Tuesday, March 18, 2014

tunes on tuesday 3-18: benmont tench, mount moriah, springsteen, buena vista social club, van morrison & the chieftains

Tunes on Tuesday is a fun new project. Each week I'll try to bring you five videos or audio files, each one focusing on a song, group or collaboration that just might pique your interest! If you have someone for possible spotlight then shoot me a private e-mail and we'll give it a listen. Hope you enjoy Tunes on Tuesday! 


NOTE: All videos may be expanded to full screen. Hit play then click on the icon at lower right.


NEWER RELEASE

Here is Benmont Tench's Veronica Said from his debut solo album, You Should Be So Lucky. You'll know Benmont as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  His first solo album includes guest artists Don Was, Ryan Adams, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Gillian Welch, and Dave Rawlings. He actually composed Veronica Said back in the 80's but never really felt like it was done. Eventually, he lost the demo and over time, forgot most of the song. When thinking about tracks for You Should Be So Lucky, Benmont pulled this song from the cobwebs, rewrote the whole second half of the song. So here's a fun song that interestingly enough, has 25+ years of rest in the writing.



NEW ARTIST / REGIONAL / UP & COMER

Mount Moriah is a group from the Chapel Hill/Durham areas of North Carolina and have recently released their 2nd album, Miracle Temple, on Merge records.  Bright Light is a song that will get stuck in your head and the vocals from Heather McEntire will pull you in and have you singing along. Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls guests on this new album, adding some background vocals.




CLASSIC

Here's a fun live performance, filmed in 1982 of Bruce Springsteen belting out Born to Run.  Written when he was just 24 years old, this song was the vehicle that exploded Springsteen into our lives. The album by the same name, which was released in 1975 by this New Jersey native, is often touted as one of the best albums ever produced and in 2003, Billboard Magazine listed it at number 18 in it's Top 500 Albums-of-All-Time list.

On a personal note, back in the early 80's we were making the long drive from NC to NJ and feeling very weary towards the end of the journey. We hit the Garden State Parkway, dialed in our favorite NYC station, WNEW, and Born to Run was playing. With a surge of renewed energy we both exclaimed "we're home!"



WORLD MUSIC


The Buena Vista Social Club was an actual members-only club in Havana, Cuba, where local musicians would gather to jam during the 1940's. It was wildly popular and the music that resulted was amazing. Fifty years later, Ry Cooder joined with one of the original guitarists from the group and did a recording with some of the other original members. So encouraged, they were urged to take the original BVSC group to Amsterdam for a live performance in 1998 and the event was filmed for the first time. A second concert was booked and filmed at Carnegie Hall in NYC, artists were interviewed and the resulting documentary shined a light on this once hidden musical sensation. This video is of the  Buena Vista Social Club  performing Chan Chan in Amsterdam, 1998. You can't help but be moved by just how joyous the musicians are, especially the two singer/guitarists that are featured here.



INTERESTING COLLABORATION OR COVER

In honor of St Patrick's Day, here is Van Morrison and The Chieftains  performing Star of County Down. This is an old Irish folk song with lyrics by Cathal McGarvey (1866–1927) of County Donegal and a tune that was used and reused in several other songs and hymns, as is the typical folk tradition. Super-fun performance!











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3 comments:

Debbie said...

I'm a Jersey Girl!! Love, love, love Bruce!!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I've always liked The Chieftans. Along those lines, I also like Altan.

Tracy Altieri said...

Please keep them coming!