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

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: One Nation Underground ; Year: 1967; Genre: Psychedelic Folk I seem to be gravitating towards music of the late 1960's the last few days it would seem.... All I can say is that I am glad that this band and Tom Rapp both broke into the music scene back then; I really doubt they would have by, say, the '80s and later. Tom Rapp was and is a very underappreciated and definitely an underrated singer/songwritter/etc; I am just overjoyed that I discovered his and this band's music. Such deep music, deep lyrics, and a haunting voice.    Hear Ballad to an Amber Lady on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Hawkwind - The Last Messiah   My song pick 2 years ago today: Traffic - Heaven is in Your Mind   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Moody Blues - Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)   My song pick 4 years ago today: Alice in Chains - Again   My song pick 5 years ago today: Toad the Wet Sprocket - Walk on the Ocean My song pick ...

From: Balaklava ; Year: 1968; Genre: Psychedelic Rock/Folk Rock This is a real interesting song off of Pearls Before Swine's second album, which in my opinion has a more mature sound compared to their first outing. To say the sound of this track is eclectic I think fits quite well; the overall light, yet moody sound really blends quite well with the rather heavy lyrics.   Hear I Saw the World on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Primus - Pudding Time   My song pick 2 years ago today: Stanley Clarke - Play the Bass 10^3   My song pick 3 years ago today: Steve Miller Band - True Fine Love My song pick 4 years ago today: Twelfth Night - We Are Sane My song pick 5 years ago today: Paul & Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey My song pick 6 years ago today: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Carry On My song pick 7 years ago today: Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion My song pick 8 years ago today: Larry Graham and Graham Central Stat...

From: A Journal of the Plague Year ; Year: 1999; Genre: Folk Rock This is a truly beautiful song in many ways, the emotions and the singing are very deep. Hear The Swimmer on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Rare Earth - Born to Wander My song pick 2 years ago today: The Byrds - I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better My song pick 3 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - I'm On the Lamb, But Ain't No Sheep My song pick 4 years ago today: Fates Warning - Stranger (With a Familiar Face) My song pick 5 years ago today: Herbie Hancock - Oh! Oh! Here He Comes My song pick 6 years ago today: Lobo - Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend My song pick 7 years ago today: Rush - Different Strings My song pick 8 years ago today: Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song My song pick 9 years ago today: Béla Fleck & The Flecktones - Big Country My song pick 10 years ago today: ABBA - When All is Said and Done My song pick 11 years ago today: Hawkwind - Motorhead My...

From: Stardancer ; Year: 1972; Genre: Space Rock/Psychedelic Rock Stardancer is a rather pretty, introspective, and poetic song focusing on an astronaut and the child he leaves behind from his perspective. I love the way this one was written, arranged, and sung. Hear Stardancer on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: The Police - Mother My song pick 2 years ago today: Luther - Don't Wanna Be a Fool My song pick 3 years ago today: Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues My song pick 4 years ago today: Ian Anderson - Doggerland My song pick 5 years ago today: Carmen - Bulerias My song pick 6 years ago today: Porcupine Tree - Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled My song pick 7 years ago today: Miles Davis - Pharaoh's Dance My song pick 8 years ago today: Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone My song pick 9 years ago today: John Lennon - How Do You Sleep? My song pick 10 years ago today: The Who - Getting in Tune My song pick 11 ye...

From: One Nation Underground ; Year: 1967; Genre: Folk Rock/Psychedelic Rock It's weird, but last night I dreamed I was listening to Pearls Before Swine, however I cannot remember which song that was in my dream. Anyway I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and pick one of their songs this morning. This is a rather light and mellow song musically with only Tom Rapp singing and playing guitar, however the lyrics are quite heavy and the track itself has a dark and brooding feeling about it. Hear Another Time on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sir Arthur Sullivan - The Lost Chord My song pick two years ago today: Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun My song pick three years ago today: Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) featuring Freddy Taylor - After You've Gone My song pick four years ago today: The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) My song pick five years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival...

From: One Nation Underground ; Year: 1967; Genre: Psychedelic Rock For a little over the last couple of weeks or so, (since the big move and all), I've haven't been listening as much to the radio or other media. So, as is probably glaringly noticeable, I have been relying heavily on my extreme personal tastes for my picks as of late; I certainly hope that I haven't been boring the few who read my blog. Anyway, soon, hopefully I will once again start listening to some other music that I like and/or find interesting to blog about. Well, today I'm picking another song that I personally adore. The Surrealist Waltz closes out Pearls Before Swine's debut album One Nation Underground and was an excellent choice to end such a great album I might say. While I like their other work, their debut album still is my personal favourite from their catalogue. As the title suggests the song is in a 3/4 waltz time; it driven mostly by a well defined line on the organ and o...

813 ( Pearls Before Swine - Tell Me Why ) I am Just in an odd mood and I felt like adding a Pearls Before Swine song today. Their sound is very difficult to describe accurately other than perhaps "Dylan meets Donovan" with some extra Psychedelia thrown in for good measure. However, they are pigeon-holed in the Psychedelic/Folk Rock genre. This one comes off of their fourth album: The Use of Ashes , which was released in '70 and is one of my favorites in their catalogue. The YouTube video with the song has apparently been removed and there are no new ones available, sorry about that. My song pick a year ago today: Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe My song pick two years ago today: Steve Winwood & Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy +

I was needing something a bit psychedelic today and I had not chosen any Pearls Before Swine yet, so it seemed to be a perfect fit. Some probably have not heard of this band, they are/were a psychedelic/folk rock act that was active from about '67 to the mid '70s. The name of the band is taken from The Bible verse Matthew 7:6. "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." In a post a couple of days ago, I was referring to artists that put messages in songs. This song also contains a blatant, (and may I say very juvenile), hidden message. Hint: the title of the song should be a dead giveaway of how it is hidden... Here is the studio version on YouTube. +