The S Blog deals with the interests of a Sri Lankan abroad and is called The S Blog due to the many S topics covered. They include Sri Lanka, Songs, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Science Fiction, Star Trek and even other non S topics.
I decided to feature two original jazz songs in English by Sri Lankan singer Rukshan Perera in a blog post. Rukshan has been a member of the popular Sri Lankan bands “The Golden Chimes” and “The Super Golden Chimes” in the 1970s. Rukshan’s main instrument is the guitar, but he’s a multi-instrumentalist who is also an exceptional keyboardist. I will be embedding the songs “What Time Is It?” and “Cool Cats” from Rukshan Perera’s YouTube channel.
What Time Is It?
Rukshan describes this as a jazz funk song. This song features piano playing by Rukshan with accompaniment by the jazz fusion band Thriloka. The song opens with Rukshan playing only with his right hand. He then is joined with his left hand playing a chord featuring light accompaniment from the bass and drums. After the intro, the piano changes to a more energetic part and the whole band comes in. There is an interesting subtle electric guitar strumming part. Rukshan brings back the notes with both hands from the intro briefly twice where it’s just his piano. In parts of the song, Rukshan speaks with the instruments stopping.
There is a long upbeat piano solo. Following the piano solo, Rukshan does jazz scatting after the piano solo where he plays the piano and sings musical sounds to match the piano notes. He plays another solo and starts singing again. Rukshan does ad-lib singing relating to the time at the end. Rukshan sings soulfully. This song reminds me of the Chicago jazz rock song “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”. That song is also performed by a singing pianist (Robert Lamm) and I had featured it in my article about non-relationship rock songs.
Cool Cats
This video features the lyrics displayed. There is a prominent bass part by Ray Gomes in this song. This song is a tribute to singers George Benson and Ella Fitzgerald with Rukshan singing in praise of them. There is the lyric “I bow my head to my masters when I do my scat”. Rukshan performs with a guitar in the first half including a section where he does the scatting and guitar playing that George Benson does (Rukshan performed the piano version of scatting in the previous song) and just sings in the second half.
After Rukshan’s scat, we have Ricky Senn’s saxophone solo followed by Herschel Rodrigo’s piano solo. Rukshan sings another scat towards the end of the song. In this case, there are no guitar notes accompanying his singing. His scatting in the second scat is more intense and adventurous. I hear what seems to be African influences in this scat. I like how in this song Rukshan sings in the Sri Lankan/British pronunciations instead of the American pronunciations. It is even cooler as he’s a US citizen. Rukshan lived in the US from the 1980s to the 2000s. I both have an interest in the US and like the international approaches of doing things. I’m not a US citizen, but I’m also a Sri Lankan dual citizen like Rukshan.
These are two melodic jazz songs by Rukshan Perera. Rukshan showcases his creative singing, songwriting and instrumentation skills in these songs. There is a contrast in the songs as “What Time Is It?” is fast with “Cool Cats” being a slower ballad. Rukshan gave us two great universally accessible jazz songs.
I decided to write an article about electric piano rock songs. This article is my 75th blog post. I feature a mix of major hits, minor hits, album tracks and an outtake from classic rock artists. This article is similar to my previous articles “Ten Great Piano Rock Songs by Ten Different Singers” and “Ten Great Electric Piano Elton John Songs”. We’re going back five decades.
Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image (1970)
It opens with an interesting electric piano effect. A synth effect briefly appears before going away when the singing starts. The singing is accompanied by electric piano, bass and drums. A few other instruments briefly come in during the first verse. The song gets more rocking during the chorus featuring additional instruments. After the first chorus, there’s a light guitar solo with prominent electric piano accompaniment. The song concludes with a rocking guitar solo.
Empty Pages - Traffic (1970)
It opens with the combination of organ and electric piano. Steve Winwood sings the song and plays electric piano & organ. There is another organ part played by Chris Wood. The organ is loud in parts of the song giving a dramatic effect. Close to the two minute mark, there is a long electric piano solo. The opening notes of the solo remind me of a similar part Elton John played in his song “Dreamboat”. A little after the three minute mark, Steve Winwood lightly sings along to the melody for about 20 seconds before resuming the chorus. This is the only song on the list not to feature any guitar. That doesn’t prevent the song from rocking as it rocks well with its keyboard parts.
Midnight Creeper - Elton John (1973)
The song has a horn intro and then the intense guitars played by Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone are in the forefront. The horns come back in the chorus. The chorus is catchy. At the two minute mark, there is a prominent horn part, followed by Davey’s guitar solo. During the guitar solo, there is back and forth between the guitar and the horns. There is another guitar solo at the end of the song. This solo features prominent interjections by the horns. While Elton’s electric piano isn’t the loudest instrument, he gives good accompaniment with his rock playing.
Black Night - Bob Seger (1975)
This is an intense rocker with some musical similarities to the previous song. It’s an example of the Bob Seger rock sound. It opens with the guitars which are driving the song. We soon hear some accompaniment from the electric piano. Just after a minute there are a few prominent notes by the electric piano. A bit before the halfway mark, there’s an electric piano solo. After the last verse, the song seems to stop and then comes back for a guitar solo. Bob features the same effect in “The Fire Down Below” which was released the following year.
New Kid In Town - Eagles (1976)
The song opens with the electric piano which is instantly joined by acoustic guitars. The acoustic guitars are the loudest instrument, but the electric piano provides good accompaniment. Soon, the electric guitars and organ appear. Glenn Frey sings in a gentle warm way. Don Henley’s backing vocals provide good support. A rockier electric guitar comes at the three minute and 21 second mark. This song has a slight Mexican influence which can be heard in some of its guitar parts.
All For Leyna - Billy Joel (1980)
Following the opening electric piano notes, we are soon joined by strong guitars. Billy plays a good electric piano effect which comes throughout the song. This song rocks so well and Billy gives us great rock electric piano playing. Just after the three minute mark, a prominent synth part also played by Billy appears. It goes away and comes back at the end of the song.
You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (1980)
The song opens with Daryl’s electric piano. He soon starts singing. Daryl expresses his excitement in his soulful singing. There is an instrumental break just after the halfway mark featuring a more prominent guitar part. This is a fun light pop rock song that mixes electric piano and guitar well.
All Right - Christopher Cross (1983)
It opens with a mix of guitar and synth and soon the electric piano appears. The electric piano is most prominent during the verses. Michael McDonald’s backing vocals are heard during the choruses. There is a powerful guitar solo by Steve Lukather making the song rock more. The electric piano accompanies the solo well. This song has a good mix of electric piano, synth and guitar.
Goin’ Home - Toto (1989)
This is an unreleased song from 1989 until it was released in 1998. The song opens with electric piano notes played by David Paich which is soon joined by all the instruments. There are backing vocals sung which is followed by original Toto lead singer Bobby Kimball’s vocals. They have two call and responses which also happens in the second verse. Similarly, during an instrumental section, there is a call and response between Steve Lukather on guitar and David Paich on electric piano. This song has a fun energetic feel.
When I See You Smile - Bad English (1989)
The song opens with Jonathan Cain’s electric piano. John Waite sings with minimal subtle instrumental accompaniment that includes acoustic guitar and keyboards. The song then has the addition of heavy guitars, drums and synth just before the chorus which continues going into the chorus. The second verse starts off similar to the first verse, but with added drums. The song then goes through the same musical changes which happened in the first verse. At about the three quarter mark, we have a strong guitar solo by Neil Schlon. The song closes with the same electric piano notes that opened it.
I tried to feature a balance of different types of rock in this article. They include pop rock, soft rock, hard rock and progressive rock. Also, there is a form of popular rock music known as yacht rock which is on this list. The term was coined in the 2000s, but it refers to music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The songs on this list I’d classify as yacht rock are the ones by the Eagles, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Christopher Cross and Toto. Electric piano may not be a common rock instrument, but it has a long and diverse history in the genre.
Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is in a dark place right now. Besides the COVID-19 pandemic that is ongoing in both Sri Lanka and throughout the world, there are power cuts, rising food prices, foreign reserves falling to low levels with the risk of it running out, exploding gas cylinders among other issues. The biggest problem facing Sri Lanka is a majoritarian, incompetent government causing damage to the country and concentrating power in one political family. I believe the bad governance is the root cause of much of the bad news coming out of Sri Lanka. The pandemic has exacerbated the bad governance problems facing Sri Lanka making the negative results come faster.
It appears to me that there is a growing number of long-time supporters of the Rajapaksas who are dissatisfied with the current government’s performance. As Sri Lanka is disunited right now, we can use the common dissatisfaction as one reason to be united. A bad political tactic which is common in Sri Lanka is to divide the communities by rulers as a means to be in power. By uniting together for the country, we will be defying this strategy of the politicians. We will have our differences due to being from different communities or social groups, but we can focus on the type of society we want based on our common goals.
We can look at the type of government we should be having. We need leaders who will give equal treatment to all communities, take a firm stand against bribery & corruption, have honesty & integrity, work to take Sri Lanka out of the economic mess it’s in into a strong stable economy among other needed changes.
We Sri Lankans can work to reduce the indecent values and behaviour which stem from the top. Those of us who live in Sri Lanka can strive to take the country in the direction to where it should be. Civil society has an important role to play in this. Business leaders can work to strengthen the quality, ethics and services of their businesses. It’s important to give a good image of the country to the outside world, especially online.
I’m conflicted as I don’t want to sound very bleak about Sri Lanka’s future, yet I see more bad things headed for Sri Lanka including the potential for ones that are catastrophic. We can do our part to try to prevent potential bad occurrences from happening. While the awful politics is wreaking havoc in our country, we are not defined by it. We are a beautiful island nation with diverse cultures and communities. We offer a lot of interesting different places in a small country. Sri Lanka is a special country and an important part of Asia. Let’s work to make the society we need a reality one day.
I discovered a one minute YouTube video by the Huntley Film Archives called “Colombo, Sri Lanka, around 1960. Archive film 95260”. The quality isn’t the best with a watermark, but it is in colour and it does offer a glimpse into what Colombo, Sri Lanka was like in the 1960s. This blog post is a companion piece to my blog post “A Look Back at 1970s Colombo” from a few years ago. I’ll be embedding the video below and will be giving my thoughts on it.
We see ships at sea in Colombo Port. We are soon joined by the Colombo Port Commission building in the same area which is now the Sri Lanka Ports Authority building. We see people walk outside the building. The video then moves into the Colombo roads. I see a brief flash of a double decker bus. We see the Grand Oriental Hotel. Interestingly, I attended a wedding at the Grand Oriental Hotel two years ago in December 2019.
The Colombo Tram is featured. The Colombo Tram is a transport system that used to exist in Colombo, but was discontinued in 1960. I notice that some cars seem to be driving too close to the tram with them crossing the lines of the tram section. It’s my observation that some of the same type of small shops seen here still exist in Colombo. There are what appears to be vegetable stalls. We see the Colombo Tram again going through a narrow road with tiled roofs. It closes with an old building. I wonder what building this is.
It was good to see a look into 1960s Colombo. I notice that Colombo seems to have a strong British influence unlike now, which is no doubt as this was not long after colonialism. Colombo in the 1960s was a very busy city like how it has always been. If you have lived in Colombo in the 1960s or been in Colombo during that time, I hope this video brought back positive memories.
Ever since I began my blog in 2016, I’ve featured one blog post every year featuring embedded content from Google Street View. I decided to write a blog post featuring Google Street View views of five cities in Asia. There are two views of each city and it’s possible to explore these embedded views further. You can click the “View on Google Maps” button to view it in another window if the embed does not load. The order I’m using for this post is from left to right geographically.
Amman, Jordan
We’re beginning in the Middle East which is on the left edge of Asia. Amman is a historical city in Jordan.
A look at the Abdoun Circle.
A roundabout with a hotel in the background. I find it interesting that the traffic island & roundabout are painted blue & purple instead of the black & white painting that are used in my country Sri Lanka.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
We’re now moving into South Asia going to Sri Lanka which is a topic I write about on this blog. Colombo is my hometown which holds a special place in my heart.
This is Union Place which features the Columbo style of having big trees on an urban road.
A view of Beira Lake.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bangladesh is also in the South Asian region. Dhaka is its capital and most populous city.
This overpass reminds me of the overpass that used to exist in my Sri Lankan childhood.
A view of Hatirjheel Lake.
Singapore
Singapore is a developed city-state in South East Asia. I notice that it is an advanced city with several buildings while also having a lot of trees and greenery.
This is from the road featuring the Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands has a cool overpass.
A Singaporean intersection.
Seoul, South Korea
The last city Seoul is in South Korea, another developed Asian nation. This is in East Asia and is located in the right edge of Asia being a fitting end as we began from the left edge of Asia.
Here’s a look into the city of Seoul with its big buildings. I find it interesting that while English isn’t spoken widely in South Korea, the road signs are bilingual and English is used in some shop signs.
Looking at skyscrapers over the Han River with the Wonhyo Bridge to the left.
So that was a selection I made of Asian cities. We have covered historical cities (Amman), South Asian cities of developing countries (Colombo & Dhaka) and leading global cities of developed Asia (Singapore & Seoul). Feel free to comment. I’m interested in hearing if you’re from any of the places on this list.
I am a fan of piano so I decided to write an article of great Jackson Browne songs featuring piano with each piano player being different. Jackson has musical similarities with my two favourite singers Elton John & Bob Seger. Also, Elton played piano on one of Jackson’s songs which is on this list. This is the Jackson Browne version of my Bob Seger article “Ten Great Bob Seger Songs by Ten Different Piano Players”. Two of the piano players are the same in both articles. I’ve previously featured Jackson Browne songs in my articles about piano rock songs, non-relationship rock songs and songs David Paich played on. I’m using the same song from my David Paich article with an added sentence. The first song comes from Jackson’s self-titled debut album.
Jamaica Say You Will - Jackson Browne (1972)
This is a melodic and gentle ballad featuring piano played by Jackson himself. This song sounds like Elton John. This is a piano driven song whose guitar part is only a little acoustic guitar. David Crosby’s harmony vocals mix well with Jackson’s voice. Jackson’s piano sounds full and powerful giving the best kind of playing for a ballad.
These Days - David Paich (1973)
This song begins with just Jackson and his acoustic guitar with some slide guitar parts. It continues that way until just before the chorus when David Paich’s piano comes in at just under a minute. David’s piano is a welcome addition that makes the song whole. He gives good accompaniment including being a good match for David Lindley’s slide guitar. This song is a piano and guitar driven rock ballad.
Red Neck Friend - Elton John (1973)
We’re now increasing the pace to a full on rock song. It opens with David Lindley’s slide guitar which is soon joined by the piano. The piano is played by none other than Elton John. This slide guitar is prominent. Elton’s piano goes very well with David’s guitar playing. Eagle Glenn Frey provides noticeable harmony vocals during the chorus. The piano is most prominent in the chorus. Elton plays incredible rock & roll piano in the chorus featuring four glissandos in a row. In the final chorus he gives an instance of eight glissandos in a row. His piano playing is reminiscent of the piano in Bob Seger’s “Katmandu” (1975). I’m pleased that the Jackson Browne song Elton John played on is an intense rock song as that enabled him to feature his great rock & roll piano playing.
Fountain of Sorrow - Jai Winding (1974)
This is the first epic long song on this list. It opens with Jai’s piano which is soon joined by Jackson’s soothing vocals. The piano is supported by David Lindley’s guitar which provides interesting subtle accompaniment. The harmony vocals by Don Henley, Dan Fogelberg & J.D. Souther are gentle which match well with Jackson’s singing. At the five minute mark, there’s a short section with only the piano. It’s great how Jai plays the piano in a slow way while giving a clear rock vibe.
Your Bright Baby Blues - Roy Bittan (1976)
The song is initially driven by acoustic guitar and organ. About forty eight seconds into the song, the piano comes in. The piano gives off a gentle pop rock vibe. At three minutes and seventeen seconds, we get a slide guitar played by Lowell George that comes in via a solo. The slide guitar comes back in a subtle way in the last chorus before closing with another guitar solo. Roy Bittan’s piano playing is warm. This song reminds me of Bob Seger’s “Like A Rock” (1986) as they are both six minute rock ballads having acoustic guitar and organ in the first verse before the piano comes in and two slide guitar solos. Bill Payne who played the piano on “Like A Rock” (1986) plays the organ on this song and piano on the next one.
Here Come Those Tears Again - Bill Payne (1976)
We are now going to a shorter song after two long ones. This song starts with the song title being sung. The only instrument we hear is the piano for the first eighteen seconds. It’s interesting how the piano does sudden jumps in places. Mike Utley’s organ is featured prominently in parts of the song. It’s interesting that Jackson sings “You might look like a friend of mine” as he would later have a hit duet “You’re a Friend of Mine” with Clarence Clemons in 1985. Bonnie Raitt and Rosemary Butler sing powerful harmony vocals. This is a mid-tempo rocker with a full band sound. This song is driven by Bill’s melodic piano.
Running on Empty - Craig Doerge (1977)
This is one of Jackson Browne’s big hits. It opens with Craig’s piano notes. His piano notes in the song are iconic and instantly recognisable. This is a live song as no studio recording has been released. It rocks very well. Craig plays his piano fast and delivers good accompaniment to David Lindley’s two incredible slide guitar solos. While this song is more guitar driven, the piano has a good prominent place.
My Problem Is You - David Garfield (1995)
This is from an album by Cuban percussionist Luis Conte. It was recorded by Jackson a few years earlier which Luis played on. The original version has a pop rock sound whereas this version has a latin jazz sound. Luis plays congas and maracas on this. David Garfield’s latin piano playing gives off a relaxed lounge vibe. His playing is warm. A saxophone is featured. Parts of the song are sung in Spanish which wasn’t in the original version. The next two songs also have a latin vibe.
Lausoa Kristalean - Mikel Azpiroz (2011)
This is a duet with Basque singer Jabier Muguruza, who along with pianist Mikel Azpiroz are from Basque Country, an autonomous community in Northern Spain. It’s the only song on this list not written or co-written by Jackson. It’s an unusual collaboration which isn’t widely known. I hope this song is a nice surprise for Jackson Browne fans, finding a duet of his which they didn’t know existed. It opens with Mikel’s piano which is soon joined by Jabier’s singing in the Basque language Euskara. After the first verse, there is an accordion played by Jabier.
Jackson then sings a verse in English. His English singing offers a good contrast to Jabier’s singing in Euskara. We have another verse from Jabier with accordion before and after it. This is a slow ballad with few instruments that works very well. It has a good melody. Mikel and Jabier do a good job to make this song captivating with mainly the two instruments of piano and accordion. As the piano is my favourite instrument, I enjoy discovering a new style of music featuring piano. Special thanks to Mikel for answering my questions about this song via email.
A Song For Barcelona - Jeff Young (2021)
This is a new song which Jackson co-wrote with the five musicians in his band who play on it alongside Spanish musician Raúl Rodriguez who plays palmas (a Flamenco form of hand clapping). This song has a great beat. This is an epic eight and a half minute long latin rocker bringing back rock to this list. This is a very musical song with a great melody. It’s interesting to hear Jackson make reference to the “ninety-nine words for snow”. I wonder what that means.
Jeff fuses the latin and rock styles in his piano playing very well. The two guitarists Greg Leisz & Val McCallum provide great guitar playing. I like how Jackson refers to many different places in the world where people visit Barcelona from. Places he mentions include the US, Canada, Norway & China. Close to the seven minute mark, the song stops seemingly concluding especially by the specific piano notes. Four seconds later the song comes back powerfully with Jeff’s piano notes. It’s soon joined by Catalan singing by Jackson and the backing vocalists. The band gradually comes back, has a brief instrumental section followed by places in or near Barcelona sung solely by Jackson. This song is not only a celebration of Barcelona, but also a celebration of humanity.
While the first song “Jamaica Say You Will” is referring to a girl’s name, I am interested in different countries so I’m pleased how we’re both beginning and ending with an international destination in this list. This list went into rock and beyond. The rock songs covered rock ballads, soft rock, pop rock, mid-tempo rockers, intense 70s rock & roll and heartland rock. The latin flavoured songs cover jazz, Basque music and a latin rocker. The latin rocker “A Song For Barcelona” comes full circle fusing the two styles thus going back to rock, the primary genre of this article. Jackson Browne is known for being a rock artist. Jackson used piano less over the years and I’d like to see him make an album with a lot of piano again. Even though his debut album which opens this list was released in 1972, it was recorded in 1971 so these songs cover a 50 year period from 1971 to 2021.
GIFs are video images which are popular online. I decided to write a blog post featuring GIFs of American rock singer Bob Seger whom I’m a fan of. They come from his official profile on the site GIPHY. I’m dividing the GIFs into three sections which are Studio, Hits and Live & Beyond where I give my thoughts on them.
This album came out a year before Bob Seger became a rock star. Its most famous songs are the title track, “Katmandu” and “Travelin’ Man”. It’s cool how this GIF has a white flash through Bob Seger’s name and the atmospheric colour effects in the background. Bob has an unusual posh look in this picture with his top hat, cane and costume. He looks like Doctor Strange which is fitting as the 2016 “Doctor Strange” film referenced the “Katmandu” song with this album mentioned.
This album came out during the time that Bob Seger made it big. This is his first album credited with the Silver Bullet Band. My favourite songs from it are “Mainstreet” and “Sunspot Baby”. Mainstreet is a rock ballad featuring an incredible guitar part. Sunspot Baby is a piano and guitar driven rock song using those two instruments very well. It’s fitting that the sun’s brightness is one of the effects of this GIF due to the album’s two songs “Sunspot Baby” and “Sunburst”. Sunburst has the unique combination of alternating between a soft rock piano ballad and an intense hard rock song.
This album has Bob Seger’s hit songs “Old Time Rock & Roll”, “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Still The Same” and “Hollywood Nights”. It’s the first Bob Seger album I listened to and I consider it to be his best album. This GIF has text effects like the previous two, but it’s unique as the album’s title appears and disappears giving the effect of it being handwritten by Bob himself. It’s cool to see the Los Angeles lights go off and on in the background.
This is Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind” album which is his only number 1 album in the US. Its title track is one his most famous songs with it having the other hit songs “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” and “Fire Lake”.
Bob Seger’s “Greatest Hits” album is his most successful album. This is the first album GIF to feature both the artist & the album’s name text appear and disappear.
Bob Seger’s “Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets” album came out ten years ago and was his first 2-disc CD hits album. This GIF has interesting flashing lights and there are subtle effects with the blue light and steam. I like the fact that this album is the first Bob Seger compilation album to feature his first hit song “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” from 1968 and his version of “Little Drummer Boy” from 1987.
This is the 1981 live album “Nine Tonight”. The lighting effects on this GIF are so cool. One song on this album that stands out to me is “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” which has a more energetic piano part than the studio version. The 2011 Remaster features the bonus track “Brave Strangers” where Bob plays rock piano. He rarely does this and I’d like to see him do it more.
These GIFS are taken from a live performance of “Roll Me Away”. This live performance was featured in the song’s music video which was produced and remained unreleased until last year on Bob Seger’s YouTube channel. Roll Me Away has incredible rock piano by Roy Bittan.
As I featured the “Roll Me Away” music video GIF, I’m including one from the “Like a Rock” music video. Like a Rock comes from the album of the same name and the album cover for “Ultimate Hits” seen above was taken during the filming of this music video. I love the slide guitar playing by Rick Vito on this song. Interestingly, the GIFs of the last two songs come off the two albums that followed “Against The Wind”.
So this was a fun way to look at the music of Bob Seger. I hope you enjoyed the GIFs. Feel free to say which GIF is your favourite.
