Another Revisited Tuesday Tunes

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Last week’s reprise of a Tuesday Tunes post from two years ago was well-received, and as Timehop has just reminded me of another I thought I’d share that one again too. Due to the way calendars work, this one is actually from two weeks before the previous one I reshared, and was originally published on 16 February 2021. As with last time, there are some good songs here, from some well known names. The post was also notable for being the first time that I had featured one of my favourite bands – Faun – and theirs also the first non-English language song I had played. There have been several more since then! This was

TUESDAY TUNES 44: COLD

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!

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And this is me again today. Fortunately our weather hasn’t been as cold this year as it was two years ago, and the only snow we have seen so far this winter was a week of it in early December. But the Met Office keep telling us a really cold spell is coming – maybe some time they’ll get it right, but I hope not! And perhaps you spotted that I was playing Rod Stewart songs back then too, as he featured again this week.

I hope you’ve enjoyed another trip down memory lane with me, and I’ll see you again on Sunday with a pop oldie 😊

40 thoughts on “Another Revisited Tuesday Tunes”

  1. Pingback: January, February | Take It Easy

  2. Always good to relisten to your posts, Clive and this one is no exception …you still have time for that cold spell its only Feb…we are hotting up here during the day its nighttime now and a tad cooler at 26 degrees…Thank you for the tunes and Rod I do agree somewhat since he has been playing in the US more he has become a tad cabaret but he can still rock a tune…Have a great weekend, Clive 🙂 x

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    • Thank you, Carol, that’s kind of you. I’m not ruling out a cold spell, I just hope it doesn’t happen! I’m assuming that temperature is C rather than F – too hot for me in the daytime let alone at night! And I still much prefer Rod’s early stuff 😉 xx

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      • The cost is ridiculous here, and the Government has failed us miserably over it. Nothing new there: they fail us on everything!

        I think we’ll have to agree to differ on latter day Rod 🤣 xx

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      • I’m happy to agree to disagree with you over Rod…lol..thing is with the energy successive governments have sold them off and you can’t tell a private enterprise to lower their costs plus they have shareholders who want their bonus…its a no-win situation for the customer unfortunately x

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  4. Foreigner is one of my favorite bands of all time, despite the comments from music critics. Most of their music is relatively simple, but I like it anyway. (I’ll bet you already know about Lou Gramm’s health challenges that affected his voice.) A couple of my friends said I used to look like Mick Jagger when we were younger. (I’m not sure that’s a compliment—more of an observation.) Unfortunately, The Dixie Chicks alienated a part of the right-wing political group here in the U.S., and their career was never what it looked like it would be. While Foreigner is in my top 10, Tom Petty is right there too.

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    • I often disagree with the music critics: those who can, do, those who can’t become critics. Lou Gramm isn’t the first to have had hid voice affected by health and won’t be the last, sadly.

      I’d be worried about those friends if I were you 🤣

      The Chicks took a brave stand, especially Natalie Maines, and it brought out what the rest of the world sees as one of the US’ problems. I saw them about three months after she made her comment, and she brought the house down when she said she stood by it.

      Tom Petty is definitely in my top ten!

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  5. Foreigner and HS memories go hand in hand.
    Yes, I disagree about Rod. LOL!
    Always enjoy your posts and looking forward to the pop tunes next week. 🙂
    I am ready for Spring and a heatwave! Though we have had a mild winter so I am afraid we are going to get hit hard before winter says goodbye!

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    • They were later in my life – I was 30 something when they started!

      Rod was great early on, less so later. He started out when I was still at school and I grew up with him and The Faces.

      Just one pop tune for Song Lyric Sunday’s theme, then back to the usual stuff! Glad you enjoy them, though.

      Fingers crossed for the weather for both of us 😊

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  7. Cold as ice 😍the songs of Foreigner are so part of my teenage years. Thank you for bringing up wonderful memories and feelings with this song. You even shared a German song which is completely new to me. I like the Celtic style.

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    • Glad to have brought back those memories for you, Erika. If you enjoyed this Faun song I can recommend the rest of their albums – around a dozen of them for you to catch up with and all are good. Plenty of videos on YouTube too 😊

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      • Is it another Faun song? There are quite a few German folk bands around, but several of them play in an Irish style and sing in English, like the O’Reillys and Paddyhats, Fiddler’s Green, Patty Gurdy, all of whom I really like, though Patty does do songs in German too. But Faun, for me, are head and shoulders above the rest, and do most of their work in German. Try Federkleid, Walpurgisnacht or Tanz Mit Mir for starters – I’m sure you’ll be hooked!

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      • Yes, I listened to Rosenrot. Ok, I will check Federkleid out. Just wondering, do you understand the words? That is acutally what sound a bit funny to me at times. I think German is just not the right language for such songs… lol

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      • Rosenrot is another good one. I got a good grade in German at school but that was 50 years ago! I can still pick up bits, and the ‘CC’ button often gives a translation so I can get by. I just enjoy the mood the music creates: Faun have a lot of lovely tunes and beautiful voices.

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      • Listening to Federkleid now and I have to agree. Fantastic in its energy, style, and the voice is beautiful and perfect for this song. A big thank you for introducing me (and everyone else) to this music formation.

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    • I’ve seen them in concert and they are just as good as this video suggests. Been a fan since they first appeared on a mainstream label. Glad you enjoyed them, Diane 😊

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