MLT Club Member Daryl Jones
MLT Club MemberForum Replies Created
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Haven’t put up a lot of decorations yet, hung the banner on the garage door Sunday before the livestream…and I did get some lights up today. I’ll try and get a couple shots after dark but it’s certainly not what I’d call Candy Cane Lane. I used to get pretty crazy with the lights and other figures when I was younger. We got a smaller 4′ fiberoptic tree last year (it is still in the attic yet) as we were afraid our two young and adventurous felines would have a heyday climbing a full size tree. Back in the day, it was always a great adventure to head out and harvest a wild tree in the back country. And no, I didn’t fell a large conifer, I learned a long time ago how to “top” a tree so that it would still continue to grow. I actually topped the same tree twice in about 15 years and got two really beautiful Christmas pines. For now we still have our Christmas cactus but not for much longer, as the blooms are starting to decorate the floor in the solarium.
We did get a dusting of snow overnight, but it warmed to above freezing today again so it’s melted off mostly. I don’t do winter sports anymore, but still it’s hard to get really wound up with decorating when there’s no winter wonderland like we normally get. But we had very little snow this time last year and there was a pile of it by mid month.
In the vernacular of my Irish ancestral home “Nollaig Shona Dhuit” and in my namesake Welsh “Nadolig Llawen” one and all.
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Lots of songs and genres can be called silly. But there are some that can be called outright bad. In the Country category, one that comes to mind is Achy Breaky Heart. Of course that is a personal prejudice/belief, but I wouldn’t even dignify that with posting a video of it. Thousands of musicians starve and struggle to record anything and that got a tone of airplay and gained lots of popularity (I don’t really know how but it did) and stuff like this is allowed to proliferate…😂
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Tim, I’m a huge Rush fan. Have been since they first hit the mainstream. While Alex and Geddy are incredible musicians, Neil Peart was an absolute rock soldier. During their final tour before his oh so untimely demise he rode his motorcycle to the gigs instead of riding on the bus with the gang. No weather or his personal hardships stopped him. Sometimes he needed help getting off the bike and also on the stage his feet were so swollen and painful.
Chris, that auditorium is a fantastic venue. I saw the touring stage production (with Yvonne Elliman) of Jesus Christ Superstar there when I was in my very early teens. Practically had to beg my parents to let me go as they considered it sacrilegious at the time. Only way they relented was because it was a school band supervised music trip. God if they only knew what went on a couple short years later at concerts in different venues haha.
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I’ve been a huge Elton John fan since the mid 70’s when he and the band first really started to rattle the music world. The Too Low For Zero album and Breaking Hearts album signified a resurgence in his music collaborations with Bernie Taupin after a brief hiatus on more or less his own due to some other issues in Sir Elton’s life. I did enjoy his Single Man album during that time, it was different and had a melancholy tone that likely told some stories of his broken relationships and personal troubles.
But the two early/mid 80’s albums and resulting tours offered up Sad Songs (Breaking Hearts) and the previous I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (Too Low For Zero) that were more in the bluesy “tear jerker” genre, especially with Stevie Wonder playing the harp on I Guess That’s Why. I consider Nikita (Ice On Fire ’85) a sad song as well, but with a positive/hopeful dreamlike undertone. Something that I think we have all felt with an unrequited love experience in our lives; bitter but sweet. If you want to go way back to the Don’t Shoot Me days, High Flying Bird is definitely a song of sorrow.
And of course, Empty Garden (Jump Up ’82) is a sad but loving tribute to John Lennon. A very heartfelt song that he decided could only be performed live in NYC. I can attest to that, his tour in ’97 played all over the world, but he only played it in NYC. I was at that show/tour a couple months before my 50th birthday in Edmonton, and it was noticeably missing from the songlist….everything else was the same. But it was part of the show in MSG, when he announced the reasoning why. Doesn’t get much more poignant and sad than that.
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I was more than moved when I saw this last night on my FB page. The harmonies, the subtle guitar/instrumentals, and most of all the “feel” of the song. To put it plainly, I was blown away and deeply moved.
I mentioned in the FB reply that I hadn’t heard Ringo and Paul’s version (with some of George’s pre-recorded dubs) yet, and I still haven’t. And I might not need to. This works for me as is. But in fairness to Paul and Ringo, I really should… -
This certainly isn’t for everybody, but guitarists that like to experiment and push the envelope to serious extremes are rather few. Steve is one that really goes to any length in his work, always finding different ways to express himself. Yeah, it’s waaaay out there, but I find it mesmerizing.
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Funny, the first time I heard the song I was really getting into it. Then as it got into the later section of the song where she was doing pretty much the vocal track herself, I found it to be getting a bit over the top. At the risk of being a bit harsh, I’m not a fan at all of Lady Gaga. True she is a talent, but like Taylor Swift I really don’t care for all the hype around either of them.
But back on track (no pun intended) I found the focus to be too much on her trying to be like a Pink Floyd vocal backup trio (think of the stage performance of Pulse or Delicate Sound Of Thunder) with the three gals doing such stellar vocal harmonies and fills. I think Mick and crew could have done far better with someone like Rose Stone adding additional vocals as Elton John did. But that’s just me. I might have had a different opinion had they ended the song when it slowed prior to putting Lady Gaga more as a longer highlight/solo vocal in the last minute or so.
But other than that, I am duly impressed. -
I LOVE their new album! I think it’s absolutely stellar. It’s been decades since I bought (or really had reason to) anything of theirs but I’m thrilled with this.
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That list wasn’t lost on me. The early releases were great, it was easy to see the progression of Elton and Bernie’s collaborations gaining momentum and maturity with time. I remember a documentary where they both talked about the creative processes they used. Often, Bernie would write lyrics at home (by himself) and give them to Elton to put music to. I forget which song it was, but he told Elton that he “might have trouble with this one” as Bernie thought it was deep and difficult. Elton called him up during the drive (somehow) on his way back home only 10 or 15 minutes after getting the lyrics from Bernie and said ” I have it!” Amazing how two musically creative genius’s can work so well. I was dumfounded and crushed when the two of them had their falling out and went separate ways in those difficult middle years. But thankfully they got it back together and wrote some of the best songs ever afterwards.
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I loved Grand Funk back in the day! Still enjoy hearing the Locomotion cover, and of course their big one We’re An American Band. Sure they also had some others, but that one always resonated with me.
One of Procol Harem’s most famous (possibly forgotten famous) live recordings was recorded in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton back in 1971. It was on their “Live” album (released in 1972) and if I’m not mistaken was the first time ever that a rock band was recorded live with a full symphony orchestra (the Edmonton Symphony). A very classic and notable recording. I still have the LP, and a couple of my friends were fortunate enough to be at that live performance. I wanted so much to be there, but it didn’t work out.
Not sure how many (if any) of you have ever been to the Jubilee, but it is an amazing venue. It is very nearly “acoustically perfect” and it was designed and built for the purpose of live theater and concert sound acuity without the aid of mics, PA’s, and amplifiers. Of course the electronic aids only add to the sound when used. In my high school years I was fortunate enough to play on that stage in concert band and stage band competitions, and it is amazing. We never won anything in the festivals, but we did place a couple times. Being under the flood lights and the footlights is quite the experience. I totally understand why performers are often so drenched in sweat when they play live, it’s bloody hot up there!
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I may have mentioned this (or not) in the Sad Songs post, but this was one he did in the 2007 tour that was for me the most memorable and (if there is such a thing) perfect concerts Elton John ever played. It was a triple header birthday that fall; Elton had just turned 60, I was turning 50 and a long time dear friend that was with us was turning 40. Elton and crew nailed absolutely everything that night and the crowd was mesmerized from the opening notes to when the final encore died away. Kathy never sat down all night, she danced the whole way through; and I sang every song. Couldn’t have been too terrible either, the lady next to me was very complimentary. “Do you actually know all the words?” she asked about 2/3 of the way through. “Yep, every one of them.” The only thing missing was Empty Garden which I did speak on in the other post.
But this one literally gave me chills and when it was done I had tears running down my cheeks. In this video, you can see how animated the children were in their accompaniment, I hope they will remember that night, and how incredibly fortunate they were to play a part in an unforgettable night with a music superstar. Sometimes “live” is so much more than the recorded version… -
Dennis had a vocal style that was unique and instantly recognizable. So much of that whole album was so characteristic of the way they put themselves into their music. And yeah, their lifestyle habits never detracted from the end product. I never saw them live until finally the mid 80’s when they had cooled their jets a tad, like so many groups had to as time caught up with the haywire activities and the long term abuse took its toll.
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Chris, from the old into one of the more recent of Elton’s songs that have that melancholy yet somehow uplifting quality he is so good at. It has become one of my favorite cuts he’s ever done. Which is pretty hard given I love just about everything he does. I have struggled a bit with trying to make it work on a guitar, but it’s getting there. I have managed a couple of his other songs (Your Song is relatively easy) but I’ll get there eventually. This one is from The Diving Board, clearly one of his most piano driven albums in a very long time.
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Tim, some of us had the good fortune to meet with Ray Sawyer at a local gig here in town some years ago. A bunch of us just happened to be outside the venue between sets (reasons not important or why I was out there, merely friend associations) when this fellow just walked up and started talking to the crew. Never introduced himself, but myself and a couple others that were long time fans recognized him (but didn’t say anything) just let him be himself and enjoy some small conversation. Really cool personable dude.
Their music style changed in the 80’s, and really gave the group a new fan base from those of us that were a tad, em, “older”. Us more senior types identified more with Cover Of The Rolling Stone, Queen Of The Silver Dollar, Sylvia’s Mother era, but came to enjoy the smoother mellower songs of the early 80’s too. -
Maureen, you can download the YouTube version if you have a paid membership. I bought one to download backing tracks and instrumentals for use at small gigs with my tablet. That way I don’t need Wi-fi or internet service where I’m playing. I just plug my tablet into one of my amps and away I go. You can also save any YouTube song (or video) to your own list for free as long as you have service, you just can’t play it where there is none.
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This reply was modified 1 year ago by Daryl Jones.
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