Tuesday Tunes 233: Silver

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For the first Tuesday Tunes of the new year I’m going with a theme I thought of more than a month ago, before all of the seasonal stuff took over. I was down the YouTube rabbit hole following one song with another that they suggested, when one that I hadn’t heard in years cropped up. It seemed a good idea for a theme, so I’m going with it: all of today’s tunes have some silver in their title. As usual, they are a bit of a mixed bunch, and I’m guessing that several of them will be unfamiliar to many – that’s all part of the fun for me!

For someone of my advancing years the opening song is a bit of a no-brainer to begin with:

Sound quality on that is beginning to show its age, but it is a song that brings back memories of happy days for me. As the uploader says, “Hawkwind have very rarely appeared on television, but the success of the single necessitated an appearance on the BBC chart show Top of the Pops. However, the group felt ill at ease at the prospect of miming a performance in front of a studio audience who didn’t represent their following, so a compromise was reached with the BBC recording the band performing live at Dunstable Civic Hall on 7 July 1972, this clip being shown with the single version dubbed over it.” That explains why the sound and pictures don’t appear to be in sync! Hawkwind are an English rock band formed in November 1969: they have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, and a version of the band is still going now, with original band member Dave Brock still there. To date they have released 36 studio albums (28 of which have made the UK charts) plus 13 live ones, the most recent being Stories From Time And Space, which came out last April and made #59 in the UK Albums chart. Silver Machine was released as a single in June 1972 and remains their biggest success, reaching #3 in the UK. Two subsequent re-releases have also charted here: at #34 in 1976 and #67 in 1983. Lead vocal on the single was taken by the band’s then bass player, Lemmy Kilmister, later known for forming and fronting Motörhead. The dancer is Stacia, an Irish performance artist who featured a lot in the band’s shows.

My second tune for today is the one that prompted the theme:

I think I have only played one of Rilo Kiley’s songs before – Portions For Foxes, which is probably the only one of theirs that most people know, if any. Silver Lining was a track on their fourth – and final – album, Under The Blacklight, which was released in August 2007 and peaked at #34 in the UK and #22 in the US. Silver Lining was released as a single but didn’t make main charts, though it did get to #30 on the US’ Adult Alternative Airplay list. Rolling Stone magazine clearly liked it: they rated the song as #27 on their list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and put the album at #8 on their corresponding list of 2007 albums. The song – like many of theirs – was written by Jenny Lewis, who began life as a teen actress before moving into music. Since the demise of Rilo Kiley she has made several solo albums plus others in collaborations. I’ve always liked her voice and intelligent lyrics, and she has an actor’s swagger about her style which I find attractive.

You may have heard of the next band, though I imagine that many won’t have. They are another that I have enjoyed since their first album, and this one is typical of their music:

First Aid Kit are a Swedish folk duo consisting of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, though when performing live they are accompanied by a drummer, a guitarist and a keyboard player. To date they have released five albums – all of which I recommend – and My Silver Lining is a track from the third of those, Stay Gold, which came out in June 2014 and got to #1 in their homeland, as well as reaching #11 in the UK and #23 in the US. The song was released as a single, peaking at #38 in Sweden and #31 in the UK, and remains a popular part of their repertoire, often being played during their encore at concerts. I really like these two, and I think they demonstrate well the theory that sibling harmonies work well. The album, by the way, has gone Platinum in Sweden (40k sales) and Gold in the UK (for 100k).

The two remaining tunes for today are both from names I hope you recognise! Firstly, Neil Young, though this may not be one of his best-known songs:

Note the date on that performance: 19 October 1997. I mention that because this wasn’t released on record until April 2000, when it became the title track of Neil’s 25th solo studio album, which reached #10 in the UK and #22 in the US. He wrote the song way back in 1981 and recorded many versions of it which were never released until this one: he has said that it worked best for him like this, as the acoustic treatment stripped the song back to its meaning better than any of his previous attempts. I think that solo concert performance shows he was right! A lovely song, from one of my favourites of his albums.

Today’s final tune is one that I have played before for a Tuesday Tunes post, but I like it so much that I’m going with it again. It was nearly four years ago, though and what’s not to like about this, anyway:

If you watch that on YouTube and scroll down a bit you’ll find the wonderful Willie Nelson quote about Linda: “There are two kinds of men in this world. Those with a crush on Linda Ronstadt and those who never heard of her.” And why not? I’ve been a fan since those early days, which put me in the minority in this country, as her chart success here has been very limited. Like many of her records this was a cover version – of a song originally recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. Linda’s version of Silver Threads And Golden Needles is from her 1973 album Don’t Cry Now, which peaked at #45 in the US and #46 in Australia, but didn’t chart here in the UK. It was released as a single the following year, when it got to #67 in the main US chart, and #20 in their country music one. It would be another year before she appeared in the UK charts, though, when her cover of Tracks Of My Tears scaled the peaks of #42. Sadly, her illness no longer permits her to sing but she has given us a wonderful musical legacy to enjoy: people don’t win twelve Grammy Awards for nothing! And she was kinda cute, too.

That’s all for today, and as always I hope you’ve found something in here to enjoy. I’ll see you again soon, so until then wrap up warm if you have to go out: it’s brass monkey weather! 🙊

 

 

59 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 233: Silver”

  1. Pingback: One Month Done | Take It Easy

  4. Great selection as always. When I was a teenager I toured around Europe in a transit van with some mates and for six weeks ‘Silver Machine’ was pretty much all we had to play. It brought back loads of memories but mostly it brought back memories of Stacia. Thanks for that Clive!

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  6. I have heard its brass monkey weather over there, Clive a mixture of songs todays good to listen to Hawkwind I have always liked them…A couple of rest were new to me and as always great info to go with the songs its always nice to know the background …Happy New Year, Clive xx

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  7. All new tunes to me, Clive. I especially liked the Hawkwind song. Great classic rock sound. I never said it before, but I also enjoy all the information you share with each song. Thank you for putting so much work into your posts.

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  8. The only two I’d heard before were by Neil Young and Linda Rondstadt. I see a couple of the others charted fairly well in the United States, but I was unfamiliar with them. While I didn’t dislike any of the songs, there also weren’t any that made me think, I’ve got to listen to this again. Kind of a meh week for me after several terrific ones in a row.

    I like the Willie Nelson line about Linda. She’s always been easy on the eyes. I like some of her other songs better than her country sound.

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  9. you were right, I have not heard of any of these songs, but I have heard of Neil ad Linda at least! Both of their songs were greet, but I think my favorite may have been the Rilo Kiley song. She (I assume that is Jenny Lewis singing) has a great voice!

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  13. Great choices among favorites by Neil Young, I was going to mention Jeff Beck Hi Ho Silver Lining but see someone already mentioned it, There is also On the Wings of a Silver Bird by Englebert Humperdink a very lovely song,

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  15. What a great post I love all your choices and surprised my self with the fact that after the obvious choice of Hawkwind I really enjoyed First Aid Kit! A great duo!

    I had to add the two above as well 🎁🎁

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