5 Songs Friday, Nov. 8, 2024

A nice selection of songs you may not have heard before

Kim Carnes – “If I Was an Angel” 2004 from Chasin’ Wild Trains. Everybody knows one song by Kim Carnes, which is a better fate than most people who ever made records. I remember seeing her on American Bandstand when “Bette Davis Eyes” came out, and Dick Clark asked her why she did that song she didn’t write. “Because,” she said gleefully, “it’s a fuckin’ great song.” Alright, maybe she didn’t actually say “fuckin’” but it was definitely implied. This here song isn’t as great as that one, but she and Matraca Berg and some guy named Gary Harrison came up with a nice little slice of ennui. Backed at first only by piano, with occasional plaintive dobro, Carnes sets that familiar rasp to a lovely simple melody telling of how she wound up trapped in some small town away from the home she wishes she could return to. The second verse adds some warm cello to the mix, and after the bridge, a violin moans with the ensemble. It’s all very effective, delicate and wispy yet earnestly dreamy.

Tift Merritt – “My Heart Is Free” 2008 from Another Country. From the git-go, I was attracted to her name – all those t’s, that ft combination, and the double r’s! But it turned out she was a great singer and songwriter, too. Another Country was her third solo album, and one that didn’t get as much attention as the first two. But listen to this song and you’ll be entranced by the reverb-drenched guitar chords, the sing-song melody and soaring chorus, and an all-around enthusiasm that goes straight to your heart. She’s singing from the point of view of a soldier killed in combat, but turning the normal reaction around to letting the soldier say how this has freed his heart and soul from any concern about the war he was fighting. “I was sure there was a reason to take that side and fight,” she sings, and we realize that this freedom from life was all he got. Merritt’s voice doesn’t even tremble as she sings “Now they don’t remember my name or the girl that I made proud / And whatever drew me from her arms is nothing to me now.” Suddenly that enthusiasm I mentioned is making the recipient a little queasy. Great unsettling barnburner of a record.

Elvis Costello – “Psycho” recorded 1981 available on the deluxe version of Almost Blue. I write one of these every day, and this song is what I thought of when I woke up on Wednesday. Here’s my version of the metaphor – the guy singing is the voters, the dead bodies are everything we love, and mama is democracy. Costello wasn’t thinking of any of that when he recorded this weird-ass Leon Payne song, but it kinda works. I mean, I really don’t believe the majority of Americans are mentally ill, but I do think they have made a horrific mistake. By the way, this is one of the most successful country songs Costello did in the Almost Blue sessions, probably because it’s terrors appealed to his abrasive personality at the time, and he’d been doing it live for at least a couple years before going to Nashville to sing it with Billy Sherrill producing.

Benny Carter Quartet – “Blue Star” 1990 from Summer Serenade. I picked a Benny Carter tune a few weeks ago that didn’t feature him playing alto saxophone, so I figured I should share something that lets you know how great he sounded. This self-penned ballad was one Carter returned to often in his career, and there are at least three or four nice versions of it out there. This one strikes me as particularly luscious, because he stretches out and plays a longer gorgeous solo. Accompanied by Kenny Drew on piano, Jesper Lundgård on bass, and Ed Thigpen on delicate drums, the quartet renders the tune as though they were lying in the grass after a delicious picnic lunch, all satisfied and dreamy. Then Carter’s exquisite solo keeps the mood going before Drew takes a couple choruses which ratchet up the mood, Lundgård has a quick turn and finally the full group is back for the outro. Also, the album cover is one of my faves – I love the silhouette of Carter’s alto which looks at first glance like a tone-arm and cartridge on a turntable.

The Accents – “New Girl” 1964 single available on Move With the Groove – Hardcore Chicago Soul 1962-1970. Everybody knows about Detroit and Memphis soul music, but Chicago should certainly be noted in a similar fashion. There wasn’t a single record label – not even Chess – like Motown or Stax responsible for a huge number of hits out of the Windy City. Instead, you have to seek out obscurities like this young vocal group not even of drinking age when they released this record on the M-Pac! label. The whistled melody line at the beginning (after a generic wolf whistle) and the general vibe of the song shows these guys were paying attention to Curtis Mayfield’s early productions at the time. Multiple members take turns singing lead, and they harmonize strong up against the funky soul rhythm section and the thunderclapping horn section. The Accents were young enough to be aware of how important it was for a teen to learn the name of the new girl in the neighborhood.