Joseph Arthur Playlist

I was in a Borders Books & Music on a Saturday night in 1996 or 1997. I recall it being 9:30 in the evening. The local act playing there that evening had just finished up and I wandered over to the compact discs, saw an interesting album cover at a listening station, noticed Peter Gabriel's very distinctive, Real World record label on the cd spine, slipped on the headphones and discovered the music of Joseph Arthur. 

• Big City Secret ..... The first song heard. I was instantly hooked.
• Enough to Get Away ..... From his Nuclear Daydream album. I listened to the album repeatedly when it was released in 2006. One of my desert island disc choices.
• Can't Exist 
• Even Tho
• Travel as Equals ..... I love the idea for the official video. Three musicians, short video clips with different poses.
• Saint of Impossible Causes .... The chorus stays with me.
• Echo Park
• Redemption's Son
• Mercedes .... Another of the songs I heard during that first listening experience.
• We Began to Dance Again
• In the Sun
• When I Was Running Out of Time ..... "You got a painted face and a body made of clay, you are my superstar."
• A Smile That Explodes

Half Century Ago Playlist

What I might have been listening to fifty years ago today, just starting out on my freshman year in college. Very emotional and transitional days in my world ..... 

• Gregg Allman - Multicolored Lady
• Bob Dylan - You're a Big Girl Now .... Every song from the record became a classic for me but this one stands apart from the others. 
• Jackson Browne - Late For the Sky / Walking Slow
• James Taylor - Mud Slide Slim .... Falling in love for the first time. I'd been listening to this all summer just prior to the Dylan and Browne albums being released.
• Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number
• Neil Young - Sugar Mountain .... My buddy from grade school and high school had a bootleg version where I first heard the song.
• Cat Stevens - But I Might Die Tonight
• Country Joe McDonald - Drug Store Truck Driving Man .... From the Woodstock album. My vinyl collecting mentor introduced me to this tune.
• Stephen Stills and Manassas - Down the Road
• The Eagles - Doolin' Dalton
• Poco - A Good Feeling to Know
• Stevie Wonder - You Are the Sunshine of My Life
• Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On the Run .... I didn't become a Beatle fan until much later in life but I loved the Band On the Run album.

Operation Northwoods

I've been avidly seeking different directions in jazz for two or three years now. I discovered PJCE Records .... Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, dedicated to the music of Portland area artists. 'The Bureau of Fiction' by Operation Northwoods is the latest find. From 2013.

Recorded on February 4th of both 2011 and 2013. Chamber jazz sounds with bits of avant-garde.

A couple of the band members are also part of the group, The Ocular Concern, also recording for PJCE and also recently added to my collection.

Son Volt Day

At work this afternoon, had the office mostly to myself and all I could think to play was Son Volt. A short playlist ......

• Creosote .... I usually don't care for the pedal steel sound but it sounds perfect here.
• Drown .... Had to turn up the volume just a little. 😉
• Medicine Hat .... Singing along here.
• Rex's Blues
• Back Into Your World .... This was my personal anthem for a while.
• Looking At the World Through a Windshield
• Route .... Again, nudged up the volume.
• Right On Through
• While Rome Burns
• Underground Dream .... You know how a single line of lyric can spark the thought of someone special? Well, that happened.
• Like a Hurricane .... Jay Farrar covering Neil Young's classic. "I wanna Love you but I'm getting blown away."