Waiter! Waiter! Percolator! Today we review The Ink Spots' hit Java Jive (and now we're in the 1940s!). The Ink Spots were a big group in the 1930s and 40s and were seen as pioneers of R&B and doo-wop. They owe a lot of their success to a formula they used in many of their songs - they started with the same 4 chord guitar intro and halfway through the song the bass singer takes a spoken word solo. The foursome broke out big time in 1939 with If I Didn't Care which sold over 19 million copies. The original incarnation of the group broke up in 1954 and apparently it was quite acrimonious (I imagine a lot of velvet-voiced yelling at each other) and there are still a lot groups today touring as the Ink Spots, although they have no connection to the original foursome.
I can't find that much info on the song Java Jive except that it was written by Milton Drake and Ben Oakland, and the book tells us it's a bit of a jovial oasis amid a desert of lonesome heart ballads for the Ink Spots. The book also says that one of the original members, Deek Watson once performed in a group called The Percolating Puppies. The song was seen as a novelty fad song, as coffee was (and I guess still is) a fad.
Kelly:
Yay, finally a song that I own on an album! I really like the Ink Spots and can clearly remember the first time I ever heard them: in the Sir Ian McKellan 1940s film adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, McKellan's titular character (spoiler alert) is falling to his death in slow motion. As he falls, a broad smile forms across his face and The Ink Spots' I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire is heard playing. I must have been in high school when I heard it. I told my dad that I really liked it so on his next trip to A&B Sound he picked me up an Ink Spots CD and Java Jive is on it. I like the song, but I don't think it's the Ink Spots best (for me, that goes to Whispering Grass). As usual their voices sound really good together and the harmonies are tight. It's a cute song and I'm glad the Ink Spots have a place on this list. 4.5/5
Holly:
Java Jive (The Ink Spots): There’s something just so nice about this song. It’s pleasant, and happy, and calm, but not bland. I think that’s tough to do. The vocals are awesome, and the harmonies are interesting and really well done. And, FINALLY, a song that has a well thought-out ending! I was going to say that they totally ripped of the ending of String of Pearls by Glen Miller, but this song came out two years before String of Pearls! So…..maybe Glen Miller stole from the Ink Spots? 4.5/5
Java Jive
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Mbube - Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds
Today's song takes us into South Africa. Many will know the song as The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) but the song was originally called Mbube (Lion in Zulu) and recorded by Solomon Linda. Linda was born in South Africa and learned about Western music and hymns in school. He blended that knowledge with that of traditional Zulu songs and started singing at weddings and feasts. In order to make money Linda went to find work in Johannesburg, where he joined the choir The Evening Birds. Their popularity grew and they started wearing pinstripe suits and dandy shoes. Eventually their style of singing was known as Mbube or isicathamya, with many singers on the bass line and a falsetto singer to bring in the 'female' element. Anyway, they recorded Mbube in 1939 in the only studio in sub-Saharan Africa and it saw great success. Unfortunately, Solomon Linda passed of renal failure a pauper, but his descendants have been trying to get the recognition for their ancestor that he deserves - even now Disney credits Linda in the Lion King for their use of Mbube.
The original version of the song Mbube is sung entirely in Zulu - it wasn't until North America acts like the Weavers or Jimmy Dorsey did we start hearing the song in English, and then probably its most popular version as sung by the Tokens (heard here). In the end there ended up being 3 different incarnations of the song: Mbube (this version by Miriam Makeba), Wimoweh (here is the Weavers) and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Decide for yourself which version you like best!
Holly:
Mbube (Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds): Oh. I know this. Wimoweh is apparently just how Pete Seeger misheard it! Kind of a sad story behind this song since Solomon Linda died a pauper, even though this is one of those songs that everyone knows. I really enjoyed listening to the original version. I had no idea that it was even in existance and I thought it was historically super interesting, and musically a lot of fun. It’s much slower and less raucous than most versions we’re used to hearing, but there’s a lot of energy and excitement in the singing. I also love the background singers’ voices. 4/5
Kelly:
Right away the first time I listened to this song I thought "Oh! Sounds like Ladysmith Black Mambazo!" and then the recognizable melody came in and I thought "OH! I know this song". I had always assumed it was a traditional song, so it's kind of neat to learn that it's actually a 20th century creation. I love that sound of all those voices singing the bass line, gives the song so much depth and oomph. I love the timbre of the voices too - apparently different from Westerners because of where the Zulu language sits in the mouth and throat. 4/5
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
The Gallis Pole - Lead Belly
Time for the folksy-blues of Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. Lead Belly was a beast on the 12-string guitar and a bit of a problem child around town. He ended up in jail for carrying a concealed weapon (I guess no 'open carry' laws at that time?) only to escape and get arrested 3 years later for murdering one of his own relatives over a lady (that is some blues street cred right there). After 10 years in the clink he wrote a song to the Governor asking for release and was subsequently pardoned and set free. Then in 1930 he was arrested for attempting to stab a man and sent to the infamous prison called 'Angola'. There he won over hearts and minds of officials and was released after serving the minimum sentence in 1933. For the next few years Lead Belly toured around, trying to scared up some acclaim and notoriety. He had a brief stint at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, but that failed to stir up any attention, but started piquing the interest of white leftist folkies. Then in 1939 he was arrested AGAIN (for - guess what? Stabbing a guy) but upon release in 1941 became a regular on a CBS radio show called Back Where I Come From and made friends with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Lead Belly also started to see some success in Europe and embarked on a tour there in 1949 but before completing it he fell ill and was diagnosed with ALS. He died later that year.
The Song Gallis Pole (also known as Gallows Pole) is an olde Englishe ballad that Lead Belly had adapted, made popular and recorded in 1939. The song tells of a man trying to collect gold and silver to bribe officials and keep him from being hanged. Lead Belly is heard playing his style of 12 string guitar here, a style that would go on to influence pretty much everyone ever, including Elvis, Brian Wilson, Pete Seeger, The Animals, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, shit even RAFFI. People will probably recognize the song reworked by Led Zeppelin and heard here.
Holly times:
The Gallis Pole (Lead Belly): This is the second reverse-cover we’ve listened to! Meaning that I know a cover of this song much much better than this version. Led Zeppelin does a version of this too that I really like. Anyway, I digress. Leadbelly is another artist I’ve definitely heard of but never really listened to. I really like this upbeat, high-energy version of this song! I’m not as versed in guitar terms as my sister is, so I’m going to say I really like the jangly sound of the guitar in this one. It goes so well with Leadbelly’s voice. As an aside, I’m looking forward to the point in history where people put some forethought into how they end songs! 4/5
Kelly:
Oh, I know this song. Well, I know the Zep version, from my fave Zep album (Zeppelin III). Anyway, I really like this version. I like that I can barely understand what he's saying, and I feel like his frantic, energetic guitar playing matches the desperation of a person who is trying not to get hanged. The guitar sounds big and he definitely has a mastery of those 12 strings, and I don't think it would sound as good if there was any other instruments playing. You can definitely hear how he's not quite as bluesy as Robert Johnson and how he's definitely more folky. He kind of reminds me of Richie Havens. His singing is great, his voice is strong and in control. I even like the random person throwing in a few random 'yeah' and 'uhhn' from time to time. 4/5
Gallis Pole - Lead Belly
The Song Gallis Pole (also known as Gallows Pole) is an olde Englishe ballad that Lead Belly had adapted, made popular and recorded in 1939. The song tells of a man trying to collect gold and silver to bribe officials and keep him from being hanged. Lead Belly is heard playing his style of 12 string guitar here, a style that would go on to influence pretty much everyone ever, including Elvis, Brian Wilson, Pete Seeger, The Animals, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, shit even RAFFI. People will probably recognize the song reworked by Led Zeppelin and heard here.
Holly times:
The Gallis Pole (Lead Belly): This is the second reverse-cover we’ve listened to! Meaning that I know a cover of this song much much better than this version. Led Zeppelin does a version of this too that I really like. Anyway, I digress. Leadbelly is another artist I’ve definitely heard of but never really listened to. I really like this upbeat, high-energy version of this song! I’m not as versed in guitar terms as my sister is, so I’m going to say I really like the jangly sound of the guitar in this one. It goes so well with Leadbelly’s voice. As an aside, I’m looking forward to the point in history where people put some forethought into how they end songs! 4/5
Kelly:
Oh, I know this song. Well, I know the Zep version, from my fave Zep album (Zeppelin III). Anyway, I really like this version. I like that I can barely understand what he's saying, and I feel like his frantic, energetic guitar playing matches the desperation of a person who is trying not to get hanged. The guitar sounds big and he definitely has a mastery of those 12 strings, and I don't think it would sound as good if there was any other instruments playing. You can definitely hear how he's not quite as bluesy as Robert Johnson and how he's definitely more folky. He kind of reminds me of Richie Havens. His singing is great, his voice is strong and in control. I even like the random person throwing in a few random 'yeah' and 'uhhn' from time to time. 4/5
Gallis Pole - Lead Belly
ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Tragic Songs of Life - The Louvin Brothers
Yee haw. We were knee-deep in southern country-gospel this week with the Louvin Brothers. The Louvin Brothers were actual brothers (unlike those Righteous 'Brothers'), Ira and Charlie. Ira played mandolin and Charlie played guitar, and both sang in close harmony which went on to influence the likes of Gram Parsons, The Everly Brothers and Emmylou Harris. Charlie Louvin seemed like a pretty reasonable person, whereas Ira was a bit more of a spicy personality. He was a heavy drinker and womanizer and had a horrible temper - he would smash his mandolin on stage if he was unable to tune it. He married 4 times and his third wife Faye shot him 4 times in the chest (he survived). Ira was killed in a car accident at age 41 and Charlie lived to the ripe old age of 83.
The album Tragic Songs of Life was released in 1956 and was packed with your standard 'done do me wrong' songs, some with a bizarre twist.
Holly:
The album Tragic Songs of Life was released in 1956 and was packed with your standard 'done do me wrong' songs, some with a bizarre twist.
Holly:
Louvin Brothers - Tragic Songs of Life
Let me start off by saying two things:
1- This style of music is not my thing.
2- The Louvin Brothers are good at what they do.
Before we started this project I’d never heard of Charlie and Ira Louvin, but apparently they were a big deal to country music. They are now in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and lots of country stars that came after them credit the Louvin Brothers as super inspirational.
So Charlie Louvin was the higher harmony and guitar player in the group, and Ira Louvin played mandolin and sang the lower harmonies. I have to say, to my ears, the mandolin playing sticks out as more memorable. The mandolin can sound pretty terrible when played poorly, and Ira is really able to get a big and dark tone out of the instrument. Although this style of twangy singing is not my thing, they both sing really well. Their voices sound great together, and they sing very tightly with these close together harmonies. Having said all that, this record did the opposite growing on me over the week. I found myself really looking forward to having the Louvin Brothers in my rearview mirror.
As for songs that I liked or didn’t like; to be honest, a lot of them blended together for me, in a very similar fashion to the Sinatra album from a couple of weeks back. Maybe the whole album was in the same key? But, I’m not going to cop out. Two favourites: Let Her Go, God Bless Her, because of the mandolin, because it’s fast paced, and it’s soooo cheezy! Other favourite: Knoxville Girl. I mean really, what more can you ask for than a lovely waltz about beating the crap out of your girlfriend and drowning her in a river? Seriously. Weird.
I give this album a 5/10. They’re good at what they do. I just don’t like it.
Kelly:
Before the purchase of this book, I had never actually heard of the Louvin Brothers. My initial reaction listening to this album was 'wow, they sound like country-fied Everly Brothers!', but the more the album wore on, the more I tired of it. Here's the bad first:
I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over again. I'm pretty sure all the songs are in the same key and as far as tempo and time, they're either common time or that country waltz 3/4, which gets pretty boring pretty quickly. And as good as they are at harmonizing with each other, they are awfully heavy handed with the harmony. And I LOVE me some harmony. But this is all in thirds through most of all the songs. I think it was the 3rd or 4th song that I realized that I was no longer paying attention. I had to consciously focus on the music so that I would be able to tell that it was a different song that was on, and I found myself looking forward to the end of the album.
The good: the harmonies, are grating as they are, are flawless, which is one of the benefits of having a sibling act - voices usually sound very similar if not identical, which means they mesh very well together. Apparently no one had really sung close harmonies like these 2 had before, so they were sort of harmony pioneers. The mandolin playing is really good too. If I have to pick a favourite song, it would have to be Knoxville Girl, as I was not expecting a song about beating his girlfriend to death, dumping her body in the river and when he comes home and mom asks what the blood on his shirt is from, he says a nosebleed.
I can appreciate this album's place in history, it just isn't one that I'm going to buy. 5/10
Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland
CAVEAT: Because this song is so pervasive in culture and so well known, we had a discussion as to what we would do. We thought about maybe saying that we can't look at the song from an objective perspective so perhaps with would give it no score? We then decided that that was a cop out, and we would review the song like the others and give our honest views.
Anyhow, this is one of those songs that everybody ever knows, and has been covered a bajillion times. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, although it almost didn't make the cut (studio executives thought it slowed down the movie). The song was written by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg (of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? fame) and won them a best song Oscar. It was also voted #1 on AFI's 100 Years 100 Songs list.
The song was almost an allegory for its vehicle's life. Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Judy Garland started in the business pretty much when she was a fetus and that's when trouble started. The studios were never completely crazy about her looks and were always manipulating her onscreen appearance by capping her teeth and putting rubber discs on her nose to reshape it. She could never really shake her good girl image so she lost out on some of the more desirable roles. She married 5 times, had a myriad of financial issues as well as a drug and alcohol problem, which led to her death at the age of 47 in 1969. The song because an anthem for Garland who performed it at almost all her concerts and told the songwriters, "I've sung it thousands of times and it's still the song that's closest to my heart."
There are 2 popular cover versions of this song as well - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version (heard here) which he paired up with What a Wonderful World, and Eva Cassidy's soulful take (listen here). Oddly enough, like Garland, Kamakawiwo'ole and Cassidy both also died prematurely.
Here we go:
Holly:
Over The Rainbow (Judy Garland): Well, this is difficult to evaluate. Everyone and their dog has heard both the original of this song, as well as ukulele versions, Muzak versions, and small children on televised talent show versions. Is it a good song though? Is Judy Garland any good? This arrangement? I found it really difficult to listen to objectively, but I tried. So here’s what I’ve come up with while trying to listen without any previous bias: the orchestral arrangement is the height of sappy, the low clarinets, the overabundant harps, and the bird sounds. So cheesy. Judy Garland has a really nice voice. It’s pretty dated sounding, but pleasant enough. So, it definitely falls on the cheesy side of the scale. I’ll give it a 2.5/5
Kelly:
I found this one tricky to objectively evaluate because it is just so iconic and came to this conclusion - it's a good song, I'm just not crazy about the Judy Garland version. I know this song means a great deal to a lot of people, I've just personally never loved it - maybe it's too overtly sentimental? The song has a great melody but like a lot of the songs we've evaluated so far, it's pretty dated. The orchestration is a bit weak, but Judy sounds pretty good, although you can tell the decade just by listening to her style of singing. I prefer the absolutely face melting version done by a questionably-coiffed Patti LaBelle, which can be heard here. But honestly, if I live another 50 years and never hear this song again, I would be ok with that. 3/5
Over the Rainbow
Anyhow, this is one of those songs that everybody ever knows, and has been covered a bajillion times. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, although it almost didn't make the cut (studio executives thought it slowed down the movie). The song was written by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg (of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? fame) and won them a best song Oscar. It was also voted #1 on AFI's 100 Years 100 Songs list.
The song was almost an allegory for its vehicle's life. Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Judy Garland started in the business pretty much when she was a fetus and that's when trouble started. The studios were never completely crazy about her looks and were always manipulating her onscreen appearance by capping her teeth and putting rubber discs on her nose to reshape it. She could never really shake her good girl image so she lost out on some of the more desirable roles. She married 5 times, had a myriad of financial issues as well as a drug and alcohol problem, which led to her death at the age of 47 in 1969. The song because an anthem for Garland who performed it at almost all her concerts and told the songwriters, "I've sung it thousands of times and it's still the song that's closest to my heart."
There are 2 popular cover versions of this song as well - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version (heard here) which he paired up with What a Wonderful World, and Eva Cassidy's soulful take (listen here). Oddly enough, like Garland, Kamakawiwo'ole and Cassidy both also died prematurely.
Here we go:
Holly:
Over The Rainbow (Judy Garland): Well, this is difficult to evaluate. Everyone and their dog has heard both the original of this song, as well as ukulele versions, Muzak versions, and small children on televised talent show versions. Is it a good song though? Is Judy Garland any good? This arrangement? I found it really difficult to listen to objectively, but I tried. So here’s what I’ve come up with while trying to listen without any previous bias: the orchestral arrangement is the height of sappy, the low clarinets, the overabundant harps, and the bird sounds. So cheesy. Judy Garland has a really nice voice. It’s pretty dated sounding, but pleasant enough. So, it definitely falls on the cheesy side of the scale. I’ll give it a 2.5/5
Kelly:
I found this one tricky to objectively evaluate because it is just so iconic and came to this conclusion - it's a good song, I'm just not crazy about the Judy Garland version. I know this song means a great deal to a lot of people, I've just personally never loved it - maybe it's too overtly sentimental? The song has a great melody but like a lot of the songs we've evaluated so far, it's pretty dated. The orchestration is a bit weak, but Judy sounds pretty good, although you can tell the decade just by listening to her style of singing. I prefer the absolutely face melting version done by a questionably-coiffed Patti LaBelle, which can be heard here. But honestly, if I live another 50 years and never hear this song again, I would be ok with that. 3/5
Over the Rainbow
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
A tragic song sung by a tragic icon. Billie Holiday had an exceedingly tragic life - dropped out of school at 11, mom was in and out of her life, she and mom moved to Harlem and both began working in a brothel (Billie was 14 by this point). She then started performing and changed her name to what we know it as today. People started taking notice of Billie because of unique and unusual delivery, and she made friends in the industry (including a special rapport with sax player Lester Young), started working for and got fired by Count Basie and hired by Artie Shaw. She struck up a friendship/rivalry with Ella Fitzgerald. As Holiday's popularity grew, so did her heroin addiction, spending up to $1,000 a week on the drug and was arrested several times for possession. Along with her the drug addiction was alcoholism and relationships with abusive men and Billie's health and career started to suffer into the 1950s when she wrote her autobiography and recorded new material which she called Lady Sings the Blues. The album was a big success, but Holiday wasn't able to kick the habit and on July 17th 1959 she died in hospital from complications of cirrhosis of the liver. She died broke in a hospital room lined with police officers who had arrested her on her deathbed for possession.
The song itself was written in 1937 and adapted from a poem written by schoolteacher Abel Meeropol who saw a photograph of 2 black men being lynched and a group of white onlookers. It was seen as a comment and protest to the ongoing horrific racism and lynchings in America's deep south. The song was introduced to Holiday and she soon made it one of her signature pieces. When she performed it live it was always her last song with no encore. While at the Café Society, she would make sure the crowd was silent and still and as she began to sing, there was only a small spotlight on her face. On the final note, the spotlight went out, leaving the room dark and when the lights came back on, Holiday was gone. Recording the song for Holiday was a bit of a trial, as many of the record companies thought it was too touchy a subject, radio stations backed away and concert promoters tried to stop her from singing it. The song ended up being long-reaching as Bob Dylan is quoted to have said the song influenced him, and in 1999 Time Magazine called it the song of the century.
Holly:
Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday): 5/5 I remember vividly the first time I heard this song, and it has kept all its power over the years since. This song started as a poem written by a high school teacher after seeing a picture of a lynching. The lyrics are powerful, and haunting, Billie Holiday’s singing is dark, and slow-moving, and full of power – it’s like watching a stream slowly trickle by. It seems so unlikely that this song would be performed in the 1930s in the US, and I think that gives it even more significance. Many people have tried to sing a comparably moving rendition of Strange Fruit over the years (Nina Simone, Common), but Billie Holiday’s interpretation is on its’ own level.
Kelly:
Because I am not as well versed in the jazz music, I only really heard this song a few years ago and it is soooo haunting. There are a couple things in life that my brain won't let me deal with/handle, and the lynching in the deep south is one of them. You can tell that this song was really important to Holiday, as it should be. It's like a slow dirge, not really a discernible melody, the piano just grimly following along. The song has stirred up some controversy as of late, as divine Scottish chanteuse Annie Lennox included it on her 2014 album, and many people remarked that she shouldn't sing it as she is white. Personally, I think it should be sung by anyone who was horrified by the subject matter. I listened to a few other versions, including Jeff Buckley, but Billie's is best. 5/5
Strange Fruit
The song itself was written in 1937 and adapted from a poem written by schoolteacher Abel Meeropol who saw a photograph of 2 black men being lynched and a group of white onlookers. It was seen as a comment and protest to the ongoing horrific racism and lynchings in America's deep south. The song was introduced to Holiday and she soon made it one of her signature pieces. When she performed it live it was always her last song with no encore. While at the Café Society, she would make sure the crowd was silent and still and as she began to sing, there was only a small spotlight on her face. On the final note, the spotlight went out, leaving the room dark and when the lights came back on, Holiday was gone. Recording the song for Holiday was a bit of a trial, as many of the record companies thought it was too touchy a subject, radio stations backed away and concert promoters tried to stop her from singing it. The song ended up being long-reaching as Bob Dylan is quoted to have said the song influenced him, and in 1999 Time Magazine called it the song of the century.
Holly:
Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday): 5/5 I remember vividly the first time I heard this song, and it has kept all its power over the years since. This song started as a poem written by a high school teacher after seeing a picture of a lynching. The lyrics are powerful, and haunting, Billie Holiday’s singing is dark, and slow-moving, and full of power – it’s like watching a stream slowly trickle by. It seems so unlikely that this song would be performed in the 1930s in the US, and I think that gives it even more significance. Many people have tried to sing a comparably moving rendition of Strange Fruit over the years (Nina Simone, Common), but Billie Holiday’s interpretation is on its’ own level.
Kelly:
Because I am not as well versed in the jazz music, I only really heard this song a few years ago and it is soooo haunting. There are a couple things in life that my brain won't let me deal with/handle, and the lynching in the deep south is one of them. You can tell that this song was really important to Holiday, as it should be. It's like a slow dirge, not really a discernible melody, the piano just grimly following along. The song has stirred up some controversy as of late, as divine Scottish chanteuse Annie Lennox included it on her 2014 album, and many people remarked that she shouldn't sing it as she is white. Personally, I think it should be sung by anyone who was horrified by the subject matter. I listened to a few other versions, including Jeff Buckley, but Billie's is best. 5/5
Strange Fruit
Hellhound On My Trail - Robert Johnson
Sorry for the delay folks, life got in the way a little bit this week! Time to catch up.
Anyhow, we get a Robert Johnson two-fer this week. Since we already talked about Johnson the man in the previous post, let's talk about the song. Hellhound On My Trail was recorded in 1937 in Johnson's final recording session. In keeping with the theme of Johnson meets Satan, the book tells us that the image of the devil's dogs coming to drag sinners to hell was a popular telling in Southern churches at the time. Like the character in the song who is travelling from town to town, Johnson lived a nomadic lifestyle as well. In this recording we just hear Johnson and his guitar, playing some bottle neck (so called for using the neck of a bottle on your finger as a slide).
Thoughts:
Holly:
Hellhound on My Trail (Robert Johnson): It’s a Robert Johnson double-header this week! I found Hellhound on My Trail a little bit of a letdown after Cross Road Blues. I think that’s not because of any particular fault to this song, but just because Cross Road Blues is a way better example of his grindy voice and huge guitar sound. Still, there’s something creepy and haunting about this song that I really appreciate. On a technical note, how does he hum so loud? I have to admit I tried to hum as loudly as possible when I was home by myself, with terrible results! This recording sounds like there’s a really quick fadeout at the end, so I wonder if this is another example of artists phoning in the ending of their songs! 4/5
Kelly:
Completely agree with Holly. Cross Road Blues is just a better song and better showcases Johnson's voice. His voice sounds more nasal and plaintiff in this song and his guitar playing is more interesting in the previous song as well. The song itself is a pretty good song, I'm just not crazy about it. It's also too bad the recording quality is not great - I would have loved to hear him in person to get the full affect! Also, the end is weird - not the repeat and fade that we're used to, just quick fade. 3/5
Hellhound on my Trail
Anyhow, we get a Robert Johnson two-fer this week. Since we already talked about Johnson the man in the previous post, let's talk about the song. Hellhound On My Trail was recorded in 1937 in Johnson's final recording session. In keeping with the theme of Johnson meets Satan, the book tells us that the image of the devil's dogs coming to drag sinners to hell was a popular telling in Southern churches at the time. Like the character in the song who is travelling from town to town, Johnson lived a nomadic lifestyle as well. In this recording we just hear Johnson and his guitar, playing some bottle neck (so called for using the neck of a bottle on your finger as a slide).
Thoughts:
Holly:
Hellhound on My Trail (Robert Johnson): It’s a Robert Johnson double-header this week! I found Hellhound on My Trail a little bit of a letdown after Cross Road Blues. I think that’s not because of any particular fault to this song, but just because Cross Road Blues is a way better example of his grindy voice and huge guitar sound. Still, there’s something creepy and haunting about this song that I really appreciate. On a technical note, how does he hum so loud? I have to admit I tried to hum as loudly as possible when I was home by myself, with terrible results! This recording sounds like there’s a really quick fadeout at the end, so I wonder if this is another example of artists phoning in the ending of their songs! 4/5
Kelly:
Completely agree with Holly. Cross Road Blues is just a better song and better showcases Johnson's voice. His voice sounds more nasal and plaintiff in this song and his guitar playing is more interesting in the previous song as well. The song itself is a pretty good song, I'm just not crazy about it. It's also too bad the recording quality is not great - I would have loved to hear him in person to get the full affect! Also, the end is weird - not the repeat and fade that we're used to, just quick fade. 3/5
Hellhound on my Trail
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