Ian Fitzgerald

To keep myself from posting anything about this, I’ve shuffled up the iPod once again.  Let’s see what it comes up with, shall we?

1.) Lighthouses :: Elizabethtown Sessions :: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals -The back story, as I understand it, was that Cameron Crowe asked Ryan to write a song for his little movie and Ryan responded not only with 18 of them, but 18 that put on full display a man falling apart from too may drugs and too much heartbreak.  This is one of the heartbreak songs and it depicts perfectly the binary inevitability of any relationship: you either leave someone behind or are left behind.  The song is warped and confused and beautiful, just like most of this lost classic of a record.

2.) Someone’s Got A Hold Of My Heart :: The Bootleg Series, Volume 3 :: Bob Dylan - This version was recorded for Infidels but left off, I guess in favor of songs like “Neighborhood Bully” and “Union Sundown.”  Eventually, it was re-recorded with a more or less entirely new set of lyrics as “Tight Connection To My Heart” and led off Empire Burlesque.  Dylan’s early ’80s period has been intriguing me for the past few months.  He was nearly in that period as he was in the early and mid ’60s and, like that period, followed it immediately with an almost deathly barren spell.  The classics that he wrote during this period that didn’t even make it on to albums is staggering: “Caribbean Wind;” “Blind Willie McTell;” “Foot Of Pride;” “Angelina;” and pre-rewrite versions of this, “When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky,” and “The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar.”  I, like many people, wonder what kind of reception Infidels would have received if it included this, “Blind Willie McTell,” and “Foot Of Pride” but I think that was the problem: Bob thought about it, too.  Coming on the heels of the rejection of his “born again” period, during which he invested himself completely in the production and performance of some of his most heartfelt work, I think Bob actually shied away from sharing the best or most personal of himself.  I suppose in another sense we should be grateful, since we got to hear these songs eventually and their original exclusion and re-recoding led to the creation of more songs: after all, if he didn’t have these songs for Empire Burlesque, then he wouldn’t have had an album for which to write “Dark Eyes” as its closer.

3.) New York :: Jukebox :: Cat Power - This album has become a recent favorite of mine.  The quintet of songs kicking off the album, in particular, really get the job done so to speak: this; Hank Williams’ refashioned “Ramblin (Wo)Man;” Chan Marshal’s own “Metal Heart;” my personal favorite “Silver Stallion;” and “Aretha, Sing One For Me.”  I do hope, though, that she gets back to recording her own songs some time soon.

4.) It’s Good To Be King :: Wildflowers :: Tom Petty - In reading Conversations With Tom Petty recently, I discovered that this is one of Tom’s favorite records of his own.  He has good reason to like it.  Produced by Rick Rubin, this record, though technically solo, shows a real maturation of the Heartbreakers’ sound.  Some of the “leftovers,” incidentally, wound up on the She’s The One soundtrack which is also well worth a listen (especially for the stone cold classic, “Walls”).  This song in particular reminds me of the first Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers show I went to during which my sister’s temper flared more and more with each note of the surprisingly long and spacey jams on which the Heartbreakers ventured.  Each time Tom would extend his arms out to his side and semi-conduct the band, she would think it was about to end, but they nearly always managed to find steam enough to turn nice songs like this one into 13-minute adventures.  Good times.

5.) See The Sky About To Rain :: On The Beach :: Neil Young - A few times while I was working on my record recently, head honcho Eric Lichter suggested that we try the Fender Rhodes on a few songs but it never quite worked: it always wound up sounding like this song.  For some reason, my favorite part comes at 4:36 when Neil is just singing “Ah-ah-ah” and the harmonica breaks in and joins him.  The pedal steel is also a highlight on this track thanks to the nearly always great Ben Keith.  And not to undercut this song at all, but I really love when this ends and “Revolution Blues” takes over: great transition.  On The Beach has become my favorite Neil Young record.  (Another note: I don’t know if it’s a joke or what, but the publishing for every other song on the record is credited to Neil’s Silver Fiddle imprint, while this song is credited to Broken Fiddle.  The last verse makes me wonder.)