YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 126 (Standing At The Station)
(Originally finalized on February 26, 2025)
Preface: It was clear from the last time I did this theme that I had an abundance of songs to cover. I did my best to squeeze in as many of them as I could, and honestly, I was content to leave it at that. But then I remembered a really good song that I had overlooked, because it doesn't have the word "train" in its title. And I knew I would have to revisit the theme. So, if you missed your train the last time, you're in luck - because it's comin' around again!
Monday: Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A-Comin' (Acoustic) [Blues, this track recorded 1967]
Comments: Although there are occasionally exceptions, I don't often go for acoustic music, especially when compared side-by-side with an electric powerhouse like this song. But there's just something about this version. It's so simple, so unassuming, and yet still so captivating. Although the electric version definitely earned its place last time, I was honestly a little bit disappointed that I couldn't pick this song, too. But now I get a second chance!
Tuesday: Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues [released as a single, 1955]
Comments: We're drifting slightly out of bounds with this song, but it's not as though I haven't featured Johnny Cash on this music log twice before (albeit heretofore only as an honorable mention). But this is a classic train song - and one of Cash's earliest hits, which certainly made an impression on me when I watched the biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix from 2005 (was that really 20 years ago?). Sung from the point of view of a prisoner daydreaming about the train he can hear from his cell, it cleverly juxtaposes the feeling of being caged with all the mobility and freedom that trains represent.
Wednesday: Cream - Traintime (Live) [Wheels of Fire, 1968]
Comments: Some would describe it as a limitation, but many see it as one of their strengths, that Cream were a band as committed to the performative art of live improvisation, as writing songs to compete for radio airplay. Which is why their third album, Wheels of Fire, was released as a double album, consisting of half studio recordings, and half live recordings. (It is cosmic irony that one of the band's most enduring radio hits - Clapton's interpretation of Robert Johnson's Cross Road Blues - was one of those live tracks from the second half of the album). Traintime was a number designed to showcase Jack Bruce's mastery of the harmonica, while Ginger Baker's subtle percussion contributes to the overall feeling that you're listening to a train chugging along.
Thursday: The Yardbirds - The Train Kept A-Rollin' [Having A Rave Up With The Yardbirds, 1965]
Comments: I had every intention of sharing this track the last time we did this theme, but when it got right down to it, I was just feeling the Aerosmith version more. I think it meshed better with the likes of Ozzy and Blackfoot, and Jethro Tull and Grand Funk Railroad. But, even though The Yardbirds didn't write the song, there'd be no Aerosmith version without them. And it's basically the quintessential example of The Yardbirds' reputation for "rave-ups", which is just their way of saying getting loose and building up energy in the middle of the song - a musical approach that was very influential, and could be seen to be the precursor to some of the more extravagant musical excesses of rock in the later '60s and into the '70s.
Friday: The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' [The Captain And Me, 1973]
Comments: This is the last of the songs I'm "recycling" from the previous iteration of this theme, that I felt compelled to mention despite not making the final cut. The Doobie Brothers are a band that I cannot say I have more than a passing familiarity with, but they do have a healthy selection of hits that, honestly, sound pretty darn good. Sometimes mistakenly attributed the title Without Love (a phrase which features heavily in the chorus), this song - which evolved out of a bar jam, and was cut for their third album - is surely one of the biggest.
Saturday: The Blues Project - Two Trains Running [Projections, 1966]
Comments: In the vein of Riding on the L&N/Hold That Train - a long jam by an obscure band (Steamhammer) that I shared last time we did train songs - here's a different long jam by another somewhat obscure band (The Blues Project, featuring keyboard player Al Kooper after jamming with Bob Dylan on his album Highway 61 Revisited, and before he left to form the band Blood, Sweat & Tears) that's just as tasty. It's a cover of a Muddy Waters song that bears some resemblance to Rollin' Stone (which we discussed last week), and that was also covered (in a shorter and more upbeat version) by contemporaries the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (which featured guitarist Mike Bloomfield - who also played for Bob Dylan, and joined Kooper in 1968 to record Super Session).
Sunday: Ten Years After - Standing At The Station [Rock & Roll Music To The World, 1972]
Comments: This band doesn't get enough recognition as it is, but to the extent that they are noticed, I think Rock & Roll Music To The World is lowkey one of their most underrated albums. Everybody remembers A Space In Time because it features their one radio hit, I'd Love To Change The World. I actually favor Cricklewood Green, but the number of sleeper hits on this album is crazy. This song (which is the song that compelled me to revisit this theme) not only features a great guitar solo (par for the course for this band), but also gives Chick Churchill a chance to really shine on that organ.
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry [The Ballad of John Henry, 2009]
Comments: As I mentioned last time, Joe Bonamassa has a number of train songs in his repertoire. I already shared my favorite. I could have picked another one, but instead I want to highlight his ballad to folk hero John Henry - the steel-drivin' man who famously raced a steam-powered engine, and won. Only to drop dead from exhaustion at the finish line. It's a solid rocker with a strong riff, and one of the early hits that helped distinguish Joe from being known primarily as a cover artist (albeit an incredible one) - a reputation he's only built on in the past 15 years since this album was released.