Man, October is here already? Time to drag out the winter clothes, get ready for that winter blast coming our way, but music is always a way to block out the cold winter blues and sometimes the noise in our heads. Here is some of the songs our writers have been listening to…..
Sunday Morning Coming Down – Kris Kristofferson
I don’t normally lead off here, but the passing of Kris Kristofferson really was a gut punch last week, this guy was a legend in so many ways. He wrote so many great songs but Sunday Morning Coming Down was one of the best. Back in the 70’s my roommate and I if one of us had a hard night the night before would let the other one know “Sunday Morning Coming Down” which was code for “I have a hangover, leave me alone”. Nowadays when I hear the song, I hear the poetry of Kris Kristofferson, man he could write a song. – Bear
Sunday Morning Coming Down – Kris Kristofferson
After 88 years he moved on. He was a Golden Gloves boxer, an Oxford scholar, a defensive back, a bartender, a gandy dancer, a forest fire fighter, a road crew member, an Army Ranger that flew helicopters, and one hell of a song writer! I chose this song for the inspiration he gave many to end their addictions. – Dom
Racing in the Street – Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
It’s Bruce Springsteen’s 75th Birthday so lets start it off with Racing In The Street. It’s the story of a guy in a miserable job who finds his purpose for living only in street racing with his buddy Sonny. Haunting piano playing by “The Professor” Roy Bittan. – Cornel
Albert’s Shuffle – Michael Bloomfield
This time around I thought I would listen to the guitarists the pros listen to. Hey, if Phil Keaggy thinks you got the chops you’d better be that good and Michael Bloomfield lived up to expectations. – Mike Olszewski
Stay – The Zodiacs
Maurice Williams wrote this song about his high school sweetheart and made a long career
out of it. He made it to 86 when he moved on August 17th. – Dom
Point Blank – Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
“I was gonna be your Romeo, you were gonna be my Juliet. These days you don’t wait on Romeos, you wait on that welfare check.” Working-class Bruce to the very core. – Cornel
Some Other Place, Some Other Time – Peter Wolf
I stumbled across this album “A Cure For Loneliness” a couple of years ago and it has a staple of my listening since then. Most overlook Wolf’s solo stuff because he is so identified with J. Geils Band and that is sad because some of the best work he has done is in his solo work. This song is perfect for this time of year as he sings about summer is gone and “heads I stay here, tails I go anywhere”. How many of us feel like doing that. – Bear
A Real Mother for Ya – Johnny “Guitar” Watson
Frank Zappa knew his way around a guitar, and didn’t deal with “wannabees”. Zappa had the greatest admiration for Watson’s work on the six string. – Mike Olszewski
Reason to Believe – Bruce Springsteen
“Wonderin’, where can his baby be, still at the end of every hard earned day, people find some reason to believe.” A dark, desperate, ode to keep searching…Even in those bleakest moments. – Cornel
Daughter of Zion – Glenn Schwartz
They both played lead guitar for the James Gang, and Joe Walsh is quick to point out Glenn Schwartz as one of his greatest influences. – Mike Olszewski
Once Bitten Twice Shy – Great White
The album this song was on (Twice Shy) went Platinum and marked the beginning of a long career for frontman Jack Russell. Written and originally done by Ian Hunter. Russell moved on August 7th. He was a survivor of the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 and injured over 200. – Dom
Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen
It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1994. The song aligned perfectly with the Tom Hanks character who was “wasting away”. This movie and song brought the horror of AIDS to the masses for the first time. – Cornel
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix
Paul McCartney has played with most of the greats, everyone from Chet Atkins to David Gilmour and so many more. He still has the highest regards for Jimi Hendrix (though Eddie Van Halen ranks high as well,) – Mike Olszewski
A Thief In Marrakesh – Arc De Soleil
This song popped up in the studio one day out of the blue and I never heard it before and before I could get over and hit “skip” the groove took hold and made me listen. It’s funky with some haunting guitar work. Don’t know how it got on the playlist but man I’m glad it did. – Bear
Roulette – Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
Bruce brings plenty of punk and rage on this song…It addresses the fallout of the Three Mile Island incident at the nuclear power plant in 1979. – Cornel
Interstate Love Song – Stone Temple Pilots
Took my granddaughter to see them at Blossom and to get ready for the show started listening to some STP and when this came on, it reminded me why I like this band so much in the 90’s. This song might have the best introduction I ever heard in how it changes tempo and it just builds from there. It’s one of those the way it’s written is a perfect song. – Bear
Jazz at the Philharmonic – T-Bone Walker
Jeff Beck’s sister introduced him to T-Bone Walker and Beck immediately went out to buy a guitar. – Mike Olszewski
