Music Diary, Vol. -20

For the rationale behind this mad effort, explanations here. The full series of Music Diary posts are here. The full playlist is above, also here.

Week of Aug. 21-27, 2023

Lyrics: Guy Lombardo, "Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think"

Song: It wasn’t a single, let alone a hit, but to my ears this unaccountably moving soul/rockabilly track by the British/American trio Westworld always sounded like the sad cousin of George Michael’s “Faith,” which predated it by just a year.

Album: Few could make the guitar sing like John Renbourn. On this great 1966 collection of baroque blues, even when he’s shredding or chording his phrasing is irrepressibly tuneful.

Lyrics: George Jones, "A Good Year for the Roses"

Song: It may be a vicious parody of exotica, with its cheery juxtaposition of singing children and croaked lyrics about druggy debauchery, but this Karl Zéro track does the job with such poise and breezy lightness you may not notice or care.

Album: In the tradition of Björk’s “Medúlla” or Rosalía’s “El Mal Querer,” this 2005 Camille collection redefines the possibilities of the recorded voice. At once single-minded and multivocal, it’s also full of mischief and surprise.

Lyrics: Bernard Cribbins, "Right Said Fred"

Song: This cracking Laura Marling tune has an incantatory, swirling, freely phrased feel that offhandedly evokes Joni. Then an insistent six-bar sitar figure comes in and the song both takes off and bares it talons—an eagle indeed.

Album: Not only does the Steve Wilson remix of this oversized, underrated Yes epic make it sound brand new, he also did us all the favor of splitting into song-length tracks, so I can point you to my fave bit: Remembering Part 2.

Lyrics: Blur, "Girls & Boys"

Song: Yet another find I can credit to Andrew Hickey and his History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast: the sweet country stylings of Michael Nesmith’s First National Band, which on this yearning yet uptempo track sound like the sunnier cousin of Gram Parsons’ whole deal.

Album: The drama comes thick and fast in this greatest of opera recordings. If you can’t catch a good version live or on film, a sitdown with a libretto and this full account of Callas and di Stefano topping this Puccini banger is the next best thing.

Lyrics: Dagmar Krause (Brecht/Weill), "Surabaya Johnny"

Song: For better or worse—I’d say on balance mostly better—Art Garfunkel’s lilting, almost keening rendition was my introduction to this ageless Child ballad.

Album: This joyous 1954 collection marries Cuban swing to the octave-leaping vocal stylings of Yma Sumac. It’s an intoxicating combo.

Lyrics: David Bowie, "Five Years"

Song: I cherish Ravel’s restraint and precision, which is maybe why this rollicking piece for 2 pianos always catches me by pleasant surprise, as the opening and closing minutes have a wacky abandon worthy of his contemporary Satie.

Album: A perennial backup and sidekick, the great, sweet-voiced singer Kirsty MacColl was too often taken for granted, but listening back to this unassumingly perfect 1991 record, it’s painfully clear she deserved a bigger career on her own.

Lyrics: Jennifer Warnes (with L. Cohen), "Song of Bernadette"

Song: I had slept on this anguished cautionary spiritual from George Harrison’s great post-Beatles thesis until a congregant at Greenpoint Reformed Church asked me to sing it with her. Like a lot of his work from that period, it’s as tricky as it is profound.

Album: Janáček brings his signature mix of sweeping boldness and metrical idiosyncrasy to this thrilling mass in Old Church Slavonic, proving himself as masterful a composer for voices (and the organ!) as for the orchestra.