Changing seasons, changing tastes
Seattle has a reputation in the US for being a rainy city, which is somewhat of a common misconception. It's much more common for the sky to be overcast and gray here. But last Friday we had our first proper downpour in many months, and most people were very glad to see it. The hotter summer weather has stretched further into September and October this year than any other year since I moved here. And I have heard from colleagues who are locals that these are not the summers that they remember growing up.
Seattle can be affected by wildfire smoke that blows in from forest fires burning in Canada or elsewhere in the state of Washington. This year, however, the smoke has come from much closer to home: a wildfire in a national forest about 70 miles outside the city has been burning for over a month. We've thus been dealing with poor air quality for most of that time. In the past week, there has been a persistent blanket of smoke over much of the city, and on Thursday, Seattle was ranked #1 on the list of the cities in the world with the worst air quality. Take that, Lahore, Pakistan! Having to keep our windows closed (and being unable to run our air conditioner), coupled with the unseasonably hot weather, has been quite unpleasant. So I have also welcomed the rain (that means something coming from an Irish person!) and the respective drop in temperature. It means that my favorite season has come at last!
On the music front, I've been reviewing and reorganizing some of my genre-based playlists recently. Parsing through some of the songs and artists in my indie/alternative playlist has thrown up a lot of the music I used to frequently listen to back in the days when I first started becoming interested in music. That time coincided with when we got satellite TV in our house, so most of my initial musical tastes were influenced by all of the music channels. Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park, and Gorillaz (my first album!) to name a few. As time went on, I evolved a little, musically speaking, and got more into classic rock bands and folk music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, etc. If I had to pick a time in music history to jump back to, that would probably be it. But even though some of my favourite music and bands come from that era, the music that I have been primarily interested in listening to has changed again in the past few years.
I've been listening to a lot more soul and classic R&B from the 1950s and 1960s lately, music and musicians that have been cited as having a significant influence on the big-name classic rock bands that followed. I'm a really big fan of music with a rich variety of musical instruments, so the horn and rhythm sections heavily involved in the production of these songs are probably a big factor in why I love this music so much. Not to mention the amazing vocals!
Most of these soul and R&B songs that I am referring to are not completely unknown to me, as they are ubiquitous on television, in movies, in advertisements, etc., or are consistently played on the radio. But I would say that my passion for this genre really kicked off after watching a documentary called "Muscle Shoals" a few years ago. It tells the story of a recording studio in backwoods Alabama that became a hitmaker, as well as the producer and session musicians who contributed to the creation of this music. It's unbelivable to see the sheer talent of musicians who just play and make their contribution but achieve no notoriety. If I were involved in the music industry, production is where I would want to be—to have been in the studio for the genesis of all of these classic songs and to hear the master recording for the first time! Woah! Arrangement, too, is another element that can blow me away—when an instrument comes in on a song at exactly the right moment. <chef's kiss>
Anyway, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! There's a trailer below, and I've shared some songs from the documentary (and some others for good measure) also.
La Música
Please note: All song links shared below will bring you to Spotify. You'll need to create an account to listen.
Clarence Carter - Patches
From the convincing way that he sings the lyrics, you'd almost believe that this was Clarence Carter's own back story, but the song is a cover. A great blues/R&B ballad. Carter definitely made this one his own.
Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)
A slow, easy-going build-up. A lovely touch of piano, brass, or electric guitar throughout doesn't take anything away from Aretha's strong vocals.
Arthur Alexander - You Better Move On
I really love this song. One of the first songs recorded at the famous FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. Really great singing and just a fantastic R&B hit from local boy, Arthur Alexander. The Rolling Stones got a UK number one with a cover of this song, but they certainly weren't the only group to perform a version.
Jimmy Hughes - Steal Away
Jimmy Hughes was another local Muscle Shoals singer inspired by Arthur Alexander's success to audition for FAME studios producer, Rick Hall. This hit was the result of their collaboration.
The Supremes - Come See About Me
It's not hard to see why this song went to number one. A really catchy song and soft vocals. Oddly, my first and most lasting impression of this song is from the opening of the movie Beverly Hills Cop 3, where it plays on the radio as a bunch of guys get blown away by machine guns - yeah, it might take some therapy to work that one out!
Etta James - Tell Mama
A funky, soulful song with attitude! Excellent additions of trumpets - just every instrumental component is bang-on where it needs to be. Etta James is a really great singer.
Wilson Pickett - Land of 1000 Dances
Even if you're not the biggest "oldies" fan, you've likely heard this song at least once. I'm definitely not one to frequent the dance floor, but damn, if this song came on, it would be hard to resist.