“It used to go like that, and now it goes like this.”
- Bob Dylan
Three For Thursday again. Fun.
#1 Touch and Go: If asked to name my favorite guitarist, there's zero hesitation, Mark Knopfler, hands down. His genius will require a fully dedicated post later. But, second for me is one that may not show up on a lot of lists, Elliot Easton of The Cars. Yesterday my buddy Jeff and I were text-discussing about The Cars' brilliance and influence. Like many artists, if you only know them by their airplay hits, you're missing some rich material. Easton's style was one part of the whole that gave The Cars their distinctive sound. Without him, they're something else. His playing was tasty, effervescent at times and hammer-down when called for. His tone, unmistakable. Check out his solo on Touch and Go (2:20) and the outro too. Delicious.
#2 Allison is Crazy: Steve Tannen was once part of The Weepies with his then wife, Deb Talan. We saw them play an acoustic show in Nashville some years ago. By way of introduction, he said this song was written about a former girlfriend. She was, he said, literally crazy, (literally used in the appropriate way, meaning “actually”) and he came to understand, as painful as it was, there wasn't anything he could do to fix her. To me, it's a song about loving someone but being powerless to save them from their demons.
#3 The Cape: Patty Griffen covering the the great Guy Clark tune. Nuff said.