Open Hearts, Open Roads

Angie writes:

Cover Me Up (Live) – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

I absolutely love this song. First heard it when Mike McNab (was sound engineer at the Tams, currently touring with Nazareth) sang it a few years ago. I harmonise the chorus with him. I hadn’t known Jason Isbell. I’ve chosen this live version over a studio one – takes my breath away. I love the explosive power of his voice, and its heartbreak quality. He performs it with some restraint, I think. It’s very measured but driving and dynamic at the same time. I wish I’d been at the concert!”

Andrew writes:

Wade in the Water – John Butler Trio

What a brilliant track – love the live version too –  the way it builds from beginning to end and his voice –  just wow – it carries the track like a Sherpa going up Everest. So I remember listening to it last week and thinking – it has to be Norwegian Wood – they share the same opening melody and they do sit kinda well together but the more I listened to Cover Me Up the more I wanted to match the energy. I remembered this track from the John Butler Trio and thought it sits pretty well coming up next – and it only hit me just now as I write this that of course it’s called Wade in the Water!!!

Tell It like It Is – Tracy Chapman

John Butler Trio – new to me. I’ve listened to some of their stuff and will definitely listen again. Wade in the Water: I’d be driving on an open road, window down, playing this track LOUD. I love the driving, measured beat. Nothing tentative about it. I kept coming back to this Tracy Chapman song. It has the same measured beat. Absolutely love the drumming and percussive sounds, especially the bongos solo and the drums coming back in. All this and her hypnotic voice

Down To Zero – Joan Armatrading

Oh wow – the groove on Tell It Like It Is – and that fretless bass slide opening – such a vibe. She’s such a talent. I’d be joining you on that road trip – watching the white lines fly past in time to the beat – hypnotic but dynamic enough to be compelling. This time I’m bouncing off the vocal – there’s something about female singers who have that lower register that feels just – IDK – sexy. I’m pulling a track from ’76 that works beautifully with guitar / piano / vocal.

Cobwebs – David Keenan

Thanks for that. Joan Armatrading – such a class act. Pulls me right in with the emotion every time she sings. So, David Keenan. He’s Irish and that’s all I know. Came across this track a few years ago on Spotify. I found it compelling. Listened to it on repeat for ages. It’s big, bold and intense. I love it

Give Me All Your Love – Hugh Kelly

Love that David Keenan track – what a fabulous voice and what range. I love what they do with the sparse instrumentation – that electric part is delicious. So I’m thinking – more strong vocals and can’t help but reach for a family member. Hugh’s my cousin’s kid – he recorded this EP with the Mad Ferret crew – I’ve always loved his voice and this track.

Wicked Game (Remastered) – Chris Isaak

Impressive vocal on Hugh’s track. I like a dark love song… it made me think of obsession. I listened to some others of his. I really like his version of A Change is Gonna Come. So, here’s the original – and best – version of Wicked Game. There’s a haunting quality to Chris Isaak’s voice. It works perfectly with these lyrics. Really enjoying this process!

Steady – The Staves

Wicked Game is such a classic – so many aspects of the track are just perfect: the guitar tones – the parts played with exquisite taste – no rushing, no ‘performance’ – just perfectly suited for the track. They say this is a ridiculous song to cover ‘cos it’s impossible to deliver a better vocal (Tenacious D aside) – and that’s hard to argue against – you can feel the impending doom dripping from his voice – and that final out – beautifully delivered in full harmony: ‘Nobody, loves no-one.’ The track has always been interpreted as him – the noble fallible man falling in love with a demon seductress who is going to break his heart – he’s the hero – she’s the villain – her beauty and charisma so haunting that he can’t help but throw himself into the abyss and be churned out the end – and yet… 

…what if he’s just a melodramatic dick?

What if he’s the one that’s creating all this drama and she’s just looking for a healthy relationship? 

I give you the Staveley Sisters – currently a duo (as the elder sister went off to have a family) but here in their breakout album – full three part harmonies and understated instrumentation. I’ve always loved this track – not least ‘cos the intro works super well out of most ’emotional’ songs – but lyrically it’s that picture of a person getting frustrated with their partner ‘cos they won’t commit – they’re too scared to fully let go. 

I imagine that this is the woman Chris Isaak was singing to 6 months later in their relationship and she’s going to have to end it ‘cos he’s such a fucking drama queen!

Delta (2005 Remaster) – Crosby, Stills & Nash

I loved your narrative about Chris Isaak. I definitely see him as the obsessive in Wicked Game. The Staveleys have that intuitive harmonic connection which I love. Voices meld into one. I like the arrangement on Steady but – if I’m picky – there’s too much instrumentation for me. 

Harmony is my happy place… hard to choose now. I’ve gone with CSN (and Y) – I’ve carried their music with me for many years. I adore this track Delta. Everything about it. It breaks my heart and raises me up at the same time. Bloody amazing. It kills me that they could rip each other apart offstage, and then create music like this.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes – Judy Collins

Had been listening to the CSN track and I don’t think I had a memory for it but damn if their harmonies aren’t out of this world – it’s such an expansive track – and yet so chilled and laid back – echoes of later Carpenter vibes in the chorus breaks – just beautiful. 

I spent too much time thinking of a track with similar lush harmonies and yet – when I focused on the outro – I started thinking about the transition. I love how the guitar picks up from the gentle ascending keys and then – Judy! What a voice – so capable of sitting on a simple groove and painting an entire picture with just her voice. And that classic chorus hook – sticks in your head forever. And just when you think the track’s going one way – the band kicks in – the key changes and it’s just – hell yes!

Beeswing – Richard Thompson

As I said I hadn’t heard this version. Judy’s voice – so rich and textured. Almost doesn’t need any instrumentation. I like this though. There’s a poignancy and restlessness about the song. Thoughts of staying/leaving. I love Richard Thompson’s Beeswing – brings up similar feelings.

Nothing Ever Happens – Del Amitri

Thinking that Sandy Denny might be making an appearance on the list later! Richard Thompson is a legend, and Beeswing is probably my favourite. Back in LA our next door neighbours would come over for music afternoons and Beeswing was a favourite of theirs – just magical songwriting – what a story!! 

This time I’m influenced by the music rather than the story – I hadn’t made the connection before but now hearing the two together – they just feel right. I love Del Amitri – we saw them in Perth earlier this year – poor Justin has Parkinson’s and this was their last tour – he’s one of my favourite songwriters – such a sharp observer of life – especially when he’s skewering the rich.

This is Love (Live) – Mary Chapin Carpenter

Let’s bring on the existential themes I say. Haven’t heard Del Amitri for ages – I love this song. One of those I wish I’d written… 

This Mary Chapin Carpenter song became very significant for me during Lockdown in 2020 – I watched this video a lot. Something about the lyrics/melody/voice combination went straight to my heart.

If It Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow

I spent a lot of time listening to This is Love – I knew of Mary Chapin Carpenter but had never really listened to her music – I have thousands of artists like that – where you have an instinctual knowledge of what their music is like but can’t really pin it down as you don’t have a track that you immediately associate. But I’m loving the simplicity of this delivery – fabulous voice – and that strumming pattern that keeps the track ticking along – it’s kinda like the lyric – enduring love isn’t loud or flashy – doesn’t dominate the room but quietly and consistently shows up – almost breaking yet somehow hanging on and creating comfort for the future. 

So of course I’m coming back with Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy. Which is waaaaay earlier in the relationship! Funnily enough it was the guitars that connected the tracks for me – there’s a similar ‘chugging’ groove that the tracks share and once I made the connection I couldn’t shake it. If Mary is reflecting on a love well lived – Sheryl’s out there fucking it up and making as many mistakes as she can. Personally I’m looking to experience both

Gold Dust Woman (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac

Sheryl Crow. I love her in-your-face vocals and the energy of this track. Best line: ‘I’m not the kind of girl you take home.’ Put me in mind of Stevie Nicks – the whole rock chick package I think.

The Queen And The Soldier – Suzanne Vega

Rulers make bad lovers.’ I mean – that lyric has stayed with me since I was an 8 year old. I don’t know if it’s true – never having actually slept with a ruler – I like to think I’d measure up. And while there’s so much going on sonically with this track – not least what the fuck Lindsay Buckingham is doing to extract such a tone out of his instrument – I couldn’t help but leap to Suzanne Vega’s Queen and the Soldier. 

While I’m a piano player first – it’s kinda tough to bring your piano to parties – and god forbid you’re the guy that turns up with a keyboard – like – presumptuous much!? So learning guitar – at least the Jesus chords and barring – was an essential skill. Being able to sing and play this song in a room of young women in their early twenties was – well – I learned a lot. If Stevie’s ruler is lame in the sack – at least she doesn’t chop your head off

Hurt – Johnny Cash

The number of times in my folk club years singing with Anne we sat through trad ballads… 26 verses of numbing boredom, particularly when the singer would drone on for five minutes explaining the whole story before singing it. However. I’m very familiar with Suzanne Vega’s voice but never delved into her music. This track is intriguing – I’m drawn into the story. The vulnerability in her voice and the heartbreaking lyrics pack a punch. It’s taken me down a number of paths – difficult to choose a follow-up. So here’s Johnny Cash. Pain, misery, heartbreak, regret. With that insane voice. I love it.

Fucked Up – Shannon Moore

Songs are just nuts aren’t they? What the writer thinks they’re creating compared to what the listener hears can be two very different things – let alone how a song can morph depending on who is performing it. Charles Bradley did it with Black Sabbath’s Changes – Hendrix with Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, Joe Cocker with a Little Help From My Friends – but of all of them – I think the transformation that Hurt goes under when Johnny Cash sings it – combined with the video – damn if it isn’t powerful. Apparently Trent Reznor basically said the song no longer belongs to him any more. And just – wow – the darkness of the track – the despair and nihilistic loneliness – the whole ‘you come into this world alone and you go out the same way’ sentiment – I mean shit dude – we’re all gonna die but do we need this fucking reminder!?! 

So I’m changing up the groove – going from stripped down desolation to upbeat peppy guitars and pop trappings and yet – not shying away from the ridiculousness of being human. I met Shannon when this album came out – she’s a lovely person – her label were sooo mad with her as the track is a bona fide hit – right about the time Sheryl Crow was breaking – they begged her to tweak the lyric as ‘Fucked Up’ wasn’t going to get radio play but she stood her guns – kept the track authentic and – probably missed out on a lucrative career – but – whatcha going to do

True Believer – Jason Isbell

The stripped down desolation. The nihilistic loneliness. You’re absolutely right. Takes me right back to my teenage years, immersed in Leonard Cohen. But that’s probably more information about me than you need to know. 

So, I listened to Shannon Moore’s track lots. I have to say the song didn’t connect with me greatly. Reading your thoughts as you add to this playlist has been really interesting for me. You appraise songs with your head and heart, getting into component parts whilst appreciating the emotional hit. For me, I seek deep emotional connection with voices, melodies and sometimes lyrics. Re the technical side of the music, it doesn’t seem that important to me. So, I think I could learn something here from you. I’m often quick to dismiss a song if it doesn’t hit my heart immediately. 

No apologies, then, for coming back to Jason Isbell. I am in awe of his talent. He writes so fluidly about the complexities of love and life; he sings with power and vulnerability

Part Of The Band – The 1975

There’s a very smart dude called Daniel Levitin who writes brilliantly about music and is making the case that we’re suffering as a race ‘cos there’s less music around – I mean – sure there’s ‘more’ – but we’re not interacting with it in the way we have forever. People aren’t making music – joining drum circles – tapping out rhythms – sitting around pianos etc – it’s all got so passive and maybe that is a bad thing. Jason Isbell is a great listen – I agree – lyrically he’s not fucking around and appears unafraid to lay his life wide open – if you can do that with a beautiful melody and an achingly authentic voice then – hell yeah. Apparently True Believer is about his divorce and just Ow – that shit hurts – I can relate. 

This time it was both the melody and the lyric that had me reaching for The 1975. Matty Healy – the singer and main lyricist – is an enigmatic creature – wildly talented and polarizing – just the kind of thing I think rock stars should be. Talk about baring one’s soul open – this track is him reflecting on his sobriety and all the weirdness that goes on in his head. Musically it shares a similar melody to True Believer but I’ve always appreciated the instrumentation on this track – a string quartet that ultimately leads to the band coming in at the chorus – just different and interesting – also the second verse delivery cracks me up

Corazon Espinado (feat. Mana) – Santana

This was new to me and it’s really grown on me as I’ve listened. As you say, interesting and clever instrumentation. Not easy to write such edgy (and amusing) lyrics. The whole thing, I’d say, is quirky…

So, I leave you with Santana. All about the sublime instrumentation for me on this track. If your body doesn’t move to this rhythm I’m sorry but you’re probably clinically dead. 

Apparently Corazon Espanado means thorny heart. Broken again but….hey let’s salsa!

I think it’s a great fit as we finish this list. Aren’t all these songs (in all their complex meanderings) essentially about love and loss. 

I await your final track…

Keep Moving – Jungle

Santana is such a vibe – and has been for decades – one of those cats that was moving Boomers at the original woodstock and yet can still groove a room of Gen Alpha’s today – absolute legend.  

Yet that’s the thing isn’t it – movement – the opposite of staying still and stuck in place.

Heart broken?  Move on

Down on your luck?  Move on

Caught in the “shit waterfall” that life occasionally drops on you?…  

As Churchill apocryphally said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going” and what better accompaniment for the journey than music ;-p  There’s no biological need for it and yet here it is, ever present – our lives do indeed have a soundtrack and thank god for that.

I normally start playlists with this track – the string opening sets up the vocals and then the groove as the whole underlying vibe kicks in – one of my all time favorites – it feels apropos to finish this list with a beginning ;-p

Thank you Angie – it’s been a blast – see you on Sunday at The Tams!

Track Listing

• Cover Me Up (Live) – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• Wade in the Water – John Butler Trio
• Tell It like It Is – Tracy Chapman
• Down To Zero – Joan Armatrading
• Cobwebs – David Keenan
• Give Me All Your Love – Hugh Kelly
• Wicked Game (Remastered) – Chris Isaak
• Steady – The Staves
• Delta (2005 Remaster) – Crosby, Stills & Nash
• Who Knows Where the Time Goes – Judy Collins
• Beeswing – Richard Thompson
• Nothing Ever Happens – Del Amitri
• This is Love (Live) – Mary Chapin Carpenter
• If It Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow
• Gold Dust Woman (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac
• The Queen And The Soldier – Suzanne Vega
• Hurt – Johnny Cash
• Fucked Up – Shannon Moore
• True Believer – Jason Isbell
• Part Of The Band – The 1975
• Corazon Espinado (feat. Mana) – Santana
• Keep Moving – Jungle

Playlist Image by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash

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