THE ROLLING STONES - "Angie"

The Rolling Stones
"Angie"
Single / B-side: "Silver Train"
Released: 20 August 1973
Album: Goats Head Soup - (Released: 31 August 1973)
Writers: Mick Jagger - Keith Richards
Label: Rolling Stones 

"Angie" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and featured on The Rolling Stones 1973 album Goats Head Soup.

The Rolling Stones' single "Angie", 1973

The Rolling Stones - "Angie" (Official Promo Video  version 1)

Recorded in November and December 1972, "Angie" is an acoustic-guitar-driven ballad which tells of the end of a romance. The song's distinctive piano accompaniment was played by Nicky Hopkins, a Rolling Stones recording-session regular. The strings on the piece (as well as on another song, "Winter") were arranged by Nicky Harrison. An unusual feature of the original recording is that singer Mick Jagger's vocal guide track (made before the final vocals were performed) is faintly audible throughout the song (an effect sometimes called a "ghost vocal").

Because of the song's length, some radio stations made edits to shorten it to 3 minutes, omitting the longer coda and the second instrumental section of the song.

There was speculation that the song was about David Bowie's first wife Angela, or the actress Angie Dickinson, or Keith Richards' newborn daughter, Dandelion Angela. Richards, who wrote almost all the music and lyrics for the song, claimed in his autobiography that the name Angie was a pseudonym for heroin, and that the song was about his attempt to quit using it while detoxing in Switzerland. 

Keith in his 2010 autobiography, Life, wrote: "While I was in the (Vevey drug) clinic (in March-April 1972), Anita was down the road having our daughter, Angela. Once I came out of the usual trauma, I had a guitar with me and I wrote 'Angie' in an afternoon, sitting in bed, because I could finally move my fingers and put them in the right place again, and I didn't feel like I had to s--t the bed or climb the walls or feel manic anymore. I just went, 'Angie, Angie.' It was not about any particular person; it was a name, like ohhh, Diana. I didn't know Angela was going to be called Angela when I wrote 'Angie.' In those days you didn't know what sex the thing was going to be until it popped out." 

Mick Jagger achingly sings about a doomed love: "They can't say we never tried / With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats / You can't say we're satisfied," is one of the song's most memorable lines. 

(Allmusic review by Bill Janovitz)

The Rolling Stones - "Angie" (Official promo video vers.2)

The Rolling Stones - Angie (Audio HQ)

The Rolling Stones have frequently performed the song in concert; it was included in set lists on their 1973, 1975, and 1976 tours, and they have performed it on every tour since their 1982 European tour. Concert renditions were released on the albums Stripped and Live Licks.

Line-up / Musicians:
Mick Jagger – lead vocals
Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals
Mick Taylor – guitar, backing vocals
Bill Wyman – bass guitar
Charlie Watts – drums

With

Nicky Hopkins – piano 

Nicky Harrison – string arrangement 

Links / Reviews:

Official Website: Goats Head Soup

Wikipedia: Angie (song)

Songfacts: Angie by The Rolling Stones

Allmusic: The Rolling Stones - Angie song review

  

BOB DYLAN - "Tangled Up In Blue"

Bob Dylan
"Tangled Up In Blue"
Single - B-side: "If You See Her, Say Hello"
Album: Blood on the Tracks
Released: 17 January 1975
Writer: Bob Dylan
Label: Columbia
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"Tangled Up in Blue" is a song by Bob Dylan. It appeared on his album Blood on the Tracks in 1975. Rolling Stone ranked it #68 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The Telegraph has described the song as, "The most dazzling lyric ever written, an abstract narrative of relationships told in an amorphous blend of first and third person, rolling past, present and future together, spilling out in tripping cadences and audacious internal rhymes, ripe with sharply turned images and observations and filled with a painfully desperate longing."

Bob Dylan's Single "Tangled Up In Blue" 1973(Photo courtesy of Columbia)

Bob Dylan's Single Vinyl "Tangled Up In Blue" 1975

"Tangled Up in Blue" is one of the clearest examples of Dylan's attempts to write "multi-dimensional" songs which defied a fixed notion of time and space. Dylan was influenced by his recent study of painting and the Cubist school of artists, who sought to incorporate multiple perspectives within a single plane of view.  In a 1978 interview Dylan explained this style of songwriting: "What's different about it is that there's a code in the lyrics, and there's also no sense of time. There's no respect for it. You've got yesterday, today and tomorrow all in the same room, and there's very little you can't imagine not happening".

Dylan wrote this in the summer of 1974 at a farm he had just bought in Minnesota. This is a very personal song for Dylan. It deals with the changes he was going through, including his marriage falling apart.

First recorded in New York with producer Phil Ramone, Dylan delayed the release and re-recorded it in Minnesota while visiting his brother, David, for the holidays. David organized the sessions and helped produce the version that went on the album. David also came up with the idea for the hi-hat cymbals at the beginning.

Among the musicians who recorded this in Minnesota were Billy Peterson, who became the bass player for Steve Miller, and Bill Berg, who became an animator for Disney (some of the films Berg has worked on include Beauty And The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Hercules). The session musicians in Minnesota were not credited on the album because the packaging had already been printed. The book Simple Twist Of Fate by Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard, documents the recording of Blood On The Tracks (in particular the genesis of this song). It explains how 2 different sets of musicians were used in New York and Minnesota but the Minnesota musicians not only did not receive credit, but also have never received royalties. Obviously, they are not happy about this since the album has sold millions of copies.

Bob Dylan - "Tangled Up In Blue" (live)

Bob Dylan's plays live "Tangled Up In Blue"

When Dylan performs this song in concert he uses the third person perspective (He and She) that is on the version found onThe Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 album instead of the first person perspective that is on Blood On The Tracks. He also alters some of the lyrics, for instance: "One day the axe just fell" is changed to "One day it all went to hell." Dylan sometimes introduced this song on stage by saying it took  "ten years to live and two years to write."

Line-up / Musicians:
Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica, production
With:
Bill Berg – drums
Gregg Inhofer – keyboards
Kevin Odegard – guitar
Peter Ostroushko – mandolin
Billy Peterson – bass guitar
Chris Weber – guitar, 12-string guitar

THE DOORS - "Light My Fire"

The Doors
"Light My Fire"
Single - B-Side: "The Crystal Ship"
Released: May 1967
Album: The Doors (Released: 4 January 1967)
Writer: The Doors
Label: Elektra

"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors, which was released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album nearly a year after its recording. It was their breakthrough hit, and is considered their signature song. The song is number 35 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was included in the Songs of the Century list. José Feliciano's cover version won a 1969 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, the same year he won another Grammy for Best New Artist.

The Doors' single "Light My Fire", 1967
(Photo courtesy of  Elektra)

The song originated as an unfinished Robby Krieger composition, which the other band members then expanded upon. Ray Manzarek said that the distinctive organ intro was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Two and Three Part Inventions. Although the album version was just over seven minutes long, it was widely requested for radio play, so a single version was edited to under three minutes with nearly all the instrumental break removed for airplay on AM radio.

The Doors - "Light My Fire" (vinyl LP version)

The Doors' dutch 7 inch sleeve Ligh My Fire

The band appeared on various TV shows, such as American Bandstand, miming to a playback of the single. However, "Light My Fire" was performed live by The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast on September 17, 1967. The Doors were asked by producer Bob Precht, Sullivan's son-in-law, to change the line "girl, we couldn't get much higher", as the sponsors were uncomfortable with the possible reference to drug-taking. The band agreed to do so, and did a rehearsal using the amended lyrics, "girl, we couldn't get much better"; however, during the live performance, the band's lead singer Jim Morrison sang the original lyric. Ed Sullivan did not shake Morrison's hand as he left the stage. The band had been negotiating a multi-episode deal with the producers; however, after breaking the agreement not to perform the line, they were informed they would never do the Sullivan show again. Morrison's response was "We just 'did' Sullivan."

The Doors - "Light My Fire" (Ed Sullivan Show)

The Doors - "Light My Fire" (official music video)

The Doors at Ed Sullivan Show, 1967 

"... we have a masterpiece, "Light my Fire" is a musical piece very well written, yet better performed in their concerts, this is without a doubt one of the proggiest songs that they ever released, and again, without a doubt, one of the most significative songs in their history, and the history of rock, here we can also notice the way of the weird lyrics...." 
(Progarchives, review by: memowakeman)

Line-up / Musicians:

Jim Morrison - lead vocals

Robby Krieger - Gibson SG electric guitar

Ray Manzarek - Vox Continental combo organ, keyboard bass

John Densmore - drums

With:

Larry Knechtel - bass guitar 

Link / Review:

wikipedia: Light My Fire 
songfacts: Light My Fire by The Doors  
thedoors.com: Light My Fire - The Doors
ppcorn: The Doors "Light My Fire" Still On Fire
rollingstone: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

RADIOHEAD - "Creep"

Radiohead
"Creep"
Single
Album: Pablo Honey
Released: 21 September 1992
Writers: Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood
Label: Parlophone, EMI
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"Creep" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. Radiohead released "Creep" as their debut single in 1992, and it later appeared on their first album, Pablo Honey (1993).

Radiohead's single "Creep", 1992
(Photo courtesy Parlophone)

According to Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.

Radiohead - "Creep" (music video)

In 1992 during rehearsal sessions with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, Radiohead spontaneously performed "Creep". Yorke described "Creep" to the producers as "our Scott Walker song"; Slade and Kolderie mistook the singer's remark and believed the song was a cover. After tension arose due to unsatisfactory attempts at recording other songs, Slade and Kolderie tried to improve morale by requesting Radiohead to play "Creep" again. The band recorded the song in a single take; after the performance everyone in the room burst into applause. Once the band assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI to tell them to consider the song as Radiohead's next single. While the recording had minimal overdubs and the band did not intend to release it, the producers were impressed with the song.

Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", a song recorded by The Hollies in 1973, Radiohead was successfully sued for plagiarism. Consequently, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers of "Creep". "Creep" uses a chord progression used in "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse and a melody from "The Air That I Breathe" in the bridge following the second chorus.

In the album version, Yorke sings, "You're so fucking special." For US radio version, he recut it as, "You're so very special." Yorke regrets changing the line for radio version, saying it disturbed the "sentiment of the song." According to him, the song lost its anger as result.

Radiohead - "Creep" (album Pablo Honey)

Radiohead (Vocalist Thom Yorke) plays Creep at Reading Festival, 2009

Yorke says, "Creep" tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman to whom he is attracted by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to face her and feels he subconsciously is her. Jonny Greenwood said the song was in fact a happy song about "recognizing what you are."

Line-up / Musicians:

Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar

Jonny Greenwood – guitar, piano, organ

Colin Greenwood – bass guitar

Ed O'Brien – guitar, backing vocals

Phil Selway – drums

DONOVAN - "Atlantis"

Donovan
"Atlantis"
Single / B-sides: "I Love My Shirt" (UK), "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting" (US)

Released: November 1968 (UK), March 1969 (US)

Album: Barabajagal (Released: 11 August 1969)
Writer: Donovan Leitch

Label: Epic

"Atlantis" is a folk-pop song written and recorded by British singer/songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in 1968 and became a worldwide success. In the United States, it was served as the b-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting,"

Donovan's single "Atlantis" 1969 <US version>
(Photo courtesy Wikipedia, Epic)

Donovan - "Atlantis" (Beat Club)

The introduction of the song is a quiet monologue regarding the idea that Atlantis was a highly advanced antediluvian civilization, and that Atlantean colonists were the basis of the mythological gods of ancient times. Aware of their fate, the Atlanteans sent out ships to carry their masters to safety, and these people were responsible for bringing civilization and culture to primitive humans. When the song begins in earnest, it conveys the message that the singer's true love may be in Atlantis. The overall theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as the symbol of the counterculture movement, with the hope that true love will be found if ever Atlantis can be reached.

Many believe that the song "Atlantis" features the background vocals of Paul McCartney. Backing-up that claim is Harry Castleman and Walter Podrazik's book, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography, 1961—1975 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1976, p. 384), which states that McCartney not only provided the background vocals but also played the tambourine on the song.

However, according to Donovan in a 2008 interview with Goldmine Magazine, McCartney did not sing the backing vocals. The album's liner notes, which state that the song was recorded in Los Angeles in November 1968, do not list McCartney as a performer on the album.

Also, the works of Mark Lewisohn, regarded as the world's leading authority on the Beatles, do not support the statement, Neither The Complete Beatles Chronicles (New York: Harmony Books, 1992) nor The Beatles Day by Day: A Chronology 1962-1989 (New York: Harmony Books, 1987 & 1990) mentions McCartney's participation on this song. According to Lewisohn's chronology, (Lewisohn, The Beatles Day by Day, page 110) McCartney spent the month of November 1968 mostly at his farm in Scotland.

Donovan - "Atlantis" (singel version)

Donovan at Beat Club 1969

In 2001, Donovan and German pop band No Angels re-recorded the track for the closing credits of the Walt Disney Feature Animation picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Included on a concomitant album for the German-speaking music market, it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria and Germany.

Line-up / musicians:

Donovan - guitars, vocals

Gabriel Meckler – Keyboards ·

James Kehn – Percussion, Drums

Links / Reviews:

wikipedia:  Atlantis (song)
songfacts: Atlantis by Donovan

GARY MOORE - "Still Got the Blues (For You)"

Gary Moore
"Still Got the Blues (For You)"
Single
Album: Still Got The Blues
Released: 1990
Writer: Gary Moore
Label: Virgin
________________________

"Still Got the Blues (For You)" is a song by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore which was originally released on the album "Still Got the Blues". The song was released as a single and its only single of Moore's to chart in the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1990 Gary Moore and Ian Taylor filmed a basic music video for the song. Gary Moore played his Les Paul Standard Guitar throughout the song.

Gary Moore's Single "Still Got the Blues", 1990(Cover courtesy of Virgin)

Gary Moore -  "Still Got the Blues" (music video)

This was the title track was a return to the Blues music of his youth. Gary Moore explains, "I left Lizzy in 1980, and had a band called G-Force, then got into my solo thing. I found that when I was in my dressing room, warming up for a gig, I would be playing blues, so I felt I was getting a bit of a message from that. Around '89, I started playing Blues again."

Gary Moore - "Still Got the Blues" (live)

On December 3, 2008, a Munich, Germany court ruled that the guitar solo on the title track was plagiarized from a 1974 instrumental recording called "Nordrach" (named afterNordrach, a small river in the central Black Forest) by the German progressive rock band Jud's Gallery from Offenburg.  Moore denied knowing of the song, due to its unavailability on record or CD at the time of studio work on his album; the court stated that the song could have been heard on the radio or in a live performance during that time. The court also stated that there was no evidence that the guitar solo was lifted from "Nordrach", but copyright infringement does not depend on outright theft. Moore was ordered to pay Jürgen Winter, leader of Jud's Gallery, an undisclosed amount in damages

Gary Moore performance, Hammersith Odeon, 1990

Line-up / Musicians:
Gary Moore - lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
Don Airey - keyboards
Gavyn Wright - strings
Andy Pyle - bass guitar
Graham Walker - drums

URIAH HEEP - "Wise Man"

Uriah Heep

"Wise Man"

Single 

Album: Firefly

Released: 7 December 1976

Writers: Ken Hensley, Jack Williams

Label: Bronze

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"Wise Man" is a song by British hard rock/progressive rock band Uriah Heep. The song was written by Ken Hensley and Jack Williams for their album Firefly, which was released on December 7, 1976, a day before their tour kicked off supporting Kiss in Macon, Georgia. 

Uriah Heep's single "Wise Man", 1976 
(Photo courtesy of Bronze)

Uriah Heep "wise Man" (Top of  the Pops 1977)

The song is also the first single from the album and the first single with the band's new vocalist John Lawton. "Wise Man" was recorded at Roundhouse Recording Studios in London during October and November 1976, and was written in the key of A major.

On April 15th, BBC's "Top Of The Pops" TV show presented Uriah Heep performing "Wise Man" playback. In the UK, Firefly brought Uriah Heep rare appearance in th Brirish charts.  With the "Wise Man" single in the Top Forty, they even appeared on Top of the Pops, which considering the disapeareance of the 1971 Old grey Whistle Test footage now remains the only existing oh Heep in the BBC archive.

Uriah Heep "Wise Man" (album Firefly,1976

Uriah Heep 1976- 1979 
(l- r: Mick Box, Lee Kerslake, John Lawton, Trevor Bolder, Ken Hensley)

On the book Uriah Heep - Uncensored On the Record by Dave Lin, recording producers of Bronze, Gerry Bron, says: "For me, 'Wise Man' was one of the best recordings we'd ever made" 

Line-up / Musicians:

Mick Box – guitar

Ken Hensley – keyboards

Lee Kerslake – drums

Trevor Bolder – bass guitar

John Lawton – lead vocals 

Links / Reviews: 
Wikipedia: Wise Man (song)  
Book: Uriah Heep - Uncensored On the Record
Uriah Heep Official Website: Uriah Heep Discography - Songs