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

1261 The Allman Brothers Band - Little Martha I've felt like listening to some Allman Brothers' music this morning; after this nice acoustic piece came on I've kept replaying it quite a bit. This song is an instrumental duet with the band's two acclaimed guitarists: Duane Allman and Richard "Dicky" Betts; truly a beautiful piece of music. Apparently the namesake of this song came from a tombstone of a young girl they happened upon in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia, which is also the final resting place for Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley. A few live performances and covers can be found on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Steve Vai - #?@! Yourself My song pick two years ago today: The Who - I'm Free My song pick three years ago today: The Yardbirds - Heart Full of Soul +

1260 Jon Oliva's Pain - Winter Haven Been listening to the new Jon Oliva's Pain album: Festival over the last little bit; I figured I should add one of the new songs to my list. For us Savatage fans that want new material and not just around the Christmas season, (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Jon Oliva's Pain is one of the only places you can still hear the Savatage sound. Apparently there are three songs on this album which Jon Oliva's late brother and Savatage guitarist Criss Oliva co-wrote, this song is one of them. I love how this song starts out quite light and keeps getting heavier. The video has been removed from YouTube and no others can be found at this time, sorry about that. My song pick a year ago today: KoKo Taylor - That's Why I'm Crying My song pick two years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Veteran of the Psychic Wars My song pick three years ago today: Molly Hatchet - Bounty Hunter +

1259 Stahlhammer - Der Zerbrochene Traum I felt like picking some Stahlhammer this evening; here is one of my favourites off of their '04 Stahlmania album. Nothing quite like some excellent Neue Deutsche Härte to bring my Saturday to a close. Hear Der Zerbrochene Traum on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Charles Gounod - Funeral March of a Marionette My song pick two years ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird My song pick three years ago today: Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind +

1258 Jethro Tull - By Kind Permission Of I've had this track on my mind, so I figured it would be a nice Friday pick. This is essentially a 10-minute John Evans' keyboard solo with a bit of Ian's flute; it was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in late 1970 and later appeared on their compilation album: Living in the Past . It was one of two songs on the album that were recorded live, the other being Dharma for On e ; both of these songs together took up an entire side of one of the two records. Apparently the song got its title, ( By Kind Permission Of ), from John Evans borrowing sections for the song from some famous classical pieces and for obvious reasons could not procure permission to use them from the original authors. The pieces he used were, I do believe: Claude Debussy's Golliwog's Cakewalk , Rachmaninov's Prelude in G Sharp Minor , and Beethoven's Sonate #8: Pathétique . Hear By Kind Permission Of on YouTube. My song pick a year ago...

1257 Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone This has to be one of my top 5 favourite Led Zeppelin songs. I love the way it was arranged musically with the various sections and the excellent, tight riffs. Hear Ten Years Gone on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: John Lennon - How Do You Sleep? My song pick two years ago today: The Who - Getting in Tune My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - Beastie +

1256 Bad Company - Holy Water This is one of the songs from Bad Company's era sans Paul Rodgers that I like quite a bit. I've noted that much of the music from this time period in the band's history hasn't aged as well as their more iconic tracks, but it's still quite good all the same. Hear Holy Water on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Azteca - Some Day We'll Get By My song pick two years ago today: Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven (Theme) My song pick three years ago today: Rush - Jacob's Ladder +

1255 Blue Öyster Cult - I Love the Night I hadn't heard this track in quite a while and it happened to pop on the radio last night. Like much of BÖC's work, this track has rather ambiguous lyrical content and is one of the main draws for me. I've heard of four possible meanings to the subject matter of this track: 1. it's about a love affair with a ghost, 2. it's about a love affair with a vampire, 3. it's taken at face-value and it's about a couple getting together after both just got out of messy relationships, or 4. it's about cocaine use. I believe that the reasons that the ghost/vampire are even suggested is because of some hints in the song and on the album itself, (The album's title: Spectres , and the song Nosferatu is the next track on the album); the fact that it would be in-line with subject matter that BÖC is known for. As for the potential cocaine reference, some believe that "the lady in white" mentioned in the song could be...

1254 Rammstein - Der Meister I'd like to believe that I like all of Rammstein's albums equally for the most part; I've never had any buyer's regrets or any disappointment after procuring one of them. However, I will have to say that there will always be a special place for two first albums: Herzeleid and Sehnsucht mostly because they were the only two albums that were recorded at the time I discovered the band. Because of this they probably received a lot more play time than the subsequent albums. This is one of my many favoured songs off of the album; as with much of the music off of Herzeleid , this one is a high-energy track with a fast tempo. Hear Der Meister on YouTube. Watch a live performance circa '97 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Nothing to Say My song pick two years ago today: Bad Company - Seagull My song pick three years ago today: Diana Ross - Do You Know Where You're Going To? (The theme from Mahogany) +

1253 Queen - 39 Had a lot of Queen's music on my mind throughout most the day, so I figured it would be rather nice to end the day by picking one of their songs. For some reason the music off of A Night at the Opera seemed to be where I gravitated the most. There are quite a few tracks I like off of the album, but for some reason this one just felt right. I really like the way that Brian May and the rest of the band delivered this Science Fiction story in a Folkish style. Hear 39 on YouTube. Watch a solo acoustic performance of the song by Brian May on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Hawkwind - Standing at the Edge My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Nocturne My song pick three years ago today: Head East - Never Been Any Reason +

1252 Fire Bomber (Humming Bird) - My Soul For You Making a pick at the end of a rather busy day again; I heard this one while out and about today and thought it would be a rather nice pick. This is another song that comes from the animé Macross 7 , which featured music performed by the Japanese Metal band Humming Bird; the band in the show that Humming Bird put their sound to was known as 'Fire Bomber.' Anyway, this is a rather mellow tune in comparison to the other songs featured on the animé. I love Yoshiki Fukuyama's vocals and guitar work throughout, especially in the acoustic version. Hear My Soul For You on YouTube. Hear the acoustic version of My Soul For You on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Hawkwind - D-Rider My song pick two years ago today: Duran Duran - Rio My song pick three years ago today: Rare Earth - (I Know) I'm Losing You +

1251 Tarot - Pilot of All Dreams Felt like listening to and picking something from Tarot this morning, this one hails from their latest album: Gravity of Light . A lot of the music on this album reminds me of Iron Maiden, but for some reason this one especially does; it probably has to do with Marco Hietala's vocals. Anyway, it's an just an amazing song all around. Hear Pilot of All Dreams on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Muse - Knights of Cydonia My song pick two years ago today: Nightwish - 10th Man Down My song pick three years ago today: Jaco Pastorius - Donna Lee +

1250 Stuart Hamm - Count Zero I've been having some off days this week due to having a head cold, so I've been somewhat erratic with my picks. Well, today I decided on plugging in some music by the bass maestro Stu Hamm. What I have always loved about his music and his subject matter is that he takes some of his inspiration from some of my favourite Sci-Fi authors/novels. Most of the material on his Kings of Sleep album was inspired by novels written by William Gibson, who is one of my favourite authors from way back. The title of this track is directly taken from the book Count Zero , which was the second novel in the Sprawl Trilogy . Of course I highly recommend the books in that trilogy if you are into Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, or Post-Modern. Anyway, enough "geeking out." This track is a rather nice instrumental, while being technical to beat hell, it's actually quite listenable to even a casual listener. Hear Count Zero on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today:...

1249 Band of Horses - Factory Band of Horse's new Infinite Arms album is finally starting to grow on me a bit, I figured it was time to post a track off the album. This has become one of my favourites; I'm liking how they arranged it with the larger, more orchestral sound. The melancholy story within the song and the way they deliver it is another one of the song's best aspects. Watch a fan video with the song version on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. Watch an excellent performance from Later, with Jools Holland on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Freewill My song pick two years ago today: R.E.M. - Stand My song pick three years ago today: Queen - Killer Queen +

1248 David Bowie - Diamond Dogs Davie Bowie has permeated much the medium that I have been watching/listening to in the last few days. Last night I heard this track whilst watching television, I figured this nice piece of Glam Rock would be a nice pick for today. Hear Diamond Dogs on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sky - Toccata My song pick two years ago today: Journey - Who's Crying Now My song pick three years ago today: Billy Joel - Only the Good Die Young +

1247 Band of Horses - The First Song This track has been coming up quite a bit on my playlists when I've been listening to music lately; it seemed nice for today's pick and the Holiday enjoyed by those who work for the government and the financial institutions. Anyway, while not my favourite song on the album I still like it quite a bit and it's a good representation of the band's overall sound. Hear The First Song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Forest - A Glade Somewhere My song pick two years ago today: Weather Report - Teen Town My song pick three years ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral Suite No.3 in D-Major, "Air" BWV 1068 +

1246 Joachim Witt - Wem Gehört Das Sternenlicht I'm having another one of those days where I'm not wanting to think about music that much, however that won't stop me from making today's pick. I've actually been meaning to add this rather beautiful and melodic track from Joachim Witt's newest album: Bayreuth 3 to my list for well over 6 months now; I guess that I'll be using this musical lull to finally get around to it. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Cab Calloway & The Harlemaniacs - The Reefer Man My song pick two years ago today: Diana Ross and the Supremes - Reflections My song pick three years ago today: Quarterflash - Harden my Heart +

1245 Jethro Tull - Bungle in the Jungle Was noticing that I had not chosen a song from Jethro Tull's War Child album yet; it appears to be the only one of their albums to not yet make an appearance on my blog. This is easily the most recognizable and popular song from the album and out of their 15-20+ songs that get some airplay on classic rock radio or otherwise; this would have to be one of the top five most played. From what I've read the title of the song is a play on the title to the legendary fight between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman, which was called: "The Rumble in the Jungle." As with a lot of Ian Anderson's songs concerning popular culture, this song's lyrics are written from a outsider's point of view. Around the time of "the album that didn't happen" Ian was using the animal kingdom as a cynical allegory to human behaviour; this one was, of course, a criticism of life in the city. Hear Bungle in the Jungle on YouTube. My ...

1244 Megadeth - Elysian Fields Had Megadeth on my mind this morning and decided on picking one of their songs today. There are a lot of songs I like off of the Youthanasia album including, of course, this one. However, like all of Megadeth's albums, I usually play it through without skipping a track. Hear Elysian Fields on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) feat. Freddy Taylor - Nagasaki My song pick two years ago today: Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches My song pick three years ago today: The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset +

1243 Ozzy Osbourne - Mama, I'm Coming Home I'm having one of those days where I just don't want to think about any music, which is making the process of picking a song today quite difficult. Anyway, I heard this great tune on the radio whilst driving early this morning; surprisingly enough I had not picked it yet being as it is one of my favourite songs off of one of my favourite albums from Ozzy's solo work. I've always loved Zakk Wylde's guitar playing on almost anything he does, this song is no different; his acoustic guitar combined with the Bob Daisley's fretless bass make this track quite distinct. Hear Mama, I'm Coming Home on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Adam Gilberti - Dragon's First Flight My song pick two years ago today: Zakk Wylde - Farm Fiddlin' My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - Hunting Girl +

1242 Rammstein featuring Carmen Zapata - Te Quiero Puta! I've had this one running through my mind quite a bit of the evening last night and I'm in a Rammstein mood as well, so I am picking it. This is probably the most catchy song off of Rammstein's Rosenrot album and is sung in Spanish. Lyrically, it is rather bawdy but still a lot of fun to listen to. Hear Te Quiero Puta! on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Traveling Wilburys - End of the Line My song pick two years ago today: The Doors - Love Her Madly My song pick three years ago today: Rod Stewart - Young Turks (Young Hearts Be Free) +

1241 The United States of America - The Garden of Earthly Delights In the mood for something different and weird this morning. This one comes from the short-lived Psychedelic/Progressive/Experimental/Electronic Rock band: The United States of America; not to be confused with the popular Folk/Rock band America . The band broke up shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album for apparently a variety of reasons. When I first found out about the band and album one member's name in particular stuck out: Ed Bogas. For those who do not immediately recognize that name there is a very good chance you have heard his music. He has written the scores and music for many films, television shows, and video games over the years. If you watched the Garfield and/or Peanuts cartoons back in the '80s you definitely have heard his material. I remember back when I was playing video games on my old Commodore 64 I saw his name pop up quite a bit in the credits, especially in the Accol...

1240 Stahlhammer - Strom Der Zeit I've had some of Stahlhammer's music incessantly running through my mind this morning, so I'm adding one of their tracks to my list. This is one of my favourites off of their 1999 Feind Hört Mit album. Hear Strom Der Zeit on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Ally Kerr - The Sore Feet Song My song pick two years ago today: Johnny Cash - Solitary Man My song pick three years ago today: Two-Mix - White Reflection +

1239 Larry Greene - Through the Fire Making somewhat of a late pick this Sunday, so here is one I've heard come on the iPod the last few times I was out and about. The soundtrack to the film Top Gun was some of the music that my wife brought with her into our marriage; it has been with most of the "on the go" CDs in the past and was the first of our CDs to make the transition to the iPod. Anyway, this is one of the higher energy songs from the movie's soundtrack and has a typical 80's Rock/Pop sound and feel to it. Hear Through the Fire on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Puhdys - Geh Dem Wind Nicht Aus Dem Wege My song pick two years ago today: Journey - Lights My song pick three years ago today: Rush - Anthem +

1238 Hawkwind - Lord of Light Had a busy day watching the NFL playoffs and all, so I'm a bit late with my pick. This is one of my favourite tracks off of Hawkwind's Doremi Fasol Latido album. It was their third studio album and also the first of their albums to feature Lemmy on bass guitar. And yes, the title is a play on the syllables of the Diatonic scale: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, and has to do with the Sound of the Spheres. Hear Lord of Light on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Karussell - Schattenkreuze My song pick two years ago today: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) My song pick three years ago today: Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans +

1237 Journey - To Play Some Music I've been hearing a lot of Journey lately and I thought I should pick another one of their tracks; this one comes from their '75 self-titled debut album. The Fusion inspired sound on this album shows off their Santana influence quite well. Hear To Play Some Music on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Apocalyptica featuring Till Lindemann - Helden My song pick two years ago today: James Gang - Funk 49 My song pick three years ago today: Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mine +

1236 Blue Öyster Cult - Hot Rails to Hell Felt like some BÖC for this late morning pick; this one comes off of their '73 Tyranny And Mutation album. This was actually their first album which I owned; it's another one of those 5¢ yard sale 8-Track tapes. I like quite a few songs off of this album, this was one of the first ones that came to mind. Hear Hot Rails to Hell on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Cover of the Rolling Stone My song pick two years ago today: Seals & Crofts - Summer Breeze My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - Crazed Institution +

1235 Gerry Rafferty - Home and Dry I heard on the radio this morning that Gerry Rafferty had succumbed to his fight with liver disease; a writeup can be found here on BBC.com . He is another one of those acts from the '70s that I was exposed to early on in life, and while not an absolute favourite of mine, I love a great deal of his material and his music has continued to be around me throughout my life thus far. I've always liked his work with the band Stealer's Wheel, specifically the song Star ; however I've never really cared for the more iconic song Stuck in the Middle with You , which was probably the song that band was best known for. His biggest hit songs from his solo career were probably Baker Street and Right Down the Line , both of which were off of his City to City album. This is another track that I like off that same album and feels quite nice for the pick today as well. RIP Gerry Rafferty 1947-2011. Hear Home and Dry on YouTube. My song pick a year a...

1234 The Guess Who - These Eyes Going North of the border again for my pick today. I happened to notice that I hadn't added this rather beautiful track to my list yet; it's yet another one of those picks where I thought for sure that I had picked at some time in the past. Anyway, this is one of the many tracks from the band that was co-written by Bachman and Cummings; it is one of their bigger early hits outside of Canada that featured what is referred to as the " American Woman " lineup. Watch a mimed television performance of the song on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fanfare for the Common Man My song pick two years ago today: The Kinks - Do It Again My song pick three years ago today: The Guess Who - Hang On To Your Life +

1233 Triumph - Magic Power Here is one from "the other Canadian power trio" I felt like adding to the list today. It amazes me the amount of times in the past I've heard their songs, but didn't realize it was Triumph who actually wrote/performed them. This is one of their songs that I've always really liked; a nice mix of the softer ballad and the harder driving feel. Hear Magic Power on YouTube. Watch a live performance/music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Nightwish - While Your Lips Are Still Red My song pick two years ago today: The Rolling Stones - Mother's Little Helper My song pick three years ago today: Billy Joel - Two Thousand Years +

1232 Steve Vai - Kill the Guy with the Ball/The God Eaters Been playing a lot of Steve Vai's music the last few days and with the last games of the NFL regular season being played today this seemed like a nice pick. As I've stated before: I absolutely love artists that aren't afraid to push the limits of the definition of music. Putting his immense virtuosity aside, just the way he writes and arranges his songs alone makes him one of the greatest musical innovators today. Watch a music video clip with the song on YouTube. Watch a live performance circa '05 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Banchee - John Doe My song pick two years ago today: Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone My song pick three years ago today: Queen - Don't Stop Me Now +

1231 Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne Happy New Year! I was in need of a fitting track for this pick and remembered this track written and performed by the late Dan Fogelberg. While it's not exactly a true New Years song it has over the years become associated with the season. It is quite a sentimental song and is about meeting an old flame in a grocery store that he had not seen in years; from what I have read the story is about an actual experience that Dan Fogelberg had on one Christmas Eve. Throughout the song there is a forlorn feeling concerning this chance meeting. Hear Same Old Lang Syne on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: ABBA - Happy New Year My song pick two years ago today: U2 - New Year's Day My song pick three years ago today: Kiss - Shout It Out Loud +