Part Six: Miscellany

We heard from Alison Moorer in the last episode. To begin with, I had not been overly impressed. She had a big sis called Shelby Lynne who was an established artist with a much stronger voice. Here she is with a typical country tearjerker.

The sisters were both teenagers when a traumatic event occurred which would change their lives. Whilst they were in the home, their parents were outside arguing. Their father shot their mother and then killed himself. Grim!

Let’s hear from the sisters many years later with a great Bob Dylan song about approaching death. Now, my Scottish friend (only have the one, thankfully) will probably be disdainful that I have not chosen the great man himself, but I have a yen for this version.

My friend’s disdain will no doubt continue with this next song—probably my favourite Dylan song—Tangled Up in Blue. It has a great story and good melody, but again I prefer another version sung by Scottish songstress and fellow adoptee, KT Tunstall.

Reminds me that since teenage years I have tended to play new tracks over and over—as I did with this one. You have to turn the volume up.

I have spent far too much time listening to music in this lifetime. Had I studied more, I may have ended up as CEO of John Lewis—but hey ho.

The next singer up is a soul singer, Etta James—who Bonnie Raitt aspired to sound like when she was starting out. Love the song The Jealous Kind, and love the accompanying band, complete with great sax!

Ray Charles recorded some great duets with other artists like Bonnie Raitt, Billy Joel, and Willie Nelson (Seven Spanish Angels a great track), plus many others.

But the one I have chosen, an obscure record, features Ray with his most pain-filled voice and with a terribly bleak song—alongside the glorious Gladys in imperious form.

In the seventies this next song came out, sung by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. It was resurrected in the eighties by Simply Red and was a huge hit. Come 16 years ago, yet another version came out—this time by Seal—and is my favourite.

If You Don’t Know Me By Now.

Lastly, we have a soul singer who is my favourite after Ray Charles. James Ingram is duetting here with Patti Austin with a song written by the same composer of Windmills of Your Mind.

How Do You Keep the Music Playing? Great stuff.

Joni Mitchell was a great songwriter, but I have not been a fan of her singing—which is not a problem when you have someone like Sarah McLachlan with her wondrous rendering of River.

Over recent years I have been impressed by the singing/songwriting skills of another Sarah. This time it's Sara Bareilles, who has a powerful voice—but this is one of her gentler offerings.

51 years ago this song was no.1 in the UK. The singer was reggae singer John Holt. I would never have thought this was a country song, but I later discovered it was written by Kris Kristofferson, who died just a couple of weeks back.

It's a great song and has been covered by so many people that it's hard to choose just one version. I'm plumping for Norah Jones to Help Me Make It Through the Night.

For all those people who were wondering when on earth we are going to be able to listen to a Norwegian female jazz singer—I am pleased to say your time has come.

Love the voice and her chutzpah in singing this Tom Waits song all on her own in the Oslo Opera House. Great performance. Hope you agree.

Deciding on a favourite British female singer is tricky, as there have been so many from the sixties onwards. I got switched on to this woman in the late seventies by first wife. There are so many hits to choose from, but I really like this live track where she is 60 years old and still in her bluesy prime. Also, there's some really tasty sax!

She is 79 years old now and embarks on her farewell tour next year. Ladies and gentlemen, I present: Elkie Brooks.

I have been in love with this woman for 52 years now and never ever get tired of her. Saw her in the Albert Hall with first wife. She was amazing. Bonnie, that is—although...

Here she is with a song written by Scottish folk singer Richard Thompson. And what a song it is. Her live performances are something special.

This next track may seem a strange choice, as it's a Christian singer—or at least she was at the time, but not now. Audrey Assad, the young lady in question, had a troublesome upbringing within the Plymouth Brethren but is in recovery.

I usually like bluesy-voiced women but really find Audrey's voice very appealing. Don't ask why. I don't know either.

This last track was to have been Don't Let Me Down Easy by country singer-songwriter Kim Richey. I have changed it at the eleventh hour. Same singer, but an even better song.

Here she is at 63, still going strong with A Place Called Home. Wondrous.

This first track came out in 1993 when I wasn't particularly interested in the contemporary rock scene, but this band had something about them. A tight instrumental combo plus a soulful lead singer. What wasn’t to like?

Marc Cohn was, in my opinion, very underrated. Yet another voice—easily identified but not fully embraced by the American music public. I, on the other hand, really loved his raspy vocals, no more so than on this 1989 release.

He was shot in the head during a carjacking around 2000. He survived, whilst the shooter was sent to prison for 36 years.

We heard in one of the folk episodes from Liam Ó Maonlaí singing Worry Not. In his younger days, he was the lead singer for Irish pop band Hothouse Flowers. And here they are with a rousing rendition of I Can See Clearly Now—complete with a sax solo!

Yet another Eagles track, I'm afraid—and this was chosen especially because of the sax solo at the end by David Sanborn. Quite delicious!

During the Eagles hiatus, their drummer and lead singer Don Henley came out with this great iconic track, Boys of Summer.

If you didn’t like Boys of Summer then you can skip this. Same song but delivered in 2015 as a slow, reflective version which helped to bring out the meaning of the song.

On no account is this next track to be opened. It's only here for the sake of completeness. I do not like pop bands—and especially not boy bands—even if they deliver good music. To open this track will completely destroy my street cred (if I ever had any), and you will be turned into a frog!

I had not intended to include this next song as it's over 11 minutes long—and who has the time to listen for that long? But then I thought: it's actually essential listening for me, whilst it's entirely optional for you.

This is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird from a live performance in 1977 in a small arena with only a handful of fans! Nevertheless, they cook up a bit of a storm. The studio version is more transparent, but you miss out on the live atmosphere. Three great guitarists having the time of their lives.

Three months later, the band was involved in an aeroplane crash. One of the guitarists plus the singer were killed along with others, and many injuries. They reformed some years later, but that original lineup was something special.

Just 7 tracks to go, so let's get on with it. We're kicking off with Mark Knopfler. On leaving Dire Straits, he hooked up with some friends and called themselves the Notting Hillbillies. This song has been something of an anthem for me when times were difficult. The guitar solo at the end feels like I arrived home.

First wife had a favourite song called I'll Find My Way Home by Jon and Vangelis. I took a different tack, as a favourite of mine was Can't Find My Way Home. Another masterpiece with Stevie Winwood on guitar and vocals, and Eric Clapton with some wonderfully deft guitar playing. Should also mention Derek Trucks on the left.

This spot had been reserved for the Tedeschi Trucks Band with Susan Tedeschi, a Bonnie Raitt soundalike, with her husband Derek Trucks—one of the finest guitarists around. Trucks' own song Midnight in Harlem I chose as an example of musical excellence. Great band—but I then discovered a British band who covered it with warmth and a fluid and engaging sound. I spend more time listening to the cover version, so here it is.

A final track from Show of Hands to demonstrate what a great live band they were. This is Knightley's tribute to the NHS, called You'll Get By.

I was never a fan of the band Queen or Freddie Mercury—until he paired up with my favourite operatic soprano, Montserrat Caballé. This was written by Mercury for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and is a splendid amalgamation of rock and opera. Mercury is great, and Montserrat is simply sublime.

I have listened to a fair amount of jazz in my time, especially piano trios—often supplied by aforesaid Scottish friend. They're not always emotionally engaging, but this next track is. In fact, it sends me into ecstasy.

It will not surprise you that it is in fact a saxophone solo. Apologies to John Coltrane and the other sax legends, but this is Michael Brecker. I run out of superlatives with this guy. It took a couple of listens before it really took hold. Oh boy.

We started with Knopfler, and we will finish with him—this time in tandem with Bonnie Raitt, my dream team. In this live performance, he has just turned 70 whilst Bonnie is just a couple of months off—but what fine wine they make together. Just glorious!

Thanks for letting me share these tracks with you. I hope there may have been one or two you may have liked.

Adios, my friends.