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As I predicted, last night was fun. Tim Carroll, Tommy Womack, Jon Byrd, Joe Nolan, and Andrew Adkins put on one of the best and most diverse songwriter events I have seen in a long time – at The Country. They are all excellent songwriters coming from different backgrounds and working in and out of different genres or styles of music, and together they represented well the rich tapestry of Music City.
In a rare moment of perfect timing, I had just enough time to say my goodbyes at The Country, and I made my way to The 5 Spot for Sara Syms, Carrie Welling, and Lindsay Ellyn. Sara Syms sounded fantastic as always with her excellent band.
Carrie Welling (who I had seen once before) has some great songs and an amazing voice. She was backed by a guitar player.
It has been a little while since I had seen Lindsay Ellyn doing a full band show, and it was every bit as good as I remember it. Her song, “Glory, Glory” became a joyous sing-a-long.
Beyond all the hype, the truth remains that there is a ton of great music going on just about every night in Nashville.
Tonight , I recommend Darrin Bradbury at Little Harpeth Taproom, Fats Kaplin with guest Paul Burch at The 5 Spot, Beet Root Revival at The Basement, and The Cordovas at The Family Wash. While, it is logistically impossible to hit all of these shows, I highly recommend any of them.
Well, it is Thursday – let’s throw it back…
“Yesterday’s Wine” by Willie Nelson
As I think I mentioned, I recently read Michael Streissguth’s excellent book Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and The Renegades of Nashville. Inspired, I added a bunch of Waylon, Willie, and Kris to my playlist. Here is Willie with the title track to his 1971 concept album.
“Good Hearted Woman” by Waylon Jennings
Speaking of Waylon, Willie and Kris. This song was written by Waylon and Willie in 1969, and it was released as the title track to his 1972 album. There are a lot of interesting comparisons to be made to what has happening musically in Nashville in the early 1970s and what is happening musically in Nashville today.
“The Anchor” by Minutemen
By early Minutemen standards, The Anchor is an epic. Clocking in at 2:30, it is the longest song on their second album What Makes a Man Start Fires?
“Our Lips Are Sealed” by Fun Boy Three
This song was written by Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall. Wiedlin’s band, The Go-Go’s released the song first – it was the debut single by the California All-Female band. Hall’s short-lived but highly successful band, Fun Boy Three released this version of the song in 1983 as a single from the band’s second and final album, The Waiting. The Fun Boy Three version was a bigger hit in the UK than The Go-Go’s version.
“Skeleton Crew” by Webb Wilder
Another from Hybrid Vigor, Wilder’s 1989 album. Wilder is still very active today, and his most recent album, Mississippi Moderne has received wide-spread critical acclaim.
“Crunch” by Pylon
From Pylon’s 1990 album, Chain which was recorded following the band’s reformation in 1989. The band has originally broken up in 1983, but experienced a resurgence due to R.E.M.’s cover of their song, Crazy, on the Dead Letter Office compilation and numerous mentions in the documentary Athens, Ga: Inside Out.
“Withered and Died” by Richard and Linda Thompson
Richard and Linda Thompson made some amazing music back in the day. This song was from their classic 1974 album, I Want to See the Bright Light’s Tonight. It was later covered by Elvis Costello (released as a Bonus Track for the 1995 CD Release of his 1984 album Goodbye Cruel World).
“Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
Rodney Crowell wrote this song – inspired by Tom Robbins 1976 novel. Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings released the song on their 1986 album, Heroes. Another one, I downloaded after reading the Outlaw book.
“Don’t Look At Me” by Gear Daddies
From their 1990 album, Billy’s Live Bait. In a serendipitous moment, the band are kicking off a reunion tour in Sioux Falls, South Dakota tonight.
“Deacon Jones” by Louis Jordan
I am currently reading a book called The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll by Preston Lauterbach. Inspired by that, I have added some songs by artists mentioned in that book. This song by “The King of the Jukebox” goes back to 1944.
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E2TG: MUSIC/WORDS 