Ten Great Capitol Records Songs

One of music’s successful record labels is Capitol Records. Capitol Records is an American record label which is now part of the Universal Music Group. I had written a similar article “Ten Great Universal Music Group Songs” where I included a few Capitol songs. I have been paying attention to Capitol Records since I started listening to Bob Seger’s music in 2010. Bob is of course featured in this article.

Up On Cripple Creek - The Band (1969)

This song is sung by drummer Levon Helm. Levon and The Band sing well together in the chorus with their backing vocals. Its opening is the drums with bits of guitar. This rock song is influenced by blues and country. As someone into keyboards, I love how this song has three keyboard parts (piano, clavinet & organ). The clavinet gives off quirky vibes. Robbie Robertson’s guitar plays a supportive part in the background and has a stronger presence in the last quarter of the song.

He Can’t Love You - Michael Stanley Band (1980)

Michael Stanley is an American rock singer who unfortunately passed away two years ago in March 2021. The Michael Stanley Band is a band he fronted. This is a catchy heartland rock song. It’s sung by keyboardist Kevin Raleigh. It has driving guitars with good piano backing. There is an organ in the background. It features saxophone from Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons. I get Bob Seger vibes from this song with it reminding me of my favourite Bob Seger song “Even Now”.

Heartbreak Radio - Delbert McClinton (1981)

This song opens with a brief drum intro and it goes into electric guitars backed with piano. The piano is in the rock & roll style. There are horns in parts of the song bringing a soul influence. At the halfway point, there’s a saxophone solo with good piano accompaniment. It was originally recorded by Scottish singer Frankie Miller who co-wrote the song with songwriter Troy Seals.

If This Is It - Huey Lewis & The News (1983)

This is a fun pop rock song. It’s probably the first major hit song on this list. It opens with a drum intro and then Chris Hayes’ detailed guitar part comes in. The keyboards in the song are piano, organ and possible synths. The piano gives off a light rock & roll feel. The backing vocals in the chorus support Huey’s lead vocals well and give off a 50s vibe. Huey sings powerfully and melodically. Chris provides a fun charming guitar solo. The guitar solo plays again in the end alongside the last chorus and the concluding section as the song fades.

These Dreams - Heart (1985)

Heart is led by two sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. This song was written by Martin Page (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics). Bernie Taupin is Elton John’s lyricist. Ann usually sings their songs, but this song is sung by Nancy. This is a synth driven soft rock song. The synths offer a gentle reflection of dreams. I get South American vibes in the chorus from one of the synth parts. Interestingly, Johnny Colla, a member of the previous song’s band, sings backing vocals on this track.

Don’t Mean Nothing - Richard Marx (1987)

This is a pure fun rock song. It opens with drumming followed by guitars and the whole band joins in. Michael Omartian plays piano. Richard sings powerfully. Three members of The Eagles are on this song who are Joe Walsh on guitar and Randy Meisner & Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals. Joe gives a powerful guitar solo with good accompaniment from Michael’s piano. The organ has a supportive part. There is a good instrumental section led by the piano at the end.

Is Love Enough - The Doobie Brothers (1991)

This song was written by Walt Richmond & Jerry Lyn Williams. Interestingly, Walt co-wrote & played piano on the Bob Seger song “She Can’t Do Anything Wrong” that same year which I featured in my article on Bob Seger piano songs and Jerry had written the Eric Clapton song “Running on Faith” that I featured in my article on piano rock songs. This song features a mix of piano and synths. The synths seem to be emulating horn sounds. It’s sung by original lead singer Tom Johnston. Tom sings in an expressive and melodic way. There’s an organ which has a good subtle presence. At about the three-quarter mark, there’s a dark intense blues rock guitar solo. The guitar does more playing in the last section of the song.

Beautiful In My Eyes - Joshua Kadison (1993)

We’re now changing to something soft. This song has a gentle warm sound. Joshua sings soulfully and plays the piano powerfully. It opens with Joshua’s singing and piano playing with subtle organ. There is slight drumming close to the one minute mark and the full band comes in. This song seems like a song on Elton John’s wonderful 1989 “Sleeping With The Past” album such as “Amazes Me”. There is an orchestra and a powerful gospel sounding choir. This is a very melodic song. Next month will be the 30th anniversary of Joshua’s debut album “Painted Desert Serenade” this song comes from.

Manhattan - Bob Seger (1995)

The song opens with Manhattan traffic. Harry Stinson’s drums come in with the traffic before other instruments join in. There is an intense guitar part and a dark piano part. Roy Bittan gives great rock piano playing. The mix of piano and guitars work well. Bob sing-speaks this song. There is a synth undercurrent throughout the song. This song is an example of an epic long Bob Seger song. The song closes with sounds of Manhattan traffic like how it opens.

Can’t Stay Alone Tonight - Elton John (2013)

Capitol Records was the US label of Elton John’s 2013 Mercury Records album “The Diving Board”. I’m not in the US, but had to include this as I’m an Elton John fan. This is a melodic country ballad Elton John wrote the melody to lyrics by his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. This song has no guitar with it driven by Elton’s piano. The slight keyboards give a nice whistling effect. Though this isn’t in Elton’s usual style, the song sounds positively and uniquely Elton with his singing, piano playing and melody. The bridge brings in a good melodic change.

This is my personal selection of Capitol Records songs covering a 44 year period. They showcase music that really rocks as well as gentle ballads. The artists featured range from major stars, well-known names and those with a degree of success but may not be widely known. It’s fitting that we opened with The Band and concluded with Elton John as The Band are one of Elton’s major influences.

Sri Lanka at 75

Today, the Fourth of February 2023 marks 75 years of Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain. Unfortunately, it’s so tragic that Sri Lanka is in one of its darkest periods right now, going through a severe economic crisis. I wish Sri Lanka was in a much better place without all the current and long-term problems that predated the crisis. I decided to give a short reflection on this anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence. My view is that the corrupt politicians may be able to steal Sri Lanka’s money & resources and use its people, but they cannot take away the meaning and importance of the country, including Sri Lanka’s Independence Day. We Sri Lankans must not let them do that.

Sri Lanka’s Independence Day represents breaking free from colonialism which the country had suffered greatly from. Though the British became the first colonial power to colonise the whole island in 1815, Sri Lanka had been colonised by the Dutch & Portuguese prior to the British having experienced a total of almost 400 years of colonialism. This day is also a day to enjoy and celebrate Sri Lanka. 75 years of independence is a landmark anniversary for Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans of all generations can look back to positive memories and experiences of theirs in Sri Lanka covering 1948 to the present day. This can include beautiful Sri Lankan scenery you’ve seen, trips taken with family and/or friends, great Sri Lankan days of yours and much more.

A positive aspect of Sri Lanka’s independence movement is that it was achieved peacefully. That gives us hope of what we can achieve with sensible movements for change in Sri Lanka. May we gain wisdom to take Sri Lanka forward. We must learn from our wrongdoings, failures and mistakes. Let’s make the next 75 years much better than the previous 75 years. We need to do this for our future generations. We can make Sri Lanka clean, transform our bad politics into something good, remove discrimination, have a unified Sri Lankan identity, diversify our exports, attract needed foreign direct investments (FDI), build a stable economy and more. Happy Sri Lankan Independence Day!

Ten Great Elton John Songs by Ten Different Guitarists

I decided to post a collection of Elton John songs whose main guitar part is played by ten different guitarists. These songs showcase the mix of guitar and piano where you hear how well Elton plays piano with many guitarists. Elton’s lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics for six of the songs. We’re beginning with one of Elton’s most popular songs.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting - Davey Johnstone (1973)

It opens with Davey Johnstone’s charging guitars. It’s mainly guitars you hear at the start. Elton soon brings in his piano with a glissando just before the chorus. This glissando is repeated at the same spot throughout the song. Davey really rocks powerfully with all the guitars he plays on this song. Elton’s piano playing supports Davey well. Right at the end of the song, his rock & roll piano parts offer a good contrast with Davey’s guitars.

Street Kids - Caleb Quaye (1975)

Caleb Quaye & Davey Johnstone both play rhythm guitars. Davey also plays slide guitar. It opens with a guitar effect and then all the instruments come in including Elton’s piano which is mixed in well. Elton is singing aggressively. There are these strong guitar riffs throughout the song I’m assuming is played by Caleb. Caleb gives us a long creative guitar solo. The solo is so rock sounding yet it seems like he’s taking inspiration from jazz the way he changes notes so fast. This is a hard rocking guitar & piano song.

Earn While You Learn - Tim Renwick (1978)

Though this song appears as a bonus track on 1983’s “Too Low For Zero” album due to being a B-Side from that time, it was recorded during the sessions for the 1978 album “A Single Man”. This instrumental is written solely by Elton. It opens with “Earn While You Learn” (the song title) spoken by someone and then Tim’s guitar riff before being joined by all instruments.

When all instruments come in, we get Elton’s keyboards. Elton’s keyboards include prominent organ and synth parts with his piano underneath everything. At about the two minute mark, Tim plays his riff again with Elton’s piano coming in louder and Tim giving a guitar solo. This happens again later on without another guitar solo. This is powerful melodic instrumental rock. Elton gives good rock piano parts including a glissando in the last quarter of the song.

Two Rooms At The End Of The World - Steve Lukather (1980)

The guitar is played by Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Steve’s guitar matches well with Elton’s electric piano. The drums drive this song as there are brief moments of just drums and Elton’s vocals. Just before the one minute mark, horns come in. The horns give a musical presence throughout the song. It’s nice how Steve’s guitar doubles with the horns and there is a section of good back and forth between guitar & horns. Elton gives an interesting electric piano solo. During Elton’s solo, the guitar & horns come in and out of it. Bassist Reggie McBride does some slap bass playing making his instrument more noticeable.

Dear John - Richie Zito (1982)

This song features another Toto member which is their late great drummer Jeff Porcaro. The lyrics are written by Gary Osbourne who Elton had written with during this period. This is a rock & roll song featuring guitars by Richie Zito. Richie played guitar in Elton’s band in the brief period in the early 80s when Davey Johnstone wasn’t in the band. There is a piano solo featuring synth flourishes by James Newton Howard. Richie’s guitars give a driving energetic presence.

Runaway Train - Eric Clapton (1992)

Elton & Bernie co-wrote this song with Olle Romo who plays drums on it. Eric plays lead guitar and sings this duet with Elton John. Elton’s piano is low in the mix. The rhythm guitar is played by Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone. The song has a guitar opening which is soon taken over by Eric’s aggressive lead guitar part. The singing goes back and forth between Elton and Eric. Eric then plays a guitar solo in the middle of the song which is followed by Elton’s organ solo. Eric adds guitar flourishes to the organ solo. There are other similar organ parts in the song. I’m not sure if Elton is playing them. The last chorus is sung by Elton. Eric brings his signature blues rock sound to this song.

If You Were Me - Chris Rea (1993)

After so many intense rock songs, we’re now going to something gentle. This is a duet with singer Chris Rea who wrote the song, produced it and played the guitars & keyboards alongside Max Middleton. The song opening is keyboards which includes electric piano. There are subtle guitars. After Elton & Chris sing, Elton’s piano comes in. Chris’ guitar parts are both acoustic & electric. This seems to be a pop song with blues elements. Chris gives a blues vibe with his guitar playing including his solo.

Birds - Rusty Anderson (2001)

I had written a blog post about this song three years ago. This country rocker opens with drumming following the mix of Elton’s piano and Rusty Anderson’s guitar riff. Once Elton starts singing, the guitar stops and we can make out harmonium which Elton plays in addition to his piano. Just before the chorus, David Channing’s dobro (a type of acoustic guitar) comes in which remains for the song. Rusty’s guitar comes in throughout the song including a rocking solo. Elton also provides a piano solo. Rusty concludes the song with good rock guitar playing.

Rock This House - B.B. King (2005)

This song is another duet with a singer-guitarist. Unlike the previous two who are English, the late B.B. King is American, specifically African-American. This song was recorded with the Elton John Band. Davey Johnstone plays the rhythm guitar and B.B. King plays the lead guitar. The song opens with Davey’s guitar riff before all the instruments come in. B.B.’s guitar is in the right speaker. This is a cover song by blues singer Jimmy Rogers which gives off a blues rock vibe. Both B.B. and Elton give solos. They sound like they’re having so much fun rocking this house. I like how there are horn parts in this song.

Take This Dirty Water - Doyle Bramhall II (2013)

This is an americana song primarily in the gospel genre with some country, soul and blues elements. In this song, the guitar has a supportive role. Elton’s piano opens the song. Doyle soon gives his guitar flourishes. Elton sings “in and out of everything” which reflects how Doyle’s guitar keeps coming in and out of the song. Around the three minute mark, Doyle gives a short guitar solo. I like the optimistic feel of this song. Elton sings so soulfully with good gospel sounding backing vocals.

Many of these songs are guitar driven and have a harder rocking sound. They show how great a rock performer Elton John is. In addition to rock there are also elements of pop, blues, gospel, soul and country. Interestingly, the duets all go in a blues direction. The Elton John Band guitarists who played on these songs are Davey Johnstone, Caleb Quaye, Tim Renwick & Richie Zito. Davey is the only guitarist who also plays rhythm guitar on some tracks as he’s Elton’s original and long-time guitarist. I hope to hear more rocking songs like this from Elton in the future.

The Majesty of Sri Lanka

This blog post features a collection of photos of Sri Lanka I selected from the internet. I chose photos that depict the majesty of Sri Lanka. I give the relevant credit below the photos.

I’m starting off with an International Space Station photo from NASA showing Sri Lanka & India from space. This is an impressive view of Sri Lanka you don’t usually see.

"The island nation of Sri Lanka and the brightly-lit southern tip of India" by NASA Johnson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

A view of the Bible Rock mountain.

"Bible Rock, Sri Lanka" by ubuddhika88 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

A colourful Sri Lankan beach.

"Beachscape - Southern Coast, Sri Lanka" by whl.travel is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

A look at the sea.

1392428 © Natalia Pavlova | Dreamstime.com

The Madu Ganga river. It has a strikingly good mix of blue and green.

Photo by Ravi Teja

Green Palm Trees.

ID 173278934 © Andrii Brodiahin | Dreamstime.com

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya in Kandy.

"The Royal Botanical Garden Peradeniya Kandy Sri Lanka" by Mal B is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

A view of Sri Lanka’s coast from above.

ID 40137647 © Digitalfestival | Dreamstime.com

Colombo’s buildings and trees by the Beira Lake.

ID 37716292 © Saman527 | Dreamstime.com

The Colombo buildings near the sea.

"Srilanka (colombo)" by kakeyzz---- is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The lighting effects of Colombo at night.

"Colombo Light Trails" by Nazly is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

This is a colourful collection of photos featuring trees, mountains, beaches, rivers, gardens and buildings that give a glimpse into what Sri Lanka is like. If you enjoyed this, you might be interested in my previous blog post “Diverse Views of Sri Lanka” featuring photos I took of Sri Lanka.

Ten Great Universal Music Group Songs

The Universal Music Group is one of the world’s leading record labels. I am a fan of Elton John & Bob Seger who are both part of the Universal Music Group. There are many other songs I enjoy that are part of the Universal Music Group. This article is a collection of Universal Music Group songs. It features a 50/50 mix of British & American artists.

Reelin’ In The Years - Steely Dan (1972)

This jazz rock song opens with the incredible guitar playing by Elliott Randall whose guitar is prominent throughout the song. Singer Donald Fagen gives a good piano part with the piano being the main instrument in the verses. The guitar part in the verses is subtle so you almost can’t hear it. This reminds me of Elton John’s 1973 song “Grey Seal” where guitarist Davey Johnstone does not play guitar during the verses. Elliott also plays two intense and powerful guitar solos.

 

Ramblin’ Man - The Allman Brothers Band (1973)

This is a southern rocker written and sung by guitarist Dickey Betts. Chuck Leavell’s piano drives the song with good organ support from Gregg Allman. There are intense guitar parts which come throughout the song. There is a guitar solo a little after the one minute mark. The guitars are played by Dickey and Les Dudek. The last two minutes of the song feature guitar soloing by them.

Still The Same - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1978)

This ballad shows us Bob Seger at his best. Bob does double duty playing piano and acoustic guitars. The song features those two instruments in the intro. The other instruments join in and Bob starts singing. Bob sings from his heart. Bob plays the piano well providing a good selection of musical notes and he gives a moving piano solo. Keyboardist Robyn Robins gives good organ accompaniment.

Promises - Eric Clapton (1978)

This is a country leaning song featuring electric piano. The guitar parts are a mix of acoustic and electric. Eric sings “la la la la .. ” in the chorus. It’s nice how there’s an electric guitar part doubling it which could be played by Eric himself. Eric sings gently on this song. Keyboardist Dick Sims also plays organ in addition to electric piano.

Twisting By The Pool - Dire Straits (1983)

This is a good, fun rock & roll song. Mark Knopfler wrote, sang and played lead guitar on this song. Keyboardist Alan Clark provides a jolly piano part. As this is a rock & roll song, Mark’s guitar solo sounds like one you’d hear in 50s music. There are a few brief drum solos. The backing vocals offer adequate support to Mark.

I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John (1983)

It opens with Elton’s warm melodic piano. The other instruments slowly come in, with it becoming a full band song once Elton starts singing. The most prominent instrument alongside Elton’s piano is Davey Johnstone’s guitars. Davey co-wrote the song with Elton and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. This song seems like blues pop to me. Stevie Wonder gives a touching harmonica solo.

That’s All - Genesis (1983)

This is a piano driven rock song. It opens with piano and soft drumming. Phil Collins sings this song and also plays drums on it. The drumming gets more intense close to the one minute mark. There is an organ solo a bit before the halfway mark. There is an interesting guitar solo in the last section of the song. Phil does some subtle singing during the guitar solo.

Dancing On The Ceiling - Lionel Richie (1986)

While Lionel Richie is a soul artist, he has done some songs which went in a rock direction such as this one. I’d classify this as both a pop rock song and a soul song. It opens with cheering, Lionel talking and John Robinson’s drum intro. The piano and guitars give off a rock vibe. There are many glissandos on the piano. A rocking guitar solo is given. This song seems to be influenced by rock & roll music. This is a fun, energetic song.

Alone - Heart (1987)

This is an epic arena rock song. The song opens with a piano with some synth. The verses are slow and the choruses go into intense rock mode with strong guitar and synth parts. Ann Wilson sings powerfully in the choruses. There is a guitar solo three quarters of the way in the song. This is a pure 80s power ballad.

Roll With It - Steve Winwood (1988)

This song has a soul and blues feel. Steve Winwood plays all the instruments on this song except for the horns and some keyboards by Mike Lawler. The main keyboard parts of piano & organ are played by Steve. It opens with drumming, a horn intro and then the lead instrument of piano comes in. Steve sings powerfully. Nice organ parts first appear in the chorus and are used throughout the song. There is a soulful saxophone solo.

I featured a diverse collection of songs I like from the Universal Music Group. Their musical styles are a mix of rock, pop, soul, blues, jazz and country.

Bob Seger Wish List

 

ID 176002280 © Featureflash | Dreamstime.com

I’m a fan of American rock singer Bob Seger. He currently maintains a low profile. I would like to see more activity from him. In this article, I will be providing my wish list of seven topics I would like to see Bob Seger do. There is some overlap in the last three topics.

New Album

I hope Bob Seger will work on a new album, if he isn’t already involved in making one. I’ve been disappointed that he used piano less over the years and want his next album to bring back piano. The ideal new Bob Seger album for me would be an album like his 1978 album “Stranger in Town” with piano on every track. This album’s format should be a back to the 70s approach fusing the musical styles of his classic period with the deeper lyrical themes of his later work.

Bob had written epically long songs in the past which I’d like to see him do again. Examples of epic long Bob Seger songs include “Brave Strangers” (6:20), “Against the Wind” (5:34), “Like a Rock” (5:56), “The Ring” (5:35), “The Fire Inside” (5:56) and “Manhattan” (5:22). He included a good six and a half minute cover of Leonard Cohen’s Democracy on his last album, but as he didn’t write it I’m not counting it as an epic long Bob Seger song.

Interviews 

Bob Seger has done few interviews over the last four years. It would be nice if Bob did more interviews. It’s enjoyable to read or listen to a new Bob Seger interview. Sometimes, you find an interesting story about one of his songs which you hadn’t heard before. It’s a dream of mine to interview Bob Seger for this blog. Bob, if you’re reading this, I’d love to interview you. You or someone associated with you can reach out to me. My email is on my Blogger profile page here.

Autobiography 

Bob Seger has few books written about him. It would be great if he wrote an autobiography. I’d like it to not be celebrity focused like so many rock star biographies. Personal issues can be covered if Bob wants to, but it’d be better to not to be the focus. Topics that would be fun to read are the difficulty of touring in America before he became a rock star, how he wrote & recorded his popular songs, stories from the road, meeting musical heroes of his and more.

Album Guest Appearances

Bob rarely makes guest appearances on other people’s albums. I’d like to see him make appearances on other artists’ albums often. I don’t wish to see him singing merely backing vocals, but singing duets. It would also be good to see him record covers for tribute albums which are albums paying tribute to an artist, recording studio, style of music etc with every track being a cover song by a well-regarded artist.

Unreleased Songs

Bob is reported to have a vast amount of unreleased songs, so I would like to see him release some unreleased songs. When Bob Seger joined iTunes in 2011, he said that he would use iTunes to release unreleased material. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t done it. Last year, there were five playlist Bob Seger EPs released only on music streaming services. They consist of existing Bob Seger songs. I’d like to see EPs consisting of unreleased songs released on both iTunes and music streaming services. One unreleased song I want to hear is “Wonderland” from 2011 that relates to alternate universes. As a fan of both Bob Seger & sci-fi, that sounds like a sci-fi song which excites me.

Dolby Atmos

Music is now getting released in a format beyond stereo which is Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos is a form of spatial audio which is released mainly via streaming services. It can be listened via headphones or a full speaker setup giving a surround effect. Atmos adapts itself based on the speaker setup you’re listening to. It would be great to hear Bob Seger in Dolby Atmos. I can think of two Bob Seger songs sounding epic in Dolby Atmos with a full speaker setup. Firstly, “Hollywood Nights” with David Teegarden’s two drums on both back speakers and Bill Payne’s piano going across the front speakers. Secondly, “Beautiful Loser” could have its synth parts giving spatial effects across different speakers.

Reissued CDs

Most of Bob Seger’s early albums unfortunately haven’t been reissued on CD. I’d like to see CD reissues of his early material with the two albums I most want to hear being “Back in ‘72” (1973) and “Seven” (1974). Also, there is a great opportunity to release super deluxe editions of his popular albums. These super deluxe editions would include outtakes, demos and alternate takes from the album sessions. There would be a big booklet featuring lots of photos and information on the making of the album. It would also include a blu-ray audio disc containing a higher quality stereo mix as well as a Dolby Atmos mix of the album. There could be 45th anniversary super deluxe releases of “Stranger in Town” in 2023 & “Against the Wind” in 2025 and 50th anniversary super deluxe releases of “Beautiful Loser” in 2025 & “Night Moves” in 2026.

That is my wish list of what I’d like to see Bob Seger do. If you’re a Bob Seger fan, I’d be interested to hear what you’d like to see him do. Hopefully, Bob Seger will do something that will excite his fans soon.