Just The Two of Us - Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers

 Este tema me vuelve loco desde que lo conozco y estamos hablando de hace mucho tiempo. 

 Compuesto por Bill Withers, William Salter y Ralph MacDonald y grabada por Grover Washington, Jr., el propio Bill con su maravillosa voz, Richard Tee al piano eléctrico (parece un Fender Rhodes), Steve Gadd en la batería, Eric Gale a la guitarra y el genial Marcus Miller al bajo, fue incluida en el álbum Winelight del saxofonista y fue un grandísimo éxito en el año 1980. 

 La elegante cadencia que realiza el teclado (también se toca bien en guitarra) juto al bajo, la voz de Bill Withers y el saxo de Grover Washington se resuelven en un tema de esos que son infrecuentes porque son populares pero no aburren; parecen sencillos pero rozan la genialidad: son perfectos.

 Espero que os guste   

 

I see the crystal raindrops fall
And the beauty of it all
Is when the sun comes shining through
To make those rainbows in my mind
When I think of you sometime
And I want to spend some time with you

Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I

We look for love, no time for tears
Wasted water's all that is
And it don't make no flowers grow
Good things might come to those who wait
Not for those who wait too late
We gotta go for all we know

Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building them castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I

Just the two of us
We can make it just the two of us
Just the two of us
We can make it just the two of us

I hear the crystal raindrops fall
On the window down the hall
And it becomes the morning dew
And, darling, when the morning comes
And I see the morning sun
I want to be the one with you

Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
(Just the two of us)
Just the two of us
Building big castles way on high
Just the two of us
You and I

(Just the two of us)
Yes, the two of us
(We can make it just the two of us)
Let's get it together, babe
(Just the two of us)
Yes, the two of us
(We can make it just the two of us
Just the two of us
We can make it just the two of us
Just the two of us

GummyBear - Mini Mansions

 Escuchando Radio 3 conocí este tema que me gustó mucho y tiene unos timbres (sonidos) bastante llamativos y modernos.

Mini Mansions es un grupo formado por músicos con una larga experiencia en otras agrupaciones como The Last Shadow Puppets, Queens Of Stone Age o Arctic Monkeys o como colaboradores, productores, etc.

 Espero que os guste 

Thought you had the right moves, girl, but you can't feel the beat
(Oh, tell me honey)
Ooh, don’t you feel it at all?
If you wanted my heart, girl, mama should have made a key
('Cause baby girl)
You know I keep it on lock
Love's no walk in the park, girl, so, uh, why’d ya bring a leash?
(Oh, tell me honey)
Ooh, no, I won't be your dog
Boy, I thought you was sweet, girl, but you're just sugar-free

Oh, tell me, baby
Who are you but my gummy bear?
Tell me, baby
Who are you but my gummy bear?
Tell me, honey
Who are you but my gummy bear?

Oh, I got love for you no

Staring up at the ceiling 'cause I just couldn't sleep
(Oh, tell me honey)
Ooh, was I dreaming too long?
If you wanna play house, girl, well, uh, who ya wanna be?

'Cause baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
'Cause baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
'Cause baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?

A frequent user and a thing of the past
You want my future but my presence won’t last
I’m not your puppet though you're pulling my string
Got so much loving, but I’m missing one thing

Oh, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more
No, I got love for you no more

Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
(Love for you no more)
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?
(Love for you no more)
Baby, tell me
Who are you but my gummy bear?

15 errores de grabación en canciones muy conocidas

David Hartley explica algunos míticos errores que se mantuvieron tras la grabación. Incluye canciones de The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bill Withers, David Bowie, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, The Police, Peter Gabriel, The Who, Billy Joel, Prince, Guns N' Roses, Christina Aguilera y James Blunt.

Conocía las pifias de Wish You Were Here y Roxanne, pero no sabía hasta que punto eran o no intencionadas. Curioso lo de Ain´t no Sunshine y Sweet Child O´Mine.

 Espero que os guste 

 

Steve Cropper

El pasado día 3 fallecíó Steve Cropper, una verdadera leyenda del Soul y un compositor, guitarrista y productor brillante en este estilo.

 Fundador del grupo Booker T. & the M.G.'s y autor o coautor y colaborador de muchos de los grandes clásicos de Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett o Eddie Floyd, también participó activamente en el desarrollo del sello Stax, uno de los pilares del género junto a la Motown. 

Su nivel es tal, que un amigo y yo jugábamos a menudo a averiguar las canciones en las que había participado...y el resultado es increíble: Soul Man, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, Green Onions, Time is Tight, In the Midnight Hour..

Descanse en paz

  

 

The Man's Too Strong - Dire Straits

Dentro del álbum superventas Brothers in Arms hay algunas joyas escondidas, como este The Man´s Too Strong, que está interpretada principalmente con una guitarra Dobro (todos los discos de dIRE sTRAITS incluyen, al menos, una canción con ese instrumento).

 

Este tema encaja dentro de la temática antibelicista de parte del disco, donde se pone en la piel de una figura similar a Rudof Hess, uno de los hombres fuertes de Hitler, según las propias palabras de Mark Knopfler, líder y guitarrista y compositor de todos las canciones de Dire Straits.

 

Espero que os guste

 

I am just an aging drummer boy

And in the wars I used to play

And I've called the tune to many a torture session

Now they say I am a war criminal

And I'm fading away

Father, please hear my confession

I have legalized robbery

And called it relief

I have run with the money

I have hid like a thief

Rewritten histories with armies and my crooks

Invented memories

I did burn all the books

And I can still hear his laughter

And I can still hear his song

The man's too big

The man's too strong

Well, I've tried to be meek

I have tried to be mild

But I spat like a woman

And I sulked like a child

Hid behind walls that have made me alone

Striven for peace

Which I never have known

And I can still hear his laughter

And I can still hear his song

The man's too big

The man's too strong

Well, the sun rose on the courtyard

And we all did hear him say

"You always was a Judas,

But I got you anyway.

You may have got your silver

But I swear upon my life

Your sister gave me diamonds

And I gave 'em to your wife."

Oh father, please help me

For I have done wrong

The man's too big

The man's too strong

Heartbeat - King Crimson

En los años 80 King Crimson tuvieron una etapa claramente diferenciada de sus anteriores trabajos, en los que Robert Fripp y Bill Bruford con la incorporación de Adrian Belew a la voz, guitarras y letras y Tony Levin al bajo y stick (ambos músicos americanos), dieron forma a tres trabajos realmente fascinantes y novedosos: Discipline, Beat y Three of a Perfect Pair.

 

En algunos casos, tenían una clara influencia pop y de los sonidos ochenteros, quizás por los grupos con los que había tocado Belew como Talking Heads, David Bowie o Frank Zappa y el trabajo de Levin como músico de sesión de Peter Gabriel, entre otros muchos, y de cuya banda forma parte hasta el momento.

 

No por ello dejan de ser composiciones elaboradas y vanguardistas interpretadas con un nivel técnico considerable, como podemos ver en este Heartbeat.

 

Espero que os guste

 

I need to feel your heartbeat heartbeat

so close, feels like mine

all mine

I need to feel your heartbeat heartbeat

so close it feels like mine

all mine...

 

I remember the feeling

my hands in your hair

hands in your hair

I remember the feeling

of the rhythm we made

the rhythm we made

 

I need to land sometime

right next to you

feel your heartbeat heartbeat

right next to me...

In the Army - Status Quo

Esta versión que realizaron los enérgicos británicos de ese alegato antibelicista compuesto por el dúo holandés Bolland & Bolland, supuso un enorme éxito en el año 1986 y volvió a colocar al grupo en lo más alto de las listas.

Como tengo más años que el fuego, recuerdo con nitidez escuchar el tema en la radio y en la televisión y puedo asegurar que fue un éxito gigantesco, pues sonaba constantemente en todos los medios.

Espero que os guste

A Vacation in a foreign land
Uncle Sam does the best he can
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

Now you remember what the draft man said
Nothing to do all day but stay in bed
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

You'll be the hero of the neighborhood
Nobody knows that you left for good
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

Smiling faces as you wait to land
But once you get there no one gives a damn
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

Hand grenades flying over your head
Missiles flyin' over your head, if you wanna survive
Get out of bed
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army, now

Shots ring out in the dead of night
The sergeant calls: "Stand up and fight!"
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

You got your orders better shoot on sight
Your finger's on the trigger but it don't seem right
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

Night is falling and you just can't see
Is this illusion or reality
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now
You're in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - now

Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now
Oh, oh you're in the army - in the army now