Discovering John McCutcheon’s Passage – 15 Years Later and Still Powerful
Back in November 2010, while browsing the Folk DJ Chart, I came across an artist I somehow hadn’t given enough attention to: John McCutcheon. His album Passage was sitting at #19, and I thought: it’s time. So I loaded it up on Rhapsody (yes, Rhapsody!) and the result? That familiar feeling of *What was I thinking?*—how had I missed this?
A Wisconsin native now living in Avondale Estates, Georgia, John is what Southerners might call a “Damn Yankee” — one who came and stayed. He’s a master of the hammered dulcimer but also plays guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and Jew’s harp. And let’s not forget: he’s a terrific songwriter.
About John McCutcheon’s Passage
Passage was recorded in both Decatur, GA and Nashville and features an impressive list of guest musicians and friends: Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss, Tim O’Brien, Mollie O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, and John Jennings, to name a few.
The album covers everything from mining life (“One More Day,” “Your Age”) to father-son relationships (“With My Father,” “Iowa”) to friendship (“Friendly Competition”), to those ever-resonant themes of love and loss. McCutcheon’s voice, both musically and lyrically, is a steady, soulful guide through it all.
Two standouts from the album—“Glory Hallelujah” and “One More Day”—appeared on the Folk DJ list that year, and with good reason. As his website once said:
“No one explores the uncharted, unspoken territories of the grown-up heart like John McCutcheon.”
🎶 Watch: “Step by Step” – Hammered Dulcimer Brilliance
Postscript – July 2025
This week, John McCutcheon’s latest album Field of Stars made it onto my Folk Monday rotation. Revisiting Passage reminded me just how long he’s been writing songs that matter. The topics may evolve, but the heart and craft never waver. Time to go re-listen — and maybe catch up on a few of those 24+ albums I missed the first time around!385″
A Random Album Pick – The Kingston Trio – Nick Bob John
This morning I randomly picked out an album from a crate of vinyl that was near me. The album was The Kingston Trio‘s album Nick-Bob- John. Released in 1964, the album was their first recording on the Decca label. The trio was extremely popular from 1958 through 1963 There first 5 albums peaked at No. 1 on the charts and were certifed Gold Records.. That explains why their albums are so numerous at Goodwills.
When I first realized that good albums could be found at Goodwills I started to search out folk music from the 1950s and 1960s. And The Kingston Trio albums were the easiest to find. I found this album interesting because by this time John Stewart had joined the trio.
The First Spin
I put the album on and started to do write a blog post. The first song was “Midnight Special” a song I have heard countless times over the years. My ears really perked up when I heard the third song “Someday Soon” an Ian Tyson song that has been covered by many of my favorite artists. My favorite cover though is by Judy Collins!
Down the Folk Music Rabbit Hole
Then came “Gotta Travel On” and this is when the ground started to split and a rabbit hole emerged! When I first went to Google to find out more about the song I saw a result that said Gotta Travel On words ad lyrics by Bob Dylan I thought that’s not right. When I looked back at the back of the album I saw that the songwriter was Paul Clayton.
Now that makes sense Clayton was very active in the early folk scene in Greenwich Village and I knew Dave Van Ronk had written about him in Van Ronk’s he Mayor of MacDougal Street
So I searched Google for info on the relationship between Van Ronk, Clayton and Dylan.. Here’s what i found out
Further Down the Folk Music Rabbit Hole…….
Next, I discovered that the song went back a long way and that while some say The Kingston Trio introduced the song. However, The Weavers had actually recorded it several years earlier. The sent me down the rabbit-hole to find my Weaver albums to see if I had one with “Gotta Travel On”. Bingo! And it’s even in the slightly referenced in the album title Travelin’ On with the Weavers. The song ends the album! Here’s What they wrote about the song.
Here again was the fragment of a song with an appealing rhythm we wanted to preserve. We wrote new lyrics to tell a lonesome tale: who has not felt.
What the Liner Notes Taught Me
Finally, when I pulled out the Weaver album I also pulled out The Weavers Greatest Hits. When I looked at the songs I recognized the majority of them including the likes of: “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” “Wimoweh” and “Rock Island Line” Hey is that the Johnny Cash song? Yep.
Anyway I saw that many of these songs were written by Paul Campbell. and Kisses Sweeter than Wine and Rock Island Line were written by Paul Campbell and Joel Newman. Who were these songwriters??? Off again to Google, etc
Paul Campbell is a pseudonym used by The Weavers (Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert) between 1948 and 1953 to copyright their arrangements of traditional folk songs. It allowed the group to claim songwriting credit for adapted material, such as “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine”
Now the question is who is Joel Newman? The answer Huddie Ledbetter aka Lead Belly.
Another of the things I learned from the liner notes on Travelin’ On with the Weavers involved “Kumbaya.” When they first encountered it, all they had was the word “Kumbaya,” brought back from Africa, and a rhythm that sounded like a lullaby. So they wrote it as a lullaby.
All of this from pulling one random album off a shelf.
Folk Monday kicked off with Endless Wire spinning on the turntable — Gordon Lightfoot sounding as warm and familiar as ever. Something about Lightfoot always puts me in a good place, and today it set off a whole chain reaction.
While the album played, I started revising older posts, and the first one that surfaced was my write-up on Dave Gunning’s Lift. I’d forgotten how much I liked that record — and how many East Coast voices Gunning pulls into his work. Here’s the updated post if you want to take a look:
Lightfoot led to Gunning, and suddenly I realized how many Canadian voices have shaped my listening over the years. They’re not all alike, but they share that same mix of storytelling, heart, and wide-open Northern landscapes:
Gordon Lightfoot – the foundation
Dave Gunning – modern East Coast voice with Stan Rogers’ storytelling DNA
Ian Tyson – I may need to pull out Cowboyography next
James Keelaghan – one of the finest storytellers working today
Stan Rogers – I knew I had one of his albums somewhere… turned out to be two
And just like that, I was all the way down the Canadian folk rabbit hole — the good kind — which led naturally to putting Stan Rogers on the turntable next.
By this point, I was fully down the Canadian folk rabbit hole — the good kind.
Stan Rogers First on the Turntable
Once I dug a little deeper into my shelves, I found the two Stan Rogers albums I’ve picked up over the last couple of years. First on the turntable: Fogarty’s Cove.
Fogarty’s Cove was Stan’s debut, released in 1977 on Barnswallow Records — a label he later purchased and turned into Fogarty’s Cove Records. My copy is the 1979 pressing on that very label, which feels just right for the music.
While the needle dropped, I realized I never really knew how young Stan was when he died — only that I’d heard Gene Shay mention it years ago. A quick stop at Wikipedia filled in the gaps:
About Stan Rogers
Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983)[1] was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people’s daily lives, especially from the fishing villages of the Maritime provinces and, later, the farms of the Canadian prairies and Great Lakes.[2] He died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797, grounded at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, at the age of 33. Wikipedia
Before his death in 1983, Stan — with his brother Garnett often co-producing — released five albums. He stayed a staple of the folk community long after, with live releases, tribute concerts, and, of course, the annual Stan Rogers Folk Festival up in Canso, Nova Scotia.
Listening again, it’s easy to be reminded why Stan’s music has stuck around. His baritone, that hint of Celtic phrasing, the DADGAD-tuned guitars — and the songs themselves. “Northwest Passage,” “The Mary Ellen Carter,” “White Squall,” “Make and Break Harbour”… they all still land.
Barrett’s Privateers – from Fogerty’s Cove – Stan Rogers
But the one that always leaps out, no matter how many times I hear it, is “Barrett’s Privateers.” Before I wander any farther down this Canadian trail, here it is — the perfect way to wrap up this Rogers detour.as Remembering Stan Rogers, which peaked at number 36 on the RPM Country Albums chart.
If the day stays at this pace, who knows where I’ll end up — maybe ending the night with Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds” or Keelaghan’s For now, I’m calling this the first stop on what’s turning into a full-on Canadian Folk Monday. I’ll circle back soon with Tyson, Keelaghan, and maybe a few vinyl surprises I dig out of the stacks.
Ally Venable Band Starts This Week’s Blues Music Rotation
Yesterday, I had a chance to take a good look at the Roots Music Report Blues Charts. After reviewing the charts I listened to a few minutes of many albums to see if they match my taste. I ended up with thirteen albums to listen to over the rest of the week. The album that intrigued me the most yesterday was Puppet Show from the Abby Venable Band. Currently, the album is number 23 on the Contemporary Blues Album Chart.
Evidently I have been doing a lousy job of keeping up with hot new blues artists from Texas. Because Abby is one of th hottest.t young blues artists (she’s 19 years old) in the Lone Star State.‘Ms Venable was named East Texas Female Guitarist of the Year in both 2014 and 2015. And her band was named East Texas Music Awards Blues Band of the Year in 2015,2016 and 2017.
About the Ally Venable Band
Ally Venable is both the leader, and lead vocalist and of course lead guitarist. Ally started singing in church at your age. In recent years though she picked up the guitar and found her passion.
Ally’s band mates Bobby Wallace and Elijah Owens provide a solid rhythm section. Wallace is the bassist and Owens the drummer. Wallace has tons of experience and is a master at his craft. While Owens is a classically trained musician.
Puppet Show is the band’s third album. Train Wreck Blueswas the band’s debut album and No Glass Shoes was their sophomore release. There are some helping hands on Puppet Show. Guitarist Gary Hoey provides his great guitar work on track one “Devil’s Son”. While Ally’s mentor Lance Lopez adds his guitar to “Bridges to Burn” track two. Steve Krase plays harmonica on the album and Eric Steckel adds some keyboards.
Final Thoughts
Bottom Line : Based on a limited number of listens Puppet Show is a winner and will stay in my rotation for a while, so check it out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Ally Venable Band
“The Dutchman,” written by Michael Smith, is one of my all-time favorite songs. In addition to Steve Goodman, the song has been covered by two of my favorite artists — Jerry Jeff Walker and John Gorka — along with Liam Clancy. Steve’s version is still my favor
Now, why a 20-year-old fell in love with this song back in 1971, I don’t really know. I guess it’s the universality of the lyrics — the tenderness, the quiet devotion, the way it captures a love that endures through time and frailt
What I do know is that as I approach my 74th birthday and my 50th year married to the love of my life, my eyes are misting up just thinking about it.
I’ve always loved story songs — songs that introduce you to real people, or people who feel real, whose stories stay with you. Here’s a short playlist of some of the folks I’ve met through songs over the years.
The Playlist
“The Dutchman” – Steve Goodman
I met The Dutchman back in 1971 via Steve Goodman’s album Somebody Else’s Troubles. The song has stayed with me all these years and now feels even more meaningful. A tale of enduring love and quiet devotion.
“Mr. Bojangles” – Jerry Jeff Walker
The story of a street performer Walker met in a New Orleans drunk tank. The song reminds us that everyone has a story, even if it’s not immediately visible. And yes, the waltz beat has helped rock all five of my grandchildren to sleep at one point or another.
Bonus: Check Out a Birthday post I did For Jerry Jeff a while back here
“Mr. Tanner” – Harry Chapin
A powerful story about a man who dares to dream. It makes me wonder: is it better to chase your dream and fall short, or to keep the dream alive in your imagination? I’ve asked myself that many times.
“Corey’s Coming” – Harry Chapin
The story of old John Joseph and his beloved Corey. Is Corey real, or only alive in the old man’s mind? Either way, it’s a tale of love, longing, and the stories we choose to believe.
“Mr. Schwinn” – Daryl Purpose
The quiet, touching tale of a bicycle repairman and the two bikes he maintains — one for himself, one for his wife. Did they ever take that honeymoon ride? We may never know, but it stays with me.
“Stoney” – Jerry Jeff Walker
Another unforgettable character from Walker’s travels. I first heard this in the early ’70s, and it’s been with me ever since. While at the University of Florida, I once recited it (along with “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy”) as part of a class assignment. I got applause for “Stoney.” It’s also one of those songs I’ve used to rock a grandchild t
Listen to the Playlist
Here’s a playlist of the songs and characters I’ve carried with me all these years. Each one tells a story — some tender, some wistful, all unforgettable.
The Bonus: Not a PArticular Person just two people who may resemble people we know…..
hese are the people I’ve met in songs — and somehow, they’ve stayed with me longer than some folks I’ve met in real life.
Lurrie Bell: Carrying On the Chicago Blues Tradition of His Father, Carey Bell
I’ve mentioned before that I often use the birthday listings over at AllAboutJazz.com as a springboard to discover new music. That’s how I first really dove into the music of Lurrie Bell, a Chicago bluesman with deep roots and a guitar tone full of grit and soul.
Blues in My Soul – A Breakthrough Album
Back in 2013, Lurrie Bell had a banner year. He released what would become one of his most acclaimed solo albums, Blues in My Soul, on the Delmark label—a return to electric blues after a few more acoustic and spiritual outings. The blues world noticed.
Blues in My Soul earned Lurrie five nominations at the 2014 Blues Music Awards:
Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
Blues Song of the Year (“Blues in My Soul”)
Traditional Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
Blues Guitarist of the Year
Traditional Male Blues Artist of the Year
He took home the Blues Song of the Year award, and also won the 2013 Living Blues Award for Male Blues Act of the Year.
Lurrie Bell – Born December 13, 1958
Lurrie Bell was born in Chicago, the son of legendary blues harpist Carey Bell. He picked up the guitar at six, and by his teens was already playing with the likes of Eddy Clearwater, Big Walter Horton, and Eddie Taylor. In the mid-1970s, he spent four years touring and recording with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine. His recording debut came in 1977 on his father’s album Heartaches and Pain, as well as King of the Jungle by Eddie C. Campbell.
Over a career now spanning more than four decades, Bell has released more than a dozen solo albums, collaborated often with his father, and contributed to numerous other blues records. I first heard his scorching guitar work on Live at Chan’s: Combo Platter No. 2 from Nick Moss & The Flip Tops, where he shines on a 13-minute version of Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years.”
If you’re a fan of Chicago blues and haven’t checked out Lurrie Bell yet—start now. Here are some great places to explore his music:
And here’s a great live performance of “Everyday I Have the Blues” from Bluesfest Eutin 2014:
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🎶 Update: Set Me Free (2024)
As for me? Lurrie Bell is still going strong. His 2024 collaboration with saxophonist Frank Catalano, Set Me Free, is now spinning as I write—and it’s a bold, soulful mix of blues and jazz that pushes the boundaries without losing the heart.
Between Lurrie’s expressive guitar and vocals, and Catalano’s blazing sax work, the album is a testament to two seasoned musicians still hungry for musical exploration. Set Me Free proves the blues isn’t stuck in the past—it’s still moving, still evolving, still alive.
Check it out—you just might find yourself set free too.
Daggomit! by Max Wareham – Daggomit, It’s Great Bluegrass!
The other day, I visited the FAI Folk DJ Chart in search of some new folk music. As I scrolled down the chart, I saw several interesting albums. However, it was the number 50 album — Daggomit! — that really caught my attention. With a title like that and its cartoonish cover, I thought: this is an album I will undoubtedly like. I need to check it out!
Boy, am I glad I did. So daggomit, let’s find out about the album and its creator, Max Wareham!
DAGGOMIT — Who Is Max Wareham?
Max Wareham is a banjo player, songwriter, and author who hails from Boston, MA. He’s also a member of the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band and was featured on the Grammy-nominated album “Calling You From My Mountain.”
After two years of touring nationally with Peter Rowan, Max recorded and released his own album, Daggomit!, in February 2025.
In addition to Max’s fine banjo playing, the album features an impressive roster of bandmates:
Chris Eldridge and David Grier – guitars
Laura Orshaw – fiddle
Chris Henry – mandolin
Mike Bub – bass
Larry Atamanuik – snare drum
Guest vocals – Peter Rowan
Sounds like a winning lineup to me! Even the production is top-shelf: Peter Rowan served as producer, and the recording engineer was multi-Grammy winner Sean Sullivan.
Max is clearly passionate about the banjo and committed to honoring the instrument’s early innovators — he’s even written a book about one of them! His dedication shines through every note on Daggomit! — a collection of soulful original songs brought to life by the hard-driving chemistry of Nashville’s top bluegrass players.
One More Thing About Max…
I admire and envy anyone who excels at more than one thing — and Max is one of those people! According to his website:
“In addition to his work as a banjo player, he has studied jazz guitar performance at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC, written songs for and co-produced the album Cousin Moon, played bass with psych-pop outfit Sun Parade, and produced and recorded songs under the alias ‘Sir Orfeo.’”
Thoughts About Daggomit!
Daggomit! packs 13 terrific bluegrass tracks into 43 minutes. Max’s banjo is front and center on most of the tunes — some are all-instrumental (always my favorites!), and others feature strong vocals, including two with Peter Rowan.
Each track gives Max and his bandmates a chance to shine. Bluegrass, after all, is a lot like jazz — everyone takes a turn in the spotlight!
All I can say is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Daggomit! climb higher up the charts. Or maybe it already has, and I missed it — boo hiss on me!
Either way, you should check it out. And as for me? I need to circle back and dive deeper into that Peter Rowan Band album: “Calling You From My Mountain.”
Links for Further Exploration of Max Wareham’s Music
Steve Goodman’s Debut Album Became a Soundtrack for My Life!
I first discovered the magical, funny, and poignant music of Steve Goodman back in 1971, when his self-titled debut album came out. At the time, I was a student at the University of Florida — so I don’t think I heard about him from Gene Shay’s folk show in Philly. I’m pretty sure it was the liner notes on the back of the album that pulled me in. That’s where I read this from John Prine:
I been listening to the radio since I was nine years old. I figured I could see songs better than most people listen to them. The first time I heard Steve Goodman on the radio, I knew I was listening to a tall skinny cat with a little beard singing the best damn train song I ever heard. Two months later, in the back room of The Earl of Oldtown, I met a short stout fellow with no beard who wrote and sang the best train song I ever heard. His name was Steve Goodman. The Lord works in mysterious ways. – John Prine, 1971
Since I had already discovered John Prine, that quote alone would’ve been enough to sell me on the album.
A Who’s Who of Folk and Country Greats
But wait — there was more. A who’s who of American folk and country players were listed on the back cover. The lineup included:
Bob Dylan – piano on “Election Year Rag”
Kris Kristofferson – backing vocals
John Prine – backing vocals
Vassar Clements – fiddle
Charlie McCoy – harmonica
David Briggs, Kenny Buttrey, Norbert Putnam – Nashville A-Team players
Also: Grady Martin, Ben Keith, Donnie Fritts, Martha McCrory, and a full brass section!
I already knew Dylan, Kristofferson, and Prine — and I recognized names like Vassar Clements and Charlie McCoy. I figured even if I didn’t love the songs, the music would be top-notch.
Spoiler: I loved the songs too.
🎶 My Favorite Tracks from Steve Goodman’s Debut
While I love all the songs on the album, Side Two was the one I played the most (yes, I think everyone always had a favorite side on an album). Here are six of my favorite songs from Steve Goodman (1971):
Side One
The I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m Goin’ Nowhere in a Hurry Blues
This one pops up in the jukebox in my head all the time. “It was on a Sunday morning about a hundred years or so…”
Donald & Lydia
A beautiful, heartfelt cover of the John Prine original.
You Never Even Call Me By My Name
Later made famous by David Allan Coe — but this is where it started.
Side Two
City of New Orleans
The “best damn train song” Prine ever heard. And one that helped define Goodman’s legacy.
Turnpike Tom
Another one that’s always in my mental jukebox — I just love the story.
Yellow Coat and Would You Like to Learn to Dance
These show Steve’s softer, tender side. Both are among my favorite ballads by anyone.
Who Was Steve Goodman?
Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was a folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote “City of New Orleans,” co-wrote “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” and penned the Chicago Cubs anthem “Go Cubs Go.”
Goodman passed away from leukemia in 1984, but left behind one of the most enduring catalogs in American folk music.
Links For the Further Exploration of the Music of Steve Goodman
This album has been part of my life for over 50 years. Every time I hear one of these songs, I’m back in Gainesville, with the volume up and the liner notes wide open.
Fifty year plus years ago, I was discovering new artists, who would become lifelong companions. Today, many of them are still making music – and I’m still listening. This playlist The Fifty Years Later Playlist looks back at where they started.. and where they are now.
The seeds of this playlist were sown on Monday of this week (May 26th) when I used my 20% off Holiday discount at Goodwill to buy a JVC Dual Cassette deck for $8.00. As a result, over the next several days I searched for my old cassette tapes.
One of them I found was a Charlie Mussellwhite 1969 release Tennessee W0man. Now I know I didn’t buy the tape in 1969. It’s more likely I bought the tape in the late 1990s when Tunes, store in Marlton NJ, my sons and I used to frequent, was clearing out its tape inventory. As I was listening to the album I reflected on the fact t that a few days previously I had been listening to Charlie’s recent release Look Out Highway.
Anyway that thought started me thinking about all the musicians I started to listen to in the late 60s early 70s that are still out there making great music and albums! Those thoughts lead me to create a playlist!! And here it is!! What I tried to do was start with two songs from each artist from the 60s and then I chose two songs from their most recent albums!
The Fifty Years Later Playlist (Part I)
Charlie Mussellwhite
While I don’t have a lot of Charlie’s music in my library, I have always admired his harp playing. I‘ve enjoyed blues harp since I first heard Sonny Terry way back in the 70s.
Then
From: Tennessee Woman
“Tennessee Woman” – How could I not start the playlist with anything but the very song and album that inspired it.
“Blue Feeling Today“
From Look Out Highway
Now
I am still getting to know these two songs but Charlie’s vocals and harp playing are as great as they ever were!
“Look Out Highway”- the title track of Charlie’s latest
“Hip-Shakin’ Mama” –
Jerry Jeff Walker
I followed Jerry Jeff’s career from the first album Mr. Bojangles to the last album It’s About Time. (1969-2018). Along the way in addition to placing a bunch of songs in the “Jukebox in my head” Jerry Jeff also introduced me to : David Bromberg, Guy Clark, Tom Russell, Chris Wall, Ray Wylie Hubbard and the great Lloyd Maines. And probably many others!
Then
From Mr. Bojangles
“Gypsy Songman” – there’s better to start with when considering whose music I’ve been listening to for fifty years than Jerry Jeff. And “Gypsy Songman” certainly captures the spirit of Jerry Jeff. I have rocked all of my grandchildren to “Mr. Bojangles”. The other day we were visiting my fifth grandchild Luca and my wife handed a crying Lucas to me. I started rocking and singing Mr. Bojangles and he quickly stopped crying. The power of Jerry Jeff.
From Drifting Way of Life
“Ramblin’ Scramblin” – one thing I’ll probably never do is rock a grandchild to Ramblin’ Scramblin”. I first heard this song many years ago – I’d never heard anything like it, and I immediately loved it!
From It’s About Time
Now
“My Favorite Picture of You” – through the year JJW covered several Guy Clark songs and this one found it’s way onto JJW’s last album and he made it his own in 2018, when JJW covered it on It’s About Time, two years before JJW passed in 2020. Here’s a link to Guy’s version.
“ That’s the Way I Play” – just a nice JJW song.
Tom Rush
While I didn’t discover Tom Rush’s music until he was several years into his career, I’ve been a fan since The Circle Game was released in 1968. And while there was a big gap in the release of a studio recording in his career (from 1974‘s Ladies Love Outlawsto 2009’s. What I Know, Tom has never stop performing! His last two albums Voices (2018) and 2024’s Gardens Old , Flowers Neware both terrific albums. He has aged like a fine wine!
Then
From The Circle Game…
“Urge for Going” – – Tom’s album The Circle Game is high on the list of my All-Time favorite Albums and it’s mainly because of his covers of then unknown artists like Joni Mitchell who penned both “Urge for Going” and the title song
“The Circle Game” – a brilliant cover -nuff said
From Gardens Old, Flowers New
Now
I’m still getting to know these two new songs, but they are both vintage Tom Rush…..
“The Harbor”
“Sailing”
Eric Andersen
Like Tom Rush I didn’t discover Eric Andersen’s music until he released Blue River in 1972. At that point Eric was an established fixture in the Greenwich Village Music scene and had released six or seven albums. Eric says this about that period of his life:
I was documenting a whole other emotional and interior world moving through the ’60s and beyond,” he says. “My songs dealt more with inner perceptions, views, and feelings — songs that were perhaps the precursors to those of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. [Greenwich Village] felt exciting because you knew it was a historical, breakthrough time, and it was amazing to belong to such a vibrant era.”
At one point, Cohen even told him that one of his songs inspired him to start writing and performing. Read More
Again my musical journey with Eric started with Blue River (1972) and has continued to today. Like Tom Rush, Eric had a gap in his musical career when he was in Europe. There was a fourteen year gap between Be True To Youand Ghosts on the Road (1974-1989). And while his latest album Dance of Love and Deathis a far cry from his Greenwich Village Days it is an outstanding album, in my humble opinion,
Then
From Blue River
“Is it Really Love at All” – this is one of my favorite songs of all-time. It’s just a great song.
“Wind and Sand” – another favorite – especially the last line…..
From Dance of Love and Death
Now
“Dance of Life and Death”
“After This Life”
So check these artists and songs out!
Got a similar story or favorite artist who’s still going strong? I’d love to hear it.
As for me, I’m already at work on Part II of this playlist, which will feature some of the rock and blues artists who’ve grown older, wiser — and are still absolutely worth listening to!
Links for the Further Explorations of These Artists
So all this writing about older albums that I don’t have in my library has made me think about favorite albums I do have and have loved and listened to for years. Well, today I decided to listen to one of those albums I’ve loved for years. I gave Livingston Taylor’s self-titled debut album. And I still love it after 54 years! Now Liv’s brother James’ Sweet Baby James album came first and was played a lot. I bet Liv’s album has been played more over the years.
About Livingston Taylor – Livingston Taylor
For me there is not a bad song on this album.
It would be difficult not to compare Livingston Taylor’s self-titled 1970 debut to his brother’s second solo release, Sweet Baby James, as the latter certainly brought attention to the former, but the Jon Landau-produced disc crafted in Macon, GA, is a world unto itself. Ten originals by Taylor along with one cover, the Earl Greene and Carl Montgomery country standard “Six Days on the Road,” make for a pleasantt
Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Boston and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he is the brother of singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer-songwriter Kate Taylor, singer Alex Taylor, and innkeeper and singer Hugh Taylor.[[2
He has had top 40 hits such “Carolina Day,” “Get out of Bed,” “I Will Be in Love with You” and “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,”( the last two recorded by his brother James), Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. His musical knowledge has inspired a varied repertoire, and he is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz. You can also find Livingston performing with a full symphony orchestea.
About His Debut Album and More……
I don’t think there are many albums that I can sing along to every song in the album, but this one I can. From the opening song “Sit On Back” to the closing “Thank You Song”. I love them all!
Of course the are a few that play on the “jukebox on my mind” more than others. Like “Packet of Good Times” that I sing to Emma when I’m rocking her to sleep. And “Six Days on the Road” during car trips.
After his 19770 debut album Livingston Taylor., his next three albums Liv((1971), Over the Rainbow (1973) and 3-Way Mirror (1978) made it into my vinyl collection. Of those albums Livis my favorite. Although I do love his cover of “Over the Rainbow”
Between 1978 and 1988 Live released two Albums Echoes a compilation album and Man’s Best Friend a children’s album. Since then he has released seven more albums. Of those seven albums Life is Good (1988), (1996) and There You are Again ((2006) are in my musical library. And after listening yesterday to 2010’s Last Alaskan Moon I will be on the lookout for that album!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Livingston Taylor
