Very sad to learn over the weekend of the death of the great Jerry Jeff Walker, one of the founding fathers of the Texan outlaw country scene.
I saw him live while on a work trip to the States in the mid 2000s. When I found out he was playing in the area I extended my trip by a couple of days so I could go along. I was richly rewarded - not only was it a great show but I got a chance to chat to Jerry Jeff and Bob Livingston of the Lost Gonzo Band afterwards. A memorable night. RIP Mr Walker.
It has been a while since we had a Single Song Sunday. Let's rectify that with Van Morrison's "Crazy Love".
I've taken an executive decision not to include Van's original. He and his people get agitated about that sort of thing, and he is already highly agitated about Covid-19, lockdown and the like. I would not want to be responsible for tipping him over the edge.
So instead we'll kick things off with Jesse Ed Davis, a Native American session man who hung about Leon Russell, as you may be able to tell - his version has a certain Leon feel to it. It came out in 1970 and, as far as I can tell, may have been the first cover version to be released.
Also released in 1970 was Esther Phillips' version. Esther did Van's "Brand New Day" around the same time, and that is well worth checking out. I suspect whoever arranged Rita Coolidge's rendition in 1971 may have been listening to Esther judging by the guitar work on the two versions.
We follow Rita with two soul dudes, Nolan Porter and Eddie Floyd, and then we're off on a mini-tour of Europe - I'm clearly struggling to let go - which takes in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland and Italy. All four artists have appeared here previously, Helena Vondráčková as a member of The Golden Kids, the others in their own right.
We end as always with the Mandatory Reggae Version, but with a twist - it's Japanese reggae! You can find it along with many other gems on the evocatively titled compilation, Jap Jam International Volume 3.
Last time out we featured a single called "U". How better to follow that than with an album called "U", especially when its by one of my all time favourites, the Incredible String Band.
"U" is a double album that was first released in 1970. It is the studio version of a stage show they put on with dance troupe Stone Monkey. Apparently there was a plot although you can't tell that from the album - or from the show itself, according to the few who saw it. Possibly one for the fans only, but I'm a fan so I can't judge.
We finally finished our musical tour of the EU last week, which featured 133 songs from 27 countries. For a brief period we are making them all available at the link below. There truly is something for everyone, and very possibly a few things for nobody (Yes, I'm looking at you, Absymal Torment from Malta).
There is a big gaping hole in the middle of Continental Europe that we skirted round on our tour without going in - Switzerland. To plug the gap, here are two tracks from my favourite Swiss band, one under each of their names. Dig the groovy whistling on "Die Matrosen", its like The Raincoats teamed up with Roger Whittaker.
Out on the unvisited fringes we find Iceland. If all was well with the world they would have romped home at this year's Eurovision with this splendid piece of pop.
A bit of Scott Walker for you today. Both tracks can be found on an excellent compilation called "Boy Child 67-70". Any resemblance to current events real or imagined is entirely coincidental.
We're in Sweden. It's Part 27 of our 27 part series. You know what that means, don't you?
I am contractually obliged to include that video in the post. There is one more contractual obligation to come right at the end.
It is not an obligation but a great pleasure to thank two individuals who contributed greatly to the series. The first is the excellent Asthmatic Harp, who guest hosted the Danish leg of the tour way back in April. The other is the equally excellent George, who gave us his unique take on the Portuguese music scene and contributed a few tracks to other posts along the way. Thank you both.
Sweden is a great place to end the tour, having been responsible for so much magnificent music over the years. And Rednex. So let's go out on a high. Take it away, Little Gerhard!
We'll bring things to an close with our other contractual obligation. From everyone here in Leggiesland, thanks for sticking with us. And to all of you out there in Europeland, thank you for the music.
Links stay up for a month or so. If you are an artist or copyright holder and want me to remove the link, or if you want to get in touch for any other reason, e-mail me on leggies27@hotmail.co.uk.
