Matthew Ryan Covers “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” (Cover of the Day)

Singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan continues to create beautiful music for our troubled time. His latest contribution is a cover of “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.”

The song, written by Ellen Shipley and Rick Nowels, was a hit for Belinda Carlisle when it appeared on her 1987 album Heaven on Earth. Anyone who was around at that time will remember the repeated plays of the catchy song on the radio and MTV.

Ryan’s version of “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” is not a poppy upbeat song as it is in Carlisle’s version (although Carlisle herself recorded a rather upbeat acoustic version released in 2017 on Wider Shores). Ryan’s goal was not a pop song but a single release in “the hope of offering something beautiful during this hard and strange time.”

While it may seem odd to be releasing a love song about heaven on earth and the “miracle of living” while we are stuck in our homes in fear of the coronavirus pandemic. But Ryan reinterprets the song to give it meaning for our present moment.

The song in Ryan’s telling reminds us both what love can do (“When I feel alone I reach for you”) and that we can look forward to a different future. And maybe the key to remembering where we can go forward is found somewhere buried in memory and recalling the past.

On “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” Ryan is joined by Molly Thomas (backing vocal, timpani, violin, and cello) and Neilson Hubbard (piano). Check it out.

The video, directed by Tom Sierchio, features “found home video” footage. Sierchio’s inspiration was the beautiful film, Cinema Paradiso, which is Ryan’s favorite movie. The images from happier times add even more power to the message of hope that we need in these dark times.

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    Bruce and Patti at Home in the “Land of Hope and Dreams”

    Springsteen Scialfa

    Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa are among the latest of artists working to help us through the coronavirus pandemic while we stay in our homes. As part of the Jersey 4 Jersey telethon supporting the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the two sang “Land of Hope and Dreams” and Tom Waits’ “Jersey Girl.”

    Their performance of “Land of Hope and Dreams” was understandably more subdued than the versions on 2001’s Live in New York City and 2012’s Wrecking Ball. As we previously discussed in our analysis, the song reflects a long history of American music and has special resonance for Springsteen and fans. One of the themes of the song is one of hope, something we all really need right now.

    The tone of their performance, of course, is appropriate for the occasion as there is comfort in knowing other people connect to your suffering. But I cannot help just being more sad seeing Bruce and Patti looking forlorn singing a song that in the past has lifted my spirits. We need to believe Springsteen’s promise in the song, “Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine/ And all this darkness past.”

    Regarding the other song in the video, Springsteen always gives a great performance of Waits’ “Jersey Girl.” And here, that song gains added meaning as Springsteen sings it to his own Jersey girl and to those experiencing pain and heartbreak in New Jersey.

    Check out Springsteen and Scialfa performing “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Jersey Girl” from their home.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Pandemic-At-Home Song of the Day: “Trouble Doll” by Matthew Ryan

    Matthew Ryan Trouble Doll

    The Guardian recently wrote about how during the current coronavirus pandemic period, people seem to be streaming music less than normal. There are a number of possible reasons. Maybe people are resorting to the comfort of music they own rather than finding new music. Or maybe people listen to music at work more than they do at home, where they are more likely to turn to television shows or movies. Whatever the reason, if people are listening to less music now it is troublesome because we all need more music right now.

    Meanwhile, many artists have been finding creative ways to reach fans where everyone is staying home. One such artist is singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan, who has released a number of videos, often taking requests. Recently he performed “Trouble Doll” at home by request.

    “Trouble Doll” originally appeared on Ryan’s 2003 album Regret Over the Wires. In the video below, Ryan introduces the song by telling how he wrote the song when some friends were coming to visit.

    In “Trouble Doll,” the singer sings to a woman. It is unclear if they are lovers or former lovers, but the singer has great fondness for the woman (“Heartache sure owes you / All the happiness in this world”). Matthew Ryan‘s song features beautiful lyrics, including the section below about how the blues can save you.

    Though angels pray for you,
    Only the blues can save you,
    If only for a second in the shimmering light;
    When the night’s collapsed but it don’t shatter or sting,
    It’s a porcelain song from a marionette
    In a dangerous sway as if under God’s own strings;
    Salvation watches over you,
    Redemption only borrows you
    A little at a time in this world.

    In the video from his home, Ryan tells more a little more about the song and the making of it. In the notes with the video, he explains, “It’s a bit strange for me, I’m not an attention chaser, but giving these songs to you guys like this is giving me a sense of purpose. I as a music lover knows what a song can do. So I hope it brings something beautiful.” So, check out the beauty in this pandemic performance of “Trouble Doll.”

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Jackson Browne Covers Tom Petty’s “The Waiting”
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    Tune In For a Live Marty Brown Concert Online

    One of the many bad side-effects of the current pandemic is its impact on performing artists. As many artists have tried to adjust to the streaming music era by earning a living doing live shows, now the coronavirus has taken away their main way to reach fans. So, many artists, like Marty Brown, have turned to reaching their fans online.

    Country music singer-songwriter Marty Brown is using the platform StageIt.com to give a show to his fans on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 9 pm EST (8 pm CT; 6pm PDT). For much less than a regular concert ($5), you get direct access to a live show. The platform also allows fans to interact through real-time written comments.

    Marty Brown has been writing great songs and making great music for decades. His live shows feature a range of music from a likable engaging performer. Hopefully, he’ll play “Whatever Makes You Smile,” one of his first releases after his successful run on the television show America’s Got Talent that began with an amazing audition singing Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.” And fans may get some great songs like “Mona Lisa Smiles” from his most recent outstanding album, American Highway (2019). Brown is also known for “I’m From the Country,” a song he wrote that was a hit for Tracy Byrd.

    We hope he also will dig into his back catalog from the 1990s, which includes songs like “Every Now and Then,” “Wild Kentucky Skies” and “The Day the Bootlegger Died.”

    Whatever he plays, it is bound to be a great show, taking advantage of technology to reach fans in these troubled times. So head over to StageIt for your Marty Brown tickets — and to check out and support other artists with online shows!

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    John Prine is Goin’ to Town in Heaven

    John Prine Heaven

    We are very sad to hear that John Prine has passed away from complications related to the coronavirus at the age of 73. As the pandemic takes the lives of so many, we grieve for all of the horrors that it has brought to the world. And the loss of John Prine, who Rolling Stone calls one of America’s greatest songwriters, just adds to our national and worldwide grief. (I hope Bob Dylan is locked up somewhere safe in isolation until there is a vaccine for the virus.)

    I was fortunate to see Prine live as he toured for his final album, The Tree of Forgiveness (2018). Although he had battled health problems in recent years, he toured up until the very end and was full of energy.

    The Tree of Forgiveness found Prine contemplating life and mortality. One of the songs prophetically recounted Prine’s version of what he would do when he got to heaven. Of course, Prine being Prine, the song was full of humor and love (and forgiveness) for his fellow creatures on earth.

    Prine first really came into my life with his album The Missing Years in 1991. I had heard some of his songs before that, such as tape recording a live cover of “Sam Stone” by John Mellencamp off the radio in the early 1980s. But The Missing Years was the first John Prine album that I bought and played endlessly.

    Many others, of course, already knew the secret of John Prine’s music, such as one of my co-workers at the time, Hal (who passed away himself many years ago even as Prine’s songs remind me of him). But I was glad I found Prine when I did, soon delving into all of his previous and later albums with some guidance from friends like Hal and a later co-worker, Sid.

    I have many “favorite” John Prine songs, including some we’ve already written about on Chimesfreedom, such as “Lake Marie” and “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow).” One of the songs on The Missing Years that I loved was “Picture Show.” The song is featured below in a video that also includes the late Tom Petty.

    Damn, he was good, and I loved that his songs also revealed a man with joy, humor, and love of his fellow creatures (much like another singer-songwriter we lost not long ago, Greg Trooper).

    RIP John Prine. I hope you are sipping that cocktail right now.

    What is your favorite John Prine song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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