Showing posts with label Loudon Wainwright III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loudon Wainwright III. Show all posts

Friday, February 15, 2019

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Folk Music From The Northern Branch-The Music Of Kate And Anna McGarrigle

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of The McGarrigles Performing "Goin' Back To Harlan".

CD Review

Matapedia, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, 1996


Over the past period this writer has reviewed the music of Loudon Wainwright III, the late Utah Phillips, his very much alive old friend Rosalie Sorrels and now the McGarrigle Sisters, Kate and Anna, (including, when appropriate, their family and kin musical entourage). What joins this reviewer and this gathering of folk giants together is one person and one place, Lena and Café Lena’s coffeehouse in Saratoga, New York. That place was (and today continues to be on a lesser scale) the Mecca in upstate New York for the gathering of much folk talent, folk wisdom and just plain whimsy, including the talents of most of those mentioned above.

I know Saratoga and its environs well and if New York City’s Greenwich Village and Cambridge’s Harvard Square are better known in the 1960s folk revival geography that locale can serve as the folk crowd’s summer watering hole (and refuge from life’s storms all year round). From the descriptions of the café ‘s lifestyle and of the off-beat personality of Lena, as presented in a PBS documentary about her and the place many years ago, it also was a veritable experiment in ad hoc communal living). Thus, I know the names and work of the McGarrigles well. For those not so fortunate, and to bring the younger crowd up to date, Kate McGarrigle is Rufus Wainwright’s mother (and Loudon Wainwright, of course, is his father). That will tell much about Rufus’ pedigree.

But back to Kate and Anna. Of course they came out of Canada, like compatriots Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and placed their stamp on a late portion of the folk revival, particularly with their beautiful harmonies, their great instrumental versatility and their songwriting replete with many memory-induced songs from their old country (including some very nice traditional songs in French). Those memory songs, perhaps, are their trademark-covering and creating a certain kind of folk music that is very traditionally driven without being maudlin as many of the very early songs in the North American Songbook tended to be. And their lyrics and melodies backed by a wide range of instruments from the banjo to the fiddle blend very nicely together.

I will give one example, the one that caught my ear long ago before I knew much of Lena and Café Lena. The McGarrigle song “Mendocino” (out in Pacific California) is written in honor of Lena. Lena, as mentioned above, was very troubled in many ways, although something of a fairy godmother to the upstate New York folk scene. One single line of “Mendocino” captures Lena’s turmoil very concisely- “never had the blues from whence I came, in New York State I got ‘em. That line in combination with the almost ethereal melody line that evokes the spray of the ocean gives just the right sense about the plight of that troubled lady. This is the kind of thoughtful presentation that dominates their working ethos. Listen up.

All of the selections here were written by one or the other, or both sisters. A look at the liner notes (that also include the lyrics to each song, always a nice touch) indicates that they are playing their full array of musical instruments on theses tracks (also nice). Stick outs here are the youth memory title track “Matapedia”, the soulful “Going Back to Harlan”, always a subject that will instantly draw my attention, a nice bilingual turn with “Arbre” and the very intriguing memory song (in English) “Jacques Et Gilles” (a very different look on the fate of those two kids here). I am naturally attracted to the lines on this one- “Why is Paddy (an Irish labor organizer in the mills of New Hampshire) such a bad guy? Why is he so evil? He wants more pay for his working day- And he says kids like me should be in school”. Enough said.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Once Again, Folk Music From The Northern Branch-The Music Of Kate and Anna McGarrigle

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of The McGarrigle Family Performing "Heart Like A Wheel"

CD Review

Kate& Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle, Hannibal Records, 1975


Over the past period this writer has reviewed the music of Loudon Wainwright III, the late Utah Phillips, his very much alive old friend Rosalie Sorrels and now the McGarrigle Sisters, Kate and Anna, (including, when appropriate, their family and kin musical entourage). What joins this reviewer and this gathering of folk giants together is one person and one place, Lena and Café Lena’s coffeehouse in Saratoga, New York. That place was (and today continues to be on a lesser scale) the Mecca in upstate New York for the gathering of much folk talent, folk wisdom and just plain whimsy, including the talents of most of those mentioned above.

I know Saratoga and its environs well and if New York City’s Greenwich Village and Cambridge’s Harvard Square are better known in the 1960s folk revival geography that locale can serve as the folk crowd’s summer watering hole (and refuge from life’s storms all year round). From the descriptions of the café ‘s lifestyle and of the off-beat personality of Lena, as presented in a PBS documentary about her and the place many years ago, it also was a veritable experiment in ad hoc communal living). Thus, I know the names and work of the McGarrigles well. For those not so fortunate, and to bring the younger crowd up to date, Kate McGarrigle is Rufus Wainwright’s mother (and Loudon Wainwright, of course, is his father). That will tell much about Rufus’ pedigree.

But back to Kate and Anna. Of course they came out of Canada, like compatriots Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and placed their stamp on a late portion of the folk revival, particularly with their beautiful harmonies, their great instrumental versatility and their songwriting replete with many memory-induced songs from their old country (including some very nice traditional songs in French). Those memory songs, perhaps, are their trademark-covering and creating a certain kind of folk music that is very traditionally driven without being maudlin as many of the very early songs in the North American Songbook tended to be. And their lyrics and melodies backed by a wide range of instruments from the banjo to the fiddle blend very nicely together.

I will give one example, the one that caught my ear long ago before I knew much of Lena and Café Lena. The McGarrigle song “Talk To Me Of Mendocino” (out in Pacific California) is written in honor of Lena. Lena, as mentioned above, was very troubled in many ways, although something of a fairy godmother to the upstate New York folk scene. One single line of “Mendocino” captures Lena’s turmoil very concisely- “never had the blues from whence I came, in New York State I got ‘em". That line in combination with the almost ethereal melody line that evokes the spray of the ocean gives just the right sense about the plight of that troubled lady. This is the kind of thoughtful presentation that dominates their working ethos. Listen up.

Most of the selections here were written by one or the other, or both sisters. A look at the liner notes (that also include the lyrics to each song, always a nice touch) indicates that, whether written by them or not, they are playing their full array of musical instruments on theses tracks (also nice). Sticks outs here are “Heart Like A Wheel, a song that Linda Ronstadt (and perhaps others) successfully covered, the above-mentioned “Talk To Me Of Mendocino”, “Tell My Sister” and the poignant “Go Leave”.


"Heart Like A Wheel"

Some say a heart is just like a wheel
When you bend it, you can't mend it
And my love for you is like a sinking ship
And my heart is like that ship out in mid ocean

They say that death is a tragedy
It comes once and it's over
But my only wish is for that deep dark abyss
'Cause what's the use of living with no true lover

And it's only love, and it's only love
That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out
That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out

When harm is done no love can be won
I know this happens frequently
What I can't understand
Oh please God hold my hand
Is why it should have happened to me

And it's only love and it's only love
And it's only love and it's only love
Only love, only love
Only love, only love

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Songs For Aging Children (Oops!, Adults) -The Later Music Of Loudon Wainwright III

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Loudon Wainwright III Doing "Homeless".

CD Review

Last Man On Earth, Loudon Wainwright III, Red House Records, 2001


Okay, I have written plenty of prose stuff about the trials and tribulations, political or otherwise, of my generation, the now aging children of the "Generation Of '68. But who will chronicle in song or verse the "not going gently into that good night", as Dylan Thomas would have it, of that generation? Well, I have at least a contender for that position in the songwriting division, Loudon Wainwright III. For those who are unfamiliar with the name Brother Wainwright was something of well known, if secondary, figure on the 1960's folk revival circuit. If that is not enough information then he was once married to Kate McGarrigle, one of the accomplished folk- singing McGarrigle sisters. If that is still not enough then he played, in several episodes at least, the guitar- strumming GI in the television series "MASH". For the younger set, Loudon is Rufus Wainwright's father. There, I think I have touched all the bases.

Why is Brother Wainwright my candidate for the oracle of the swan song of our generation (it appears that he is an almost exact contemporary of mine)? Well, just take a listen to this CD(or read the lyrics)," Last Man On Earth", and you will know. Sure, it is a little light on the need to continue the political struggle that we started in our youth but on the questions of losing parents, reconciling with the lost of parents, reflecting on that fact that some issues between the generations never got resolved (and now never will) and dealing with the inevitable, if sometimes humorous, medical questions, of our own aging process he is right on.

That list of issues further includes the whys and wherefores of a lifetime of frustration about artistic endeavors (or whatever road we traveled), the little question of immortality and the now really big question of how to get through to the next day. It is all there. I want to say that this is a man's CD, and as to subject matter and "feel" it is, but I think Brother Wainwright has captured many a dilemma that we can all, male and female, relate to. Hell, Rufus can sing to the kids, Loudon is ours. That is the "skinny" here from one "last man on earth" to another.

Last Man On Earth Lyrics

In the year 2000
my age was 53
born in the first half
of the last century
I always was post-modern
but that's ancient history
Now I'm the last man on Earth
that's what the matter is with me
I guess I'm old fashioned

Retro to a degree
you could say I'm a throw-back
anachronistically
air conditioning is here to stay
and that makes me unhappy
cause I'm the last man on Earth
that's what the matter is with me
I don't have a portfolio
I gotta pleed guilty
the best things are the worthless now
that's just because they're free
and if your not a millionaire yet
boy, you better be
Now, I'm the last man on Earth
that's what the matter is with me
I should be optimistic
and go buy some bonds and stocks
They'll find a cure for Cancer soon
we may get trigger-locks
existence is no picnic
as statistics all have shown
we learn to live together
and then we die alone
everybody's got a website
but that's all Greek to me
I don't own a computer
I hate that letter "e"
I don't pack a cell phone
or drive an SUV
Yes, I'm the last man on Earth
that's what the matter is with me
I'm the last man standing
save the last dance for me
I've taken the last train to Clarksville
I'm the fifth monkey
nice guys always finish last
no one's nicer than me
Yeah, I'm the last man on Earth
That's what the matter is with me
Kid's used to say their prayers at night
before they went to bed
St. John told us that God is love
Nietzsche said he was dead
this thing we call existence
who knows what it all means?
Time and Life and People
are just glossy magazines
I sat and watched those guys
debate each other on TV
politicians, wrestlers
they're all the same to me
hey, I don't give a damn
which idiot runs this country
Since I'm the last man on Earth
It don't matter to me
In the year 2000
my age was 53
I know that I'm grumpy
middle-aged crazy
but if you are a woman
you might have to sleep with me
Since I'm the last man on Earth
and I can guarantee
I'm the last man on Earth
and there ain't nothing wrong with me


White Winos Lyrics

Mother liked her white wine
She'd have a glass or two
Almost every single night
After her day was through
San se chardonnay chaiblie
Pinot gris jiot
Just to take the edge of
Just to get the glow
You've got to take the edge off
If you wanna get the...
Mother liked her white wines
She'd have a glass or three
We'd sat out on the screen porch
White winos mam and me
We'd talk about her childhood
Recap my career
When we got to my father
That was when I'd switch to beer
We got to the old man
And I'd always switched to
Mother liked her white wine


CHORUS:

I go to the graveyard where we all must go
Among the dead & the buried there just so I will know
What it's like beneath those trees listening to that wind
I go to the graveyard & I'll be back again

I played in the graveyard when I was just a boy
I'd run among the headstones myself I would enjoy
But I was young & hardly knew what would happen then
I played in the graveyard & I'll be back again

I walk through the graveyard I read the headstones
So many dead & buried there, each one all alone
An old man and an infant & a little child of ten
I walk through the graveyard & I'll be back again

My father's in the graveyard, my dear mother too
I viit them with flowers what else can I do
I go to the graveyard to remember them
I'm an orphan in the graveyard & I'll be back again

Sunday, February 10, 2019

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Once Again, Folk Music From The Northern Branch-The Music Of Kate and Anna McGarrigle….And Friends, Family and Anyone Who Wants To Join In.

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Part Of The McGarrigle Family Performing "Talk To Me of Mendocino".

CD Review

The McGarrigle Hour, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Rufus,Loudon and Martha Wainwright and others, 1998


Over the past period this writer has reviewed the music of Loudon Wainwright III, the late Utah Phillips, his very much alive old friend Rosalie Sorrels and now the McGarrigle Sisters, Kate and Anna, (including, when appropriate, their family and kin musical entourage). What joins this reviewer and this gathering of folk giants together is one person and one place, Lena and Café Lena’s coffeehouse in Saratoga, New York. That place was (and today continues to be on a lesser scale) the Mecca in upstate New York for the gathering of much folk talent, folk wisdom and just plain whimsy, including the talents of most of those mentioned above.

I know Saratoga and its environs well and if New York City’s Greenwich Village and Cambridge’s Harvard Square are better known in the 1960s folk revival geography that locale can serve as the folk crowd’s summer watering hole (and refuge from life’s storms all year round). From the descriptions of the café ‘s lifestyle and of the off-beat personality of Lena, as presented in a PBS documentary about her and the place many years ago, it also was a veritable experiment in ad hoc communal living). Thus, I know the names and work of the McGarrigles well. For those not so fortunate, and to bring the younger crowd up to date, Kate McGarrigle is Rufus Wainwright’s mother (and Loudon Wainwright, of course, is his father). That will tell much about Rufus’ pedigree.

But back to Kate and Anna. Of course they came out of Canada, like compatriots Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and placed their stamp on a late portion of the folk revival, particularly with their beautiful harmonies, their great instrumental versatility and their songwriting replete with many memory-induced songs from their old country (including some very nice traditional songs in French). Those memory songs, perhaps, are their trademark-covering and creating a certain kind of folk music that is very traditionally driven without being maudlin as many of the very early songs in the North American Songbook tended to be. And their lyrics and melodies backed by a wide range of instruments from the banjo to the fiddle blend very nicely together.

I will give one example, the one that caught my ear long ago before I knew much of Lena and Café Lena. The McGarrigle song “Mendocino” (out in Pacific California) is written in honor of Lena. Lena, as mentioned above, was very troubled in many ways, although something of a fairy godmother to the upstate New York folk scene. One single line of “Mendocino” captures Lena’s turmoil very concisely- “never had the blues from whence I came, in New York state I caught‘em". That line in combination with the almost ethereal melody line that evokes the spray of the ocean gives just the right sense about the plight of that troubled lady. This is the kind of thoughtful presentation that dominates their working ethos. Listen up.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle (and friends, family, etc) have gone all out to give an entertaining radio-like hear at many parts of the American (or better, North American) Songbook. Old Tin Pan Alley tunes, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, some Broadway numbers, traditional folk numbers, late 1950s rock and so on. Oh ya, some Kate and Anna McGarrigle too. Sticks outs here- of course the above-mentioned “Mendocino”, Berlin’s “What’ll I Do”, Stephan Foster’s “Gentle Annie”, the Sonny James classic “Young Love” and an incredible group harmony on “Johnny’s Gone To Hilo”. Nice stuff here.

"(Talk To Me Of) Mendocino"

(I bid farewell to the state of ol' New York
My home away from home
In the state of New York I came of age
When first I started roaming
And the trees grow high in New York state
And they shine like gold in Autumn
Never had the blues from whence I came
But in New York state I caught 'em

Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"

And it's on to Southbend, Indiana
Flat out on the western plain
Rise up over the Rockies and down on into California
Out to where but the rocks remain

And let the sun set on the ocean
I will watch it from the shore
Let the sun rise over the redwoods
I'll rise with it till I rise no more

Talk to me of Mendocino
closing my eyes, I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Once Again, Folk Music From The Northern Branch-The Music Of Kate and Anna McGarrigle….And Friends, Family and Anyone Who Wants To Join In.-The DVD

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Part Of The McGarrigle Family Performing "Talk To Me of Mendocino".

DVD Review

The McGarrigle Hour, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Rufus,Loudon and Martha Wainwright and others, 1998


This commentary was used to review the CD version of "The McGarrigle Hour". The only added comment necessary is the addition of other musicians like Linda Rhonstadt and Emmylou Harris make this more of a harmonic delight than the already great harmonies on the CD.

Over the past period this writer has reviewed the music of Loudon Wainwright III, the late Utah Phillips, his very much alive old friend Rosalie Sorrels and now the McGarrigle Sisters, Kate and Anna, (including, when appropriate, their family and kin musical entourage). What joins this reviewer and this gathering of folk giants together is one person and one place, Lena and Café Lena’s coffeehouse in Saratoga, New York. That place was (and today continues to be on a lesser scale) the Mecca in upstate New York for the gathering of much folk talent, folk wisdom and just plain whimsy, including the talents of most of those mentioned above.

I know Saratoga and its environs well and if New York City’s Greenwich Village and Cambridge’s Harvard Square are better known in the 1960s folk revival geography that locale can serve as the folk crowd’s summer watering hole (and refuge from life’s storms all year round). From the descriptions of the café ‘s lifestyle and of the off-beat personality of Lena, as presented in a PBS documentary about her and the place many years ago, it also was a veritable experiment in ad hoc communal living). Thus, I know the names and work of the McGarrigles well. For those not so fortunate, and to bring the younger crowd up to date, Kate McGarrigle is Rufus Wainwright’s mother (and Loudon Wainwright, of course, is his father). That will tell much about Rufus’ pedigree.

But back to Kate and Anna. Of course they came out of Canada, like compatriots Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and placed their stamp on a late portion of the folk revival, particularly with their beautiful harmonies, their great instrumental versatility and their songwriting replete with many memory-induced songs from their old country (including some very nice traditional songs in French). Those memory songs, perhaps, are their trademark-covering and creating a certain kind of folk music that is very traditionally driven without being maudlin as many of the very early songs in the North American Songbook tended to be. And their lyrics and melodies backed by a wide range of instruments from the banjo to the fiddle blend very nicely together.

I will give one example, the one that caught my ear long ago before I knew much of Lena and Café Lena. The McGarrigle song “Mendocino” (out in Pacific California) is written in honor of Lena. Lena, as mentioned above, was very troubled in many ways, although something of a fairy godmother to the upstate New York folk scene. One single line of “Mendocino” captures Lena’s turmoil very concisely- “never had the blues from whence I came, in New York state I caught‘em". That line in combination with the almost ethereal melody line that evokes the spray of the ocean gives just the right sense about the plight of that troubled lady. This is the kind of thoughtful presentation that dominates their working ethos. Listen up.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle (and friends, family, etc) have gone all out to give an entertaining radio-like hear at many parts of the American (or better, North American) Songbook. Old Tin Pan Alley tunes, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, some Broadway numbers, traditional folk numbers, late 1950s rock and so on. Oh ya, some Kate and Anna McGarrigle too. Sticks outs here- of course the above-mentioned “Mendocino”, Berlin’s “What’ll I Do”, Stephan Foster’s “Gentle Annie”, the Sonny James classic “Young Love” and an incredible group harmony on “Johnny’s Gone To Hilo”. Nice stuff here.

"(Talk To Me Of) Mendocino"

(I bid farewell to the state of ol' New York
My home away from home
In the state of New York I came of age
When first I started roaming
And the trees grow high in New York state
And they shine like gold in Autumn
Never had the blues from whence I came
But in New York state I caught 'em

Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"

And it's on to Southbend, Indiana
Flat out on the western plain
Rise up over the Rockies and down on into California
Out to where but the rocks remain

And let the sun set on the ocean
I will watch it from the shore
Let the sun rise over the redwoods
I'll rise with it till I rise no more

Talk to me of Mendocino
closing my eyes, I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"

Caffe Lena, folk lyrics, folk revival, Kate and Anne McGarrigle, Loudon Wainwright III, rufus wainwright

Saturday, February 09, 2019

For Kate McGarrigle’s Birthday- *Once More Into The Time Capsule, Part Three- The New York Folk Revival Scene in the Early 1960’s-Loudon Wainwright III

Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Loudon Wainwright III performing "School Days".

CD Review

Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Revival Boom, 1950-1970, various artists, 3CD set, Rhino Records, 2001


Except for the reference to the origins of the talent brought to the city the same comments apply for this CD.Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe that you should be sure to listen to:

Disc Three: Phil Ochs on “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”, Richard &Mimi Farina on “Pack Up Your Sorrows”, John Hammond on “Drop Down Mama”, Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band on “Rag Mama”, John Denver on “Bells Of Rhymney”, Gordon Lightfoot on "Early Morning Rain”, Eric Andersen on “Thirsty Boots”, Tim Hardin on “Reason To Believe”, Richie Havens on “Just Like A Woman”, Judy Collins on “Suzanne”, Tim Buckley on “Once I Was”, Tom Rush on “The Circle Game”, Taj Mahal on “Candy Man”, Loudon Wainwright III on “School Days”and Arlo Guthrie on “The Motorcycle Song”


Loudon Wainwright III on “School Days”. I swear the only reason that I have listed Loudon here is because I am trying to reach out to the youth and he is, after all, Rufus Wainwright’s father. Just kidding, except I believe that Loudon’s later work, particularly his album from several years ago, “The Last Man On Earth” is far better than anything he did in his youth.

"School Days"

In Delaware when I was younger
I would live the life obscene
In the Spring I had great hunger.
I was Brando. I was Dean
Blaspheming, booted, blue-jeaned baby boy
Oh how I made them turn their heads
The townie, brownie girls, they jumped for joy
And begged me bless them in their beds

In Delaware when I was younger
I would row upon the lake
In the Spring I had great hunger
I was Keats. I was Blake.
My pimple pencil pains I'd bring
To frogs who sat entranced
My drift-dream ditties I would sing
The water strider danced

In Delaware when I was younger
They thought St. Andrew had sufficed
But in the Spring I had great hunger
I was Buddha. I was Christ.
You wicked wise men where you wonder
You Pharisees one day will pay
See my lightning, hear my thunder
I am truth. I know the way
In Delaware when I was younger