WWWP

This is a great review. I've only heard Daydream In Blue but I was really obsessed with it for awhile, I'll definitely have to check out the rest of the abum. You're Bob Dylan review was fantastic as well. I really need to read this thread more often.

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Flower Child

Thanks, Pete. I completely agree with you when you say that about anybody could get into this album. Before you got me into I Monster, I had a much different interpretation of what I thought electronic was like- just a bunch of synthesized sounds completely empty of emotion, but this band has really changed my mind about that.

Hey alright, I like hearing that. Keep on checking in, good buddy.

Gavin B.

Whoa baby! You've got a great set of ears, FC.

Silly me... and I thought I had cornered the collector's market of esoteric noir electronica songs, but Who Is She should be enshrined in the Gavin B's Museum of Hoplessly Obscure But Brilliant Music.

How could I ever miss such an undeniable classic piece of musical exotica? I want to kick myself in butt for my negligence, but self butt kicking is an anatomically impossible act for me because I'm not double jointed.

The younger generation is going to make roadkill out of me if I don't stay on my toes. This song is a definite keeper, worth laying out my hard earned cash for. Thanks for sharing.

Flower Child

Thank you, and I'm glad you're so enthused with my choice! I only try to keep up with you, of course.

Flower Child

SONG: The Wind Cries Mary
ARTIST: Jimi Hendrix
ALBUM: Are You Experienced?



I think the thing that makes this song such a work of art is because- everything a good song needs- it has. And not only does it have every single one of those elements, but they are each exceptional.

The lyrics. Probably the element that hits me the hardest. I really get into Hendrix's writing style that so often mixes reality of life, human emotions, and fantasy all together in one. I was listening to this song the other night through my headphones. I had never really fully gave my attention to every detail of this song before, but while I was listening to it in my completely dark and silent room, I devoted my full attention to it and it just came alive. Everything he sang about I felt and could picture the scenes so vividly in my head. It was at that moment I realized how beautiful this song was. If I were to pick my favorite line out of the song it would be "A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life..." The creativity, imagination, and symbolism used are simply brilliant.

And Hendrix's voice. That sound quality in the song is tops. His voice sounds so far away with that tinge of echo almost like he is singing in an completely empty theater or deserted alleyway. That simple detail compliments the atmosphere of the song perfectly.

And last but not least- that ol' guitar. The riff in this song is just tremendous. Its like a classic riff, yet turned on its head and in thrown in reverse.

"After all the jacks are in their boxes
and the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
and the wind whispers mary

A broom is drearily sweeping
up the broken pieces of yesterdays life
Somewhere a queen is weeping
somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind it cries mary

The traffic lights they turn of blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sails downstream cause the life that lived is...is dead
And the wind screams mary

Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past
And with this crutch its old age and its wisdom
It whispers no this will be the last
And the wind cries mary"

Flower Child

SONG: Winter Time
ARTIST: Steve Miller Band
ALBUM: Book of Dreams



Since winter is fast approaching, I have found myself coming back to this old favorite that was recorded in 1977. I think the Steve Miller Band did a excellent job in that this song truly lives up to its title, in my eyes. My very first listens to this song really didn't do much for me, therefore I just didn't play it very often. But one snowy morning when I was waiting alone for the bus, I decided to get out my ipod to make the time pass a little faster. I came across this forgotten song and played it. Ah it was so perfect, everything just clicked. I couldn't believe how much the words and music were in tune with my surroundings and the overall feeling of the morning. Now everytime I listen to "Winter Time" I correlate it with that experience, therefore it holds a pretty special place in my library.

Everthing about this song screams winter. The very first guitar notes you hear, have a very cold and empty tone, and the soon following harmonicas just emphasize that feeling so much more. The lyrics are fairly sparse and bland and hardly add to the wintery effect at all, yet it doesn't really bother me. Its the way Steve uses his voice that makes an impression. He lets his voice kind of blow around and fluctuate with the music and other instruments of the song. In short, I give him and A+ on vocals. And the 3 minutes of this song seems to go by so quickly, I always find myself listening to it multiple times, just because I didn't quite get enough. Overall, excellent winter time song, something by Steve Miller band to take another look at, but I will warn you- its pretty hippie.

Gavin B.

The Wind Cries Mary was the first Jimi Hendrix music I ever purchased. It was on B side of the 45 rpm single of Purple Haze that was released about a month prior to Hendrix's first American album. I always thought The Wind Cries Mary should have been on the A side of the single because it's a much better song than Purple Haze. It's still my favorite Hendrix song after all these years.

Hendrix's sense of dynamics and musical atmospherics is amazing on this song. His vocal is half sung and half spoken in an intimate conversational tone. He sings the world weary lyrics with a sense of utter resignation.

The instrumentation is sparse. Jimi is strumming a simple soul riff for most of the song. His solo is short tasteful and to the point. Hendrix's brilliance as a guitar player was his sense of economy. The guitar lead in The Wind Cries Mary is only 30 seconds long but it's one of his most unforgettable.

I never liked the 18 minute guitar leads on songs like Whipping Post and Crossroads and after about 3 spins on on the turntable, I never wanted to hear either of those songs again. By the end of the Sixties everyone had the idea that a great guitarist took a three minute lead after every verse of the song. And we ended up with the horror of arena rock.

jackhammer

I think massive kudos regarding Hendrix has to go to his backing band of Redding and Mitchell along with Producer Chas Chandler. They were a perfect platform for him to express himself and give us one of the finest Rock albums ever made. The original UK release of the album didn't include the track but many subsequent releases did-thankfully!

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Flower Child

I find that so eerie that of all the Jimi Hendrix songs out there, we both have the same as our favorite. Everything you described about the song, I completely agree with.

Like Gavin B says, 'The Wind Cries Mary' should have most definitely been the A-side! But I guess with so many damn masterpieces, some song had to be the B-side. haha. Hell when you think about it, Jimi Hendrix could have made a fine living with just his B-sides.

Flower Child

SONG: September
ARTIST: Earth, Wind, & Fire
ALBUM: released as a single, but you can find it on the album: Best of Earth, Wind, & Fire Vol. 1



I will just come out and say it, I love disco with a fiery passion. With all of its fast-paced uplifting melodies, groovy guitar riffs, bright horn sections, light hearted lyrics, and that need to dance disco awakens in me! All you guys who think you're too cool for disco, you are missing out.

I choose September because its always been one of my favorites and...just listen to it and tell me it doesn't put you in an amazing mood! September was released in 1978 during I Am sessions and released as a single. It sold over a million copies and was certified "Gold".

Yeah, yeah its disco... but the orchestra and vocalists of Earth, Wind, & Fire are really quite brilliant and the song is so well-composed. The beginning of September starts out pretty calm with that one single guitar riff and those little finger snaps making for an exciting build up of anticipation for that great big blazing brass intro. The complete halt of the horn section leads so smoothly into the even smoother vocals. Maurice White's voice matches that same energetic rhythm of the guitar and other instruments throughout the whole song. The chorus is just sublime. It takes the feeling of the song to a whole nother level. And the lyrics, what can I say, they are happy as hell like the rest of the song.

p.s. video will be up this evening