Hello fans of great music everywhere! Welcome to my second installment of 5 Songs You Need to Hear. As an avid fan of the unheard, unsung, unnoticed makers of aural art, my goal is to seek out and discover greatnew music wherever I can find it, and pass it along to you. If you hear something you like, be sure to share it with your friends and help get these artists the recognition and fanbase they deserve.
People ask me, "Jerry, do you consider yourself a hipster?" No, I do NOT consider myself a hipster. A hipster is someone who takes pride in appreciating something no one else has heard of and holds everyone else in scorn and derision because of they are not as cool as he thinks he is. Hipsters deliberately keep their discoveries a secret so they can hold it against everyone else, and somehow make their own pitiable, gray lives seem a little less msierable. That is not me! I love great music everywhere I find it -- even on (gasp!) the radio! Even made by -- (horror of horrors) popular artists!
No, I am not a hipster. I am a servant, really. I want to share what I've found. I want to bring sunshine and happiness to people's music libraries. I want to broaden the horizon of musical tastes and styles. And I want these artists to succeed so they will keep making great music for many years to come.
So with that in mind, here are 5 Songs You Need to Hear....
1. Empty Me Out - Liz Vice. It's like someone dropped an old Gladys Knight vinyl LP from 1970 onto the turntable. This stuff is solid R&B gold. I discovered Liz Vice on Noisetrade.com ( a gold mine of free music from new indie artists of every style and genre). This whole CD is amazing but "Empty Me Out" is by far the standout track.
2. Shelter Song - Temples. While we are in throwback mode, let me hip you to one of the coolest bands out there right now. Temples is a British band that perfectly replicates the acid-drenched, lava-lamped psychadelic sound of the late sixties. This song was a freebie on Amazon.com last year and it has been in permanent rotation in my iTunes ever since. If you're not a fan of Cream, Hendrix, early Pink Floyd, or more obscure bands like the Electric Prunes, Vanilla Fudge, or Frijid Pink, then this definitely NOT for you. But if you crave a bit of paisley in your diet, I highly recommend Temples.
3. Morning Fades - Jameson Elder. Another Noisetrade find. This song is absolutely beautiful. Elder is a troubador of the highest order, able to capture nuances of emotion and pathos with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a his voice. This brilliant singer-songwriter has a lot of great tunes, but "Morning Fades" is a standout. I couldn't find a decent YouTube video for the studio recording (there is a fanshot video of a live performance in a club, but the quality is poor), but you can listen to it on Spotify here.
4. Something About You - Carey Brothers. No, it's not the Carey Brothers (as in siblings with the last name Carey); it's one guy named Carey whose last name is Brothers. And yes, it is the old Level 42 song from the 80s. I confess I was never a big fan of the Level 42 version when it was originally released. To me, it just sort of blended in with the rest of the bland, souless, Euro synth-pop-with-a-drum-machine crap on the radio. In fact, I had completely forgotten this song even existed until I heard this remake. Carey Brothers managed to strip away all of the keyboards and outdated production and find a real gem of a song buried underneath it all. This is a surprisingly beautiful song with a lovely melody and heartfelt lyrics. It just needed the right treatment. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do...
5. Ain't No Grave - Jamie Lin Wilson. Another cover that for me outshines the original. I know I will get a LOT of push back on this, but I like this version better than the Johnny Cash recording. Don't get me wrong: I absolutely love Johnny Cash. In my book he is one of the greats right up there with Elvis, the Beatles, & Sinatra. But there's just something about the fire in this young lady's spirit when she sings "Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down/ When I hear that trumpet sound, I'm gonna rise out of the ground!" that makes me wanna have church right there in my seat! Whether you agree or not about which version is best, I hope you will enjoy Jamie Lin Wilson's take on this gospel classic.
There you have it, folks. 5 Songs You Need To Hear! Please take the time to listen and comment. I appreciate your feedback. And as always, if you have discovered some great new music that you think deserves to be heard, please let me know about it. Until next week! -- Jerry Davison
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