“Early in the year feeling/ fade away/ something has clearly gone today/ dont know what i can do but i know /i know/ i know/ its the worst thing to put you in a song/ as the words come i know that it was wrong/ early in the evening but i know/ i know/ i know”
“Wintersong” is one of those hushed and wistful tunes that makes one reminisce about times gone by. Blake Mills showcases his talent as an artist here, anchoring the song with some great acoustic production and strong vocals and just when you think you’ve got the whole song figured out he brings it into Fleetwood Mac Rumours territory with some great back and forth with an unknown female vocalist. A perfect heartwarming song for those cold spring nights. The free download after the jump, plus a great live bonus track.
This little acoustic ditty has been making its way across the United States after popping up as a free download from Paste Magazine. It’s a cover of a Dolly Parton song but don’t let that scare you away, its perhaps the sweetest duet to ever grace country music since Johnny Cash and June Carter came along. You can find some live performances of it on youtube as well, as Justin Townes Earle and Dawn Landes have been touring together recently. Make no doubts about it, JTE seems a worthy heir apparent to the good old “Man in Black” having not only the youthful baritone of Cash’s early years, but the character struggles as well (both have faced problems with addiction) and for all we know, this little partnership could turn into the Johnny Cash and June Carter romance of our time. Just give this song a listen, it’s sure to stick in your head for quite a while.
It’s very uncommon to find someone who actually knows Billy Brooks, ask people around, even musical people and they’ll probably respond with “Who?” This is nothing new in music, there have been countless talented musicians littered along the path to fame. Yet his impact on music should not be put to waste.
Billy Brooks had mostly gained notoriety as a sideman among fellow musicians, having played for the likes of Ray Charles and Tina Turner and also pioneering his own patented double barreled trumpet giving him a wide range of sounds that he could produce from the horn.
His album, Windows of the Mind would come out in 1974, boasting a jazz-funk groove that many before and after had tried in failed. The genre had seemed doomed to fail, jazz purists would cast off the funk influence as too simple, and those who liked funk didn’t like the jazz fusion involvement. Somehow Billy Brooks manages to meld the best of both worlds.
Take “C.P. Time” a slow burning jazz burner for the purists out there with some great horn and lead guitar work along with Brook’s fantastic trumpet improv.
There’s also “The Speech Maker” who’s soaring horn lines and moving rhythm beg for it to be cast in a soundtrack for an old school caper, or a Bond film.
Then there is the rollicking funk of Rockin’ Julius, with its pounding bass and foot-tapping rhythm.
Then of course, there is “40 Days” a song which was by far Billy Brooks lasting influence, a perfect jazz-funk meld that would later be sampled to perfection in A Tribe Called Quest’s Luck of Lucien, it’s a shame that ATCQ only brought attention to the song’s great groove, because the solos on here are sublime. I also made a remaster of this track to give it a more live sound, it’s up to you whether you dig the gritty 7o’s production or one that gives the horns some air to breath:
Original:
Remaster:
Overall, Billy Brooks proves to be a great arranger and this is a must have album for anybody who likes jazz or funk. All the downloadable tracks above, plus some bonus ones, including a fantastic remix of “40 Days” are all here after the jump.
It was a surprising move for Elvis Costello fans when he came out with this entirely country and western album in 1981, though it was packed along with the typically cynical Costello quip that stated “”WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners.”. Yet Costello is no rube when it comes to interpreting other peoples music (Just look at “What’s So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding”) and he performs these country standards with quite able hands. This cut, originally left off the LP, was a Hank Cochran written, Patsy Cline performed “She’s Got You”, a beautifully delivered lyric about loss. The arrangement here is worked to perfection with some sparkling piano flourishes and Costello’s isolated lyric pushed front and center, with some heartbreaking slide guitar holding the background. Just a great performance. The downloadable song after the jump.
The Art of the Mixtape 