The Best Songs In the World #25 - Jacques Brel - "Mon Enfance"

1967 - Jacques Brel and a story about childhood - his?
I prefer songs that develop - not the ones that keep repeating the same chorus/ verse scheme. Or, at best, songs that develop emotionally - and this is the case with "Mon Enfance". Brel becomes more and more strong as time passes - as if his first childhood memories were fuzzy and distant, but as times passes and he reaches adolescence he becomes more adventurous and his blood runs faster. And it ends with an time elipse - "and then war came / and here we are tarde". As if nothing else mattered in the meantime and all we could remember now was the flame of youth. Superb.

After the french lyrics you can find a portuguese version, transalted by Eduardo Maia (Assírio e Alvim, 1987). It is not a particularly apt translation, but allows non french speakers to understand the lyrics.



Mon enfance passa
De grisailles en silences
De fausses révérences
En manque de batailles
L´hiver j´étais au ventre
De la grande maison
Qui avait jeté l´ancre
Au nord parmi les joncs
L´été à moitié nu
Mais tout à fait modeste
Je devenais indien
Pourtant déjà certain
Que mes oncles repus
M´avaient volé le Far West

Mon enfance passa
Les femmes aux cuisines
Où je rêvais de Chine
Vieillissaient en repas
Les hommes au fromage
S´enveloppaient de tabac
Flamands taiseux et sages
Et ne me savaient pas
Moi qui toutes les nuits
Agenouillé pour rien
Arpégeais mon chagrin
Au pied du trop grand lit
Je voulais prendre un train
Que je n´ai jamais pris

Mon enfance passa
De servante en servante
Je m´étonnais déjà
Qu´elles ne fussent point plantes
Je m´étonnais encore
De ces ronds de famille
Flânant de mort en mort
Et que le deuil habille
Je m´étonnais surtout
D´être de ce troupeau
Qui m´apprenait à pleurer
Que je connaissais trop
J´avais L´œil du berger
Mais le cœur de l´agneau

Mon enfance éclata
Ce fut l´adolescence
Et le mur du silence
Un matin se brisa
Ce fut la première fleur
Et la première fille
La première gentille
Et la première peur
Je volais je le jure
Je jure que je volais
Mon cœur ouvrait les bras
Je n´étais plus barbare

Et la guerre arriva

Et nous voilà ce soir.


A MINHA INFÂNCIA

A minha infância passou
Entre tédios e silêncios
Entre falsas mesuras
E batalhas que não houve
De Inverno no ventre
Daquela grande casa
Que tinha ancorado
A Norte por entre os juncos
De Verão meio nu
Mas modesto por inteiro
Tornava-me indio
Embora ja convico
De que os meus tios cevados
Me tinham roubado o Far West

A minha infância passou
As mulheres nas cozinhas
Onde eu sonhava com a China
Envelheciam em cozinhados
Os homens ao queijo
Envolviam-se em tabaco
Flamengos calados e ponderados
E não me conheciam
Eu que todas as noites
Ajoelhado para nada
Arpejava o meu desgosto
Aos pés da cama imensa
Queria apanhar um comboio
Que nunca apanhei*

A minha infância passou
De criada em criada
Admirava-me já
Não serem elas plantas
Admiravam-me ainda
Essas rodas de família
Flanando de defunto em defunto
E que o luto cobre
Admirava-me sobretudo
Vir eu de tal rebanho
Que me ensinava a chorar
Que eu conhecia demais
O meu olhar era de pastor
Mas o coração de cordeiro

A minha infância estourou
Chegou a adolescência
E o muro do silêncio
Uma manhã ruiu
Foi a primeira flor
E a primeira namorada
A primeira gentil
E o primeiro medo
Eu até voei eu juro
Eu juro que até voei
O meu coração abria os braços
Era o fim da bárbarie

E a guerra chegou

E eis nos agora aqui
* este verso falta na tradução, certamente por lapso

The Best Songs In the World #24 - Roxy Music - "A Song for Europe"

From their 1973 album "Stranded", this declaration of love for Europe with a bitter taste is a must have in every home. The dettached style of Bryan Ferry is perfect for the recitiative style of the first part of the song, but he gains full control in the last part, specially when he beguns reciting and latin and (hallucinated) french...


Songwriters: MACKAY, ANDREW EDWIN / FERRY, BRYAN

Here as I sit
At this empty café
Thinking of you
I remember
All those moments
Lost in wonder
That we'll never
Find again
Though the world
Is my oyster
It's only a shell
Full of memories
And here by the Seine
Notre-Dame casts
A long lonely shadow

Now, only sorrow
No tomorrow
There's no today for us
Nothing is there
For us to share
But yesterday
These cities may change
But there always remains
My obsession
Through silken waters
My gondola glides
And the bridge, it sighs

I remember
All those moments
Lost in wonder
That we'll never
Find again
There's no more time for us
Nothing is there
For us to share
But yesterdays

Ecce momenta
Illa mirabilia
Quae captabit
In aeternum
Memor
Modo dolores
Sunt in dies
Non est reliquum
Vero tantum
Comminicamus
Perdita
Tous ces moments
Perdus dans l`enchantement
Qui ne reviendront
Jamais
Pas d´aujourd´hui pour nous
Pour nous il n´y a rien
A partager
Sauf le passé

Ezhevika Fields

Quando encontro um blog de música dos anos 70 e 80 em que não conheço nada, eu digo: Respect! Portanto, aqui fica ele, para quem tem o gosto do desconhecido.
http://ezhevika.blogspot.pt/

The Best Songs in the World #23 - dEUS - "Instant Street"

The Best thing to come out of Belgium  - and I am considering the beer and Leonidas chocolates - dEUS make awesome music - Their "Ideal Crash" album is a classic and this song that slowly evolves towards the climax is a must.



You're probably right, seen from your side, that I've been lucky
but I've been meaning to crack all week.
Yes I've been involved, it never resolved into anything shocking.
Pains playing yoyo in my body as we speak.

And now I found something to look for, but I can't decide,
'Cause I might find that to stroll behind is better than to score.
Just like I did before.

It wouldn't be true, not towards you, to say that I'm staying.
When on every single impulse, on every other move I react.
'Cause in any old creek, with changing technique, you'll see me playing.
After any old motherfucking blow I'll be back.

We turned away from instant stuff
our cracking codes were breaking up
our words were sucked out it made them clean.
And after lowness say it
and after more let it be known

You're probably right, as for tonight, you're making me nervous.
What is it you want me to be thinking of?
I'll put on a movie, I'll play something groovy as a matter of service
And I'll chuckle when you smile as a matter of love.
'Cause you know it's not my style to be giving up now.
And this pain in my side, I had enough.

This time I go for Instant Street
This life's a soulless excuse for all abuse and parenthesis.
The flyspecked windows and the stinking lobbies
they'll remain all the same, all the same.

This time I go. This time I go...

The Best Songs In the World #22 - Nick Cave And the Bad Seeds "The Mercy Seat"

A demoniac run that depicts the anguish of a convicted waiting for the sentence to be executed - although he is " nearly wholly innocent". Johnny Cahs did a pretty good version.



"The Mercy Seat"

It began when they come took me from my home
And put me in Dead Row,
Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.
And I'll say it again
I.. am.. not.. afraid.. to.. die.

I began to warm and chill
To objects and their fields,
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
The face of Jesus in my soup
Those sinister dinner deals
The meal trolley's wicked wheels
A hooked bone rising from my food
All things either good or ungood.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
A tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

Interpret signs and catalogue
A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.
The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath gathering at my hind

I hear stories from the chamber
How Christ was born into a manger
And like some ragged stranger
Died upon the cross
And might I say, it seems so fitting in its way
He was a carpenter by trade
Or at least that's what I'm told

Like my good hand
tattooed E.V.I.L. across it's brother's fist
That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.

In Heaven His throne is made of gold
The ark of his Testament is stowed
A throne from which I'm told
All history does unfold.
Down here it's made of wood and wire
And my body is on fire
And God is never far away.

Into the mercy seat I climb
My head is shaved, my head is wired
And like a moth that tries
To enter the bright eye
So I go shuffling out of life
Just to hide in death awhile
And anyway I never lied.

My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.
'Tis a long-suffering shackle
Collaring all that devil blood.

And the mercy seat is a-burning
And I think my head is flowing
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all this weighing up of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And I've got nothing left to lose
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway, there was no proof
And nor a motive why.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
A life for a life
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway there was no proof
And I'm not afraid to die.

Now the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is smoking
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all these looks of disbelief.
A eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
A eye for a eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
But I'm not afraid to lie.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
But I'm afraid I told a lie.

The Best Songs in the World #21 - Björk - "Venus as a Boy"

Björk has written many, many good songs. This one, from her first solo album "Debut" (1993), keeps the freshness and is still unlike any other song you heard.

The Best Songs in the World 20 - The Manhattan Transfer - "A Foreign Affair"

This is a Tom Waits song from the album of the same name, from 1976. The song is an elegy to travel and the vocal group make an immaculate work around the manificent lyrics.

The Best Songs In the World 19 - Abbey Lincoln - "Throw it Away"

From one of her last albums and with the acoustic guitar of Pat Metheny per (excelent) company, this version of  her own "Throw it Away" is a wonderful song.
.

I think about the life I live
A figure made of clay
And think about the things I lost
The things I gave away

And when I'm in a certain mood
I search the house and look
One night I found these magic words
In a magic book

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

There's a hand to rock the cradle
And a hand to help us stand
With a gentle kind of motion
As it moves across the land

And the hand's unclenched and open
Gifts of life and love it brings
So keep your hand wide open
If you're needing anything

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you
You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you

You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you
You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you

The Best Songs in the World #18 , Sufjan Stevens - "All Delighted People"

This motherfucker is one of the best writers alive and this song may as well be his peak so far. Actually, the song extend for the whole EP with the same name, that has the same duration of a regular LP (for those of you that still remember what it is...)


The way he merges verses from Simon &Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" in the song is very interesting.

The Best Songs In the World #17- Yo La Tengo - "Ohm"

The motorika rythm of this opening song from their 2013 album "Fade" is the perfect engine for this Yo La Tengo flagship song. And the video is very nice.

The Best Songs in The World #16 - Sparks - "Perfume"

Half crazy, half genius, the Sparks duo has created some of the more refreshing and exhilarating songs of rock'n'roll. This is one of the best, with lyrics that say it all...An unstoppable hit!

                                                                        "Perfume"

Genevieve wears Dior
Margaret wears Tresor
Mary Jo wears Lauren
But you don't wear no perfume

Deborah wears Clinique
Marianne wears Mystique
Judith wears Shalimar
But you don't wear no perfume

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

Anna wears CK1
Jeanie wears Opium
Trisha wears No.5
But you don't wear no perfume

Susan wears St. Laurent
Janie wears L'Air du Temps
Kirstin wears Davidoff
But you don't wear no perfume

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

The olefactory sense is the sense
That most strongly evokes memories of the past
Well screw the past

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

Genevieve wears Hermes
Annabelle wears Arpege
Betty Lee wears Guerlain
But you don't wear no perfume

Katie wears Giorgio
Lily wears Moschino
Jenna wears Kenneth Cole
But you don't wear no perfume

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

Carol wears Cacharel
Lana wears Tommy Girl
Cynthia wears J'Adore
But you don't wear no perfume

Jennifer wears Celine
Laura wears Armani
Deborah wears Polo Sport
But you don't wear no perfume

Gina wears Vera Wang
Sheila wears Helmut Lang
Dinah wears Oxygene
But you don't wear no perfume

Jody wears Gaultier
Peggy wears Jean Patou
Stella wears Lagerfeld
But you don't wear no perfume

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you

That's why, that's why, that's why, that's why
That's why, that's why, that's why, that's why

The Best Songs in the World #15 - Procol Harum - "A Salty Dog"

Has this one fallen between the wrinkles of time? If that's the case, it's time to hear again this marine symphonic poem from 1969 album "A Salty Dog"



'All hands on deck, we've run afloat!'
I heard the captain cry
'Explore the ship, replace the cook:
let no one leave alive!'
Across the straits, around the Horn:
how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course,
and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man,
where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold,
could match our captain's eye
Upon the seventh seasick day
we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue,
no mortal place at all

We fired the gun, and burnt the mast,
and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept:
our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many Junes
have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman's log:
 your witness my own hand

The Best Songs In the World #14 - Bill Calahan - "Jim Cain"

Bill Callahan is so simple and so strong... This song from 2009's "I Wish We Were An Eagle" feels like a fireplace at home, or a good Douro aged wine...

I started out in search of ordinary things
How much of a tree bends in the wind
I started telling the story without knowing the end

I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again
Something to be seen was passing over and over me
Well it seemed like the routine case at first
With the death of the shadow came a lightness of verse
But the darkest of nights, in truth, still dazzles
And I woke myself until I'm frazzled

I ended up in search of ordinary things
Like how can a wave possibly be?
I started running, and the concrete turned to sand
I started running, and things didn't pan out as planned

In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
Done me in

The Best Songs In the World #13- Bob Dylan - "You're a Big Girl Now"

This is a very strange situation. Original Bob Dylan original songs are not on Youtube. The aggressive Sony policy towards rights protection just eliminated all original songs. I've searched through dozens of versions and live takes to realize this is the plain truth.

To me, this is the ultimate Bob Dylan song, from his best album, "Blood on the Tracks", 1974. Of course it is difficult to single out a track in Dylan's vast canon, and everyone has its favourite. Who cares? I vote for this one.

My Morning Jacket's, from a recent cover version album, captures the feeling and emulates almost the voice of the original. It's a pretty cover, but look for the original and it's very unique loose and melancholic feeling. It is a gem in an album that has quite a few.




Our conversation was short and sweet

It nearly swept me off-a my feet
And I’m back in the rain, oh, oh
And you are on dry land
You made it there somehow
You’re a big girl now

Bird on the horizon, sittin’ on a fence
He’s singin’ his song for me at his own expense
And I’m just like that bird, oh, oh
Singin’ just for you
I hope that you can hear
Hear me singin’ through these tears

Time is a jet plane, it moves too fast
Oh, but what a shame if all we’ve shared can’t last
I can change, I swear, oh, oh
See what you can do
I can make it through
You can make it too

Love is so simple, to quote a phrase
You’ve known it all the time, I’m learnin’ it these days
Oh, I know where I can find you, oh, oh
In somebody’s room
It’s a price I have to pay
You’re a big girl all the way

A change in the weather is known to be extreme
But what’s the sense of changing horses in midstream?
I’m going out of my mind, oh, oh
With a pain that stops and starts
Like a corkscrew to my heart
Ever since we’ve been apart

Copyright © 1974 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2002 by Ram’s Horn Music

Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/youre-big-girl-now#ixzz376LRoUhy

The Best Songs in The World #12 Midlake - Roscoe

Other songs from this 2006 (8 years already!) classic album "The trials of Van Occupanther" could be here, namely the other three following ones: "Bandits", "Head Home", "Van Occupanther". But this is the album opener, in style and substance.

The Best Songs in The World #11 - Lou Reed - "Perfect Day"

Round and round, like a Perfect Day. But it ends with: "you're going to rip just what you sown"...

A suggestion from Sergio R.

The Best Songs in The World #10 - Owen Pallett - "Lewis Takes off his shirt"

From Mr. Ex-Final Fantasy and from his 2010 "Heartland". Who said Canada is boring?

The Best Songs in the World, Pink Floyd #09 - "Cymbaline"

Written for the film "More" from Barbet Schroeder in 1969, this reflective piece that describes a dream, or a trip, it's a high piece of art. In my humble opinion.

It is also one of the great contributions of the underrated keyboardist, Rick Wright, that often played extended solos on liver versions of the theme.



The path you tread is narrow and the drop is shear and very high
The ravens all are watching from a vantage point near by
Apprehension creeping like a choo-train up your spine
Will the tightrope reach the end; will the final cuplet rhyme
And it's high time
Cymbaline
It's high time
Cymbaline
Please wake me Butterfly with broken wings is falling by your side
The ravens all are closing in there's no where you can hide
Your manager and agent are both busy on the phone
Selling colored photographs to magazines back home
And it's high time
Cymbaline
It's high time
Cymbaline
Please wake me
The lines converging where you stand they must have moved the picture plane
The leaves are heavy around your feet you hear the thunder of the train
Suddenly it strikes you that they're moving into range
Doctor Strange is always changing size
And it's high time
Cymbaline
It's high time
Cymbaline
Please wake me And it's high time
Cymbaline
It's high time
Cymbaline
Please wake me

The Best Songs in the World #08 - Felt - "Down an August and Path"

From their final 1989 album, a simple, frail, but haunting song. Dark images, like a XIX century romantic poem. Not one you would tipically find in this kind of poles. In my mind it is close to the next one - Cymbaline, from Pink Floyd.

Waiting by a bridge
That leads you to a stone
That says your mother died
Your mother died
Kneeling by her cross
The words they come to life
You open up inside
And start to cry

Shadows that are falling
Are merely angels calling
Shadows in the evening
Say something's got to give
The way you live
This cloud of darkness it must lift

You can't be so sure
Assertiviness never got you anywhere
Not anywhere
So i say to you
Be honest and be loyal
See what faith can do
What faith can do

Shadows that are falling
Are merely angels calling
Shadows in the evening
Say something's got to give
The way you live
This cloud of darkness it must lift

You are on your own
You're father's never there
He leaves you all alone
You're on your own
So you come to town
You shelter behind stories
Of your own design
They're all in your mind
When you saw me coming
You always started running
Stones hurled from afar
They always reach their mark
They never miss
They always, always
Leave a scar

Down an august path
The light is fading trees are shading
You from view
I can't see you
When will you learn
That noone is against you
We're all on your side
Your tide will return

Shadows that are falling
Are merely angels calling
Shadows in the evening
Say something's got to give
The way you live
This cloud of darkness it must lift

Ben Watt - "Nathaniel"

Alguém está com saudades de Mark Knopfler dos Dire Straits? Um dos melhores álbuns de 2014, até agora, "Hendra", de Ben Watt, dá uma ajuda...

A propósito, ainda um dia se fará justiça aos Everything But The Girl....

The Best Songs in the World #07 - Soul Coughing - "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago"

Very soon the 90's will be gaining tration - it's a generational thing - and then Soul Coughing will be rediscovered. This song is a trademark. " A man / drives a plane / Into the / Chrysler building". 1994.

And what a cover...

The Best Songs In the World - #06 - The Divine Comedy - "The Frog Princess"

The literate, witty and resourceful Neil Hannon in one of his best creations, from "Casanova", 1996.

I met a girl, she was a frog princess
I guess I ought to make it clear
that I saw nothing through her see-through dress
until she whispered in my ear
You don't really love me and I don't really mind
'cause I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time
Your place or mine?
I met a girl, she was a complete mess
I should've left her well alone, but oh no, not me
I had to see if underneath that dress
her heart was really made of stone
You don't really love me and I don't really mind
'cause I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time
Your place or mine?
I met a girl, she was a frog princess
and yes I do regret it now
But how was I to know that just one kiss
could turn my frog into a cow?
And now I'm rid of her I must confess
to thinking 'bout what might have been
And I can visualize my frog princess
beneath a shining guillotine
You don't really love me and baby that is alright
'cause I dont love anybody,
I come and go through peoples love-lives
Your place or mine?

Go Folk Fest em Gouveia

Go Folk Fest - Um novo festival dedicado à Folk, que nasce em Gouveia nos dias 1 e 2 de Agosto. A Presença das Formigas, que já estiveram no Gouveia Art Rock, o histórico Júlio Pereira, em fase de relançamento, e duas velhas glórias do folk rock británico, os Fairport Convention (praticamente os inventores do género), e os Strawbs, que também já atuaram no GAR. Acrescem ainda os Asturianos Noega e o duo escocês Fraser Fifield & Graeme Stephen.

http://www.gaudela.net/gofolk/index-p.html

The Best Songs in The World #05 - The Beatles - "Here Comes the sun"

The Beatles will appear in any list of the best songs in the world, and with multiple entries. I love this one because it is so positive and simple.

It's more a springtime song than a summer song...

From "Abbey Road", 1969



"Here Comes The Sun"

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right

The Best Songs in the World #04 - The Doors - Indian Summer

From "Morrison Hotel", time in suspension.

The Best Songs in the World #03 - Pink FLoyd - "Summer '68"

From 1970 and their groundbreaking album "Atom Heart Mother", another Summer Song - Summer '68.

The Best Songs in The World #02 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - From the Beginning

Belonging to their 1972 álbum "Trilogy", "From the Beginning" is one of the lightest moments of the power trio, and it's a Greg Lake song. Tastes like summer.

The best songs in the world #01

In a recent attempt to list my personal favourites and contenders for the best songs in the world I easily reached 200. And that's from top of my mind... It can get to thousands in a blink of an eye, and the problem is that there is no easy way to sort out the best ones.

So, I will leave to the spur of the moment, knowing that the "spur" is deeply anchored on memories and experience of listening to the songs over and over again.

Just a quick reminder of what a song is: it has vocals and lyrics in it...

Starting with one of the most amazing:

King Crimson - The Nightwatch

An Hymn to the Dutch Masters...And I am not talking about football...

Live version in French TV

This is not an easy one - say, it's not Mariah Carey...

It is delicate,literate, and mysterious - what else to enjoy in a song?


The Night Watch - King Crimson

Shine, shine, the light of good works shine
The watch before the city gates depicted in their prime
That golden light all grimy now
Three hundred years have passed
The worthy Captain and his squad of troopers standing fast

The artist knew their faces well
The husbands of his lady friends
His creditors and councilors
In armor bright, the merchant men

Official moments of the guild
In poses keen from bygone days
The city fathers frozen there
Upon the canvas dark with age

The smell of paint, a flask of wine
And turn those faces all to me
The blunderbuss and halberd-shaft
And Dutch respectability

They make their entrance one by one
Defenders of that way of life
The redbrick home, the bourgeoisie
Guitar lessons for the wife

So many years we suffered here
Our country racked with Spanish wars
Now comes a chance to find ourselves
And quiet reigns behind our doors
We think about posterity again

And so the pride of little men
The burghers good and true
Still living through the painter's hand
Request you all to understand

King Crimson - Live - Melody, 1974

Uma das poucas boas gravações dos King Crimson, com música superlativa.

Não é por acaso que é na TV francesa. Alguns grupos da Velha Albion eram muito bem recebidos no continente - Como os Pink Floyd, os Soft Machine, os Gentle Giant - e deixaram raízes que geraram música no Continente - Magma, Shylock... Alguns ficaram mesmo por lá, como Daevid Allen, dos Gong. França, particularmente, foi não só paraíso fiscal como lugar de inspiração para muitas bandas - dos Stones aos Floyd.

Os Beatles tiveram a primeira temporada de sucesso em Hamburgo.

Afinal, é uma só terra, embora os Chapéus de Coco pensem que são So Damn Superior....

Steven Wilson - Cover Version

Steven Wilson lançou um álbum de versões: Cover Version. Irrelevante.
Para quê fazer versões claramente abaixo dos originais?
Ex: Sign 'O' the Times

Gouveia Art Rock: O Programa

Aqui fica o programa conhecido do Gouveia Art Rock até ao momento, com alguns links para o Youtube. Os bilhetes já estão á venda , e costumam esgotar num ápice...

https://www.facebook.com/#!/GouveiaArtRock?fref=ts


• Fadomorse (Portugal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylm-Kqahkw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCu57n9go9g

• Gatto Marte (Itália)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpe0XAm9uTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIcpC9BVRyA

• AyseDeniz GOKCIN (Turquia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBejZWuMJus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lroaq1VAkmc

• Not a Good Sign... (Itália)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0QWqGHZC70

• Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy (UK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80L1kEacebM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQssthhy0vk

• Three Friends (UK)- "Herdeiros" dos Gentle Giant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYHuxYxUGE

• Thierry Zaboitezeff (França) - Ex Art Zoyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-lTsnHQ6Dw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EI7NRd-TVo

• Peter Hammill and Gary Lucas (UK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b350UP2WAvs

Twin Covers: Traffic / Bert Jansch

The Black Force: Jones and Cherry

Hoje o Peru está virado para as mulheres - e a negritude imanente destes exemplos rítmicos é uma atracção permanente.

Grace Jones: Corporate Cannibal (Hurricane, 2009)


Neneh Cherry - The Blank Project (2014)

Joan as Police Woman - The Classic

Novo Disco, este primeiro tema promete

St. Vincent - Bah!

St. Vincent é uma fraude. O 5º álbum de St. VIncent - que leva somente o nome dela- é o pior de todos. Semi-modernaça mas sem conteúdo, Goldfrapp desnatada, Florence + The Machine sem balls, pretensamente arty mas parola.

Abundam os teclados de pacotilha (como em "Regret"). Parece tudo feito numa versão redux do Garage Band ("Bring me your love") ou anos 80 remastigados (Psychopath). A tentar imitar Lana Del Rey, mas sem o dettachment calculado dela ("I prefer your love"). Pretensiosamente alternativa. Uma total fake.

Delete e fast forward.

Velhas Pancas: Moondog - O Viking da 6ª Avenida

This is Serious stuff!

Moondog, vagabundo das ruas de Nova Iorque, cego, lunático, escreveu alguma da melhor música dos 60 (para me cingir a um período). E esta, hein?

Não é brincadeira: Ouçam este álbum (1969). É verdadeiramente incrível!

(wikipedia)

Moondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), was a blind American composer, musician, poet and inventor of several musical instruments. Moving to New York as a young man, Moondog made a deliberate decision to make his home on the streets there, where he spent approximately twenty of the thirty years he lived in the city. Most days he could be found in his chosen part of town wearing clothes he had created based on his own interpretation of the Norse god Odin. Thanks to his unconventional outfits and lifestyle, he was known for much of his life as "The Viking of 6th Avenue".

Novas pancas: Nostalgia 77 - An Angel With No Halo

Fresh out of the oven...

Owen Pallett com disco novo e entre nós

Novo disco (o quarto) de Owen Pallet em Maio e concerto em Lisboa a 27 de Maio. Boas notícias, portanto!

Brian Eno está entre os contribuidores.

Hoje deu-me para o jazz

Vai daí, pus estes a rodar no prato:

Eliane Elias - Cross Currents - 1987

Muito melhor que Diana Krall! Nesta altura ela ainda não cantava, só encantava !

Com Eddie Gomez, Jack DeJohnette e Peter Erskine - escort de luxo!

Edição Blue Note em vinil), o da imagem é o CD da Denon.

The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine - Remembrance - 1978
Com esta capa, só pode ser bom! Gente com ar de músico respeitado! Também pudera, Elvin tocou com Coltrane...

Chick Corea - Friends - 1978

(A capa original era com estrumpfes, a minha é esta capa alternativa, da edição francesa)

Com companheiros regulares: Joe Farrel, Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez. Um regresso a alguma pureza depois dos excessos jazz rock. Disco inspirado e que inspira.

Paquito D'Rivera - Why Not! - 1984

Jazz de tintas latinas pelo dissidente cubano.
Curiosidade: Toots Thielemans toca harmónica, guitarra e assobio

Vinyl Forever!

Psst! - Arcade Fire & Owen Pallet: Her (OST)

Aqui:
http://rapidgator.net/file/8fe24df9cb6133cec587914636f8ca05/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Arcade_Fire_and_Owen_Pallett_-_Her_OST_2013.rar.html

Art Ensemble of Chicago - Theme de YoYo (Les Stances à Sophie)

Este tema dos Art Ensemble of Chicago, para o filme Les Stances à Sophie, é excepcional. Uma fusão de jazz e funk, com dois saxes o de Roscoe Mitchell e o Joseph Jarman. Gravado em França em 1970. E a letra, muito à frente...

A Soul Jazz Records de Londres relançou recentemente o filme.

Your head is like a yoyo,
your neck is like the string,
Your body's like a camembert
oozing from its skin.

Your fanny's like two sperm whales
floating down the Seine
Your voice is like a long fart
that's music to your brain.

Your eyes are two blind eagles
that kill what they can't see
Your hands are like two shovels
digging in me.

And your love is like an oil-well
Dig, dig, dig, dig it,
On the Champs-Elysees.

Com a devida vénia, aqui fica um texto sobre o álbum, do site Soul Strut

http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/reviews/indepth/Les%20Stances%20A%20Sophie/

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - Les Stances A Sophie (1970)
Released on Nessa
Added Sunday, January 31, 2010


The Art Ensemble of Chicago was at the forefront of avant-garde Jazz in the 1960s and 1970s. Les Stances A Sophie was recorded during a period when the band was living in Paris, France. They were asked to create a score for a movie Les Stances A Sophie by the French New Wave director Moshe Misrahi. The music was never used for the film, but it was released as an album on its own. The album gets off to a great start with Theme De Yoyo, a hot Jazz-Funk piece. The song has a strong drum track by Don Moye and a catchy bass line that would make a great loop. It also features the vocals of Fontella Bass of “Rescue Me” fame, who was married to the band’s trumpet player, Lester Bowie. The rest of the album varies between the avant guard, Theme De Celine, mood pieces, Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi (I), and straight Jazz, Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi (II). There are definitely moments that might excite a producer, but for Soul-Jazz lovers, just play Theme De Yoyo over and over, it’s that good.

Jad & Den Quintet - Trilogy

Bela versão do tema clássico dos Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Trilogy, publicado em 1972

Midlake - Antiphon

O álbum de 2013 dos Midlake, regressados depois de passarem um momento crítico - a perda do seu líder, Tim Smith, depois de dois anos de gravações para um novo álbum - ganhou lugar nas listas dos melhores do ano. "Antiphon" tem indubitávelmente algo dos antgos Midlake, mas já é outra coisa. O grupo ganhou adeptos entre as cabeças prog, talvez devido às excursões instrumentais do álbum e o bom uso da flauta. Na verdade, já antes eram identificados como objetos voadores desta área pelo radar prog, a que não será alheio o facto de o anterior líder manifestar o interesse por bandas como Jethro Tull e Radiohead(os quais já ganharam definitivamente o estatuto Prog... seja lá o que isso significa).

Sem editarem desde 2010, este é um regresso saudado de uma que é uma das melhores bandas da atualidade, na opinião deste escriba.
Tenho andado às voltas com o álbum para decidir se gosto verdadeiramente. O que é difícil é ter como comparação "The Courage of Others" e sobretudo "The trials of Van Occupanther". Se há temas que são orelhudos, como este The Old and the Young, fica alguma sensação de alguma monotonia criada pelo ritmo quase "motorika" (a batida criada pelos alemães Neu! em alguns álbuns classicos dos anos 70). Se algo posso dizer de consistente é que lhe falta o brilhantismo dos dois últimos álbuns, embora não seja, de modo nenhum, um mau trabalho. Vejamos o que se vai passar a seguir e como evoluem estes Midlake.

"Antiphon", sim ou não? Enfim, você decidji, como se diria no Brasiu...

Caravan e Eloy com discos novos

2 discos novos no universo progressivo:

Caravan - Paradise Filter (edição nova dos veteranos)
Eloy - Reencarnation on Stage (documentário sonoro da tour do ano passado)

Encontrei-os em:
http://rapidgator.net/file/df38c1c32a2c2e7c9fe82dca31b5642e/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Caravan_-_Paradise_Filter_2013.rar.html

http://rapidgator.net/file/aa753370ca53f9bc5c2b690963e21e12/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Eloy_-_Reincarnation_On_Stage_CD1_2014.rar.html

http://rapidgator.net/file/ac060ce2ef966bfb5d58329c9c0d1d34/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Eloy_-_Reincarnation_On_Stage_CD2_2014.rar.html

Wayne Shorter, Dindi

Wayne Shorter vintage, colheita de 69. Debaixo do tropicalismo desmultiplicado da primeira parte da faixa, uma versão comovente de "Dindi". Notável.

Camel em Portugal em Março

Aula Magna, 16 de Março (Domingo)

Os Camel tocam em Portugal, na onda do ressurgimento da banda. O concerto vai ser dedicado a "The Snow Goose", obra do prog mais melódico que se fez em terras de Sua Majestade, inspirada numa novela de Paul Gallico. Esta obra, que não é tocada ao vivo desde 1975, foi regravada no final de 2013. Andy Latimer, leader e guitarrista está de volta à atividade, depois de uma doença prolongada que o incapacitou durante vários anos.

Numa nota pessoal, o The Snow Goose nunca me impressionou muito, mas ouvi a regravação de 2013 e gostei bastante. Antecipo um bom concerto...

Relíquias Obscuras: da Australia, Mackenzie Theory: Out of the Blue

Recomendado! Rock Jazz instrumental

MacKenzie Theory was an Australian jazz rock group formed in September 1971 in Melbourne. Lead guitarist, Rob MacKenzie, and electric viola player, Cleis Pearce were the mainstays. They recorded two albums, Out of the Blue (1973) andBon Voyage (1974) for Mushroom Records before disbanding in May 1974. Out of the Blue peaked at No. 19 on Go-Set's Australian Albums chart (wikipedia)

Fresquinho: Novo dos Flaming Lips

Saiu ontem: Flaming Lips revisitam a música dos The Stone Roses:

"The Flaming and Friends - The Time Has Come To Shoot You Down... What A Sound

Jeff Beck / David Gilmour: Jerusalem

David Gilmour, um convidado inesperado no encore do show de Jeff Beck no Royal Albert Hall em 2009.

Peru Antes do Natal

Joy to the world

E pronto. Com este clássico natalício em versão roqueira dos Three Dog Night este Perú vai esconder-se à espera que passe o Natal!

New Vibe: Shit Robot

Em ritmo dançante (sim, porque já não há quem aguente a música de Natal!) aqui fica um dos novos temas dos Shit Robot (aliás, o irlandês Marcus Lambkin), que estão prestes a dançar o seu segundo álbum. Apesar de não ser propriamente género (o dançante), que faz as minhas delícias auditivas, o primeiro disco deles foi delciosamente kitsch e barulhentamente percutivo, mas com piada, teclados à la 80 e uma participação dos Hot Chip muito recomendável. Marcus vem ao Musicbox no dia 18 de Janeiro para um DJ set e provavelmente apresentar este segundo, "We got a Love"

Portanto, antes que velha o velho barrigudo, este Perú vai dançar!

Pérolas: Throw it Away - Abbey Lincoln

Um tema trasncendente de Abbey Lincoln, numa versão de um dos seus álbuns dos anos 90, já com mais de 70 anos, este com com Pat Metheny ("A Turtle's Dream"). Tive a sorte de a ver ao vivo em Varsóvia, no festival anual de Jazz, no Palac Kultury i Nauky, em 2002, uma presença magnética e uma voz burilada pela vida. Ouvindo interpretações destas, fluindo como uma corrente, pergunto-me porque perco tempo no pop rock da vida...



I think about the life I live
A figure made of clay
And think about the things I lost
The things I gave away

And when I'm in a certain mood
I search the house and look
One night I found these magic words
In a magic book

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

There's a hand to rock the cradle
And a hand to help us stand
With a gentle kind of motion
As it moves across the land

And the hand's unclenched and open
Gifts of life and love it brings
So keep your hand wide open
If you're needing anything

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

Throw it away
Throw it away
Give your love, live your life
Each and every day

And keep your hand wide open
Let the sun shine through
'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you

'Cause you can never lose a thing
If it belongs to you
You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you

You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you
You can never ever lose a thing
If it belongs to you

Songwriters
ABBEY LINCOLN



Read more: Abbey Lincoln - Throw It Away Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Busca no Sotão: Heaven and Earth - Feel the Spirit

Album "Refuge", 1973 (outras fontes referem 1976)

Raridade reeditada o ano passado. Acho muito bom. psych / espiritual.

From http://active-listener.blogspot.pt/2012/02/heaven-earth-refuge-reissue-now.html

"Refuge" is the only album by Heaven and Earth. Psych folk funk beauty from the early 70’s featuring the gorgeous voices of Jo D. Andrews & Pat Gefell. “Feel The Spirit” and “Jenny” have been making the rounds on the UK DJ circuit and on compilations like Andy Votel's “Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word.” and the excellent "Feel The Spirit" compilation.
Also includes Bob Dylan and Elton John covers.
Whatever your musical taste, psych-folk, funk, soft rock… this LP seems to fit perfectly. Should appeal to fans of BJ Ward, Wendy & Bonnie, Linda Perhacs, Christine Harwood, Sunforest, Margo Guryan, Lyn Christopher, Barbara & Ernie, etc.

Blue Effect: a modernidade em Praga, 1971

Os Blue Effect, grupo checo do excelente guitarrista Radim Hladik, em 1971, na Suiça, com a orquestra de Jazz de Praga.

Parece obscuro? É obscuro! Mas deixem-se de preconceitos e ouçam a música. Transborda energia!

Susana Cruz: That's All!

As novas vozes do Jazz Nacional: Susana Cruz

Vale a pena ouvir!

Da Polónia: Krzak: Tajemniczy świat Mariana

Os polacos Skrzak, num belo instrumental. Anos 80

Skrzak, na mitologia polaca, é um pequeno demónio que ajuda nas tarefas domésticas e que cobra como preço apoderar-se da alma do amo quando este morre. Belo negócio!

http://www.krzak-band.com/

Versões: Wish you Were Here - Sparklehorse com Thom Yorke

Uma versão melancólica do clássico Floydiano.

nota: a congribuição de Thom Yorke é apenas no final

O Canto das Gatinhas: Update Sonja Kristina

A nossa secção misógina reabre para apresentar esta foto dos Curved Air,com Sonja Kristina em grande plano na frente.

Best of: After Crying - De Profundis

Estes húngaros After Crying são dos mais incríveis grupos de rock que já existiram. Fazem uma fusão de clássico e rock progressivo absolutamente irrepreensível. Outras influencias citáveis são Frank Zappa e Emerson Lake and Palmer (mais nos primeiros discos).

Pena que sejam tão pouco conhecidos (como atesta, alías, o reduzido número de visualizações no youtube).Tenho todos os seus discos até 2003 e o único que me parece dispensável é o penúltimo, "Show", embora tenha um tema muito bom, "Secret Service"

Em particular o seu álbum "De Profundis", de 1996, é muito bom. Negro, torturado e brilhante.
Este tema, "Stalker", é magnífico. 5 estrelas sem hesitação. Muito crimsoniano da era Larks Tongues in Aspic, mas de forma nenhuma se reduz à influência.

Ouçam-no com atenção, são 12:11 minutos.






http://soundcloud.com/aftercrying

Livros: procuram-se

Procuro estes dois livros, se alguem os avistar que me avise.

O do Robert Wyatt está esgotado, o dos King Crimson vende-se na amazon por 164 libras. Ouch.