A Little Bit Of Sympathy

Robin Trower is a highly acclaimed British rock guitarist, one of the very best. I never realised it at the time that when I bought his live album in 1976 it would be one of the best live albums I ever bought. There are only seven songs on it but each one is excellent, my favourite being the last one… A Little Bit Of Sympathy.

He first had some success as a member of Procul Harum, but them left to form his own very powerful rock trio. This is that trio on my next choice for the desert island collection… Robin Trower on guitar, Bill Lordon on drums…, and the bass and vocals are by James Dewar, the Robin Trower Band. Dewar had one of the finest blues voices you’ll hear, he’s sadly no longer alive.

This live recording was made in Stockholm, Sweden in 1975. It was recorded by Swedish Radio so the sound quality is very good for a live album of that era…. and throughout the whole album Trower shows just how good he is… he’s still touring today… His sound is reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, although he doesn’t attempt to copy him, he does get that Hendrix sound from the guitar.

I’m glad I bought this all those years ago, it’s a jewel in my collection and there’s no way I’d ever part with it. All seven tracks are well worth listening to… but what a way to finish a show, by playing this. If you’re into rock guitar but never heard Robin Trower play, listen to this. He put together a tight, powerful trio that really rocked. The song’s on the list to give me a slap around the head to shake me out of those desert island daydreams should I ever get them…. a good blast whenever I need it.

And I Miss My Clean, White Linen

I was in my mid teens when I first heard Carey, by Joni Mitchell. I’d seen her on TV singing Big Yellow Taxi, I liked that song… don’t know why, not really the kind of music I was into at the time. But it’s one of those songs that everyone seems to like, everyone knows the words… popular music. And I liked all that hippy stuff, even liked some folk music… so when I first heard Carey it stuck in my mind. I never bought it, though.

Over the years the song would come on the radio and I used to think “I’ll have to get that song”… but never did, and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I aquired the album “Blue” on which the song features, even though it had been released in 1971. But it was worth the wait because Blue is a fine album with some great songs on it, Carey is the best one as far as I’m concerned. The lyrics are wonderful.

The story behind the song is well documented on the internet so I won’t go into it too much but, basically, the song is about the time she spent living amongst some hippy cave dwellers in Matala on the island of Crete. The Carey in the song is a guy called Carey Raditz, one of the people she befriended there. I like a song that tells a story in the lyrics and the lyrics to Carey certainly tell a story. She wrote the song about what was obviously a happy time in her life…, it’s a happy song, but one that’s not played too often when they play Joni Mitchell songs on the radio…, they nearly always play Big Yellow Taxi, like it was the only record she ever made.. why do they do that? Anyway, there are some great lines in the song and if there was a Mermaid Cafe on my island I’d definitely be going down there to buy you a bottle of wine… happy days. Although I wouldn’t miss any fancy French Cologne, the thought of some clean, white linen to sleep in instead of a makeshift hammock would be one to savour.

Ritmo Nativo – Edgar Muenala

This next song is one that I came across a year or so ago, I was searching for some panflute music and happened to find this. I like the sound of the panflute…, like if you ever come across some of those South American touring musicians who play in cities or at festivals throughout the summertime?…. I’m sure you’ve seen them. They just turn up, set up their equipment and play… and they always draw a crowd. Whenever I come across them I’ll stand there for ages and listen to their music, it’s always captivating to me. Then I watch as one of them goes around the gathered audience selling CD’s…. and they always sell like hotcakes. I think that’s a great way to tour the world, earning money as you go… if you have the talent.

So I found a video on YouTube by Edgar Muenala…. I’d never heard of him before, but I listened to the song, Ritmo Nativo, and thought it was brilliant. It’s panflute music with a world feel to it, the song has a nice  infectious melody and rhythm that gets your feet tapping, it quickly became a favourite song of mine.

Edgar Muenala is from Ecuador but has toured Western Europe, Asia, Canada and America… so maybe you’ve seen him… maybe I’ve even seen him and didn’t realise… he’s been around a long time. His music is a nice mix of electronic and traditional instruments, but it’s that kind of music that just fits in anywhere in the world… and would fit right in just perfect on my desert island without a doubt, so it’s in the collection to play on those nights when I’m just relaxing on the porch… lovely.