Tuesday Tunes 174: River Still Runs

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Six months ago I themed one of these around river. In that one I generally went for the big names, but looking back through my notes I realised that I still had more I could play for this, so here we are again with more river songs. With a difference: this time I’m going for the less familiar, and they comprise a fairly reflective set, too – no loud noises, as we had enough of those here with recent fireworks!

I’ve played a couple of John Hiatt songs recently, but as he has so many good ones in his catalogue I thought I’d begin this week with another from him:

The video quality on that isn’t great, which the uploader explains is because it comes from a bootleg DVD called Dusty Old Tapes. The sound is fine, though, and as the video shows John, his family and his band having a lot of fun I decided to go with this in preference to an audio-only clip. Buffalo River Home was a track on John’s September 1993 album Perfectly Good Guitar, which I featured a couple of weeks ago in Way Back When. I can’t speak highly enough of him: he has had a long career, and has given us many great records in that time.

Luckily for me, another of my favourites – Cowboy Junkies – have a river song in their collection too. Looking for a video for it I found this one: it had been featured in a movie of which I had never heard, but it seems a good fit for this scene. See what you think:

Lost And Delirious was a Canadian movie released in 2001 which won several awards, mostly for its cinematography. It was the starting point of the acting careers of Piper Perabo, Mischa Barton and Jessica Paré – not a bad achievement! The beautiful voice of Margo Timmins offers a good counterpoint to the angst in that scene, and those who follow these posts will know that I never miss an opportunity to hear her. Cowboy Junkies released River Waltz on their album Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes in September 1999. It was the band’s first independent record after the end of their contract with Geffen Records and is a compendium of tracks that they had recorded but not previously released on an album. Wikipedia doesn’t mention any chart placings for it, which doesn’t really surprise me as they are a band for lovers of good music rather than the pop pap that gets rammed down our throats most of the time. I love their music and have them all, including this one, in my Apple Music library.

Another fairly obscure one for you next. I have previously told you the tragic story of Nick Drake, and this is another of his delicate gems:

In his brief lifetime Nick gave us three albums of exquisitely beautiful songs, but suffered from stage fright and gradually withdrew from public life back to his family home. On 25 November 1974 he died at the age of 26; according to the coroner, the cause of death was an overdose of prescription antidepressants. This is generally taken to mean that he took his own life but his family, including his sister – the actor Gabrielle Drake – have always refused to accept that, and they should know him best. River Man was a track on his first album, Five Leaves Left, released in July 1969. Like all of his albums it met with critical acclaim but low sales, though subsequent re-releases have seen all three achieve gold disc status in the UK. This video was made in 2004 for the release of a compilation album of his songs, Made To Love Magic, which actually made the albums chart here at #27 and achieved a silver disc. As that was before the days of streaming I bought the CD on the day it came out.

I have based a post on the title track of the album on which this next song features, and that has 85m views for its video! But this, being simply an album track, has to make do with an audio-only clip. It is still a beautiful song, though:

Lee Ann Womack released I Know Why The River Runs on her third album, I Hope You Dance, in May 2000. The album got to #16 in the US and did even better in the Country charts: #1 in the US and #4 in Canada. It didn’t make the UK charts, so I guess my purchase wasn’t enough! It is a lovely album with many good tracks, including this one.

I’m closing today with another of my usual suspects. Again, it was solely an album track so it’s an audio-only clip, but the song is good enough to stand on its own merits:

As the video shows you, that was Oysterband with A River Runs, which was a track on their Diamonds On The Water album, released in February 2014. They aren’t a chart band – that seems to mostly be the theme for this week! – but are regular performers on the folk and festivals circuit here and across Europe, while also occasionally venturing across the pond to North America. Their records are fabulous and they are a superb live act: I’ve seen them a couple of times and they leave you wishing the evening would never end. There is a warmth to John Jones’ vocals that somehow wraps itself around you, like a visit from a welcome friend.

That’s all for this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed a selection of songs you probably hadn’t heard before, as to my ears they are all good ones. I’ll see you again in a few days, so until then take care and have fun 😊

54 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 174: River Still Runs”

  2. Great songs! Though now you have me feeling bad for her in the movie, but it was a good song.
    i have always enjoyed LeeAnn Womack. “I hope you dance” is my all time favorite by her. Always made me emotional when raising my children and still does.

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    • Thank you, glad you liked them. I got lucky finding that movie clip as I was going to play the song anyway, and that just made it better. I agree on Lee Ann Womack: I used that song as the focus for a post when my first granddaughter was born and have reworked it a couple of times since then. And the video for it is lovely.

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    • Thank you, glad you like them! I don’t know that one and haven’t seen the movie. I’m not sure if I’ll run with this theme again but I’ll bear it in mind if I do. Thanks for the tip 😊

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  8. Not one of the songs sounds familiar to me but I like them all. Buffalo River Home instantly took me back to the time when we lived in the suburbs of Buffalo. And I totally love “I Know Why the River Runs”. Great choices and thanks for the introductions, Clive.

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  9. The only one I had heard before was the Lee Ann Womack tune, which I liked very much. This is the kind of song where my wife and son, the more country-loving family members, and I can find common ground. Terrific song! The sad and intriguing story of Nick Drake, coupled with the moving and melodic sound of this tune, made the biggest impression on me this week.

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    • I thought you might know that one, Pete, and am pleased to have introduced you to the others. The whole of that Lee Ann Womack album is very good. Nick Drake has become a kind of cult figure here, and has enjoyed recognition and sales he could hardly have dreamed of in his tragically short life.

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