Tom Rush: No Regrets

It’s not very often that I feature an American folksinger on Traditional Tuesday’s, but the other night I reacquainted myself with a true American original – Tom Rush. I have exactly two Tom Rush LPs: “The Circle Game” from 1968 on Elektra and “Ladies Love Outlaws” from 1974 on Columbia. Both LPs contain different renditions of his signature tune about love lost (& love get lost) – “No Regrets.”

The two versions have different arrangements of the same tune with the 1974 more heavily produced on the album that has more of a country and not folk feel to it. Carly Simon sings a duet with Tom on that version. I prefer the sparsely produced version from “The Circle Game.” I also like that album better as it is more of what I expect out of a singer like Rush. The later album does have some great tunes like “Hobo’s Mandolin” and “Desperados Waiting for A Train” that I like.

Today’s incarnation is even less produced than “The Circle Game’s” recording. It features Tom alone with his Epiphone Texan guitar playing and singing a more recent rendition in a fashion as one might expect from someone who is primarily known as a folk singer.

The unique sound emanating from his guitar is largely due to the fact that he has tuned it to an open C. The low C note, putting the guitar in the range of a ‘cello, gives it a distinctive sound on the bass as it rattles as the string flaps against the fretboard unnaturally due to a lack of tension. His slack key tuning is from low to high: C G C G C E. Two strings, the G and E, are at pitch; the B string is the only one raised a semitone to C; the A and D are dropped a whole step, while the low C is two steps below standard tuning.

”No Regrets” video

From the album “The Circle Game,” Tom produced a video for this song. Shot on 16mm film, the optical sound from the film is pretty scratchy due to numerous plays.

 

The film, like many color prints and slides from that era, has faded with age. Since there isn’t a good quality version from the 1968 album on YouTube, this one must suffice. By the way, the cover for “The Circle Game” was shot by photographer Linda Eastman who became better known as Mrs. Paul McCartney.

Lyrics

I know your leavin's too long overdue
For far too long I've had nothin' new to show to you
Goodbye dry eyes I watched your plane
Fade off west of the moon
And it felt so strange to walk away alone

No regrets, no tears goodbye
Don't want you back, we'd only cry, again
Say goodbye, again

The hours that were yours, echo like empty rooms
The thoughts we used to share, I now keep alone
I woke last night and spoke to you,
Not thinking you were gone
It felt so strange to lie awake, alone

No regrets, no tears goodbye
Don't want you back, we'd only cry, again
Say goodbye, again

Our friends have tried to turn my nights to day
Strange faces in your place can't keep the ghosts away
Just beyond the darkest hour, just behind the dawn
Still feels so strange to lead my life, alone

I've no regrets, no tears goodbye
Don't want you back, we'd only cry, again
Say goodbye, again

KT Tunstall: Tangled Up In Blue

Today’s Monday cover is Scottish vocalist KT Tunstall’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic track “Tangled up in Blue.” This live cut is fantastic. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone play drums with a set of maracas. KT’s raw voice brings a different type emotion to Dylan’s 1975 hit from “Blood on the Tracks.”

KT is playing a Gibson Dove – a guitar that Gibson developed specifically for the gospel music industry. Her bassist is sporting what appears to be an Epiphone Jack Casady Bass – a copy of the famed Gibson EB-2 that Casady used almost exclusively with the Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. The loops at the beginning of this cut that’s set up the rhythm of the song is accomplished by two pedals: an Akai E2 Head Rush and a Boss Digital Delay.

Live Version by Dylan

Rolling Stone ranks “Tangled up in Blue” as 68th in the top 500 songs of all time. The single peaked in the US at #31 for Mr. Zimmerman.

Buddy Miller: All My Tears

I first heard this song in 2007 when I discovered an AT&T Blue Room mini concert featuring Buddy Miller. Unfortunately, that concert as well as others in that series has been pulled from the net. This is a pity as it probably was the best recording of the song “All my Tears.” Julie Miller wrote the song after her and Buddy’s friend Mark Heard died unexpectedly in 1992.

Numerous people have recorded the song with the exception of Julie’s husband Buddy. In my opinion, he does the best version of anyone. It is a normal part of Buddy’s set list and he performs it every night in concert, but has avoided recording it.

This incomplete version, as it is chopped off before the song ends, was recorded 2007 winter NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show. In this concert (obviously sponsored by Fender), Buddy plays a Fender acoustic guitar that is tuned low to high D A D G B D also know as double dropped D tuning.

Since 2007, I have performed this song 5 times – once on mandolin and the others on guitar using the double dropped D tuning. It has remained one of my favorite tunes to perform.

Lyrics

V1
When I go don’t cry for me
In my Father’s arms I’ll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I’ll be whole

Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus’ face
And I will not be ashamed
For my savior knows my name

Chorus
It don’t matter where you bury me
I’ll be home and I’ll be free
It don’t matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

V2
Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven’s store
Come and drink and thirst no more

So weep not for me my friend
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to him
Who will raise the dead again

Chorus
It don’t matter where you bury me
I’ll be home and I’ll be free
It don’t matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

John Mayall: Back to the Roots

John Mayall, not to be confused with that other fine musician John Mayer, is one of those living legends of music who through his many band lineups mentored many other musicians. The list includes such greats as Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce of Cream; Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones; Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel of Canned Heat; Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac; Johnny Almond and Jon Mark of Mark Almond; Andy Fraser of Free; Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith of the Graham Bond Organization; Hughie Flint of McGuinness Flint; and countless others.

While some in that long list of names undoubtedly will be familiar, others may not. Be that as it may, the first John Mayall album I bought was the double LP from 1971 and was called “Back to the Roots.” By 1972, the album could be found in the cutout bins and was highly recommended by my older brother who had been a Mayall fan for years. I found the album to be refreshing and quite an education in the musicians that were featured in the Bluesbreakers – Mayall’s premier band.

The album was a reunion of sorts of Mayall with those who honed their skills in the Bluesbreakers. The double album on Polydor featured 18 cuts that showed a multifaceted side of multi-instrumentalist Mayall on guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. While I won’t feature every song on the LP, I will showcase a few of the better selections.

Blue Fox

This instrumental rocks. The interplay between Mayall’s harmonica and Sugarcane Harris’ fiddle is absolutely fantastic. The close mic placement on Mayall picks up every breath, grunt, and groan as he wails. While producers might be hesitant to include such extraneous sounds on a recording, they add to the flavor of this tune. Jerry McGee is the featured guitarist. Check it out.

Unanswered Questions

Featuring Canned Heat alumni Larry Taylor on bass and Harvey Mandel on lead guitar, “Unanswered Questions” features Mayall on organ and once again the violin of Don “Sugarcane” Harris. It answers the question, can a violin be a blues instrument? Most definitely. My favorite part – the tight ending. They just don’t end songs this way anymore.

Dream with Me

This is a great little tune that opens side three of the LP features the flute of Johnny Almond. Both Mayall and Mandel share guitar duties on the laid back number with Larry Taylor and Keef Hartley as the rhythm section. Johnny Almond is the star on this cut.

Marriage Madness

“Marriage Madness” is slow blues at its best and features Mayall on a Hammond B3 organ and former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor on lead guitar. I forgot how great a guitarist Taylor was – he got his start with Mayall and was hired to replace Brian Jones who first quit the Stones and then died less than a month later. Taylor was 20 years old at the time he joined the Rolling Stones and only 22 on this recording. Wow, what talent. In the mix, Johnny Almond adds alto and tenor sax.

Goodbye December

Opening up side four is a mellow ditty featuring the lead guitar of Mr. Slowhand: Eric Clapton. Mandel and Mayall also play guitar. Keef Hartley’s drumming is, how you say, interesting on this cut. “Goodbye December” also proves that Mr. Mayall can play some laid back harmonica licks as well. While it’s not my favorite cut of the album these days, it was for a very long time.

Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi

I got thinking about this song because our house is being purchased by my employer to be torn down to make way for a parking lot or a green space. They are not sure just yet, but the idea of a parking lot made me think of Joni Mitchell’s song. It wasn’t until I started listening to this tune that I realized that since 1970, I thought she and others were singing “the pink paradise” but rather she is singing “the paved paradise.”

While the original studio version from “Ladies of the Canyon” is not available on YouTube, a live version from 1970 will have to suffice. Joni’s original of her composition which many will remember is not the highest charting version of the song. This original, and our Friday First feature, only peaked at #67. A later live version charted in 1975 for the songwriter making it the highest charting version of the tune in the US at #24. On this version Joni has her guitar tuned to a open D and is capoed at the fourth fret making the song in F#.

More Recent Live Version

As our voices lower as we get older, Joni has dropped the capo in more recent years and no longer sings the song in F# but rather in D. Here she accompanies herself on an electric guitar and does an impromptu Bob Dylan impersonation.

The Neighborhood

Besides Joni’s live version in 1975, there may be conjecture on what version may have been the most popular studio version of the song. Amy Grant’s 1994 release mirrored Joni Mitchell’s original release by only peaking at #67. Counting Crows also released a single of “Big Yellow Taxi” in 2003, but it only peaked in the US at #42. The version I remember is the one released by the Neighborhood during the summer of 1970. It was the best performing studio version of “Big Yellow Taxi” with a peak at #29.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put A Spell On You

The other night, the season finale of “Memphis” featured a song recorded by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in 1956 for the OKeh record label. “I Put A Spell On You” was successful far beyond its charting potential – which in 1956 was so bizarre that even a sedated version that eliminated some of the cannibalistic overtones failed also to make Billboard’s Hot 100. I first heard about Screamin’ Jay when I read a history of Rock ‘N Roll in 1971 that a fellow high school classmate allowed me to borrow.

Obtaining the book coincided with my contracting the mumps and I spent my week off from school reading the book cover to cover. The book, whose name and author have long been forgotten, dealt with rock’s routes and some of the early personas that influenced a number of others. Screamin’ Jay was credited as being the sole inspiration of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown who’s “Fire” was a #2 hit. Brown recorded “I Put a Spell on You” on his debut LP. He is also credited as influencing Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, and a host of other shock rockers.

Here’s a version taken from the original 78 rpm release. The quality is phenomenal for a 78.

Hawkins, known primarily as a blues vocalist before recording “Spell,” had no memory of this recording session other than someone brought food and liquor to the studio and he apparently recorded the song while drunk. Cleveland DJ Alan Freed gave Hawkins the inspiration to spice up his act by rising out of a coffin surrounded by fog.

The shtick shtuck and it became Hawkins’ on-stage persona. Besides being used in “Memphis,” "I put a spell on You" has been used as a commercial bed for Pringles, Burger King, and Levis. Here’s a live rendition sans coffin, but with Hawkins’ side kick – the skull Henry.

Four Live Yardbirds

There are those bands from the 60s that are well known (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who) even today’s Gen-X music lovers will appreciate; however, when you go deeper into some of the more seminal bands of the period, the hoi polloi tend to have forgotten these very foundational groups.

Although The Yardbirds had hit singles and included some of the top musicians of the era, many have forgotten their influence. The band is best known for their succession of three lead guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.

Today, I feature four from four – when The Yardbirds were a quartet, but what a quartet. On vocals and harmonica, the late Keith Relf who was accidentally electrocuted at home in 1976 while playing his electric guitar which suffered from a bad ground. Relf’s musical partner Jim McCarty holds down the back beat. Chris Dreja, The Yardbird’s original rhythm guitarist, handling bass chores and Jimmy Page is on guitar.

Over, Under, Sideways, Down

How many songs do you know with four prepositions strung together? I remember during my oldies show at WWNR I featured an hour special that only contained hits whose titles ended in a preposition. I opened the show with this top 20 Yardbird's hit from 1966.

When the band began playing this tune, Jeff Beck was the lead guitarist and overdubbed the guitar parts. Later when Jimmy Page had joined the band to replace Paul Samwell-Smith who left touring for producing, songs like “Over, Under, Sideways, Down” needed twin lead guitars to approximate the recorded version. To accommodate this and other Yardbirds’ songs live in concert, Chris Dreja moved to bass and Jimmy Page was elevated to second lead guitar.

On “Live Yardbirds featuring Jimmy Page,” Keith Relf mentions (and I am paraphrasing) that they really didn’t know if they could pull this song off live without two guitarists, but lightning fingers Page was able to do it solo.

Shapes of Things

Another one of the singles recorded with Jeff Beck on guitar in 1966 and before Jimmy Page joined the band. The single version charted in 1966 at #11 in the US; however, in their native Britain, it peaked at # 3. The interesting thing I find about these videos is that Page is playing a Fender Telecaster – an instrument that I don’t ever remember him playing in Led Zeppelin.

 With his Dan Electro Double Cutaway model

Usually, he is depicted with a Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG shaped 12/6 double neck, or a ’59 Dan Electro Double Cutaway (with the seal-shaped pick guard). If you look closely, it appears that the band is using Standel amps and cabinets; however, they are actually a German made amp - Echolette.

Dazed and Confused

Before Robert Plant sang a lick of Jake Holmes “Dazed and Confused” (which, by the way, they ripped off the songwriting and publishing rights). Like on the Zeppelin version of the song, Page uses a violin bow – and idea he got from concert violist David McCallum, Sr. who bowed a guitar on a TV special. McCallum’s son, David McCallum, Jr. is best known for his roles of Illya Kuryakin on the Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Dr. Donald Mallard (aka Ducky) on NCIS.

I’m A Man

Here’s one that features Relf at his best as The Yardbirds do the Bo Diddley classic “I’m A Man.” It really showcases how good a harp player Relf was. This was also a top 20 hit for The Yardbirds in the US in 1965. Page uses the bow on this one as well.