Tag: gospel

282. Ray Charles

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

Episode 282 is RAY CHARLES.  If you had to describe American music in the form of one person, it would be Ray Charles.  He melded blues, R&B, jazz, and gospel into what we now call soul, helped integrate country, and reached out into pop standards and modern pop. A legend. That said, the albums themselves, especially after the mid-60s, are generally weak sauce.  I recommend a greatest hits collection or, better yet, video of concert performances as his smile and sway light up the venue.

Favorite album: Doing His Thing

Favorite song: What’d I Say

Compared to expectations: ↓

279. Bill Monroe

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(August 2020) Episode 279 is BILL MONROE. The Father of Bluegrass, so much so that the entire genre is named after his band.  He was also very stern in enforcing orthodoxy of style and form in the genre he created, a dynamic that persists to this day.  It’s interesting to listen to their 1940s singles as they show the transition from standard country to this distinctive sound.  My favorite songs are the machine-gun fire banjo-led jams.

Favorite album: Master of Bluegrass

Favorite song: Bluegrass Breakdown

Compared to expectations: same

277. Dolly Parton

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(August 2020) Episode 277 is DOLLY PARTON.  Dolly is an institution. Beyond her success as an entertainer, businesswoman and philanthropist, my take-away here is her strength as a song-writer.  I find her best work comes from the heart, grounded in her East Tennessee roots. Thus I prefer her songs inflected with bluegrass and Appalachian folk, or featuring lyrics from personal experience. Her voice can carry any song, although I admit to cringing when she’s doing pompadoured kitch with Porter Wagoner, pop crossovers, or flag-wrapped patriotic fare.

Favorite album: Little Sparrow

Favorite song: Early Morning Breeze

Favorite periods: early 70s solo, bluegrass trilogy 99-02

Least favorite period: late 70s-80s pop phase

Worst album: For God and Country (a blast of Iraq War jingoism)

Oddest cover: Stairway to Heaven (yes, that one)

Compared to expectations: same

264. Little Richard

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2020) Episode 264 is LITTLE RICHARD. The music and style of this Founding Father are encoded in the DNA of the rock and roll. Impossible to quantify the influence of his late 50s albums and singles. But that’s all you need to hear. His voice and charisma do lift some later recordings, but most of the rest is either gospel or a retread of previous material.

Favorite album: Here’s Little Richard
Favorite song: Keep A-Knockin’

Compared to expectations: same

little-richard-dead

249. Hank Williams

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(February 2020) Episode 249 of the “opus project” is HANK WILLIAMS. The influence of Hank cannot be understated.  He set the standards — musical style, performance, tone, lyrical themes — by which all country music that followed is measured.  I’m not a country fan, but I do enjoy artists closer to its roots. The dude could write a tune.

Favorite song: I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Compared to expectations: same

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243. Johnny Cash

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(December 2019) Episode 243  is JOHNNY CASH. If there were a Mount Rushmore of the Voices of America, he would be on it. I appreciate the independent, even rebellious, spirit of his long and storied career – resisting capture by corporate Nashville, collaborating with artists across genres (U2, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, etc.), exploring concept albums.  I love his musical expression of a personal ideology that defied political categorization: respect for the forgotten/downtrodden/persecuted man (exemplified by “Man in Black” and “Bitter Tears”) – a rare wokeness for its time and his genre.  But most of all his songs are just plain enjoyable (even though I’m not a fan of country music).  This was a long one, at ~80 albums.

Favorite album: American Recordings

Favorite song: Man in Black

Favorite duet: If I Were A Carpenter (with June)

Worst album: The Rambler

Favorite Period: Sun recordings

Least favorite genre: gospel

Compared to expectations: same

johnnycash

206. Lead Belly

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(March 2019) I have completed episode 206 of my “opus project.” This edition: LEAD BELLY. A master in blues and folk, Lead Belly’s songs also touched on gospel, children’s songs and topics of the day like FDR, Hitler and the Titanic. His songs were thankfully preserved by the Lomax recordings for the Library of Congress, making him influential, particularly for his technique on his big 12-string guitar. Despite, or maybe because of, his scoundrel-ish life, his voice always sounds like he’s having a great time.

Favorite song: Bottle Up and Go (love the guitar work)

Compared to expectations: same

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