Wednesday, March 18, 2009

03-18-04: That Long Black Cloud Is Coming Down

Early 70s soul anthem "Girls It Ain't Easy" by The Honey Cone kicks off this mix from five years ago. There are a number of other "girl" songs: Jay-Z's lothario ballad "Girls, Girls, Girls", Beenie Man's infectious and true "Girls Dem Sugar" featuring Mya and production from The Neptunes, The Fascinations with the cautionary tale "Girls Are Out To Get You", the even more cautionary disco hit "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer, the similarly-themed "West End Girls" by The Pet Shop Boys, the sweet coming-of-age tale "Cowboys To Girls" by The Intruders, and Major Lance's hopeful "Hey Little Girl".

Other non-girl related songs:  The Clash-sampling "What's Your Number?" by Cypress Hill, Percy Faith's nostalgia-inducing "Theme From A Summer Place", Fleetwood Mac's haunting "Sara", TV On The Radio's layered "Poppy", Van Hunt's catchy "Dust", Nicolette Larson's sweet Neil Young cover "Lotta Love", De La Soul's witty "The Mack Daddy On The Left", and Ricky Nelson's cowboy duet with Dean Martin "My Rifle, My Pony And Me".

Lastly are four performances of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" By Bob Dylan. In addition to the original single from the soundtrack to Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, I have two live versions.  One with The Band in the mid 70s, and another with The Rolling Thunder Revue a couple years later.  In the former, he adds the Vietnam-era lyric "I'm sick and tired of this war". Finally, a very cool and rare backstage practice take.

The last song on here is a gorgeous one, "Let's Stay Together" by Cee-Lo, assisted by the equally amateurish singing by Pharrell of The Neptunes.  It more than gets by on charm.