365 Albums 136-150

1. Ekseption 3 Ekseption 1970
2. Come away with me Norah Jones 2002
3. Live at the Priory Jan Akkerman 1997*
4. The Celtic Harp Tribute to Bunting The Chieftains (& Belfast Harp Orchestra) 1993
5. Thunder from the Blue Sky The Vlatko Stefanovski Trio 2008
6. Beatles for Sale The Beatles 1964 (M20)
7. Every Valley Public Service Broadcasting 2017
8. After the Break Planxty 1979
9. Green River Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969
10. Pilgrim Days Indelible Grace 2 2008*
11. Platinum Mike Oldfield 1979
12. Willy and the Poorboys Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969
13. Sounds of Silence Simon & Garfunkel 1966
14. Chariots of Fire Soundtrack Vangelis 1981
15. Spiral Vangelis 1977

365 Albums 16-30

1. Graceland Paul Simon 1986
2. Laser Love After the Fire 1979
3. Book of Invasions Horslips 1976
4. The Slider T Rex 1972
5. Philosophers, poets and kings Kate Rusby 2019
6. New York City The Peter Malick Group ft Norah Jones 2003
7. Angel on the mantlepiece Charles O'Connor 1999*
8. Solitude Standing Suzanne Vega 1987
9. Shepherd Moons Enya 1991
10. Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon & Garfunkel 1969
11. Play to Win Gabrielle 2004
12. China Vangelis 1979
13. Cyril Cyril Havermans 1973
14. Hyperborea Tangerine Dream 1983
15. The Race for Space Public Service Broadcasting 2015

(* Suitable for Sunday playing IMHO)

10 Great Acts from the Sixties

1. The Beatles
2. The Kinks
3. Manfred Mann
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. The Byrds
6. Simon and Garfunkel
7. The Monkees
8. The Hollies
9. Donavon
10. Dionne Warwick
(We won't bother with my under impressed by this time)

10 Winter Songs

These are not really Christmas songs but winter ones.
To hear them go here.
1. River Joni Mitchell 
2. Winter time Kayak
3. Winterborn lyric Jan Akkerman
4. Drive the cold winter away Horslips/Kate Rusby
5. The throat of winter Tyrannosaurus Rex
6. Midwinter night Tangerine Dream
7. Trains and winter rains Enya 
8. Flight of the snow goose Camel
9. Winter time love The Doors/Bojoura
10. Hazy shade of winter Simon and Garfunkel/Bangles

How the late Bobby Gregg saved Simon and Garfunkel

The American drummer Bobby Gregg has recently died. One of his claims to fame is that he had a hand in saving the career of Simon and Garfunkel.

In 1965 Tom Wilson, who had produced Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home and “Like a Rolling Stone” decided to experiment with electrifying the Simon & Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence”. An acoustic version of the song had been released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. Inspired by the Byrds hugely popular electric versions of Bob Dylan songs, WIlson not only recorded an electronic version of Dylan’s version of “The House of the Rising Sun” but he employed Dylan's backing band to record an electric backing track for "The Sound of Silence", without Paul Simon’s or Art Garfunkel’s knowledge. Bobby Gregg was once again the drummer Wilson employed in the band creating this backing track. The version of “The Sound of Silence” incorporating the electric band backing track became a #1 hit and was released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Sounds of Silence. It was later listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as the #156 song of all time.

One of the interesting things about this is that Simon & Garfunkel had split up just before this, Simon moving to Europe. It was having the #1 that forced them to think about a reunion, which eventually happened. 

 

Homeward Bound

I heard this on the radio this morning. Paul Simon wrote it in Warrington I believe.* Simple but with profundity I guess.
*Widnes actually

Battersea Park etc

The holidays are here. The youngest boys had no school last week and the older ones finished Wednesday. We're enjoying the hot weather. The older boys are away on CCIW camps this week. I took them across to Hayes to get the minibus Saturday morning. Later Eleri took the remaining two boys to Battersea Park to see the children's zoo. Sunday was funny with just the two boys and Sibyl here. Her sister and her children also joined us for a while. Even with 14 away on camps and beach missions we had decent congregations on Sunday. There were even 10 or 11 in the Sunday School. It was especially nice to see a Brazilian family back with us who we haven't seen in ages. There are always surprises in Childs Hill.

Short Poem 24

I believe I first came across this poem in a Banner of Truth workbook on the Shorter Catechism. E A Robinson (1869-1935) was an American poet who won three Pulitzer prizes. Many of his poems, it seems, have a dark pessimism. It is speculated that the Cory poem is about his brother. More here. Apparently the poem was made famous by Simon & Garfunkel, although their version seems quite different.

Richard Cory by Edward Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favoured, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.