Little Magic
Just five days after dropping my first weekly playlist, one including the then latest Natural Child album, the boys came out of hibernation to drop a tasty sampling of what's to come. Natural Child has been my favorite band for longer than I can remember. Mixing parts of multiple genres including rock and roll, country, psychedelic rock, and boogie these boys know how to groove and get a room moving.
"Little Magic" opens up as the perfect styling to introduce the band back into the public eye. From first listen I knew this track was an immediate Natural Child classic and one that encapsulates what the band is all about - having fun and grooving with your best pals.
New album is dropping the end of June and you'd be hard pressed to find a day I haven't been overly excited for the start of summer. Kick out the jams and smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
テイク・ミー - Live at Chuo Kaikan Hall, Tokyo, Feb. 1982
Laced with squeaky clean fusion and licks, this Japanese Jazz styling has me shaking my body as I sit down to read. Instrumentals and Jazz, as you've heard, are my go to reading genres, but this right here... this will grab your attention instead of melting into the atmosphere.
In what seems like a perfect way to describe all the happenings in this jam, the keys shine bright and slap a "please listen closely" disclaimer across your face. And then the guitar riffs come in. In lieu of further dissection, I'd recommend you give this one a couple listens while focusing on something different every time. I wasn't lying when I said Jazz is some of the most complex and hardest music to play. But hey, it sure is nice to listen to.
A Long Way Past the Past
In continuing my Fleet Foxes kick from the last few weeks I turned to the band's newest offering in Shore. While I was living under a rock during Covid, I forgot to pay attention to the group I've enjoyed for years. I'm three years late to the party, but hey, I made it.
"A Long Way Past the Past" has been my most revisited track on Shore because of its innate Fleet Foxes feel and classic vibe. I can't put my finger on it yet, but this is the song that makes me feel safest, the most secure.
Even as a writer I tend not to listen to and analyze lyrics much, instead listening to the instrumentation and capturing the overall composition of a song, I go off of pure feel. Does the song move me? Does it give me chills and goosebumps?
My favorite songs have that something that makes the hair on my body stand at attention. It also helps having some kind of emotional connection to the offering. This track is making its way to that stature. Let's see what it does to me hearing it live in a couple of weeks.
Let Me Put My Love Into You
Sitting in my room one night, a book in my hand, I started playing this memorable riff in my head. For what reason I don't know, but then again AC/DC holds a special place in the lexicon of Pat's favorite music.
The simplicity of it all just gets me. AC/DC and their genius ability to incorporate the same punch, the same feel to their catalog while simultaneously creating bone crunching riffs that make you wonder just how they've done it again.
On an even funnier note, the guitarist in my newest band, not ten minutes after my evening epiphany, messaged our group with the proposition to "cover 'Hell's Bells'" in the most obnoxious fashion we could muster up. Responding with a resounding "I'm in!" I informed him that, no word of a lie, I was listening to AC/DC right that second. It was meant to be.
Power in the Darkness
I don't recall where I came across the Tom Robinson Band, but "Power in the Darkness" was my first introduction and I haven't looked away since. What feels like a perfect mash up of what I find cool, this track gives off "this shit is important" vibes.
From the repetitive but impactful bass line, to the groove this track lays down, to the utter importance of what is being said, I simply can't get enough. In the simplest explanation, this song kicks ass. And whether I've used that expression before - I don't give a toot.
Soulless Friends
I love talking music with my friends - sharing what we've been listening to and giving recommendations based on what we would think they'd like. In the midst of sharing a new song with my best friend the wildly named band Peter Cat Recording Co came across in his text. Spotify offers a lovely feature that let's you see what your friends are currently listening to and a few years back I used this to gain some knowledge, but mostly to call out questionable choices my best friends were making on a daily basis.
Today I'm very grateful for this feature because although I wasn't aware of this band at the time, my friend shot me the text "are you listening to Peter Cat Recording Co? Turns out I wasn't, but one of his other friends was. And the rest is very recent history.
I listened to this song and album for weeks straight and told everyone I knew about it. A breath of fresh air and exactly what I didn't know I was looking for. This track makes me happy and puts a smile on my face. I hope it does the same for you.
Angel from Montgomery
In whichever order you listen to these tracks, I hope this one finds you well. A perfect Sunday song, in my opinion, Bonnie Raitt makes it seem like she's singing directly to me. It probably helps that anytime I hear her voice and see that album cover I come running 'round swooning to one of the coolest ladies of music I've heard of.
I love this track for its subtleties. Its ups and downs and story telling. In a completely different description to what I've said above, this song has a feeling that will grab you and pull you in. That's the power of music and a good story. Country and the Blues and Rock and Roll have that feeling and Bonnie knows how to use it.
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