Now that Christmas is but a distant memory it is time for me to get back to what passes in my world as ‘normal.’ Around this time of year I have got into the habit of playing some songs which relate to the upcoming New Year, and I now have collection of regulars for this which stretch to two episodes. It feels right to play the first set today and then complete the show on New Year’s Day, so that’s what I’m doing, even if it means that the first Tuesday Tunes of 2024 won’t appear until 9th January. A small mercy, I hear you mutter…
Both sets that I’m playing are based largely on the ones I played last year, though I have slimmed them down a little (but not as a response to the header cartoon). I’ve played this first one a few times before, and it is by a band of which you probably haven’t heard, but one to which I feel a connection. I was part of the crowdfunding effort which became The Rescues’ 2013 album Blah Blah Love And War, from which this song comes, and band member Kyler England still follows me on Twitter (probably due to inertia more than anything else, as she hasn’t tweeted anything since July 2021!). This is one of those ‘hoping for better’ songs, and the video is hilarious:
That is just so good! As far as I know, the band has never had any kind of chart success anywhere: I think that’s a real shame, as they write some superb songs. A mention too, for Chet Dixon, who is brilliant in that video. He is listed on the IMDB as an actor, including an appearance in Cold Mountain, a long way down the list of credits. On this evidence I think he deserves better, although he does seem to have had a couple of more major roles in recent years and has made several appearances in episodes of tv series.
This next one is very much a regular for me. Counting Crows have been a favourite band of mine since their first album, August And Everything After, back in 1993, and this is the perfect looking back/looking ahead song:
I think that video goes so well with the song. It comes from their second album, Recovering The Satellites, released in October 1996. The album was a US #1 and made #4 here in the UK. As a single, this one peaked at #6 on the US chart and #62 in the UK. The video includes what I think is probably Courtney Cox’s best acting performance ever (even better than when she danced with Bruce Springsteen).
I’ve long felt that Gretchen Peters is one of the best singer-songwriters around. She has made some wonderful albums of her own, and is a great live performer, but if her name is known to you it is probably as the writer of songs which have been single hits or album tracks for others, and she has also written and performed quite a few with Bryan Adams. This is another of hers which is better known as a cover, in this case by the country band Alabama, and it has also been recorded by the country singer, Barbara Mandrell. Gretchen sang harmony vocals on Alabama’s version, which was only ever a B-side and an album track and, as far as I know, she has never recorded the song – New Year’s Eve 1999 – herself. I was going to include the Alabama version when quite by chance a couple of years ago I came across another one, by a band who were totally unknown to me: Prescott-Brown. Apparently they were a Canadian country band who released two albums, in 1992 and 1994. Their version of the song is on the second of those albums, which made #10 in the Canadian country albums chart. I much prefer it to the Alabama effort, as Tracey Brown has an amazingly warm voice. I got a ‘like’ on Twitter from Gretchen when I posted this one a couple of years ago, so I guess she enjoyed it too! I’m rather glad that I found it:
You may well know this next one, as the band are better known. I love the way this song looks back at what seem to have been bad times and attacks them with a positive attitude:
Semisonic were one of those bands who never got the success I felt they deserved. Their March 1998 album Feeling Strangely Fine was a little gem, and produced three hit singles in the UK: this wasn’t one of them, hence the audio only clip. In chart terms the album did better here than in the US: #16 as against #43. But given the relative sizes of the countries the sales figures are a little different: they are certified at over 350,000 here, but over 1m in the US. Not bad for a band who I once saw described in a derisive review as ‘making music for college kids.’ What’s wrong with that anyway?
This next one is from another of my favourites. She only appeared in my Advent Countdown once this year, but I’ve played this several times before for New Year, as it is so very lovely:
This is from Kate Rusby’s first (of six) albums of Christmas and seasonal songs, Sweet Bells, but is not an original of hers. There are several attributions, but the generally accepted story is that the song was written in 1891 by Will Godwin and Leo Dryden. Dryden sang it in music hall performances and recorded it in 1898. It was also recorded by Peter Dawson (‘Australia’s first man of song’ in case you didn’t know – so not Rolf Harris, then). Dawson’s version is taken a little faster, which I find totally unsuited to what is actually a heart-breaking song from the perspective of a young man looking back at year end, and dreaming of home and family. I think Kate does it far more justice – this is beautiful.
I’ve played today’s final song before, too, but as it is such an uplifting song and video it seems like a good way to finish this first collection of New Year songs:
A Great Big World are singer-songwriters Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino/King, who met at New York University when they were studying music business. This song was their first single, but wasn’t a hit, though a cover by the cast of Glee made the US Top Forty. The song then featured on the duo’s debut album, Is There Anybody Out There? which was a big hit, peaking at #3 in the US and #16 in the UK, propelled by their hit single collaboration with Christina Aguilera on their song Say Something, which reached #4 in both the US and the UK. Amongst other strings to their bow, they have opened shows for Ingrid Michaelson (who was in my Advent Countdown) and appeared on her April 2014 album, Lights Out. This video is full of joy, and reminds me a lot of the one for Frank Turner’s song Recovery – they have the same feel of happiness in being with friends
That’s all for today. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are getting ready to do it all again next weekend. I’ll see you again for Song Lyric Sunday and for Part Two of these songs to welcome in 2024 on Monday 🪅
Take It Easy 