Dhafer Youssef, a Tunisian oudist and muezzin-styled vocalist, with Tigran Hamasyan an Armenian pianist. If I gave grades, this would get 100.
Continue reading...Song Of the week
293: Sam Robson, ‘Warmth of The Sun’ (Beach Boys A Cappella)
55 years ago I dreamed a dream. Last week the tapes arrived.
Continue reading...238: Marvin Gaye, ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’
Getting older without growing up – what more could a baby-boomer ask for?
Don’t worry, the suits will take care of you.
237: Wilbert Harrison, ‘Kansas City’
“C’mon, Wilbert, pick up them feet, you shiftless shuffler you! The lady’s a-waiting!”
“Hey, I ain’t sweating or fretting or agitating for no woman.”
235: The Singing Nun, ‘Dominique’ (#1 Hits of 1963)
The #1 hits from 1963, all 21 of them. Our lives before The Beatles.
Continue reading...234: Carole King, ‘Up On the Roof’ (Live, 1971)
Carole King’s remarkable metamorphosis from teen mom songsmith to Earth Mother poetess.
She composed the soundtrack of our times on her piano, and wrought the template of our times with her life.
233: Laura Nyro, ‘And When I Die’
Why listen to a 16-year old girl explain the meaning of life?
Because she’s Laura Nyro, one of the great neglected artists of our time.
A lesson in the reproductive imperative.