Marty Robbins "El Paso"

Western ballads laid the blueprint for many generations of singer-songwriters, including Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springsteen.

"El Paso" ranks high among the great Western ballads with its tale of love in a lawless land. It's an archetype that has been written in many places around the world for millennia, but this particularly tune is unmistakably American.

Robbins packs imagery and action into 466 words and 14 verses over more than 4½ minutes. 

It's a wonder Robbins didn't get lost in the lyrics during live shows because there is very little difference between the arrangement or rhyme schemes in any given verse compared to the one before or after -- except the occasional register lift or drop.

Some radio stations refused to play it because it was so long, or they played an edited-for-time version, which is a shame because the entire story deserves to be heard.

In 2008, Chris Thile performed a must-listen rendition of "El Paso" on A Prairie Home Companion (starts at 1:13:00) that I heard while driving. When I got home, I began a search for an mp3 of the show, which I downloaded and keep on a drive of music.

Thile hosted APHC's successor, Live from Here.

Location: Michigan, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fiona Apple "Criminal"

Image
The worst part about this song is its quality was overshadowed by the controversy that surrounded its video, which has become one of the most iconic of the '90s, has been imitated numerous times, and seems tame compared to some videos in recent years. The mid-'90s had a slew of bad-girl songs that pushed the boundary of what women could sing about and get those songs played on commercial radio. Two years before "Criminal" was released, Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" gave a heavily-redacted account of acts she performed (and wished to perform) on an ex-lover. In that vein, Apple confessed (with few details) that she was also quite naughty, cheating on her boyfriend. Confessional songs, which were nothing new by any means, soon had a bit of a moment on MTV and radio as artists spilled their souls on topics like love, money, and the environment. However, few artists could hope to combine the raw emotion and raspy vocal technique Apple gives in her pl
Read more

David Bowie "Young Americans" (from "The Dick Cavett Show" Dec. 4, 1974)

Image
One of rock 'n roll's greatest oddities and most talented performers, England's David Bowie used his 1975 album, Young Americans , to explore American soul and R&B. The eponymous first single is a wall-to-wall powerhouse that mixes blue-eyed soul with elements of jazz and island rhythms mixed with politically-tinged lyrics, which include a not-so-veiled reference to The Beatles . This performance from The Dick Cavett Show  shows Bowie in his element -- probably coked up and letting it all hang out for a national audience. If you look closely, you'll even recognize a young Luther Vandross singing backup. Both the record and album have found new life as each generation has championed them as underappreciated accomplishments in the medium.
Read more

One Song Each Day for an Entire Year

A couple decades ago, a friend did an extremely similar project with movies. I thought, "I should do that -- but with music." The goal is to share music that stands out and do so while eating 5-10 minutes of your time for each day. These are not necessarily my favorite songs -- although, I like most of them. They simply have an element that goes beyond your typical piece of music, and each post will include an explanation of why I chose it. Some songs will have a special place in my life, but most of them will speak to a shared experience. Some of them will be bad songs that have a good element. Some of them are all about the music video -- regardless of the quality of the song. Some of them will be about the story behind the song. Even when the project is done, there will be troves of songs that deserve to go here, and I will probably wish I removed This Song and replaced it with That Song. Just like the music we choose to listen to at any given time, whatever goes here will
Read more