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

953 ( Sethian - Blood Calling ) Felt like some more Metal this morning; this track from Sethian's The Dream Domain album made for an excellent pick. The band has a nice technical Prog Metal sound and feel, but still heavy enough. Tapio Wilska's vocal work is as good as ever. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Azteca - You Can't Take The Funk Out Of Me My song pick two years ago today: Bryan Adams - Run To You +

952 ( Waylander - Brú Na Bóinne ) This is one of the Celtic Folk Metal bands that I have been enjoying for quite a while now. Essentially in this brand of Folk Metal they incorporate traditional Irish Folk instruments and traditional themes into their brand of Metal; it is quite nice to hear different sounds mixed with thrashing guitars and double-kick drums. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rammstein - Klavier My song pick two years ago today: Johnny Rivers - Summer Rain +

951 ( Dream Theater - Light Fuse and Get Away ) Been meaning to add more of Dream Theater's epic Prog/Metal to my list and I have finally gotten around to it. This one is off of their first studio album: " When Day and Dream Unite ." Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Doors - Ghost Song My song pick two years ago today: Badfinger - Day After Day +

950 ( Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode ) Finishing out my Voyager Spacecraft " The Sounds Of Earth " Golden Record theme week with the sole representation on the record of Rock 'n Roll: Chuck Berry's incomparable " Johnny B. Good ." Although there would have been another Rock song on it if Carl Sagan had his way; he was really hip on getting The Beatles' " Here Comes the Sun " on the record, however EMI blocked it even though the band was apparently in favour of the idea. While doing this theme week I happened to remember a Saturday Night Live skit about the Golden Record in which a they proclaimed something to the effect of "The aliens have received the record and have asked for more Chuck Berry." Anyway, I could easily do another Golden Record theme week with the remaining songs, but it is nice to get back to picking random songs again. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on Y...

949 ( Lorenzo Barcelata - El Cascabel ) It's a bit late and I am feeling under the weather, so I am making this post a bit shorter. This is day 6 of my songs off the Voyager Spacecraft's " The Sounds Of Earth " Golden Record . This beautiful piece of Mariachi music represented Mexico on the Golden Record. This is such an amazingly beautiful song in so many ways. Here is a recording on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die My song pick two years ago today: The Platters - Twilight Time +

948 ( Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven - Melancholy Blues ) I couldn't let this theme week go without picking the featured Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong piece from Voyager Spacecraft's " The Sounds Of Earth " Golden Record. I can't help but get a smile on my face when I hear him play; he's certainly one of the greatest of the last Century. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell My song pick two years ago today: Pink Floyd - Brain Damage/Eclipse +

947 ( J. S. Bach - Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 870 from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book No. 2 ) Out of all the artists featured on The Voyager Spacecraft's " The Sounds Of Earth " Golden Record , Bach makes the most appearances having three compositions featured. The Well-Tempered Clavier is considered along with many of J.S. Bach's collections of music to be some of the most influential in history. Here is a recording of the song performed by Glenn Gould on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell My song pick two years ago today: The Spencer Davis Group - Give Me Some Lovin' +

946 ( Gorō Yamaguchi - Tsuru No Sugomori (Crane's Nest) )   This selection off of the Voyager " The Sounds of Earth " Golden Record is an very beautiful, ethereal piece of music played on a bamboo flute played by master flautist: Gorō Yamaguchi. This Honkyoku was a representation of Japanese music on the record; it was one of the songs to help give an idea of the diverse music from our planet. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames My song pick two years ago today: Heart - Dreamboat Annie +

945 ( Igor Stravinsky - Rite of Spring - Sacrificial Dance ) For day two of my theme week of music contained on The Voyager Spacecraft's " The Sounds of Earth " Golden Record I decided on this rather raucous classical piece. I have almost chosen this one on quite a few occasions in the past, but never got around to it. This was written as a ballet with theme being centered around a supposed Pagan ritual where a young girl dances herself to death. It is one of the few classical pieces which caused a riot; it happend upon its premier in 1913 Paris. However some have argued that it was not the music which caused it and there were other factors at work. Most today would probably remember this piece from Disney's Fantasia; it was the fourth piece to be featured. Here is a recording of the Sacrificial Dance section on YouTube. Here is the piece from Disney's Fantasia: Part 1 , Part2 , and Part 3 . My song pick a year ago today: KISS - Detroit Rock City ...

944 ( Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground ) I'm venturing into a theme week; the theme: my favourite songs featured on The Voyager Space Probe's " The Sounds of Earth " golden record. I have already chosen at least a couple featured on record to my list, one being the first song I chose: J.S. Bach's 2nd Brandenburg Concerto , movement #1, and my twentieth pick: Mozart's " Queen of the Night Aria ." Suffice it to say if I had not already chosen them they would be featured this week. Anyway, this Gospel/Blues is simply a beautiful song. It features Blind Willie Johnson playing the slide guitar with him vocalizing along with the it. The song was apparently recorded in the mid-late 1920s. From what I have read, the team that gathered the songs led by Carl Sagan chose this track to express the human aspect of loneliness. To think, a humble Blues guitarist's composition might be one of the first pieces of music a...

943 ( Jethro Tull - Roll Yer Own )   This one kept running through my mind most of the day; it was still in my head as I was preparing to post a song this evening. So what the heck, it's not like I actually need a reason to post a song from one of my favourite bands. Beneath this smokey blues actually lies a rather risqué song, although the song contains no obscene language. I love it when a songwriter makes the listener do some work; it makes it much more fun. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Naturally 7 - Wall of Sound My song pick two years ago today: Nightwish - Bye Bye Beautiful +

942 ( Jerry Reed - Amos Moses ) Just went through over 10 years worth of accumulated sheet music, old setlists, instruction booklets, and plethora of other music related documents. One I ran across was a piece of sheet music I made a couple of years ago; I learned both the guitar and bass lines from Jerry Reed's " Amos Moses " and made a hybrid line out of both that I played on the bass. Anyway, after I found it the song started running through my mind, I checked if I had chosen it yet and amazingly I have not. This is one of among many Jerry Reed tracks that I grew up listening to a lot; it is a fun and entertaining song. While some might find it weird that someone who is classified as "Country" would write something so funky, there are actually many other "Country Funk" songs in existence. I noticed a lot of the great pickers would play a lot of cross-genre music, the late-great Chet Atkins being one of them. Plus with both Funk and Bluegrass...

941 ( Tarja Turunen - I Walk Alone ) Been meaning to add this one off of Tarja Turunen's second solo album to my list for some time now. It has a nice blend of Symphonic Metal and Classical, of course Tarja's vocals is far and gone the main draw for me. While I love her singing it does not sound right without the Nightwish sound backing her when I listen to her solo material. Don't get me wrong, her solo material is good, but I guess I am too used that amazing sound they made together. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Link Wray - Rumble My song pick two years ago today: The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower +

940 ( The Box Tops - The Letter ) Last night I found out that sing/writer/musician Alex Chilton passed away at the age of 59. Apparently he died in a New Orleans hospital after experiencing heart problems; there is an excellent writeup found on BBC.com . Anyway, I figured that I should choose a song that is the most memorable for me that he performed on; Alex Chilton did the lead vocals on this song as a member of The Box Tops, although this song was actually written by Wayne Carson Thompson . I especially love the rhythm section and beat of this song along with the gravely vocals. I only wish the song was at least double the length; 2:00 is just too short. After his tenure with The Box Tops he went on to a solo career, forming the group Big Star, as well as a few other acts. I guess there is another "Big Star" in The Heavens. Okay that was just too cheeseball! Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance from 2001 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago tod...

939 ( Savatage - St. Patrick's ) Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! I have going on three years of this song a day blog, which includes two previous St. Patrick's Days. I meant to pick it last year, but I missed the opportunity. Anyway, this song is, of course, part of Savatage's Rock Opera: " Streets ;" it does not have anything really to do with this Holiday, but the title is fitting. Even though it is part of and fits the the greater Rock Opera, it stands on its own without its counterparts. In the chronology of the opera this takes place after a friend of the main character is killed; it is quite powerful and emotional and takes the form of a prayer. Jon Oliva's vocals are incredible as ever; he conveys the emotions of the character quite amazingly. It starts out with just Jon singing and playing piano, it keeps building and then it climaxes in a torrent of anger then goes back to the Jon's singing and piano but this time with an electric guitar ac...

938 ( Rush - Fly By Night ) Was intending on choosing another song for today, but after hearing this one on the radio this morning it just seemed right for today's pick. This was one of first Rush songs that I learned to play note-for-note from beginning to end; the other ones that I can think of off the top of my head that I knew prior to this one were: Spirit of the Radio and Distant Early Warning . This is one of those Rush songs that even the Rush haters have heard on the radio some time in the last 30+ years; mostly they complain about and hate on the virtuosity of the band and/or use the generic excuse of not liking Geddy's vocals all the way. Let them hate, they are the ones letting their prejudice and narrow-mindedness get in the way of enjoying some excellent music. Hear Fly By Night on YouTube. Watch a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jon Hendricks - I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You My song pick two years ago today...

937 ( Rammstein - Ich Tu Dir Weh ) I recently bought this album in a local music store instead of going through the hassle of importing it from Europe. I was happy to find out that the censors here in the States didn't get their grubby mitts on it other than a sticker covering the title of a certain song on the album; I believe that they had to censor something to make themselves feel relevant. Anyway, this one became one of my favourites immediately when I first heard it; they mixed heavy and light elements quite nicely and I really like Till's melodic singing. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and Rammstein's effort on this album. In my opinion the first half of the album is excellent and makes up for any shortcomings that might pop up in the second half. It was kind of odd after playing this album for so long I found out that it had been placed on something called the "Index" in their home country of Germany; I did not know that this even existed prior ...

936 ( Asia - Heat of the Moment ) Heard this one today and figured it to be an excellent choice for this otherwise busy day. This is one those song that while poppy and mainstream for the casual ear is still musical enough for a discerning ear. There is quite a lot that I like about both band and song. Here is a music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane My song pick two years ago today: Joni Mitchell - Coyote +

935 ( Joe Walsh (The Eagles) - In The City ) For a while now I have been meaning to add this track to my list. This one was originally released as part of " The Warriors " soundtrack; it was later recorded as an Eagles' song featured on their album " The Long Run ." Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '83 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Pearls Before Swine - (Oh Dear) Miss Morse My song pick two years ago today: Lou Reed - Walk on the Wildside +

934 ( The Jaggerz - The Rapper ) For some reason last night this one happened to pop into my mind even after not hearing it for some time; I usually take that as a sign that I should add it to my list. " The Rapper " was the band's only major hit from their second album released in '70. The song is about a smooth talker that gets what he wants in his conquests of the women he is after. While I have never really been a huge fan of the song I do like it; it is quite fun track to listen to, especially the tight harmonies and the Funk inspired chorus. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sha Na Na - Blue Moon My song pick two years ago today: The Moody Blues - Your Wildest Dreams +

933 ( Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul to Squeeze ) In a `Chili Peppers mood today; it did not take me very long to choose the song this morning being that this is one of my top five from their catalogue. The RHCP are an act that I have always liked quite a bit ever since I first heard them. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Electric Light Orchestra - Fire On High My song pick two years ago today: The Polyphonic Spree - It's The Sun +

932 ( Fairport Convention - Matty Groves ) After yesterday's pick it got me into a mood for some of Fairport's brand of Prog/Folk/Rock. This is one that received a lot of play over the last little bit, so I am adding it. I have mentioned before in this blog that I absolutely adore songs that have a narrative, which this song has; it also describes a great deal of Fairport's catalogue. Anyway, this song is a traditional folk ballad dating back to around the 1600s and depending on the version and who plays it the names in the story change as well as bits of the narrative, however the base story always remains the same. It is a tragic story about love, adultery, jealousy, and death; in other words a Folk Ballad from the British Isles. I love the way that Fairport mixed the traditional acoustic instrument sound with the modern electric edge in their version of the song. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a more recent live performance of the song on YouTube; excelle...

931 ( Led Zeppelin - The Battle Of Evermore ) I literally have about ten songs in mind for today's pick, however this song from Led Zeppelin won out in the end. I really like this acoustic track; an excellent mix of fantasy subject matter with the nice vocal work. On this track the late Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention is featured in a duet with Robert Plant. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a classic live performance on YouTube. Here is Fairport Convention performing the song live with Robert Plant on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Black Satin Dancer My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Limelight +

930 ( Karussell - Wer Die Rose Ehrt ) This track from Karussell seemed a perfect fit for the day; such a beautiful song in so many ways. Here is a live recording of the song circa '75 on YouTube performed by Renft, which is a progenitor band of Karussell. My song pick a year ago today: The Delgados - Accused of Stealing My song pick two years ago today: Bon Jovi - Always +

929 ( Eric Burdon & The Animals - When I Was Young ) I heard this song today whilst at my in-laws' house whilst we were out and about. I hadn't heard it in quite a while, but have loved it ever since I first heard it many, many years ago when it received radio play. This is a nice bluesy piece you would expect from Eric Burdon and his band, I really like the haunting feeling this track has; quite a beautiful piece. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a music video on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen My song pick two years ago today: Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin - Polovtsian Dances +

928 ( Jethro Tull - Dogs in the Midwinter ) Those who have read even a bit of my song a day blog probably already know that Jethro Tull is one of my favourite bands. Anyway, the other day I was able to procure another rare Jethro Tull track titled " Blues for the 18th " from iTunes; (the only place that the track apparently exists at this moment). The song dates from the early years of the band but was not released on any albums; it actually is quite "poppy" in sound compared to the sound that I am accustomed to from the band. I just found out about the song's existence; every time I believe that I have the entire studio catalogue another song seems to pop up. I have just became aware of a few more unreleased tracks from some of the '90s albums, so the never-ending hunt continues... Anyway, I thought that a 'Tull track would be in order today, plus this song fits my mood perfectly. In this one Ian likens international tensions such as The Cold War to wil...

927 ( The O'Jays - Back Stabbers ) This one came on the radio the other day and I had not heard it in a while. Since it is Friday and every now and then Max celebrates "Funky Fridays" I figured that this Soulful and Funky track would be nice "Funk Friday" pick. You just can't help but sing along with this one when its playing; pure fun. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Tarja Turunen - Enough My song pick two years ago today: Modest Petrovitch Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain +

926 ( Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli ( Quintette du Hot Club de France) - La Mer (Beyond The Sea) ) Yesterday whilst waiting with my guitar I started playing around with this song and had it completely covered by the time I was done waiting. Most people today would probably be best acquainted with the Bobby Darin version of the song, which can be found here on YouTube . This is easily my favourite rendition of this song; the infusion of the Gypsy Jazz sound brings it to a new level of beauty in my opinion; I especially love Stephane Grappelli's violin playing. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens - Top Gun Anthem My song pick two years ago today: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee +

925 ( AC/DC - Carry Me Home ) I am having a very busy day today, so I am making somewhat of a quick pick. It seems as if I found yet another legendary act that has not been added to my list; I am rectifying it today. This song was a b-side from the '77 " Dog Eat Dog " single and is not really that well known, but it has become one of my favourite AC/DC songs. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Eagles - Get Over It My song pick two years ago today: Mily Balakirev - Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy +

924 ( Nirvana - In Bloom ) This is one of my favourite songs from Nirvana's catalogue and it fits my mood today pretty well, so I'm picking it. I cannot for the life of me remember if I am "supposed" to like or hate Nirvana and/or the whole "Grunge" genre at this point in time. I've never been much into what is "in" or "out" and would rather listen to what I like than what "Rolling Stone"ⓒ or another pop culture outlet says I should/shouldn't. Although, now days it is easier to like Nirvana due to the fact that I can turn on the radio without being deluged by them. Okay, off my soapbox now... Here is the studio version with lyrics on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Static X - I'm With Stupid My song pick two years ago today: Ian Anderson - Eurology +

923 ( Jethro Tull - From A Deadbeat To An Old Greaser ) This is another song that I've been meaning choose for quite a while now. This is a mostly acoustic song that, like some other 'Tull songs, builds; this one however, climaxes with a saxophone solo; it has become one my favourites songs off of the album. At this key point in the greater "Rock Opera" of sorts the protagonist Greaser , Ray Lomas becomes despondent and goes to drown his sorrows in a pub. He meets up and has a short conversation with an old Beatnik . It is rather an interesting concept because at this point Ray is now being pushed out of fashion and is meeting up with a Beatnik who was pushed out of fashion a generation prior with both clinging to their outdated style. Here is a music video on YouTube. Here is a live recording on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well My song pick two years ago today: Aerosmith - Janie's Got A Gun +