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

1076 England Dan & John Ford Coley - Westward Wind I heard this track whilst on the road this evening and figured it would make a nice pick to close out my Saturday. My mom and dada had the Nights Are Forever album and I grew up hearing this Soft Rock duo quite a bit from them and on the radio. This is a nice upbeat track which, if I remember right, came up somewhere in the middle of side one on the record. It is my favourite song off the album, this is mostly due their use of the "crying" steel guitar. Hear Westward Wind on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale My song pick two years ago today: Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly +

1075 Sergei Prokofiev - Op. 67 - Peter and the Wolf I don't know what it is about Russian composers, but they all seem to have the knack of writing melodies in their music which bore and bury themselves into your mind; both conscious and subconscious. I have literally had the main theme from this piece running through my mind off and on for over a week now; I figured it would be an excellent pick for today. I have always had certain affinity for Russian classical music, in my opinion they have written some of the best music in history. This is a Modern classical piece of music written in the mid 1930s as a symphony for children featuring both music and narration. Even if you don't know the music by title, you will immediately recognize this piece when you hear it. Much of the techniques used within this piece has been used many times in film and stage, i.e. each character is represented by a unique instrument and tune. There are quite a few versions of this piece availabl...

1074 Eric Burdon & the Animals - Sky Pilot For no reason at all I felt like listening to some of Eric Burdon's music this morning; I have always been a fan of his unique sound. Many years ago the radio station I was listening to a lot was supposedly playing their entire music library alphabetically, which went on for over a month. I was busy recording music off the air that I wanted and I asked my dad if there were any he would like; this was one of the tracks that he requested that I record. If I remember correctly it finally came on late at night and I was able to get it; it sure brings back some memories. Anyway, this track is an antiwar song written in Eric Burdon's signature Blues/Psychedelia sound. However, what I have always liked about the message is that they never get overtly preachy and rather paints vivid scenes with the lyrics. The song is arranged incredibly well with different sections. For the most part the song sticks to their Psychedelic Rock sound...

1073 Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry I have always liked this track and it has been running through my mind the last little bit, so I am adding it for today's pick. It is probably my favourite GN'R track; I love the way it was written and arranged. In my opinion it is one of those songs if you were to add or take away anything the song would be a mere shadow of itself. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. Here is the song with alternate lyrics on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Puhdys, featuring Till Lindemann and Richard Krupse - Wut Will Nicht Sterben My song pick two years ago today: Nightwish - The Pharaoh Sails To Orion +

1072 Rammstein - Weißes Fleisch Felt like some Rammstein this morning. I have always loved their debut album Herzelied ; it is probably my favourite Rammstein album, but some of the others are very close behind. This is quite a danceable industrial metal track with a distinct electronic sound. Anyway, as with most of Rammstein's music it contains some extreme subject matter, so it is probably Not Safe For Work (NSFW). Some might be wondering what the "ß" character in the song's title is: it is called an Eszitt . It is a character in the written German language as well as a few other languages, but does not appear in the English alphabet. As far as I know in written German it is basically used to make the sharp "S" sound that that is made with the double S. Apparently you would use it between two long vowels, but you would use "ss" if it is at the end of the word or not between long vowels. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is t...

1071 Cream - Badge Have heard this song off and on for the last few weeks and noticed that I had not picked it yet; it makes a nice choice for another busy Monday. I like the overall calm feeling of this track and, of course, Jack Bruce's nice bass playing. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live Eric Clapton performance of the song circa '86 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Steeleye Span - Seven Hundred Elves My song pick two years ago today: Billy Joel - Prelude/Angry Young Man +

1070 Jethro Tull - Grace Finishing my theme week of " songitesimals " on this Sunday. I had many and at the same time had no songs in mind for my closing pick on this theme week. This track came to mind when I sat down to make my pick, so here it is. It was a nice touch on the part of Ian Anderson to close out such an epic album with a :37 second acoustical track, especially following the monstrous Baker Street Muse , which clocked in at 16:48. The track itself is merely just Ian singing and playing his acoustic guitar with some string accompaniment. The lyrics are rather whimsical; from what I understand he apparently came up with them while singing and looking out his window one morning. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: John Denver - Season Suite: Summer My song pick two years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - The Window +

1069 Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 703 - Fughetta: Gottes-Sohn ist Kommen This short Choral Prelude for the organ is actually one of many of his pieces of work that would fit my theme week; it is quite a beautiful piece of music despite its brevity; it clocks in at about :50 seconds in length. Of course there are many pieces of classical music that are quite short even though the standing notion is that classical music, especially from the Baroque Period , is that it is large and rather ponderous music. Here is a performance of the song by Bine Katrine Bryndorf on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: What Made Milwaukee Famous - Sultan My song pick two years ago today: Arlo - Runaround +

1068 Savatage - The Ocean There are quite a few of these " songitesimals," (songs less than 100 seconds in total length), that I have been wanting to fit into this theme week, but alas, there are only seven days available. Perhaps in the future I shall have to do another short song theme week. The Wake of Magellan is one of the rock operas from Savatage. This rather short opening track sets the mood for the rest of the album and segues into the rock opera's overture: Welcome . The Ocean starts with the sound of tides and waves then Jon Oliva starts playing a melody on the piano very similar to The Doors' Riders On The Storm ; shortly after that the entire band kicks in. Here is The Ocean and The Storm on YouTube. Here is a live performance of The Ocean and Welcome circa '98 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Serenade My song pick two years ago today: Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem +

1067 The Moody Blues - The Dream The Moody Blues have quite a few of these " songitesimals" in their catalogue; they are another band from their music I could compose this entire theme week from. Many of these shorter tracks from their catalogue are comprised of odd music behind the reciting of poetry; this one is no different. This track is actually part of a suite of music written by keyboardist Mike Pinder titled: Have You Heard . This track, The Dream , was used as an intro into the greater piece of music. It features a mellotron being played making odd sounds/music with poetry recited over it. While the lyrics were penned by drummer Graeme Edge they were performed on the album by Mike Pinder. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Azteca - What'cha Gonna Do? My song pick two years ago today: Slaughter - Fly to the Angels +

1066 Hawkwind - The Church I'm continuing my theme week of picking " songitesimals ," i.e. songs less that 100 seconds in total length. This is a song from that amazing genre that is somewhere between and incorporating aspects of Psychedelia and Progressive Rock: ah yes, a Space Rock song for my pick today. This one clocking in at just :92 seconds. Anyway, Hawkwind has quite a few of these little filler tracks within their catalogue; I could easily do this theme week only featuring their music. There are at least two other songs on this album, Church of Hawkwind , alone that are less than 100 seconds in length. These short tracks from Hawkwind are usually rather odd and contain a lot of synth with strange, otherworldly noises and weird speeches, poetry, or chanting. I love playing these tracks in mixed company just to get weird looks out of people. Here is a fan video with the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Quincy Jones - Walking in Space...

1065 Primus - Pork Chop's Little Ditty I'm continuing my theme week of picking " songitesimals ," i.e. songs less that 100 seconds in total length. This short piece is split in to two pieces at the beginning and toward the end of the album; they clock in at :22 and :63 seconds. The song is, as the title suggest, a little ditty; it is comprised of just drums and mandolin. A nice contrasting tune to compliment the rest of the album. Here is the first part on YouTube. Here is the second part on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me My song pick two years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Shooting Shark +

1064 Yes - Five Per Cent for Nothing   After my pick a couple of days ago where I was discussing the length of Mainstream Pop/Rock and Progressive Rock songs I decided I should do a theme week featuring "musical quickies;" all of the songs this week will be under 100 seconds in length. I decided I should start this theme week with another track from Yes. This song: Five Per Cent for Nothing clocks in at a whopping :35 seconds. It is an instrumental that features a funk bass line with drums and keyboards. What is very interesting here is that many of the shortest songs in the modern era come from the same Prog/Rock acts that also regaled us the songs from 10 minutes up to almost an hour in length. While these tracks are shorter they still contain all the musical technicality from their much larger brothers Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Megumi Hayashibara - Fly Me to the Moon My song pick two years ago today: Rahsaan R...

1063 Billie Holiday - Gloomy Sunday For some reason I felt like picking a Billie Holiday song on this actually bright and warm Sunday. Billie Holiday is easily one of my favourite female vocalists; I have personally never found a track she sung on that I dislike. This bluesy piece of music is simply amazing in so many ways. Here is a fan video with a recording on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Electric Light Orchestra - Ticket To The Moon My song pick two years ago today: ABBA - So Long +

1062 Steeleye Span - Shaking of the Sheets Yes, this song is what you think it's about. No, it's about death, you dirty lot. Anyway, from what I have read this traditional folk song was originally written in the late 1500s. It is also known by the titles: The Dance of Death , and The Nightpiece ; this is, of course, Steeleye Span's folk rock version. I believe the shaking of said sheets that they are talking about here actually refers to the way they would dispose of bodies into mass graves during those times. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Billy Idol - Eyes Without A Face My song pick two years ago today: Taj Mahal - Fishin' Blues +

1061 Yes - Yours Is No Disgrace I really felt like some Progressive Rock this morning; this almost ten minute magnum opus from the '71 The Yes Album came to mind awfully quick. I have always loved these longer tracks with multiple melodies and instrumental sections; ten minutes of pure musical bliss. In my opinion Yes is one of the better specimens among Prog/Rock bands of the '70s. It seems as if they never tire when performing; it seems like most pop acts usually can't keep it up past the magical 2:00-3:00 mark in a song either strictured by themselves or the record company. Whatever the case, much of the time I'll take the 10+ minutes of musical bliss over the 2:30 minute musical quickie. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is part 1 of a live performance on YouTube. Here is part 2 of a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Herbie Hancock - Sly My song pick two years ago today: Foreigner - Long, Long Way From Home +

1060 Rush - In The End I'm having a busier days with having guests over and a lot of work to be done as well, plus I had no song in mind for my pick. I noticed that Max chose a Rush song for his pick today; shortly afterward this rather calm and pretty tune started running through my mind. What the heck, an excellent song from an excellent band that I like a lot; it is my pick. I would like to say that this is my favourite track off of the Fly By Night album, however there is a lot of good music on it and I usually end up listening to the entire album when I play one song off of it. Whatever the case this is one of my favourite earlier Rush tracks and a nice song to end a busy day. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube in a medley from Exit Stage Left ; In The End Begins at the 4:00 mark. My song pick a year ago today: Led Zeppelin - Kashmir My song pick two years ago today: The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon +

1059 ZZ Top - Manic Mechanic I hadn't heard this song in over 20 years, yet this morning it popped on the radio. It's rather nice to be reacquainted with these older songs from my past, plus it was long overdue to pick another ZZ Top track. I have always liked this weird sounding track quite a bit, I love the odd vocals with the trash-talking lyrics; pure awesomeness. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Santo & Johnny - Sleepwalk My song pick two years ago today: Phil Collins - I Wish It Would Rain Down +

1058 Weather Report - Cucumber Slumber This Jazz Fusion piece is one of my favourites from the band. The grooving and bouncy rhythm along with Alphonso Johnson's funk bass line lays out a perfect canvas for Joe Zawinul and company to paint a beautiful musical landscape. I absolutely love their entire '74 Mysterious Traveler album. It is a very nice record to just start and let play and sometime even let it repeat multiple times; it makes excellent working music. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin' My song pick two years ago today: Eric Clapton - After Midnight +

1057 Rammstein - Jeder lacht This unreleased Rammstein track fits my mood quite well this morning. From what I have read about this track it predates Herzeleid , (their first album); it was sometimes played live, but obviously some bootleg recordings exist. The song, as expected, is quite raw in its sound, but is still quite a nice track. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is a live recording on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rammstein - Ein Leid My song pick two years ago today: Eric Clapton - My Father's Eyes +

1056 Louis Armstrong - We Have All The Time In The World Felt like picking this rather beautiful love song featured on the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service ; it was the only James Bond film to feature George Lazenby playing the lead role. From what I understand this song was supposedly Satchmo's last recording before his death; it is different hearing him provide vocals for such a poppy tune. It is sad that he did not play his trumpet on the track, but at least we had one more song to feature his beautiful, dynamic voice. Here is a video with the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Yardbirds - Smokestack Lightning My song pick two years ago today: Eric Clapton - Pretending +

1055 Fleetwood Mac - Tusk I have been meaning to choose this song for quite a long while; actually it has been in "the queue" off and on for the last two years. Anyway, for some reason I was thinking about the song this evening and it fits my mood quite well. This entire album has always been one of my favourites from the band; each track seems to have its own identity in varying ways; it is not a boring album at all. The way this song was conceived, written, and recorded was genius. The tribal rhythm and effective thumping bass line are nice touches, they give the song a lumbering feeling. Then, of course, the use of the USC Marching Band just added that perfect touch to the song to make it the classic track it is. Hear Tusk on YouTube. Here is a music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Fairport Convention - Tam Lin My song pick two years ago today: Cream - Tales of Brave Ulysses +

1054 Cruachan - The Gael I thought for sure that I added at least one of this great Irish Celtic Metal band's songs to my list, but I guess haven't. For those unaware of this band or the Celtic Metal genre, Celtic Metal is a sub-genre of Folk Metal, which in itself is a sub-genre of Black Metal. Cruachan fuses Metal sounds with traditional Irish Folk music stylings; and thus you get what has been referred to as Celtic Metal. The band's name, Cruachan, is pronounced Kroo-ah-Kahn; evidently this is the name of an important ancient archaeological site in County Roscommon, Ireland, from which the band took its name. Anyway, this is a very dynamic song, which starts out very light with a clean guitar and vocals. It builds with the rhythm section kicking in and becoming progressively fuller, then comes in the Irish Folks music as an interlude; the entire band then kicks in with full Celtic Folk Metal sound. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ...

1053 Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime I have been hearing this catchy little tune quite a bit lately from a plethora of sources. With it now being in the midst of summertime the subject matter of the song is quite fitting. Being based around a simple and catchy melody combined with some neat rhythmic devices makes this one what it is. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '84 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Kinks - A Well Respected Man My song pick two years ago today: Eric Clapton - Bad Love +

1052 Eric Burdon and War - Spill the Wine I heard this one the other day on the radio. War is, of course, the band that recorded the iconic track Low Rider , which can be found here on YouTube , however this was one of their first hits when Eric Burdon was with the band. I love the way they fuse Latin, Funk, and Rock plus a few other styles within this track. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here os a live performance circa '06 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Supertramp - School My song pick two years ago today: Steely Dan - Do It Again +

1051 ABBA - When All is Said and Done It hit me today that I had not chosen this track yet; it's one of my favourites from the band. The Visitors was their last official album and contains a few songs of a personal nature concerning the relationships of the two couples within the band. I have often wondered why they chose to share these songs about their personal lives. Whatever the case these songs are some their best music in my opinion. While I have never been into trying to peer into the private lives of different celebrities that I like, (I find it quite rude to do so), when one lays their heart out like this in a public manner, i.e. writes a song about private aspects within their lives it usually not only gives us an excellent song, but a look into them as normal, average people. This kind of song about lost love and heartbreak is something that most everyone can identify with. Personally, I have a belief that the meaning of a song and what that song causes to emote ...

1050 Steeleye Span - Padstow I felt like some Steeleye Span this morning; there were quite a few to choose from, but I settled on this rather rousing tune. It is yet another traditional song adapted to the Folk/Rock stylings; it is apparently the Day Song for the 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow, Cornwall. I love the drums in this one, the beat makes this one very danceable and keeps the Folk roots of the track solid. The five-part vocal harmony is a very nice touch; it really shines in the bridge section. Hear Padstow on YouTube. Here is a performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Lakeside Park My song pick two years ago today: Bon Jovi - Every Day +

1049 Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town Making a last minutes pick tonight; almost 1050 songs into this thing and this is the closest that I have cut it yet. Anyway, I heard this track whilst on the road tonight and is an excellent pick for this evening, especially at the last minute. There is quite a bit I like about this anthem of sorts, but I need to keep it short. Suffice it to say I love Thin Lizzy and this song. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bon Jovi - My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms My song pick two years ago today: Three Dog Night - An Old Fashioned Love Song +

1048 The Police - The King of Pain I have no clue why this track popped into my mind; I haven't heard it in quite a while, but it fits my mood fairly well. This song has quite a few aspects that I really like, especially the chord progression; I love the transitions between the verse and chorus as well. It is an excellently constructed song in more ways than a few in my opinion. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Chet Atkins - Yakety Axe My song pick two years ago today: Benjamin Britten - War Requiem +

1047 Band of Horses - Cigarettes, Wedding Bands No real reason that I am choosing this one this morning; it is just an awesome track. It is quite a bluesy track with a bit of a dirge feel to it; in my opinion this is one of the strongest tracks from their second album: Cease To Begin . Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bread - Guitar Man My song pick two years ago today: America - A Horse With No Name +

1046 Led Zeppelin - D'yer Mak'er Have been in a bit of a 'Zeppelin mood this morning; I decided to put on Houses of the Holy and I figured that I should add something off of the album today. This album is permeated with hits rather than the usual two or three hits you would usually see. I have always loved this track ever since I first heard it; it's one of my favourite tunes from Led Zeppelin. This, of course, is one of their songs in which they strayed a bit from their normal sound. The mix of Reggae and Pop/Rock styles really gives this track a distinctiveness that even to this day has not really been duplicated. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Arthur Smith - Guitar Boogie My song pick two years ago today: Band of Horses - Ode To LRC +