Heaven Week: Hobo Edition

Harry McClintock: Big Rock Candy Mountain

[purchase]

Since the flowering of the railroads, whenever this country has seen economic hardship, there has been a rise in the number of hobos. These (mostly) men live in empty boxcars on moving trains. They make very little money, and subsist on a loose barter system. Some are musicians who perform in exchange for food and other needs.

It is a humble life to be sure. As such, the hobo's vision of heaven is similarly modest. There is no need for me to elucidate when this song does it so well.

"Big Rock Candy Mountain" has become a classic children's song, because the imagery is so appealing to a child. I first heard it when I was a kid. I grew up in New Jersey, within broadcast range of New York City radio stations. There was a show on Saturday nights called "Woody's Stepchildren". That was where I got my first exposure to folk music. Looking back, I feel very lucky.

Bonus song:

Fred Holstein: Hobo’s Lullaby

I couldn't leave the theme of the hobo without posting The Hobo's Lullaby. This was another song I grew up hearing on the radio. Although there is no connection to our heaven theme that I can find, this post felt incomplete to me without it.

Submitted by Darius

Heaven Week: Heaven

Talking Heads: Heaven

[purchase]


I'm sure most of you are aware that the new Coldplay album sounds a little different for them. That's because the band is now working with producer Brian Eno. Eno's presence on a project always changes things, sometimes drastically.

My first awareness of Brian Eno came from his work with Talking Heads, starting with the album Fear of Music. Here was a band whose sound, up to that point, could be summed up in two words: "Psycho Killer".

All of a sudden, the sound took a dramatic lurch into uncharted waters. "Cities" and "Life During Wartime" were great songs, but they sounded like nothing that had come before, After the following album, "Remain in Light", the members of Talking Heads took a break to pursue solo projects. When they regrouped, Brian Eno was gone, but there were creative tensions in the band that had not been there before, and eventually the band broke up. But, for a brief time, the music they made was amazing. "Heaven", indeed.

If this account is worrisome to any Coldplay fans out there, let me reassure you. Eno went on to produce U2, with no apparent ill effects.


Submitted by Darius

Heaven Week: Heaven Tonight

Cheap Trick: Heaven Tonight

[purchase]


With crunchy guitar chords and explosive drums, Cheap Trick's third album, Heaven Tonight, is the very epitome of Power Pop. It also has one of the most classic album covers of all-time, as seen above. The title song, Heaven Tonight, isn't as frenetic as the rest of the album, but it does a nice slow burn. This is Cheap Trick at their peak, serving up some pure Pop for now people.

Heaven Week: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Leo Kottke: Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring

[purchase]

I think this may be the biggest genre breaking post we've had yet, and for that I apologize. Skip it if you'd like, but this is good music and so I think it fits on a blog about good music. I've seen Leo Kottke perform many times. As you probably know, he plays folk, blues, and lot's of other styles, but no matter what the style, his signature is the beautiful way he has of making a guitar open up and speak. He knows his instrument, and watching him play in close proximity is inspirational because he seems to play with so little effort.

If you want to relax on a Sunday morning, this entire album is worth owning. It's not all in the classical genre - but it's all finger-picked guitar-only music.

Heaven Week: Outside An Angel's Reach (3 Sixes)

The Band Of Blacky Ranchette: Outside An Angel's Reach (3 Sixes)

[purchase]

This one might have been more appropriate for Hell Week (three sixes) than Heaven Week (angel), but it's a great song that most people haven't heard, and Hell Week has passed, so here it is.

The Band of Blacky Ranchette is one of Howie Gelb's Giant Sand side projects. I like the way this song incorporates the 6-pack, 6-shooter, and 6-string guitar.

Heaven Week: Finding Jesus Edition

Hayes Carll: She Left Me For Jesus

[purchase]

Mark Fosson: Jesus On A Greyhound

[purchase]

If I get saved, will I collect interest?

Here are two songs I was thinking of posting this week. My wife suggested putting them in the same post, and it all came together for me.

First, Hayes Carll explains how searching for Jesus can be sinful. Then, Mark Fosson points out to that sinner that the road to salvation is traversed by public transportation.

Submitted by Darius

Heaven Week: Drowning Man

Madelyn Iris: Drowning Man

Purchase: None

I have been AWOL part of this week, which is too bad because I had quite a few really cool songs for this theme. So, now I'm in a mad rush to get a few of them up.

This is a Madelyn Iris cover of an old U2 song. The first 54 seconds is Bono reading a William Butler Yeats poem. I could probably do without that part of the track, but once Madelyn Iris starts singing, it is just a magical and beautiful melody and lyric. The song is sung in first person as if Jesus were speaking to a drowning man. I know that proper etiquette is probably to post the original here too, but I don't want anyone to be tempted to listen to it instead of this cover, so I'm going to break with tradition. I'll put the original in the comments if anyone really wants to hear it.

Heaven Week: The Sound Of The Sinners

The Clash: The Sound Of The Sinners

[purchase]

Joe Strummer got his gospel-cred when he sang this gravely song of praise and redemption. Tim Curry is the voice of the preacher at the end.  This song is an interesting last song to the first CD (and originally to the third side of the triple LP) because it is such a non-political offering on such an otherwise overtly political album.  Instead, the chorus at least, seems to be Joe's sincere recognition that in spite of his stardom and his drug induced fantasies, he is not in fact God.

After all this time
To believe in Jesus
After all those drugs
I thought I was Him
After all my lying
And a-crying
And my suffering
I ain't good enough
I ain't clean enough
To be Him

Heaven Week: Angel Eyes

Roxy Music: Angel Eyes

[purchase]


Manifesto was Roxy Music's sixth studio album and came after a hiatus of several years that saw lead singer, Brian Ferry, release two successful solo records. Angel Eyes was the third single from the album, which was minus former members Paul Thompson (drums) and Eddie Jobson (synthesizer/violin) and supplemented by session players Andy Newmark, Neil Hubbard, and Alan Spenner. This resulted in a distinct change in the band's sound, which shifted to a more middle-of-the-road musical arrangement. IMO, Roxy became Bryan Ferry's backing band, this is more of the sort of music you would expect from his solo efforts.

Angel Eyes is a heavenly slab of seductive smooth-soul Pop - St. Pete would understand if you went back for more.

Heaven Week: Angry Angel

Imogen Heap: Angry Angel

[purchase]


This is from Imogen Heap's solo debut, I Megaphone, recorded when she was nineteen years old (the title is an anagram of her name). Angry Angel clues you in to the Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette comparisons you see associated with her name. I posted this because an acquaintance told me how she loved her music - what do you think?

Heaven Week: Heaven and Paradise

Don Julian & the Meadowlarks: Heaven & Paradise

[purchase]

The intensity of this guy's desire! He wants to be with his girl in heaven and paradise. Not sure why you need the latter if you've got the former—unless you need a Corona and lime in addition to all the harps and perfection.

Heaven Week: Gourds Edition

I posted a Gourds song at the tail end of our "Fifty States" week, but this week they're getting the blue plate special treatment. The Gourds have been one of my favorite bands of the last decade and I'm fortunate to live in Austin, where I've probably seen them 50-60 times. The first time I saw them ... and the only time I've ever seen them outside of Texas ... was in 1999 at a nearly deserted Birmingham, Alabama, dive called The Nick. I remember being awestruck that A) No one was here to see the band, since it wasn't like Birmingham was filled to the brim with entertainment options, and B) They were combining so much of what I loved about Doug Sahm, Los Lobos, and The Band, while at the same time, new wave and punk rock flavors were hovering in the mix. They also switched through probably a dozen instruments over the course of their set, which earned HUGE props from me. Whatever one called this mish-mash of vernacular sounds, it was clear that The Gourds were inhabiting a very unique musical ecosystem.

One element of the Gourdian gumbo that is "contextually unique," you might say, has been their occasional forays into "matters of the spirit," if not outright gospel. I say contextual because the vast majority of their contemporaries simply cannot (or, to be fair, choose not to) draw upon southern gospel roots with the authori-tay of The Gourds. It might be a discomfort with Christianity, it might be a perceived lack of authenticity (either internally or externally driven), or it might be the simple fact that you can't really sing a song like "Jesus Christ With Signs Following" and hide behind layers of fashionable irony. I mean, on some level, you gotta feel it in your soul, ya know? So, the songs I've chosen today are a sampler platter of The Gourds' doing religious music, far from complete, but comprehensive in its own way.

Gourds: God's House [purchase]

Gourds: Lament [purchase]

These are the bookend tracks to their 1998 album, Stadium Blitzer, but I've flip-flopped their locations. "God's House" is actually the last song on the album, secretly tacked onto the end of "I Like Drinking." It's an acapella number that kind of invokes old-time southern shape-note singing and while it's not a song I'd come back to over and over, I do think it's a perfect intro into The Gourds' love of gospel. It also showcases the perfectly ragged harmony singing of Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith, whose voices work together in a John & Exene "This really shouldn't work, but I'll be damned if it doesn't kick my ass" kinda way.

"Lament" is Stadium Blitzer's leadoff track and is explained by Kevin Russell thusly: "My Uncle Jimmy lives next door to a Church of Christ and the preacher would come over sometimes and he'd always hide his beer and cigarettes. So, I wrote a song about it."

Gourds: Jesus Christ With Signs Following [purchase]

Max Johnston earned his alt.country stripes as a member of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. In fact, it's his fiddle that drives last week's UT offering, "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down." However, it's been his multi-instrument contributions to The Gourds that should be his calling card and that have certainly elevated the band to another level. Technically, the arrival of Keith Langford on drums in about 1999 was their initial foray into the stratosphere of respectability. That's because Mr. Langford is as steady in the pocket as his predecessor, Charlie Llewellyn, was charmingly ramshackle. Anyway, "JCWSF" was the first Max song to appear on a Gourds release and may have been his first proper singing track ... though there may be a Freakwater tune that predates this one. And if nothing else, it inspired me to get the great picture that leads off this post. How'd you like to be the claims adjuster for that guy's insurance plan?

Kev Russell's Junker: Church On Fire [purchase]

The Junker was Kevin's Gourds offshoot in name-only. Fact is, on this track Kev plays acoustic, Max plays mandolin, Keith is on drums, and Jimmy harmonizes, like they would on any Gourds release. However, Jimmy doesn't rock the funky bass because Kev enlisted the great Mark Rubin (Bad Livers!) to play tuba. That's right ... tuba. Talk about going old-school for your bass parts. A great obscurity in the Russell catalog, I love the tagline:

"I am just a preacher lookin' for a choir
But baby my church is on fire."

Shinyribs Me And Jesus [not available for purchase]

Shinyribs is another Kevin Russell Gourds side project, but this one is a true side project in that it doesn't have any Gourds on it. OK, Mike Stewart (who produced their first four albums) is on bass, but that barely counts. Recorded at a Threadgill's show just a couple weeks ago, "Me And Jesus" is an old Tom T. Hall song that Kevin absolutely takes to church. I LOVE Tom T, but his version sounds like he's trying not to throw his back out. Kevin, meanwhile, reaches down to his holy parts and just gets after it. Totally nails the song. In fact, a couple in the front row got so worked up, Kevin actually baptized them. By the way, the great slide guitar parts are courtesy of Austin's sardonic guitar hero, Jon Dee Graham, who sat in for the first half of the show. All in all, just a great performance. Get you some.

Heaven Week: Fontanelle

Clem Snide: Fontanelle

[purchase]

I don't want to hijack this blog with my personal life, but one of my best friends from High School and College killed himself a couple of days ago. With it being Heaven Week here at SMM, I thought I'd dedicate this Clem Snide tune to my friend, Chris. Rest in peace, brother.

If the world should turn it's back to you
And it seems there's nothing left to do
Then may God hold you in the palm of his hand

Heaven Week: The Angels Rejoiced Last Night

The Louvin Brothers: The Angels Rejoiced Last Night

[purchase]

Lucy Kaplansky: The Angels Rejoiced Last Night

[purchase]

As I alluded to earlier, I'm on my way out the door for my annual double-shot of bluegrass and folk, featuring two weeks in a field with ten thousand folks I consider family, and not an internet connection in sight. It's the closest I come to heaven each year, let me tell you, and I'm rarin' to go.

But given last week's great response to Satan is Real, I thought I'd leave you with another great and bittersweet country spiritual from the same album, especially since it comes with one of my favorite covers of anything, ever. Angelic, sweet and innocent, almost hopeful, Lucy Kaplansky's take on this song is a comprehensive transformation of the sorrowful harmonies and ache of longing that graced the original Louvin Brothers performance.

How vast our conceptions of heaven. How much it comforts each sorrowful soul, even in the darkest hours.

Heaven Week: Misguided Angel

Cowboy Junkies: Misguided Angel

[purchase]

On an album full of excellent covers, my favorite song is this original written by Margo and Michael Timmins. What's even more surprising is that in the 20 years since Trinity Sessions nobody else has decided to cover Misguided Angel.

This one really has nothing to do with Heaven other than the word "angel" in the title, but I figured "what the heck..."

Heaven Week: Will There Be Big Rigs In Heaven?

Buck Owens: Will There Be Big Rigs In Heaven?

[purchase]

This one's just perfect. For maximum enjoyment, follow along with the lyrics:

Will there be big rigs in heaven when I die?
Will my reward be cruising down that freeway in the sky?
When I climb that final grade, when my final run is made
Will there be big rigs in heaven?

That ol' diesel singing loud
Big wheels gliding thru the clouds
Would they allow a big rig in heaven?
Gearing down, that engine's pulling
Up to where ol' Gabriel's blowing
They've got to need a big rig in heaven!

If my ol' Kenworth don't come thru
A new Saint Peter-bilt will do
If they let me have a big rig in heaven
No more pot-holes, no more scales
No more smokeys on my tail
Can't wait to drive a big rig in heaven!

(chorus)

Hot showers every morning
Every ticket is a warning
I think I'd like a big rig in heaven
Every waitress is an angel
With her coffee pot and halo
What could beat a big rig in heaven?

I'll wear wings and play that harp
But I never could stay parked
Can I drive my big rig in heaven?
Is there a golden interstate
Just inside that pearly gate
Don't Jesus need a big rig in heaven?

Heaven Week: Angel

John Hiatt: Angel

[purchase]

I was surprised to find that we haven't posted any John Hiatt songs here yet -- had I noticed, I would have rectified the problem long before now. As it is, I'm a bit too busy packing for my summer folkfest rounds to do this song justice, so perhaps it's enough to note that, though Angel is not one of John Hiatt's best known songs, it can be found on his highest charting album...and that this angry second-person tale of being on the receiving end of a break-up -- of losing one's wings to the snow, to be called Angel no more, to become earthbound alone -- is pure rock and roll, and good rock and roll can speak for itself.

Plus, the bridge of this song contains the most vivid couplet about breaking up that rock and roll has to offer, period:

He peeled the skin off of the world and you stopped breathin’
You drew a breath, he sighed, the air was freezin’

Heaven Week: Heaven Is In Your Mind

Traffic: Heaven Is In Your Mind

[purchase]


Combine the spacey sixties, Brit R&B, three months in an isolated Berkshire cottage and you get Heaven Is In Your Mind. Traffic's one constant over the years is Stevie Winwood, who has been there throughout all permeations of the band.

Heaven Is In Your Mind is from Mr. Fantasy/Heaven Is In Your Mind, one of the finest albums of sixties-styled music you can find. If you have a chance, I highly recommend a listen.

Heaven Week: Drunken Angel

Lucinda Williams: Drunken Angel

[purchase]


One of the great things about the music Blogosphere is you get to hear artists radio tends to ignore, like Lucinda Williams. She sings, plays guitar and writes songs that'll bring tears to your eyes. Bob Dylan once said that he never understood any kind of border patrol when it comes to music, listen to Lucinda Williams and hear music without borders. She's been labeled Folk, Country, Rock - best labeling her as good music.

Williams said she wrote Drunken Angel about her friend Blaze Foley, a songwriter who was shot and killed in a bar over an argument. From Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, one of the best albums of the 1990s.

Heaven Week: Trust Jesus

Slobberbone: Trust Jesus [purchase]

"Now one day this world is gonna curl up and burst,
It's gonna choke on its own tongue and die of its own thirst,
Until that day comes our roads will always be long,
But he's left signposts to guide us along."
--Brent Best, "Trust Jesus"

When the dust finally settles on this decade and we're able to judge the music of the "aughties" with something approaching objectivity, I have little doubt that Slobberbone's 2000 masterpiece, Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today, will be in my personal Top 3, if not ensconced at the top. For an old Soul Asylum and Replacements fan like me, it was like they were channeling the best songs from each band. In fact, I don't think it's sacrilicious in the slightest to say that Brent Best's songwriting on Everything is on par with the songwriting on any single album by Dave Pirner or Paul Westerberg. Musically, the band was in its absolute prime, marrying its basic Neil Young & Crazy Horse stage ethos with filigrees of acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, Stax-style horns, accordion, piano, and Hammond B-3. I waver on a couple tracks ... one of which is a 2 1/2 minute instrumental ... but it's hard to find another album from this era with so many fist-pumping anthems. Seriously, how many albums are so good that you might need Tommy John surgery after repeated listenings?

Coincidentally, the album was originally slated to be titled Trust Jesus, after today's showcase track, but the record label (New West) was leery about the band being confused with a Christian rock outfit. While on one level that concern is understandable, you'd think that the name Slobberbone would be a pretty big clue that this isn't Stryper. Whatever the case, it's a great tune about the virtue of perseverance in anonymity, with just a hint of Chuck Berry travelogue. The fact that the band toured thousands upon thousands of miles ... from Mexico to Maine, for sure ... on the absolute fringe of mainstream acceptance also gives this tune a certain ironic (and sad) prescience. As it happens, just last night Slobberbone reunited for a benefit in their hometown of Denton, TX. So, for a couple of hours at least, these great songs were brought to life once again.

Lord, I'm only just one man,
Lord, I've only got two hands,
Lord, I'll do the best I can,
Lord, help me help them to understand."