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

From: Stealin' Home ; Year: 1978; Genre: Rock Been busy the last couple 'o days, but I am still taking time to pick a song today. This entire album seemed to be played everywhere back in the day, so it is one that is etched in my mind. I just love that driving rhythm and laid-back rock 'n roll sound and of course Iain Matthews' vocals.   Hear Slip Away on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Stormwarrior - Freeborn     My song pick 2 years ago today: Fleetwood Mac - I'm So Afraid   My song pick 3 years ago today: Frank Zappa - He Used to Cut the Grass   My song pick 4 years ago today: England Dan & John Ford Coley - The Prisoner   My song pick 5 years ago today: Firehouse - All She Wrote   My song pick 6 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Motoreyes My song pick 7 years ago today: Ween - The Mollusk My song pick 8 years ago today: Simon & Garfunkle - At the Zoo My song pick 9 years ago today: Rush - Prime Mover...

From: Ghost Stories ; Year: 2024; Genre: Hard Rock I absolutely adore bands like BÖC that aren't afraid to "put it in reverse" so to speak and make something in the style of one of their classic sounds. Don't Come Running To Me would be right at home on their early-mid 1980s records, specifically The Revölution by Night and Club Ninja . I suppose to some it could be a bad thing, but for those like me, hearing them like this just makes me want to throw up "the horns" and totally rock out to Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma's amazing vocals.   Hear Don't Come Running To Me on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Black Sabbath - Killing Yourself to Live     My song pick 2 years ago today: Al Di Meola - Atavism of Twilight   My song pick 3 years ago today: Lou Reed - My Red Joystick   My song pick 4 years ago today: Stevie Wonder - Don't You Worry About a Thing   My song pick 5 years ago today: Cream - Take it Back   My song pi...

From: Brother Where You Bound ; Year: 1985; Genre: Progressive Rock No real reason for this pick other than I felt like something from Supertramp for today. I believe this is the lengthiest epic from the band that is wrapped in Cold War sentiment and things pertinent at the time. Has a lot of great music throughout in many different styles and presentations; also features David Gilmour playing the guitar solos.   Hear Brother Where You Bound on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Fairport Convention - Book Song     My song pick 2 years ago today: Heart - Without You   My song pick 3 years ago today: Stanley Clarke - We Supply   My song pick 4 years ago today: ZZ Top - Stages   My song pick 5 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Strip Cartoon   My song pick 6 years ago today: Steve Vai - The Animal My song pick 7 years ago today: Savatage - Strange Wings My song pick 8 years ago today: Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night ...

From: Dodgy Bastards ; Year: 2016; Genre: Folk Rock/Progressive Rock Been enjoying this record a lot lately; reminds me a lot of the classic material. This track is their rendition of the traditional Child Ballad Cruel Brother . As with many of these ballads catalogued by Child, this one is quite dark and tragic. I really like the way they arranged the music not only to be more driving and intense, but to really bring the emotions to the surface.   Hear Cruel Brother on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Herb Alpert - Aranjuez (Mon Amour)     My song pick 2 years ago today: The Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly   My song pick 3 years ago today: Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me   My song pick 4 years ago today: Steeleye Span - The Lark in the Morning   My song pick 5 years ago today: Black 47 - Red Hugh   My song pick 6 years ago today: Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut My song pick 7 years ago today: The Steve Miller...

From: Feels So Good ; Year: 1977; Genre: Jazz Fusion/Latin Jazz As of late a lot of music legends have passed, especially this year thus far. Found out that jazz maestro Chuck Mangione is the latest, he passed away a few days ago. He was mostly known in jazz circles and the flügelhorn is the instrument he is most associated with, although he played many others. This instrumental is probably his most famous composition, which has made its way not only on radio, but television, film and other media; chances are you've heard at least part of this one.   Hear Feels So Good on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Green Day - F.O.D.     My song pick 2 years ago today: Van Halen - Dreams   My song pick 3 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - The Great Sun Jester   My song pick 4 years ago today: King Crimson - Lady of the Dancing Water   My song pick 5 years ago today: Klaatu - Dog Star   My song pick 6 years ago today: Steely ...

From: Jim & Ingrid Croce ; Year: 1969; Genre: Folk Without a doubt I will have this album playing in my mind even after I leave this Earth. Having both Mom and Dad as huge fans of his work, Jim Croce's music has been all around my entire life. The Jim & Ingrid Croce record was more of one I remember my Mom listening to; it has to be among her favourites from any artist. For me though, it is quite difficult to pick a favourite just because of how much of his music I love. I guess that as a writer he shot with everything he had right from the pit of his being and could express himself flawlessly, or so it would seem. Personally, I have noted that when you get down to it "folk music," be it a troubadour singing and playing wot is in that person's heart, a blues musician, bluegrass, soul, wotever drives that individual makes it the heaviest music in existence.   Hear What the Hell on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The O'Jays - The Year 2000...

From: Space is the Place ; Year: 1973; Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz/Jazz Fusion/Funk Felt like going way, way... way out there for today's song pick; couldn't go out much farther than the great Sun Ra. He has always reminded me a lot of Mingus, probably should be the other way around with Sun Ra being in the business long before Charles Mingus , but I heard and became a fan of Mingus quite a bit prior to hearing Ra for the first time. Anyway, to most not accustomed to the freer forms of jazz this probably would be 21 minutes of disjointed music and odd sounds, but was, even in '73, a boundary-pushing, tip-of-the-spear artistic jazz. Whilst not everyone's cup o' tea, most who love experimental music would find definite interest here.   Hear Space is the Place on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Taco - Singin' in the Rain     My song pick 2 years ago today: Big Maybelle - Candy   My song pick 3 years ago today: David Bowie - Sweet Thing/...

From: Vol. 4 ; Year: 1972; Genre: Rock I felt the need to choose something from Ozzy's Black Sabbath today; just seemed apropos. This is probably the mellowest song from the band, but is just as heavy. It features only three of the band members and no guitar; Tony Iommi played both the piano and Mellotron, Geezer Butler also played the Mellotron as well as his bass, and of course, Ozzy lent his vocals. Most of the song was apparently inspired about the recent separation of drummer Bill Ward from his wife, but has become so much more to fans in particular, especially live both with Sabbath and Ozzy's solo shows.    Hear Changes on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Susie Q     My song pick 2 years ago today: Lakeside - U Got It Goin' On   My song pick 3 years ago today: Genesis - Counting Out Time   My song pick 4 years ago today: Asia - Never Again   My song pick 5 years ago today:...

From: Blizzard of Ozz ; Year: 1980; Genre: Heavy Metal As probably everyone by now is aware, musical legend and heavy metal's "Prince of Darkness" Ozzy Osbourne passed away. I knew he was getting up there in years and heard about his recent farewell gig a couple of weeks ago, but it seems downright eerie thinking about him no longer amongst the living; well, at least he's been reunited with Randy Rhodes and the many others he used to play and make music history with. Funny when I think about all the "gold plated" hypocrites back in the day saying he was of the devil and such; he's probably looking down with a huge grin on his face. Anyway, I knew I needed to choose one from his vast catalogue today and was surprised that Crazy Train was not among those of his I have already picked. This is not only one of his signature tracks, but is also the one that got me into his music. It was also one of the first five songs I learned to play as well, so it is a ve...

From: The Number of the Beast ; Year: 1982; Genre: Metal Such an interesting track musically. I absolutely love the sparse and intricate beginning that slowly builds, becoming ever more intense.   Hear Children of the Damned on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Winery Dogs - Not Hopeless     My song pick 2 years ago today: David Bowie - Moonage Daydream   My song pick 3 years ago today: The O'Jays - Love Train   My song pick 4 years ago today: Billy Joel - The Stranger   My song pick 5 years ago today: Ace - How Long   My song pick 6 years ago today: The Fixx - Red Skies My song pick 7 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Raising Steam My song pick 8 years ago today: Tesla - Hang Tough My song pick 9 years ago today: Quincy Jones - Summer in the City My song pick 10 years ago today: The Delfonics - Hey Love My song pick 11 years ago today: Porcupine Tree - Lazarus My song pick 12 years ago today: Simple Mi...

From: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society ; Year: 1968; Genre: Rock/Pop  Another neat one from the pen of Ray Davies, which, as with many songs by an assortment of artists, uses the song from a bird to reassure and help the narrator keep the troubles away. This one, with its shuffling and rather fanciful feel musically, reminds me a lot of some of the popular Simon & Garfunkel songs of the time. The mix of acoustic guitar and amplified instruments make much of the basis, but the use of a Mellotron takes centre stage in lieu of actual hired orchestral accompaniment, especially with the flute sound playing a counter-punctual melody that is meant to mimic the titular Mr. Songbird .    Hear Mr. Songbird on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Lost in a Fantasy     My song pick 2 years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - People   My song pick 3 years ago tod...

From: Deliver the Word ; Year: 1973; Genre: Jazz Fusion/classical This bemusingly titled first track on this album is pure joy to the ears. Every aspect of it is truly gorgeous; the only criticism I can think of is that I wish it was twice as long. I guess that's wot the "repeat" function is for, but it takes a lot of times for me to go to the next song.   Hear  H 2 Overture on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Def Leppard - Rocket     My song pick 2 years ago today: Jigsaw - Just Another Clown   My song pick 3 years ago today: Living Colour - Sunshine Of Your Love   My song pick 4 years ago today: Kansas - All The World   My song pick 5 years ago today: Stevie Wonder - Part Time Lover   My song pick 6 years ago today: 30 Seconds to Mars - Echelon My song pick 7 years ago today: Blind Melon - Deserted My song pick 8 years ago today: Forest - Graveyard My song pick 9 years ago today: Billy Joel - Laura My...

From: Another Place, Another Time ; Year: 1968; Genre: Country Had this one playing in the back of my mind since last night, so... I am choosing it today. Whilst not wot I normally consume musically, if I do venture into country and western it is usually songs from this ilk before the genre went to pop/contemporary with an overdone twang in the vocals and the occasional e-9th tuned pedal steel. Country and western today still has artists that favour the blues roots of it, but they are certainly in the minority. Anyway, the overall subject matter of this one is the singer lamenting how his alcoholism destroyed his marriage and life. "What Made Milwaukee Famous" used to be the main advertising slogan for the Schlitz Brewing Company back in the day when it was one of the big brands here in the U.S., so it worked really good as a poetic reference to beer. As stated earlier, I absolutely love the whole blues aspect of it being brought to the forefront, and his piano playing and v...

From: Raise! ; Year: 1981; Genre: Funk/R&B/Soul Any time is a great time to put on some EW&F, especially a Friday. Just don't forget to crank it up loud, so everyone can feel that joyous beat.     Hear Kalimba Tree on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: John Denver - Fly Away     My song pick 2 years ago today: Paice Ashton Lord - Ghost Story   My song pick 3 years ago today: Thompson Twins - Lies   My song pick 4 years ago today: ABBA - Eagle   My song pick 5 years ago today: George Harrison - Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)   My song pick 6 years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - The Bouncer My song pick 7 years ago today: Dick Dale - Summer Surf My song pick 8 years ago today: Neil Young - Computer Cowboy (aka Syscrusher) My song pick 9 years ago today: Jethro Tull - The Foot of Our Stairs My song pick 10 years ago today: Peter Tosh - Rumors of War My song pick 11 years...

From: The Winery Dogs ; Year: 2013; Genre: Hard Rock Glad I finally got the entire album; this hidden gem just blew me away. In my opinion it is the best track on the record and really speaks to me personally across the board. Ritchie Kotzen especially shines here both as a guitarist and as lead vocalist; you can really hear Jimi Hendrix's emotive blues style influence on him on both instances.   Hear The Dying on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Automat - The Advance     My song pick 2 years ago today: Crowded House - Never Been The Same   My song pick 3 years ago today: Elton John - This Song Has No Title   My song pick 4 years ago today: Tin Tin - Toast and Marmalade for Tea   My song pick 5 years ago today: Funkadelic - Stink Finger   My song pick 6 years ago today: April Wine - Crash and Burn My song pick 7 years ago today: Foreigner - Cold As Ice My song pick 8 years ago today: Rush - Everyday Glory My s...

From: Feedback ; Year: 2004; Genre: Psychedelic Rock/Hard Rock Surprised once more about a song that I thought I had already picked. This is the often-covered protest song originally done by Buffalo Springfield and written by Stephen Stills. The iconic power trio of Rush did an amazing job on this one keeping the original soul when they, without a doubt, could've just pushed it too far with their extreme abilities as musicians. However, this entire album was more of a tribute to songs that meant something deep to them when they were young musicians.   Hear For What It's Worth on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way     My song pick 2 years ago today: Glass Hammer - The Conflict   My song pick 3 years ago today: Van Der Graaf Generator - Scorched Earth   My song pick 4 years ago today: Earth, Wind & Fire - I Can Feel It In My Bones   My song pick 5 years ago today: Return to Forever - Interp...

From: The Use of Ashes ; Year: 1970; Genre: Folk Rock/Space Rock Tom Rapp is one of the composers that I really admire mostly for the reason how he was able to weave amazing, deep and meaningful lyrics with beautiful music; something I really wish I was capable of. Anyway, this track was inspired by the short story by literary great Ray Bradbury titled: The Rocket Man . Overall the story told in song is quite faithful to its source-material; telling the tale of a son and mother staying behind on Earth whilst the father, (the titular rocket man), explores space. The father perishes going down in the Sun itself and the son and mother avoid daylight. Probably my favourite aspect of this song is the counter line played on the harpsichord, which makes for a beautiful counter to the heaviness of the vocals/lyrics. From wot I understand, the epic song by Elton John of the same title was, in fact, apparently Bernie Taupin was inspired by this one.   Hear Rocket Man on YouTube.   ...

From: The Body, The Blood, The Machine ; Year: 2006; Genre: Indie Rock Not too difficult to believe that this is the last song from this rather prophetic concept album I had left to choose from. In my opinion it is one of their best by far and my personal favourite from the band.     Hear Returning to the Fold on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Doors - Twentieth Century Fox     My song pick 2 years ago today: 1984 - There's a Wrinkle In Our Time   My song pick 3 years ago today: Bay City Rollers - Yesterday's Hero   My song pick 4 years ago today: Supertramp - Breakfast in America   My song pick 5 years ago today: Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe   My song pick 6 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Eyes On Fire My song pick 7 years ago today: The Beach Boys - All Summer Long My song pick 8 years ago today: Bernard Wright - Who Do You Love My song pick 9 years ago today: Alice in Chains - Check ...

From: Okeh - 8474 ; Year: 1927; Genre: New Orleans Jazz Whenever I play any of Pops' music, even those with "Blues" in the title, after the first bar of music the last thing I feel is "Blue" anymore. Maybe that's the point, but there was something special about Satchmo; it was like it was his reason for being was to make the world a much more beautiful and wonderful place to live.    Hear Wild Man Blues on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Stanley Clarke - Dayride     My song pick 2 years ago today: Curved Air - Piece of Mind   My song pick 3 years ago today: Dire Straits - Hand in Hand   My song pick 4 years ago today: Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing   My song pick 5 years ago today: Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me   My song pick 6 years ago today: Caramba - Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot My song pick 7 years ago today: Big Star - In The Street My song pick 8 years ago today: Bowling for Soup - 198...

From: Rufus featuring Chaka Khan ; Year: 1975; Genre: Soul Just one of those days when I really needed to revisit and pick one from a certain band. Nice, mellow and very interesting song musically to get me through this Saturday.     Hear Sweet Thing on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: War - Leroy's Latin Lament     My song pick 2 years ago today: Porcupine Tree - Strip the Soul   My song pick 3 years ago today: Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road   My song pick 4 years ago today: Return to Forever - Majestic Dance   My song pick 5 years ago today: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - As Above So Below   My song pick 6 years ago today: Parliament - P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) My song pick 7 years ago today: Peter Frampton - Show Me the Way My song pick 8 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) My song pick 9 years ago today: Bachman & Turner - Moonlight Rider My song...