Zharth's Music Log
Week 18: Feast
🎧 Click here for the full playlist.
Preface: The key element to the Thanksgiving holiday is the feast. So this week we'll celebrate songs that conjure up thoughts of food. Sit down, unbutton your pants, and gorge!
Monday (11/19/07): Black Sabbath - Cornucopia [Vol 4, 1972]
Comments: The cornucopia, or 'horn of plenty', and its abundance of food, has long been associated with Thanksgiving. Black Sabbath's song may be completely unrelated - frankly, I can't tell - but at any rate, it's the thought that counts.
Tuesday (11/20/07):
Bloomfield & Kooper - Green Onions (Live) [The Live Adventures Of, 1968]
Comments: Green Onions was first recorded as a simple but smokin' instrumental by Booker T. & The M.G.'s, although the main riff bears a heavy resemblance to that of an old blues song named Help Me, by Sonny Boy Williamson. Here, blues guitar virtuoso Mike Bloomfield jams with organ player Al Kooper on the popular instrumental, from the live album to complement the duo's monumental Super Session.
Wednesday (11/21/07): Neil Young & Crazy Horse - T-Bone [re.ac.tor, 1981]
Comments: "Got mashed potatoes... ain't got no t-bone." I think this song speaks for itself. Neil Young & Crazy Horse doin' what they do best. Is Thanksgiving really tomorrow?
Thursday (11/22/07):
REO Speedwagon - Flying Turkey Trot (Live) [You Get What You Play For, 1977]
Comments: Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your turkey and assorted foodstuffs! But beware the mortal sin of gluttony...
Well, since this is the "festival of plenty", here's a second song. In the spirit of the holiday, Led Zeppelin's Thank You - in a rich and heavy live version, recorded in 1971, from their BBC Sessions. Have a tasty Turkey Day!
Friday (11/23/07): Led Zeppelin - Custard Pie [Physical Graffiti, 1975]
Comments: Led Zeppelin orders up dessert with this rocking opening track from their mid-'70s double album, Physical Graffiti. If you want a piece, you better act fast, because everybody wants a slice.
Saturday (11/24/07): Barry Goldberg & Friends - A Taste of Honey (Organ Serenade) [Recorded Live, 1976]
Comments: This incendiary but mostly forgotten blues rock LP from the mid-'70s features a couple of the forgotten greats of blues guitar, including Mike Bloomfield. But on this tasty jam, it is Harvey Mandel who takes the lead, drizzling his coiling, snake-like licks all over Barry Goldberg's pulsating organ.
Sunday (11/25/07): Joe Bonamassa - Left Overs [Blues Deluxe, 2003]
Comments: Joe Bonamassa finishes up the leftovers as our Thanksgiving feast week comes to a close. Hope you had an enjoyable week of unrestrained gluttony!
Afterthought: I'm not entirely sure why I neglected to share this song on this theme originally - perhaps I felt, at the time, that it was just too much of a cliche (if you've ever listened to classic rock radio on Thanksgiving). But playing Arlo Guthrie's 18 minute long folk epic Alice's Restaurant Massacree (from his similarly-titled debut album from 1967) on this holiday is simply tradition. I was considering using it for a theme dedicated to side-long songs, but I ended up with more than enough options, and this song didn't quite fit with the progressive rock vibe. So now it's available to be included with this theme, where it's always belonged!