'Wild Night'

Van Morrison, live from Montreux (1980):

Van Morrison's New Album, 'Keep Me Singing', is Now Available

Just released yesterday, at Amazon, Keep Me Singing.

PREVIOUSLY: "Van Morrison, 'Too Late' (VIDEO)."

Van Morrison, 'Too Late' (VIDEO)

Here's Van Morrison's new single, off his new album, due out September 30th, Keep Me Singing.

David Bowie Releases 27th Album 'Blackstar' on His 69th Birthday (VIDEO)

Happy birthday to David Bowie.

Interesting that he released "Lazarus" as one of the top singles from the new album, Blackstar.

Here's the review, at Telegraph UK, "David Bowie, Blackstar, review: 'extraordinary'."

And at London's Daily Telegraph, "At 69, birthday boy Bowie's funky, fun and fabulous: ADRIAN THRILLS says latest album Blackstar tears up the rulebook again."

Lazarus indeed.

More, at Vogue, "David Bowie’s Birthday Suit Is the Ultimate in British Gent Style."

'Wild Night'

From Van Morrison, heard during drive-time the other day at the Sound L.A., although I can't remember just when so I don't have the full playlist. (Sorry, I'll try to do better, lol.)

As you brush your shoes
Stand before the mirror
And you comb your hair
Grab your coat and hat
And you walk, wet streets
Tryin' to remember
All the wild night breezes
In your mem'ry ever

And ev'rything looks so complete
When you're walkin' out on the street
And the wind catches your feet
Sends you flyin', cryin'

Ooo-woo-wee!
Wild night is calling, alright
Oooo-ooo-wee!
Wild night is calling

And all the girls walk by
Dressed up for each other
And the boys do the boogie-woogie
On the corner of the street

And the people, passin' by
Stare in wild wonder
And the inside juke-box
Roars out just like thunder

And ev'rything looks so complete
When you walk out on the street
And the wind catches your feet
And sends you flyin', cryin'

Woo-woo-wee!
Wild night is calling
Alright

Ooo-ooo-wee!
Wild night is calling, alright

The wild night is calling
The wild night is calling

Come on out and dance
Whoa, come on out and make romance
Yes, indeed

Come on out and dance
Come on out, make romance

(Instrumental & horn solo)

The wild night is calling, alright
The wild night is calling

Come on out an dance
Yeah, come on out 'n make romance

Come on out and dance, alright...

Robbie Williams: 'Mack the Knife'

Via Ghost of a Flea.

Oh the shark babe has such teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white
Just a jack knife has ol’ MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it out of sight

You know when that shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though wears ol’ MacHeath, babe
So there's never, never a trace of red

On the sidewalk, Oh Sunday morning don’t you know
Lies a body just oozing life
And Someone's sneaking around the corner
Could that be our boy Mack the knife?

From a tug boat down by the river don’t you know
Lays a cement bag just dropping on down
That’s cement's there, it’s there for the weight, dear
I’ll get you ten ol’ Macky is back in town

Did you hear bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawing out all his hard earned cash
And know MacHeath spends, he spends just like a, like a sailor
Could it be, could it be, could it be, our boy did something rash?

[2x]
Jenny Diver Oh Sukey Tawdry
Look out Miss Polly Peachum and Oh Lucy Brown
Yeah the line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky is back in town

'The Girl From Ipanema' Turns 50

I love this story, because 'The Girl From Ipanema' reminds me of my parents when I was a small child. At the Wall Street Journal, "The Elusive Girl From Ipanema":

Before 1962, if John Q. Nobody gave any thought to South America at all, it probably didn't range much beyond banana republics, fugitive Nazis and Carmen Miranda. That changed 50 years ago this summer when a tall and tan and young and lovely goddess was born.

She was "The Girl From Ipanema."

Like a handful of other international crossover hits ("Day-O" from Jamaica, "Down Under" from Australia), "The Girl From Ipanema" pretty much put an entire country's music and ethos on the map. In this case, the land was Brazil, the genre was bossa nova, and the atmosphere was uniquely exotic and elusive—a seductive tropical cocktail "just like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gently," as the lyrics go.

At the time, bossa nova wasn't exactly unknown in the U.S., as shown by the Grammy-winning success of "Desafinado" from the 1962 album "Jazz Samba" by Stan Getz and Charlie Parker. But "The Girl From Ipanema" ("Garota de Ipanema" in the original Portuguese) was something else altogether. Not only was it one of the last great gasps of pre-Beatles easy listening, it was an entire culture in miniature.

"To the layperson, 'The Girl From Ipanema' sounds like 'a nice song,' " says the Brazilian-American guitarist and musical director Manny Moreira. "But to the trained ear it is perfection."

Continue reading.

And watch the original Astrud Gilberto performance with Stan Getz here.