Into the Vault, Part 2

Back from commercials for the second set:

1. Ballad of Danny Bailey (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973) – Elton John

A masterpiece from an artist with several to his credit. A testament to the brilliance of producer Gus Dudgeon – that powerful drum sound, the backing vocals that shimmer like light on water….

 

2. The Knife Feels Like Justice (The Knife Feels Like Justice, 1986) – Brian Setzer 

Title track from the first release from Setzer’s roots rock period; very much of its time but still stands up now. Features songs co-written by Little Steven, Mike Campbell and Bo Diddley and a lineup that includes Kenny Aaronson, Benmont Tench, Campbell and Chuck Leavell among others.

 

 

3. Fisherman’s Blues (Fisherman’s Blues, 1988) – The Waterboys 

Pure, organic, brilliant and timeless.

 

 

4. White City Fighting (White City: A Novel, 1985) – Pete Townshend

Features David Gilmour on guitar, who’d written the tune for the “About Face” album and asked Townshend for lyrics. Not comfortable with Townshend’s take, he gave the song to him for use on the autobiographical “White City” album. Gilmour then approached Roy Harper, whose completely different take on it didn’t work for him either. Harper and Jimmy Page played on the track for Harper’s album “Whatever Happened to Jugula?”
And somehow “About Face” got made too.

 

5. Diamonds and Rust (Live) (Unleashed in the East, 1979) – Judas Priest  

What can you say? It worked.

Rock Hall Voting 2017: A Snapshot at the Halfway Point

At Day 25, we’re halfway through the voting period for this year’s RRHOF ballot–good time for a quick snapshot.

After an initial week or so of blind voting, the totals are now visible (and on occasion will update in real time, although not consistently).  It’s not known though if this is because the Hall wanted everyone to “vote their conscience” at first without being swayed by out-of-the-gate numbers or because it caught on that hiding them looked shady and sapped motivation or even just a technical glitch.