William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

706 ( Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale ) Yesterday, I found out that Procol Harum's organist Mathew Fisher won his court battle for royalties and recognition as co-writer of A Whiter Shade of Pale , a writeup can be found here . His Bach inspired counter-punctual line on the Hammond organ really made the song what it is; it is nice to see that he is getting official recognition for his work after all of these years. I cannot believe that I have not chosen this song yet and I have not chosen a Procol Harum song for a while either; definitely time to do so. Here is a music video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a recent live performance on YouTube. +

705 ( Lalo Schifrin - Scorpio's Theme ) This is one of my favourite pieces of music from the score of this film. As the title suggests it is the music that accompanies The Scorpio Killer, who is the main villain in the movie. Actor Andy Robinson performed an excellent and very memorable job in his portrayal of a villain in his role of the killer. I have always loved the soundtrack to this film and for me this one of the standouts in the score; it fit the character it was written for quite well. Here is the full song on YouTube. +

704 ( Rogue Traders - Voodoo Child ) *Warning* there is a lot of Science Fiction content in this post. This is another song that I have been meaning to add to my list for some time; it is not my usual poison, but it is an excellent song that is quite fun that I have come to like. The other day I saw a rerun of The Doctor Who episode " The Sound of Drums " and it brought the song back to my attention. It was used during the three-part episode at the end of the third season of the new Doctor Who series; it was used at the end of the second part: " The Sound of Drums ." At the point where this song was featured The Master, who is another Time Lord and one of The Doctor's nemeses unleashes the Toclafane on the Earth. This happy dance song is a fantastic song to go along with their setting of the end of the world and was used perfectly in the episode. On a side note, the main riff from this song was actually borrowed from the Elvis Costello song Pump It Up . ...

703 ( Puhdys, feat. Till Lindemann & Richard Kruspe - Wut Will Nicht Sterben ) Over the last weekend I was driving through town trying to hurry to a scheduled recording session, between the road work and a festival taking place it was difficult to say the least. Anyway, as fate would have it, this song happened to pop on my iPod when I was stopped by the road construction. I turned it up and the look on the locals' faces was priceless. So on my way through town I kept starting the song over when it ended; it was absolute fun. This track is a meld between German Rock: (Puhdys), and German Industrial Metal: (Rammstein). In this one Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann adds backing vocals and guitarist Richard Kruspe performs the guitar solo. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

701-2 ( Steve Miller Band - Space Intro/Fly Like An Eagle ) I was listening to a bunch of Steve Miller Band music yesterday and I kept coming back to this song. I grew up with this entire album being played a lot and I still love it. This is one of the best grooving songs that Steve Miller ever put together and it is no surprise that it is one of his greatest compositions. There are so many aspects of this song that I adore, of course I am a fan of synth and organ, which they employ quite well in this one. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

700 ( Steeleye Span - Seven Hundred Elves ) 700th song pick today! As I have been doing for the last few "odometer rollover" picks I chose a song with a title that is appropriate for the number of the pick; plus it is an excellent song for the milestone anyway. I love how they double up the guitar and bass in the main riff to make for a nice hook. This is one of those Prog/Rock songs that probably would not scare away the casual listener, but is still technical enough to keep the connoisseur of music content. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

With the summer heat being in full force recently I figured that it would be a good time to finish off picking the sections of John Denver's Season Suite; I have chosen all of the other four sections during the appropriate time of year for each one. This section is similar to the Spring section of the Suite musically and gives it a "bookend" feel to it; The Suite started off with Summer and progressed to Spring. Anyway, this whole Suite is a beautiful collection of music and it would not feel right without adding it to my list. Here is most of the Suite on YouTube; it starts off with the Summer section. +

I felt like choosing another What Made Milwaukee Famous song today and this is another good one. This track is off of their second album, it has a nice sound and feel to it and is quite a fun song to listen to. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I heard this song yesterday and it has been running through my mind off and on ever since, so I will choose it, plus it is also one of my favourite Steve Miller songs. This is another one of those tracks that in my opinion is arranged almost perfectly, take anything away or add something and it would fall apart; an excellent song. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song featuring Joe Satriani on YouTube. The audio and video are out of sync, but still watchable. +

I have been listening to a bunch of Azteca's music the last couple of days and I believe that it is a good time to add one of their songs to my list. This one has a lot of the Santana sound and feel to it and is quite a treat to listen to. The band is incredible on this whole album; in this song especially Neal Schon's guitar work and solo is awesome. Here is the studio recording on YouTube. +

Since the yesterday, which was the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, quite a bit of Quincy Jones' music, especially this song, has been played a lot due to the link with the event. Quite a nice piece of Jazz to listen to on this busy day. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a neat video with the song and NASA footage/sounds on YouTube. +

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing! I decided that this Jethro Tull song concerning the Moon Landing and Walk would be an excellent pick. The ever-eloquent Ian Anderson wrote this song about Michael Collins, who was the Apollo 11 Astronaut that did not get to walk on the moon and rather had to orbit the command module alone whilst Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed in the LEM and walked on the moon. Most everyone today would know who Neil Armstrong is and what he was famous for, and less know of Buzz Aldrin, but he is still known by many for his place in history. However, I doubt that if you went on the street and asked who Michael Collins was and what he was famous for not very many would be able to answer you; he just missed out on the fame that his comrades received. Anyway, this song was written from Ian's perspective on how it must have been for Michael Collins to miss out and he at the same time liken it to the recent fame and success that his ...

I am continuing the moon mini theme again with this often-covered and famous song. I first heard this version of the song from the Anime' Neon Genesis Evangelion , in which they had a many different versions of the song played at the end of various episodes; this one was one of my favorite renditions done. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

Dang, I almost missed one hell of mini theme of sorts: It is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Okay, I did miss the anniversary of the liftoff a couple of days ago (the 16th), but 40 years ago today Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were on their way to the Moon. This is quite a nice song and almost perfect pick for the occasion. *edit* on a sad note Walter Cronkite passed away, the stamp that this great man put on our world was quite large. Because of this I am revisiting my pick # 427 , "Here is the News," another ELO song off of the same album as my pick today. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

Last night I watched a live performance of Billy Idol on the television program Soundstage ; I noticed that I had not chosen any Billy Idol yet, so today I will. This one of their best song that they played amongst many others good ones. As excellent of a frontman Billy Idol is I almost forgot just how good his backing backing band is, especially Steve Stevens. This is true with most frontmen, no matter how good they are, they would be a shadow of themselves without the band behind them. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I found this track yesterday while doing an unrelated search; most Jazz musicians seem only to be separated by one or two degrees if that. I immediately fell in love with the song, (I am a sucker for some good Fusion and love Herbie Hancock's keyboard). Anyway, the song's title was a dedication to Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. A very beautiful piece of Jazz Fusion with some Funk thrown in. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

As I have been writing in my posts lately, I have been trying to add songs from bands that have not been represented on my list yet. I have not added a Zeppelin track yet to my list and this makes an excellent opportunity to do so. As Max has said in some of his blog posts how radio, specifically Classic Rock Radio, can ruin songs from overplay; for me it came as almost an entire band's catalog. It seemed that out of the about four stations that played Rock in the area as if most of the DJs had a Led Zeppelin track every fifth or sixth song and then would also have entire hour-long blocks dedicated to their music as well. In the time before satellite radio, iPods, and the internet one of your only musical outlets available was the radio and you were at the mercy of DJ and program directors. This is the main reason why I started my music collection; now after all of these years I can finally go back and just listen to their music without feeling bombarded. Here is the studio v...

Last night this song kept running through my mind, as usual I took it as a sign to add it today. It is a very beautiful instrumental, the steel guitar brings a lot of emotion into the song. Here is the '59 studio version on YouTube. Here is the '68 studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

Yet another band that I have neglected on my list. ZZ Top is one of those bands that I like, but have to be in the right mood to listen to many of their tracks; this is one of my favorites. For those who have in the past or presently work in retail would understand this story. During the Christmas season over the store's radio it would loop the same Seasonal songs every hour; this got quite annoying. So one of the managers brought his boombox to the store and keyed the intercom and we listened to ZZ Top's Greatest hits for most of that Season. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

My throat infection came back today with a vengeance and I spend almost all of my day in bed asleep; I cannot wait 'till this crap is over. Anyway, I really do not feel like choosing one tonight or being on the computer for that matter, so I will make this a quick pick. I needed a song to choose tonight since I had none in mind, what would be better than to pick " Ein Lied " (A Song) this evening. Simply one of the more beautiful songs that they have released and after listening to it, it really fits as well. I am off to bed to sleep this off. Cheers! Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

Very busy day today, played at a wedding, which is always good pay and you have somewhat of a captive audience; it was very much a success. Anyway whilst coming home this evening I decided to listen to the radio and the Alice Cooper show was on and this was one of the songs played that I liked. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is a live version on the song on YouTube. +

Lately, I have been off and on trying to add bands that have totally slipped my mind in the almost 700 that I already have chosen. Fairport Convention is considered to be amongst the first British Electric Folk Rock band and has connections to many other British Folk Rock bands as well. This song is an adaptation of the traditional ballad of Tam Lin, who was a mythic figure from Scots Folklore. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance from a couple of years ago on YouTube. +

While on the road today after passing my counselor license exam this nice Jim Croce tune started running through my mind. It has always been one of those "peace of mind" songs that I use to calm myself down. An absolutely beautiful track by a master of his art. Hear Alabama Rain on YouTube. +

Last night while trying to get over this sickness Kinks songs started running through my mind, this was one of the songs that was running through my mind the most. I could not believe that I had not chosen this song yet. Every time I listen to a Kinks song I am amazed by Ray Davies' song writing, the lyrics are incredible. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a latter live performance on YouTube. +

I am going to make a quick pick today, I came down with a severe throat infection and am really not feeling well. I have always loved this song and I am going to have to eventually come back and write more about it when I am feeling better. Here is the studio version on Vimeo.com +

I have been wanting to add this one to my list for some time and now seems as good time as any. Warrior on the Edge of Time was the last studio album that Lemmy Kilmister was on with Hawkwind. Lemmy eventually used the title of this song for the name of his band: Motörhead; the song, (which can be found here on YouTube), was also recorded and made famous by Motörhead as well. A good straight-ahead rocker with just a tinge of Space Rock; excellent for the start of the week. Here is a studio recording of the song by Hawkwind on YouTube. +

Yesterday, my family and I went to my old home town to celebrate the 4th. As we were walking around the streets to get ready for the fireworks I began reminiscing about how that town used to be and how much it has changed; (and not for the better mind you). That place is so touristy now that it has become nothing but a monument to what it was; I guess calling it a monument is better than likening it to a corpse that is slowly rotting away. Anyway, with all of the sentimentality and rumination going on, this song just kept playing in my mind. The song was written in the same vein of wistfully looking back at the good memories of a place. I have always loved the arrangements in this song and is one of the best examples of Geddy Lee's wail in his vocals. Here's to sentimentality! Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

I decided that I should finish my guitar themed week with an excellent self-indulgent Hard Rock guitar song. This is a nice bluesy track where you can hear Richie Sambora's chops on the guitar, plus I love the maudlin/melancholy lyrics to this one. The more I listen to this overall mostly depressing album, the more I am liking it; perhaps almost as much as their 7800 Fahrenheit album. Here is a music video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

I really needed to add some Chet Atkins on my guitar themed week and this is a good one. It is a cover and guitar adaptation of the Boots Randolph and Spider Rich classic " Yakety Sax, which can be found here on YouTube ;" many would probably remember it from The Benny Hill Show . Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

Personally I could not let a guitar themed week go without choosing this one; it is one of my favorite songs from the band Bread. The song is about what drives a musician (The Guitar Man) to create and play his music and how he creates emotion in the listener. In this song bassist/keyboardist/guitarist Larry Knechtel provides the awesome guitar work; it is amazing to look at all artists that he has recorded with. Here is a video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I was thinking about this one for my guitar theme week a couple of days ago and definitely is a song that I needed to add to my list. This instrumental song is based around a 12 bar Blues with the guitar playing lead over it. Most would probably remember The Virtues' cover of the song, which can be found here on YouTube, however I like the original just a bit more. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +