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Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
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Points: 3595
Topic: Country-Western, Folk, and Gospel appreciation. Posted: March 29 2012 at 00:13
Has this been done before? I didn't find anything too similar.
I've recently been digging very deep into different strains of country and gospel music. I was wondering if any of you folks had any albums or artists that cut deep into your soul. If not, that's okay. This is a progressive rock forum, which isn't exactly a swarming ground for Louvin Brothers fans or passionate discussions over Merle Haggard's releases in the past decade.
Speaking of which, I love everything I've heard from The Louvin Brothers. Their rendition of 'The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea' from 1959's Satan Is Real cuts so deep into my heart it nearly makes tears form in the corners of my eyes. I am not a fan of 'country' music, at least not modern country. To me, that seems more like southern rock with a pernicious fascination with drawl and hard rock posturing, without any of the traditional folk, gospel, and bluesy backbones fellows like Hank Williams Sr had. In short, I adore Williams 1, lazily despise Williams 2, and curiously respect Williams 3.
What do you all think? Does anybody care? Will anybody respond? What is a horseshoe? What does a horseshoe do?
Joined: December 05 2007
Location: Germany
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Points: 2720
Posted: March 29 2012 at 07:55
OK, I'll try and make a start here, although it mostly won't be very positive.
- Country & Western: I could hardly imagine anything worse except perhaps rap and hip-hop. Sorry.
- Folk: From what I've heard I'm not particularly interested, it's just too lame for me.
- Gospel: This is more like it. Although I'm not remotely into Gospel per se, I do like Rock and Prog that has Gospel elements, such as Queen's Somebody to Love. I'm especially into harmony vocals, and I'd be grateful if anyone could point me in the direction of where I could find other artists that use these sort of Gospel harmonies in their music.
Joined: March 21 2008
Location: Tigerstaden
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Points: 34055
Posted: March 29 2012 at 08:42
I like country when it is filterd through Elton Johns musical brain,and when he do filter it, it happens that it stumbles through a patchwork of gospil music, classical and rock'n'roll so it becomes more listenable by small ajustments
Joined: August 17 2005
Location: United States
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Points: 4659
Posted: March 29 2012 at 10:05
I've probably either started or responded to similar threads over the years and probably even with some of these same songs, but can't really be bothered to go find those threads right now.
Some personal favorites:
Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris - We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning (1973). Parsons and Harris sang this on stage during the final Fallen Angels tour with Parsons' wife standing side-stage watching them. Everyone (including Parsons' wife) knew there was something going on between Parsons and Harris, and after one of their particularly bitter fights during that tour the band put his wife on a plane back home and the tour went on without her. Supposedly Gram had drawn up divorce papers that he planned to deliver at the end of the tour but he never made it home and his wife inherited everything including the rights to his music.
"We know it's wrong to let this fire burn between us, we've got to stop this wild desire in you and in me; so we'll let the flame burn once again until the thrill is gone, then we'll sweep out the ashes in the morning."
Emmylou Harris - Boulder to Birmingham (1975). After Parsons' untimely drug overdose and death his body was set ablaze by friends in the Mojave Desert town of Joshua Tree. Emmylou Harris carried on his Cosmic American Music torch and wrote this tear-jerker tribute to her former partner and not-so-secret lover:
I don't want to hear a sad story full of heartbreak and desire, the last time I felt like this it was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire; and I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn, I watched it burn, I watched it burn.
I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham, I would hold my life in his saving grace; I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham, if I thought I could see, I could see your face.
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses (1971). Another Parsons connection as Keith Richards and Parsons were briefly almost inseparable friends during the early 70s, and at one point Mick Jagger actually argued with Richards about Parsons' intrusion into Mick's own relationship with Richards. Supposedly Parsons helped write the melody for this one. Whether that's true or not, Parsons was definitely hanging out with the Stones around the time they recorded this.
The Byrds - You Don't Miss Your Water (1968). From their 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' album (big surprise - this was the album recorded during the brief seven months Gram Parsons was a member of the band). This was originally a soul tune for William Bell, an old Memphis soul singer from the Stax stable. The Byrds turned it into a country tune. Later Otis Redding recorded a blistering soul version, and in the 80s Peter Tosh juiced it up as a reggae version that sounds more like a sampling than a cover.
Mike Nesmith - Joanne (1970). The late guitarist of the Monkees fame was actually a serious country musician and a student of the genre. This was his biggest solo hit. The pedal steel player on here is the late "Red" Rhodes, who also played steel for the Byrds on 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers' and on James Taylor's 'Sweet baby James' album, among others.
Hank Williams - Lonesome Highway (1949). A Blind Leon Payne tune made famous by Williams and covered so many times over the years that is has become an icon of country and contemporary music.
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
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Points: 3595
Posted: March 29 2012 at 13:28
Lost Highway is exceptional. I've heard very many things regarding Gram Parsons (and I've listened to GP and Grievous Angel, neither of which I was too fond of, as utterly pleasant as they were.) Wild Horses is my favorite Stones song, though. Sweetheart of the Rodeo was a curious piece for me. I cherish (in a minor way) The Byrds. I can't say Sweetheart is my favorite from them (that'd most likely be Fifth Dimension or Younger than Yesterday).
I have a sort of soft spot for Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western. I guess it doesn't matter, but I grew up in a very rural southern Virginian area. I used to go to church in the woods and we'd sit in hammocks and camping chairs singing songs together between the trees. I may have left religion (though I can and will appreciate it), but I still pine for those rustic harmonies and so I came full-circle.
I've yet to give Gilded Palace of Sin a real listen, but it sits there on the list. I really enjoy Johnny Cash's most recent rendition of 'Big Iron', but his slew of covers under Rubin from American was monumental for me, for both better and worse.
I maintain that Merle wrote some of the grandest country tunes in the late 1960's and early 1970's, but as full albums, I can't love any of them except for his 2000 If I Could Only Fly release (on Anti- records, which is what Tom Waits stands by today).
Joined: May 16 2009
Location: Blighty
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Points: 6797
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:31
Anybody else like Abigail Washburn? Or is it just me. Pretty impressive singing in Mandarin and equally impressive Banjo from Bela Fleck . Miss the first Minute takes a while to warm up,
I love the Banjo these days must be getting old..
Edited by akamaisondufromage - March 29 2012 at 14:44
Joined: August 17 2005
Location: United States
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Points: 4659
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:43
Triceratopsoil wrote:
I like Munly, does that count?
I think he counts, probably a little closer to folk than country though. This is the only album I have from him:
You start going down that route and you bring up a whole slew of interesting alt-country bands, some of whom are listed on ProgArchives. A few of these are really indie or folk bands who picked up country leanings somewhere along the way...
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
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Points: 3595
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:44
As much as I love 1970's Elton John (and I really do), I stress to consider his work any more than 'country inspired'. Captain Fantastic was wonderful, regardless. Tower of Babel always hits me. But his work was more of a glitzy pomp-rock sort of affair. The influence and borrowed stylistic is definitely there, though.
Joined: August 17 2005
Location: United States
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Points: 4659
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:51
Alitare wrote:
As much as I love 1970's Elton John (and I really do), I stress to consider his work any more than 'country inspired'. Captain Fantastic was wonderful, regardless. Tower of Babel always hits me. But his work was more of a glitzy pomp-rock sort of affair. The influence and borrowed stylistic is definitely there, though.
I agree. Elton John used country arrangements and musical phrasing at times in some of his 70s music, but for the most part it was affectation/posing as he was essentially a pop star trying on different clothes and styles (much in the vein of Bowie). His lyrics weren't country and the words are what really make country what it is...
Joined: August 17 2005
Location: United States
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Points: 4659
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:54
akamaisondufromage wrote:
Anybody else like Abigail Washburn? Or is it just me. Pretty impressive singing in Mandarin and equally impressive Banjo from Bela Fleck . Miss the first Minute takes a while to warm up,
I love the Banjo these days must be getting old..
Never heard of Washburn before you mentioned her. I like both of these songs though. Bela Fleck is a folk/jazz legend of course...
Joined: March 21 2008
Location: Tigerstaden
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Points: 34055
Posted: March 29 2012 at 14:57
he have said multiple times that his main driving force (and one reason for making the Union with Leon Russel) was to incorporate his love for country, gosspel and rock and roll into popular music, with his own twist and turns, his love for the South-state music and Taupins love for american western literature, country-western is a large part of the duos penplate, though as a singer/songwriter, his own personality is indeed part of the music, and he also can't hide that he also have classical music and jazz in his musicallity which tends to siege into his country and honkytonk pianoplaying, sometimes, you hear that what is honkytonk piano style piano is played by a guy who also have knowledge of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and other jazz/classical composers and pianists, it happens when he plays country influenced pomp rock also
when it coems to folk, hmm Dire Straits have some folksy, rock tunes, and i am a fan of Cat Stevens and he have plenty of folk rock, and he is also gosspel rock influenced,
so im more interested in the rock in both country and folk
so Eagles, Dire Straits (who have some celtic folk, danceband , and roots elements), Paul Simon & Garfunkle, jazz/folk in Van Morrison,
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Country-Western, Folk, and Gospel appreciation.
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Alitare wrote:
, and roots elements), Paul Simon & Garfunkle, jazz/folk in Van Morrison, 
