Saturday, April 11, 2020

MARY ANN REDMOND - "BOYS OF SUMMER"

Boys of Summer  (Don Henley - Mike Campbell)

I've been a Mary Ann Redmond fan since the late-'80s.  I've probably seen her perform three dozen times and among my proudest possessions are one of her concert flyers from show at The State Theater and a photo of the two of us.  She graciously allowed my wife to take a picture of the two of us at a performance The Mary Ann Redmond Band made in Great Falls.   My wife still makes fun of me for having looked like a love struck teenager in the photo.

Anyhow, if you are a child of the '70s you've probably heard the Eagles original hundreds, if not thousands of times.  I certainly have, to the point the song's been reduced to background noise.

And then I stumbled across Mary Ann Redmond's drastically rearranged version of the tune.  The basic melody is still there and still recognizable, but ... well just check it out for yourself.

Great video production too boot and it features an old Cadillac.

When life get's back to normal, Mary Ann Redmond is one of those acts you owe it to yourself to see.

https://www.facebook.com/maryann.redmond.12/videos/10220384739482842/

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

DEL AMITRI - "JUST BEFORE YOU LEAVE"

"Just Before You Leave" (Justin Currie - Iain Harve) - 5:15

I was working at home and had YouTube randomly playing songs in the background.  Out of the background noise this song just came screaming at me. 

Del Amitri was one of those mid-'80s bands that were constantly on my stereo and those countless hours of exposure mean Justin Currie's voice is instantly recognizable to my ears.  The thing is I probably hadn't listened to a Del Amitri in a decade  ...  My loss.

Released in 2002 (so I'm 18 years late to the party), "Just Before You Leave" is simply gorgeous.  Kicked along by a Currie's purring vocals, Big Kev's driving bass line and Andy Alston's stabbing organ licks this may be the best soul song ever recorded by a Scottish band.  Imagine what Curtis Mayfield would have sounded like had he been born and raised and Glasgow and you'll get a feel for the sophisticated soul vibe these guys captured.  I could listen to this song 20 times in a row and not get sick of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xFBj9EZVcQ