Northern Winds- Steve Earle
Doing an entire show about the wind. Got the idea for doing this theme from a friend of mine on Facebook who was complaining bitterly about the wind. What can I tell you? Inspiration happens in all sorts of ways!
Started off the show with a neat little instrumental that kinda sets the mood.
Steve has been known to come up with some good quotes. Here are just a few from over the years:
You see things differently at 40 than you do at 31. Especially if you got to 40 the way I did.
Steve Earle
Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.
Steve Earle
Me, I’m spiritually retarded, I need to be knee deep in water with a fly rod in my hands, that’s about as close to God as I get.
Steve Earle
White Knuckle Winds- Stonehoney
Kicking the show into high gear! Drivin’ in the wind and living on the edge! Perfect for ptsroadhouse!
“The power that comes from the quadruple lead singer assault of Stonehoney is a force of nature. The beauty of the music is rivaled only by the genuine personalities of the guys: great playing, great singing, great songs, great people!!? Eric Lowen, Lowen & Navarro “
The Cedar Creek Sessions is a fantastic driving record, for either long road trips or just the morning commute. Go ahead and roll the windows down and sing out loud. The people stopped near you just might join in on the chorus. No matter what, you’ll enjoy the ride. –http://country-fried-rock.blogspot.com
Cold Wind Blowing- Deneen McEachern
Get yourself ready for some good old fashioned soul-shoutin’! Hard to find, obscure blues singer. It’s a shame because she really cuts it loose!
You can go to church on this one, drink in hand. You’d expect to find a voice like this in gospel. It’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re listening to Mahalia Jackson sing the blues. Instead, this serving of heavenly blues is courtesy of local Deneen McEachern. She first sang the blues in Durham playwright Kent Cooper’s musical Standing at Your Door, but she grew up singing in church and can’t escape her gospel roots.
The feeling that McEachern may break into a halleluiah chorus any second is everywhere. It’s heartfelt and powerful. She gets her point across without vocal gymnastics, just belting ’em with enough force to blow you back a considerable distance.
And if it sounds like an album of blues classics, in a way, it is. These blues are written by producer Cooper, who also writes for bluesman Louisiana Red. “I’m gonna build me a tree hut/ and live way up in the air/ ‘Cause down here love bites and scratches/ just like a hungry bear,” McEachern proclaims on “Cold Feeling.”
Even if you ain’t got religion, McEachern makes it accessible for the darkest sinner. -Grant Britt, indyweek.com
Direction of the Wind- Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses
This guy has been really hot and is gaining a stellar reputation. Check it out and hear for yourself!
Bingham performed two songs for the soundtrack of the movie Crazy Heart, including “I Don’t Know,” and the theme song, “The Weary Kind.” In addition to these performances, Bingham wrote “The Weary Kind” and was produced by T Bone Burnett. He also had a small role in the film as Tony. On January 17, 2010, Bingham was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “The Weary Kind” at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. The song won Best Original Song[5] at the 2010 82nd Academy Awards,[6] as well as Song of the Year at the 9th Annual Americana Music Association awards.[7]
-Wikipedia
I don’t think I’ve used the word “astonishing” in relation to an album in a long time. But the new Ryan Bingham album, Junky Star (Lost Highway), merits that kind of acclaim. Another thing that I never do is compare any songwriter to Bob Dylan. But the inescapable fact is that Bingham may be the songwriter who finally justifies the “new Dylan?” tag that has cursed so many talented songwriters in the past. It’s not just the songs, which are powerful in their own right, but the way that they’re delivered. Bingham is possessed on a raspy, heartbroken voice that provides every ounce of world-weary despair that the occasion calls for. -Ken Shane, www.popdose.com
The Wind Cries Mary- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
It’s great to listen back to this song after all these years. And wow- does this song ever hold up well, even after all this time!
I wish they’d had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would’ve been straightened out.
Jimi Hendrix
Music is a safe kind of high.
Jimi Hendrix
Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.
Jimi Hendrix
I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around.
Jimi Hendrix
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix
– All Jimi Hendrix quotes from www.brainyquotes.com
A Little Wind- Bob Collum and the Welfare Mothers
Here’s a song that puts it all into perspective.
“Go West, young man,” the cry went up of ages past. And they did. Except for one guy, who went East. And that’s Bob Collum, who in trading the praries for the less fetching plains of Britain’s surly southeast has brought to these shores a tasty, tasteful taste of the music that both he and his native Tulsa, Oklahoma, call home. –http://www.bobcollumonline.com
‘Bob Collum is so traditional in his use of country and western idioms that you almost expect the weeping slide guitar to be punctuated by somebody tossing a bar stool through the nearest saloon window’ – Rock-Sound
Believe me, playing nonchalently and making it sound urgent’s no mean feat, but The Welfare Mothers have it down pat. Impressive stuff indeed.” – Whisperin’ & Hollerin’
Prairie Wind- Neil Young
They say you gotta have soul to live on the prairies. Neil gets it.
I have so many opinions about everything it just comes out during my music. It’s a battle for me. I try not to be preachy. That’s a real danger.
Neil Young
I think I’m going to be making country records for as long as I can see into the future. It’s much more down-home and real.
Neil Young
Studios are passe for me. I’d rather play in a garage, in a truck, or a rehearsal hall, a club, or a basement.
Neil Young
I totally have no other talent and I would be totally out of work if I did anything else.
Neil Young
It’s better to burn out than it is to rust.
Neil Young
It’s better to burn out, than to fade away.
Neil Young
Chinook Wind- Corb Lund
Had the opportunity to see Corb Lund live a few years ago. An amazing poise and stage presence.
And having experienced those chinook winds for a good many years, I agree- they can drive you crazy.
“My family is all ranchers and rodeo people,” Lund says. “They’ve been in Canada for about 100 years, and before that they were raising cattle in Utah and Nevada. Some of my relatives are still down there. I grew up rodeoing. (I was a steer rider) – that’s like the junior version of bull riding. I was on horseback pretty much as soon as I could walk.”
“Lund and Losin’ Lately Gambler present us with a new and meaningful 21st century addition to the traditions of Western and cowboy music, something to succeed the likes of Ian Tyson and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.” -Houston Press
Give Alberta, Canada, native Corb Lund a chance and I’m betting it won’t take long for him to charm you into helpless fanhood. A lifelong rancher and rodeo rider, he draws on the rich tradition of cowboy ballads to craft original tales of prairie life that are as witty and wild as any you’ll find. Losin’ Lately Gambler, his first album for a U.S. record label, carries forward confidently from the six Canadian albums that made his name north of the border. Throughout these dozen tracks Corb finds the shared humanity in every shaggy-dog tall tale, and the glimmer of hope in every seeming dead end.- Chris Neil. www.countryweekly.com
Four Strong Winds- Ian and Sylvia
This version goes back to 1963 and was the title track for Ian and Sylvia’s second album. It’s become a classic and has been covered by the likes of Neil Young, Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, the Searchers, Harry Belafonte, Marianne Faithfull, West, the Band and others.
“Four Strong Winds,” which was first recorded for Ian & Sylvia’s second album (also called Four Strong Winds) in 1963, astonishingly marked Ian Tyson’s first composition. To this day, it’s his most famous one, and probably his most covered one. Part of its appeal is that it sounds like it could have been an actual folk troubadour ballad that had been passed down and shaped over the ages, although it was indeed an original work. The gentle, reflective, yet slightly sad mood of the words and melody were appropriate to the folksinger image as well, embodying the man who travels and is moved by love as regularly and unpredictably as the winds blow. Tyson says it was written about an old girlfriend who had moved to Los Angeles, and he and his musical partner, Sylvia Fricker (later Sylvia Tyson), gave it their typical tasteful, moving harmonized treatment.- Richie Unterberger, AllMusic.com
In 2005, CBC Radio One listeners chose his song “Four Strong Winds” as the greatest Canadian song of all time on the series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.
He has been a strong influence on many Canadian artists, including Neil Young, who recorded “Four Strong Winds” for Comes a Time (1978). Johnny Cash would also record the same song for Highways (2006) -Wikipedia
In 2010, Tyson put out his memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West. Co-written with Calgary journalist Jeremy Klaszus, the book “alternates between autobiography and a broader study of [Tyson’s] relationship to the ‘West’ – both as a fading reality and a cultural ideal.” CBC’s Michael Enright said the book is like Tyson himself – “straightforward, unglazed and honest.” – Wikipedia
Let The Four Winds Blow- Hans Theessink and Terry Evans
So glad I found this tune for the show. It fits perfectly after the Ian and Sylvia classic and lightens the mood real nice!
It’s no easy task growing up in the Netherlands and teaching oneself the blues, but perhaps that’s the reason Theesink‘s guitar stylings are so unique?Theesink began his recording career in 1970 for a variety of small labels in the Netherlands and Germany, and continued perfecting his craft and honing his skills at clubs and festivals across Europe. Through the ’70s, his eventual goal was to come to America to learn firsthand from the masters in the Mississippi Delta. It would be 1979 before Theesink would make it to America, and not surprisingly, his first stop was the Mississippi Delta. The trip proved fruitful, as he met and jammed with many Delta musicians, absorbing all he could from them and eventually incorporating their knowledge into his own style. – Richard Skelly, AllMusic.com
Like many blues artists, Terry Evans’ first exposure to music was in church, where he sang in the junior choir. As is often the case, his parents allowed him to sing only gospel, but on the sneak, he listened to blues artists such as Elmore James, Little Walter, Albert King, and B.B. King.
Visions brings together two deep blues voices. Hans Theessink, one of Europe’s most respected keepers of the genre, and Terry Evans, whose music carries the heritage of his Mississippi ancestors, connect here like soul mates united by music. The pairing of Theessink’s deep, emotive baritone with Evans’ gospel-colored tenor makes this record one of the year’s best acoustic outings. Blues Revue (USA) December/January 2009
In The Pines- Louvin Brothers
Charlie Louvin passed away at the age of 83 this week. I wanted a couple of songs to pay tribute while keeping with our theme this week. This early song by the Louvin Brothers certainly fits the bill.
The Louvin Brothers’ reputation continued to grow in the decades following their breakup, as their harmonies and hard-driving take on traditional country provided the blueprint for many generations of country and rock musicians. The Everly Brothers were clearly influenced by the duo, while country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons drew heavily from the Louvins‘ deep catalog of classic songs, recording “The Christian Life” with the Byrds and “Cash on the Barrelhead” as a solo artist. The Louvin Brothers and their music are truly legendary. -David Vinopal, AllMusic.com
Hickory Wind- Charlie Louvin
This was recorded just last year. R.I.P.
Artists like Johnny Cash, who wrote in his biography about his inspiring encounter with Charlie Louvin, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard and James Taylor have all admitted being indebted to the Louvin Brothers’ work, which also includes 1956’s stellar “Tragic Songs of Love” and a dozen or so more LPs prior to his older brother Ira Louvin’s death in 1965. Gram Parsons, as a member of the Byrds, famously covered the Louvins’ “The Christian Life” on the Byrds’ legendary “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” -Daniel Kreps, Our Country
From the late 1940s through the early ’60s, Mr. Louvin and his brother Ira, performing as The Louvin Brothers, revived country music’s emotional, full-throated harmony tradition. They notched 10 top-20 Billboard country hits with classics such as “When I Stop Dreaming,” “I Don?t Believe You’ve Met My Baby”and “My Baby’s Gone,” part of a body of work that would later inspire artists including Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton.- Peter Cooper, The Tennessean
Down Wind From The Refinery- Truckstop Honeymoon
I haven’t counted but I think this duo might just be in the lead for number of songs played on these shows. They’re just so much fun and sing about such relevant issues! Another item on the bucket list: Have Truckstop Honeymoon at my backyard barbecue! Yeeehaw!
It’s like the family story hour, a tent revival, a night at a speakeasy, a trip to a house of ill repute and a family picnic all rolled into one. – F5, Wichita KS
Bluegrass, Punk-Rock and a palpable dose of soul – The Pitch, Kansas City MO
A wonderful collaboration between the banjo bangin’ West and the twangy diva Euliss, who pluck strike, rap and tinkle more than a dozen instruments between them. – OffBeat Magazine, New Orleans LA
When they play live, they possess the conviction and borderline craziness of many of the characters in their songs ? The Gambit, New Orleans, LA
One of the most integrated, enjoyable counterculture acts around- Dirty Linen
Because of the Wind- Joe Ely and Joel Guzman
We did a set about Canadian winds earlier in the show- now it’s time to deal with those Texas winds! What a great line by Joe Ely as he sets up this song!
Angels of Wind- Terry Allen
Here’s a song taken from an actual play called “Songs From Chippy: Diaries of a West Texas Hooker”, which explored the themes of prostitution, religion and oil rigs in Texas, amongst other such themes! Man, I wish I could’ve seen that!
Chippy, also known as Songs from “Chippy”, is an album by Terry Allen, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Robert Earl Keen, Wayne Hancock, Jo Harvey Allen and Jo Carol Pierce. It includes original music from the play, Chippy, which was written by Jo Harvey and Terry Allen and commissioned by the American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, where it received its world premiere in 1994. ? Wikipedia
Terry Allen is an independent artist working since 1966 in a wide variety of media including musical and theatrical performances, sculpture, painting, drawing and video, and installations which incorporate any and all of these media.-www,terryallenartmusic.com
Wind’s Gonna Blow You Away- Joe Ely and Joel Guzman
Who could have imagined a guitar and accordion would sound so good? When was the last time you waited, anticipating an accordion run? Cool!
Restless Wind- Billy Joe Shaver
Chances are you’ve heard a bunch of his songs over the years- you just didn?t know it! One of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters!
“I didn’t know that many people liked me.”
“I had to put new lyrics on there. People kept dying.“
The Wayward Wind- Mary McClaslin
I chose this version because of the ramblin’ feel of this tune. Nice way to ride off into the sunset!
GEORGE WINSTON
“A great composer and interpreter.”
TOM RUSSELL
“Mary McCaslin is an inspiration”
DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE
“- a sage writer, warmly expressive singer and exquisite player.”
NEW ENGLAND FOLK ALMANAC
“McCaslin’s real-life western songs and earthy romanticism were profoundly influential among songwriters in the ’70s.
Too often overlooked is the great impact her guitar playing also had on the acoustic scene.”
LARRY KELP? KPFA, BERKELEY
“She sounds as if she had risen out of the Western soil and became its voice.”
