Okay, so I am not really feeling the blues, as much as I am "feeling, the blues" if you get what I mean? Still lost? I have just been really digging some bluesy music this week. It all started with a camping trip we took last weekend and my friend asking me for about the hundredth time in the course of a couple months if I had listened to the Eric Clapton Record "Me and Mr. Jones".
I once again told him I had not and reminded him that this was about the millionth time he had asked me. Hoping to give him a different answer the next time he asks me, I decided to check it out.
I think we can all agree that Eric Clapton is a absolute master when it comes to the guitar. I really love a lot of the work that he does on this album. I am one of those crazy people who like the fast version of Layla better than the slow one, but I can really appreciate where his nickname comes from in this style of playing. "Slowhand" is definitely very fitting.
After I listened to this album I immediately jumped over to his session that he did with BB King. The album is called "Riding with the King" and that is a definite must listen as well.
Check both of them out if you are looking for some bluesy music gold.
From there I made the obvious jump over to Led Zeppelin. As awesome as their harder songs are it is some of their softer and more bluesy stuff that really turns you on your head. "Fool in the Rain" was one of my college buddies favorite songs and it has always stuck with me since that time.
I wanted to get a live version of it, but I couldn't find one so you will have to settle for what I have above.
I think a lot of times we tend to forget that the voice is an instrument as well and Robert Plant has an amazing way of using his instrument in a profound manner.
Finally, you might think I would move on to the Yardbirds after working my way back through Clapton and Page. Trust me, I am heading that way, but this morning on our way in to work my wife and I were listening to the "Deep Tracks" channel on Sirius/XM.
A song came on by the Raspberries and I wasn't quite sure, but in the back of my head I was thinking they were the band that play the song I linked above. Sure enough, I was right and that took me off on a tangent into their music catalog. Talk about a talented group of individuals. With Eric Carmen at the helm and several other members who would go on to some other famous bands, they were pretty pretty spectacular for their time.
I also think on some level they were a bit ahead of their time mixing rock and some of the more melodic stuff together like you hear in "Go all the way".
This next week I will definitely be digging into some Yardbirds (I am actually listening to some as I type this).
If you have been listening to something awesome this week let me know about it in the comments. Better yet, write your own post and use the #whoareyoulisteningto tag.
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