Tag: Dawes

Playlist, travel version

Over the past weekend we attended a wedding in the nexus region for our family: greater Philadelphia. Google maps failed us at least once on our northerly journey, when I disregarded a patently stupid suggestion which turned out to be… not so stupid. Regardless. There are times when silence is the best soundtrack. The rest of the time was spent thusly (in no particular order):

  • Greetings from Asbury Park by Bruce Springsteen
  • Steve Goodman by Steve Goodman (highlight: “Riding On The City Of New Orleans” which he composed and sang for Arlo Guthrie)
  • Sunshine on Leith, The Proclaimers
  • Get On Board by Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder (a bit too rootsy for the moment)
  • The Color of Love by Ronnie Earle and The Broadcasters
  • Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2, by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
  • Promise by Sade
  • Orleans by Orleans
  • Oh Brother by Dawes (Just as good the second time, and my wife loved it)
  • Ode To The Village by Bearcat (but not at all like the first album and we abandoned it)
  • Legends Live In Concert by Ry Cooder (but again, too hillbilly for the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Ry Cooder has so many different styles across his career. He produced the classic album Buena Vista Social Club of old Cuban musicians, and I have an album of his where he collaborated with Indian musician V.M. Bhatt on A Meeting By the River)
  • Blessings and Miracles by Santana
  • Try It…You Might Like It: GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor by GA-20

Good stuff, Maynard.

Playlist 241012 & 241013

Sunday fun: “Let’s walk across a real volcano!” Or…why not kick back with some great tunes? Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI. September 2024.
  • Moondial by Pat Metheny
  • I Trust You To Kill Me by Rocco DeLuca and The Burden
  • Carney by Leon Russell
  • “Für Elise” by Jon Batiste (apparently from an upcoming album?)
  • “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by Lucinda Williams (almost surely from a forthcoming album entitled Lucinda Williams Sings the Songs of The Beatles from Abbey Road)
  • Oh Brother by Dawes
  • You Should Be So Lucky by Benmont Tench
  • Mudcrutch by Mudcrutch

One of the great things about music streaming services (mine is Tidal), at least for old folks, rests on the opportunities for music discovery. I appreciate that Tidal doesn’t just pop the usual “because-you-listened-to…” stuff, but also just flat suggests stuff from across many genres. (Although it might be because I listen so eclectically. Hadn’t thought of that.) Today’s playlist reflects that. Saturday I listened to Moondial because it showed up on a recommended albums list. Today, a couple tracks on the 5-track “Recommended new tracks” list caught my eye: the Jon Batiste and Lucinda Williams tracks listed above.

The Dawes album appeared on a different list, “Suggested new albums for you”. I cannot believe I’ve gone 15 years without hearing of this group, since they fit comfortably into one of my favorite musical areas where intelligent lyrics and innovative musical lines collide with folk, rock, and jazz. This newest of albums from the group is like Paul Simon meets Jackson Browne meets the Eagles with just a dash of musical thoughts of Iggy Pop. (Yeah, I heard a line in there that I swear is a near rip-off of one from Brick By Brick.) Maybe they listened just a little to They Might Be Giants? Barenaked Ladies? This latest album is the only one I’ve listened to but I’m cueing up more in my near future.

While reading about Dawes on Wikipedia, I ran across the name Benmont Tench and finally separated him mentally from Bobby Tench, a vocalist on a couple of old Jeff Beck Group albums, Rough and Ready and Jeff Beck Group. The band Simon Dawes broke up and out of it came the new group Dawes. They played a bunch of jam sessions which included one with Tench, who’s a pianist/organist and vocalist. Because Tench joined Tom Petty in the group Mudcrutch which later evolved into Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, this led in turn to learning about Mudcrutch which reformed in 2009 (the same year that Dawes formed–huh). Which completes the musical journey that underlies the playlist above.