Dig Those Cats!

      With all the kerfluffle in American politics about "childless cat ladies" back in August, I decided that I should put together a compilation of songs about cats.  I know it's kind of cliched and I am also well aware that several of the songs here are about "cats" as cool folks, rather than feline creatures.  But as I warily began putting the collection together, I started to appreciate it a compelling unifying theme.  Hope the "dog persons" like it, too. :)

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Mean Eyed Cat	Johnny Cash
Kansas City Kitty	Ambrose Haley and his Ozark Ramblers
Leave My Kitten Alone	The Sonics
I Call My Baby Pussycat	Parliament
Cat On A Hot Foam Board	New Dimensions
Put Your Cat Clothes On	Carl Perkins
Something For Cat	Henry Mancini
The Lovecats	Tanya Donelly, Dylan In The Movies
Cats And Dogs	The Head And The Heart
Phenominal Cat	The Kinks
Alley Cat Ska	Tommy McCook & His Ska-Talites
Stray Cat Strut	Stray Cats
Cats and Dogs	Toni Price
Wildcat	The Hot Club Of Cowtown
Cool For Cats	Squeeze
Wild Cat Blues	Chris Barber's Jazz Band
Nashville Cats	Flatt & Scruggs
Tom Cattin'	Buck Owens
The Big Cats Of Shambala	Matthew Sweet
Facts About Cats	Timbuk 3
Farmyard Cat	Prefab Sprout
What's New Pussycat?	Tom Jones

A Certain Kind of Light: A Tribute to the Bee Gees

   For the longest time, I thought that the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack represented a major comeback for the Bee Gees after numerous years without any major hits.  And yes, I watched the documentary about them several years ago, and I coulda sworn that this was also the message in the documentary.  But really, it was only two albums in the early 70's that didn't do well and then in 1975, two years before Saturday Night Fever, they released Main Course, which featured Nights on Broadway and Jive Talking.  I also learned on Allmusic.com today that they wrote To Love Somebody for Otis Redding, which made me a little sad because I think he would have absolutely nailed that one.  Not that Nina Simone didn't, but that really was a song tailor made for Otis.  Sigh.  Anyway, hope folks enjoy the collection.

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I Started a Joke	Low
Si No Eres Tú (If I Can’t Have You)	Flor de Toloache
Inside And Out	Feist
New York Mining Disaster 1941	The Levellers
Melody Fair	The Jigsaw Seen
Gotta Get A Message To You	José Feliciano
Nights On Broadway	Candi Staton
Massachusets	Insect Surfers
Jive Talkin'	Ronnie Dyson
You know It's for you	Chris Von Sneidern
The first mistake I made	Phil Seymour
I Laugh In Your Face	Tommy Keene
Give A Hand - Take A Hand	The Staple Singers
Run To Me	Raul Malo
I Can't See Nobody	Joe Simon
Kilburn towers	The Idle Wilds
Staying Alive	Havana Lake
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart	The Stylistics
One Minute Woman	Bill Brandon
To Love Somebody	Nina Simone

 

Brazilian Legends: Jorge Ben, Gal Costa, and Elza Soares

I decided to take a little break from my yearly Texas Legends series this year and instead go a little further south for a Brazilian Legends compilation.  Alas, both Elza Soares and Gal Costa died in 2022.  But Jorge Ben is fortunately still alive at 85 and underappreciated (at least in the U.S.)

   If you are newcomers to Ben, Costa, and Soares, a lot of their recordings are only available on Spotify or Youtube.  I would particularly recommend Jorge Ben's Ben É Samba Bom and O Bidu, Costa's Fa Tal: Gal a Todo Vapor and 1969, and Soares' Elza Pede Passagem and Se Acaso Você Chegasse.

 Late Update:  Since the subject is Brazilian Legends, I've reupped both Caetano Veloso collections as well as the Brazil Classics compilation.

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Disc 1 Falsa Baiana	Gal Costa
Que Maravilha	Toquinho & Jorge Ben
Deixa Isso Pra La	Elza Soares
Rio Carnaval dos Carnavais	Elza Soares
Apareceu Aparecida	Jorge Ben
Desafinado	Gal Costa
Primeiro Eu	Elza Soares
Tuareg	Gal Costa
Pais Tropical	Jorge Ben
Mas Que Nada	Jorge Ben
Eu Sou Terrivel	Gal Costa
Boato	Elza Soares
Eu Vim Da Bahia	Gal Costa
Pressentimento	Elza Soares
Onde Anda O Meu Amor	Jorge Ben
Disc 2
Canário da Terra	Elza Soares & João de Aquino
Baby	Gal Costa e Caetano Veloso
Nascimento de um principe african	Jorge Ben
Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro	Jorge Ben
Barato Total	Gal Costa
Bom Dia Portela	Elza Soares
O Dia Que o Sol Declarou o Seu Amor Pela Terra	Jorge Ben Jor
Dedo Duro	Elza Soares
Criola (Ao Vivo)	Jorge Ben Jor
Biscate	Gal Costa
Presente Cotidiano	Gal Costa
Lição de Vida	Elza Soares
A Tamba	Jorge Ben
Sambou Sambou	Elza Soares
Negro Amor	Gal Costa & Jorge Drexler

Sucking in the 70's: Volume 11

     Sorry about the delay between posts - I was on vacation and was rushing around trying to get stuff done before I left.  As for this week's post, I know it may seem like overkill to keep putting out 70's compilation.... and maybe it is.  But before you judge, please listen to the newest volume.  In particular, listen to the Pointer Sisters' take on Steely Dan's Dirty Work.  Don't get me wrong, the original is pretty good, but the Pointer Sisters version is just sublime.  Maybe it's because I first heard it while watching Gaslit, the series about the Watergate break-in (I know the Pointer Sisters' version was released several years after Nixon resigned, but, it works so well), but it's really affecting in a way that the Steely Dan version never was.  Also, all the previous volumes are available as are all the Saluting the 70's compilations.

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Are You Ready?	Pacific Gas & Electric
Funky Business	Cherokee
The Time for Peace is Now	Fantastic Shadows
Smiling Faces Sometimes	The Undisputed Truth
Chairman Of The Board	Chairmen of the Board
Free Ride	Edgar Winter Group
Westbound #9	The Flaming Ember
If I Can't Have You	Yvonne Elliman
Pick Up The Pieces	Average White Band
(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again	L.T.D.
Nightbird	Labelle
Dirty Work	The Pointer Sisters
Why Can't We Live Together	Timmy Thomas
Turn Back The Hands Of Time	Tyrone Davis
Goin' Down	Allen Toussaint
Baby Let Me Kiss You	King Floyd
Love Land	Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Love And Happiness	Al Green
Bound	The Ponderosa Twins Plus One
Maybe	The Three Degrees

'80's Torch and Twang - Disc 6

     As I age (and age - just had another birthday), I find myself dwelling on the passage of time a lot more than I used to, particularly the difference in how I perceive events now from 20-30 years ago versus how I perceived them when I was young.  Basically, I think I pretty much perceived everything prior to the mid 1950s as ancient history when I was an adolescent and post-adolescent.  Whereas today, I still think of events that happened 30-35 years ago as, well, relatively recent events.

     And the same kinda goes for music.  There are definitely albums I liked in the 1990s that I don't really listen to anymore and some even sound a bit dated, but it's still different than listening to music in the 1980's that was made in the 1940's.  For one thing, there's very little music from the 1940's that you would have heard in the 1980's unless you actively searched it out or it happened to be in a commercial or popular movie.  Whereas now, when I show my students the top 20 hits from 1983 or 1984, most of them have heard probably half of the most popular songs from the 1980's.  

       Nonetheless, in putting this compilation together, I sometimes wonder how 18-21 year-olds are likely to perceive the music.  It's really less about whether they like it or dislike it, but is it seen as "ancient" or "old-timey"?  So if anyone happens to play this for a young'un that they know, please ask them what they think of it. :) 

      Hope everyone likes the last volume of the compilation.  Was a lot of fun making it and I'm always open to making one more volume if there's enough artists that I forgot to include in the first six volumes.

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Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' Tough)	Steve Earle
The Rodeo Song	Garry Lee & Showdown
Blanket Of Sorrow	Jason & the Scorchers
That Very First Kiss	Carlene Carter
Lay Down My Old Guitar	The Lonesome Strangers
There's A Guy (Country version)	Kirsty MacColl
Faded Love	Willie Nelson & Ray Price
Back On Your Side	Chris Isaak
Creatures Of Love	Talking Heads
Steel Guitar Rag	John Fahey
Big Big Love	The Eddys
Wheel Hoss	Ricky Skaggs
Stampede	The Raunch Hands
Black Bart	The Johnnys
Six Feet Into the Country	Joe Henry
Lovin' On The Side	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
I Won't Need You Anymore	Randy Travis
Big House Part III	Tex & The Horseheads