YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 84 (All These Blues)
(Originally finalized on July 11, 2024)
Preface: You probably know by now that I'm a big fan of the blues. If not, then let me point you to my Slow Blues theme (and its sequel!). But this week's topic is rock songs that have the word "blues" in their title. Son House may have said, once upon a time, "they can name it the blues, but it ain't the blues." But I don't care what they are - blues or otherwise, these songs still rock!
Monday: The Doors - Roadhouse Blues [Morrison Hotel, 1970]
Comments: One of The Doors' hardest rockers, whether you consider it a driving tune or a bar song, it delivers a rollicking good time. Jim Morrison steps up to the plate, even offering some spontaneous (and indecipherable) ad libs; this is also one of guitarist Robby Krieger's best performances with the band.
Tuesday: Derek and the Dominos - Bell Bottom Blues [Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, 1970]
Comments: Aside from the title track (of course), this has always been one of my favorite songs from an album that's packed with good ones. There's just something about its tonal quality, between the vocals and the instruments, that's filled with a bittersweet romanticism - a perfect encapsulation of the mood of the entire album.
Wednesday: Janis Joplin - Kozmic Blues [I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama, 1969]
Comments: Another one of my long-time favorites (I did say I was a fan of the blues :-p) - and one that hasn't traditionally gotten as much radio play, from a phenomenally talented singer who lived too fast and died too young. This song speaks to me about the emptiness and the yearning at the heart of the human condition, and what Janis once described as "the great Saturday night heist".
Thursday: Quicksilver Messenger Service - California State Correctional Facility Blues [Comin' Thru, 1972]
Comments: Our most obscure track this week (at least so far), from a band that typified the psychedelic San Francisco scene, but came up a little short in terms of lasting hits. Hailing from an album towards the end of their relatively short run, California State Correctional Facility Blues (a song with a charmingly long title, from a band with an already longer than average name) nevertheless became one of my instant favorites from the first time I heard it.
Friday: The Yardbirds - New York City Blues [released as a single, 1966]
Comments: From Jeff Beck's tenure with the band, and notable to me largely because the opening guitar signature was recycled by Jimmy Page (who was, of course, a later member) for one of my all-time favorite Led Zeppelin songs, this is a tongue-in-cheek blues about a guy who tries to date a girl whose father isn't too happy about the situation.
Saturday: Moby Grape - Miller's Blues [Wow/Grape Jam, 1968]
Comments: Arguably even more obscure than the Quicksilver Messenger Service, but also part of the psychedelic San Francisco scene (and formed by a couple of cast-offs from Jefferson Airplane), Moby Grape came onto my radar thanks to a collaboration with Mike Bloomfield, and the fact that their song Never seems to have been a heavy inspiration for the same Led Zeppelin song I mentioned above. From that same album, here's Miller's Blues.
Sunday: Jefferson Airplane - Uncle Sam Blues [Woodstock Festival, 1969]
Comments: Whatever the full story behind this song might be, you get the impression that Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane got up to the stage at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969, and spontaneously pulled this bitingly satirical antiwar protest song out of his back pocket. Regardless, it's a powerful sentiment, and one that's hard to deny.
Honorable Mention: I must be starting to sound like a broken record at this point, but this is yet another theme with plenty of options. I tried to balance it between popular songs and bands, and obscure ones that I like. I even left out some really great tracks that are more straight-up blues! And that's to say nothing of the songs I've already used for previous themes that would have been good this week. But I like what I've put together here, so I'm gonna put down the brush and get the next blank canvas ready!