Day 157: June 6: Sadie

"She said to me, boy, hurry to Sunday school."

Mediocre cover of a Spinners song.  Those two covers albums could really have just been one album- and even then probably just been ok.  Nothing special here.

Sadie

I'm not well versed in The Spinners catalog, but I did know this one.

Working My Way Back to You

Day 156: June 5: Circle Round the Sun

"She throws her arms around me just like a circle around the sun."

Fuzzy metaphors and psychedelic arrangements make this a minor miss from the self-titled album.  However, even in this slight mess you can hear the beginning his craft developing.

Circle Round the Sun

If you want a funky circle song, look no further.  I give Billy's infectious joy a little credit for keeping the Beatles together a little longer than they otherwise would have.

Will it Go Round in Circles?

Day 155: June 4: Wandering

"and it don't look like I'll ever stop my wandering."

James clings to his folky roots on this treasure from the Gorilla album.  There's a little Woody Guthrie and a little Kingston Trio in there- although he's more polished than either of those acts.  Simple, sweet and beautiful.

Wandering

In contrast, these guys want no part of that.

Never Did No Wanderin'

Day 154: June 3: Mockingbird

"I'm gonna find myself a better way."

Russ Griswold asks "Is that made up?  That sounds made up."  He has a fair point, but this is a tremendously fun sing-along.  Yes-indeed-o.

Mockingbird

One of the few cheeseball duets to match the fun of James and Carly is this one.

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Day 153: June 2: I Was a Fool to Care

"but I don't care even if I was a fool."

Here's a great track from the Gorilla album. James says it was his attempt to replicate the Philly sound- I'm not sure he's done that but whatever he's got going here really works.  There were a couple of live videos out there of this track but this studio version was so much better I opted just go with audio.

I Was a Fool to Care

Paul performs a song about another notorious fool.  

The Fool on the Hill

Day 152: June 1: Ananas

"Here I am at your window, baby."

James goes French again.  He is basically saying I am infatuated with you.  I'm not sure what it has to do with a pineapple.

I also enjoy that this clip is A&E by Request but it starts with James turning down a request for Steamroller because he wanted to play this new song.

Ananas

And if you like pineapples- you may also like pina coladas. But maybe not this song with one of the silliest premises of all time.

No this is not footage of your local karaoke bar- it's some Rupert Holmes cheese.

Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

Day 151: May 31: Long Ago and Far Away

"Love is just a word I've heard when things are being said."

This one has a mournful beauty to it.  Although it is not one of his better known songs it broke the top 40 on the Billboard chart- and even went to number 12 in Canada.  The studio version has some haunting backing vocals from Joni Mitchell that are absent in this live performance.

Long Ago and Far Away

Here's another song about not being able to get what you want- this one quite blatantly.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Day 150: May 30: Soldiers

"Just nine out of twenty was headed home with eleven sad stories to tell."

An abruptly short filler song from the Mud Slide Slim album.  James implies that this one is perpetually unfinished and it feels that way to me too.  There's something missing- it's an almost song.

Soldiers

Here's a less literal soldier song from Marc Cohn.  I don't think it's really about Steve McQueen but it works pretty well.

Old Soldier

Day 149: May 29: Love the One You're With

"The eagle flies with the dove."

This is a terrible song.  I mean, it's really catchy and fun- but the sentiment is awful.  Comedian Andy Breckman quips that he bets Stephen Stills' wife loves it when he sings it on tour.  Try not to think to much about the message and just enjoy Ole String Bean dancing and singing with CSN.

Love the One You're With

Breckman riffs on this one too.  He says it's like a paper you write in middle school- "It was very, very, very good..."  Regardless, it sure is pretty- more so when it's not live. 

Our House

Day 148: May 28: The Suit

"It was such a perfect service."

James sings for Jerry Douglas on his album here.  The song isn't incredibly melodic but the somber mood is impacting.  

The Suit

Jerry Douglas is an often awarded bluegrass instrumentalist.  Here's a beautiful Simon and Garfunkel cover featuring Alison Krauss and Shaun Colvin on vocals.

The Boxer

Day 147: May 27: Knockin' Around the Zoo

"...she'll hit me with a needle if she thinks I'm trying to misbehave."

Pretentious opening to a kind of fun, funky tune from the eponymous album.  He's admittedly still working it out on this album but there are hints of what is to come. There's a good two and a half minutes in this three and a half minute song.

Knockin' Around the Zoo

Warren's zoo experience didn't turn out so well.

Gorilla, You're a Desperado

Day 146: May 26: Suite for 20G

"Won't you stay inside me month of May."

A hidden gem from the Sweet Baby James album.  The story goes that the record company was pestering James for one more song before they would send him the advance for the album.  This resulted in James cranking out this suite to get his 20 grand.  Money well spent.

Suite for 20G

Jimmy Buffett dislikes this motivation for creating art.  At least theoretically.

Makin' Music for Money

Day 145: May 25: Carey/Mr. Tambourine Man

"In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you."

Cool combination of Joni and James.  You don't hear this very often- but you sure should. James gets a verse at the end.  It's worth the wait.

Carey/ Mr. Tambourine Man

I'll take any excuse to play some Bob.  This version is a little slower than the famous one.  It's not quite as good, but it's interesting.

She Belongs to Me

Day 144: May 24: Today Today Today

"I'm finally on my way"

This new album is starting to grow on me.  This is an above average song from it.  James embraces moving on.  It's a lesson I can often use.

Today, Today, Today

And here's a cheesier way to sing "Today"

America

Day 143: May 23: Music

"You must try thinking like a cloud sometime."

James justifies his lifework.  It a sweet ode to the power of music.  It's less of music as a metaphor for life and more of life as a metaphor for music.  A catchy tune from the great Gorilla album.

Music

Here's a similar theme from the great John Gorka.  

When You Sing

Day 142: May 22: The Times They are a Changin'

"You better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone."

One of our sweetest vocalists singing the words of our finest lyricist.  Actually James is singing here with Carly and Graham Nash from the No Nukes concert which gave us several great performances.  This one is very good- not quite great, but very good.  The combination of these three voices though is really interesting. 

The Times They are a Changin'

Bob has grown to playing All Along the Watchtower in the style of Hendrix and I can't help but think this arrangement owes a little to the Grateful Dead.  Pretty cool stuff.

Just Like a Woman

Day 141: May 21: Falling in Love with You

"...you are the sea around me and are with me for all time."

I actually really do like Livingston but this clip will show you why James is famous and why Liv is much less so.  These are two Livingston songs and they're fine but this is more interesting to watch to witness James be embarrassed for his dorky brother.  City Lights will show up later- there's actually a produced video for that one.

Falling in Love With You

Still wish I could find the studio version of I Will Be in Love with You- but since I can't, I'll settle for this one.

Get Out of Bed

Day 140: May 20: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

"The point of a gun was the only law that Liberty understood."

A pleasant remake of an old Gene Pitney song.  This one pays homage to a classic John Wayne/Jimmy Stewart film.  The movie is great.  The song is pretty good too.

Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

I'm not very familiar with Gene Pitney.  I'm not crazy about "A Town Without Pity" so I chose this one which sounds a lot like "Down in the Boondocks" to me.

24 Hours from Tulsa