- "Good day sunlight, I'd like to say how truly bright you are, you don't know me, but I know you see you're my favorite star, fa-la-la-ollow you I will so let's get moving." With a trip to San Diego coming up it's pretty fitting that I get a Mraz song to talk about. "Who Needs Shelter" is a slow mellow acoustic number from Jason's major label debut "Waiting For My Rocket To Come". I especially dig the syncopated interplay between the acoustic guitar and mandolin featured in the intro and found throughout the song. Perhaps inspired by the torrential rains that preceded and threatened to cancel his last concert in Philadelphia (an outdoor show at Penn's Landing in the summer of 2009) "Who Needs Shelter" was a late addition to the shows set list. Hearing this older gem that night was only eclipsed by the "Curbside Prophet"/"Gypsy MC" mash up that featured verses from G. Love and K'nnan. Speaking of Philadelphia native G.Love, he'll be at the House of Blues in San Diego this Friday night. Maybe I'll need to drop by. If you check out "Who Needs Shelter", dig it as much as I do and want to play it on guitar, be sure to use drop D tuning and capo your 2nd fret...otherwise you'll just make a fool of yourself.
2. Let's Not Get Carried Away- Wilco
- "I got a million things that I'd rather do, than to play rock 'n' roll for you, oh honey if I blow your fuse, can I please be excused?" With a trip to Chicago coming up it's pretty fitting that I get a Wilco song to talk about. If you pick up Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" album on iTunes you'll get "Let's Not Get Carried Away" as a bonus track. If not you'll want to track down a copy of the "Sky Blue Sky" Bonus EP (where you'll find this song and other goodies as well). If you've done all that and you still don't have enough of 2007 era "Sky Blue Sky" sessions material then you should hunt down a copy of the "Unlikely Japan" single; an early demo version of "Impossible Germany". If that won't quench your thirst I'm not sure what else to prescribe. "Let's Not Get Carried Away" has a lot to like- Jeff Tweedy's rock 'n' roll scream, Nels Cline's ridiculous guitar runs and drummer Glen Kotche even morphs into John Bonham ala "Moby Dick" if only for a brief stretch. Of course as a Who fan I like drum solos to end with an exploding drum kit but we can't always get everything we want. "Sky Blue Sky" is Wilco's sixth studio album and it's as exciting and vibrant as anything they've recorded. Most bands have long since run out of big ideas and sounds by their sixth record, if they even make it that far.
3. Loving Wings- Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
- "You lightly lifted me away, out of a darkness cold and gray, and I work beneath the midday sun, my cool blue water you have come." Maybe I'm supposed to plan a trip to Charlottesville sometime soon. I really don't see myself there until the fall of 2012 when the Nittany Lions visit the University of Virginia "Wahoos" for a football contest. I do love the pageantry of intercollegiate athletics. More immediately I plan to catch up with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds this summer in Atlantic City NJ for the Dave Matthews Band "Caravan" three day mega concert. "Loving Wings" has been released on half a dozen live albums. Yours truly only has it in my collection thanks to it's inclusion on the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds "Live in Las Vegas" album. Apparently there is no studio version of the song to date. "Loving Wings' is sad and sweet and is lyrically built around the idea of redemptive love. "Angels have all gathered 'round, to hear me sing my love out loud." As I've stated before Dave is a very spiritual dude despite claims to the contrary.
this is a very capptastic suite of songs.
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