Merry Clayton is a name you've heard of but quite can't figure out why. The "Why?" is her voice, probably best known for being the female vocal on 'Gimme Shelter' by The Rolling Stones.
(Photo above is by Matthieu Bitton)
She was also one of the stars of the 2013 documentary '20 Feet from Stardom' which won an Oscar and a host of other awards.
Merry can also be heard on songs by Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pearl Bailey, Phil Ochs, Burt Bacharach, Tom Jones, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstad and Carole King to name but a few. She also had a solo career making a number of albums between 1970-1994 and many singles as well dating back to 1963.
On June 16, 2014, three months after 20 Feet From Stardom, the documentary telling the story of the legendary backup singer, won an Oscar, Merry Clayton suffered a near-fatal car accident in her Los Angeles hometown, resulting in months of hospitalization and the amputation of both her legs. Seven Years after her accident, and 27 years since her last album she released 'Beautiful Scars' on the Motown Gospel label in April this year.
Here's a few tracks from the album starting with the Leon Russell penned 'A Song For You':
The title track was penned by Diane Warren, who has written songs for Laura Branigan, The Commodores, DeBarge, Barbra Streisand, Linda Lewis, Joe Cocker, Luther Ingram, Air Supply, Starship, Ronnie Spector, Belinda Carlisle, Ringo Star and oh so many more.:
"I wear it proud, like a badge. I wear it like a tattoo." Well, that's my story. Because my scars are beautiful. They're not ugly. "If you make it through anything in life," my godmother, Della Reese, told me. She said, "You're not gonna get through life without some type of scar. But if you make it through – that's your victory right there."
'Love Is A Mighty River' written by some bloke called Chris Martin (he's sort of famous for being in a band I don't particularly like):
And 'Deliverance':
Merry told Rolling Stone back in March that: Every song is a prayer of sorts. If you sit back and listen to each song, you will come to the same conclusion: “That is nothing but a prayer.” No matter what you’ve been through, you’re not going to get out of this life without having scars. As I said at the end of the song: “Everybody’s got scars.” Everybody. Isn’t that amazing?
Bob Dylan has been covered by so many artists down through the years. Chrissie Hynde has just released an album of Dylan covers called 'Standing In The Doorway'. When it comes to covering Dylan songs I actually think that some of them are better than the originals (yeah, I know, shoot me!) mainly because while Bob is a great songwriter he's not the best singer on the planet! So here's five of My Favourite Bob Dylan Covers (in no particular order of preference).
Chimes of Freedom - Bruce Springsteen and The E Street BandI Believe In You - Sinéad O'ConnorI Shall Be Released - The HeptonesIt's All Over Baby Blue - Echo and The BunnymenMy Back Pages - Ramones
Bob Dylan is 80 Years old today! He's still releasing music and is about to resume his Never Ending Tour.
The above illustration is from The Ringer on a 22nd June 2020 post where Rob Harvilla was talking about Dylan's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' album. Here's my Top Five Favourite Dylan Songs:
1. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) originally from the 'Bringing It All Back Home' album released in 1965.
2. Like A Rolling Stone 1965 Single
3. Tangled Up In Blue from the 'Blood On The Tracks' album
4. Forever Young (Slow Version) from the 1974 Planet Waves album
5. Masters of War from the 1963 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' album
Eric Church (picture below by Reid Long) is always full of surprises. In April he released two nine track albums, firstly 'Heart' and thirdly 'Soul'. Squeezed inbetween those was a six song album called '&'.
Below are six in Studio performances of two tracks from each album.
'Stick That In Your Country Song' from the 'Heart' album:
'Heart On Fire' from the 'Heart' album:
'Doing Life With Me' from the '&' album:
'Through My Ray-Bans' from the '&' album:
'Hell Of A View' from the 'Soul' album:
'Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones' from the 'Soul' album:
The 'Heart' and 'Soul' albums were both made available on LP and CD the '&' album was an exclusive release on White Vinyl for the 'Church Choir' fanclub which is only available via his official Website www.ericchurch.com
Released on 14th May 2021, 'Fat Pop - Volume 1' is the second album from Paul Weller on his return to Polydor Records. It also happens to be his sixth album in five years if you include 'Music From The Film Jawbone' (Parlophone/Vertigo 2017).
It's released on a number of different formats, 3LP/3CD version, 6x7" Single Boxset, 3 x different Coloured Vinyl (Red, Orange and Yellow), Picture Disc and even Limited Edition Cassette (in Red and Blue).
Four "Singles" have been released to Digital Media in the past couple of months starting with 'Glad Times':
Then 'Cosmic Fringes':
'Shades of Blue' co-written with his daughter Leah Weller:
Lastly, just released today, 'Fat Pop':
On Monday (17th May) a Five Track Performance from Noel Gallagher's London Studio was broadcast on You Tube:
On the 25th May 2021 Paul Weller will be 63 years old. There seems no slowing him down and his creative juices don't appear to be ready to stop flowing yet. He has collaborated a lot more on this album with the writing and it's great to hear him writing with a legend of British Pop, Andy Fairweather-Low on the song 'Testify':
I have been thinking a lot about Kindness, Being Kind etc for a good few days and it's easy to get caught up in thinking that it doesn't exist too much if we dwell too much on a lot of the dark things that are going on around the world and on Social Media. We watch the news and the final five minutes are given to a story that reminds us, in the words of Frank Turner, "In a world that has decided that it's going to lose its mind", there's always a better way, "Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind". So I found three songs that promote this theme in different ways but essentially they are all saying the same thing. I'll start with Frank Turner's excellent song, 'Be More Kind':
History's been leaning on me lately;
I can feel the future breathing down my neck
And all the things I thought were true
When I was young, and you were too
Turned out to be broken
And I don't know what comes next
In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends
Try to be more kind
They've started raising walls around the world now
Like hackles raised upon a cornered cat
On the borders, in our heads
Between things that can and can't be said
We've stopped talking to each other
And there's something wrong with that
So before you go out searching
Don't decide what you will find
Be more kind, my friends
Try to be more kind
You should know you're not alone
And trouble comes, and trouble goes
How this ends, no one knows
So hold on tight when the wind blows
The wind blew both of us to sand and sea
And where the dry land stands is hard to say
As the current drags us by the shore
We can no longer say for sure
Who's drowning, or if they can be saved
And when you're out there floundering
Like a lighthouse I will shine
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind
Like a beacon reaching out
To you and yours from me and mine
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind
- Music and Lyrics by Frank Turner
The Gentle Kind - Aztec Camera (Written by Roddy Frame)
I look around me and what do I see?
Sadness surrounds me, alone as can be
With too much time and too much distance
These chains that bind me, they won't set me free
I look behind me and coming for me, yeah
My best friend, she's my resistance
So if you find yourself alone and so unkind
And if you've asked yourself, over and over
And even if your heartbeats hurt like goodbyes
Try, try, try, open your mind
Spend some time with the gentle kind
I was torn between the darkness and the light
Lost to all belief that it could turn out right
But my quiet friend turned me 'round
Made me see again
She took my hand, said nothing much
No lesson learned, just a gentle touch
And I was coming 'round
I am, I am coming 'round again
So if you find yourself alone and so unkind
And if you've asked yourself, over and over
And even if your heartbeats hurt like goodbyes
Try, try, try, open your mind
Spend some time with the gentle kind
'cause in a hard world, with fastness and an eye on the money
I heard a soft voice, saying "Never worry, hold on honey"
When my world was gone, a whisper kind of eased my mind
And I am holdin' on to the gentle kind
She took my hand, said nothing much
No lesson learned, just a soft touch
So if you find yourself alone and so unkind
And if you've asked yourself, over and over
And even if your heartbeats hurt like goodbyes
Try, try, try, open your mind
Spend some time with the gentle kind
Open your mind
Spend some time with the gentle kind
Open your mind
Spend some time with the gentle kind
The third song is by The Bouncing Souls. I have posted the original version from the 'Anchors Aweigh' album released in 2003 and the newer version, which I am coming to like more than the original, from the 2020 album 'Volume 2'.
Simple Man - The Bouncing Souls
Written by Bryan T Kienlen / Gregory A Attonito / Michael H Mcdermott / Peter William Steinkopf
I see lives crash like waves on the shore again and again
In an endless cycle of join and pain
Inside one day your whole life can change innocence torn away
Trust gives way to a thicker pain
A shield from pain? Or a trap that keeps it all in.
They tried to break me down, I had to break away
I woke up from that night mare to start another day
I want to be a simple man with a little peace of mind
Live a simple life, in a place that's kind
I see lives crash like waves on the shore again and again.
No poetry, no symmetry, nothing left inside of me
What happened to that feeling of invincibility?
Broken up caught under the load
Broken down by the side of the road
They tried to break me down I had to break away
I woke up from that nightmare to start another day
I woke up from that night mare to start another day
I want to be a simple man with a little peace of mind
Recorded Live at The Engine Room in Southampton back in 2018 and released 23rd February 2021.
Graham Parker is a quality songwriter and as a solo artist performing acoustically he delivers a wonderful intimate set but many of his songs shine brighter when he has a backing band as this album testifies.
Here's a few tracks from the album to tickle your taste buds starting with the opener 'Old Soul' :
Back Door Love:
White Honey:
Ancient Past:
You Left The Water Running:
Soul Shoes:
The Woody Guthrie Prize, which annually honors an artist who speaks out for social justice through their works in a way that exemplifies the folk pioneer’s spirit. Past recipients include Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, John Mellencamp, Mavis Staples, Kris Kristofferson, Chuck D and Norman Lear. Springsteen becomes the eighth recipient of the prize which was awared last night.
After the presentation Springsteen performed a four song Acoustic set starting with Woody Guthrie's 'Tom Joad Part 2', followed by 'Deportees' and finishing up with two of his own songs, 'Across the Border' and 'The Ghost of Tom Joad'. You can watch the full permance here:
I really loved this from the first listen. The Wedding Present recorded these in 2020 as part of a series done during the Covid-19 Lockdown. Below is a number of tracks from the album. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did, starting with 'We Should Be Together' featuring Louise Wener of Sleeper.
'You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends':
'You're Just A Habit That I'm Trying To Break':
'Deer Caught In The Headlights':
'My Favourite Dress':
Bassists don't always get a lot of love but one master of the Four Strings, Donald "Duck" Dunn is worthy of a lot of love.
Today is the anniversary of his passing back in 2012 aged 70 years old.
'The Great Memphis Sound' album by the Mar-Keys was released in 1966 and by that time Dunn had also joined Booker T and The MGs and appeared on their third album 'And Now!' released in 1966.
Have a listen:
Donald "Duck" Dunn had a CV that reads like a who's who in the music business and this is not the place to go into all the artists. I'll finish up with a few you probably know he played on and possibly a few songs you didn't know he played on, starting with Albert King's 'Born Under A Bad Sign'.
'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around' from the 'Bella Donna' album by Stevie Nicks:
'In The Midnight Hour' by Wilson Pickett:
'Girl of Mine' from the 'Raised On Rock' album by Elvis Presley. He also played on the track 'Sweet Angeline':
'Milk Cow Boogie' from 'Levon Helm and the RCO All-Stars', the debut album from Levon Helm. This arrangement was sorted by Levon Helm and Donald "Duck" Dunn:
Lastly, 'Ain't No Sunshine' by Bill Withers from the 1971 album 'Just As I Am':
These Favourites are not in any particular order just so you know.
Here's an album that came out in January that I found quite fascinating. I know, The Bee Gees! Well forget for a moment that it's The Bee Gees and think of The Gibb Brothers as good old Songwriters and you see this album in a different light. Barry Gibb is here working alongside some of the superb talent in the field of the Country Music Scene like Keith Urban (I've Gotta Get A Message To You), Jason Isbell (Words Of A Fool), Brandi Carlisle (Run To Me), Alison Krauss (Too Much Heaven), Little Big Town (Lonely Days and How Deep Is Your Love), Dolly Parton (Words), Miranda Lambert and Jay Buchanan (Jive Talkin'), Sheryl Crow (How Can You Mend A Broken Heart), Jay Buchanan (To Love Somebody), Olivia Newton-John (Rest Your Love On Me), and the partnership of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (Butterfly).
I thought it might be a good thing to share some Favourite Music from 2021 so far. It will be a very eclectic bunch seeing that I like a lot of different things musically speaking.
This album by Dinosaur Jnr only came out near the end of last month and it's already getting a lot of play here at home. I have to admit that I came a little late to the Dinosaur Jnr. party. Don't know why but their 2016 album 'Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not' really got a hold of me. So I was quite excited about their first album in five years.
I stopped doing the main Soundtrack4Life Blog back in 2019 (which is still available online) mainly because I was finding it too taxing on my mind, spending a good few hours on most of the Posts and I just couldn't focus for those lengths of time due to my Epilepsy, which was causing me a lot of problems at the time.
I was missing doing the whole Blog thing so I decided to come up with S4L Snapshots which is going to be very different as I will post when I can, not putting myself under any pressure and will just be posting maybe a song, news of an album that's on my radar at the moment without delving deep into explaining myself as to why I have posted it. It will generally be music etc that I personally like as I rarely on the other blog posted things I didn't like.
If you want to join me on this new step then I appreciate that and for those who read the main Soundtrack4Life Blog and are jumping on board for this one, I thank you also.
