--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, laughinggull108 <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Thanks Barry for the background...I could listen all day to > the stories you must have hidden in that brain of yours. > (Ever thought of writing a book in that vein?) Now you've > got me going! Consider this my last contribution for today > (at least 'til I get home from work) for the Wednesday that > is Harmony on FFL. > > http://youtu.be/B9Ihxi6d1qw
LOL. I don't have all that many stories, and have already told many of the ones I do have here already. I was never a musician myself, only on the periphery of the scene back in the late 60s when some friends and I put on light shows and promoted concerts and thus hired a lot of the bands of that era. It was a really FUN time, and something that one could not easily do today -- we were hippies, after all, without any money and without insurance. We'd just scrape together enough money to hire the bands and hire a hall and hope for the best. But we got to party with the bands, and experience "trickle down" groupie status, so it was all worth it. I only saw Gram perform with the Byrds and the Burrito Bros, never with Emmylou. THAT would have been a pairing I'd have loved to see live. I *did* see Linda Ronstadt early, back when she was still with a group called the Stone Poneys, and occasionally dueting with a folkie friend of mine named Steve Gillette. Then of course I saw her later, after she'd become famous. She had (and seems to still have, despite the added weight) a golden set of pipes, and was seemingly incapable of missing a note. This was important, because during many of those years she was so coked up that her mind was a sieve. You know how some artists have big "cheat sheets" of their set lists taped to the floor of the stage? Linda had big sheets containing the *lyrics*, because she could no longer remember them. But she survived, which is a lot more than a lot of artists of her generation did. Since I woke up in "harmony mode" and you've gotten me thinking about those days, here's a cut from a group that had a lot of talent but a fairly short "shelf life," Moby Grape: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioKodbNTljg Here is a cut from the aforementioned (and unknown to most people) folkie Steve Gillette, *much* later in life. He and his wife (I think) Cindy perform his most famous song, originally made famous by Ian & Sylvia Tyson. I knew him from college, so I know the story of this song. He was a music major (Duh!), and wrote this song based on place names he'd found while hiking up in the Lake Tahoe area. He wanted to create his version of a real folk song. He submitted it to his professor as having been found in a book of old Wild West era songs, and got an "A" on the project. He only revealed the truth to the prof when he found he was about to submit the song to a folklore society as a "new find." :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioKodbNTljg > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, laughinggull108 <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Couldn't agree more Barry. I'm a huge fan of both artists. > > > Enjoy this one as my contribution to the Harmony that is > > > Wednesday on FFL: > > > > > > http://youtu.be/_xX5XY49dSU > > > > Lovely song, and lovely tribute to her mentor and > > discoverer. Emmylou's talent, as commented on by so > > many other artists she's worked with over the years, > > such as Mark Knopfler, is that she's an "intuitive > > harmonist." She doesn't need sheet music or a pre- > > agreement about what type of harmony she's going to > > add to a song, she just picks up the melody after > > the first verse (even if she's never heard it before) > > and adds the perfect harmony part. > > > > A number of musicians have this ability, including > > David Crosby and Graham Nash and, supposedly, Art > > Garfunkel, not to mention a number of Country stars. > > I tend to respect this *spontaneous* ability to add > > just the right harmony part more than I do the > > ability to sit down and chart out the harmonies > > in sheet music and then reproduce them vocally. > > Maybe it's a facet of that area of the brain that > > "lights up" when artists are improvising that I > > posted some research about earlier. You can "feel" > > it through the music. > > > > Gram was a hard-living dude whose lifestyle took > > him out far too early. But his influence on pop > > music was profound. He introduced the Byrds to his > > brand of "high mountain harmonies," and then went > > on to found the seminal country-rock band The Flying > > Burrito Brothers, whose influence is still being felt. > > When he met Emmylou in a club and heard her voice, he > > knew immediately that he'd found his muse. > > > > I once owned an album -- very rare -- that Emmylou > > put out on an obscure label before she ever met Gram, > > and became famous in her own right. It was *terrible*. > > What had happened was that some lame studio exec had > > found her and tried to turn her into a Joni Mitchell > > clone. <insert Ahnold's voice from "Predator" here> > > "Bahd idea." > > > > If you love her voice, and harmony, if you don't know > > her work with Mark Knopfler, or the two "Trio" albums > > she did in conjunction with Dolly Parton and Linda > > Ronstadt, you should. There are some magical moments > > in all of them. Here are a couple from these pairings: > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFdxvi2rlTw > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_FLLz4UN2Q > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Not everybody's cuppa tea (or, given the singer, whiskey), > > > > but definitely mine. As I said before, I'm a sucker for > > > > what Gram Parsons used to call "high mountain harmony," > > > > two or more voices taking old melodies and soaring into > > > > the stratosphere with them. Few have ever done this as > > > > well as Gram did on his album "Grievous Angel," singing > > > > with the then-unknown Emmylou Harris. > > > > > > > > I'm a Roy Orbison fan, but even he admitted that this > > > > is the best version of his song ever recorded: > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLUPWHTaceE&feature=fvsr > > > > > > > > The classic "road song,"...I just love Emmylou's rise > > > > at the end: > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PytxPaU6k4 > > > > > > > > A prayer, of sorts...with the ultimate Prodigal Son > > > > singing in the choir alongside the angel: > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERhhkjqDGsA&feature=BFa&list=AL94UKMTqg-9AndbSIHNuXsqW0DsVuIK3H > > > > > > > > > >
