YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 130 (Going Away)
(Originally finalized on March 20, 2025)
Preface: I don't know how many more variations of this theme I've got in me, but I can tell you that, at the end of our second quarter in overtime, I still have no intentions of slowing down. Maybe in another half year. Maybe. But in the meantime, we're still going strong. So although I've put together a fun collection of songs on the subject of going away, you'll have to consider it a hypothetical - because I'm not going anywhere just yet!
Monday: The Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place [released as a single, 1965]
Comments: Featuring the distinctive voice of Eric Burdon, The Animals were part of the British Invasion of the 1960s, and contemporaries of The Beatles and The Stones. Although this song - one of their biggest hits - was adopted as the unofficial anthem of US soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War, its themes carry broad appeal. No matter where you grew up, chances are at some point in your life you've dreamed of leaving town in search of greener pastures. It's practically a rite of passage. "We gotta get out of this place. Girl, there's a better life for me and you."
Tuesday: Freddie King - Pack It Up [Burglar, 1974]
Comments: Distinguished (such as it is) as being one of the songs Joe Bonamassa covered on his original Blues Deluxe album from 2003, this song was recorded by Texas bluesman Freddie King for his penultimate album, just two years before an untimely death caused by a life of excess - excessive touring, and excessive drinking. It's a rousing rocker with a little bit of funk, and plenty of guitar fire. "I'm gonna pack it up. I'm gonna give it up. I'm gonna put you right out of my mind."
Wednesday: REO Speedwagon - Time For Me To Fly [You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish, 1978]
Comments: I normally prefer REO Speedwagon's harder rocking material, but this song - written by crooning balladeer Kevin Cronin (the band's lead singer) - is one of their better mainstream hits in my opinion, from an early foray into the more middle-of-the-road pop-oriented approach they would embrace wholeheartedly (and with great success) by the start of the '80s. "I know it hurts to say goodbye, but it's time for me to fly."
Thursday: Buffalo Springfield - Go And Say Goodbye [Buffalo Springfield, 1966]
Comments: An early collaboration between Stills and Young, Buffalo Springfield's debut album doesn't really demonstrate the full potential of this band to experiment with genres, opting for more of a focus on folk/pop ballads. But it creates an effective atmosphere of an almost naive romanticism; listening to it, it's hard not to get swept up in the nostalgia of your own idealistic youth. "Is it you don't want to see her cry - is that why you won't go and say goodbye?"
Friday: The Moody Blues - Go Now [The Magnificent Moodies, 1965]
Comments: You'd be forgiven for not recognizing this as a Moody Blues song - in addition to being a cover, it was the band's first hit single, predating a lineup change (notably subbing in guitarist and singer Justin Hayward for founding member Denny Laine, who would later play with Paul McCartney in the band Wings) that would precipitate their transition from rhythm and blues to more of a focus on art rock. "Since you gotta go, you'd better go now - before you see me cry."
Saturday: The Eagles - Already Gone [On The Border, 1974]
Comments: Co-written by the same guy who wrote The Eagles' hit Peaceful Easy Feeling, this song that opens the band's third album - which attempts to pivot more toward rock and away from country, and introduces guitarist Don Felder - is one of my favorite "second tier" Eagles songs (not exactly a deep cut, but not so overplayed either). The sentiment expressed in the chorus is a perfect embodiment of that mentality where you've already checked out, you're just waiting for the clock to catch up. "I'm already gone, and I'm feelin' strong. I will sing this victory song."
Sunday: Boston - Don't Look Back [Don't Look Back, 1978]
Comments: Let's face it, Boston's debut album was so phenomenal, it reached a high water mark that the band struggled to maintain ever afterward. Although sonically consistent, the followup feels a bit like trying to coax lightning to strike twice, after being struck by a bolt from the blue. Or, to utilize the band's spaceship motif, it's the difference between seeing a UFO from afar, and being unexpectedly enveloped in a beam of light. Nevertheless, the title track is definitely one of the album's highlights. "Don't look back - a new day is breakin'. It's been too long since I felt this way."
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - Last Kiss [The Ballad of John Henry, 2009]
Comments: You'll have to excuse me if I feel like throwing in a Joe Bonamassa track at the end of this theme. Joe's matured quite a bit as a musician in the last fifteen years since this album was released, but I consider The Ballad of John Henry (from which we heard the title track just a few weeks ago) to be one of the highlights of the first decade of his professional solo career, right on the cusp of when he was transitioning from being primarily a cover artist to finding his own voice. Plus, this song has one of my favorite lines from his entire discography. "Tell me how long s'posed to keep a good man down, 'fore he packs his suitcase and gets the hell out of town?"