Tuesday Tunes 225: Wind

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I was thinking of where I could go next for a subject, and it struck me that I have on a number of occasions taken themes from nature for these posts: I’ve played a couple of today’s selection in those, but I haven’t previously concentrated on wind as my topic. So here are five songs that I really like which have wind in their title – looking at the set, it seems that I am still in reflective mode after Remembrance Day, but that is no bad thing, is it?

I like to go for a rousing start if I can, and this is about as close as I’m getting this week:

If you’ve seen the Forrest Gump movie you may recall that Bob Seger’s Against The Wind was one of the songs that was played for part of the scene about Forrest’s long run, and someone has made this video of clips from the movie to accompany the whole song. I think they did a great job. Bob Seger had been making records since 1969 and this was the title track of his fourteenth album, which came out in February 1980. Prior to that he had released three under the name of The Bob Seger System, eight under his own name, and this was the third as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. He had enjoyed four top ten US albums before this one topped the lot, making it to #1 over there. It is also his best performing studio album in the UK, reaching #26, though his 1994 Greatest Hits compilation did far better, getting to #6 here (#8 in the US). I had that album, and it was great for accompaniment when driving, especially on the commute home after a hard day at work. This still sounds fantastic to this day.

My next one is very brief, coming in at under two minutes. It was the opening track of an album from 1971, but this version is much more recent:

Cat Stevens released The Wind on his fifth album, Teaser And The Firecat, in October 1971, which peaked at #2 in the US, Canada and the UK, and made #1 in Australia. It has gone 3x Platinum in the US for 3m sales, and Gold in the UK for more than 100k. This lovely little song was a gentle way to lead us into what is still one of my two favourites of his albums, and if you don’t know it I can recommend it highly. On the album, the track is played by Cat and his regular playing partner Alun Davies, who also contributed backing vocals. For this version, from a concert in 2022, he plays it solo though you can see some band members to the side: it shows that the great man has lost none of his ability and that warm voice of his is still there!

I’m now going for one that I have played before, but which has also been a favourite of mine for ages. This is my favourite version of it, even better than the one on the original album:

Mandolin Wind was a track on Rod Stewart’s third album, Every Picture Tells A Story, which was the one that gave him his big breakthrough and turned him into a major star as a solo artist: he was already well known from being a member of The Faces. The album was released in May 1971 and was a massive hit: it topped the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia and did well in several other countries, and has often featured in those ‘best album of all time’ features that magazines like doing. Like the track that precedes it – Maggie May – the song is characterised by the lovely sound of a mandolin. Well, with a title like that, it just had to be, didn’t it! The only mandolin player credited on the album is Ray Jackson, who played the instrument in the English folk-rock band Lindisfarne, who were at their peak in the early Seventies. The song was a favourite of Rod’s and it was one of his back catalogue that he chose to play in his appearance on the MTV Unplugged series, which was recorded in February 1993 and released as an album in May of that year as Unplugged…and Seated. The album reached #2 in both the UK and the US, and the video of the song is such a joyous example of two friends taking delight in playing music together that I just had to play this version today.

Another gentler one now from a guy who is perhaps better known for his louder songs:

The Wind Cries Mary was a track on the North American version of Jimi Hendrix’s debut album, Are You Experienced, which came out in May 1967. It wasn’t on the UK issue, though: we hade to wait for the 1997 CD reissue to get it that way. The album was a hit on both sides of the pond, getting to #5 in the US and #2 in the UK, and has sold more than 5m in the US (5x Platinum) and 100k in the UK (Gold). This was the third UK single from it – at the time only a single release, which may well explain why it peaked at #6 in the UK, but was only a B-side in the US. Over there the A-side was Purple Haze, which made #65, though it had already been a UK hit single, reaching #3.

I mentioned at the beginning that I am still in reflective mode after a weekend of Remembrance. I can’t think of a better song than this one to close today, as it fits that mood so well. The band reworked the lyrics for the song in 2022 to reflect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but I’m going with the original release which still makes its point today:

The Scorpions  are a German band, and originally released Wind Of Change as a single in January 1991. Its lyrics reflect the spirit of glasnost in the former Soviet Union, the optimism that generated at the time, and the concurrent fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a huge hit right across Europe, making #1 in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, and #2 in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and the UK, as well as getting to #4 in the US and #7 in Australia. The message of hope for the world’s future struck a chord with many, and it is a pretty good song too. Sadly, the intervening years have largely dampened that optimism, such that the band felt the need to update the lyrics, as I mentioned.

There is a history lesson in this, I think, which should be especially relevant to US readers at present: Russia went through a period of opening up after the Soviet Union dissolved, but is now a dictatorship where political opponents have an unfortunate habit of meeting with fatal accidents. The US has just elected a ‘leader’ who is an avowed admirer of Russia’s Putin, and has declared his desire to be a dictator himself. Beware what you wish for, as it may be too late to turn back.

Apologies for that serious note, but it does feel particularly apposite after we have spent a few days remembering those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms, which we really shouldn’t misuse.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you again soon 🕊️

 

60 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 225: Wind”

  3. Pretty much liked them all. I usually like The Scorpions, but Winds of Change isn’t as good as some of their songs with more of a rock sound to me. My favorite this week is the Cat Stevens/Yusuf tune. He has the most pleasant voice. In fact, I can’t think of one song of his that I dislike.

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    • That’s good, Pete. To be honest this is the only Scorpions song I know – a huge hit but I never followed them afterwards. As I’m sure you know I’ve been a Cat/Yusuf fan ever since his early pop star days, and he has a catalogue absolutely stuffed with beautiful songs like this one.

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    • I think you probably had to have the album to know the song. It’s clearly one he likes to be still playing it in concert a couple of years ago.

      I’m pleased you enjoyed them, and that’s the second vote for Jimi 😊

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  13. I’d forgotten how good Against the Wind was and that montage in Forrest Gump is fabulous. (I saw a new film the other evening and spooked as a young Tom Hanks seemed to be playing the lead – checked the listing – it was his son and of course there was a bench scene!)

    The Scorpions song resonates deeply with me – just after the fall of the Berlin Wall a group of us Leeds Uni German Studies students spent three months in Leipzig. It was still very much GDR but thankfully we could head up to West Berlin for ‘luxuries’! It beggars belief what is happening now and totally understand your serious reflections.

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    • I struck lucky in finding that video. The song was only a backing for about a minute or so of the movie but that montage is so well done. It’s a great song too. I don’t think I’ve seen Tom’s son in anything but will keep a lookout for him.

      Those are special memories of Germany for you, and I understand why the song has meaning for you. I really don’t understand what is happening in the US now: to me it is an act of collective suicide akin to our referendum vote. The mini rant just sort of came out while I was writing!

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