Category: Music

Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson) Releases “Passage du Desir”

Sturgill Simpson adopts a new name, Johnny Blue Skies, for his latest album “Passage du Desir.”

Sturgill Simpson has adopted a new name for his latest album, Passage du Desir (2024). Citing other artists who have adopted a different name for their work, like Eric Clapton’s Derek & the Dominoes or David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Simpson is currently using the name Johnny Blue Skies.

Simpson has long explained that he planned to release only five albums. So following his release of five albums — plus two pandemic era bonus bluegrass albums — fans wondered what he would do next. Simpson has said that in adopting a new name for his albums, it frees up his creativity while also allowing him to keep his birth name for himself.

The new identity comes out of Simpson’s struggles with a vocal cord injury and his travels in Thailand and Paris. Additionally, he lost several people close to him, including one friend to suicide. These experiences gave Simpson new directions in his life, although the name “Johnny Blue Skies” originated from a name he was called by a Kentucky bartender when he was 21. The name has popped up in other work by Simpson, such as in the gatefold of his album Sailors Guide to Earth (“Beware of the dread pirate Johnny Blue Skies”).  So, as he has noted there was not a lot of planning in choosing the name, but “the paperwork was already done, I owned the name.”

Of course, all of that biographical drama is mainly an interesting distraction for a listener who wonders what does Passage du Desir sound like? Well, to my ears, it sounds a lot like a Sturgill Simpson album, meaning, great music. It does feature some more orchestration than past albums, somewhat reminding me of Bruce Springsteen’s intentional sound deviation for Western Stars.

Many of the songs have a country sound, but the album also incorporates some R&B, such as on “One for the Road” and “If the Sun Never Rises Again,” perhaps the biggest deviation from most of Simpson’s previous work.

One of my favorite tracks is “One for the Road.” While it features lusher orchestration than we generally expect from Simpson’s past work, it would not be that out of place on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth album.

Similarly, Pitchfork has called Passage du Desir sort of a comeback for Simpson, arguing that while it deviates in some ways from past work, it is a true follow-up to A Sailor’s Guide to Earth following Simpson’s deviation into bluegrass and The Ballad of Dood & Juanita. Giving the album 8.5 out of 10, it states, “This is country music caught between earthiness and spaciness, and it reintroduces him as one of Nashville’s oddest artists, who understands and subverts both the square mainstream and the outlaw fringes of country music.”

Overall, if you love Simpsons’ past work, you’ll probably love Johnny Blue Skies too. Sturgill’s fans have always known we are in for a non-traditional ride with the guy. And that’s true of Johnny Blue Skies too.

Below, Simpson discusses the new album and Johnny Blue Skies further.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    That Time Willie Nelson Got a Little Emotional Singing with Leon Russell and Ray Charles

    In 2003, viewers saw the emotion on Willie Nelson’s face as he performed with his friend Ray Charles for the last time.

    In 2003, a number of great performers gathered for Willie Nelson’s 70th birthday concert. One unforgettable moment from that concert celebration occurred when Nelson took the stage to sing “A Song For You” with Leon Russell and Ray Charles.

    The performance at New York’s Beacon Theatre, is memorable for a number of reasons. Of course, it is a great teaming of the three friends singing Russell’s classic song and they all do great. But it is the emotional impact of the performance that shines through the most, as you watch Willie Nelson’s face near tears for much of the song.

    Nathaniel Rateliff, on the One By Willie podcast, recently reported that Willie’s sadness was because he knew Ray Charles was very ill. In fact, the performance would the be last with the two old friends. Willie was reportedly very close to Ray Charles, as well as to Leon Russell, so it is a touching performance among the three men.

    I love you in a place
    Where there’s no space or time;
    I love you for my life,
    You’re a friend of mine;
    And when my life is over,
    Remember when we were together    ;
    We were alone,
    And I was singing this song to you.

    After Russell and Nelson take turns at the beginning, they turn over the song to the great Ray Charles. Check it out, and have some tissues handy.

    The performance, as well as other songs from the concert, appear on Nelson’s album, Live and Kickin‘.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Guy Clark’s Life and Music in “Without Getting Killed or Caught”

    The documentary “Without Getting Killed or Caught” does an excellent job of recounting the music and life of legendary Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark.

    The recent documentary about the life and music of Guy Clark, Without Getting Killed or Caught, is now available for renting on Amazon Prime. Is it worth watching?

    All fans of Guy Clark will enjoy learning more about the great Texas singer-songwriter from the documentary based on Tamara Saviano’s 2016 book of the same name and the diaries of Clark’s wife Susanna Clark. The film was produced and directed by Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield, it was written by Tamara Saviano and Bart Knaggs.

    The film does a good job of recapping the music of Guy Clark, while also revealing more about his personal life, including the complicated relationship among him, his wife Susanna Clark, and singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Fans of Van Zandt will also find much about his life and death.

    The film provides a proper place in history to the person often overlooked in the story, Susanna Clark. While understandably overshadowed by the talents of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, the film highlights how she was an important part of the lives of both men. It also gives more context to her own talents in painting and songwriting. Additionally, the film literally gives Susanna Clark a voice through home audio recordings and narration in her voice by actress Sissy Spacek.

    If there is any weakness in the film, it would be that it leaves one wanting to know more about Guy Clark’s music. The movie does a good job giving space to the songs in the time it has, but it probably was inevitable that a movie about someone with such a deep catalog would leave viewers wanting more.

    One also may be curious to know more about Clark’s personal life and his feelings about his complicated relationship with his wife and Townes Van Zandt. But of course one film can only cover so much ground.

    The movie largely rises to the challenge of exploring the life and music of Clark. It also makes the case that Guy Clark is one of the great American singer-songwriters who is too often overlooked.

    (Below is a featurette about the film, featuring Jack ingram, Lyle Lovett, Patty Griffin, Rodney Crowell and others. For more about the film, here is a link to an interesting conversation between Steve Earle and filmmaker Tamara Saviano.)

    What is your favorite Guy Clark song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    • George Strait Sings a Marty Brown Song: “To the Moon” (Song of the Day)

    Country legend George Strait is including on his forthcoming album a new song co-written by Marty Brown and Steve Clark, “To the Moon.”

    For many years, we have covered the career of country singer Marty Brown. From his success with great albums in the 1990s, his comeback on America’s Got Talent, to his recent recordings, one of his strengths has always been his songwriting. So it is no surprise that one of the legends of country music, George Strait, recently recorded a song co-written by Brown, “To the Moon.”

    Brown co-wrote “To the Moon” with Steve Clark. The song takes some romantic lines and puts them in a beautiful context, creating a heartfelt country song.

    The song will appear on Strait’s upcoming album, Cowboys and Dreamers, to be released in September 2024.

    In the performance video below, George Strait illustrates how much he loves the song. Not only did he include it on his new album, here he dedicates the love song to his wife Norma.

    This recording was made at Strait’s June 15, 2024 at Kyle Field at Texas A&M University. There, Strait he set an attendance record with more than 110,000 fans. Check out another classic song from Marty Brown.

    Strait recently also performed the song on June 29, 2024 in Salt Lake City.

    We are lucky to have one of the country music legends like Strait still performing and releasing music. And while we can’t wait to hear the rest of the album, we are excited by “To the Moon” and hoping it may be another top single from Strait.

    What do you think of “To the Moon”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    • James Carr, Living on “The Dark End of the Street”

    Soul singer James Carr’s troubled life kept him from continued success, but his original recording of “The Dark End of the Street” remains the classic version of the great song.

    Soul and R&B singer James Carr was born on June 13, 1942 in Mississippi. His family soon moved to Memphis, where Carr would grow up singing in the church and eventually for Goldwax Records (after being rejected by Stax). Carr is most remembered for his amazing vocal performance on the original recording of “The Dark End of the Street.”

    But, despite a spotty recording career for various reasons, Carr created some other great recordings in addition to “The Dark End of the Street.” Below, a young Carr sings “Love Attack” live in 1967, early in his career when he was full of promise.

    Prior to “Dark End of the Street,” Carr’s first success came from “You Got My Mind Messed Up,” which he released in 1966. Below he performs the song live late in his career.

    The Dark End of the Street

    Dan Penn and Chips Moman wrote “The Dark End of the Street,” and many artists have covered the song over the years, including Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, and Gram Parsons. But it is Carr’s original 1967 recording that stands out. It went to number 10 on the R&B chart and number 77 on the pop chart, but the recording remains timeless.

    Penn and Moman had the idea for the song when they were playing cards, with their conversation turning to the subject of cheating. During a break from the game, in about a half hour the two men created what Penn initially considered a “straightforward country cheatin’ ballad.”

    Carr’s version of the song may be the best recording ever made about a forbidden love. The two lovers meet “at the dark end of the street” where they are “hiding in shadows where we don’t belong.” During the day, they can’t acknowledge each other. But the most anguished part of the song is where Carr’s voice reveals that the singer knows it is a sin and inevitable they will be caught.

    Carr’s Life & Career

    Like the narrator of the song, James Carr experienced a lot of anguish in his life. And perhaps some of that pain came through in his songs. As “The Dark End of the Street” songwriter Dan Penn explained regarding the various versions of that song, “Nobody did it as good as James Carr. Not even me.”

    Carr suffered from bipolar disorder much of his life, and his recording career was off and on, without ever providing him the fame he deserved. His mental condition impaired his career in a number of ways, including abandoned recording sessions. Similarly, an overdose of antidepressants led him to freeze onstage before an audience in Japan in 1979. Even as he struggled with his mental health, he periodically made music, even recording two albums in the early 1990s.

    But in the mid-1990s, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He passed away on January 7, 2001 at the age of 57 in a Memphis nursing home, leaving us too soon but leaving us with some great music from a troubled soul.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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