(29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) Born into a musical family, this Italian singer, pianist, and horn player became the most popular opera composer of his time. He began playing in public at the age of ten and had his first opera produced at the age of eighteen. By the age of twenty-one, he was the toast of Italy; and at twenty-three he became the musical director of two opera houses in Naples. Over the years he composed thirty-nine operas, as well as many other pieces. During the last thirty years of his life, he went into seclusion and composed relatively little. He died at the ripe old age of seventy-six from pneumonia at his country house in France on Friday, 13 November 1868. He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) overture
The Allman Brothers Band celebrated the spirit of the recently departed Duane with this double album of songs recorded with and without him. Duane Allman had been killed in a motorcycle accident during the recording sessions. The album mixed live material with studio tracks recorded before and after Duane's death. The title came from one of Duane's last interviews, when asked what he was doing to help the revolution. Duane responded, "There ain't no revolution, it's evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace." 'Eat a Peach' went to number four in the US and was certified platinum. Duane once said: "There ain't no revolution, only evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."
'Ain't Wastin' Time No More' was the first song Gregg Allman wrote after the death of his brother.
"Last Sunday morning, the sunshine felt like rain.
Week before, they all seemed the same.
With the help of God and true friends, I come to realize
I still had two strong legs, and even wings to fly.
And oh I, ain't wastin time no more
'Cause time goes by like hurricanes, and faster things."
Gregg Allman says about 'Melissa': "I wrote that song in 1967 in a place called the Evergreen Hotel in Pensacola, Florida. By that time I got so sick of playing other people's material that I just sat down and said, 'OK, here we go. One, two, three - we're going to try to write songs.' And about 200 songs later - much garbage to take out - I wrote this song called 'Melissa.' And I had everything but the title. I thought: 'But back home, we always run... to sweet Barbara' - no. Diane...? We always run... to sweet Bertha.' No, so I just kind of put it away for a while. So one night I was in the grocery store - it was my turn to go get the tea, the coffee, the sugar and all that other s--t... and there was this Spanish lady there and she had this little toddler with her - this little girl. And I'm sitting there, getting a few things and what have you. And this little girl takes off, running down the aisle. And the lady yells, Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa!' And I went, 'Oh - that's it.' I forgot about half the stuff I went for, I went back home and, man, it was finished, only I couldn't really tell if it was worth a damn or not because I'd written so many bad ones. So I didn't really show it to anybody for about a year. And then I was the last one to get to Jacksonville - I was the last one to join the band that became the Allman Brothers. And my brother sometimes late at night after dinner, he'd say, 'Man, go get your guitar and play me that song - that song about that girl.' And I'd play it for him every now and then. After my brother's accident, we had 3 vinyl sides done of Peach, so I thought well we'll do that, and then on the way down there I wrote "Ain't Wastin' Time No More." I wrote that for my brother. We were all in pretty bad shape. I had just gotten back from Jamaica and I was weighing at about 156, 6-foot-1-and-a-half - I was pretty skinny. So we went back down there, got in the studio and finished the record. And the damn thing shipped gold."
"Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah.
The gypsy flies from coast to coast,
Knowing many, loving none,
Bearing sorrow, having fun.
But, back home he'll always run,
To sweet Melissa. "
Recorded live at the Fillmore East, 'Mountain Jam' was based on Donovan's single 'There Is a Mountain'. It was originally spread out over two sides of the album.
'Blue Sky' was written by Dickey Betts. The first solo is Duane and the second solo is Dickey. Betts says, "I think 'Blue Sky' was one of the last things we did. We did all those songs in about three weeks in a studio in Miami, and then we decided to take a break because Tommy Dowd had something else he had to do. Anyway, we decided to take a few weeks off, and then Duane was killed. After everybody had a chance to get over what was happening, we came back in and finished it a few months later."
"Walk along the river, sweet lullaby, it just keeps on flowing,
It don't worry 'bout where it's going, no, no.
Don't fly, mister blue bird, I'm just walking down the road,
Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know
You're my blue sky, you're my sunny day.
Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way,
Turn your love my way, yeah.
Good old Sunday morning, bells are ringing everywhere.
Goin' to Carolina, it won't be long and I'll be there"
'Eat a Peach' full album
Side one "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" (Gregg Allman) – 3:40 "Les Brers in A Minor" (Dickey Betts) – 9:03 "Melissa" (Gregg Allman, Steve Alaimo) – 3:54 Side two "Mountain Jam" (live) (Donovan Leitch, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Jai Johanny Johanson) – 19:37* Side three "One Way Out" (live) (Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn, Sonny Boy Williamson II) – 4:58 "Trouble No More" (live) (Muddy Waters) – 3:43 "Stand Back" (Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley) – 3:24 "Blue Sky" (Dickey Betts) – 5:09 "Little Martha" (Duane Allman) – 2:07 Side four "Mountain Jam" (continued; live) – 15:06*
The Jam had their only American hit with this Motown-flavoured exhortation to the exploited masses. 'Town Called Malice' was a bleak, yet bouncy picture of unemployment in Thatcher's Britain. Paul Weller admits, "It could have been written about any suburban town, but it was in fact written about my hometown of Woking." It was released as a double A-side single with 'Precious'. The twelve inch version included a live version of 'Town Called Malice' and an extended version of 'Precious'. Both formats were counted together and the song made its debut at number one. It was a top twenty hit in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the US, it went to number thirty-one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. About the pop appeal of the song to politically conservative fans, Weller says: "I think I pretty much nailed where I was at to the mast. But people come to gigs for different reasons: it isn't necessarily about what the person on stage is singing. But at the same time, you do think, 'Well, maybe this'll change their minds'."
The Original Dixieland Jazz Band were promoted as a novelty act when they became the first jazz group to make a record. They formed in New Orleans and played at Schiller's Cafe in Chicago before making a splash in New York with their residency at Reisenweber's Restaurant. On February 26, 1917, cornetist Nick LaRocca, trombonist Eddie Edwards, pianist Henry Ragas, clarinetist Larry Shields, and drummer Tony Sbarbaro recorded two songs for Victor Talking Machine Company. They were released on a 78 eight days later. 'Livery Stable Blues' and 'Dixie Jass Band One Step' became the first jazz recordings and sold over a million copies, bringing jazz into the mainstream and inspiring musicians all over the country to start their own bands.
'Livery Stable Blues' is credited to former band associates Ray Lopez and Alcide Nunez.
'Dixie Jass Band One Step' was originally credited to the band; but after a lawsuit over its resemblance to Joe Jordan's 'That Teasin' Rag', Jordan was added as a co-composer.
The simple elegance of Nick Drake's swansong was born of frustration, heartbreak, and despair. After the commercial failure of his first two records, Drake was despondent. He refused to do any appearances and isolated himself at the home of his parents. Producer John Wood was surprised when Drake came to him to record new songs. The sessions took place over two midnight sessions at Sound Techniques, a converted dairy on Old Church Street in Chelsea, London. In a deliberate attempt to get away from what he perceived as overproduction on his previous albums, Drake accompanied himself only on guitar, with only a bit of piano added to the title song. Wood says, "He was very determined to make this very stark, bare record. He definitely wanted it to be him more than anything. And I think, in some ways, 'Pink Moon' is probably more like Nick is than the other two records." Like his other albums ('Five Leaves Left' and 'Bryter Layter'), 'Pink Moon' never charted; but in the years since his death from an overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline, its crystalline purity has made it an influencial cult classic. http://www.nickdrake.com/ http://www.brytermusic.com/
'Pink Moon' is the name for the full moon that occurs in April when the pink flower of the wild ground phlox blooms. In the song, it takes on layers of meaning suggesting sleep, death, and rebirth.
"Saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink Moon gonna get ye all
And it's a pink moon
Yes, a pink moon
Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon"
'From the Morning' is the last song on his last album. Lyrics from the song provide the epitaph on Nick Drake's headstone, in Tamworth, England.
Elliott Smith expanded his sound ever-so-slightly for the dreamy, existential, acoustic grace of his third album. 'Either/Or' features the addition of new instrumentation, including bass, drums, keyboards, and electric guitar; all of them played by Smith himself. At the time Smith said, "I got my own 8-track and stuff to do my solo stuff on; and I also got a drum set; and I borrowed a bass; so now I'm doing songs that have bass and stuff." 'Either/Or' takes its title from by Søren Kierkegaard's dualistic book of philosophy, which Smith had studied at Hampshire College. Produced by Smith with Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, the album was recorded at various locations including Smith's house, Joanna Bolme's house, Heatmiser House, The Shop, Undercover, Inc., and Laundry Rules Recording. The album was released on Kill Rock Stars and three of the songs were featured in the film 'Good Will Hunting'. Two of them were recorded live for Jem Cohen's short film 'Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait'.
"He's pleased to meet you underneath the horse In the cathedral with the glass stained black Singing sweet high notes that echo back To destroy their master May be a long time til you get the call-up But it's sure as fate and hard as your luck No one'll know where you are It's just a brief smile crossing your face Running speed trials still standing in place"
'Between the Bars'
"Drink up, baby, look at the stars I'll kiss you again, between the bars Where I'm seeing you there, with your hands in the air Waiting to finally be caught"
'Angeles' "Don't start me trying now Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh 'Cause I'm all over it, Angeles I can make you satisfied in Everything you do All your secret wishes could right Now be coming true And be forever with my poison arms Around you No one's gonna fool around with us No one's gonna fool around with us So glad to meet'cha, Angeles"
'Say Yes' "And I could be another fool or an exception to the rule You tell me the morning after Crooked spin can't come to rest I'm damaged bad at best She'll decide what she wants I'll probably be the last to know No one says until it shows and you see how it is They want you or they don't Say yes I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl Who's still around the morning after"
'Either/Or' full album:
All tracks written by Elliott Smith.
1."Speed Trials"3:01 2."Alameda"3:43 3."Ballad of Big Nothing"2:48 4."Between the Bars"2:21 5."Pictures of Me"3:46 6."No Name No. 5"3:43 7."Rose Parade"3:28 8."Punch and Judy"2:25 9."Angeles"2:56 10."Cupid's Trick"3:04 11."2:45 AM"3:18 12."Say Yes"2:19
Genesis decided to continue without him. Gabriel took a year off after the tour and then began work on a solo project with producer Bob Ezrin. 'Peter Gabriel' was recorded at the Soundstage in Toronto, Canada with additional sessions at Morgan Studios, and Olympic Studios in London with guitarist Robert Fripp, bass player Tony Levin, drummer Allan Schwartzberg, percussionist Jimmy Maelen, guitarist Steve Hunter, keyboardist Jozef Chirowski, and Larry Fast on synthesizers and programming. Michael Gibbs did the arrangements for the London Symphony Orchestra on 'Down the Dolce Vita' and 'Here Comes the Flood'. 'Peter Gabriel' reached number thirty-eight in the US; thirty in Canada; number thirteen in Sweden; number nine in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; number eight in Norway; number seven in the UK; and peaked at number five in France. Due to the album cover by Peter Christopherson, the album is often referred to as 'Car' or 'Rain'.
All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except where indicated. Side One 1."Moribund the Burgermeister"4:20 2."Solsbury Hill"4:21 3."Modern Love"3:38 4."Excuse Me" (Gabriel, Martin Hall)3:20 5."Humdrum"3:25 Side Two 6."Slowburn"4:36 7."Waiting for the Big One"7:15 8."Down the Dolce Vita"5:05 9."Here Comes the Flood"5:38
