As I teased on Saturday, I’m now back from my blogging break with my first piece of new material – brief updates and archive dips aside – for more than a couple of weeks. I’ve used the time to think about how I approach my blog, and have taken the (for me) big step of moving to a paid plan. This will have the benefit for you, the reader, of not being subjected to whatever ads WordPress is pushing at us, and I hope it makes for a more reader-friendly experience. I’ve noticed how many of the blogs I follow don’t have ads, and those that do now tend to stand out from the crowd.

So, how should I theme this first post after the hiatus? I had a couple already in the works before I decided to go AWOL, but am holding them back. For now, I decided that I would mark my return mostly with songs with back in their title. But having said that, I’m starting with one that doesn’t – it just felt like a good way to remind you of me and to clear up any doubts. And it is a good excuse to play one of my favourite singer-songwriters:

Jackson Browne released his tenth album, I’m Alive, in October 1983, and it peaked at #40 in the US and #35 in the UK. It was seen at the time as a return to his earlier subject matter of songs about relationships, after a couple of albums in which his political views held sway. This is the opening track on the album, and was the first from it to be released as a single, making #18 in Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #28 in their Adult Contemporary listings. I bought the album when it first came out and like all of his records I played it to bits. And as it was his ‘comeback’ album it feels like a great place for me to make my own little comeback for Tuesday Tunes.

Now for the back songs. This first of them is from another of my favourites:

Steve Winwood released his fourth album, Back In The High Life, in June 1986. Like all his albums it did well in the charts, peaking at #8 in the UK and #3 in the US: pretty respectable, by any standards. Back In The High Life Again was the fifth single taken from the album, in November 1986, and it peaked at #13 in the US and #53 in the UK. Again this was an album I loved and played a lot: it came out three months after our first daughter was born and I bought it on cassette to accompany me on my Walkman during the marathon baby bottle cleaning and sterilising sessions that were the order of the day – the ideal way to spend an evening after a long day at work!

I would imagine that many of you knew that song, and I suspect that the same is true of this one:

The Beatles released Back In The USSR as the opening track of their double album The Beatles (aka the White Album) in November 1968. The song has been described as a parody of Chuck Berry’s Back in the U.S.A. with a bridge that parodies the Beach Boys’ California Girls. It was released shortly after the Soviet Union had invaded Czechoslovakia to put down its move towards democracy, and riled many Western politicians of both the left and the right. In my view it was all tongue in cheek, as reflected by John Lennon’s response to an American journalist who accused the band of being ‘un-American’ – “well spotted, we aren’t American.” The album, in case you didn’t know, did rather well, especially when you consider that it was a double album with a price to match: #1 just about everywhere, and it sold 24m copies in the US alone.

Another favourite band next – I’m being self indulgent! I’ve played several by them, but not this one. It is so good that I should have done before now:

Back 2 Good was a track on Matchbox Twenty’s debut album, Yourself Or Someone Like You, which was released in October 1996 peaking at #1 in Australia, #3 in New Zealand, #5 in the US, #11 in Canada, and a lowly #50 in the UK. It has sold more than 15m copies worldwide, 12m of those in the US (12x Platinum), 800,000 in Canada (8x Platinum), 700,000 in Australia (10x Platinum), and 100,000 in the UK (Gold). I bought the record having heard a couple of its tracks on the Saturday late night radio show of ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, and followed up to buy all of their albums – you could say that I’m a fan! This track was the fifth and final single taken from the album, nearly two years later, in September 1998, and it still did well in the US and Canada, despite the fact that just about everyone had the album by then: #24 in the US and #11 in Canada, going Platinum in the US.

My closing back song is a long time favourite. It was written by Bob Dylan, but this is the version I grew up with and still like best:

The Byrds released their version of My Back Pages on their fourth album, Younger Than Yesterday, in February 1967, which peaked at #4 in the US, #5 in Canada and #37 in the UK. This was the second single from it, in March 1967, and it reached #30 in the US, #18 in The Netherlands, and #16 in New Zealand. I was always a sucker for their jangly guitars, and have always loved this one. The track was later included on a compilation album, The Byrds Play Dylan, which did exactly what it said on the tin: an album of their covers of Dylan songs. It came out in November 1979 but didn’t make the charts: I bought it and still play it to this day.

That would be it for today, as I’ve reached my self-appointed quota of five songs, but I’m adding in a bonus from a band I played a few weeks back for Song Lyric Sunday. This isn’t a back song, but it has the feel of a kind of manifesto for what I’m trying to be with my blog – the perfect ‘me’:

Blossoms released Perfect Me as a single in July 2024, and it was then included on their fifth album, Gary, which came out in September 2024. The single didn’t make the charts, but the album went to #1 in the UK. I told the story of that album in my SLS post, which you can find here if you missed it. I really like their indie style, and some of these lyrics are appropriate for us all, I think:

Back yourself but modestly
Show your friends empathy
Make more time for family

And also this:

You’ve got to learn from your mistakes
Over time you will change
No one leaves here unscathed

And those feel like the perfect words with which to close this return post for my Tuesday Tunes. I’ll be easing myself back into my regular schedule, and hope to share something with you later in the week and then return for Song Lyric Sunday next weekend.

I’ve missed blogging but I needed the break, and as I said I have used it to make a couple of changes. I mentioned that I have moved to a paid plan, and the other change I was thinking of making was to use a different theme. But the current one works for me, so I just customised it a little and, with the help of ChatGPT, have tarted up its appearance. I hope you like it, and that you have enjoyed these tunes.

See you again soon 👍

[PS: And before I go, my usual reminder of where I’ll be sharing this post. Firstly, at Esme’s Senior Salon Pit Stop, and then at Cathy’s Monday’s (On Sundays) Music Moves Me. Both sites are well worth a visit.]