ZML^2 - The Teenage Years

This theme came to me all of a sudden, while I was sitting in bed listening to Stevie Nicks sing Edge of Seventeen on my radio. The idea sparked my inspiration, and I spent a whole day looking up songs to represent the various years of being a teenager. I ended up expanding my usual musical horizons in order to find songs that fit the theme, so you might find something a little bit different on this list than you might expect. Still, I tried to keep it firmly rooted in my blues and rock experience. But it's nice to branch out every once in awhile. It's interesting to learn that certain teenage years appear to be more popular as a song topic than others. We'll start the fun with an amusing track I stumbled upon, which isn't part of the official lineup, but perfectly sets the stage for our journey through the teenage years - it's a chorus song called Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love, from the TV show Glee, and the subject of the song is the onset of puberty!

Big Star - Thirteen [#1 Record, 1972]
Comments: I read that this song was written by band member Alex Chilton when he actually was thirteen. I hadn't known of the band Big Star before discovering this song, for this theme, but can you believe - they're an authentic band from the seventies! In fact, the album that features this song also includes a track called In The Street, which was used (famously covered by Cheap Trick) as the theme song to the hit television series That 70's Show! It turns out the song Thirteen has been covered quite a lot through the years - I'm fond of Garbage's version, myself. Having a female vocalist brings new meaning to the line, "come inside now, it's okay." :-o

The Vandals - Fourteen [Look What I Almost Stepped In..., 2000]
Comments: Can you believe this was the only song I could find with "fourteen" in the title (referring to the age)? Apparently The Vandals are something of a tongue-in-cheek music act. Which may make you feel more comfortable (or at least less outraged) when you realize this song is about a man lamenting the fact that he can't make love to his girlfriend because she's only fourteen. Regardless of the controversial subject matter, if you take the humorous lyrics at face value, they're actually quite sensible. -_^

Taylor Swift - Fifteen [Fearless, 2008]
Comments: Being that she's a country pop artist, Taylor Swift is not really the kind of music I listen to. But the fact is, she's so gorgeous, that I don't mind using one of her songs in this theme. You might notice that I linked to the video rather than just the song - this is entirely intentional. Anyway, the song fits the theme perfectly. I was originally going to use The Who's 5:15 which, despite the title not referring to an age, has the line "girls of fifteen, sexually knowing", and anyway, comes from the album Quadrophenia which is a rock opera about the "teenage wasteland". But I thought of a different theme to use that song for, so instead of rock n roll, you get a pretty girl. I think that's an acceptable trade-off. :-3

Iggy Pop - Sixteen [Lust For Life, 1977]
Comments: Sixteen is, not surprisingly, one of those ages that is really popular as a topic for songs. Whatever it is, "sweet" sixteen is an age that gets a lot of attention. There was no shortage of songs to choose from, but I forsook both B.B. King and Chuck Berry, and went instead for something a little different. Hence, Iggy Pop's not-so-sweet Sixteen. Listening to the album Lust For Life, I sense that it has a similar aesthetic to Iggy's earlier albums with The Stooges, but it's lacking that raw power that made those albums so damn good. :-/

Jethro Tull - 17 [Stand Up, 1969 (Bonus Track)]
Comments: What, you thought I was gonna pick Stevie Nicks' Edge of Seventeen? Sure, that's a great song, but you've heard it a billion times already, haven't you? So here's an ultra obscure track by Jethro Tull instead. I actually considered - believe it or not - Janis Ian's At Seventeen, only because I knew the unorthodox nature of some of the songs in this theme would let me get away with it. In fact, that song probably fits the theme better, but my reputation is safer with the Jethro Tull track. :-p

Alice Cooper - I'm Eighteen [Love It To Death, 1971]
Comments: This is the one track I had the least trouble deciding on, as it's not only a great song that I've known for a long time, but it fits the theme of adolescent uncertainty (despite the fact that 18 is the age of majority) to a T. Although, that having been said, I have to admit that I thought about a different song I've been hearing on the radio a lot lately - that is, Skid Row's 18 And Life. Though I think that might refer to a prison sentence rather than an age. I don't know, it could be a double entendre. o.O

Steely Dan - Hey Nineteen [Gaucho, 1980]
Comments: Nineteen is one of those ages that is apparently not very popular. There was one other good choice, but I already used it for the Young Lust theme. I guess, once you hit nineteen, you're practically in your twenties, you're an adult, and all the fun is behind you. Though, ironically, this song seems to emphasize the generation gap between the band member(s), and a girl (or girls) of "just" nineteen. Granted, the generation gap is real, but I think it's frequently over-exaggerated. We all - regardless of age - suffer from the human condition. And though those of wiser years have much to impart to the inexperienced, it is also true that the child is father to the man. :-D

ZML^2 - Bonamassa Does British Blues

This is a theme I'm very excited about, and one I've been wanting to do for a long time. In spite of the title, however, there aren't actually going to be any Joe Bonamassa songs. This theme is about the British blues songs that Joe has covered over the past decade. I've stated on many occasions how great a cover artist Joe is - both in his taste in selecting songs to cover, and in his ability to perform them well - and now you'll be able to discover first hand some of the original source material he has worked from. Joe has recorded a lot of truly great covers, so this isn't going to even necessarily be the songs that inspired his greatest covers, but a thematic selection focusing on one of my favorite sub-genres of blues rock - the British blues boom of the 1960s (with a tiny bit of leeway). Let's get started.


John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Steppin' Out [Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton, 1966] + Jeff Beck - Rice Pudding [Beck-Ola, 1969]
Comments: Unique to the live version of the A New Day Yesterday album (Joe Bonamassa's first live album, and the first album of his that I heard) is a guitar instrumental mash-up consisting of two great tracks by two of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. The first is Steppin' Out, recorded by Eric Clapton with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for the album many consider to be the quintessential representative of the 1960s British blues scene (informally referred to as the Beano album, thanks to the comic Eric is holding in the photo on the cover); and the second is a quirky meandering piece titled Rice Pudding (as far as I know, the abrupt ending is intentional), from Jeff Beck's second solo album, Beck-Ola. In Joe's composite jam, he manages to flawlessly weld the two central riffs from these songs together.

Jethro Tull - A New Day Yesterday [Stand Up, 1969]
Comments: This Jethro Tull track from 1969 (granted, they may not have been a straight blues rock band, but they were bluesy to start) lent the title to Joe Bonamassa's solo debut album, which is the first of a few of his albums named for a prominent cover song. With all due respect to Jethro Tull, Joe's version of this song is incendiary, and the version from the live album was the track that single-handedly introduced me to and got me hooked on Joe Bonamassa, for good reason. Honorable mention goes to Irish blues rocker Rory Gallagher's Cradle Rock, which also appears on Joe's debut album (as well as the live version of the album).

Jeff Beck - Blues Deluxe [Truth, 1968]
Comments: Jeff Beck returns, with the track that titled Joe Bonamassa's third studio album, a riveting blues penned by Beck and bandmate Rod Stewart, appearing on Jeff's own solo debut album, Truth. Bonamassa again shows his ability to smooth out the original Jeff Beck Group's rough-edged recordings, creating a very compelling track that, in addition to showcasing his celebrated guitar talent, features an impressive vocal performance which demonstrates his continuing improvement as a singer in addition to guitar god. Joe's eighth studio album, Black Rock, features another winning Jeff Beck cover in the form of Spanish Boots (found on Beck's second album from 1969, Beck-Ola).

Blind Faith - Had To Cry Today [Blind Faith, 1969]
Comments: Eric Clapton returns this time, and with the song that titled Joe's fourth studio album. This track is from the self-titled (and only) album released by the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith, which was Clapton's first diversion after the breakup of Cream. Even with all the hype, and having become familiar with half of the album before ever hearing it in full (thanks to the popularity of those songs), when I recently picked it up, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the album. For this song, which has a nice rock edge, and a good jam format, Joe scores another faithful and successful cover, a highlight of his earlier live shows.

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - So Many Roads [Looking Back, 1969]
Comments: Joe's fifth studio album, You And Me, marks a turning point of sorts in his career. It marks the beginning of his partnership with producer Kevin Shirley, and thus a crystallization of his "studio sound". One of my favorite tracks on the album is the blues So Many Roads, which was recorded by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the 1960s - but this time with Peter Green as the guitarist instead of Eric Clapton. It's a powerful song, and even with Peter Green being one of my top favorite musical artists of all time (granted, even as lead guitarist, he was still mostly backing for John Mayall in that band, and hadn't yet hit his stride), Joe's version of the song rises above this previous version. But don't stop there, legendary bluesman Otis Rush does a pretty mean version himself. Two other tracks worth mentioning that were recorded by the Peter Green-era Bluesbreakers, and were covered by Bonamassa, are Your Funeral And My Trial, and Another Kind Of Love.

Led Zeppelin - Tea For One [Presence, 1976]
Comments: Also appearing on the album You And Me was Joe's much-anticipated Led Zeppelin cover, Tea For One, a slow, melancholy blues featured on Zep's oft-overlooked 1976 album, Presence. Being pioneers of hard rock, Led Zeppelin weren't strictly a British blues band, but they were a British band, and their roots were steeped in the blues. For Bonamassa's competent cover of this song, he utilized a rare guest singer (Doug Henthorn). Whether it was to allow him to concentrate on pulling off his interpretation of divine rock god Jimmy Page's licks, or to mimic the guitar + singer dynamic featured in the original band (Henthorn does sound similar to Robert Plant), regardless, the result sounds good. I can't say that Joe one-ups Led Zeppelin here (that would be a feat), but his effort is impressive, and there's really nothing lacking from this cover. Not many could pull that off. (Zep fans: don't miss Joe Bonamassa's cover of ZZ Top's Just Got Paid on Live From Nowehere in Particular, or the Royal Albert Hall DVD - it's got a long jam that includes the instrumental portion from Dazed and Confused!)

Ten Years After - One Of These Days [A Space In Time, 1971]
Comments: I had been waiting for Joe Bonamassa to do a Ten Years After cover, ever since catching a mention of them in the liner notes to one of his albums, and on his sixth studio album, Sloe Gin, he pulled through. Like Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After were a hard rock band (with a variety of accompanying flavors), and not strictly British blues, but, also like Zep, they were British, and they had a concentration in the blues. Joe's cover of the opening song to TYA's most popular album is adequate, but I regret to say that this is one of the times when the original is clearly superior. Sorry Joe - it's just that Alvin Lee has this totally unmatchable rock charisma, and this song benefits more from the rough edges than the smoother melodies which Bonamassa likes to emphasize. You can't win them all. I'm still very excited that Joe covered this song and I would be happy to hear him try his hand at another, as Ten Years After is one of my favorite blues rock bands, and they deserve the attention and recognition.

Bonus Track: Although it's probably even less British blues than anything else on this list (although still not completely off topic), I just have to mention Tim Curry (yes, that Tim Curry)'s Sloe Gin [Read My Lips, 1978], which titled Joe's sixth studio album. It's a powerfully depressing song, delivered passionately by Tim Curry, and covered impressively by Joe Bonamassa. Joe stays true to the soul of the song, while giving flesh to the bones of its structure, building up a truly captivating piece that stands out even in his impressive catalogue of great music.

Honestly, I could still go on and list even more great covers performed by Joe Bonamassa, but we've reached our limit (and plus some) for this edition of Zharth's Music Log^2. If you're already a Bonamassa fan, then I hope this was an enlightening experience, and if not, then you just may be curious about these covers I keep mentioning. In that case, give Joe a listen, you won't regret it. ^_-

ZML^2 - Rainbow Vibrations

For a brief explanation of Zharth's Music Log (and a link to the archives), see the first paragraph of the last installment of Zharth's Music Log Revisited. Since I like the idea of the music log so much, but didn't have the resources (whether internal or external) to keep it going past a year (and really, a whole year of posting a different song each day is pretty impressive if you ask me, what with the themes and everything), and since I still have some themes leftover that I like enough not to completely forget, I figured I could pull one out every so often when the timing is ripe, and we could all have fun basking in the faded glow of a great idea whose time has come and gone.


And speaking of glowing, what with it now being April, with spring in tow, ready to shower the earth in preparation for the colorful floral bloom that is impending, the theme I bring to you today is one of colors - the vibrant colors of the rainbow. We'll take them in order, following the old standard - ROYGBIV.


Jimi Hendrix - Electric Church Red House [Blues]
Comments: An old standard itself, Red House is a tune that belies its simple blues construction. It's one of my favorite songs in Jimi's repertoire, and among the various recorded versions of it that I've heard, I have yet to hear a bad one. This one is one of my favorites, and stands distinct from both the original studio version, and the more fleshed out live versions scattered around. It starts with some pseudo-inspirational ramblings, and then takes off, wandering far off the path and getting lost in the woods during the solo in the middle, never even finding its way back for the last verse, before it ultimately fizzles out. Wild and unrestrained - that's what it's all about.


The Amboy Dukes - Why Is A Carrot More Orange Than A Orange? [Journey To The Center Of The Mind, 1968]
Comments: Knowing Ted Nugent, you might be surprised to learn that he was a prominent member of a psychedelic band during the later part of the swingin' sixties, but it's true. And The Amboy Dukes, while not as popular as, say, Jefferson Airplane, had a few good acid trips (I'm referring to songs, here) of their own. In this song, the band asks the strikingly poignant question, why is a carrot more orange than an orange? It beats me.


Donovan - Mellow Yellow [Mellow Yellow, 1967 (released as a single in 1966)]
Comments: Popularly hailed as Britain's "answer" to Bob Dylan, Donovan's one song of particular note - to me, personally, that is - is a song done even better by other musicians. That song is Season of the Witch, and those musicians are the ones who stuck around for the Super Session (including Al Kooper and Stephen Stills) after Michael Bloomfield bailed. But Donovan comes back to my attention by way of this song, Mellow Yellow, played - once again - even better by a local musician of no small talent, whom I know personally. ;)


Pink Floyd - Green Is The Colour [More, 1969]
Comments: Here is a track from one of Pink Floyd's oft-overlooked albums, which was actually recorded as the soundtrack to a film of the same name, an arty look at drug addiction and sun worship on the Spanish isle of Ibiza. Despite technically being a soundtrack album, More stands pretty strong on its own, in my opinion, more so if you don't mind atmospheric tracks (something Pink Floyd is known for anyway). But there are also a number of good straight tunes on this album, such as this one presented here.


Cream - Blue Condition [Disraeli Gears, 1967]
Comments: Some colors are better represented in song titles than others. For example, I could only find a single orange song in my catalog. Blue, as it turns out, is a very popular color - and that's true even if you ignore the many songs with the word "blues" in the title. I chose this one, from the album that brought us such classic tracks as Strange Brew and Sunshine of Your Love, because I think it fits well with the other mellow tracks chosen for this theme (excepting, of course, the red song).


Led Zeppelin - White Summer/Black Mountain Side [Coda (bonus track), recorded in 1969]
Comments: Since indigo is an illusory color that doesn't really exist, I figured I'd do a "black and white" sort of a thing instead. And how convenient that we have Led Zeppelin's White Summer and Black Mountain Side (really only variations or parts of the same song to begin with, at least how Page played them) together in one track! You can check out the roots of Led Zeppelin for more info, but White Summer was first recorded by Jimmy Page back in the Yardbirds, and Black Mountain Side appeared on Led Zeppelin's debut album. During the band's later tours (1977 on), the piece worked as a counterpoint and unsuspecting intro to the much heavier and hypnotic Kashmir.


The Blues Project - Violets of Dawn [released as a single, 1966]
Comments: Violet is another color that's hard to find, although a little bit easier if you allow purple. But I didn't want to do two Jimi Hendrix tracks for this theme (and I've already used that song for another theme, incidentally), and I don't own any Prince, I'll tell you that. Anyhow, it's fitting that I was able to find an actual violet song, as opposed to simply purple, even though I think the song may be referring to the flower. But that's okay, because isn't the flower named for its color anyway (or maybe it's the other way around)? Well, in any case, this is a nice light track to close the theme, from a great little known band that I will tell you is not adequately represented by this track alone. Check out their performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 (the Summer of Love), if I've got your curiosity piqued (or, try this on for size).

And with those thoughts of flowers and summer I leave you. Until next time.

Zharth's Music Log Revisited - Slow Blues 2

For those who didn't know or don't remember, I ran a "music log" from the summer of 2007 to the summer of 2008, for which I picked a theme each week and then posted a song every day of that week which related in some way to the theme, and added a few comments about that song. It was awesome. You can view the archives here, in case you're curious about what the themes were, or what songs I used.

I bring it up now for a specific reason. And to revive (or rather, produce a sequel to) one of my favorite themes - slow blues. After all, the term "slow blues" describes what is probably my top favorite style of music. Well, it just so happens that there was one song I really wanted to use for the original theme, but had to leave out because I didn't have the song at the time. And - you guessed it - I have that song now. So, I now present you with Slow Blues 2 - seven songs in the slow blues theme, all at once, and available for listening for a limited time only:

The Allman Brothers Band - Stormy Monday (Live) [At Fillmore East, 1971]
Comments: We'll start the "week" with a song that could have easily made the first iteration of this theme. What probably happened was either that I was saving the song for a different theme (like, perhaps, a day of the week theme, or a weather theme) and ended up never using it, or perhaps more likely, I didn't want to overrepresent Duane Allman, who appeared on another track (Boz Scaggs' rendition of Loan Me A Dime), that I absolutely had to have for that theme. Well, here it is now, and here he is again, accompanied by dueling partner Dickey Betts in a slow and stormy live performance of, as Gregg Allman (I presume) introduces it, an old T-Bone Walker song. This is one of my long-time slow blues favorites.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In Town) [Couldn't Stand The Weather, 1984]
Comments: This is the song I wanted the first time around, that I didn't have. It's a long, slow, despairing blues that perfectly suits the theme, and that I have been fond of since first listen. As a bluesman who attained popularity in the eighties, Stevie Ray Vaughan was following in the footsteps of some truly legendary players, including among some of his most visible influences the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Albert King. But Stevie was no imitator - he was true blue - and able to weave together surprisingly well the threads of pop rock and traditional blues. His tragic death in a helicopter crash in 1990 was an enormous loss for the music world.

ZZ Top - Blue Jean Blues [Fandango!, 1975]
Comments: Texas trio ZZ Top are somewhat of a strange breed, melding chops with style, soul with pop - but there's no question that they have the talent for playing good, crunchy, no-nonsense rock n roll. Guitarist Billy Gibbons deserves all the respect he gets (perhaps more), and on this track, he shines - in a sort of unassuming, but highly effective, way. Blue Jean Blues sounds like it could be a parody of the blues, but it's sung and played with an unwavering poker face, and though relatively short for a slow song, is very, very sweet.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Need You [Second Helping, 1974]
Comments: Lynyrd Skynyrd, well-known for their triple guitar attack, are kings of Southern swagger, but this track proves that they aren't incapable of tapping into the blues. From their sophomore album, Second Helping, I find that this track goes a long way in making up for the kick-off Sweet Home Alabama - undoubtedly a song of world-class popularity, but quite played-out in my opinion. I Need You slows it down and pulls out the requisite soul that is inherent in the blues.

Neil Young - On The Beach [On The Beach, 1974]
Comments: I'll bet you didn't expect to find a Neil Young song on this list, but though it may not be a strictly traditional blues, this is a very bluesy song with its heart in the right place. The album it's named after (or quite possibly the other way around) is among the infamous "ditch trilogy" which also includes Time Fades Away and Tonight's The Night, which Neil recorded in the early-to-mid seventies in a dark period following the drug-related deaths of two musician friends. On The Beach actually contains three different songs named as Blues, but this is the track that stands out for me.

Robin Trower - I Can't Wait Much Longer (Live) [Live, 1976]
Comments: Known (though not especially well, unfortunately) for the Bridge of Sighs album (and title track, especially), ace guitarist Robin Trower has much more to offer potential fans than what the mainstream has given him credit for. Including this anxious, moody track, originally recorded for his first album, Twice Removed From Yesterday (every bit as good as Bridge of Sighs, which I could also say of For Earth Below). And while the studio version is good, I couldn't resist this live version, from the excellent live album from 1976, featuring Trower's band truly at the top of their game (with, as Trower announces at the very end of the track, James Dewar on vocals).

Steamhammer - Twenty-Four Hours [Steamhammer, 1969]
Comments: Steamhammer is probably my top favorite entirely obscure band. I learned of them by way of guitarist Martin Pugh, who also played in the one-off band Armageddon, which featured vocalist/blues harpist Keith Relf shortly before his untimely death (while trying to play electric guitar in a bathtub, as the rumors go), who was the leader of the top guitar supergroup of the sixties, The Yardbirds - which featured the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page throughout its days (we're talkin' true rock royalty here). Steamhammer is a modest act, but they've got a killer sound that I really dig. Get a taste of it with this mellow rendition of a blues more popularly sung by the legendary Muddy Waters.

Zharth's Music Log

Around the middle of last summer, my friend suggested an idea to me, and out of that was born Zharth's Music Log. Having greatly enjoyed my time as a radio dj in college, I kind of missed spreading my music, and my knowledge of it, to the world, since graduation. The one job that I have made an effort to apply for so far was a dj job at a classic rock radio station. I clearly had no chance, but the fact that I went to the effort shows how much I love the idea of being a radio dj. Zharth's Music Log isn't quite the same experience, but it's in a similar vein, and it'll at least keep me from getting too rusty.

So, what is ZML? Basically, it's a song a day, arranged into weekly themes. The songs are pretty much exclusively classic rock and blues songs, largely from the 60's and 70's, with the periodic modern track thrown in from appropriate sources. It's the music I love, and the point is to spread it to other people who are interested in these genres. These are not the classic rock songs you hear every day on your local rock station. Not that I have a problem with a lot of those songs, but on my music log, you'll hear awesome stuff they wouldn't play in a million years on a popular radio station. Plus, the themes make it interesting, and you can even guess what songs or themes are coming up based on the daily clues I like to give out in the "Later this week" blurb at the end of the log.

I've been keeping the log up for 24 weeks now (that's almost half a year), and I've been very good about adding a new song each day. Sometimes it's hard coming up with a comment every day, but I try to bring up something interesting. Think of hosting a radio show, and then having to say something relevant and interesting about every single song you play. It's not the easiest thing in the world, but it can be fun, and I at least have a whole day, if not more, to think about what I want to say. I've got a whole bunch of potential themes marked down in my personal notes, with ideas for songs that would fit, and I try to match themes with holidays and the time of year. But I'm always open to suggestions, and if you have any ideas for songs that would fit a theme I'm doing, or for a theme you'd like to see me use, I'd love to hear about it. I used to have a comments form on the log, but since nobody used it except spam bots, I decided to take it down. Still, you can always email me, or leave a comment here. At the very least, if you let me know you're listening, then I'll be that much more motivated to put up good songs and interesting comments on the log!

So check it out!

Zharth's Music Log