YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 113 (So Many Trains)
(Originally finalized on December 12, 2024)
Preface: Here's a theme I've been holding on to for a long time, waiting for a good moment to squeeze it in. Trains are kind of an antiquated mode of transportation these days, but I guess that only facilitates their romanticized reputation - sometimes they're even used to symbolize the afterlife and spiritual salvation. In any case, there are a lot of rock and blues songs written about trains. This week, we're going to listen to some (not all) of the best and most prominent - at least in my estimation.
Monday: Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A-Comin' (Live) [Rainbow Bridge, 1971]
Comments: I had previously considered sharing one of the two versions of this song that were included on Jimi's BBC sessions album, but then I remembered I had an even longer version on Blues, which was first released on Rainbow Bridge - one of Jimi's earliest posthumous releases, including material that had been considered for his unfinished fourth studio album. This song, sometimes alternately titled Get My Heart Back Together, was recorded multiple times over the years, including in a compelling solo acoustic version, but never in the studio to Jimi's satisfaction - which I suppose is just as well, because all indications are that it really came alive on stage.
Tuesday: Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath [Aqualung, 1971]
Comments: When it comes to train songs, one of the best - and one that I like to listen to the most - is Locomotive Breath, from Jethro Tull's most successful album, Aqualung. It starts with a deceptively gentle piano intro, comes in with a chugging rhythm, and features the meanest flute solo I've ever heard. For how good it sounds, I'm surprised to learn that it had to be pieced together in the studio bit by bit. It's also sobering to hear that the song was written as a metaphor for overpopulation - a problem we just keep accelerating into. "The train - it won't stop going. No way to slow down."
Wednesday: Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train [Blizzard of Ozz, 1980]
Comments: Recorded for his very first album after leaving Black Sabbath, and featuring the singular talent of Randy Rhoads on guitar, this is one of the most popular rock songs that references a train, and one of the biggest hits to come out of Ozzy's solo career. I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of Ozzy post-Sabbath, but I do think this is a great song. "I'm going off the rails on a crazy train."
Thursday: Blackfoot - Train, Train [Strikes, 1979]
Comments: Although this is only one of two songs I know by Blackfoot - a Southern rock band with Native American heritage that has shared some of its members with Lynyrd Skynyrd - it's a good one. (Stay tuned, and you'll eventually hear the other one on this music log, too). Paying homage - as many of these songs do - to the trope of the harmonica-wielding, train-hopping vagrant, this song's intro is performed by the grandfather of guitarist and lead vocalist Rickey Medlocke, who also wrote the song. "I'm just a raggedy hobo."
Friday: Aerosmith - Train Kept A Rollin' [Get Your Wings, 1974]
Comments: Dig the song with a driving beat that was so good, The Yardbirds covered it twice! (When they couldn't get permission to record it for a movie soundtrack, they rewrote the lyrics, added some flourishes, and called it Stroll On). Though a huge hit for The Yardbirds, it was later covered by Aerosmith (not the only Yardbirds song they covered), who introduced it to new audiences on their second album, and in their live shows. Although my loyalties lie with The Yardbirds, this is a case where you honestly can't go wrong with either version.
Saturday: Grand Funk Railroad - The Railroad [We're An American Band, 1973]
Comments: What better band to feature during a week of train songs than one with the word "Railroad" in its name? How about one that's actually written a song titled "The Railroad"? This is a great, not so well-known song, from an otherwise pretty successful album, by a popular rock band that somehow still manages to be underrated. Just listen to the musicianship on display here. And while we're talking about rock bands with a little funk flavor - since I have more songs than I can share in the seven song format this week - I'd like to give a nod to The Doobie Brothers and their hit song Long Train Runnin' from another popular album from 1973, The Captain And Me.
Sunday: Steamhammer - Riding On The L&N / Hold That Train (Live) [Mountains, 1970]
Comments: If I were a more conventional DJ, I'd highlight Traintime, a song that was included on the live half of Cream's Wheels of Fire album from 1968, and features Jack Bruce playing the harmonica like a shuffling train. But we've got a tight list this week, and I'd rather highlight a lesser known band that I'm quite fond of. In a similar format - appearing live at the tail end of an otherwise studio album - this is Steamhammer doubling up with a cover of Riding On The L&N (a song John Mayall also recorded), leading seamlessly into the original composition Hold That Train.
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - Slow Train [Dust Bowl, 2011]
Comments: Though decades removed from the '70s, I had to include a Joe Bonamassa tune, as he's recorded lots of songs about trains - including a cover of the track that named this theme ("so many roads, so many trains to ride"), recorded by the Bluesbreakers with Peter Green, and represented during my week dedicated to Bonamassa's British Blues. That's a good one, but I'm giving the edge to an original composition, which has a really cool intro that sounds like a train starting up. "As the steam from my slow train rises, it's time for me to get on board."