“I Want to See Him” (1967) – The Famous Davis Sisters * Written by Rufus H. Cornelius * LP: In My Room * Label: Savoy In Ruth “Baby Sis” Davis, this Philadelphia gospel group had a lead singer with the sort of command that could calm a storm but also stir one up. This version of the 1916 Rufus H. Cornelius hymn came out in 1967, and although it’s not clear if it’s a recording that had gotten into Mick Jagger’s head for the Stones’ “I Just Want to See His Face,” it would speak well of him if it was.
“Ta Mesiméria Tis Kyriakís” (1973) – Manolis Mitsias * Written by Giorgios Hatzinasios and Yiannis Logothelis * Arrangements by Giorgios Hatzinasios * LP: Echei o Theos * Label: His Master’s Voice Something you see a lot of in Greek laika (popular folk) music—maybe more than in any other genre—are albums that bill the songwriters above the singers. The 1973 album Echei o Theos (God willing), for example, features the voices of Manolis Mitsias and Demetra Galani, but it’s the songwriters Giorgios Hatzinasios (music) and Yiannis Logothelis (lyrics) you see listed first. On the song “Ta Mesiméria Tis Kyriakís” (Sunday afternoons), the value of songwriters in Greek culture gets further emphasis when Mitsias sings of relaxing to the songs of rebetiko pioneer Markos Vamvakaris.
“My Way” (1969) – Frank Sinatra * Written by Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux, Paul Anka * LP: My Way (Reprise, 1969) * 45: “My Way”/”Blue Lace” (Billboard #27, easy listening #2) * Produced by Sonny Burke * Arranged by Don Costa Paul Anka took a melody from a song he’d heard in France and wrote the lyrics of a lifetime for Frank Sinatra, who had mentioned to Anka he was thinking of retiring. The song became something of a signature ball and chain for Sinatra, who kept on performing long past 1969. (Had he known “My Way” would someday turn into a deadly machismo-measuring tool in Filipino karaoke bars, he might have scrapped it altogether.) Sinatra famously insisted on doing his vocals in one take, which adds a fascination factor to his records. On this otherwise iconic version of “My Way,” though, the spell gets broken because of an obvious splice after the first chorus at 2:26.
“Ouda” (1992) – Hamied El Shaeri * Written by Mostafa Amar and Sameh al-Agami * LP: Kawahel * Label: Rotana
A Libyan exile based in Cairo, Hamied El Shaeri (this spelling seems more common than the one on the cassette cover above) had been an outspoken voice of protest against the actions of Muammar Gadaffi at the expense of Libyan citizens. His music is essentially pop fare with romantic lyrics and Western influences, but coming from a land where non-native musical instruments were once piled up and burned, such a specialty rings with a certain political defiance. His gentle 1992 hit “Ouda” (return), with its whispery voices and acoustic guitars playing major 7th chords, has a way of wafting through listeners’ minds with universal appeal. Although El Shaeri has also developed a reputation as a songwriter, this one was written by the Egyptian musician and actor Mostafa Amar—who’s associated himself with Spanish guitar—along with lyricist Sameh al-Agami. (The album title Kawahel translates to “as a camel.”)
“Blame Mary Jane” (1990) – Lloyd Cole * Written by Lloyd Cole and Blair Cowan * CD single: “No Blue Skies” / “Blame Mary Jane” / “Witching Hour” * Produced by Lloyd Cole, Paul Hardiman, and Fred Maher * Label: Capitol The first solo album for Scotsman Lloyd Cole showcases his expatriate New York-rocker persona, his good recording taste (including Robert Quine’s distinctive guitar work), and his urbane songwriting all gelled up into an enduring whole. Dylan Jones, in his Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music, depicts the 1990 Cole as a “troubled soul” with “unfulfilled promise” who spent his days shooting pool at blue-collar bars. This turned out to be just a phase, apparently, that Cole would write about in a 2001 song called “Tried to Rock.” Such forays into image, though, can keep resonating for audiences. Cole’s “Blame Mary Jane,” a B-side from that era, may as well have been the theme song for the man Jones was describing, but in the discouraging political present, its attitude and words are liable to run through one’s mind daily: “I’m gonna close my eyes to the morning papers / Shut my ears to the news / I’m gonna lose my soul in the lonesome afternoon.”
“Garrib Tigy” (2009) – Ahmad Fathi * CD: Akher El Akhbar * Label: Rotana
Without previous familiarity with Yemeni oud master Ahmad Fathi, you might not suspect the music on this dance pop track to be the work of a virtuoso. Fathi is a triple threat, though: a respected musician, a singer on many Arabic pop market recordings, and a composer whose operetta “Children of the World” set music to words by Syrian poet Mahmoud Yassin. Fathi is a tad older than he looks on the cover (born in 1957); his daughter Bilquis is an up-and-coming singer. “Garrib Tigy” is a true pop song title, translating roughly to “come on and try it.”
Deolindo – “Canção Aranha” (2016) * Written by Pedro Da Silva Martins * LP: Outras Histórias * Produced by Deolinda and João Bessa A “spider song” equating the musical webs that draw in listeners with the art of weaving social webs to ensnare lovers. The song’s melodic stickiness backs it up with thematic assurance. Based in Lisbon, Portugal, Deolinda is a “new fado” band who draws from all of the fado genre’s familiar aural pleasures while veering away from its trademark melancholia. Outras Histórias is their fourth album.
“Friends” (1971) – Buzzy Linhart * Written by Buzzy Linhart and Mark Klingman * LP: The Time to Live Is Now * Produced by Buzzy Linhart * Label: Kama Sutra “Friends” became a show staple for Bette Midler and a highlight on her 1972 Divine Miss M debut album. It also became familiar enough as a singalong number on seventies variety shows that when you hear the original rag-tag rendition, its introverted nature will likely surprise you. Linhart, who co-wrote the song with Mark Klingman, gives it a non-singer’s delivery which is kinda the point, evoking a sense of self-pity that later versions seemed to obscure. “I had some friends but they’re gone. Something came and took them away… I’m standing at the end of the road…waiting for my new friends to come…” But will they?
“Miessemearkumat” (2016) – Ulla Pirttijärvi and Ulda * CD: Roijk * Label: Tuupa The Sámi singer Ulla Pirttijärvi, based in Finland, began her recording career with the unison-voiced trio Angelin Tytöt (the girls from Angeli) and now performs with a group called Ulda. This track from their Roijk album combines her melodic joik singing (traditional Sámi chanting) with the organic instrumentation and grooves that make the whole thing special. She’s never had a band that complemented her so well before now. “Miessemearkumat” translates to “reindeer calf marking,” with the lyrics focusing on the July ritual of marking the ears of new calves with ancient family symbols before setting them loose to graze.
“Mekong Song” (2015) – Deltas * Written by Deltas * CD: Ligerian Blues * Label: Buda Musique With their origins in Angers, France, the trio Deltas currently includes Vincent Erdeven (guitar), Richard Bourreau (violin/kora), and recent addition Andra Kouyate (ngoni/vocals), who’s from Mali. Their second album’s playful title Ligerian Blues, which Dylan McDonnell at RootsWorld calls a “seeming portmanteau of the Loire and Niger rivers,” also has the lion/tiger fusion thing going for it. But the river aspect is key, with the band’s own name and track titles like “Mekong Song” inviting us to hear the music as a willfully cross-cultural exercise.
