Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground

Currently enjoying a lot of pre-war country blues; guys like Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake, the Reverend Gary Davis, Bukka White, and most of all, Blind Willie Johnson, on a terrific LP called Praise God I'm Satisfied.



It's been suggested that the terrors which Robert Johnson sang about - hellhounds, devils, stones in his passway, judgement day; are all forewarned in the apocalyptic gospelizing of Blind Willie Johnson, who recorded between 1927 - 1930.

Here is a man palpably aware of divine redemption; song titles like 'I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole', and 'Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed' hint at a man well of aware of his own fragile mortality.

Blind Willie's most famous recording is 'Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground' (adapted by Ry Cooder as the theme for Paris Texas). A wordless description of Christ's plight on the cross, this piece was included on the batch of recordings sent out on the Voyager 1 mission into space in 1977, presumably designed to allow possible alien life forms to get a feel for humanity via the medium of music.

Other music included a couple of pieces by Bach and Beethoven , some Native American chants, Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven, Chuck Berry, and various other supposedly representative examples of earthly music. It's hard to imagine what impression an alien life form might make of the human race on hearing 'Dark Was the Night'...but there are few more starkly affecting representations of the human condition in any art form, by anyone.

Side One, Track One

Bored on a Monday night, I have listed a fairly random slection of classic opening album tracks, (none of which, I think, feature in the same list in High Fidelity). Fatuous commentary occasionally included.

1. Irk The Purists - Half Man Half Biscuit

from the tremendous Trouble over Bridgwater LP, and a rallying cry to anyone whose record collection includes 'Husker Du, Captain Beefheart, ELO, Chris de Burgh, Sun Ra, Del Amitri ,John Coltrane'

2. Get Ready For Love - Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues...a statement of intent for an album if ever there was one. Almost had to choose 'Papa Won't Leave You Henry' from Henry's Dream.

3. Back In Black - AC/DC

Had to be a good start to the first LP recorded without Bon Scott...

4. The Concept - Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque including a special mention for Status Quo...

5. Misunderstood - Wilco - Being There.

Racked and ragged start to a beautiful track which starts an album when Jeff Tweedy 'still loved rock n roll'.

6. Rocks Off - Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street

Now, this is the best track one side one tune ever put on plastic, filthy guitars, rowdy horns, rude lyrics, and lots of ridiculous Jagger growling and hooting... 'the sunshine bores the daylights out of me..'

7. New Day Rising - Husker Du

From the LP of the same name, teeth grinding guitar shredding, as Husker Du started to mutate from hardcore into more melodic song writing.

8. Prayer To God - Shellac - 1000 Hurts

'Him, just fuckin' kill him'. Steve Albini has had some good album opening tracks, the problem being that the LPs often deteriorate as they go on...Jordan Minnsota from Atomizer is scary, and The Model from Songs About Fucking is even more bleak and cold than the Kraftwerk original.

9. Return of The Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel

sorry, just realised that this one is in the book...

10. Gloria - Patti Smith - Horses

My second favourite opening track after the Stones. Dunno what Van the Man makes of it though...

11. I Feel Alright - Steve Earle

From the first LP he recorded more or less clean, with songs written when he was more or less clean. Most junkies go on to make dull records after they clean up, but Steve Earle made many terrific LPs, quickly too, after quitting heroin and crack.

12. Close Your Eyes - Micah P Hinson - Gospel of Progress

the best debut LP from anyone anywhere for ages.

13. If I Should Fall From Grace With God - The Pogues

A bloody exciting album, and I am a lucky bastard to have seen them live around this time, though even by the following LP MacGowan had pissed on his own parade.

14. Station Approach - Elbow - Leaders of The Free World

if only the rest of the LP was as good.

15. Holidays in The Sun - Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks

The sound of a hundred multi-layered guitars...I wonder if Steve Jones had anything to do with this whatsover.

16. Big Exit - PJ Harvey - Stories from The City, Stories From The Sea

Took me a while to get into this LP, but it's probably her best. She's so patchy, I wish she would just rock out more often.

17. Astronomy Domine - Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates of Dawn

As Peel would say, this one fades in. Sgt Pepper can bollocks, this was the real English psychedelia.

18. I Wanna Be Adored - Stone Roses

over rated LP, but the best tracks are still thrilling.

19. Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones

The only song on this list which I have played on stage (anyone with a bass guitar and 5 mins to spare can learn this song). hey ho! let's go!

20. The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths

increasingly rare combination of brilliant guitar playing with brilliant lyric writing. And only yesterday, the Observer was comparing the Libertines to the Smiths - it makes me weep...

Tramp the Dirt Down

There's a dubious list on the bbc website of the most popular songs chosen for funerals. Apparently, this is the top 10:

1. Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt

2. Angels - Robbie Williams

3. I've Had the Time of My Life - Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley

4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler

5. Pie Jesu - Requiem

6. Candle in the Wind - Elton John

7. With or Without You - U2

8. Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton

9. Every Breath You Take - The Police

10. Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers

According to a spokesman from whichever agency compiles this crap,

"The top 20 really shows how far we have come in terms of saying goodbye. Gone are the dirges of yore, instead we are seeing contemporary music that is easier to relate to."

What bollocks. The dirges of yore may be behind us, but what a relief that we have plenty of contemporary dirges from deadbeats like James Blunt, to provide cheap second hand sentiment as the curtains close on the casket.

Personally, I would prefer Ace of Spades, to give procedings a more lively tempo.