Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

Some 80-odd years ago, A.P. Carter (or to give him his rather flamboyant - though rarely used - full name, Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter) penned "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow". It is doubtful that he would have had even the slightest inkling that this song (and many of his other compositions) would become a folk standard. Yet, here we are today and it remains an extremely famous folk song, recorded by just about every man and his dog. Actually, in all fairness, I am not sure whether or not any dogs have ever recorded the song, but certainly quite a few human beings have. I may have made up the bit about the dog.

Anyway, I'm rambling, and I'm not dressed for it, so here we go. Here is the original version of the track, recorded by The Carter Family back in 1920-something.

Download: The Carter Family - Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

In 2003, Natalie Merchant released "The House Carpenter's Daughter", an astonishing collection of folk songs (traditional and contemporary) delivered beautifully, with that voice allowed to shine. It's a magnificent album, with some moments of genuine brilliance and not a single second of filler. It's THAT good.

A polished version of "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow" is one of the album's (many) highlights. Radically different to the Carter Family sound, it introduces some wonderful bluegrass fiddle into the mix and the result is a rollicking good listen.

Download: Natalie Merchant - Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

Enjoy!

Sonic Dick Verucas!

Hello again, and here we are with the first batch of MP3s for the New Year. Yeah, it's 2008! Since the last post I've been music shopping again, and the latest Amazon delivery (when it gets here) will have some spiffing CDs by Sonic Youth (who I've long had a love affair with), Whipping Boy and most excitingly, a trip back in time with baggy demigods Flowered Up (the "Best Of", which has been on my Wants List for some time now).

All things considered (well, maybe not all things, but certainly the last paragraph for starters...) your first track for today would be the mighty Sonic Youth (pictured). Lifted from their "Dirty" album (their second for Geffen), this was a minor hit, and as such I really should've come up with something a little more inventive. But hey, this is a bit of a classic, so why not...

Download: Sonic Youth - 100%

Continuing in a similar alt.rock vein (and with an equally brilliant song), here's a track which I used to hear week in and week out when I worked in a certain nightclub in these parts. That nightclub was called "Spiders" and it was quite a significant part of my life (sadly, it's shit now, but that's the way it goes). There were a few tracks which used to get spun all the time. Some I loved, some I hated. This was one of the ones I loved, a forgotten gem from Veruca Salt.

Download: Veruca Salt - Seether

And finally (for now), as it's a New Year, let's make a wish. My wish - peace and love, etcetera. Best illustrated I feel, with some mid-80s U.S. hardcore, in the shape of the rather brilliant (and shockingly unknown) Dicks. This is the seminal "No Fuckin' War", and as an anthem to a new beginning, ain't half bad.

Download: Dicks - No Fuckin' War

Okaaaaaaaaaaay then. It's 2008.

Some heavy stuff here - next time I think we'll turn the volume down a bit and go for something a little more chilled... hmmm... what will it be...

Happy New Year!

Greetings one and all, and welcome back to Musicus Eclecticus.

Sadly as it's been holiday season we have not had time to update the blog, preferring instead to spend most of Christmas and the New Year drinking alcohol until blood seeped from our every orifice. No, of course not. That only happened the once. And it wasn't really blood, but rather some strange form of other-worldly ectoplasm normally only emitted by certain extraterrestrial lifeforms. Or was it all just a dream? Who knows?

On a musical tip, we did find time to see The Pogues and Billy Bragg live in Manchester, met three Pogues and one Bragg, and also (in a separate incident) somehow managed to agree to see Jack Penate sometime in February, which will probably involve being surrounded by nubile young students making this writer feel very old indeed. Ah... the things you do for love.

Through Christmas, onto our Welcome mat dropped CDs from Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Donovan, Gil Scott-Heron, JJ72 and The Carter Family, among others... as well as some nice shiny vinyl from the rather brill Reverend & The Makers.

Check back in a day or two for some nice MP3s for you to download. As they'll be the first of the year, we'll make 'em good ones.

Catch yez later.