253: Edgar Winter, ‘Rise to Fall’ (Indefensible Mixes)

Edgar Winter, ‘Rise to Fall’

One of my favorite subjects to kvetch about is the burden of obsessiveness.

I’ll give you an example. I tripped over a rock/jazz group called Durutti Column, the vehicle of a British guitarist named Vini Reilly. He has a really tasteful, distinctive ambient sound and groove. I listened to a couple of his albums, liked what I heard, and got my hands on his discography. Twenty-nine albums. I can’t say they all sound exactly alike, because I’m only up to #19. But, like it or not, I will keep plowing through the last ten. Just in case.

Get what I mean?

I don’t believe in radio. Why should I listen to someone else’s playlist hidden among the commercials?
I don’t believe in Spotify. Why should I listen to an algorithm’s playlist?
It seems I’m stuck with Jeff.

My usual listening schedule when I’m working from my home office is:

• 8:00 to 10:00 – music to align my synapses and give me courage to face the day: Bill Evans or Johnny Bach
• 9:37 (approximately) – second cup of coffee
• 10:00 to 4:00 – methodical, obsessive plowing through music I think I should expose myself to: Wild Man Fisher’s Greatest Hits, Finnish surf music, Outer Mongolian throat singing…
• 4:00 to 4:30 – listening for enjoyment: Buddy Holly, Luciana Souza, Bon Iver.

 

But believe it or not, even I like to have just plain fun sometimes. So a while back, I started making myself mixes for the car.

I work myself into a semi-conscious, filter-free trance, and spend an hour meandering through my library mentally blindfolded. I grab attractive tracks I seldom listen to, because they don’t fit into my obsessive, programmatic scheme.
I call these Indefensible Collection I, Indefensible Collection II – I’ll let you extrapolate the rest. I’m up to #6. Why indefensible? Because they’re a sundry assortment. They have no rhyme or reason or common theme. They’re just a bunch of – this isn’t easy for me to write – songs I enjoy listening to.

I’d be embarrassed to listen to them in my office but about once a year I allow myself the guilty pleasure of reverting to my AM car radio (‘Fun, Fun, Fun’, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’) adolescence. They pop up, unprogrammed, the sound of surprise, one after another. Now, that’s fun.

My recent carfare has been IM #6, 50 of which (not all 213 tracks) I’d like to share with you today. Many of them will never achieve their own SoTWs, but I love ‘em all, each and every one. I’ve made a concerted effort to curb my penchant for verboseness. Go, Jeff.

Alan Price, ‘Poor People’	Animals organist, fine singer-songwriter. Love, love this song.
Alison Kraus, ‘Baby, Now That I’ve Found You’	Guilty pleasure. I remember the original.
Amy Winehouse, ‘I Heard Love is Blind’	I avoided listening to her for years. My loss.
Aretha Franklin, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’	Soul at its most soulful
Association, ‘Everything That Touches You’	Neglected polyphonic treasure
Barbra Streisand, ‘I Don’t Care Much’	Aged 21, con huevos.
Becca Stevens, ‘Weightless’	If you know of other music like this, please let me know.
Bonnie Raitt, ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’	Nod to Justin Vernon
Brian Wilson, ‘Love and Mercy’	Brian at his best
Buffalo Springfield, ‘Pretty Girl Why’	Oh, Stephen
Chicago, ‘If You Leave Me Now’	Guilty pleasure
Dusty Springfield, ‘I Close My Eyes’	SoTW someday soon
Edgar Winter, ‘Rise to Fall’	The raison d’etre for this silly endeavor. A fine, fine cut by an artist I’d never listen to otherwise.
Everly Brothers, ‘Problems’	Yeah!
Fleet Foxes, ‘Montezuma’	Earworm on a hook
Glen Campbell, ‘Galveston’	Jim Webb at his best
Hank Williams, ‘Ramblin’ Man’	Seriously intense
Isley Brothers, ‘This Old Heart of Mine’	If I could have only one Motown cut…
Janis Ian, ‘At Seventeen’	We’re all still 17
Jim Capaldi, ‘Oh, How We Danced’	A different Chaplin meets Traffic
John Coltrane, ‘Giant Steps’	Thrilling, every time
John Martyn, ‘May You Never’	The first Martyn song I ever heard
Lake Street Drive, ‘You Go Down Smooth’	A voice that deserves to be respected
Laura Nyro, ‘Up on the Roof’ (bootleg)	Better than The Drifters or Carole King
Lee Konitz, ‘Subconscious-Lee’	Tickle your brain
Linda Ronstadt, ‘Prisoner in Disguise’	Ear candy
Louis Armstrong, ‘Lonesome Blues’	The Hot Five, 1926. Really that good.
Lovin’ Spoonful, ‘It’s Not Time Now’	What a B-side can be
Luciana Souza, ‘Amulet’	Written for her by Paul Simon
Mamas and Papas, ‘Trip, Stumble and Fall’	This is the Ms&Ps I remember
Moby Grape, ‘8:05’	Love it dearly
Nickel Creek, ‘Somebody More Like You’	These young ‘uns
Nilsson, ‘Sleep Late My Lady Friend’	He just shines and shines
Paul McCartney, ‘Junk’	Barely post-Beatles, my favorite McCartney cut ever
Paul Simon, ‘Jonah’	So elusive, so precise
Peter, Paul and Mary, ‘The Good Times We Had’	So much better than what you’d expect
Procol Harum, ‘Conquistador’	1967 was a very good year
Rascals, ‘A Girl Like You’	Hell, yeah!
Robert Johnson, ‘They’re Red Hot’	Tamales. The only blues artist who never bores me.
Rolling Stones, ‘Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows’	One of my very favorite Stones cuts
Roy Orbison, ‘Blue Bayou’	Just a little perfect
Sarah Vaughan, ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’	Regal
Stevie Wonder, ‘If You Really Love Me’	This for me is Stevie
Sufjan Stevens, ‘All Good Naysayers’	Justifies the whole stupid generation of Millenials
Susanne Sundfor, ‘Kamikaze’	Knockout young Norwegian electronic
Tadd Dameron, ‘On a Misty Night’	Elegance
The Impressions, ‘Woman’s Got Soul’	Singer-songwriter Curtis at his best
The Real Group, ‘Li’l Darlin’	This is music I love
The Staves, ‘I’m on Fire’	Young ‘uns; how’d they get so good?
Tina Dico, ‘Let’s Get Lost’	Fine young Swedish singer-sonwriter
Touche, ‘Shiny Stockings’	Vocal perfection
Vocal Line, ‘Holocene’	A guy can dream