sweeter than the rest
The last couple of weeks have been an interesting combination: a lot of good live music coming my way, perfect fall weather of warm sunny days and cold nights, and a very annoying but fascinating string of political events. All conspiring to keep me elsewhere. So I’m going to toss up some things here over the next few days without a lot of discussion.
First up, Joan Osborne. Her new album, “Little Wild One,” just came out, she’ll be touring it next month, but this month she’s doing a mini-tour with John Hiatt, which I was fortunate enough to catch. A great live show - she manages to be sultry even performing in front of a very peculiar backdrop consisting of two plaid sleeping bags flanking a u-haul blanket. A couple of highlights from the new album:
Sweeter than the Rest
One of the things I really like about Osborne is that, although she’s a very good songwriter in her own right, she also recognizes good songwriting in others. My favorite from the album is “Cathedrals”, written by Jay Clifford, a South Carolina singer/songwriter:
But the live show, naturally, also included some of her earlier works. With a one hour show, there were no clunkers, and while I loved the up-tempo songs at the show, particularly a bluesy “Help Me”, the ones that are still playing in my head are the Dead’s “Brokedown Palace,” and, especially, her encore, Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” - a simple song, covered by everyone, but one so direct and honest,that you can’t help thinking that if you’d just managed to say that, at the right time and to the right person, the world might have changed.
Brokedown Palace
Help Me
To Make You Feel My Love
The live concert is here, but I’d definitely recommend getting the album, and especially, catching her in concert if you can. She’s a great example of someone who started just doing local gigs, kept making good music and found good people to work with.
categories: downloads, live, music
tags: Joan Osborne, Little Wild One
posted by boolz at 08:40 pm
Boolz: I loved all these songs — especially “To Make You Feel My Love” and “Cathedrals” — never heard any of them before. Regarding TMYFML, I share your thought on that. Love the central chord progression in “Cathedrals” and was able to figure it out (shots of the hands certainly helped). Going home to try it myself.