Songs You May Have Missed #793

The Sallyangie: “Lady Mary” (1969)

The Sallyangie were a British folk duo comprised of a 16-year-old Mike Oldfield and his 21-year-old sister Sally. Their single LP, the gently ethereal Children of the Sun, will be either musical balm or emetic depending on your affinity for fey Lord of the Rings-inspired Renaissance Faire soundtrack music.

Some critics have panned the sound quality, the singing, Mike’s musicianship and the dated, naive fairytale-cum-hippy essence of the music, but its inclusion here tells you what I think of their appraisals. Of course, I’ve read Tolkien’s trilogy five times and attend the Ren Fest yearly…

Of undeniable quality are the arrangements contributed by one David (now Dee) Palmer, whose brilliance graces some of Jethro Tull’s greatest and most complex work.

Mike Oldfield is best known for a tune about as far removed from Children of the Sun as it could possibly be: “Tubular Bells” a.k.a. the theme from The Exorcist.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2021/04/07/songs-you-may-have-missed-688/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2022/07/03/songs-you-may-have-missed-732/

David Bowie said John Lennon revealed his three rules for songwriting to him

(via Guitar Player) by Elizabeth Swann

In 1974, David Bowie was fresh off his reign as the glam-rock’s biggest act. After his breakthrough success that began with Ziggy Stardust and continued through Diamond Dogs, he was about to make a turn toward soul and funk with his next album, Young Americans.

Despite his success, he could still be in awe of his idols. When the opportunity to meet John Lennon arose that year, Bowie was beside himself.

Like millions of teens in the 1960s, he had been a Beatles fan. His own career began to take off in the mid 1960s, during which time he flirted with influences ranging from the Rolling Stones to the Who to Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. But while Bowie never dabbled in the Beatles’ style of pop, but he was enamored of the group, and John Lennon in particular.

“Oh hell, he was one of the major influences on my musical life,” Bowie said in an interview recorded in the 1980s. “I mean, I just thought he was the very best of what could be done with rock and roll, and also ideas.

“I felt such kin to him in as much as that he would rifle the avant-garde and look for ideas that were so on the outside, on the periphery of what was the mainstream — and then apply them in a functional manner to something that was considered populist and make it work. He would take the most odd idea and make it work for the masses…

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/david-bowie-said-john-lennon-revealed-his-three-rules-for-songwriting-to-him/ar-AA1MwIQr?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=68c97a96d34047b6a923af85fa552052&ei=55

Video of the Week: Stevie Ray Vaughan – Rude Mood

Songs You May Have Missed #792

The Decemberists: “O Valencia!” (2007)

“Hyper-literate” is an adjective often applied to songwriter Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. And his eclectic influences include British murder ballads, 70’s power-chord prog rock, the Civil War, sea shanties, Japanese folk tales and much more in between.

Meloy definitely favors the “archaic” entries in his well-thumbed thesaurus, giving his ambitious writing a distinct sepia tint beyond the linguistic reach of most writers. But it’s the ability to make all this accessible to the pop music ear that is the true genius of the man.

His hyperliteracy fuses with hyper-catchy pop sensibilities here as Meloy threatens to “burn this whole city down”–in the most appealing pop rock way.

Songs You May Have Missed #791

Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill: “Baby Talk” (2021)

Irish singer and songwriter Mick Flannery’s successful collaboration with Susan O’Neill (herself an up-and-coming Irish songwriter) on this song grew into a full album of duets between the two.

Flannery’s rootsy sound and sorrowful songwriting find a sympathetic match in O’Neill’s vocals, which approximate a wounded Stevie Nicks vibe here.

No less than three of Flannery’s albums have reached number one in his native Ireland, where he’s one of that country’s most acclaimed songwriters.

Video of the Week: The Who – Who Are You (Promo Video)

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