Chi Coltrane: Go Like Elijah

From her self-titled album that brought us “Thunder and Lightning,” Chi Coltrane received additional airplay with today’s Spiritual Sunday song – “Go Like Elijah.” This gospel tinged song has her characteristic pounding piano and features a choir to give that church experience. In fact, a number of gospel groups have also recorded this song.

Live Version

From 2009, here’s a live version of today’s selection. Even nearly 40 years afterwards, Chi has still got it.

Lyrics

Someday my time to die will come.
When that will be, I do not know
I only know that when I have to go.
Yeah, when I go— I wanna go
Just let me go— Lord, when I go
Yeah, when I go— Lord, let me go

Just let me go like Elijah when I go
I want to rise right up into the sky
And ride white horses with fiery eyes
Lord for my sins I apologize

Just let me go — Lord when I go
When my time comes for me to go
Just let me go like Elijah when I go
I don't want no tombstone above my head
And I don't want no pinebox for my bed
And I don't want anyone to say I'm dead.
I don't want no one cryin'
Or feelin' sad
Or standin' in the rain without their hat
I wanna go up happy — Imagine that

Yeah, when I go— I wanna go
Just let me go -—Lord, when I go,
Yeah, when I go— Lord, let me go
Just let me go like Elijah when I go
I want to rise right up into the sky
And ride white horses with fiery eyes
Lord for my sins I apologize
Just let me go— Lord when I go
When my time comes for me to go
Just let me go like Elijah when I go...

Be-Bop Deluxe: Sister Seagull

My first taste of our bubbling under group Be-Bop Deluxe came in 1977 when I purchased their “Live! In the Air Age” album. This double disc set had one record in white vinyl and the second in black vinyl. I was hooked on this English art-rock band from the moment the needle hit the vinyl.

“Sister Seagull,” which had been a flip side of their 1975 “Maid in Heaven” was also featured in a live context on this album. “Live! In the Air Age” was their most popular album in the US charting on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart at 65; however, they never attained wide-spread appeal in the States.

While the song never charted when originally released on their second album “Futurama,” its feature on “Live! In the Air Age” caused AOR programmers to go back and revisit the studio version. “Futurama” never charted in the US; however, the studio version allowed guitar virtuoso Bill Nelson to show off his talents by the way of overdubbing the lead over his rhythm and accompaniment parts – something he couldn’t do live – as he was the only guitarist in Be-Bop Deluxe.

Nelson is really an underrated guitarist, which is unfortunate as he is quite good. It’s a pity not more people haven’t heard his work. Five thumbs up.

Live Version

From a 1975 performance on the “Old Grey Whistle Test,” here’s a live version of “Sister Seagull.” While it isn’t the best recording as the tape had stretched, it gives you an idea what this band was like live. Along with Nelson on guitar and vocals, bassist Charlie Tumahai also contributes backing vocals. A member of the Maori community of New Zealand, Tumahai died of a heart attack in 1995 at the age of 46.

Simon Fox handles the backbeat, while keyboards were supplied by the band’s newest member Andrew Clark. Using his Rhodes Electric Piano, Clark doubles the rhythm part normally played only on guitar by Nelson at the beginning of “Sister Seagull.” The realistic strings are courtesy of Clark’s Mellotron.

Because of the limitations of only one guitar, the live version is a bit mellower as Nelson cannot do those fantastic leads while playing rhythm guitar parts; however, he does get to shine on the solo. Nelson is playing a sunburst Gibson Stereo ES-345 run with added distortion and an Echoplex during his solo.

Lyrics

Sister seagull, oh you're flying me to high
Feels so dizzy underneath your open skies
And it's strange the games we play to hide the crime
Sister seagull you're the reason I survive

I am a prisoner who has thrown away the key
My soul has vanished with the bird who flies so free
And the wings of change have spread themselves o'er me
Sister seagull you're the reason I survive

I am waiting here for the tide to turn
And the pathways of the air to open
Will you meet me there
By the golden stairways to the clouds
To the clouds

I am a changeling
Like the wind across the waves
Though in the end there will be nothing left to save
I will return one day
With all the time you gave
Sister seagull you're the reason I survive
I survive
I survive

The Guess Who: Undun

One of my favorite Canadian bands of all time was The Guess Who and beginning in 1969 they were riding high on a string of hits that began with “These Eyes” from their album “Wheatfield Soul.” It was their first American hit since 1965’s “Shakin’ All Over” that featured their original lead vocalist Chad Allen. In 1966, Burton Cummings replaced Allen as lead vocalist and the rest is history.

The follow-up to “These Eyes” was the double sided hit “Laughing” b/w “Undun.” Both songs were from the “Canned Wheat” LP and both songs charted in the US and Canada. “Laughing” topped the charts in their native Canada and was their first number one record since “Shakin’ All Over”; although, the band had 13 singles issued in Canada between the two number one hits. In the US, it peaked at #10.

While “Laughing” was the hit, its flipside “Undun” was nearly as popular charting in Canada and the US at 21 and 22 respectively. Written by Randy Bachman, the guitar has a bossa nova feel – a technique that Bachman used on other recordings like “Looking out for Number One” and “Blue Collar” – two singles for Bachman-Turner Overdrive that never made it into the top 40. “Undun” also features the flute work of Burton Cummings. It’s a great song all around.

Live Version from 1983

Placebo: Running Up That Hill

Frequently my inspiration for my TV Thursday features come from the writers of the TV show “Bones.” The episode was a rerun entitled “Judas on a Pole” and features the song towards the end of the episode, as is the custom with this series. Placebo’s interpretation of Kate Bush’s “Running up that Hill” has been featured in about six other shows.

Placebo released “Running up that Hill” for their 2003 release appropriately titled “Covers.” It was released as a single in 2007, but only was a mid-charting song in the UK, Australia, and Sweden. It failed to chart elsewhere. It’s different, but I like it. Hope you do as well.

Kate Bush’s Original

I never was a big Kate Bush fan and I guess that stems from being disappointed by her debut album “The Kick Inside” which was released with a great deal of hype because she was discovered by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Being a Floyd fan for a number of years, I jumped on the album before hearing it. I think it was her vocal style that turned me off – but that was her first LP which was released in 1978.

By the time 1985 rolled around and EMI released her 12” single of “Running up that Hill” that they persuaded Bush to re-title from “Deal with God” as they felt resistance from the buying public especially in the US, Australia, Italy, and France. Her vocal stylings matured and I really liked this release.  The single features Kate taking aim in a photograph that was surely to cause all of the boys to quiver.

From her “Hounds of Love” album, it was a top 30 hit in the US. It also charted on the Hot Dance Club Play, Hot Dance Singles, and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. The song charted in the top five in the UK, Germany, and Ireland as well as being a top 10 hit in Australia and the Netherlands.

Nickel Creek: The Lighthouse's Tale

Nickel Creek’s first major release, their self-titled CD on Sugar Hill Records, brought this trio of virtuosos into the lives of the mainstream populous. “The Lighthouse’s Tale,” our traditional Tuesday selection, was penned by Adam McKenzie and mandolinist Chris Thile. Thile also sings lead.

This tune which shows their instrumental and vocal talents was one of three singles from the album. It charted only at #49 on Billboard’s Country Charts. The album fared better at 13 on the Top Country Albums and 125 on the Top 200 LPs. While the album was released in 2000, the video single appeared in 2001.

The song features Sean (guitar, vocals) and Sara (violin, vocals) Watkins who are brother and sister. Chris Thile’s father Scott is on bass. Alison Krauss produced this album. This song has a message that you might have found in folk songs of the past. There are three personalities – the lighthouse keeper, the keeper’s lady friend, and of course the lighthouse who narrates the song. Ironically, the only one that lives is the lighthouse.

Lyrics

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
I keep my lamp lit to warn the sailors on their way
I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past
I was so happy but joy in this life seldom lasts

I had a keeper, he helped me warn the ships at sea
We had grown closer 'til his joy meant everything to me
And he was to marry a girl who shown with beauty and light
They loved each other, and with me watched the sunsets into nights

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

She'd had to leave us; my keeper, he prayed for a safe return
But when the night came, the weather to a raging storm had turned
He watched her ship fight, but in vain against the wild and terrible wind
And me so helpless, as dashed against the rocks she met her end

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

Then on the next day, my keeper found her washed up on the shore
He kissed her cold face, and that they'd be together soon he swore
I saw him crying, watched as he buried her in the sand
Then he climbed my tower, and off the edge of me he ran

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
And though I'm empty I still warn the sailors on their way

Horslips: Sure The Boy Was Green

Horslips – I love this band – from their first album, the traditionally based “Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part,” to there more rock oriented trio of albums of “The Book of Invasions,” “Aliens,” and “The Man Who Built America.” The band took their unusual name from a Spoonerism of “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” which came out as “The Four Poxmen of the Horslypse.” Thus their name was born.

It’s songs like today’s bubbling under feature “Sure the Boy was Green” that gave Horslips the reputation of being an Irish version of Jethro Tull; however, the comparison is made largely on Jim Lockhart’s flute work which is similar, but not exactly the same as Ian Anderson’s style. I read a fan’s comment where he said this song was “Jethro Tull meets Thin Lizzy.” A much better analysis if I say so myself.

The album “Aliens” was the follow-up to their critically acclaimed LP “The Book of Invasions” that chronicled the history of Ireland through successive invasions of the Emerald Isle during its pre-Christian era.

“Aliens” moved closer to modern times and provided a musical interpretation of the Irish who left their homeland in the 1840s for a hope of a better future in America. “Aliens” was their highest charting LP in the US where it peaked at #98. The only other LP to chart on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums was “The Man Who Built America” which was the follow-up to “Aliens.” It peaked at #155.

“Sure the Boy was Green” was released as a single in the US in green vinyl and I found my copy at record store in Barboursville, WV in 1978. The single, however, failed to chart. The title was a bit of a double entendre. First, the seventeen year-old protagonist leaving his homeland for America was inexperienced in life. Second, he was green in that he was Irish. Besides this single, I have five of their albums and one CD and would recommend this band to anyone who wants to explore his inner Celt.

Lyrics

He was only a mad moonlighter, dancing by the sea,Envying nobody chasing shadows crazy and free.
You were the cloud that covered the moon now he just can't see.

Now he's just a kid with a runaway heart,
Jumping ship to anywhere, trying to make a fresh start .
Running away from everything playing a lonely bit part.

Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.
Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.

 Look at all those fresh young kids, they think they know it all,
Look at the little crazy guy, swaggering down the hall,
He could dance his way to freedom if you don't make him fall.

Now you got him all to yourself what you gonna do?
You're the one who set the trap you know it's up to you,
Call the shots, open the cage, you know he won't run through.

Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.
Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.

Torch-bearing lady see this kid, he's in love with you.
Dream-selling lady he's in need, you'd better come through.

Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.
Sure the boy was green his heart was on the line.
Seventeen and lonely and biding his time.

Live Version

Here’s a live version of “Sure the Boy was Green” recorded from a live rehearsal in 2009. Drummer Eamon Carr, who remains a member of the band, no longer performs live. On drums is guitarist Johnny Fean’s brother Ray handles the drums during engagements.

This live version has Barry Devlin playing an Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi-bass. I always thought that the see-through Dan Armstrong plexiglass guitars and basses were some of the neatest instruments of the 1970s. It is said the density of the plexiglass creates better sustain than a wood made electric.

Charles O’Conner is on an electric mandolin; however, I can’t ascertain the brand as I’ve never seen one quite like this. Johnny Fean is playing one of his two 1959 Gibson Les Paul Juniors. The ’59 Junior is characterized as having a double cutaway – the only year Gibson utilized this body style and is much sought after by collectors.

While Fean’s Junior appears to have a natural finish, it is actually cherry red. The stain is a little more transparent than later cherry red Gibsons. Add a little aging that causes the finish to fade and illuminate with stage lights and the red color appears to be completely washed out and yellow.

The Beatles: I'm Down

“I’m Down” is one of the three Beatles’ songs that appeared on a single but not on an album while they were still together. Although the flipside of the number one “Help,” “I’m Down” peaked on the charts at only 101. It’s a great rocker featuring Paul McCartney on vocals and John Lennon playing what I always thought was an RMI Electra Piano, but from the stage video it appears to be a Vox Continental Organ.

If you have any of their bootlegs, and I have two, “The Good Old Days at Shea” and “Last Live Show,” you’ll find a version of this tune. It appears on many of their live recordings from 1965 an 1966. If I’m not mistaken the original 45 RPM single release of this song was in mono. It’s a great tune that hasn’t ever got enough airplay. Here’s a live version from Shea Stadium in 1965.

Recent Stereo Remix