Throwback Tracks -- August 31, 2017
David R. Smith
I'm writing this on Tuesday instead of Wednesday, as I normally do, because as of Wednesday, I'll be on the road up to Edmonton to see Guns N Roses. I like GnR, but I wouldn't say I love them. That said; I never thought I'd get a chance to see them live. I've seen Slash before on a couple different occasions with Velvet Revolver, but to see him and Fatxl together* should be pretty fun. Plus, since it's been months since I've seen live music and on top of all that, I get to go with my brother and my cousin, it's going to be a nice way to end the summer before the chaos of school kicks in.
So since I'm going to see Guns N Roses, I figured they'd be a good way to kick off this week's TBT!
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
*In all honesty, I was surprised they made it through this much of the tour already. Those two personalities are so volatile, I figured any little thing would make them break up. But one of them likely needs the money so he's probably been on his best behaviour.
Mr Brownstone - Guns N Roses
Who doesn't like to start the day off with a song about heroin, right? I know I do! I mean; in the grand scheme of things, it's better to start the day off with a song about heroin than it is to start the day off with heroin. That's more of an after dinner treat. Otherwise you're just effed for the rest of the day!
Appetite for Destruction is such a killer album. When you have Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City and Sweet Child of Mine all on the same album, you know you've got something special. But then adding lesser known songs like Rocket Queen, It's So Easy and this little gem, it makes for one of the best metal albums ever made.
If they play this entire album front to back tomorrow and that's all they do, I could go away happy. I expect that won't be the case, but could you imagine?? One can dream... one can dream.
Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band
This song came up on my Spotify yesterday and it was the beginning of the TBT for this week. It has such a nice sound to it. It's also very interesting when you listen to it right after GnR. Guns n Roses is so heavy and in your face, then you get a nice simple acoustic guitar being picked, soon followed by a... flute?
At this point in this article, I nearly made a massive faux pas by assuming that the lead singer of the band was Marshall Tucker. But then I remembered that not all lead singers are the namesakes of their bands (Van Halen, Santana, Spencer Davis...) so I decided to take a look and make sure I knew what I was talking about. Well it turns out that there's nobody in the band named Marshall Tucker:
“The “Marshall Tucker” in the band’s name does not refer to a band member, but rather a Spartanburg-area blind piano tuner.[5] While the band was discussing possible band names one evening in an old warehouse they had rented for rehearsal space, someone noticed that the warehouse’s door key had the name “Marshall Tucker” inscribed on it, and suggested they call themselves “The Marshall Tucker Band,” not realizing it referred to an actual person. It later came to light that Marshall Tucker, the blind piano tuner, had rented the space before the band, and his name was inscribed on the key.[1] In his book, Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002, music historian Joel Whitburn attributes “Marshall Tucker” to the owner of the band’s rehearsal hall.[6]”
So that's neat!
Anyway, this song is great. It has a lovely southern feel to it and definitely makes me realize how much I love that southern 70s rock band genre: Skynyrd, these guys, The Allman Brothers... there's some good stuff that comes from down that way!
I Alone - Live
What a weird video. How is it that the drummer doesn't actually get to play his instrument but the rest of the band gets to do what they do best? I don't get it. Poor (looks up name) Chad Gracey. At least he made the most of it.
This is an interesting band to me. I love Lightning Crashes and have since it came out. It's a heartbreaking song and I can't get enough of it. (I once took an impromptu road trip because that song came on the radio, so I kept driving until it ended. Then another great song came on so I kept driving. Next thing I knew, I was 45 minutes west of Calgary because I just kept going. Great memory.)
Other than Lightning Crashes, I didn't know I really liked much of their stuff. Then in grad school, a friend told me how much she loved this band. I kind of made fun of her until she made me listen to more of their stuff and I realized how many hits they had. I instantly changed my tune and now I'm a rather large fan. Go Live!
River Deep Mountain High - Ike and Tina Turner
Oh man. Oh man. This song. It's another one of those songs that you can't really not love and really gets you into a good mood. I have rather fond memories of it because I've worked on a few different musical revues that have used this song and both people who sang it absolutely killed it*.
You know who else sings this song and does a phenomenal version of it? And by phenomenal version of it, I mean it might be better than the original. Celine Dion. I know. I'm surprised too. I'm not a huge fan of Celine. I know she's wildly talented, but My Heart Will Go On has kind of ruined her forever for me. That said, her version is awesome. I think it's because she can really hit those high notes. Nothing against Tina, but she doesn't have the range that Celine does...
*Killed it in the good sense, not the bad sense.
Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
Okay. Apparently this song came out in 2003 so technically it's newer than we're supposed to allow for Throwback Tracks. BUT. It's recorded by a guy whose most famous song is Werewolves of London which came out in 1978. Also, sadly Warren Zevon died mere weeks after the album on which this song appears was released. So while I understand the rule for why we don't post things that came out after 2000, it's not like Warren will be releasing anymore songs...
This song is... everything. It wrought with emotion and absolutely kills me. Much like Glen Campbell's I'm Not Going To Miss You, (RIP Glen) this song pulls no punches about the singer's coming to terms with his illness and he makes you feel so, so sad. I love this song so much. Even just thinking about the lyrics makes me tear up just a little.
Also, it's used wonderfully as underscore in the season 2 finale of Californication. (Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.)
What a weird journey we took this week! From the heaviest of heavy to the saddest of sad, it's been a good week for TBT. Next week the August list will be available on Apple and Spotify, as per usual. It will also be the beginning of our month of punk! I don't know why I picked next month to do that, but I did. So it'll be great!
Until then, here are all the other playlists for you to listen to!
2017
July 2017 TBT Playlist (and the July Spotify List), June 2017 TBT Playlist (and the June Spotify List), May 2017 TBT Playlist, April 2017 TBT Playlist, March 2017 TBT Playlist , February 2017 TBT Playlist
2016
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17, October 2016 Throwback Playlist, September 2016 Throwback Playlist, August 2016 Throwback Playlist, July 2016 Throwback Playlist, June 2016 Throwback Playlist, May 2016 Throwback Playlist, April 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)