No-No-No-November

How is the month of November treating you? Where I live it’s cold and gray. We now have that extra hour of sleep a la Daylight Savings Time, but I feel like there’s a bit of a void in between the holidays. It’s too early to panic for Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the spirit of motivation, I’m going to share the one hit of Ohio band The Human Beinz called “Nobody But Me.” The video appears to be a swingin’ shindig.

I incorrectly assumed the song was written by someone in the band, but it was originally written and recorded by The Isley Brothers. The Isley version definitely has a more R & B feel and arrangement. However, the version I’m most familiar with is by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

As someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s, I always enjoyed hearing the long list of different dances mentioned in the song: Shing a Ling, Skate, Boogaloo, Philly, etc. Was someone inventing one dance per week back then? I think Thorogood might mention some different ones in his version: Hustle, Bump, Pogo, and maybe one more? I think Austin Powers could groove to this song.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Mobilizing the Mods

I had to go to a work conference about 60 miles away recently and found myself thinking of a particular song throughout my journey. The song isn’t one of my all-time favorites, but it just popped to mind and I think it’s an interesting listen. I don’t know if anyone really thinks of this one as a road tripping song, but “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” by The Who is the song in question. You might think of it as more an anthem of independence.

The song is right in line with a lot of other songs from the mid-sixties. It’s got a youthful, Mod innocence about it including a strummy guitar intro. At the same time you see and hear the elements that make them The Who in the video: windmill guitar, cascading drums a la Keith Moon…and raucous volume. I really enjoy the falsetto backing vocals from Pete Townshend and John Entwistle on this track. One interesting thing about this song is Roger Daltrey shares songwriting credits with Pete Townshend on it. Also, there’s a piano on it as well, which was played by Nicky Hopkins.

Years later, The Who would release “Going Mobile” on 1971’s “Who’s Next” album. This one is more of an RV anthem.

Roger Daltrey apparently didn’t participate in the writing or recording of this one. Sole songwriting credits go to Townshend on this one…and, yes, he apparently had his own mobile home.

Sadly, I have seen some news stories about The Who’s recent squabbles with drummer Zak Starkey. It makes me think they’ve become the old farts they were rebelling against as Mods, but I could be wrong.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Scorchin’ Summer Songs

It’s officially sum-sum-summertime and where I live it’s HOT! I feel like I hit the summer doldrums early this year — the warm weather has zapped some of my motivation. That said, I have some recommended listening to bring up my mood and yours. I would have sworn I already shared this one, but the first song which pops to mind is The Who’s take on “Heat Wave.”

I dig John Entwistle’s bass playing on this one and his backing vocals with Pete Townshend. The original version was by released by Martha & the Vandellas in 1963 and was written by the Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. You have about 80 or more other versions to choose from including Phil Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Osborne, The Jam, and The Nighthawks to name a few.

In my opinion, one of the best musical lyrics written about summertime presumably came from songwriter extraordinaire John Sebastian. The line is, “Hot town, summer in the city Back of my neck gettin’ dirty and gritty” from “Summer in the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful.

Sebastian shares the songwriting credits with his brother Mark Sebastian and bandmember Mark Boone. Apparently Boone and John Sebastian both contributed to keyboards on the recording along with Artie Schroeck. I like the traffic jam sound effects in the tune as well. Here’s hoping your staying cool.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Jimi Hussar Experience?

An image of Jimi Hendrix popped into my mind today. It wasn’t really a certain song or a piece of concert footage. It was actually one of his iconic fashion “looks.” I started thinking about the dark colored military jacket you might have seen him wear. Apparently, this is associated with light cavalry units called “hussars“, which originated in Hungary. Give Jimi some credit, this is a pretty unique look. It’s almost as unique as the title cut from “Are You Experienced.”

You gotta love the fuzzy, psychedelic guitar on this track.! Hendrix devotee Eric Johnson also recorded this one and broke out his own hussar jacket for his performance.

While you can really out-Jimi, Jimi Hendrix, you can tell Johnson did his homework on this one. Getting back to the jacket, I guess a “dolman is either a military shirt, or a jacket decorated with braiding. ” The braiding is called “passementerie.” Thank God for Wikipedia!

You can actually purchase a Jimi Hendrix Funko Pop! figurine adorned with the aforementioned jacket — that is, unless you want to buy your own for trips to the grocery store.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

A Short Day’s Night, Vol. 3

Recently, I woke up with an early Beatles tune in my head. It got me thinking about my own personal B.I.P. — that’s Beatles Immersion Phase — between the ages of say 15 and 17. I had the “Red” and “Blue” Greatest Hits albums and knew those songs really well. However, I had my mind blown when a friend of mine dropped by with The Beatles “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Volume 1” on cassette. It had a bunch of songs which were unfamiliar to me including the Lennon penned “You Can’t Do That.”

“You Can’t Do That” is an interesting tune. The song’s intro and outro are both kind of funky in an “excuse me” kind of way. You just sort of stumble into and out of the song itself. George Harrison starts the tune with some 12 string Rickenbacker guitar (and then stumbles out the same way on the outro).

John Lennon sings the lead while Paul McCartney and George provide backing vocals. There’s a chunky guitar solo with some call and response backing vocals. While it’s a catchy enough tune, Lennon’s lyrics are on the darker, jealous side. And, yes, this song was on “A Hard Day’s Night” and was the B side to “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

The longest song on “A Hard Day’s Night” was “I Should Have Known Better” at 2:43. “You Can’t Do That” and “Things We Said Today” tied for second-longest at 2:35.

Oh, and Ringo Starr played percussion on this one…drums, bongos, AND cowbell. Take that, Rolling Stones!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the horizon!

Gimme Some Hammond

As I was scrolling through YouTube today, I found a video about how to play the Hammond organ part to a song which has been recorded around 200 times. The original version opens with a catchy bass riff played by a dude name Muff — real name Mervyn. A couple of the other guys in the band included Pete York, Muff’s brother Steve Winwood, and Spencer Davis. The song is called “Gimme Some Lovin’ ” by The Spencer Davis Group.

The Hammond organ, Steve Winwood’s lead vocals, and the occasional “Hey!” make up the rest of the catchy tune. Some might remember this is the song Jake and Elwood Blues were playing in the infamous cowboy bar scene during 1980’s “The Blue Brothers” film.

“That ain’t no Hank Williams song” is by far my favorite line in the epic film. Have you already heard the versions by Ike & Tina Turner, Olivia Newton-John, John Mayall, and Great White? If so you can take a different route and hear blues guitarist Feddie King’s take on it.

This is a good example of a catchy song whose lyrics are kinda flexible. Winwood’s vocals are great, but the lyrics are almost unintelligible to my ears. It has a good beat and is easy to dance to, I give it a “10.”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Creamy Ulysses

Cream. They were that 3 piece British supergroup or power trio from the late 60s. All three of the musicians (Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce) were known for their improvisational musical ability, but they only lasted a few years as a band. If you’ve ever listened to much classic rock you’re probably familiar with their songs like “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room.” They also put their own spin on blues covers like Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” (aka “Cross Road Blues”) and others.

I was turned on to another one of their songs years ago when I watched a documentary about 60s Rock or The British Invasion. “Tales of Brave Ulysses” featured bassist Jack Bruce on lead vocals.

https://youtu.be/3rnZtB7OGmA?si=XiCnP6bCDfYsSBL7

The song’s lyrics were written by an Australian artist named Martin Sharp https://www.martinsharptrust.com/about-martin , and Eric Clapton came up with the music for it. Sharp also happened to design the Disraeli Gears album cover, which I’ve always liked. Psychedelic is the word generally used to describe the song, the album, and even its artwork. I’ve always liked the lyrics about “tiny purple fishes” and “the siren sweetly singing.” Apparently there are a couple of different paintings which depict the tale of Ulysses and the Sirens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sirens_and_Ulysses .

I searched for some covers of this song, but the one which stands out in my mind is this acoustic one. The song is in the key of D and features a descending bass line. In this version, the guitar’s low E string is tuned down to D, which is commonly known as “Drop D” or “Dropped D” tuning.

Cream also used this type of descending arrangement in the more popular “Sunshine of Your Love” as well.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Mojo Lee Roth

I’m sure I’ve already written a few things about The Doors, but this will be a bit more. While it’s true the name of this blog is derived from Jim Morrison’s personally invented pseudonym, they aren’t my favorite band of all time or my least favorite. I’ve found many people either or love or hate them. Personally, I like to ease into the day with some of their mellower songs. While I wouldn’t put this song into the mellow category, I recently found myself listening to their self-titled first album including the track “Soul Kitchen.”

Ray Manzarek’s keyboard is a big part of the song’s sound, but it has a great funky groove to it as a whole. I was surprised to find a cover version by former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth on 2003’s “Diamond Dave” album.

It’s a pretty true to the original arrangement with Roth’s great one liner around the 3:00 minute mark. If you’d like to hear a different take on “Soul Kitchen” there’s always the instrumental version by Buddy Rich Big Band.

It’s interesting to hear this instrumental because Morrison’s lyrics are always such a big part of Doors’ song. Appropriately, it was recorded live at the Whiskey a Go Go.

Then there’s the high octane cover by L.A. punk band X.

Apparently their version was produced by Ray Manzarek. The original songwriting credits are shared by all 4 of The Doors: Morrison, Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. I could get into the whole inspiration for the song, but I must have learned to forget that part.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Bulldogs & O.W.B.

You have probably heard of O.M.D. — Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, O.P.P. — “Other People’s Posse”, but O.W.B. is my own abbreviation for a song called “Outside Woman Blues.” The first time I remember hearing this one was on a show about the making of Cream’s psychedelic album “Disraeli Gears.” While not an original, Eric Clapton arranged the song and also sang the lead vocal. It also appeared on the Cream B.B.C. Sessions as well.

It’s got a catchy guitar riff in it, some thought provoking lyrics…then there’s also the musicianship of Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce, too. I like the rhythm or groove to this one. I didn’t know this until today, but the band Atlanta Rhythm Section also has a good version of this one, too.

I hear some tasty blues guitar leads in their version, too. In case you’re wondering, the song was originally written and recorded by a guy named Blind Joe Reynolds. Apparently, he lost his eyesight as a result of a shotgun blast. That makes me wonder if the lyric about “buying a bulldog to watch his old lady whilst he sleeps” was written before or after said incident.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Maniacal Moodies

When you mention the band The Moody Blues, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? For me, I always remember a lot of radio guys I worked with were into them so I guess that gave them some credibility. I was never really a superfan myself, but caught myself trying to remember some crazy poem/song intro on one of their albums. It turns out the composition is called “Departure” and was written by their drummer Graeme Edge.

It actually leads into the upbeat rocker “Ride My See Saw” on the album “In Search of the Lost Chord.”

https://youtu.be/ORxbbYQcpVc

“Ride My See Saw” written by Moodies bassist John Lodge. I looked it up and the song’s tempo is pretty fast — 158 BPM (beats per minute). I’m surprised I couldn’t find more drum covers on YouTube.

I couldn’t find any isolated drums only tracks of this song, but that’s life. They’re obviously a big part of this song. I also think some guitar licks remind me of The Byrds a little bit…maybe an Eastern flavored scale or something?

I can understand why not everyone is into The Moody Blues or “progressive rock” in general. It can be a little trippy, poetic, and/or pretentious. At least this song rocks. I owned the album “Days of Future Passed” which may warrant further review. Another thing is they put out some records on the “Deram” label and I think it says “Dream” every time I see it.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!