A Winter Mix from yeah, yeah, you got us rockin’

1) Willow Weep For Me – Frank Sinatra (arrangement by Nelson Riddle) from the album ‘Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely’ –

The opening to this song is full of tension, release, melancholy and harmony. It starts off with a solo woodwind, then a couple of strings and it builds and builds until ‘The Voice’ enters the room and sings the opening, but that’s not all. There’s the muted horn off in the distance, there’s a harp being strummed and plucked.

Then, there’s the transformative second verse;

“Gone my lover’s dream

Lovely summer dream

Gone and left me here

To weep my tears into the stream”

The words are beautiful but the orchestration behind the words bends time and space.

The orchestra climbs this winding stair case of sound and you’re transported to another time like the guy in the Twilight Zone episode ‘Willoughby’. This song is a masterpiece among masterpieces.

2) Jumpin’ Jack Flash – Rolling Stones (Studio Version)

I don’t understand why the Stones don’t play this song exactly the way it’s recorded on this single. I love the modality of the chords at the beginning. Charlie Watts’ drums sound like they’re ready to rip up the speakers if you let them. Jagger tosses off the opening line like he’s shooing away a fly. There are several guitars going and they all stay out of each other’s way. This was the beginning of Keith’s new style with the aid of Jimmy Miller. Keith Richard’s bass (yes!) playing is glue, so melodic and rock steady. When the bridge comes in with Jagger ooohing and those maracas and the jangly guitars-well, it’s a defining moment in rock n roll as far as I’m concerned. Note how the bottom rhythm guitar slices and dices while the high guitar jangle soars above it and you’re floating in the middle. This song should be treated like chamber music. If you play it, you shouldn’t change a note because it’s perfect. Take note Stones!

3) You Are My Sunshine – Mose Allison

Mose turns this simple folk song into a tragic blues aria. He uses complex jazz blues progressions to transform this seemingly innocent song. This song is not innocent! The way Mose handles it, it’s full of betrayal and heartbreak and “baby please don’t go.” Mose finds something in between the lines of this song that crawl inside me the way my first heartbreak did.

4) I’m a Steady Rolling Man – Robert Johnson

The guitar lick in this song is one of the archetypes from which every other rock n roll song has come from. I’m sure RJ picked it up from somewhere but he owns it here. It’s so guttural and poetic. It’s a hook! The song itself contains images of “icicles on trees,” “cream puffs” and “no sweet woman rollin this way.” But it’s the guitar lick that kills me. I could write ten songs inspired by that lick alone. Thank you Robert Johnson.

5) Strange Love – Slim Harpo

This song is scary strange. Slim’s voice is bathed in reverb and the drums sound like they might be cardboard boxes. The guitar lick is hypnotic and the words and the melody create a Travis Bickle type character in my head.

“Strange love, cutest thing I ever seen

Strange love, cutest thing I ever seen

You remind me of something

That I have seen in a dream”

Followed by-

“Can I take you out to dinner?

Someplace where we can be alone.”

Holy moly! He’s stalking her (or I’m projecting here).

Slim’s harp playing is just right. No wasted notes here, just the ones that are needed.

This recording is accidentally cinematic.

6) It Won’t Be Long (And I’ll Be Hating You) – Johnny Paycheck

I love this song so much. Johnny’s voice is in legendary form.

It’s innocent and raw and even has this weird timing thing so the words match the music. Maybe he got it from the British Invasion.

This song also has one of the best love/hate lyrics of all time:

“Now you’ve got me hatin’ things I used to love to do.

And it won’t be long and I’ll be hating you.”

Go Johnny!

7) I Love You More Than Words Can Say – Otis Redding

Jesus! This song is gorgeous. This song is about love and sex and love. Otis’s moaning at the beginning supported by Steve Cropper’s elegant minimalist guitar and Al Jackson and Duck Dunn’s nearly invisible rhythm section do that tension thing perfectly. They tease and they satisfy. There are strings in this song and they are NOT syrupy, they are sensuous. Again, nothing gets in the way of anything; the arrangement is just right. Otis could have done this a cappella and it would have worked and I guess that’s true about most Otis Redding songs, but I’m really glad that this recording exists.

Young Folks -Peter Bjorn and John

I don’t know much about these guys but I love this song. It reminds me of parties I went to when I was a kid. A boy and girl really like each other and end up talking all night long. There’s a sweet innocence that doesn’t get lost (in this song at least). Bass, drums and a great melody are the main elements of “Young Folks” and that’s all that’s needed. Of course I’m a sucker for any song that has reverb laden whistling.

9) Shake Some Action – The Flamin’ Groovies

This song contains all the elements needed for a great rock n roll record: a whole lot of joy, a hint of doom, a whiff of redemption, glorious guitar parts and shitloads of compression. This song should be next to “Layla” as one of the greatest rock n roll songs ever recorded. God save Dave Edmunds!

10) Time – Richard Hell

In my mind “Time” is Richard Hell’s opus. He tackles the big issue here but he also has kick ass guitar playing from the late, great Robert Quine and my old friend the late, great Naux (John Mac). Two dead guitarists in a song about mortality!

I love Richard Hell’s voice too, it’s fragile and cool and has that prerequisite, “I don’t give a shit but really I do” quality.

“Only time can write a song that’s really really real

The most a man can do is say the way its playing feels

And know he only knows as much as time to him reveals”

 For more on Mark Cutler see Mark Cutler’s Manifesto under shaking bands (http://shakinglikeamountain.com/shaking/2009/04/19/mark-cutler/)