acoustic – Page 4

Joe Jackson | Real Men

“Joe Jackson is known for vibrant, emotional hits like ‘Is She Really Going Out with Him?,’ ‘Breaking Us in Two,’ and the new wave-ish ‘Steppin’ Out,’ the latter two songs from his 1982 hit album Night and Day,” (American Songwriter). “That seminal release also includes a piano-driven, violin-laced ballad that didn’t manage to get quite as much attention but was way ahead of its time.

… It has been said that the Night and Day album (1982) was a tribute to Cole Porter and his view of New York, and that ‘Real Men’ was referencing the city’s gay culture (which became more prominent in the wake of the six-day Stonewall Uprising in 1969) … Jackson’s debut single and video for Night and Day, ‘Real Men’ did not chart in America and barely charted in the UK, but it managed to go Top 10 in Australia and Top 20 in the Netherlands. The album fared well, becoming one of two Jackson releases to sell half a million copies.”

Built in E minor overall, the somber verses transition to soaring wordless choruses in B major (first heard from 1:04 – 1:26). The tune’s lyrics were edgy at the time — and remain so. But Jackson’s use of “the other F-word” is likely without malice, given his longtime status as an openly bisexual man. There’s plenty of broader commentary on gender overall: Now it’s all changed / It’s got to change more is a line which wouldn’t have been out of place in a Women’s Studies textbook of the era.

Tanya Tucker | The Jamestown Ferry

“Long before teenagers like LeAnn Rimes and Taylor Swift were taking over the country charts, a 13-year-old Tanya Tucker was mixing it up with all the heavyweights,” (Holler Country). “Included on her debut album in 1972, “The Jamestown Ferry,” (a) funky little slice of countrypolitan, was everything the 13-year-old Tanya Tucker was becoming synonymous with in the early 70s.

With a lyric presumably way beyond her experience and a deep soulful vocal that belied her age, ‘The Jamestown Ferry’ tells the story of a woman wandering the honky tonks and bars and sadly reminiscing about how her lover used to treat her before he left her to catch a ferry.”

Tucker’s solo vocal verses alternate with a multi-part vocal arrangement for the choruses. 1:38 brings a half-step key change. Many thanks to regular contributor Rob P. for this submission!

Serendipity Singers | Don’t Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)

“The folk boom of the early 1960s spawned numerous purveyors of well-scrubbed folk pop, and one of the most popular ensembles to emerge was The Serendipity Singers, founded at the University of Colorado … (they) signed with Philips Records in 1964 and released their debut single, ‘Don’t Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man),’ which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated at the 7th Grammy Awards in 1965 for Best Performance by a Chorus,” (Colorado Music Hall of Fame).

“… The group had numerous appearances on popular TV shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Tonight Show, Shindig! and Hullabaloo. One of the most notable performances was at the White House in front of President Lyndon B. Johnson during the 1964 Democratic National Convention … The Serendipity Singers came onto the nationwide music scene right before the longstanding reign of The Beatles and the British Invasion exploded onto U.S. soil.” The college newspaper The Missouri Miner wrote in a 1969 review: ‘They’re not hippies and they don’t wear flowers, but the sound of The Serendipity Singers is as contemporary as Pop Art … ‘”

The whimsical track “Don’t Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)” shifts up a whole-step at the 2:22 mark. Many thanks to our regular contributor Rob P. for sending in this tune!

Tamsin Elliott | Emerging/Full Squirrel

“Tamsin is a folk musician, composer and film-maker based in Bristol, UK,” (TamsinElliott.co.uk). “With roots in the dance tunes of the British Isles, her interests and playing styles extend to European and Middle Eastern musics as well as experimental and ambient sounds. Her ‘beautiful, filmic compositions for accordion, harp, whistle, and voice’ (The Guardian) are rooted in tradition, whilst pushing boundaries and exploring minimalist, neo-classical, sound art and other non-traditional formats.

Her debut solo album Frey (2022), which features the playing of Sid Goldsmith and Rowan Rheingans … explores themes of limbo, pain, healing and acceptance, reflecting on the microcosm of her personal experience of chronic illness alongside wider themes of societal disconnection and environmental grief. ‘One of the most accomplished debut albums we’ve heard in a long time… the influence of tradition pulses through every track,’ (Tradfolk).”

After an extended rubato intro in A minor, an accelerated waltz section begins at 1:48. A shift to A major begins at 2:08, returning to A minor at 2:25. More transitions continue from there.

Jim Scott | Song for Rainbow Bridge

Massachusetts-based composer, guitarist, and vocalist Jim Scott co-wrote “Missa Gaia / Earth Mass” and other pieces with the Paul Winter Consort (JimScottMusic.com). He has recorded many albums of original music and is the curator and arranger of The Earth and Spirit Songbook, an anthology of 110 songs of earth and peace by contemporary songwriters. Scott has performed in all 50 states, much of Europe, Australia, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Canada and in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Newport Jazz Festival.

Scott has shared the stage with Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, Paul Horn, Holly Near, John Denver, Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez, 10,000 Maniacs, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg, Odetta, Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Nelson Rangell, and many other artists. His compositions would be familiar to anyone who’s spent time with a Unitarian Universalist congregation, starting with the contemporary hymn “Gather the Spirit.”

Of the instrumental piece “Song for Rainbow Bridge,” originally released on the 1981 album Hands On, Scott writes: “It’s just 40 years since I went into a studio and recorded a bunch of instrumental guitar pieces. I had recorded before. I’d been on recordings for other people, particularly with the Winter Consort, but this felt different. I’d always been hired to do a job; this time I was paying for it myself … My repertoire of vocal songs was small at that point, only a few. I thought of myself as a guitar player who sometimes sang. In the ensuing years, as I wrote more songs and so many went in an activist direction, I found my identity to grow into … I’d gone from classical guitarist to jazz (and any style music in bars) electric guitar, and then evolved to use the classical guitar on gigs, and then of course with the Winter Consort. This was my statement on the nylon string classical guitar that, ‘I’m here.'”

Built in E major overall, the tune features a bridge (1:51 – 2:25) in E minor.

Aly Bain + Phil Cunningham | The Jig Runrig

“Fiddler Aly Bain and accordionist Phil Cunningham are two of the most celebrated musicians on the Scottish traditional scene,” (Compass Records). “By the time they began working together in 1988, they were already renowned for their previous accomplishments. Bain was a founding member of the Boys of the Lough, a group whose repertoire includes both Scottish and Irish influences. Cunningham became a member of the infamous Silly Wizard at the age of sixteen, launching a prolific and diverse musical career. The duo first worked together on a television series in 1988, and embarked on their first tour shortly after. They were so well-received that they have been touring together ever since. Their two previous duo recordings, The Pearl (1996) and The Ruby (1998), have been met with high acclaim.”

“Having toured together since 1986 to packed concert halls all over the world, Aly and Phil continue to charm audiences with their stunning music and on-stage charisma that defies description,” (PhilCunningham.com). “Witty and humorous banter sits alongside tunes that tug the heartstrings, and joyous reels and melodies that have feet tapping along at their ever popular concerts. The pair have recorded many highly acclaimed albums in their thirty years together including two ‘Best Of’ collections. Aly and Phil have won numerous awards, including the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ BEST DUO Award, and have been nominated in the Scottish Traditional Music Awards for ’Live Act of the Year.’”

The duo’s piece “The Jig Runrig,” performed here in 2019, modulates several times, starting with a shift up a perfect fourth at the 0:30 mark. The duo’s phrasing is uncanny, with the fiddle and accordion often sounding like a single instrument during the unison sections!

Brooke Parrott | Persuade Me

“Growing up, (Portland’s Brooke Parrott) played music and wrote stories incessantly, eventually pursuing a degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston,” (BrookeParrott.com). “The years after found Brooke in London, living in a disused pub rumored to be an old haunt of Charles Dickens and Karl Marx, where she wrote songs on a disintegrating grand piano in the parlor. She began working for a small live music startup company that grew up to be a big one, and learned a lot in the process.

When the siren call of the Pacific Northwest became too loud to ignore, Brooke returned and found her place touring and recording music with Portland darlings Loch Lomond. She released a second studio effort, an EP called Buried, that was written between contrasting worlds—part hectic city and suffocating winter in London, part hinterland yurt in the Oregon woods.”

Starting in D minor, Parrott’s 2008 release “Persuade Me” shifts at 0:52 into a chorus in C minor. From 2:24-2:56, an angular bridge built around chromatic bass motion holds sway before a return to the chorus. The final chorus ends by hanging in the air, unresolved.

The Boys of the Lough | Farewell and Remember Me

“A fun-loving approach to Celtic music has made the Boys of the Lough one of folk music’s most influential groups. Since they formed in the 1960s, the Ireland-based band have been instrumental in the evolution of traditional Irish music,” (Qobuz).

“Boys of the Lough are one of the masters of celtic music, combining members from several celtic traditions with a long history (Ceolas.org) … Like that other long-running act, the Chieftans, their music tends to the formal; impeccable technique and sensitivity, with large, sometimes classical-style arrangements, and very tight ensemble playing. They lack the fire and roughness of other groups; the overall feeling is of a group of skilled, well-integrated musicians playing together for the pure pleasure of it.”

“Farewell and Remember Me,” from the group’s 1987 album of the same name, is a ballad largely built in F# major. Accompanied by piano and fiddle, the solo vocal line takes center stage for several verses, each ending on a suspended tonic chord. At 2:12, the final verse shifts to F# minor, closing the tune without resolution on a wistful VI chord.

B.J. Thomas + Keb’ Mo’ | Most of All

“B.J. Thomas is joined by Grammy winning bluesman Keb’ Mo’ on this newly recorded acoustic version of BJ’s 1971 hit ‘Most Of All’ from the release The Living Room Sessions,” (Youtube). “A true American institution whose iconic pop, country and gospel hits defined their respective generations and now transcend them, B.J. Thomas has found a unique way to celebrate an incredible half a century in music and some 47 years since his first gold selling hit … The singer, a five time Grammy and two time Dove Award winner who has sold more than 70 million records … is ranked in Billboard‘s Top 50 most played artists over the past 50 years.” The Grammy Hall of Fame inductee passed away in 2021.

Thomas’ duet partner on this expanded 2013 version of the original solo vocal track, vocalist/guitarist Keb’ Mo’, has won five Grammy awards and 14 Blues Foundation awards during his 50-year career and has collaborated with Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett (KebMo.com).

Originally released on Thomas’ 1970 album of the same name, “Most of All” became a #2 hit on the US Adult Contemporary chart. After a rubato section and a pause, the updated version of the tune shifts up a half step as the breezy groove returns at 1:47.

Emily Linge | All By Myself (Eric Carmen cover)

Emily Linge is a prolific YouTube contributor and a British-Norwegian singer songwriter born and raised in Dubai. She sings and self-accompanies on piano and guitar, sometimes with other instrumentalists, including her two brothers. Despite her young age (she was 13 when this video was posted), many of the songs she performs are from decades past, with lots of Beatles covers in particular.

“All By Myself” is a power ballad written by Eric Carmen, with elements taken from Sergei Rachmoninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto. (A version by male vocal group Il Divo appeared previously on MotD). Emily’s rendition largely follows Carmen’s, including the expressive piano interlude featured on his album edit.

Linge’s cover begins in G major; from 2:41 – 3:12, a brief interlude takes leave of the key, moving in several directions before a return to G. At 4:24, a common-tone modulation to B major takes a page from Céline Dion’s gutsy version, including a soaring high vocal line at 4:21. A few more keys are briefly visited before Linge lands in A major at 4:47.