Travellin' Man: unfinished and unreleased. Recorded at Nellcote, France during the Exile sessions, July 1971. This song continues where Parachute Woman left off; with their Englishmen's view of the American South. There's definitely some Songs of the South imagery going on here. Would've been great to open the album rather than Rock's Off. There are 3 or 4 outtake collections that all capture the beginning of the song differently. "I hear the crunch of the gravel," is clearly audible on some versions. Hearing the song via this youtube link has its limits, you can only get it so loud.
The riff at two and a half minutes gets right under skin. And the song comes back around again with about a minute left. And again, where would they be without Charlie Watts. Both Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston are listed as additonal personnel in a David Dalton Stones book I have; not sure who is laying it down in this track, sounds like Preston to me.
Tully, thanks for the insight. It does seem that there was an obsession by English musicians about the American South. Obviously there is the Blues connection, but it seems to also cross over to Country as well. Check out this video of Elvis Costello's cover of George Jones' "A Good Year for the Roses." Creepy video (reminds me of the Shining for some reason, but great song. As my friend Chris sadi, "Yeah, apparently when Costello's red shoes first touched down on U.S. soil the first thing he tried to do was meet George Jones, the author of that classic. If you look at interviews with him through the years, he is always bringing up Jones and what a genius he was. He kind of looks like Cusack ca. Better Off Dead in that video."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTravellin' Man: unfinished and unreleased. Recorded at Nellcote, France during the Exile sessions, July 1971. This song continues where Parachute Woman left off; with their Englishmen's view of the American South. There's definitely some Songs of the South imagery going on here. Would've been great to open the album rather than Rock's Off. There are 3 or 4 outtake collections that all capture the beginning of the song differently. "I hear the crunch of the gravel," is clearly audible on some versions. Hearing the song via this youtube link has its limits, you can only get it so loud.
ReplyDeleteThe riff at two and a half minutes gets right under skin. And the song comes back around again with about a minute left. And again, where would they be without Charlie Watts. Both Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston are listed as additonal personnel in a David Dalton Stones book I have; not sure who is laying it down in this track, sounds like Preston to me.
Tully, thanks for the insight. It does seem that there was an obsession by English musicians about the American South. Obviously there is the Blues connection, but it seems to also cross over to Country as well. Check out this video of Elvis Costello's cover of George Jones' "A Good Year for the Roses." Creepy video (reminds me of the Shining for some reason, but great song. As my friend Chris sadi, "Yeah, apparently when Costello's red shoes first touched down on U.S. soil the first thing he tried to do was meet George Jones, the author of that classic. If you look at interviews with him through the years, he is always bringing up Jones and what a genius he was. He kind of looks like Cusack ca. Better Off Dead in that video."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBh9IgMz5U
ReplyDeletesorry here is the link