wildbill's kitchen recordings:
These tunes were recorded in my kitchen at various times over the last couple of years, under entirely non-professional circumstances. They are crude recordings (unlike the fine work done on my behalf at Dirt Hovel Studio, exemplified by the songs on the main music hall page), but they do capture the feel of what it's like to sit in my kitchen with me late at night, smoking and drinking coffee, as I serenade myself. It's all pretty raw, but it feels real and alive and unprocessed, and it's 100% organic.
These tunes were recorded in my kitchen at various times over the last couple of years, under entirely non-professional circumstances. They are crude recordings (unlike the fine work done on my behalf at Dirt Hovel Studio, exemplified by the songs on the main music hall page), but they do capture the feel of what it's like to sit in my kitchen with me late at night, smoking and drinking coffee, as I serenade myself. It's all pretty raw, but it feels real and alive and unprocessed, and it's 100% organic.
Peace in the Valley: It was a lifetime ago the first time I heard Elvis sing this (on the Ed Sullivan show, if memory serves, which lately it often doesn't.) It remains one of the most lovely and compelling expressions of spiritual longing I've ever heard. Recorded in my kitchen yesterday, my birthday, 15 November, 2012.
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Who Will the Next Fool Be?: A Charlie Rich tune. First version I can remember paying attention to was by Jerry Lee Lewis on a long-ago live album that I played 'til it wore out. Another birthday recording.
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Reconsider, Baby: Written and first recorded by Lowell Fulson - a blues standard.
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Irresistible You: Written by Luther Dixon, recorded in the early 'sixties by the great Bobby Darin, backed by a full band with a truly irresistible drum beat up forward. I make-do with my guitar.
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A Mess of Blues: Written by the brilliant team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman who (along with their contemporaries, Leiber and Stoller,) were responsible for what seemed like about half of the great music of the late 'fifties -early 'sixties.
I'd been trying to record something else entirely but, after a half-dozen false starts, I just fell into something comfortable that I knew I could play without striking wrong chords or forgetting lyrics. The last of the birthday recordings. |
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Fools Rush In: This was the very first song I recorded.
I'd always liked the Rick Nelson version of this standard and had recently learned it, so it was in my head when I sat down to play. My thanks to Steven Moore Scheffler, who talked me into letting him record me, and without whom I couldn't be doing this. |
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Ghost Riders: It seems to me I can remember hearing this song while I was still in the crib. It took hold of me then and never let loose. There might be ten thousand versions of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" available - this is ten thousand and one.
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Cryin' Can't Help You: This catchy old blues tune was done by B.B. King and lots more, and appealed to me enough to work my own variation on it.
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Muddy Water: Dunno what to write about this one ,'cept it seemed like a good idea to play it.
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Death Don't Have No Mercy: Learned this song years ago out of a big blues fake book, 'cause it's a favorite. Lot's of folks have worked this Rev. Gary Davis tune - the first version I ever heard was by the Grateful Dead, and I love the Jorma Kaukonen/Hot Tuna version. My version doesn't sound quite like any of 'em. I guess that pleases me.
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Reason to Believe: This heart-breaker, written by the great Tim Hardin and recorded by many artists over the years, remains a favorite of mine. A simple and powerful expression of our complicity in our own personal tragedies.
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Into the Black (My, My, Hey, Hey): I know how Neil Young plays this -I play it with a slightly different chord structure 'cause to me it sounds better that way. The performance here is less than my best (there are a couple of slight stumbles and a horrendous e-string buzz near the end that I've almost grown strangely fond of), but it's the version that got recorded; I never went back for a second take. It's crude, but it's strong and immediate and I think it works well enough for you to give a listen.
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