, is grounded in the late George Scott’s lead (he died just as the album was being released). The song starts with a solid, moving bottom line and then Scott slides in with his rich baritone voice, backed by the other members of the group. The groove keeps rolling, and the song is hypnotic – the kind of number that gets in your head and won’t let go. Just hearing what Scott can do with the word “well” is worth the listen.

6. Knoxville Girl - The Louvin Brothers
Regular readers may recall my talking about the Charlie and Ira Louvin and what Greil Marcus called “the old weird America”. Here’s a fine example of both the Louvins and the weirdness. It’s a murder ballad in which the singer is explaining how he killed the Knoxville girl; we’re never quite sure why, and although my guess is infidelity (there’s a reference to “roving eyes”), the singer may just be a psychopath. The combination of the dire lyrics and the flawless mountain harmonies of the Louvin Brothers is what puts this song on my list. If you’re interested, check out the lyrics.

7. Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
There are plenty of Talking Heads songs I like, and I’ll certainly rotate this selection with them, but this particular track has a jauntiness to it that appeals to me. Byrne has his chipper side, and the band sounds like they’re having fun with this one. “We know where we’re going, but we don’t know we’re we’ve been”. I like that. I also like the classic New Wave sound of the arrangement (not “New Age” – totally different head…totally).

8. Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
I listened to Stevie a lot in his prime years, primarily from “Music of My Mind” to “Songs In The Key of Life”. From the album “Innervisions”, this song fuses R&B and politics in a potent mix that never loses sight of the music. It’s haunting, and it’s got great hooks. Stevie at his best.

9. Dancing in the Dark - Charlie Parker
Bird once remarked that “Charlie Parker with Strings” (from which this song is taken) was his favorite album of all his recordings. This despite the fact that bop purists hated its mixture of standard songs with orchestrated arrangements. Me? I love it. One of the hallmarks of Bird’s immense talent was his lyricism, the strong romantic element in his playing. The “Strings” sets let him hang it all out, and he has a great time swooping over and around the more formal arrangement – kind of like a kid who's a born gymnast playing on a jungle gym (which I understand children are no longer allowed to do, more’s the pity). This is a representative track – almost any one will do – and is guaranteed to lift your spirits any time, any place.

10. Love in Vain - Rolling Stones
For me, the best blues-centric rock band of all time. On this track they cover Robert Johnson, always a gutsy choice, and do him proud. Keith Richards slides up and down his guitar, Jagger feels the lyrics and puts them across, Charlie Watts anchors with his usual understated efficiency. It’s the only non-original song on “Let It Bleed”, a peak album and my second favorite of theirs next to “Exile On Main Street”, and it’s a keeper.

11. Johnny’s Gone to Hilo - Kate & Anna McGarrigle – A traditional sea chantey (and Hilo apparently refers to the Peruvian port city of Ilo, not to Hawaii) sung by another fine duet, the McGarrigle sisters. The track is taken from “The McGarrigle Hour”, a charming eclectic recording featuring the McGarrigle-Wainwright clan (Kate, Anna, Loudon, Rufus, Martha) and friends, The sisters sing lead on this one, with the rest of the gathering backing on the choral response. Chanteys are work songs, usually structured to provide a rhythmic base for some task, but this take on one shows off the melody and lyric in a way which is wistful, soft, soothing, and altogether lovely, like a sailor's lullabye.