From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V7 #162 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Thursday, July 7 2005 Volume 07 : Number 162 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] live [Jim Colbert ] [RS] Re: Great Songwriting [Theresa Marsik ] [RS] Much Ado... ["pete jameson" ] Re: [RS] Much Ado... [] Re: [RS] Great Songwriting [] Re: [RS] RE: Great Songwriting [Janet Cinelli ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 08:26:26 -0400 From: Jim Colbert Subject: [RS] live > Sacrilege #2 - I came to like Richard as the result of seeing him live. > First time was at a house concert in Wayne, NJ. I never heard any of > his > recorded work until after I had seen him live several times. I was > disappointed in the CDs and while I have certainly grown to like most > and > even love a couple, they don't compare to the live Richard. My first exposure to RS was through Fast Folk, and I still love some of those earlier live tracks, the intimacy and immediacy of them. I bought SP when it first came out; was iffy on it but kept it, but it was seeing him live that did it for me, too. I find that the single RS CD I listen to most is a collection of primarily live stuff culled from a variety of sources. > > > And I still think he's the best acoustic guitarist I have ever seen. > Sitting > a foot and a half in front of him perhaps 5 times at those house > concerts > was a bind-boggling experience. One thing that impresses me is the fluidity of his flatpicking; sometimes songs I thought were fingerpicked are flatpicked live. At times, I've gotten the impression he almost holds back on guitar live, so at to not get in the way of the songs, y'know? And that being said, I prefer the slow treatment of Reunion Hill. But I'm a slow song kinda guy... (: - -jim colbert bellefonte pa ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 08:29:23 -0400 (GMT-04:00) From: Theresa Marsik Subject: [RS] Re: Great Songwriting I am really enjoying the recent discussions. I haven't had time to contribute, but I had to make a quick comment to Chris. I also heard similarities between Morrissey and Richard (at least vocally) on Moz's live album. So you're not crazy (or else, maybe we both are?). :) Theresa Chris Foxwell wrote: I'm trying to organize my thoughts and see if I have anything solid to add to this conversation, but just to shake everyone up, check this out: I was listening to a friend's copy of Morrissey's latest live album, and I was SHOCKED to discover that at certain times Morrissey in this record sounded very much like Richard. (This is Morrissey of *The Smiths*, now, not Bill Morrissey of Rounder.) It sounds absurd, I know, and I'm shaking my head at the concept even now, but I swear I picked up similarities here and there. Crazy. --Chris, somewhere near wacko-land ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 11:38:36 -0400 From: "pete jameson" Subject: [RS] Much Ado... About NOTHING. Nothingness is something that many of the Shindell faithful aspire to, methinks. And I find it interesting that very few of the Listers speak of Richard's spirituality. I am of the same generation as Richard, born in '58, pretty mobile childhood (MI-MA-PA-NJ-MD-PA), exposed to 40's big band, AM radio, Motown, Beats, Psychedelia, British rock, Southern Rock, and, now, loving all sorts of folk/alt.country and recently adopting the "ears" for bluegrass and old timey. Big tip of the straw hat to Gillian & David for the latter. I think Dylan has written a number of excellent songs post-Blood on the Tracks. "Most of the Time", "Things Have Changed", "Cold Irons Bound", even "Gotta Serve Somebody". I also think snobbery about Shindell is a poor way to honor his immense talent for song structuring and virtuoso playing. One of my favorite songs is "Howling at the Trouble" off the 1st record. Listen to the wordplay and its ethereal soundscapes. The production is not what we "enjoyed" on Somewhere Near Paterson or Vuelta, but, again, I dig the Ben Wisch work and I've always dug Richard with the house band at Falcon Ridge. I agree that the souped up version of "Arrowhead" really enhances the song, but, hey, if some cat from Anywhere, USA is a "live" Shindell aficionado, I'm with that, too. No arguments. But I love it all. My favourite record: Reunion Hill. It speaks to me on a spiritual level that was hinted at on Blue Divide, but is really an attempt on the author's part to express the mystery of it all. CONTROVERSY ALERT! When I first heard "Confession" I thought it was an indictment of the super capitalist syndrome: work hard, make lots of money, take drugs to work harder, make even more money, cry out for help. Then Sept. 11th came and I thought, "Uh, oh. The very buildings that were struck down were at the heart of Confession." I've never confessed this to anyone, but I felt like Richard, as an artist, couldn't fathom that which many of us have to endure to "make it". Today, I work for a Catholic Diocese, receive very little remuneration, but like my life a lot. And, I appreciate and understand that those of you who are working absurd hours, traveling long distances, and making 10 times what I do are also "happy". So, I've done the big corporate, then grass roots pro-social enterprises, and now work for a much-maligned Religious Corporation, as my brother likes to call it. In the end, we're all refugees, from our pasts, from our dreams, from our true and better selves. My favourite Richard Shindell masterpiece? "I Saw My Youth Today". Love and Understanding, Pete in PennsylTucky ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 12:09:01 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Re: [RS] Much Ado... >From: pete jameson >Date: Thu Jul 07 10:38:36 CDT 2005 >To: shindell-list@smoe.org >Subject: [RS] Much Ado... >About NOTHING. Nothingness is something that many of the Shindell faithful >aspire to, methinks. And I find it interesting that very few of the Listers >speak of Richard's spirituality. > I also think snobbery about Shindell is a poor way >to honor his immense talent for song structuring and virtuoso playing. > > >Pete in PennsylTucky I guess I missed the snobbery amonst all the nothingness...all I heard was people expressing their opinions. Joe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 14:07:45 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Re: [RS] Great Songwriting From: Rongrittz@aol.com Again, perhaps it's because I've seen Richard enough times to qualify as a stalker, but I tend to like the "lesser tracks" on ALL the records, if for no other reason than as a breath of fresh air compared to the "hits" that I've heard so many times. "Sparrows Point." "By Now." "TV Light" "Ascent." "I Saw My Youth Today." "Money for Floods." "The Weather" "Waiting for the Storm." One of these days, I'd love to hear Richard do a whole set of the stuff we never hear him play. When I orginally posted that some of Shindell's earlier works had "lesser" tunes, I was referring to on albums only. Yes, it is nice to hear different numbers at a live show. Also, those tunes you mentioned are not my "lesser"'s but that is the fun part - that we all have different likes and dislikes on songs. For me, "Vuelta" was the first album were every track was stellar. That was my only point. "Sparrow's Point" also is a great album, only one or two there that aren't my cup of tea. But "BD", "RH", and "SMP" all have tracks I always skip as well as tracks I love. Since this thread started I listened to every album. :) "Vuelta" and "Sparrow" are tied for my favorite. With "Sparrow", "Fishing", "I Saw My Youth Today", "Wisteria", and "Che Guevera" taken my personal top honors as tracks. With all that said, I enjoy all his albums and I think his albums are better than most of his peers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 13:54:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Janet Cinelli Subject: Re: [RS] RE: Great Songwriting John McD. wrote: I also have that sense, since listening to what I'm assuming is an early recording of AYHN. I could feel the sadness in it where he lists all the things that got messed up, in ways they used to things as a couple, how they stared up at the sky, the car they picked up, etc. To me, that shows his awareness that maybe he had some hand in the break-up. Vanessa had mentioned awhile ago that this is a good song to start with to introduce Richard's music to others and I agree. It was the one that got the interest of my crew (sister, daughters and niece) and without fail, I can get them to come to any gig with me to see him. THe funny thing is, he hasn't sung it once since they've started coming with me! I've also tried to lure them with On a Sea of Fleur-di-Lis but that hasn't grabbed them yet. I love that song, I have no idea what it's about but to me that's not important. Sometimes you just have to throw away logic and understanding and embrace the spirituality of a song. Janet PS I also think Bob Dylan has written great recent songs. On his album, Love and Theft, it has a great song on it, Mississippi. It's just my opinion, I know but I thought the purpose of any list was a free exchange of opinions! ____________________________________________________ Sell on Yahoo! Auctions  no fees. Bid on great items. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V7 #162 ***********************************