#668: Now listening to....

Nothing much new going on here....

The List:
Strawbs -- Will Ye Go?, Part of the Union, Lay Down, The River, Down by the Sea, Tell Me What You See in Me.
Boston -- Used to Bad News, Don't Be Afraid, It's Easy, Hitch a Ride, Something About You.
Rolling Stones -- Happy, Tumbling Dice.
Modern English -- I Melt With You, Someone's Calling.
Jethro Tull -- Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day, Life's a Long Song, Living in the Past, A Christmas Song.
Pete Townshend -- Give Blood, Jools and Jim, My Baby Gives it Away, Misunderstood, Sheraton Gibson, Slit Skirts, Empty Glass.
Outkast -- Hey Ya.
Elvis -- Promised Land.
Steely Dan -- My Old School, Dirty Work.
Deep Purple -- Highway Star.
Camel -- Never Let Go, Unevensong.

I've given up on The Strawbs, for now. At their best they are VERY good, if you're into their British-folk/rock/prog approach (somewhere in the neighborhood of Fairport Convention, Renaissance, Illusion, Jethro Tull -- like that). But their very best work happens only occasionally -- the rest of the time they're very Average. They have enough great stuff in their Middle "Big Sound" Period to fill one solid CD. I'd suggest their best stuff, most worthy of tracking down, would include:
The Man Who Called Himself Jesus (live)/Where is This Dream of Your Youth? (live)/Down by the Sea/Hero and Heroine/Part of the Union/Lay Down/I'll Carry On Beside You/Keep the Devil Outside/Backside (Ciggy Barlust)/Ghosts/Grace Darling/New World/Ah Me, Ah My/Wherefore and Why.
In the latest batch above, "Will Ye Go?" sounds like the old folk-traditional/Byrds number "Wild Mountain Thyme," only rocked-up a little; it's not bad. "Part of the Union" (especially) & "Lay Down" are nice folk-poppy singalongs; "Union" has some funny lyrics. "The River" is another overwrought, melodramatic, metaphor-filled lost-love ballad. "Down by the Sea" is still pretty freaking brilliant, even with the rather awkward & melodramatic anti-climax near the end -- but check out the HUGE start & finish!
I'm sorry, I wish I could get more out of these guys; I'm sorry I'm so picky. They should be right up my street. Maybe if I'd heard more of their work 30 years earlier....

Coming Soon: More Great Lost Singles -- FOUND! Starring Randy Edelman, Johnathan King, Billy Lee Riley, & possibly even more....