Old Lost John is the folk-noir project of singer-songwriter Tomas Thunberg. He used to be a woodsman and a horse-keeper. These days he lives in Malmo, Sweden, delivering newspapers in the morning hours and writing songs in the evening.
A true masterpiece by one of my absolute favourite songwriters. His picking, phrasing, relaxed delivery and lyrical imagery have all been pivotal to my development as both writer and performer.
2. Gordon Lightfoot - The Ballad of Yarmouth Castle
Less famous than his other shipwreck epic about The Edmund Fitzgerald, this was nevertheless the one that caught most of my attention. Solid picking, no chorus and a set of lyrics that plays like a movie before your eyes.
3. Bert Jansch - Rosemary Lane
Bert Jansch was my guiding light into the world of Britsh fingerstyle folk, and this traditional the first song to catch my ear.
4. Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother the Mountain
For a long time, I was only familiar with two or three TVZ songs, and it wasn't until I dug deeper and found mournful gems like Rake, St John the Gambler and this enigmatic masterpiece that I got hooked for real. It reads like an evil fairytale, shrouded in mystery.
5. Christy Moore - One Last Cold Kiss (Live in Dublin 1978)
Written by Felix Pappalardi and originally recorded by heavy rockers Mountain, brilliantly interpreted by Irish folk hero Christy Moore. The arrangement is a whirlwind of various stringed instruments and made me wanna get myself a mandolin to go with the guitar.
6. Bob Dylan - The Man in the Long Black Coat
One of Dylan's darkest and most atmospheric songs. Daniel Lanois' production ideal with a close and warm centre surrounded by distant embellishments has always been a strong influence.
7. Hank Williams - Alone and Forsaken
Hank wrote a barrelful of songs but very few in a minor key. When I first heard this, it was an instant favourite with me and a song that I used to cover in my formative years. And what young man hasn't at one point or another felt completely alone and forsaken?
Barzin is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for his slow and melancholic folksongs. He has recorded many EPs and albums; the last one, called To Live Alone in That Long Summer, it's been released on 2014 by Monotreme & Ghost Records.
If permitted, a few opening remarks. Some of the artists who have been influential to me are those who have managed to create a sound so compelling and captivating that it is as important as the songs they create. It is hard to choose one song from their canon and say that it has been their most influential song. Since this project is about songs that have been inspirational, I will try to keep that as the focus. But I do like to tip my hat to some of these artists whose sound has been very influential and inspirational to me. Some of the bands/artists who fall into this category are: Parker and Lily, Tindersticks, Mick Turner, Frankie Sparo.
1. Bob Dylan – Visions of Johanna
Dylan has gone through so many different stages that the only other person that rivals him is Bowie. But the Dylan that I love the best is the one from the Visions of Johanna phase. Lyrically, he walked on the edge of comprehension during this period; it wasn’t complete surrealism, and it wasn’t the straight storytelling of his early years. This song is filled with lines like this: “Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial. Voices echo, this is what salvation must be like after a while”. “Visions of Johanna” really opened up my eyes to the power of words and what one can do with them. This is one of the songs I always return to when writing my own songs. Every time I hear it, I feel I am being given permission to allow the chaos of my mind to spill out onto the world.
2. Erik Satie – Gymnopedie
Satie always fulfills my endless love of minimalistic music as well as solo piano pieces. But what’s so wonderful about this piece is how the emotions behind it are so ambiguous. I have always gravitated towards pieces whose emotions are not apparent. It’s almost as though a new emotion has been introduced into the world as a result of this piece.
3. Lou Reed – Walk on The Wild Side
In The history of Rock ‘n roll, I think many bands have tried to embody the sound of “cool” in their music. But the “cool” that I love is found in the music of Velvet Underground, and more specifically in this song. I constantly return to bands who I use to love when I was younger, and often times, I find their music has failed to age well with time, and I begin to see the sound they stood for or represented as being a little adolescent. But this song never seems to lose its appeal. This is a great snapshot of what “cool” is, in my humble opinion.
4. Led Zeppelin - Bron Yr aur
Every time I hear a Zeppelin song, I get sentimental, because they were very influential to me during my formative years. I must have been 13-14 when I first heard their music, and it really left a deep mark on me. As a teenager, I loved Zeppelin along with all the other classic rock bands like Doors, Hendrix, Bowie, Stones, etc.... “Bron Yr Aur” opened up a whole new world for me. The song is played using a Open C turning on the guitar, and that was something that was very new to me. I became really interested, not only in instrumental pieces, but also with experimenting with open turnings on guitar. I would sit around for hours with friends as we tried to figure out this song so we could play it.
5. Leonard Cohen – Suzanne
This song comes as close to a perfect song as possible, if such a thing even exists. Cohen has always set the standards when it comes to lyrics. And he has achieved magnificent heights in many of his songs, but with Suzanne he reaches a new height. In “Suzanne” I feel one is listening to a true poet who has found the perfect balance between music and words. Everything that Cohen has always written about- Love, God, Sex, Longing, desire, etc... comes together in this song in a perfect way.
6. George Harrison – Long Long Long
Of all the great songs that the Beatles have written, this one continues to stick out for me. I know it’s a strange choice, but I find this song to be so great and fantastic. I love the production, especially the drums. Love George’s delivery. And the use of space in this song. But most importantly, I love the feeling behind this song. That’s what keeps me coming back to it.
7. Mark Hollis – Watershed
Anyone who has fallen under the spell of the band Talk Talk will know what I am talking about when I talk about Mark Hollis. He is probably one of the most expressive singers I have ever come across. It’s not just the fact that he has such a unique voice, but there is something intangible about his singing that draws you in. Talk Talk was a simple pop band and when they started, but in the span of 4 records they grew and matured into a great band, which is reflected in their recordings. This song reflects so many qualities that I admire about this band--experimentation with arrangements and recording, brining subtle elements of jazz into the world of pop, and Mark Hollis’ exceptional and unique singing style.
Dan West is a California based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He sings and plays bass in the psych powerpop trio Sidewalk Society, and sings and plays guitar in a band called LoveyDove with Azalia Snail. Between 2012 and 2014 he has also released two lo-fi garage pop albums under his own name.
1. Jimmy Webb, Dusty Springfield - Magic Garden (EP, 1968)
One of Jimmy Webb's best in my opinion. Although this song was performed by The Fifth Dimension on the album of the same title in 1967, it is Dusty's version that I just love.
Her voice gives a melancholy lilt to the lyric as if to say that the magic garden really is a fantasy and ultimately, one must live in reality and only go to the magic garden when feeling down.
2. The Who - Pictures Of Lily (Single, 1967)
A brilliant, quirky masterpiece from Pete Townshend and the first recording by the Who to truly capture their raucous, careening sound as a band. Keith Moon's drumming is breathtaking, the lyric content sublime, especially as I heard this song for the first time during the early throes of puberty.
3. Elliott Smith - A Fond Farewell (From A Basement On A Hill, 2004)
A terrific example of Elliott Smith's haunting way with a melody and a lyric. What seems like a simple folk/pop song has an underpinning of wistful sadness and loss.
4. Nirvana - Serve The Servants (In Utero 1993)
Kurt Cobain says everything that needs to be said about his rapid rise to fame, his unhappy childhood and his tortured, unfulfilling relationship with Courtney Love in just 3 minutes. The lyrics to this song are in my opinion, among his best: 'Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old, self appointed judges judge, more than they have sold.' Brilliant.
5. The Kinks - Phenominal Cat (The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968)
A lovely caricature of the type Ray Davies built a career on, this time about a cheshire-like cat that sits in a tree and eats contentedly after having traveled the farthest reaches of the world.
6. Azalia Snail - Honeysuckle (Avec Amor, 2005)
Sexy, intelligent, and rockin' to its core, this honest look at the dilemma of loving someone who is sucking the life out of you is a classic. 'Honey don't suck me dry, honeypie I'm stuck in drive.'
7. Bob Dylan / The Byrds - All I Really Want To Do (Another Side Of Bob Dylan, 1964 / Mr. Tambourine Man, 1965)
Whether it's the Bob Dylan version or the Byrds version, this song always brings a tear to my eye. Another example of Dylan's limitless ability to say what few others know how to say....'All I really want to do is baby, be friends with you.' Absolutely beautiful.
