Tuesday Tunes 44: Cold

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We Brits are well known for our obsession with the weather. But this past week has given us good reason for that. Thankfully, things here are now warming up: today is forecast to reach the giddy heights of 11C, after a week when the temperature didn’t rise above 0C. And now we’ve had rain to wash away what remained of the snow. But I still think it worth sticking with the theme I chose for this week’s tunes while I was shivering: cold.

The word ‘cold’ appears in many song titles, but these are often describing someone’s heart rather than the temperature outside. So what! It is still a good starting point for this week’s music. To get the party going, how about this:

See what I mean? Nothing to do with climate, but it’s one I’ve always liked. Foreigner were formed in New York in 1976, and were three parts each American and British. This was a track on their debut album, entitled Foreigner (what else?), released in March 1977. The album peaked at #4 in the US but didn’t chart here. This was the second single taken from it, and it reached #6 in the US and #24 here. Memory can play tricks on you, can’t it – I’d always thought that did better here, but on the whole the band performed less well in our charts despite their British connections.

Speaking of British, they don’t come more British than this lot:

That wasn’t a particularly big hit as a single – #33 in the UK and #26 in the US, when it was released in 1980, but I love that video and the typical Jagger pouting and posing. But the album it came from – Emotional Rescue – was #1 both sides of the Atlantic. If I’m honest, I don’t think this was one of their best albums, but that is probably being a little harsh considering how many great albums they have made. On a completely unrelated side note, I have mentioned before – and shared in number 19 of this series – the Clark family. Little Bellamy is clearly a fan of Mick’s.

Time to slow things down a bit with the next one. This from a band who have been through a great deal, including a recent name change, but came back last year stronger than ever – their stonkingly good new song was in number 26 of this series. I’ve loved their music since they started, and this is a live performance of an early track of theirs:

This was on Fly, their second album on a mainstream record label, following some previous low key releases. It was a US #1, and got as far as #38 here. The album comprised 13 tracks, of which 8 were released as singles, including this one. It only reached #65 in the US, though, and didn’t chart here.

My next ‘cold’ choice was never released as a single, and I can’t find a live performance of it, either, so I’m afraid it’s static video time:

That was on Rod’s sixth album, Atlantic Crossing, which was released in August 1975. The album was, as you would expect, a #1 here (his fourth #1 in a row) but only got to #9 in the US: it is notable for being the one that contained what many will probably know as his biggest hit (here in the UK, anyway), Sailing, which closed the album. For me, this was the time when Rod was still at his best, before he morphed into being a cabaret singer (my view – you are entitled to disagree!).

As I’m now onto this week’s fifth tune, maybe it is about time that I actually included one where ‘cold’ means ‘cold weather?’ You’ll have to take my word for it, though, as this one is in German. The clue is in the title – guess what ‘kalte’ means:

That is a track from Faun’s 2013 album Von Den Elben (of/from the elves), which reached #7 in the mainstream German albums chart – quite an achievement for a band that describes its music as being ‘pagan folk’ in style. It is an adaptation of a traditional song, known usually as either Cold Haily Rainy Night or Cold Haily Windy Night. I first heard the song on Steeleye Span’s second album, Please To See The King, but it has been covered many times by folk musicians from all over the place and not just in English, as this version shows. The song is about a young man pleading with his love to let him in out of the freezing cold, though the English lyrics imply another meaning of the phrase ‘let me in’ (she does). Much though I’m a fan of Steeleye, I shared this version as I think the vocals and musicianship are gorgeous, and the setting of Marienburg Castle, in Lower Saxony, Germany, is perfect in creating the ambience. I’ve mentioned Faun before, but this is the first time I’ve shared one of their songs – I may do this more often, as they show that we don’t always need to understand the lyrics to be able to enjoy the beauty of the music.

I thought I’d leave you this week with something rousing, and they don’t come much better than this:

Watching that makes me realise how much I wish I’d been able to see Tom Petty play live, as there is so much energy in that performance. The video makes up for the loss, a little. This was a track on Tom’s 1991 album Into The Great Wide Open, which accompanied me on many car commuting journeys – this song, in particular, was a great one for driving to, even if it was only on the North Circular Road in London! The album reached #13 in the US but did better here, getting to #3. This was released as a single: it didn’t chart in either country, though it did make #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, which is based on airplay rather than sales. That has long been one of my favourites of his albums, though he never made a poor one!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s selection. I doubt I’ll be able to use ‘heatwave’ as next week’s theme, so I’ll have to rely on the little grey cells to come up with something. I hope to see you again then but, in the meantime, stay safe and warm. Especially warm!

37 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 44: Cold”

  1. Pingback: Happy Halloween | Take It Easy

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  4. hello Clive
    it is funny because as in watched the Petty video i was thinking – ” i would have liked to have gone to a petty concert” and then i read what followed the video how you noted to that same sentiment!
    —
    and you are so right about the FAUN song – appreciating “vocals and musicianship” across languages for an experience 🎵
    oh and agree with you about Rod Stewart’s change – i only knew his pop songs while growing up – but when i briefly looked at his songs and changes over the years there as that big shift of a change – and stone cold sober was a song i had never heard and fit so well
    into this theme of cold!
    and speaking of the cold – our ice storm ⛈ 🧊❄️🥶 is almost over
    brrrr

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    • I love Faun’s music and they’ve made some lovely videos too. Well worth a watch!

      I was around 16 when Rod started to make it big, as part of the Faces and solo. He moved a long way from those days!

      Hope you’re warm again now – our cold spell is all over, thankfully.

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      • glad your cold
        spell is over
        things here are slowly warming
        but this morning we walked and it was 24degrees so we decided to make it very short – was way too cold even with the right clothes
        –
        do you have any ice or snow?

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  6. You picked two of my favorite bands today (Foreigner and Tom Petty). I liked all of the songs, and the only one I hadn’t heard was the German band. Sometimes a song takes a bit to grow on us, but then there are songs we like the first time. This was one of those. It’s a reminder that I mostly fall in love with the beat and rhythm of a song instead of the lyrics, especially since I don’t know German.🤣

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    • I’m glad you enjoyed them, Pete, especially Faun as they have become a favourite of mine over the past year or two. As you say, you don’t need to understand the words to appreciate the music.

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    • I’m pleased you liked it. They’ve slowed it down from the Steeleye version, and their vocal harmonies are lovely. They’ve been going for over 20 years and have a string of albums and videos, though neither of the female leads on this one are still with them, sadly.

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      • It’s a shame the female leads are no longer with them. One puts me in mind of Annie Haslam from Renaissance. I’ll definitely check out their albums.

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      • That’s Fiona Ruggeberg, nee Frewert, who left the band last year after being there from the outset. She is a classically trained pianist, as well as playing the wind instruments, and has a lovely piano instrumental album from a few years ago. Her new band, Tvinna, release their first album shortly. Try Faun on YouTube – I can recommend their video for Walpurgisnacht, for both the right and wrong reasons 😉

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  9. ok, here we go:

    love Cold As Ice, as well as many of their other songs.

    Mick is the ultimate frontman, and it is on full display here, as you note, and one of my favorite Stones songs..

    not familiar with The Chicks song, but it was a good one. And as you note, Gaslighter is SO good…

    have not heard that Rod song, but it’s hard not to like most of his songs…

    have not heard of Faun, but good song, and great setting.

    and you can’t go wrong with Tom Petty…

    great choices this week!

    and let’s hope it warms up soon, for good!

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  11. Another great collection. Although I have forgotten most of the German I knew as a child, I understood most of the German song. I loved the song, the performance and the setting. A great choice. Thanks!!

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    • Thanks, Darlene. I got a good grade for German A level but it stretched my memory a bit! Glad you enjoyed what I think might be my first non-English language song on here. I love the band, so they may well feature again.

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