Just an Itching in My Heart: Selections from the Holland-Dozier-Holland Songbook

   I can't remember what exactly prompted me to make a tribute to Holland-Dozier-Holland.  It may have been the hagiographic, but still compelling recent Motown documentary, but I think it was a song or even an article.  In the process of putting it together, I also discovered that they wrote a lot of  late 60's and early 70's hits under the pseudonym Edythe Wayne - because of a contract dispute with Motown, they were unable to use their own names for several years after leaving the label.  Anyway, hope folks enjoy the compilation - there aren't that many unconventional covers or obscurities, but hopefully, it still serves as a fitting tribute to a legendary trio.

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Volume One
You Keep Me Hangin' On	Aretha Franklin
Crumbs Off The Table	The Glass House
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)	The Isley Brothers
You Brought the Joy	Freda Payne
Free Your Mind	The Politicians
Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart	The Supremes
I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying	Smokey Robinson
Where Did Our Love Go	Donnie Elbert
A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)	Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Mind, Body, and Soul	Flaming Ember
Remove This Doubt	Elvis Costello
Little Girl Blue (Single Version)	The Marvelettes
The Day I Found Myself	Honey Cone
Band of Gold	Marcia Griffiths
You're Gonna Need Me	Dionne Warwick
Volume Two
My World Is Empty Without You	Lee Fields & The Expressions
Whisper You Love Me Boy	Chris Clark
Can't Satisfy	Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
Give Me Just A Little More Time	Chairmen of the Board
Heatwave	Lulu
Don't Leave Me Starving For Your Love	Laura Lee
Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)	Aged in Soul
Can I Get A Witness	Marvin Gaye
Baby, Don't You Do It	The Poets
(I'm A) Road Runner	Jr. Walker And The All Stars
Come See About Me	Nella Dodds
When The Lovelight Starts Shining Thru His Eyes	Dusty Springfield
Helpless	Kim Weston
There's a Ghost in My House	The Fall
Reach Out I'll Be There	Four Tops

Remembering James Hand and Tom T. Hall

     It's been a pretty dismal 18 months now and a lot of music greats have died.  In just the last two weeks, Tom T. Hall, Don Everly, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Charlie Watts have left us.   Another loss that I was not aware of until a couple of months ago was James Hand, the great country singer from Texas who died in June 2020.  I probably would still not have known about this were it not for Charley Crockett releasing an entire album of James Hand covers earlier this year that I highly recommend.  As a further homage to James Hand, I'm posting his out of print debut album, Shadows Where the Magic Was, a true honky-tonk masterpiece from 1997.   He's also one the first Texas Legends compilation (with Don Walser and Justin Trevino)  Since much of Tom T. Hall's output is still available for streaming and/or purchase, I'm posting the out of print 1998 tribute album: Real: A Tom T. Hall project.  As with all tribute albums, there are a few misses, but this one has a really high batting average. 

Shadows Where the Magic Was

Over There That's Frank
Baby Baby Don't Tell Me That
I Heard Mama Callin
Heart Of Mine
I Can't Afford To Go
The Banks Of The Brazos
If You Can't Tell The Difference
Little Bitty Slip
Shadows Where The Magic Was
Lord Above Can You Hear Me
Not Worth The Trouble Anymore
Merry Christmas Darlin'
Everybody Got It But Me
My Hearts' Been Cheatin' On Me

Real: A Tom T. Hall Project

I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew     Johnny Cash

That's How I Got to Memphis                 Kelly Willis

When Love Is Gone                             Richard Buckner

Don't Forget the Coffee, Billy Joe             R.B. Morris

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee                             Freedy Johnston

Old Enough to Want to (Fool Enough to Try)  Jonny Polonsky

Ships Go Out                                             Ron Sexsmith

I Miss a lot of Trains                             Iris Dement

Tulsa Telephone Book                             Calexico

Harper Valley P.T.A.                             Syd Straw & The Skeletons

Spokane Motel Blues                             Joel R.L. Phelps

Homecoming                                             Joe Henry

The Water Lily                               Ralph Stanley featuring Ralph Stanley II

I'm Not Ready Yet                                     The Mary Janes

Candy in the Window                             Mary Cutrufello

I Hope it Rains at my Funeral        Whiskeytown

It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines    Mark Olson With Victoria Williams

A Gaggle of Gilberto Gil

     As a kid, I was always impressed by baseball players who were able to play in four different decades - even if only meant playing in the last year of a decade and then, 21 years later, in the first year of a decade.  Now that I'm in my mid-fifties, I'm also impressed by musicians with longevity, especially those with recording careers of seven decades or more.  While Gilberto Gil may not ultimately be able to match Willie Nelson's eight decades (and I can't imagine there are too many others who can match Willie), he's had a really impressive and long career.  He's also one of those artists that I became familiar with after he stopped touring regularly, so I'm disappointed that I'll probably never get to see him live; if his many live albums are any indication, he truly shines (though I'm glad I did get to see Caetano Veloso twice).  Hope everyone enjoys the two volumes and if you want to dig deeper into his music, I'd start with Gilberto Gil (1971), Expresso 2222 from 1972, and, of course a 1987 live album, Em Concerto.

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Volume 1
Filhos de Ghandi
Procissao
Ensaio Geral
Cada Macaco No Seu Galho (Cho Chuá)
Minha Princesa Cordel
Quatro Pedacinhos
A Paz
Um Dia de Garoa
Eu Vim Da Bahia (Live)
Aquele Abraco
Assim Sim
Chiclete Com Banana

Volume 2
Esotérico (Ao Vivo)
Refazenda
Bat Macumba
Diga a Ela (Versão Editada)
Só Quero Um Xodó
Futurível
O Pato
Iemanja
Preciso Aprender a Só Ser
Abra o Olho (Ao Vivo)
Um Abraço no João
One O'clock Last Morning 20th April 1970

The Texas Legends Series - Volume Five: Guy Clark, Blaze Foley, and Kimmie Rhodes

 It's time for another Texas Legends series compilation, though this one's a bit more downbeat than the other ones (check them out here).  If you're looking to do a deeper dive, I would start with Blaze Foley's Live at the Austin Outhouse, Guy Clark's Dublin Blues, and Kimmie Rhodes' West Texas Heaven.   You can also check out Blaze and Kimmie cuts on my 90's Texas alternative country compilation.  Lastly, I also recommend the Blaze Foley biopic Blaze, which is currently available on Netflix. In addition to Ben Dickey and Alia Shawkat as Blaze and his girlfriend Sybil, I really liked Charlie Sexton's portrayal of Townes Van Zandt.

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Dublin Blues	Guy Clark
Brother Flower	Kimmie Rhodes, Townes Van Zandt
Darlin'	Blaze Foley
I Should Have Been Home	Blaze Foley
Honky Tonk Song	Guy Clark
Just To Be Near You	Kimmie Rhodes
L.A. Freeway	Guy Clark
Let Me Ride in Your Big Cadillac	Blaze Foley
Rhinestone Highway	Kimmie Rhodes and Willie Nelson
Sittin' by the Road	Blaze Foley
Uncertain Texas	Guy Clark
Take Me Down	Kimmie Rhodes
Angels Get The Blues	Kimmie Rhodes
Oval Room	Blaze Foley
The South Coast of Texas	Guy Clark
I Just Drove By	Kimmie Rhodes
Better Days	Guy Clark
If I Could Only Fly	Blaze Foley

It's So Primitive: Jonathan Richman, Ben Vaughn, and Sonny Smith

     It's been a long time since I had a car, but there is a great deal to be said for driving around on languid summer afternoons and evenings listening to "primitive" rock and roll such as Jonathan Richman, Ben Vaughn, and Sonny Smith.  For readers wanting to dig deeper into their catalogs, I'd recommend Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers "The Modern Lovers", "It's Time For", Ben Vaughn's "Mood Swings" (and the out of print "Mono"), and Sonny & the Sunset's, "Hit After Hit".

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Side A

Roadrunner                                                         The Modern Lovers

Jukebox Babe                                                         Ben Vaughn

Chapters                                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

Death Cream part 2 "Watch Out for the Cream" Sonny & The Sunsets

The Baltimores                                                 Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

Paradise                                                                 Ben Vaughn

Alice Leaves for the Mountains                         Sonny & The Sunsets

The Girl Stands Up To Me Now                         Jonathan Richman

Cashier Girl                                                         Ben Vaughn

Our Favorite Martian                                         Ben Vaughn

Year of the Cock (Jackie Feathers)                     Sonny Smith

Nineteen In Naples                                                 Jonathan Richman

Rhinestone Sunset                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

Since She Started To Ride                                 Jonathan Richman

Out Of Control                                                 Ben Vaughn

Side B

Primitive                                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

When Harpo Played His Harp                                Jonathan Richman

I'm Just Beginning To Live                                 Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

7 Days Without Love                                         Ben Vaughn

Drug Lake                                                         Sonny & The Sunsets

Goin' Down That Road                                         Ben Vaughn

Grunion Run                                                         Jonathan Richman

Cathedral in the Desert                                         Sonny Smith

My Mind Ain't Right                                              Ben Vaughn

Beautiful Thing                                                 Ben Vaughn

Teen Age Thugs                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

(She's Gonna) Respect Me                                 Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers

Rod for Your Love                                                 Sonny Smith

Pipe Bomb                                                         Ben Vaughn

Corner Store                                                         Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

Sucking in the '70s - Volume 8

It's time for another "Sucking in the '70s" compilation.  Apart from noting that this one is a little more all over the place than the previous one, I don't have much to say about this new compilation.  I've also re-upped all the previous volumes as well as the Saluting the 70's compilations.

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Salinas	Jackie DeShannon
Easy To Be Hard	Cheryl Barnes
Everybody Plays The Fool	The Main Ingredient
Delta Dawn	Tanya Tucker
Night They Drove Old Dixie Down	Joan Baez
Badlands	Bruce Springsteen
Young Hearts Run Free	Candi Staton
Don't Leave Me This Way	Thelma Houston
SOS	ABBA
Nothing From Nothing	Billy Preston
Inspiration Information	Shuggie Otis
Clean Up Woman	Betty Wright
Ain't Nobody Home	B.B. King
Rip Off	Laura Lee
Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'	Charley Pride
Operator	Jim Croce
If I Were A Carpenter	Johnny Cash
A New Day	The Notations
Finally Got Myself Together (I'm A Changed Man)	The Impressions
Starting All Over Again	Mel & Tim

There's a Heartbreak Somewhere: A Compendium of Country Soul - Disc 3 & 4

As promised last month, here are the next two volumes of country-soul.  And if you haven't had enough, I'd especially recommend the following albums: James Carr "A Man Needs a Woman", Candi Staton "Candi Staton", O.V. Wright "8 Men and 4 Women", The War and Treaty "Healing Tide", Cat Power "The Greatest", Arthur Alexander "Lonely Just Like Me", Bettye Swann "Bettye Swann", and Ted Hawkins "The Next Hundred Years".  

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  Disc 3

The Greatest	Cat Power
Gentle On My Mind	Tony Borders
Search Your Heart	Rudolph Taylor
Everybody Loves A Winner	William Bell
Lonely Street	Bap Kennedy
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart	Al Green
Blue Eyed Soul	Wilco
Pity a Fool	Barbara & The Browns
Steal Away	Billy Joe Royal
If You're Not Back In Love By Monday	Millie Jackson
Help Me Make It Through The Night	Joe Simon
Go Home Girl	Arthur Alexander
Willie & Laura Mae Jones	Dusty Springfield
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye	Bettye Swann
I Can't Be Satisfied	Spence Wiggins
A Sad Sad Song	Charles Crawford
There's a Heartbreak Somewhere	Roscoe Shelton
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man	Etta James
Disc 4
Strange Conversation	Ted Hawkins
Whispering Pines	Kelly Hogan & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
You Left The Water Running	Maurice & Mac
If I Had a Hammer	Willie Hightower
Suspicious Minds	Elvis Presley
Lover Don't Go	Nick Lowe
A Satisfied Mind	Bobby Hebb
Don't Let Her Know	Ray Charles
In The Same Motel	Dicky Williams
Starving for Your Love	Ella Washington
Something About What Happens When We Talk	Lucinda Williams
Funny How Time Slips Away	Joe Hinton
A Woman Left Lonely	Charlie Rich
The Dark End of the Street	Dan Penn
Why Not Tonight	Jimmy Hughes
Tennessee Waltz	Otis Redding
My Baby's Gone	The Wallace Brothers
Sudden Stop	Percy Sledge