Renown for her work as a bluegrass artist with Union Station, Allison Krauss has also crossed the musical spectrum in teaming up with the likes of Robert Plant, Sting, James Taylor, John Waite, and others. She shows a variety of influences in these sometimes unlikely pairings, but it works. In this Traditional Tuesday’s selection, she teams up with the Chieftains for this traditional Irish lament.
While I personally like a majority of Allison Krauss’ music, I am probably not her biggest fan due to her frequent overuse of vibrato while singing. This is the same quality that caused me not to be overly thrilled by the Bee Gees singing style as well. In my book, a little vibrato goes a long way, and I feel that her vibrato often distracts from her exact pitch and pure soprano tone.
With that said, her delivery must be someone’s cup of tea as she has won 26 Grammys and a host of other awards – the like of which no one else can compare. So despite my almost un-American disapproval of her style, the masses love her and I am inclined to believe that I must be in the minority with my views. In today’s selection, “Molly Bán,” her vibrato, while present, is not distracting and she really shines on this tragic love story from Donegal.
The story is of a young hunter who accidentally kills his love interest by mistaking her for a swan. I can’t help but wonder why the heck he was hunting swans in first place. Be that as it may, this song can be traced back to 1799 and, according to Jennifer J. O’Connor (1986), there are 88 distinct versions of this ballad that exist. O’Connor’s article in the Canadian Journal for Traditional Music suggests that because of the presence of certain elements in this tune there is the likelihood that it was based on an actual event. While I won’t get into the details, her tome is available online for your perusal. The argument does make sense and it is not unusual for a ballad to have some truth as a basis.
Added to her lovely voice is the haunting sound of Paddy Moloney’s expertise on the Uilleann (pronounced ill-in; rhymes with chillin’) pipes. Unlike Scottish Highland pipes and Irish war pipes that require the player to blow air into the bag, Uilleann pipes (named for the Irish Gaelic word for elbow) are played by pumping air into the bag by wearing bellows under the player’s right arm. The chanter’s construction also can provide the ability to play notes in a staccato fashion, which lends itself to many Irish tunes.
Enjoy.
O'Conner, J. J. (1986). The Irish origins and variations of the ballad "Molly Brown." The Canadian Journal of Traditional Music. Available online at http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/14/v14art3.html
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Nilsen, Lind, Holm, & Fuentes: Hallelujah
Every Monday, I feature covers of songs that were recorded and made famous by others. Today's song is by Norwegian artists Kurt Nilsen, Espen Lind, Askil Holm, and Alejandro Fuentes and is a cover of "Hallelujah," which is best known by the late Jeff Buckley.
I found this version last fall completely by accident. At first listen, I was duly impressed by the harmony created by these four singers. In order of appearance, the performers include the following:
I find this song very interesting as the lyrics on the surface seem hopeful with the refrain "Hallelujah" throughout, but it is really a very dark song – especially when you read all of the verses most people don’t sing. Written by Canadian Leonard Cohen, this song has been recorded an estimated 200+ times including three releases (one studio and two live) by Cohen.
My main problem with the song is the confusion of the biblical stories of David and Samson, which may have been intentional or accidental – I lean towards the latter.
This is far from a religious song; however, as mentioned earlier, it does contain biblical and Judeo-Christian references. So I would imagine that there are some who believe it to be religious – but probably this is the same crowd that thinks “One Toke over the Line” by Brewer and Shipley is religious as well because the song frequently references “Sweet Jesus.” When I worked for WEMM in Huntington, WV, we had an album by a gospel group from Hurricane, WV that actually included "One Toke over the Line." Go figure.
Despite some of its lyrical problems, this Leonard Cohen song is simply beautiful – although I wouldn’t recommend any gospel musicians to record it. Of the hundreds of versions, there are six that can be credited as having a major influence:
As previously stated, Alexandra Burke’s version charted in the UK and Ireland at #1.
I found this version last fall completely by accident. At first listen, I was duly impressed by the harmony created by these four singers. In order of appearance, the performers include the following:
- Espen Lind (who is playing guitar and sings the first verse) was awarded the Norwegian Artist of the Year for 2009;
- Askil Holm who sings the first half of verse two;
- Alejandro Fuentes, a displaced Chilean who finished third in the third season of Norwegian Idol, sings the second half of verse two;
- Kurt Nilsen, singer of the final verse, won both first place in the initial season of Norwegian Idol and first place on World Idol in 2004.
I find this song very interesting as the lyrics on the surface seem hopeful with the refrain "Hallelujah" throughout, but it is really a very dark song – especially when you read all of the verses most people don’t sing. Written by Canadian Leonard Cohen, this song has been recorded an estimated 200+ times including three releases (one studio and two live) by Cohen.
My main problem with the song is the confusion of the biblical stories of David and Samson, which may have been intentional or accidental – I lean towards the latter.
This is far from a religious song; however, as mentioned earlier, it does contain biblical and Judeo-Christian references. So I would imagine that there are some who believe it to be religious – but probably this is the same crowd that thinks “One Toke over the Line” by Brewer and Shipley is religious as well because the song frequently references “Sweet Jesus.” When I worked for WEMM in Huntington, WV, we had an album by a gospel group from Hurricane, WV that actually included "One Toke over the Line." Go figure.
Despite some of its lyrical problems, this Leonard Cohen song is simply beautiful – although I wouldn’t recommend any gospel musicians to record it. Of the hundreds of versions, there are six that can be credited as having a major influence:
- Cohen’s original, which charted in the UK in 2008 at 36;
- John Cale’s version (the first cover of the song and whose lyrical editing most other covers follow);
- Jeff Buckley’s 1994 cover, which Rolling Stone listed as one of the top 500 songs of all time as well as being an international hit;
- Rufus Wainwright’s version for the movie Shrek;
- Alexadra Burke’s #1 hit in the UK and Ireland in 2008
- Lind, Nilsen, Fuentes, & Holm – the first version to chart within the top 40 anywhere – charting in Norway at #1 in 2007.
As previously stated, Alexandra Burke’s version charted in the UK and Ireland at #1.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mr. Mister: Kyrie
It’s Spiritual Sunday and for my pick of songs it is the 1986 hit by Mr. Mister, “Kyrie.” I know, I can already hear the critics saying what on earth is spiritual about Mr. Mister? Some legitimately may ask this question because of their lack of experience in a religious tradition that utilizes the vocal response "Kyrie eleison" used in prayers.
When it was released, my friends from the Roman, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions recognized the nature of the lyrics of this song; however, others from groups that do not use this response hadn’t a clue. Although not coming from one the aforementioned traditions, three years of college Greek was a plus, as I immediately connected "Kyrie" with the Greek noun κύριος – which is translated in English as Lord.
The line "Kyrie eleison" (Κύριε ἐλέησον) – "Kyrie" is in the vocative case (the case to identify someone) and literally is “O Lord.” The verb "eleison" (for those that need or care to know is a second person singular aorist active imperative of ἐλεέω) is literally translated “You show mercy" or "You be merciful.” While the aorist tense normally shows past activities, when coupled with imperative mood/mode it is something that is accomplished in the present or future. While imperative mood/mode is usually thought as a command, it can also be used when one is begging or beseeching someone.
"Kyrie eleison" is used in religious circles as “Lord have mercy” – which is a prayer for the Lord to show His mercy or compassion upon us. It is the only remaining Greek found within the Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church today.
The idea of Mr. Mister’s hit was that whatever we do, wherever we go, we need the Lord’s mercy.
Richard Page, lead singer and bassist, explains the origin of this song’s idea and his hesitance to record a song with overt religious overtones. By the way, it was their biggest hit peaking at #1 for two weeks on Billboard’s hot 100.
Mr. Mister was not the only artist to write a song with this title; Mozart did one as well for his "Requiem". Here’s a four part version of Mozart’s "Kyrie eleison" on guitar.
When it was released, my friends from the Roman, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions recognized the nature of the lyrics of this song; however, others from groups that do not use this response hadn’t a clue. Although not coming from one the aforementioned traditions, three years of college Greek was a plus, as I immediately connected "Kyrie" with the Greek noun κύριος – which is translated in English as Lord.
Mr. Mister, Charleston, WV 1987. Left to right: Jim Owston, Steve George,
Steve Farris, Ed Neal, Robert Tipane, Richard Page, and Pat Mastelotto.
The line "Kyrie eleison" (Κύριε ἐλέησον) – "Kyrie" is in the vocative case (the case to identify someone) and literally is “O Lord.” The verb "eleison" (for those that need or care to know is a second person singular aorist active imperative of ἐλεέω) is literally translated “You show mercy" or "You be merciful.” While the aorist tense normally shows past activities, when coupled with imperative mood/mode it is something that is accomplished in the present or future. While imperative mood/mode is usually thought as a command, it can also be used when one is begging or beseeching someone.
"Kyrie eleison" is used in religious circles as “Lord have mercy” – which is a prayer for the Lord to show His mercy or compassion upon us. It is the only remaining Greek found within the Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church today.
The idea of Mr. Mister’s hit was that whatever we do, wherever we go, we need the Lord’s mercy.
The wind blows hard against this mountainside
Across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide
Setting my feet upon the road
My heart is old it holds my memories
My body burns a gemlike flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine
Is where I find myself again
Kyrie Eleison Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison Where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie Eleison On a highway in the light
When I was young I thought of growing old
Of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road
Or only wished what I could be
Richard Page, lead singer and bassist, explains the origin of this song’s idea and his hesitance to record a song with overt religious overtones. By the way, it was their biggest hit peaking at #1 for two weeks on Billboard’s hot 100.
Mr. Mister was not the only artist to write a song with this title; Mozart did one as well for his "Requiem". Here’s a four part version of Mozart’s "Kyrie eleison" on guitar.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
A Celtic Mashup
Anything goes on Saturday and I spent the entire evening last night constructing a mashup of traditional inspired music -- mostly Celtic in origin; however, Loreena McKennitt’s “All Souls Night” is an original tune and I believe “A Maid that’s deep in Love” is of English origin. The process required me to put four songs together into one medley of tunes or a mashup. The songs are as follows in order of appearance.
I discovered Haley Westenra’s wonderful version of “She Moved through the Fair” when I featured the Sinéad O’Conner’s version a few weeks ago. Since my wife wouldn’t listen to O'Connor's version, I decided to use another and I liked the instrumentation found in Haley Westenra’s video. It wasn’t until after I recorded the mashup that I noticed that the video was something that another You Tube contributor produced and it wasn’t a commercial video. Oh well, it was nicely done and I am not going to redo this mashup.
Finally, since the “A Maid that’s deep in Love” had no video other than static photos, I used a video track from another Pentangle song “House Carpenter” to give the illusion that Jacqui McShee was actually singing. I didn’t try to get this perfect, as I just wanted to do at least one mashup – and after 10 hours, I got this out of my system.
A couple of events inspired me to do this. When I discovered the Corrs’ version of “Lough Erin Shore,” I recognized that it was very similar to Pentangle’s version of “A Maid that’s deep in Love.” I was familiar with that song from the LP "Cruel Sister," the only Pentangle album that I own. With the similarities, I began contemplating the possibility of combining the two songs. The second inspiration was a mashup by a gentleman named Peter Bull but goes by the name of Norwegian Recycling. His video “How Six Songs Collide” was the second inspiration.
Here’s Norwegian Recycling’s “How Six Songs Collide.”
To make this video, I used Ask.com’s video converter, Sony Vegas Video, and Sony Sound Forge. When stringing the songs together, I needed unified theme and this was the frequent use of the rebec and hurdy-gurdy from “All Souls Night.” There were some problems with the Ask converter, as several of the videos had dropouts and it would not let me re-record these particular videos – so I improvised by editing some of these.
Here are the original videos I used.
Loreena McKennitt – “All Souls Night”
The Corrs – “Lough Erin Shore”
Pentangle – “A Maid that’s deep in Love”
Haley Westenra – “She Moved through the Fair”
Pentangle - "House Carpenter"
- Loreena McKennitt – “All Souls Night”
- The Corrs – “Lough Erin Shore”
- Pentangle – “A Maid that’s deep in Love”
- Haley Westenra – “She Moved through the Fair”
I discovered Haley Westenra’s wonderful version of “She Moved through the Fair” when I featured the Sinéad O’Conner’s version a few weeks ago. Since my wife wouldn’t listen to O'Connor's version, I decided to use another and I liked the instrumentation found in Haley Westenra’s video. It wasn’t until after I recorded the mashup that I noticed that the video was something that another You Tube contributor produced and it wasn’t a commercial video. Oh well, it was nicely done and I am not going to redo this mashup.
Finally, since the “A Maid that’s deep in Love” had no video other than static photos, I used a video track from another Pentangle song “House Carpenter” to give the illusion that Jacqui McShee was actually singing. I didn’t try to get this perfect, as I just wanted to do at least one mashup – and after 10 hours, I got this out of my system.
A couple of events inspired me to do this. When I discovered the Corrs’ version of “Lough Erin Shore,” I recognized that it was very similar to Pentangle’s version of “A Maid that’s deep in Love.” I was familiar with that song from the LP "Cruel Sister," the only Pentangle album that I own. With the similarities, I began contemplating the possibility of combining the two songs. The second inspiration was a mashup by a gentleman named Peter Bull but goes by the name of Norwegian Recycling. His video “How Six Songs Collide” was the second inspiration.
Here’s Norwegian Recycling’s “How Six Songs Collide.”
To make this video, I used Ask.com’s video converter, Sony Vegas Video, and Sony Sound Forge. When stringing the songs together, I needed unified theme and this was the frequent use of the rebec and hurdy-gurdy from “All Souls Night.” There were some problems with the Ask converter, as several of the videos had dropouts and it would not let me re-record these particular videos – so I improvised by editing some of these.
Here are the original videos I used.
Loreena McKennitt – “All Souls Night”
The Corrs – “Lough Erin Shore”
Pentangle – “A Maid that’s deep in Love”
Haley Westenra – “She Moved through the Fair”
Pentangle - "House Carpenter"
Friday, October 9, 2009
Junior Brown: My Wife Thinks You're Dead
It’s Fun Friday and today we cross the tracks to the country side of the spectrum with Junior Brown’s 1995 recording of “My Wife Thinks You're Dead.” This song peaked at 68 on Billboard's Country charts.
I first heard Jamieson “Junior” Brown on West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage a number of years ago. One of the first things that attracted me to Brown’s music was his unique voice coupled with his humorous lyrics. But you don’t have to listen to very much of Brown’s music to realize that he is a talented guitarist and lap steel guitarist.
Live Version
The instrument that Brown plays is a custom built axe of his own design. The Guitsteel is a double neck instrument that looks like fraternal conjoined twins. Brown thought, “there are double neck guitars and double neck steels, what about a double neck with one of each.” The guitar rests on a stand to make changing between instruments easier. The steel slide fits into a pocket in the upper guitar neck. He is a master of both and that is evident immediately.
Regarding the video, the ex-girlfriend is played by Gwendolyn Gillingham-McIlvaine who measures at 6’7”. It adds to the comedic effect of the song when she stands next the much shorter Brown. The wife in the video is played Brown's actual wife, Tanya Rae Brown, who also supplies the rhythm guitar for his band.
While Brown is branded as a country artist and called the “Hillbilly Hendrix,” his musical influences go beyond the cowboy hat. The following cut represents Browns acumen in sounding exactly like the late Jimi Hendrix.
Here’s Junior Brown doing “Foxy Lady.”
I first heard Jamieson “Junior” Brown on West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage a number of years ago. One of the first things that attracted me to Brown’s music was his unique voice coupled with his humorous lyrics. But you don’t have to listen to very much of Brown’s music to realize that he is a talented guitarist and lap steel guitarist.
Live Version
The instrument that Brown plays is a custom built axe of his own design. The Guitsteel is a double neck instrument that looks like fraternal conjoined twins. Brown thought, “there are double neck guitars and double neck steels, what about a double neck with one of each.” The guitar rests on a stand to make changing between instruments easier. The steel slide fits into a pocket in the upper guitar neck. He is a master of both and that is evident immediately.
Regarding the video, the ex-girlfriend is played by Gwendolyn Gillingham-McIlvaine who measures at 6’7”. It adds to the comedic effect of the song when she stands next the much shorter Brown. The wife in the video is played Brown's actual wife, Tanya Rae Brown, who also supplies the rhythm guitar for his band.
While Brown is branded as a country artist and called the “Hillbilly Hendrix,” his musical influences go beyond the cowboy hat. The following cut represents Browns acumen in sounding exactly like the late Jimi Hendrix.
Here’s Junior Brown doing “Foxy Lady.”
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Deep Purple: Hush
It’s TV Thursday and today’s number is a song featured on a recent Jaguar commercial: “Hush,” the maiden single by Deep Purple (and we ain’t talkin’ about Nino Tempo and April Stevens either).
The Jaguar commercial:
The US issue of the album (T-102) was the second album and the single (1503) was third single release for the independent Tetragrammaton label that was partially owned by Bill Cosby.
The song hush was written by Joe South (“Games People Play”) with Billy Joe Royal in mind. Royal released it as a single in the US, but his version peaked on the Billboard’s Hot 100 at 52 in 1967. Deep Purple’s 1968 arrangement, while similar to Joe South’s demo recording of the song, only charted in North America where it placed at #4 in the US and #2 in Canada.
The recording features Deep Purple’s original lineup that included vocalist Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper – both of whom were fired after the release of the band’s self titled third album.
Unlike later recordings by Deep Purple that prominently featured the guitar of Ritchie Blackmore, “Hush” and others from this period concentrated on keyboardist Jon Lord’s organ playing. His instrument of choice was the classic Hammond B3 organ.
The Hammond sound is unique and was created using 96 rotating tone wheels that recreate the sound of a pipe organ. The organ had drawbars that could be set to add a certain amount of tone mimicking pipe organ pipes in various lengths. These included 16 foot, 8 foot, 4 foot, 2 foot, 1 foot with the 8 foot setting being the fundamental sound. In addition three drawbars added a fifth note in various octaves with the 5 1/3 foot, 2 2/3 foot, and 1 1/3 foot settings. One additional draw bar (1 3/5 foot) added a major third that was two octaves above the fundamental.
The adjustment of the drawbars created unique timbres and when combined what was termed as percussion that added a “plink” to the attack and a key click which was caused by the closing of the key contacts on the organ. Add to all of that the Leslie rotating speaker with produced a Doppler effect that changed the pitch of the notes being played. Finally, organists learned that this mechanical organ’s tone wheels could produce a pitch bend when the musician, while depressing the keys, shut the organ off and then back on while playing.
Made until 1974, the Hammond B3 organs produced a distinctive sound and these instruments were used on thousands of recordings during the period. Jon Lord’s playing shows that an organist can also use a percussive attack and glissando to add effects to songs without having to be exact when playing. You can hear this in “Hush” as well as other Rock organ pieces from the period. See if you can pick out the various sounds in Jon Lord’s playing on “Hush.”
The Jaguar commercial:
The US issue of the album (T-102) was the second album and the single (1503) was third single release for the independent Tetragrammaton label that was partially owned by Bill Cosby.
The song hush was written by Joe South (“Games People Play”) with Billy Joe Royal in mind. Royal released it as a single in the US, but his version peaked on the Billboard’s Hot 100 at 52 in 1967. Deep Purple’s 1968 arrangement, while similar to Joe South’s demo recording of the song, only charted in North America where it placed at #4 in the US and #2 in Canada.
The recording features Deep Purple’s original lineup that included vocalist Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper – both of whom were fired after the release of the band’s self titled third album.
Hammond B3 Organ
Unlike later recordings by Deep Purple that prominently featured the guitar of Ritchie Blackmore, “Hush” and others from this period concentrated on keyboardist Jon Lord’s organ playing. His instrument of choice was the classic Hammond B3 organ.
The Hammond sound is unique and was created using 96 rotating tone wheels that recreate the sound of a pipe organ. The organ had drawbars that could be set to add a certain amount of tone mimicking pipe organ pipes in various lengths. These included 16 foot, 8 foot, 4 foot, 2 foot, 1 foot with the 8 foot setting being the fundamental sound. In addition three drawbars added a fifth note in various octaves with the 5 1/3 foot, 2 2/3 foot, and 1 1/3 foot settings. One additional draw bar (1 3/5 foot) added a major third that was two octaves above the fundamental.
The adjustment of the drawbars created unique timbres and when combined what was termed as percussion that added a “plink” to the attack and a key click which was caused by the closing of the key contacts on the organ. Add to all of that the Leslie rotating speaker with produced a Doppler effect that changed the pitch of the notes being played. Finally, organists learned that this mechanical organ’s tone wheels could produce a pitch bend when the musician, while depressing the keys, shut the organ off and then back on while playing.
Made until 1974, the Hammond B3 organs produced a distinctive sound and these instruments were used on thousands of recordings during the period. Jon Lord’s playing shows that an organist can also use a percussive attack and glissando to add effects to songs without having to be exact when playing. You can hear this in “Hush” as well as other Rock organ pieces from the period. See if you can pick out the various sounds in Jon Lord’s playing on “Hush.”
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sutherland Brothers & Quiver: Arms of Mary
Something got me thinking of this song the other day and I am not sure why – perhaps I was mourning over my misspent youth. When this song came out, I was not quite 21 – a senior in college and not really sure what I would be doing the next 30 odd years. In 1976, I never could have predicted the direction my life turned. Oh yeah, back to the song.
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver were actually two groups that merged to create the sextet they had at the peak of membership. The two groups you ask? Uh, the Sutherland Brothers merged with Quiver. Lasting only through the decade of the 70s – SBQ was doomed by not having a large following in the US. Due to the lack of airplay, I doubt if one American in a hundred could name this song in connection with the band’s name or vice-versa.
Hit or not, there was something about Iain Sutherland’s vocals that made me love this song. Every time my friends and I would go to the local Pizza Hut across from campus, “Arms of Mary” was one of the tunes I would select from the jukebox – sometimes playing it twice because it was so short. It’s strange, but I never bought this single or even the album, “Reach for the Sky” when they were originally released. I do, however, own a copy of this song from a compilation series that CBS Records issued in the early 1980s that featured singles from the UK.
While it was a colossal hit “across the pond” where it peaked at #5, it didn’t do as well here in the States. “Arms of Mary” only charted at 81 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and performed a little better on Cashbox’s Top Singles at 71. This was a record that should have been a hit, but for some unknown reason it didn’t generate that much attention in the US. Whether it was poor promotion on the part of Columbia Records or just bad timing for the American release of the song, it is hard to say.
I can only remember hearing this song on one radio station during the fall of 76 and that was WKEE (AM 80 / FM 100.5) in Huntington, WV. KEE generally played records earlier than its competitors, so you tended to hear a greater variety of top 40 than you did from WKAZ in Charleston, WV and stations elsewhere. I am not certain if its nearest format challenger, WAMX in Ashland, KY, ever played the tune. If they did (and I expect they eventually did), it certainly wasn’t in the list of approved oldies when I worked there as a part-timer from 1978 to 1980.
When I moved to Beckley, WV to work for WCIR in 1981, I discovered that they too had played the single and it generated some moderate interest. Like KEE, CIR in those days had a very liberal format and the station had a reputation for creating hit records.
To my knowledge, the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver only had two songs ever to receive only a modicum of airplay on US radio. Although “Arms of Mary” was their biggest hit internationally, their 1972 release “(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway” charted higher in the US at #48 on Billboard’s Top 100. I like that one as well and have it on the same compilation series from CBS. Since I remember this song from when it was released, it must have received some airplay in the Pittsburgh market (where I lived until August 1973).
Here's SBQ's 1972 semi-hit, “(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway”:
As an aside, there is a question about the "Arms of Mary" video, “Is it live or is it Memorex?’ Well, it’s Memorex, although the vocals might have been done live as Iain Sutherland appears to perfectly aligned with his own voice (often difficult to do, but not impossible). I am, however, leaning towards lip sync on this one. The rest (if not all of the audio) is pre-recorded and there are some tell-tale signs of this.
First, there are missing instruments (acoustic guitar, flute, and keyboards) among the band members that are present on this recording. Second (and a little harder to spot), unlike the microphones, the guitars and bass are not plugged into amps (or anything else). If you check out some of the poorer quality videos of live performances of the this song, you will see the band mates playing through Orange brand amplifiers connected to the instruments by a quarter inch guitar cord. Third, there is no variation from the arrangement on the single. Most bands will do a song live slightly different than the recorded version for a variety of reasons. This one is exact.
With that said, the audio is cleaner than the actual live versions one finds on You Tube and much more interesting to watch than a static picture or someone’s 45 spinning on the turntable. For those of you born 1978 or later, that big thing as a prop behind the band is a reel-to-reel tape deck. Nice touch.
Unfortunately, you won’t be hearing this song on oldies radio any time soon. Tightly formatted oldies stations only seem to play the major hits from the past in rotation – nothing as insignificant as a song charting at 81. This is a shame, but it is the kind of world in which we live in that has created one size fits all restaurants (i.e., McDonalds), stores (i.e., Wal-Mart), and even radio (i.e., most every commercial station).
As a testimony of how this song has struck a chord with others besides me, note the number of legitimate cover versions of “Arms of Mary” that exist. I counted at least 13, which included a disco version – quite different I might say. A song of marginal interest would have never generated this much popularity. SBQ – two thumbs up in my book.
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver were actually two groups that merged to create the sextet they had at the peak of membership. The two groups you ask? Uh, the Sutherland Brothers merged with Quiver. Lasting only through the decade of the 70s – SBQ was doomed by not having a large following in the US. Due to the lack of airplay, I doubt if one American in a hundred could name this song in connection with the band’s name or vice-versa.
Hit or not, there was something about Iain Sutherland’s vocals that made me love this song. Every time my friends and I would go to the local Pizza Hut across from campus, “Arms of Mary” was one of the tunes I would select from the jukebox – sometimes playing it twice because it was so short. It’s strange, but I never bought this single or even the album, “Reach for the Sky” when they were originally released. I do, however, own a copy of this song from a compilation series that CBS Records issued in the early 1980s that featured singles from the UK.
While it was a colossal hit “across the pond” where it peaked at #5, it didn’t do as well here in the States. “Arms of Mary” only charted at 81 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and performed a little better on Cashbox’s Top Singles at 71. This was a record that should have been a hit, but for some unknown reason it didn’t generate that much attention in the US. Whether it was poor promotion on the part of Columbia Records or just bad timing for the American release of the song, it is hard to say.
I can only remember hearing this song on one radio station during the fall of 76 and that was WKEE (AM 80 / FM 100.5) in Huntington, WV. KEE generally played records earlier than its competitors, so you tended to hear a greater variety of top 40 than you did from WKAZ in Charleston, WV and stations elsewhere. I am not certain if its nearest format challenger, WAMX in Ashland, KY, ever played the tune. If they did (and I expect they eventually did), it certainly wasn’t in the list of approved oldies when I worked there as a part-timer from 1978 to 1980.
When I moved to Beckley, WV to work for WCIR in 1981, I discovered that they too had played the single and it generated some moderate interest. Like KEE, CIR in those days had a very liberal format and the station had a reputation for creating hit records.
To my knowledge, the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver only had two songs ever to receive only a modicum of airplay on US radio. Although “Arms of Mary” was their biggest hit internationally, their 1972 release “(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway” charted higher in the US at #48 on Billboard’s Top 100. I like that one as well and have it on the same compilation series from CBS. Since I remember this song from when it was released, it must have received some airplay in the Pittsburgh market (where I lived until August 1973).
Here's SBQ's 1972 semi-hit, “(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway”:
As an aside, there is a question about the "Arms of Mary" video, “Is it live or is it Memorex?’ Well, it’s Memorex, although the vocals might have been done live as Iain Sutherland appears to perfectly aligned with his own voice (often difficult to do, but not impossible). I am, however, leaning towards lip sync on this one. The rest (if not all of the audio) is pre-recorded and there are some tell-tale signs of this.
First, there are missing instruments (acoustic guitar, flute, and keyboards) among the band members that are present on this recording. Second (and a little harder to spot), unlike the microphones, the guitars and bass are not plugged into amps (or anything else). If you check out some of the poorer quality videos of live performances of the this song, you will see the band mates playing through Orange brand amplifiers connected to the instruments by a quarter inch guitar cord. Third, there is no variation from the arrangement on the single. Most bands will do a song live slightly different than the recorded version for a variety of reasons. This one is exact.
With that said, the audio is cleaner than the actual live versions one finds on You Tube and much more interesting to watch than a static picture or someone’s 45 spinning on the turntable. For those of you born 1978 or later, that big thing as a prop behind the band is a reel-to-reel tape deck. Nice touch.
Unfortunately, you won’t be hearing this song on oldies radio any time soon. Tightly formatted oldies stations only seem to play the major hits from the past in rotation – nothing as insignificant as a song charting at 81. This is a shame, but it is the kind of world in which we live in that has created one size fits all restaurants (i.e., McDonalds), stores (i.e., Wal-Mart), and even radio (i.e., most every commercial station).
As a testimony of how this song has struck a chord with others besides me, note the number of legitimate cover versions of “Arms of Mary” that exist. I counted at least 13, which included a disco version – quite different I might say. A song of marginal interest would have never generated this much popularity. SBQ – two thumbs up in my book.
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