The first song I ever learned to play on guitar as a teenager was either "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 or "Clampdown" by The Clash. But the first one that ever felt really powerful to play was Blue Oyster Cult's darkly majestic "Don't Fear The Reaper". While it was a song that seemed to belong, unlike the others, to a much earlier generation, there is something about it that now feels timeless and reminds me of brisk fall nights.
One song repeats this week: Merle Haggard's prisoner lament "I Wonder If They Still Think Of Me", both the album version and a rare stripped-down demo. He must have drawn on his own days as an inmate.
Etta James' "All The Way Down" seems to also draw on personal history as she entered rehab shortly after recording it in the early 70s.
The rest: Lil Wayne's profane "Gonorrhea", Marvin Gaye's romantic "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again", Gang Starr's purposeful "Work", the funky "Because I Got It Like That" by Jungle Brothers, Pulp's slowly-building "Help The Aged", Gang Of Four's fierce "To Hell With Poverty", the playful "Wack Wack" by The Young Holt Trio, Larry Young's groovy "Spaceball", Neil Diamond's peppy "Cherry, Cherry", a duet of John Hartford's pop folk standard "Gentle On My Mind" by Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry, O.V. Wright's soulful "Sacrifice", Bobby Womack's cover of The Carpenters' "(They Long To Be) Close To You", Tom Waits' wistful "Had Me A Girl" and John Coltrane with his Classic Quartet on the contemplative "Crescent".
