Jack Johnson- perfect cruising music

It's Friday, the weather is nice. I feel like going for a drive out in the country with the windows down, some nice grooves on my stereo, and a pair of shades on. An artist who really gets me in the happy, cruisin' kinda mood is former surf champion- Jack Johnson. I keep a copy of one of his CDs (either Brushfire Fairytales or In Between Dreams) in my car at all times for that purpose. Unfortunately, many people know Jack Johnson only for the song Sitting, Waiting, Wishing or worse- playing the soundtrack to The Curious George Movie (and the childish video- Upside Down).

However, if you want a real taste for Jack Johnson, check out his debut album- Brushfire Fairytales. One of my favorite songs on the album, which is not well known outside the Jack Johnson fan base, is Bubble Toes. The album version is rather awkward until the song finds its groove. But, I was able to track down this energetic live version of the song recorded March 6, 2006 in Paris, France. Download it. Put it on your stereo and drive.

Note: Yesterday, the site more than doubled it's normal traffic. This is very exciting. I have lots more great stuff to post in the coming weeks. The best is yet to come! Additionally, I want to encourage you to recommend postings for this site. Email me at submissions@lostmelodies.com with links to your favorite Lost Melodies and some information about the song/artist and why it should be included.

See you back on Monday.

Related Tags: music, youtube, grooves, surf, Curious George, Jack Johnson, Brushfire Fairytales, live, Paris

Advertisement

Jimi: 12 string acoustic blues

Jimi Hendrix is best known for his sound manipulating, rip-roaring electric guitar solos. He was a genius in that respect. Because he is not known for his acoustic guitar playing, I was floored by this video of Jimi playing a 12-string acoustic guitar. It’s just one reason why I love this clip.

Related Tags: Music, Hendrix, Jimi, 12-string, acoustic, blues, youtube

Move over Elvis!

I thought it would be fitting to write about the roots of Elvis in today's post (after featuring the King yesterday). Although Elvis' version of Hound Dog is the most famous, Big Mama (Willie Mae) Thornton was the original performer (and possibly even the writer, though Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller receive credit for that). She recorded the song three years before Elvis!

In case you were wondering how Willie Mae got the name "Big Mama," well, she weighed 300 pounds! The B-Side to Hound Dog is the song "They Call Me Big Mama" with lyrics that include:

Well they call me Big Mama because I weigh 300 pounds
call me Big Mama because I weigh 300 pounds
I get rockin' and a rollin'
I can really go to town

I highly recommend Hound Dog- The Peacock Recordings for these and other songs. Without further ado, here is a video of Big Mama singing her rendition of Hound Dog.

Related Tags: Elvis, Big Mama Thornton, Hound Dog, music, lyrics, Youtube

Polk Salad Annie

Tony Joe White wrote two hit songs- one better known and one more obscure. The better known song would be Brook Benton’s recording of Rainy Night in Georgia. I found this awful ringtone version of that classic song.However, the song that would qualify for www.lostmelodies.com would be Tony Joe White‘s hit Polk Salad Annie from 1969. For some reason this song does not seem to be on heavy rotation on the classic rock stations. Maybe some radio DJs are reading this blog and will change that. Anyway, I was able to find this energetic video of Polk Salad Annie performed by Elvis Presley. I’d highly recommend Tony Joe White’s Greatest Hits for Polk Salad Annie, Rainy Night in Georgia and many more songs. Enjoy.

Update 1/18/2007: Classic video of Tony Joe White performing Polk Salad Annie as well as a October 2006 version. He still can rock!

Related Tags: Music, Tony Joe White, Elvis Presley, Rainy Night In Georgia, Brook Benton, Polk Salad Annie, Youtube, classic rock

Fleck does Bach

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are hands down one of the finest group of musicians performing today. Their style is a unique blend of bluegrass, jazz, and funk. Each band member has inovative material under his belt OUTSIDE of the group.

Bassist Victor Wooten is a virtuoso in his own right. Wikipeida states that he is referred to as the “Michael Jordan” of Bass. Victor has a number of solo CDs worth checking out. He seems so relaxed when he plays, it looks like he is going to fall asleep, though his fingers move at warp speed.
Wooten’s achievements include:

• Two Nashville Music Awards for Bassist Of The Year
• The only three-time winner of Bass Player magazine’s Bass Player Of The Year

Roy “Future Man” Wooten, Victor’s brother, is an inventor/musician. The Synthax Drumitar– a guitar-like instrument that produces drum sounds and the RoyEl- a piano-like instrument that has keys set up like the periodic table of elements are both instruments in which Future Man plays with the Flecktones.

He also plays an interesting minimalist drum kit. Listening to him play acoustically, you would never know that he had so few percussive sounds at his disposal.

Jeff Coffin, the newest member of the Flecktones, is a multi-instrumentalist best known for his saxophone playing. He also plays the flute. Once when I saw him, he played two saxophones at the same time! I find the music of the Flecktones to be much better since 1997 when Coffin joined the group.

Jeff Coffin has his own group called The Jeff Coffin Mu’tet. Coffin has also played with an impressive group of musicians including:

• The Dave Matthews Band
• Branford Marsalis
• Van Morrison
• Lynyrd Skynyrd

Last but not least is Bela Fleck. Fleck is considered to be among the best banjo players ever. He can do amazing things on that instrument. The styles that he plays include classical, jazz, and bluegrass. His awards, achievements, and musical groups are too numerous to mention on this blog. Though you can read wikipedia’s entry about him.

Back to the Flecktones…last friday, instead of going to work, I was a slacker (yes, Bela Fleck was actually wearing a slacker shirt) and went to XPN‘s free at noon concert with live performance by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I am sorry you were unable to join me in attendance, however you can relive the memories via this link of a streaming, unedited recording of the performance. At about 52:30 into the broadcast, Bela Fleck performs a stunning solo piece by Bach. If you are short on time and want a mere tasting of the Flecktones , here is a clip of the Flecktones on Late night with Conan O’Brian.

Man that was a long entry… Well, at least you’ll have some great music to listen to on a Monday. Enjoy!

Related Tags: music, Bela Fleck, Flecktones, bluegrass, jazz, funk, Victor Wooten, Roy Wooten, Future Man, Wikipeida, NPR, XPN, Jeff Coffin, saxophone, Dave Matthews Band, Branford Marsalis, Van Morrison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Conan O’Brian, Bach, banjo

Lord Protect My Child

First: some business.

As you may have noticed, many of the links from this site (www.lostmelodies.com) are directed towards Youtube.Unfortunately, Youtube does not make downloading their movies user friendly. However, I found this post to show you how to do it.

Back to your regularly scheduled post…

Susan Tedeschi (tuh-DEH-skee) is one amazing blues singer and guitarist who is still making a name for herself. Her voice reminds me of Bonnie Raitt (who is also an amazing musican). Tedeschi's husband is Derek Trucks. As the leader of The Derek Trucks Band and a member of The Allman Brothers, he is considered to be among the guitar gods. They do have a child together and it is very fitting that Susan Tedeschi has included Bob Dylan's song "Lord Protect My Child" on her album Hope And Desire.

I love Tedeschi's version of the song. To hear a complete version, click here and then on the "Listen" button on the site. This is a performance on Live At The World Cafe. If you only want to listen to this song, skip 7 minutes into the show.

With guitarists like Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks as parents, their child has a lot to live up to. Lord, protect that child! Have a nice weekend.

Related Tags:Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, Lord Protect My Child, Hope And Desire, Live At The World Cafe

WHO are you?

Sure, I agree that The Who is featured in too many commercials. Everything from Hummer's commercial featuring Happy Jack to countless commercials that use the song Bargain. Additionally, every season of CSI has used a song by The Who as it's theme songs! The Who has even been on The Simpsons. Am I saying that The Who has sold out? On the contrary! The Who has always been commercial! On the BBC Sessions recordings (recorded 10/10/67), the band recorded two radio jingles butchering their songs My Generation and Boris the Spider for purposes of radio promotions. So, what we see has been a continuation of past endeavors. Who can blame a musician for wanting to profit on his music? I'm sure many people disagree with me, but hey…

Anyway, you wanted to hear something different, hip, something you maybe hadn't heard before by The Who? Here is a link to a video for the song Eminence Front The lyrics are strange and include the following lines:

Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join
the party
Dress to kill.

Well, I just found out that Eminence Front is actually featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. So, maybe you have heard that song… So, another rarely played song is I Don't Even Know Myself. This version is performed Live at The Isle of Wright Festival in 1970. I bought the album solely to have a copy of this song. Though the CDs rock and include a live version of TOMMY.

Related Tags: music, lyrics, The Who, Happy Jack, Bargain, The Simpsons, My Generation, Grand Theft Auto, TOMMY, youtube

Crazy guitarists!

So, after yesterdays post about Steven Tyler looking like an idiot, I did a little searching and found this website dedicated to guitarists and their "guitar faces." Have a favorite face? Post the permalink into the comments section. Tomorrow there will be more music, I promise.

AeroSmith and Wesson

Aerosmith is probably best known for their power ballads and cheesy songs. I found a few clips of Steven Tyler trying to be cool, but looking like an idiot. These include Steven Tyler singing with Hanson and Steven Tyler doing a "Got Milk" video. Yeah, I thought that was creepy too. But so weird, how could I pass that up? Anyway, enough Aerosmith bashing. They can really rock (when they want to).

I love the songs Mama Kin (this version is performed with Guns and Roses [thus the title of todays post- Aerosmith+Guns and Roses= AeroSmith and Wesson]). If you think that Steven Tyler looks ridiculous in the first couple of clips linked to today, that's nothing compared with Axl in his underwear! Big Ten Inch Record is another quality, rockin' Aerosmith song. This version is decent, though it can't compare with the plugged-in album version.

Not B.B.!

After thinking about Friday’s entry, I thought it would be fun to talk about an electric blues artist. Don’t get the title of this post wrong- I am big fan of B.B. King. However, one of my favorite electric blues artists is actually a different King- Albert King(1923-1992). Along with B.B. and Freddie, Albert is known as one of the three “kings” of the blues. The following is an exerpt from Wikipedia’s entry on Albert King. I couldn’t explain his playing better myself :

Albert King was a left-handed “upside-down/backwards” guitarist: he was left-handed but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. In later years he played a custom-made guitar that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed (as he was used to playing). He also used very unorthodox tunings (i.e., tuning as low as C to allow him to make sweeping string bends). A “less is more” type blues player, he was known for his expressive “bending” of notes, a technique characteristic
of blues guitarists. However, while a conventional right-handed player will bend the note by pushing the string upwards against the frets, causing the pitch to go up, Albert King used an unorthodox approach of pulling the string downwards to get the same result.

Because of the unique playing style, Albert King has a unique tone to his playing. Until I read more about him, I couldn’t figure out what was different in his technique. To get a feel for Albert King, check out this link from a show at the Filmore East in 1970.