Hey!
I’m back again this week with 7 more songs to share with you. Take a look at what I picked-
Kicking things off on playlist #31 is The Marc Atkinson Quartet with Russian Rag.
The Russian Rag is based on Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor and composed by George Linus Cobb.
Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor is one of his most famous pieces. I’m listening to it right now as I type along and I realize I should share this piece separately on one of my playlists. It’s brilliant!
Listening now to Cobb’s Russian Rag to sort of get some background on the cover I’m sharing with you. Cobb composed several pieces of music in the styles of ragtimes, marches and waltzes; ragtimes being the most popular. This one is simply beautiful by itself!
To describe Marc Atkinson’s cover of the Russian Rag in one word- I’d choose to say “lively”. There’s very evident traces of fun, energy, amusement and sheer musical talent throughout the 7 odd minutes that the track lasts. The way these guys play around with time signs and medleys of popular tunes is quite entertaining actually. See if you find any tune in there that you recognize. 🙂
I would love to watch them perform live!
Alice In Chains now for you with Black Gives Way To Blue. This track is quite contrasting to Alice In Chains as you know them.
Black Gives Way To Blue is the fourth studio album by the band, released in 2009, their first record without lead singer Layne Staley who died in 2002. The album features new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William Duvall. Title track Black Gives Way To Blue is the last track on the album.
There’s quite a few tracks on this album I’m quite fond of. I decided to share this one for the sole reason it stood out. A song written as a tribute to Layne Staley, and a sort of mellow finale to an otherwise loud album.
Oh, and I just read about this- the pianist on the track is Elton John.
The last time I shared Van Morrison with you, it was on my brother’s suggestion. This week, I would like you to listen to Moondance.
Moondance, from the album with the same name, was released in 1977 as a single. Seven and a half years after the album’s release. The album blends musical styles like R&B, folk rock, country rock and jazz (quite evident on the title track Moondance).
I’m not sure what it is about this track that makes me like it. It’s catchy sure but I’m pretty sure it appeals to me for more profound reasons.
Some French for you now by Oregon based Pink Martini. It’s their popular track Sympathique.
Describing itself as a “little orchestra,” Pink Martini’s music crosses genres such as classical, latin, jazz and classic pop. The co-lead vocalists for Pink Martini are China Forbes and Storm Large. The woman you hear on Sympathique is China Forbes.
I’m watching this video right now of the group performing the song at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle in 2012. It’s beautiful!
If you’re Indian and have no idea why this song is familiar, let me help with that. You probably heard this song featured on a POND’S advertisement a few years back.
This next song I have for you was suggested by a friend. It’s the song All I Want by Irish band Kodaline. I hadn’t heard this song before today and I have no idea why. It’s a lovely ballad-like track, rousing and pleasant. Spanning at about 5 minutes, the track is rather simple and has some beautiful lyrics.
All I Want is track #2 from the band’s 2013 album In A Perfect World.
Some ragtime again for you now with the king of the genre. It’s Scott Joplin with The Cascades. You 
probably know the man for his popular compositions such as The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag.
During his brief career, he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the Maple Leaf Rag, became ragtime’s first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag.
-Wikipedia
I’m now coming to realize that maybe there are one too many ragtime tracks on this playlist, but oh well. I’m not going to change the way things are now. I hope you enjoy them both just as much as I did.
I thought this would be just the right track to close this playlist off with. I’m leaving you with Rusted Root and their very popular song Send Me On My Way.
I just read up that the track has been used in several motion pictures as soundtrack, but the one I remember it from is Ice Age. You probably might as well. Honestly, every time I listen to the track I find myself wanting to watch Ice Age.
Rusted Root is known for their unique fusion of acoustic, rock, world and other styles of music, with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American and Native American influences. Their lyrical content varies but often talks about Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
And vocalist Michael Glabicki has some pipes!
Here’s something interesting about this super fun song-
One of the most joyful songs ever recorded, “Send Me On My Way” was never a huge hit, but roughly a decade after it was released, it found its way to various media uses to convey a pleasant journey. It was featured in the movies Matilda and Ice Age, on the TV shows Chuck and New Girl, and in ubiquitous commercials for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which built an ad campaign around the song.
-Songfacts.com
I hope you enjoy the tracks I’ve shared with you this week. I look forward to feedback, suggestions or correspondence or any sort. It’s always fun to talk about music!
Until next week then.
Happy Listening!
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