My Musical Alphabet : L

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its foreign variants, for copies. I'm sure you know how.

Like some songs on these lists, I am not sure where my liking for the following one comes from. Maybe from the 60s and some TV stuff about the war? I really do not know. What I can say for certain is that this is the version I like. Not the one my Marlene Dietrich. This is Lale Andersen with Lili Marlene. Sorry for the removed crackles but it looks like an the 78rpm shellac has been cleaned up. A nice song and tune. Associated with the "Baddies" from the war but listened to and sung by both sides. Music beats war!

Lale Andersen singing Lili Marlene

Another, C&W, lurve song next and who doesn't like the Eagles? You must - their albums, back before nicked downloads, sold by the millions. Released when I was just starting out on the love trail. I really like this one out of their repertoire. Of course, it is Lyin' Eyes.

The Eagles performing Lyin' Eyes

Now this is a bit of an oddity, even if I do say so myself. I have never heard of the movie it is from, the song, the singer, the composer. Believe it or not, I first heard this on a TV advertisement! Back then I had no shazam to find it. All I had was a search engine or two, a scientist's enquiring mind and a CSI's detecting skills. A bit of a cheek using La for my link with this. It is La ragazza dalle pelle di luna. Singer unknown at this time.

La ragazza dalle pelle di luna 

Next up in the category are Lullabys. This is not the first one I heard but it does come with a nice guitar version. The first one was Brahm's lullaby in a bright blue poodle ornament that one of my grans had. The head went around and the tune came out. I was going to post Nena, her of 99 Red Balloons fame, covering some children's songs but instead plumped for another bit of guitar. The song was written by no less than WA Mozart.

Josef Stalinsson plays some Mozart

Next up is some Lennon, not from his Beatles days but this lovely melody. It is #9 Dream. I was bottle fed the Beatles but they went weird and I lost contact. However, their songs, or their member's songs now and again popped up. No idea what he's on about but the tune is nice.

John Lennon's #9 Dream

Turn this next one up to 11. One of the best riffs written (Not the best but more of that later). It is Zep of course. Led Zep. I was never a Zep fan but did hear their stuff from fellow travellers. Back then if you liked a song you bought the album or the single (if it was available). None of this download nonsense. Anyway, I do like this one. The louder, the better.

Such a simple song. Apart from the solo.

Time to slow this down a bit with a total change of direction from metal to dance. Yes, I know.

The L this time is for the London Boys. Another piece that is on my list. I can probably lay this one on England. I was living there at this time. Possibly picked up from my, limited time, clubbing days. Never again. Not because of the music, honest, just the predatory nature of those others in the club. Seems that all singles are targets - from anyone. Anyway, now that dark secret is out, here they are:

Requiem by the London Boys

Landler. The precursor to the walz. I don't know about this one but I may be able to lay it at the door of that Children's classic, Trumpton. I found this one trawling through Youtube trying to avoid all references to the Sound of Music. This clip has it all - give it a listen. BTW, there is no yodelling in this one, it is purely instrumental.

Well, there you go. Thanks for taking the time to have a read/listen to my warblings. Feel free to like, comment or share (as they always say on YouTube). If you'd like to hear my take on any musical genre, I'll happily give it, provided it isn't too specific or so vague that I've never heard of it. Until next time...

My Musical Alphabet : G

Another break from work (entirely above board) and we have reached the letter after G, but first the usual housekeeping:

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its foreign variants, for copies. I'm sure you know how.

This first piece is for piano. As I write this I am aware that I seem to have a liking for all strings, plucked, stroked, bashed, bowed. Better have a word with my analyst, see what she says about that.

Anyway. I have James Burke, a real hero of mine for this. It was the theme tune to one of his excellent TV programmes, "The Real Thing." That is also on YouTube.

The piece is by Eric Satie

 

and goes by the title, "Gnosienne No 1."

Gipsy Kings are up next: and would you look at that, a whole raft of guitars! According to an author on Wiki - "Spanish flamenco and gypsy rhapsody meet salsa funk".  I am not really sure how they came to my attention but you can have a taste of them with the following, "Baila Me."

The next clip also features guitars and I wasn't really sure what to use but I've gone for this piece, "Asturias" played by Andreas Segovia. Who says you can't play guiatr with large fingers?

You might want to ignore the Hot Latin Beauties advert that turns up in your news feed on FB from now on.

G is for Glam, and, again, there is loads of stuff to choose. I do think that this is where my real music education started. Before then music was in the background but from the early 70s, I was more interested in it. We had Glam, Prog, Metal, Puck, New Wave.....

My choice would be the following, a bittersweet choice as my dad died as this was on the airwaves.

And then came the 80s:

G is now for Germans and there are a load of them that I could have chosen (from the 80s or earlier). From Kraftwerk to Nena to the Spider Murphy Gang. Foreign music is thin on the ground in the UK charts but then there is radio as I mentioned in an earlier blog.

But I have chosen Modern Talking. Please ignore the shell suits, the lip gloss, the big hair. It was the 80s after all. I like the MT stuff, not so much what Bohlen/Anders have done on their own, but what they did together.

Yet again, I am not sure where I first heard them but it must have been about the time of "You're My Heart, You'reMy Soul" in 1985 as I am the proud owner of this on 12".

Here are a couple from them, the above song and one featuring a bit more guitar.

 

Enjoy!