For one year in 1969, the band Blind Faith existed. After Eric Clapton had left Cream and Steve Winwood had left Traffic, the two formed a “super group” with drummer Ginger Baker and bass-player Ric Grech. They created one self-titled album and did one tour, and that was it. But during that time, they created some great music, including “Presence of the Lord.”
Clapton wrote “Presence of the Lord,” although Winwood handles lead vocals on the recording. The song conveys an image of one finding peace.
Everybody knows the secret, Everybody knows the score. I have finally found a place to live In the presence of the Lord.
Some have written about the spiritual and religious nature of the song. Others have noted that it may have been inspired by Clapton finding peace in his own life after finding a new place to live.
In the fascinating documentary, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (2017), Clapton explained that the song’s line “I have finally found a place to live” is about his love for Patty Boyd. At the time, she was married to his friend George Harrison, and Clapton’s feelings for her would inspire several songs. The anguish would be reflected a few years later in the Derek and the Dominos song, “Layla.” Clapton and Boyd married a decade later, but the marriage did not last.
Regardless of the true meaning behind the song, Clapton’s guitar playing and Winwood’s voice help take the song to a higher plane. Below, Blind Faith performs “Presence of the Lord” at the band’s first performance, live in London’s Hyde Park on June 7, 1969.
In October of that year, the band released a press release saying they had broken up.
Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers has released a new solo album, Stand Tall. The album, which includes a tribute to the Ramones called “God Bless The Ramones,” reminds us that in these crazy times we need Ringenberg’s music now more than ever.
“God Bless The Ramones” has some basis in Ringenberg’s memory, as he once opened for the Ramones with Jason and the Scorchers in 1982. He recalls his band being bombarded during their set with all kinds of things thrown from the Texas crowd.
As for the Ramones, Ringenberg only has fond memories of how the band treated them, especially Dee Dee Ramone, who shared chicken wings, beer, and bass strings with the Scorchers. So it is no surprise that Ringenberg sings, “God Bless The Ramones.”
Ringenberg was inspired to write “God Bless the Ramones” while he stood at the base of a giant Sequoia tree named Charles Young after the first African-American commandant of the National Park Service. The connection to the tree and the National Park Service came out of where Ringenberg worked on his new crowd-funded solo album, Stand Tall.
The Album’s Inspiration
Ringenberg created much of the music on Stand Tall while serving as the Artist in Residence at Sequoia National Park for a month. As Ringenberg stated, “It was a life-changing experience. Any time you spend that much time in one of our great national parks, it’s gonna change you, no question about it.” And, according to Ringenberg, the songs soon followed: “It was such an inspiring experience to spend time in the presence of those magnificent giants and songs simply poured out of me.”
It has been awhile since Ringenberg recorded as himself or with the Scorchers. Much of his recent focus has been as an Emmy-winning educational recording artist for children called Farmer Jason. But Stand Tall, Ringenberg’s first solo album since 2004’s Empire Builders, helps re-establish him as one of the most fascinating Americana (or alt-country) artists.
The music on Stand Tall begins with an instrumental title track, which would fit well on an Ennio Morricone movie soundtrack. And then the album goes into “Lookin’ Black Blues,” a rousing swinging danceable Texas roadhouse song.
From there, songs feature John the Baptist (who apparently was a real humdinger), the Ramones, and naturalist John Muir. The music itself spans the country, punk, rock, folk, and even a little Irish dance music in the Civil War epic “I’m Walking Home.”
Ringenberg gathered a talented group of musicians for Stand Tall, including Fats Kaplin on violin and Steve Fishell on lap steel. Richard Bennett, who was a producer on three of Marty Brown‘s great albums, plays a few instruments on “John the Baptist Was a Real Humdinger.” And the band also includes Robert Bowlin, who played fiddle for Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys for several years in the 1990s. If you are unfamiliar with Ringenberg’s music or that of Jason and the Scorchers, listen to a few songs and you will most likely find yourself soon singing and dancing along, entranced by the band and Ringenberg’s voice.
Ringenberg has a unique singing voice, reminding one somewhat of the tenor of the great Jimmie Dale Gilmore (and at the funniest points, a little reminiscent of Weird Al Yankovic). Looking further in the past, you might see a connection between Ringenberg’s voice to The Singing Brakeman Jimmy Rodgers, the yodeling “Father of Country Music.” So, it is a delight that Ringenberg covers Rodgers’ song about a dying hobo, “Hobo Bill’s Last Ride.” The song is one of my favorite tracks on Stand Tall, complete with some yodeling from Ringenberg.
Ringenberg’s experience at Sequoia National Park clearly influenced many of the tracks on the album, such as “Here in the Sequoias” and “John Muir Stood Here” (written in a spot where Muir did indeed stand). But even in the songs without a subject matter directly related to the national parks, the greatness of the big tress and the land reverberates through the inspiration they gave to Ringenberg, seeking something deeper about the this land and this country.
“Farewell Angelina”
Ringenberg ends the album with Bob Dylan’s song “Farewell Angelina,” most famous in Joan Baez’s recording. At first blush, one might think it an odd choice for an album inspired by the singer’s time in the woods. Instead, it is a perfect summary of the album.
Ringenberg used to perform the obscure Dylan song back when he was in college. Here, I do not know Ringenberg’s intent in ending this album with the song. But in Robert Bowlin’s haunting cello work and in the final verse of “Farewell Angelina,” I hear a little of the singer trying to avoid garbage being thrown at him as he opens for the Ramones. And even more, I hear a man seeking peace and joy in a troubled world, whether by taking a break as a children’s entertainer, or by contemplating the woods beneath giant trees, or by returning to the music he loves.
The machine guns are roaring, and the puppets heave rocks; Fiends nail time bombs to the hands of the clocks; Call me any name you like, I will never deny it; But farewell, Angelina, the sky is erupting, I must go where it’s quiet.
God Bless Jason Ringenberg.
What is your favorite Jason Ringenberg song? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via Gregg Roth.
I am not sure who was the person who thought up the idea to pair up Glen Campbell and Stevie Wonder on a Bob Dylan song, but I hope they received a large paycheck. In this video, Wonder and Campbell find a lot of soul in the Bob Dylan classic, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
It is unclear where the video is from, but it may be from when Glen Campbell had a TV show. They do a wonderful job, playing off each other and not getting drowned out in the production.
Stevie Wonder can make any song his own, and he does a fantastic job. But Campbell is a surprise here when he hits the high notes in a verse. Together the two make beautiful music.
What is your favorite unusual duet? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1973, Barbra Streisand joined Ray Charles on the Buck Owens classic, “Crying Time.” Although many know that Charles had a hit with the song, not many know that Streisand also recorded her own version.
Buck Owens wrote “Crying Time” and originally released it as a B-side to “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail” in 1964. Although Owens’s version of “Crying Time” did not chart, Ray Charles decided to record the song. He released it as the title track for his album Crying Time in 1966.
The song features a typical country and western theme, with the singer focusing on a lost love. The singer’s lover, however, has not left yet. But the singer knows the lover is leaving by the look in her eyes and the way she holds the singer. One may wonder whether the singer’s senses are correct, but late in the song in a key verse, the singer notes, “Now you say you’ve found someone that you love better.” But then, in what may be the song’s most interesting line, the singer adds, “That’s the way it’s happened every time before.”
In other words, it appears that the lover has cheated on the singer more than once before. So, while it is a song about love lost and Charles’s voice captures the aching pain of such loss, the reality is probably that the singer is better off and should find a new lover anyway.
By the time he released “Crying Time,” Ray Charles had already established himself as a wonderful interpreter of country music, including with his 1962 albums Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol 2. Those albums also established his skill in selecting country songs, whether or not they were big hits originally.
Charles’s version of “Crying Time” went on to make the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, the R&B chart, and the easy listening chart. The recording also earned two Grammy Awards.
Streisand subsequently released an album featuring much of the music from the special. The album, also called Barbra Streisand…And Other Musical Instruments (1973), however, did not include the “Crying Time” duet. Streisand did include the song (without Charles) on her later album Butterfly (1974).
To be honest, I prefer the individual versions, but hearing and seeing the two all-time musical greats together is pretty cool.
What do you think of the duet? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In Tim Burton’s take on the Walt Disney classic, Dumbo, Arcade Fire reinterprets the movies classic song “Baby Mine.” Director Burton’s live-action interpretation of the story about the flying elephant seems bound to bring tears to the eyes of hard-hearted cynics. And the song “Baby Mine” always warms the heart.
Burton’s film will also feature a version of “Baby Mine” by Norwegian singer, Aurora. For Arcade Fire’s version, the band’s Win Butler brought in several members of his family to help with the song. Check out Arcade Fire’s “Baby Mine.”
The new live-action Dumbo stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green. Edd Osmond, who has worked in Star Wars movies, did the real-life action behind the flying elephant.
The original 1941 version of “Baby Mine” for the animated movie was recorded by Betty Noyes. Check out the original movie version below.
