YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 122 (Gemstones)
(Originally finalized on February 2, 2025)
Preface: This theme has taken me on a bit of a roller coaster ride, but I'll have more to say about that next week. For now, we're going to focus on songs devoted to the precious gemstones - ruby, sapphire, emerald, etc. Sparkle, sparkle!
Monday: The Doors - The Crystal Ship [The Doors, 1967]
Comments: Although not all crystals can be fashioned into gemstones, and not all gemstones come from crystals, as another type of visually appealing rock, crystals will work great as something of a catch-all for us to open this week's theme. And representing crystals is this hauntingly beautiful lullaby from The Doors' debut album.
Tuesday: The Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday [released as a single, 1967]
Comments: Coming from that late middle '60s period after Jagger and Richards had discovered their potential for writing hit singles (such as Satisfaction and Paint It Black), but before the Stones became darlings of the album-oriented rock era, Ruby Tuesday - a song with a distinct sound, thanks to Brian Jones playing the alto recorder - may owe some of its success to the controversial lyrics of its A-side, Let's Spend The Night Together. In any case, it's a perfect pick for this week's theme - indeed, it's the very song that inspired the idea in the first place!
Wednesday: Fleetwood Mac - Emerald Eyes [Mystery To Me, 1973]
Comments: I actually know of two songs titled Emerald Eyes - the other one from Jimmy Page's Outrider album from 1988. If Peter Green represented the formative years of Fleetwood Mac, a band that reached maturity with the addition of Buckingham and Nicks, then this song (which supplies the lyric that gives the album its title) comes from the band's awkward adolescence (although not without its underappreciated charm) with Bob Welch at the helm.
Thursday: Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)/(Parts VI-IX) [Wish You Were Here, 1975]
Comments: I imagine that most people would have a harder time choosing between this song and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, but you probably know where I stand on that one. Despite its listener-unfriendly runtime of 26 minutes in total - awkwardly split across two tracks bookending the phenomenal album that followed Dark Side of the Moon - this is one of Pink Floyd's absolute greatest masterpieces, a sonic voyage through the time and space that separates people, inspired by the band's founder who was lost to mental illness early on. There have been attempts over the years to shorten and condense the song for easier access, but I've never heard a version that did so without losing a lot of the heart and soul that makes this song so powerful. So just sit back and let it wash over you.
Friday: Journey - Topaz [Journey, 1975]
Comments: I actually couldn't find any songs to represent sapphire (the gemstones in general were rarer than I expected them to be - although that seems appropriate). So here's topaz instead - which is, in fact, considered semiprecious. This song is a reminder that Journey started out as a progressive jazz rock fusion band, formed by cast-offs from Santana, before singer Steve Perry was hired and they "sold out" to '80s pop stardom.
Saturday: Jeff Beck - Diamond Dust [Blow By Blow, 1975]
Comments: On the subject of jazz fusion, here's a beautiful instrumental from an album that's notable for being the first Jeff Beck released without being part of a "group". I'm a person who likes instrumental music, and can appreciate the creativity of an artist who's not content to simply play the same three rock chords over and over again (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that approach, either). But, though good mood music (say that three times fast), without vocals, I find it's much harder for a song to really stand out and stick in your mind. Not impossible - but harder.
Sunday: Country Joe & The Fish - Crystal Blues [Here We Are Again, 1969]
Comments: We started with crystals, and we're gonna end with crystals. This is actually a new find for me - although I'm a longtime fan of Country Joe & The Fish, I'm ashamed to admit that I only own one of their albums, which can be kind of hard to get a hold of. But I was thrilled when I stumbled across this song while doing research for this theme, because it sounds fantastic - a psychedelic blues with just the right amount of fuzz guitar.