MLT Club Member Tim Arnold
MLT Club MemberForum Replies Created
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One guy who could right a love song was Kris Kristofferson. He didn’t mince words, he could take words directly from his heart and put them in a song. Not that he was a great singer, he wasn’t even a good singer but if a great singer recorded one of his songs it was usually magic. If you are not familiar with Kris look up his biography or watch a documentary on YouTube. He was a Rhodes scholar and a helicopter pilot in the military. He belonged to a well to do family but gave up his inheritance to be a janitor at a record company in Nashville so he could pitch his songs to artists and executives. Here’s one of his best songs singing with Rita Coolidge who was his partner in song and love at the time, I don’t remember if they were ever married but I hope they got a room later.
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One more of my favorite love songs is Nothing At All, It was written by country star Keith Whitley who had an early and sad end to his life as his career was blossoming. A few artists have covered the song but IMO no one has done it as beautiful as Allison Krause. She is known a lot for her very excellent bluegrass music with her band Union Station but has a beautiful sweet voice that lends itself well to this beautiful song. over 110,000,000 views so I guess I’m not the only one who likes it.
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Another beautiful song I love is Oh Girl by The Chi-Lites. Not my favorite musical genre at all, especially growing up but you can’t deny a great song and a great voice.
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Wow, thanks Johnnypee, I know the song but never heard it by Allison Krause. She is something special. That slide guitar has a haunting sound to it. A great arrangement and amazing vocals.
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Yeah I like that song Jung but I never heard the Beach Boys version, it’s really cool. They could play any of these old songs and make them sound like a Beach Boys song. I learned a while ago that it is an old song by the Crystals but the first time I heard it was on a KISS album called Love Gun. I thought they did a good job with it. I just listened to their version for the first time in 40 years or so and I still think it sounds good. Another one of those great old teenage love songs is Last Kiss originally done by J. Frank Wilson but one of the best covers of this song (IMO) was done by Pearl Jam. A teenage love song that ends in tragedy was a good format for a hit record.
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David,
Allison has her roots in Bluegrass music and is very good at it especially her early work with her band called Union Station, but she has a very sweet voice and can deliver a song with so much natural emotion, especially a love song.
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I grew up with white radio and music too and with out much exposure to Motown. Our local radio station was all country and the ones nearby that played rock or top 40 played mostly white music too. I guess they played toward their target audience which was mostly white, especially in the 60’s and 70’s. In fact there was only one black kid in town when I was little and he was my brother Rod’s best friend. Even his mother and sister were white. I didn’t know why or how that happened, I was pretty young and dumb. Anyway I wasn’t exposed to much R&B or soul music so now I’m enjoying all the good stuff I missed. Just like your exposure to country, or lack of it. Yeah, there are a lot of great country love songs that are gems, just like I am finding a lot of R&B gems. The two I listed though, Wildflower and Oh Girl I have loved those for a long time. I’ll see if I can find a few more country gems.
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You’re right about that Chris, when you think about it most love affairs don’t have a happy ending. I think we all have a few love interests before we find the right one and them all end in a break up. We could do a whole forum on break up and heartache songs too.
That is a great song by Bonnie Raitt. I’m not real familiar with her music but I enjoy listening to her sing. This one is really beatifully done.
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Jurgen, The Beatles were great at writing and singing love songs. They probably wrote more than anyone else in history. I like these earlier ones and especially the ones that John sings the lead. That cry in his voice was so good for these types of songs.
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Yeah, that’s a good one Chris, one of my favorites too. Eric really put his heart down on paper when he wrote that one. Just simple straight forward lyrics that says everything. I also like the way Lisa sings it in that early concert. It’s hard to believe a 13 year old girl can sing with that much feeling considering the words are not even in her native language.
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Great song Jurgen, I didn’t care that much for Diamond Dave but I loved Van Halen when Sammy Hagar was in the band. He was a way better singer and song writer and a great guitar player. I wish those boys could have gotten along better but they sure made some good music for a few years.
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Chris,
A great love song really only needs great, usually simple, lyrics and a great singer and both of these hit the mark. Frank could certainly deliver a song.
I always loved the one by Kenny Loggins. I remember Ann Murray did a nice cover of that song too but I prefer it by Kenny. I was just watching some videos of Loggins and Messina yesterday, I always liked their music.
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Jung,
You’re right about the juvenile lyrics of AC/DC. I just loved the guitars and the driving beat, didn’t care much about the lyrics.
I remember a few country artists like Buck Owens playing Long Tall Texan, my brothers even played it once in a while. Just a fun song, I liked some of the novelty songs. I just never heard the Beach Boys play it and it sounds really good. Even a little nose harp at the end.
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David,
Lol. I’m sure they had all their legal bases covered. I don’t think you can be in the business of ripping people off without having a good lawyer.
I’ve got to go, I hear there is a football game on and Taylor Swift may be there.
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Yep, sounds like your siblings were a big influence on your musical taste too. I was generally at the mercy of listening to their favorites but most of it was pretty cool. When I did get a chance to pick something from their collections it was probably Hair by the Cowsills, Leader of the Pack or maybe Snoopy and The Red Baron, Lol.
I never got into Hendrix much either or some of the earlier metal bands like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. I like some of the songs but never enough to spend hard earned money on their albums.
Same with R&B or Blues, I tended to like the more pop/rock bands that still put hits on the radio like Kiss, Queen, and Styx. I think Rush and Heart were two of the main ones that were a little more prog rock type that I really enjoyed. They had a different sound than anyone else and were a welcome alternative to the disco type pop stuff that was taking over. Then AC/DC came along and blew the doors off everything for me. Just straight up Rock n Roll, loud but not heavy, just a great beat. You could put any of their albums on and put the needle anywhere and you knew what you were going to get.
It wasn’t until lately, since YouTube started I guess, that I started listening to the bluesy stuff which I really love now. I guess losing a wife and many loved ones tend to take you in that direction, it really does kind of resonate in your soul. I like hearing a lot of the old stuff from the 50’s and 60’s that I never listened to much when I was young. I like finding new bands that are playing these old songs and creating new songs in this style. I guess it’s one of the main reasons I’m here in the Twins Club talking about it.
Oh Jung, I never had that LP but all the great early Beach Boys songs are there. If a kid could only have one album that would be a great one to have. I’ve got to look up Long Tall Texan by the Beach Boys, I don’t think I’ve ever heard them do that one.
Edit: I found a video of the Beach Boys playing Long Tall Texan live. Yeah, it’s really corny, I love it.