What Are You Listening To Right Now? #26 NEW!!

The finest voice in British folk rock

 

Some more of Maddy=they have been performing for 55 years or more

 

Happy heavenly birthday to the late great David Byron (1/29/47-2/28/1985)

lead vocalist Uriah Heep

 

Yesterday would have been the 77th birthday of one of the greatest frontmen in British hard rock/blues-formerly of Small Faces and Humble Pie, the late and truly great Steve Marriott

 

A modern version of an old folk song about making beer......or is it?

 

could be beer ale, whiskey

Here is a later version

3 decades or so later, the voice is still awesome



and even more recent

 

Indeed, and it could be many other things. I believe the Scottish poet Robert Burns transformed John Barleycorn into a Christ-like figure.

When I first heard the song I thought it alluded to the horrors inflicted on the commoners who participated in the Peasants Revolt of 1381. The references to the wheel and flaying are brutally curious, and it's possible that they served as a literary device to warn ordinary folk about the potential consequences of revolting against the nobility (and their famed capacity for cruelty). Who knows (?), but there have been many different versions of the song that have left the story open to interpretation, as is the case with any great work of art.

I love what Steve Winwood did with that song, and it has a rich, complicated history going back centuries:

John Barleycorn Must Die
https://www.epoch-magazine.com/post/john-barleycorn-must-die

 

Fun with feedback - a progression - featuring the Gang of Four's guitarist Andy Gill.

Starting with the Gang of Four's first album, Entertainment (1979):



Next, from the EP Another Day Another Dollar (recorded 1981):



Finally, something a little mellower, from Songs of the Free (1982):



Not only was Gill an innovative guitarist, he went to on to produce albums such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers' debut album.

Sadly, Andy passed away four years ago at the age of 64. RIP

 

More songs from the 80s...

 

Oh yeah - Humble Pie - had forgotten about them. Love the doctor song. Pure rock.

 

For you heavy metal pedos......

 

small faces was way ahead of its time. here is my favorite thing they did-an awesome cover of Tim Hardin's Often covered song-a song covered by Bobby Darin, Leslie West, June Cash, Johnny Cash, Robert Plant, the Four Tops and Leon Russell

I think this is the best

 

LOL - The Kami Band kicks ass, but I could do without their silly little sisters.

As far as Japanese chick bands go, the girls in Band-Maid can throw down when they want to:

 

Me likey....excellent musicianship, but where's the message? Ningen Isu has one!