Bulldog

So then, if anyone's been particularly waiting for another album post here, sorry to disappoint! While I haven't exactly been busy, I've had my mind on other things really. In fact, I haven't really listened to a lot of music outside the comfort zone of my old favourite since last week, and these two songs I'm gonna flag up here will testify...

Artist: The Desert Rose Band
Tuneage: No-one Else


Let me just say that, broadly speaking, I love country music. It boasts what seems to me like such a laid-back, chilled kinda vibe that's completely unqiue to a great country song and seeing as laid-back is my middle name, I find myself listening to a lot of this stuff. Just so you don't confuse me with someone who can be in the same room as a Billy Ray Cyrus, Toby Keith or Eddy Raven song, I'll just say that it's all the offshoots of outlaw country like Townes Van Zandt and Krist Kristofferson, not to mention the country rock of the Flying Burrito Brothers that I find myself listening to the most.

True to me FBB-loving form (well, the Gram era anyway), I'm a huge fan of what I like to think of as country rock's own version of the Travelling Wilburys - the Desert Rose Band. Consisting of legends such as Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Tom Brumley and, of course, that king among men himself Chris Hillman, the band released some five albums, of which only one's really anything spectacular. The self-titled debut is an excellent album, and is followed by a mixed bag of a followup which goes by the name of Running. From there, it's predominantly album after album of mediocre, formulaic songs, broken up by the odd killer track.

This song here is that kinda track. From the band's fourth album True Love (largely as ill-conceived and unimaginative as that its title), this is one of only three, at a push four great songs to be found. Whereas the Desert Rose Band's debut was an album I must have listened to hundreds of times when I'd first got hold of it end-to-end, I only ever get back to True Love for those three songs, including this. Sure, it's a syrupy, corny little lovesong, but it's the cheesiness of the whole thing that really strikes a chord with me. Plus, there's a really sweet melody to it which Chris Hillman's voice really does a lot of good. The guitar solos are just awesome too.

Artist: Elvis Costello
Tuneage: Still


Ah, Elvis Costello! I can claim to be as musically diverse, knowledgeable, sexy and all-round amazing as I am, but even I have one artist whose listens outweigh even the likes of Bowie and Sylvian since...well...ever. I could explain what I love about him, but I've already spent a few years, a whole thread and a lot of ProPlusses doing so here, so I won't bother getting into it

Anyway, this song...well, I'll just talk about this album first. It's worth mentioning that North (the album this song's from) is quite possibly the one album in my music library I find myself rethinking my opinion of the most. Sometimes I think it's boring as all hell, others I think I never really give it enough of a chance, and then just revert back to the whole boring as all hell line of thinking again. I think it's because it's a side of Costello I'll probably never get used to, that being the romantic, at once regretful and happy lover that these lyrics paint the picture of.

Whatever my opinion of the album around it, this song's always gonna be one of my favourite lovesongs ever. As un-sophisticated and red-raw as this lyric is, as such I don't think I've ever come across another song which describes that blissfully happy feeling of waking up next to someone you really love as perfectly as this song does. I absolutely love the minimalist orchestration that sees the song to its end as well.


Life On Mars...















































I could just leave this little note at that, but I'll go on a tad longer. Funnily enough, highly regarded as it is, Life On Mars is another piece of music I find myself reappraising quite a lot. Sometimes I think it's epic arrangement really does it all the good it deserves, others I think it's studio version is just far too overcooked, what with those guitar solos and everything. I kinda drift from one way of looking at this song to another (primarily the former to be honest) but one thing about this song's for sure with me - this piano-only live version is far and away the best version of it that I've heard. The bootleg that this performance is from is absolutely wonderful too, even if it was a gig to support one of my least favourite Bowie albums.

Anyway, I'll get another album review in here as soon as poss. Stay tuned!