Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack...

... wherein we journey back to the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, i.e., my high school days:

That would be the original version of "Stay," a song to which I did more than a few turns around the high school gym back in the day.  The song was the soundtrack for more than a few backseat gropings as I recall, as well.  It's a classic.

So much so... classic... that Jackson Browne covered it during the '70s.  The BEST part of his version is David Lindley's falsetto, which pays appropriate homage to the original.  The tune would be eminently forgettable if not for Lindley.  So... compare and contrast:

Pretty good, innit?  We loves us some D. Lindley... but ya know that if you've hung around these parts for a few.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Forgive me, Gentle Reader, coz we seem to be stuck in that "Sensitive 70s  Kinda Guy" groove.  That said... one of the better things about Jackson Browne's music was his chocie of exemplary sidemen.  I'm speaking of the inimitable David Lindley, of course, and his violin accompaniment in this tune is as wistful and heartbreaking as it gets... a perfect complement to the song's lyrics.  And while we're on about that... here are the lyrics to "Something Fine:"

The papers lie there helplessly
In a pile outside the door
I've tried and tried, but I just can't remember what they're for
The world outside is tugging like a beggar at my sleeve
Oh, that's much too old a story to believe

And you know that it's taken its share of me
Even though you take such good care of me
Now you say "Morocco" and that makes me smile
I haven't seen Morocco in a long, long while
The dreams are rolling down across the places in my mind
And I've just had a taste of something fine

The future hides and the past just slides
England lies between
Floating in a silver mist so cold and so clean
California's shaking like an angry child will
Who has asked for love and is unanswered still

And you know that I'm looking back carefully
Cause I know that there's still something there for me
But you said "Morocco" and you made me smile
And it hasn't been that easy for a long, long while
And looking back into your eyes I saw them really shine
Giving me a taste of something fine
Something fine

Now if you see Morocco I know you'll go in style
I may not see Morocco for a little while
But while you're there I was hoping you might keep it in your mind
To save me just a taste of something fine

And now about Lindley: One of the finest album purchases I ever made in my short sweet life was Lindley's solo album... and his rendition of "Mercury Blues" is a stand-out in my musical pantheon.  But we digress.   Hell.... as long as we're digressing:




Is that fuckin' awesome, or what?

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack, In Two Flavors

We're listenin' to more Warren today and the very first tune I heard on Pandora (yes, Pandora) was this:

She's so many women
He can't find the one who was his friend
So he's hanging on to half a heart
But he can't have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind

Ah, yes.  She IS "so many women."  Always was, always will be.  But that said, the tune brings to mind the arguably more famous... or more popular, one doesn't necessarily follow the other... cover by La Ronstadt:



I have both versions but I much prefer Warren's, if only for the immaculate slide work by David Lindley.  We've featured Mr. Lindley before here at EIP, most notably this track.  It don't get much better than that, Gentle Reader.

A Good Day

Most of this qualifies as a journal entry... but that's part of what this blog is, which is to say my journal.  Feel free to take or leave what you wish.

So, we're back from the day's errands which included a minor re-supply mission for essentials... read as: beer... preceded by our regularly scheduled dental cleaning and check up.  I approached the latter event with a sense of trepidation, largely because we've been having a series of semi-painful "events" of late in the area where we had our LANAP treatment last year.  Not to flog a dead horse or anything, but our dentist advised us that the LANAP treatment was a shot-in-the-dark, last gasp sort of exercise that may or may not work out and we were in a situation where that tooth wasn't long for this world.  Now losing one tooth normally isn't a Big Deal.  But this particular tooth is an anchor point for the bridge that constitutes my lower front four teeth.  Read as: lose that tooth, lose ALL my front teeth.  Not Good.  This would be an Expensive Not Good, too, not to mention painful.  So, we were worried going in...

Well... to cut to the chase... everything is hunky-dory.  No problems at all and we are experiencing renewed bone growth in the area where I had the LANAP treatment, which was the whole point to begin with.  The pain and discomfort I'm having is probably associated with bone growth so I've been instructed not to worry.  Whew.  To put it mildly.

So we're home now and just put away our first Sammy Adams Noble Pils, which is good but not exceptional.. no matter what the folks at Beer Advocate think.  As a matter of fact it comes perilously close to what beer snobs call "yellow fizzy beer," IMHO.  I like pilsners (Labatt Blue used to be our beer of choice, once upon a time) but I prefer ales and more specifically dark, dark ales.  I think I'm gonna do just the one of these Noble Pils and then move to a more substantial beer, like a 1554.  

Noble Pils is what we're drinking... this is what we're listening to today:

That would be David Lindley... one of the best El Eh session men, evah.  Mr. Lindley is famous for being Jackson Browne's guitarist (among other things) but I LOVE his solo work.  It's quirky (like me) and is some fine, fine playing... especially his slide work. Good stuff, that.  Makes me wanna buy me a Mercury and cruise it on down the road.  With the top down.

But now it's back outside instead, to continue as we've begun.

More Guitar Wars... Otherwise Known As...

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack.  The BEST thing about this particular war is NOone loses and everybody wins.  You should check out Dan's flat-pickin' selections... they're beauties.

But here's our latest salvo in the war... Ry Cooder:

The guitar break occurs around 2:45.  I love Mr. Cooder for his unique tunings and devotion to roots music.  He also has some of the BEST backup singers in the music bid'niz.  One more...

The above is Ry with the inimitable David Lindley, another guitarist (and virtuoso on other instruments as well) whose work I've posted in the past.  BTW... we have defined a Ry Cooder station on Pandora.  And that's what we'll be listening to once we park our tired ol' ass out under the awning... about four minutes from now.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Warren Zevon, from his second album:



This album is my favorite album from Warren, by far.  Just take a look at the personnel featured on the album...

• Warren Zevon - harmonica, piano, rhythm guitar, string arrangements, vocals
• Jackson Browne - harmony vocals on tracks 2, 3 & 11, piano on track 10, slide guitar on track 3
• Lindsey Buckingham - guitar on track 3, harmony vocals on tracks 5 & 7
• Rosemary Butler - harmony vocals on track 10
• Jorge Calderón - harmony vocals on tracks 8 & 11
• Marty David - bass on track 3
• Ned Doheny - guitar on track 10
• Phil Everly - harmony vocals on tracks 1 & 4
• Glenn Frey - rhythm guitar on track 9, harmony vocals on tracks 6 & 9
• The Gentlemen Boys - Background Vocals (11)
• Bob Glaub - bass on tracks 1, 2, 4 - 7 & 9 - 11
• Don Henley - harmony vocals on track 6
• Billy Hinsche - harmony vocals on track 11
• Bobby Keys - saxophone on tracks 5, 7 & 10
• David Lindley - banjo on track 1, fiddle on tracks 1, 2 & 5, slide guitar on tracks 4 & 7, guitar on track 9
• Gary Mallaber - drums on tracks 3 & 8
• Roy Marinell - bass on track 8
• Stevie Nicks - vocals on track 7 & 10
• Bonnie Raitt - harmony vocals on track 10
• Fritz Richmond - jug on track 8
• Sid Sharp - strings on tracks 4, 6 & 11
• J.D. Souther - harmony vocals on tracks 2 & 11
• Waddy Wachtel - guitar, vocals
• Carl Wilson - harmony vocals on track 11, vocal arrangements
• Jai Winding - piano on track 5, organ & synthesizer on track 10, vocals on track 11
• Larry Zack - drums on tracks 1, 2, 4 - 7 & 9 - 11
• The Gentlemen Boys consisted of: Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderon, Kenny Edwards, J. D. Souther and Waddy Wachtel.

That list is a veritable "Who's Who" of the El-Eh rock 'n' roll scene, c. 1975.  I was livin' in Westby, Montana when this album came out and there were VERY few albums that got more airplay in that den of iniquity I called home in those days.  These days I get my Warren fix from Pandora, as nearly all of my WZ albums are on vinyl and as such, out of my reach.  I REALLY need to fix that.