MY DAD PAINTED THE ICONIC COVER FOR JETHRO TULL’S ‘AQUALUNG,’ AND IT’S HAUNTED HIM EVER SINCE

(via The Outline) by Robert Silverman

Sometimes, my father, Burton Silverman, age 89, has trouble remembering certain things. He worries about this. My mother, a psychologist, 79, worries even more, parsing his speech patterns and emails for any clinical signs of cognitive impairment. He always hand waves away these concerns, partly for our benefit and partly because there is little to be done.

But as some details — the name of a former friend, where he last stashed his wallet — seem to fall just beyond his fingertips, dad’s focus has turned towards something less definable: his career. More to the point, the end of a career that has seen him become one of the more prominent realist painters of his time. And yet, for all the artwork he’s created, the accolades and awards, it bothers him, in a way he can’t really express and may not want to recognize, that one of the first lines in his obituary will mention a “throwaway gig,” from the winter of 1970: the artwork for Jethro Tull’s best-known and best-selling album, Aqualung

Read more: The painter behind Jethro Tull’s Aqualung cover is still haunted by its success | The Outline

Video of the Week: The Story of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’

From the 2011 documentary The Harmony Game. Reflections on the making of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic Bridge Over Troubled Water album 40 years after its release. The above excerpt relates the origin and recording of the transcendent title track.

Songs You May Have Missed #673

Velvet Crush: “Save Me a Place” (2002)

On their aptly-titled fifth album Soft Sounds, Velvet Crush strip down their usual power pop bluster to reveal a more mature side with a collection of thoughtfully-produced originals and well-chosen covers.

“Save Me a Place”, in this writer’s opinion at least, actually betters Lindsey Buckingham’s original Tusk album track.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #220 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

Songs You May Have Missed #672

The Submarines: “Birds” (2011)

John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard began their career as musical and romantic partners. Dragonetti produced Hazard’s solo debut, and the two played in each other’s bands.

But post-breakup the two began sharing the songs each had written about the dissolution of their relationship.

Fast forward a few years and the couple reconciled, married, and continued to work together as Submarines, finding success placing songs on TV shows and iPhone commercials.

“Birds” is a highlight from their third full-length album.

On This Day…The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’

(via Thisdayinmusic.com)

Following a well deserved holiday, John, Paul, George and Ringo returned to the studios in mid October 1965, not only to record their next album but also a new single – their first double A-side “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out. ”

During these sessions, The Beatles took a major artistic leap forward, and when Rubber Soul was released in Dec 65, it presented a new, growing Beatles to the world, with a stunning collection of songs which introduced a new direction, sophistication and depth. Talking about the recording many years later Paul McCartney said, “We smoked a bit of pot, the first time we’d ever done that. We normally didn’t smoke when we were working.”

Read more: The Beatles – Rubber Soul | This Day In Music

On a Lighter Note…

Joe Walsh Had to Buy Maserati Because of ‘Life’s Been Good’

(via Ultimate Classic Rock) by Martin Kielty

Joe Walsh says he had to buy a Maserati after the success of 1978’s “Life’s Been Good.”

Taking a light-hearted look at the world of rock-star excess, the song notes that the Eagles star’s Maserati can do “185” – but he doesn’t drive it because he lost his license, and instead is being transported by limousine.

Read More: Joe Walsh Had to Buy Maserati Because of ‘Life’s Been Good’ (ultimateclassicrock.com)

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