“It’s not the kill…it’s the thrill of the chase.”

Deep Purple. I feel like they have a handful of songs that keep their musical legacy on people’s radars. “Smoke on the Water” is a pretty safe bet for the first song most players learn on guitar. (There’s a cool story behind the lyrics, too.) Then you have other songs like “Highway Star” which is an automotive enthusiast (motorhead) tribute and then there are other popular songs like “Woman from Tokyo.” Musically, I have always loved their song “Knocking at Your Back Door” which was on the “Perfect Strangers” (1984) album. I’m sharing an instrumental version first.

How would you describe this song? I’d say dramatic is the first word that pops into my mind. I think I recorded this song during a Rock n Roll 500 countdown on my local AOR (Album Oriented Rock) station. I almost feel like the song has a progressive rock feel to it, but I could be wrong. I mean the song rocks, but it also has the sort of strings effect on it — I’m assuming that’s a keyboard.

I’ve read a few things about the song’s lyrics and meaning…but you probably don’t want to know. I will say that line “It’s not the kill, it’s the thrill of the chase” is a great one in my opinion. It’s stuck with me for years. According to Wikipedia, the Seattle Supersonics NBA team used the song when doing their lineup introductions.

I really enjoy the overall production and mix on the vocals and instruments of this track. Apparently, bassist Roger Glover and Deep Purple as a whole are listed as the producer on the album.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

J.J.’s Lowdown

I can’t say I have sat down to watch a full concert video any time recently, but I feel like the really great ones stand out. Some of the big ones to me include The Last Waltz (The Band), Concert for George (Harrison), Concert for Bangladesh (George Harrison, Dylan, and more), etc. I think a musician friend of mind recommended “Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood – Live From Madison Square Garden”, and I have to say there is some great stuff in that one. Apparently the show was recorded during 2008 and released in 2009. One of the first songs was a new one to me, but I liked right away. It turns out it was written by J.J. Cale.

If you don’t recognize Cale’s name, you’ve definitely heard some of his songs. He wrote things like “Call Me the Breeze” which was popularized by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Clapton recorded a few of his songs including “Cocaine” and “After Midnight”– technically, Clapton recorded a fast version of Midnight and a slow one, too.

I found a few different versions of “Low Down” by J.J. Cale and enjoyed this live one.

Maybe some songs lend themselves to being played live. They’re not too complicated, but they’re catchy and they work. Maybe that’s why Cale’s songs will continue to be recorded for years to come.

I chose this song because I wish the temperature was Low Down where I live, but the heat index has been around the 100 degree mark for awhile. Also, I think J.J.’s Lowdown is a good name for a bar and grill. What do you think?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Talkin’ Temperature Blues

Today is one of the hottest days of the year in my neck of the woods so my motivation and creativity are lacking. You might say they have been zapped from me or that I have “the blues” at some level. That’s a good excuse to kick them via Howlin’ Wolf. The song I’m using is called “Who’s Been Talking.”

You might recognize some of the other musicians listed on the album cover of “The Holwin’ Wolf London Sessions” like Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, plus Bill Wyman and Charlies Watts of The Rolling Stones fame. I found about 50 versions of this tune including the title track from Robert Cray’s first album called “Who’s Been Talkin’.”

Cray’s take on the song is mellower, but still a great listen. If you’re looking for an extensive jam, there are some 10 to 11 minute versions by The Allman Brothers Band out there. Kansas City native Samantha Fish also has a version out there as well.

I could say more about the meaning of the song, but I feel like it’s pretty clear. I’ve also heard/seen the title listed as “The Causing of It All.”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

The Education of Lenny Zakatek

I can’t say I’ve been watching too many movies lately, but as I was scrolling through my options on the Tubi network, I found one with Jesse Eisenberg. “The Education of Charlie Banks” was directed by a guy named Fred Durst. In the film, Eisenberg’s character (Charlie Banks) lives in a rough part of town and witnesses his share of street violence. That’s where Jason Ritter enters the picture as tightly wound tough guy Mick. At one point, Mick takes on an arrogant challenger and nearly kills him with his bare hands. That leaves Charlie Banks with a moral dilemma of staying alive (and in one piece) or siding with the victim. To complicate things further, Charlie and Mick share a mutual friend named Danny (played by Chris Marquette).

At some point you hear The Alan Parsons Project song “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You” which I found to be clever.

I couldn’t have told you who did this song for a million dollars, but it really made my ears perk up. Musically, I think it’s a fairly sparse R & B thing with fantastic lyrics. For me, I always associate The Alan Parsons Project with the overplayed MTV video for their song “Eye in the Sky.” It IS a cool video, but I don’t need it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So who is Lenny Zakatek? He’s the guy singing the song. I didn’t know his name, but listeners like me tend to assume Alan Parsons would be the one doing that. Wrong! Apparently, he was the lead singer of The A.P.P. for about 10 years.

Rock on, Lenny! I looked at the chords for this song on Ultimate Guitar and first saw the name “Lenny Zakatek”, which inspired me to put together this blog entry. The film was released in 2007 and the song in 1977.

The film is an interesting exercise in perspective. On the one hand, Charlie Banks is basically a victim of circumstance, but the uber-violent Mick might be considered a victim of an even harsher environment, too. Given the choice, I think most of us wouldn’t want to be like Charlie.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Freedom Fest: 250

July 4th is coming up in a matter of days. Do you plan to risk your appendages by shooting off fireworks? I mean, it’s an American tradition, right? I have already purchased a few myself and have multiple retaliatory strike points mapped out to deal with my neighbors. (Not kidding.) This year I bought a few Roman candles — that’s a first for me. Otherwise, I have the usual lot of whistling chasers, bottle rockets, and firecrackers. I think some smoke bombs could also provide some strategic cover and flying saucers are always fun, too.

This year is America’s “Quarter Millennium”– basically 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. There are a couple of fancier terms for it, but I’m gonna go ahead and leave them to tea time conversationalists who stick out their pinky fingers. As an American, I say, “Pass the burgers and the brews!” I’ve been thinking about a patriotic song to share and have decided on The Steve Miller Band’s “Living in the U.S.A.” from the band’s 1968 album “Sailor.” Hopefully this visually striking video won’t get blocked.

As far as holidays go, the 4th of July is my kind of party — explosives and alcohol. What could possibly go wrong? During America’s Bicentennial in 1976, I was in kindergarten and we had a parade scheduled towards the end of the school year. (I’m pretty sure the “parade” was a walk around the block in our colonial clothing to entertain our neighbors.) The kid who was supposed to “be” George Washington didn’t show on the day of the parade and I got to do lead the parade instead. I should have led a rebellion against something, but I didn’t. Thank you, David Bowie.

Another thing about the 4th of July…I’ll be the guy wearing the “Defiant Since 1776” t-shirt. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one with Uncle Sam doing a slam dunk over a redcoat as well.

If I had to recommend a film for the occasion, “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson is a good one. However, if you watch the TV version, they’ll cut some scenes for commercials. What could possibly be more American than that?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

11:23

I’ve been racking my brain for an inspiring blog post and I have another week before doing one centered on the 4th of July. My choice this time around is a familiar songwriter: Bob Dylan. More specifically, the song is one he ranks as one of his best. If you’re unfamiliar with it, “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” is a mellow piece of musical poetry. It’s not a song everyone will like. It comes in at just under eleven minutes and thirty seconds. I can’t remember if I found this via my local public library or YouTube, but I have always liked it.

The song took up the entire 4th side of his “Blonde on Blonde” double album. His then-wife Sara Lownds is considered to be the inspiration for the song. What else can you say about this song? It’s in the key of D major and it’s in waltz time. You’ll also hear Al Kooper’s organ playing on it. (Kooper also played on “Like a Rolling Stone.”)

I haven’t heard tons of covers of this song, but there’s one on prog rock guitarist Steve Howe’s Dylan tribute album — “Portraits of Bob Dylan” — and his version features his Yes bandmate Jon Anderson’s unique vocals on it.

I like Anderson’s vocal phrasing around the 2:20 mark where he sings “And your deck of cards missing the jack and the ace” and around 2:45 “With your silhouette when the sunlight dims, Into your eyes where the moonlight swims.” I could keep going with other examples, but you get the idea. His voice tends to cut through the mix.

One thing I didn’t know before researching this song is The Beatles’ George Harrison cited “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” as an influence on his White Album cut “Long, Long, Long.”

I had to include a pic of actor Jack Black from the film “High Fidelity.” In the scene, he scolds a record store customer for not owning “Blonde on Blonde” and then follows it by saying, “It’s going to be okay.”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Heart Hand Corpse

I’ve never been one to go along with what’s popular and I doubt I ever will be. For me, it’s a matter of knowing what I like despite what the masses are doing. (By the way, one of my high school history teachers indicated the term “the masses” was a play on “them asses” — meaning, the general public is generally comprised of idiots. Case in point: the song “Macarena” and accompanying dance, but I digress.)

This particular blog entry will sound grumpy, grim, and probably petty, but I have a BIG PROBLEM with something I keep seeing over and over again. What is it? It’s commonly known as “Heart Hands” and I have had enough of it. Every time I turn around I see someone Heart Handing something in a pic or a video for some odd reason. It could be an athlete who scored a goal, it could be a coworker, it could be your pizza delivery guy. I haven’t seen them in mug shots, but maybe a couple of sympathetic deputies could look into holding the arrestee’s placard with his case number. I’m sure Al Capone would have probably turned out differently if this had happened.

I haven’t searched for animals being trained to Heart Hand, but I really hope as a society we haven’t “gone there” and I hope we never do. However, something tells me there’s probably a zoologist training baboons to Heart Hand when they get their daily dose of bananas or whatever they eat. Let’s hope they don’t put the bananas into a heart shape either. In honor of how much I despise Heart Handing, I’m sharing “Heart Shaped Box” by Nirvana.

I only remembered a few verse lyrics from this song, but there’s one about “eating cancer.” I always loved the chorus on this one. By the way, I was going to share a lyric video of this song, but the first one I found misspelled the term “pisces” as “pices.” Uggghh.

Getting back to my complete disdain for Heart Handing, it makes me wonder if the peace sign was looked at the same way. I’m okay with the peace sign, but it’s been around for quite a while. You know, that leads me to think about the economic power of the Heart Hand. Think about how much crap with a peace sign on it has been sold over the years…shirts, coffee mugs, etc. If someone started manufacturing Buddhas with Heart Hands, they could probably sell a trillion of them. (By the way, the term mudra is what they call all of those different hand gestures. Heart Hands does not count. There’s even a system of them called kuji-in used by ninjas. To my knowledge, most assassins don’t try to summon the power of Heart Hands before silently taking a life.)

I’d love to say more, but I’ve been inspired to start writing about a serial killer who poses his victims with Heart Hands. Maybe he cuts them off, maybe he just takes selfies with them.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

The Sports Anti-Hero?

If you’re not a rabid sports fan, this might be a tough time of year for you. Here’s what’s happening: NBA finals, the World Cup, and even hockey’s Stanley Cup finals. Take your pick. I guess it’s also baseball season, too. I’m not emotionally invested in any of them, but have seen highlights on the news and seen a few clips while channel surfing.

One hockey-focused mini-series I watched recently is called “Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story” (2010). If you’re unfamiliar with the name Don Cherry, he was a longtime TV broadcaster on “Coach’s Corner” which broadcast during “Hockey Night in Canada” and was known for his opinionated rants. Apparently, Cherry was never one to shy away from confrontations.

As little as I really know about Cherry, I really enjoyed this program and found it to be entertaining — some might argue like the man himself. You get to experience the made for TV version of his life including: playing for years in the American Hockey League, his coaching stints including a few seasons with the Boston Bruins (his teams made the Stanley Cup finals, but could never get past the Montreal Canadiens), his well-publicized battles with his general managers, leaving home as a teenager, and more. I suppose his battles are what shaped him. Somewhere along the way he developed his own unique fashion sense, too.

I’m surprised Cherry never gravitated toward professional wrestling because I feel like his tone of voice and ability to disagree are suited for it. Tim Cherry, Don’s son, wrote the story for the film and the adult version of Don Cherry was played by Jared Keeso.

Part of the appeal of the program is not only the great stories from Cherry’s life, but the hockey history. I’m a very casual fan of hockey, but the amount of teams and leagues outside of the NHL is pretty mind-boggling. As a player and coach, Cherry moved around 50 times.

If I’m not mistaken, I heard on the news recently it is the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ ninth season and third appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. When did that happen? I’d call that the opposite of old-time hockey.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

The Right Treatment

It’s definitely allergy season in my neck of the woods…that means trying to find a balance of decongestants, caffeine, rest, electrolytes, and… music. After years of dealing with allergies, I have my preferred brands of allergy medicines and treatments. (Eating a Supersonic Breakfast Burrito with green peppers is treatment in my book.) Speaking of treatment, are you familiar with the song “Treat Her Right”? The version that turned me on to this song was by George Thorogood. Most likely I heard it on cassette tape while cruising around in my buddy’s vintage Mustang.

Some time outside of allergy season, I went to see a friend of mine’s band perform and he sang this one while playing the drums. It rocked! By the way, the original recording was by Roy Head and The Traits in 1965.

About 1:30 into the song is the “Hey-Hey-Hey!” part, which is my favorite section. “Treat Her Right” was written by Roy Head and bassist Gene Kurtz. It’s been recorded well over fifty times including by Irish blues guitar sensation Rory Gallagher.

About 3:20 into this version, you’ll hear why I called Gallagher a sensation. There are a lot of interesting covers of this song out there including versions by Otis Redding and Jerry Lee Lewis, not to mention Mae West, Barbara Mandrell, and a group called The Seatsniffers. I’m not making this up and I reserve the right to revisit this one.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Tuesday Blues

It’s a strange day in America. It’s a Tuesday that follows a holiday Monday (Memorial Day)…so it feels like a regular back to work Monday. The idea behind the observance is to remember the American Military men and women who served the Red, White, and Blue. However, it seems to have morphed into a time for retailers to push BBQ goods, lawn equipment, and white bedding items at discounted prices. Nevertheless, I started thinking about what song to share for today and arrived at one by The Moody Blues. Most of us call it “Tuesday Afternoon” although you’ll see “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) ” applied to it as well.

The song was written by guitarist/front man Justin Hayward and is off The Moodies’ “Days of Future Passed”(1967) concept album. The idea behind the record is the experience of a single day in one person’s life. Other songs on it include “Nights in White Satin” and “Dawn is a Feeling.” This is actually the band’s second album, which was a stark contrast to “The Magnificent Moodies” — a rhythm and blues influenced record which includes their cover of “Go Now.”

If you’ve heard “Tuesday Afternoon” on the radio, it was probably the single version. On the album, it segues into a song called “(Evening) Time to Get Away”, which was written by Moodies bassist John Lodge.

If you look back at WHEN the album was recorded and released, it was immediately following “Sgt. Pepper” by The Beatles. Another one of those concept albums. I haven’t seen any interviews where it was mentioned as an influence, but it seems like it certainly would have been.

I’ve always thought actress Tuesday Weld should record a cover of this song, but that’s just me.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!