Drinking again, and thinking of when
When you loved me
I'm having a few and wishing that you were here
Making the rounds
Accepting a round from a strangers
Being a fool
Just hoping that you'll appear
1. Olá. Nǐn hǎo. Halløj. Mucho Gusto. Welcome back to The Horse & Feather. Once more we have seven songs that - when played in succession - will hopefully create a "mood" for your Friday night. Think of us as the ebb and the flow. The minor fall and the major lift. But where to begin? Sometimes it's a challenge to know where to start. Get the first record off and the others generally fall into place so lets hope that's the case tonight. I thought we would stick with golden oldies this weekend. I've trawled through The H&F archives and I'm confident I've brought out enough kick and swagger to go with some works of emotional depth which I hope is one of the reasons you come here. Put your headphones on, lean back in your seats and heavy be your glass. I'll open this session off with the same song that opens the album Blood On The Tracks. Dylan at his very finest and this song contains some of his best lyrics. My Twitter handle @MontagueStreet comes from this song in fact. "I lived with them on Montague Street/In a basement down the stairs/There was music in the cafes at night/and revolution in the air" and "The only thing I knew how to do/Was to keep on keeping on/Like a bird that flew/Tangled up in blue" are some of my favourite lines of all time. Always good to have you here. Let's go.
1. Bob Dylan
Tangled Up In Blue
2. It is fair to say our next song tonight would not be an automatic choice for our Barfly Sessions but this decision was born from circumstance and as Dylan himself once said, a simple twist of fate. So in a nutshell, I got up to drive to work on Monday morning and found a perfectly placed pair of brown shoes (I guess you could call them brogues) next to the front off side tyre of my car. I was puzzled. What was the meaning behind this. Who was the owner of these and why had they been left in my parking space? All very mysterious. Like a double rainbow, what does it mean? Anyhows, I decided not to touch them as someone may have simply misplaced them. By the time I came back from work, someone had took it upon themselves to throw them in the bush which is where they remain 5 days later. I thought I'd mark this oddity with an appropriate song. Boogie Shoes by KC & The Sunshine Band came to mind. As did Flying Shoes by Townes Van Zandt (terrific song that) but I settled on this from Supertramp. Incidentally, if anyone knows the story about these shoes, I'd like to know it.
2. Supertramp
Put On Your Old Brown Shoes
3. This next song came on a couple of weeks ago and I thought, "oooof, this needs to be put on a future session" and... well.... there we were and here we are. The song was by Detroit singer, Freda Payne who is more well known for her massive Band Of Gold hit (of course) which is found on countless compilation albums. This song I was talking about is called "Unhooked Generation" and comes off her 1970 Band Of Gold record. No better time to play it than now.
3. Freda Payne
Unhooked Generation
4. Generally, when people are asked what their favourite Stones songs are, this song never features in the discussion. I think I find that a little bit sad. Much like the track itself I suppose. There aren't too many Jagger compositions which show his vulnerable side and this song from 71 has a certain lonely feel to it. Why do I like that? I don't honestly know. I just warm to it and I'm playing this now and it sounds bloody fantastic outside next to an open fire. Those strings at the end are so perfect. It's almost enough to make you want to start smoking. "I am just living to be lying by your side but I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road."
4. The Rolling Stones
Moonlight Mile
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5. All out blues from The Fox this week as he sent me a link to this collaboration between Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Never had Stelfox down as someone who listened to raw blues but shows what I know right? As per his wishes, I shall put this down here for you now. It's actually an old Tampa Red song this (from 1940) but Albert King made a hit out of it in 1962.
5. Albert King feat Stevie Ray Vaughan
Don't Lie To Me
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6. Up to song six of the evening already. We are moving like hell on wheels so we need to put the brakes on a little. This next song written by Phil Spector & Gerry Goffin will help. Now this song is really quite special. The singer of this song is Dion and it comes from his album "Born To Be With You" much of which was produced by Spector himself. Unsurprisingly, the recording sessions were reported to be chaotic but the album eventually emerged and word finally seems to be getting round that this is quite a record. My Dad wanted to name me Dion. Not sure if this record was anything to do with that but I thought I'd mention it seeing as we're still all getting to know each other and such things make for decent small talk don't they? No? OK. Noted.
6. Dion
Only You Know
7. Now I will tell you straight off the bat that there is a startling cover of this Motown track by The Small Faces which is stunning (like much of what they did) but Brenda Holloway's version remains thee definitive version. Well at least as far as I am concerned anyways. This is what we'll bring the curtain down on tonight's session with. Written by Ed Cobb and released back in 1965, they really don't come much classier than this. Thanks for turning out again. You make this a lot of fun. Next week we'll have some newer tracks, honest. Love from distance and all good things as always. Byeeee for now.
7. Brenda Holloway
Every Little Bit Hurts
