The devil may have all the best tunes but six months and many songs down the line from this feature’s inaugural selection, the erudition and impeccable taste of my esteemed colleagues mean that many of the strong contenders for inclusion have been written about already. This left me searching not so much for obscure rarities but for songs that might sit well together in such a list as this and which for the most part have stood the test of time. A braver soul might look to stimulate debate with a few left-field choices but I’ve tried to stay safely in the americana middle lane. Nevertheless, there’s some pretty hard-hitting lyrics here, some anger and some joy along with a little sentimentality. And I hope you will find one or two surprises.
Due to recent world events, I failed to achieve an exact gender balance when I excluded The Wailin’ Jennys’ version of Neil Young’s Old Man in favour of Jackson Browne’s Lives In The Balance. Thankfully, the omission of both the group and the song did not deprive Canada of its rightful inclusion.
Number 10: Grateful Dead Box Of Rain from American Beauty (1970)
I’d not really considered myself a fan of the San Francisco-based band, preferring instead the jangling 12-string Rickenbackers and pedal steel characteristic of southern Californian country-rock. Two albums changed that, both released in the same year, 1970. The first was Workingman’s Dead but the second, with its beautiful cover, was among their finest achievements. Just about any of the ten songs would have suited me here but I’ve gone for the opener, written for the dying father of bassist and singer Phil Lesh, who was assisted by lyricist Robert Hunter. Box Of Rain was also the last song ever played at a Grateful Dead concert, in July 1995.
Number 9: Brandi Carlile The Story from The Story (2007)
Needing little introduction, the track was written by Phil Hanseroth, one of the twins who have performed onstage with Carlile since 2004, though the song pre-dates their partnership. Cover versions are plentiful, LeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton among them, the latter for the Cover Stories album on which various artists each contributed a song from The Story for the charity War Child UK. The song has featured in every live show performed by Brandi Carlile since its release, inevitably stirring strong emotions with her impassioned delivery.
Number 8: Johnny Cash Ghost Riders In The Sky from Silver (1979)
In a live performance in 1979, Cash credited those versions of the song that preceded his own, citing Sons of The Pioneers in 1936, Vaughn Monroe in 1947, Frankie Laine in 1951 and Gene Autry in 1953. This contradicts the claim for it to have been written by Stan Jones in 1948 and inspired by Native American stories told to Jones as a child. Over the next thirty years it became one of the most covered songs, even including an instrumental version by The Shadows. Johnny Cash has the perfect vocal delivery for the minor-key and foreboding nature of the lyric which describes a ghostly herd of cattle and their cowboy pursuers. Mexican trumpets and a thumping bass set the tone. Tom Russell’s Tonight We Ride captures the same feel.
Number 7: Emmylou Harris Bang The Drum Slowly from Red Dirt Girl (2000)
This was the first album on which Emmylou Harris had written most of the tracks. The song was co-written with Guy Clark, who is thus deservedly included in my list, as an elegy for Harris’ father Walter, who had died in 1993. As is well-known, he was a military man who had seen service in two wars and the track reflects this with its drum and trumpet parts, along with background gunfire. That may sound awful but there’s no dystopian jingoism here. Ethan Johns provided atmospheric EBow and producer Malcolm Burn plays several instruments. A beautiful tribute.
Number 6: Slaid Cleaves Broke Down from Broke Down (2000)
In 2006, while waiting in line for a Slaid Cleaves show outside Dingwall’s in Camden Lock, a young man behind me sang the chorus to this lovely song, helping to establish a friendship that continues to this day. It’s worth quoting the words that I heard that night for the first time: “Broke down, cracked and shattered/Left in pieces like it never even mattered / There’s no turnin’ round, it’s broke down.” Cleaves co-wrote the song with Rod Picott and it’s a gem, describing a marriage that’s gone, like the wedding ring, to the bottom of Louisiana’s Lake Ponchartrain.
Number 5: Lucinda Williams Righteously from World Without Tears (2003)
Which leads conveniently on to Lucinda Williams, a native of Louisiana’s Lake Charles. She recorded a song about that in 1998, on Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, but it’s the next but one album that featured the beautiful Fruits Of My Labor as its opening track, followed by the ripping Righteously. Though the former is a great song, I’ve gone for the latter because of the terrific vocal and the searing guitar of Doug Pettibone. There’s more than one solo and I can never have too much of his playing – he missed the last tour for family reasons and it’s to be hoped he’ll be back for the next. Williams was Grammy-nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal which will give an idea of the song’s feel.
Number 4: Drive-By Truckers Decoration Day from Decoration Day (2003)
So a fairly obvious ploy to get two favourites in here for the price of one, this being a Jason Isbell composition and vocal on a Drive-By Truckers song. With its tale of an ongoing feud between families, it fits in well with the paternal theme that’s becoming apparent in this selection. And there’s always a need for a good murder song.
Number 3: Judy Collins My Father from Who Knows Where The Time Goes (1968)
A somewhat softer tone here for a song that’s laced with nostalgia for the innocence of childhood. This album also contains Someday Soon, the song by Canadian Ian Tyson about which I wrote in For The Sake Of The Song here. My Father was one of the first songs written by Collins and she frequently accompanied herself on piano for the TV shows of the time. Nina Simone covered the track but even that great artist can’t compete with the original.
Number 2: Jackson Browne Lives In The Balance from Solo Acoustic. Vol. 1 (2005)
Jackson Browne is my all-time favourite singer-songwriter and there had to be a place for him in this list. I was torn between These Days and some less well-known pieces like Song For Adam or Something Fine but in the end, they were bumped by world events. Originally released on the album of the same name in 1986, I’ve gone for this solo version to escape the 1980’s production values. It’s never been more relevant but I’ll let the song speak for itself.
Number 1: The Band I Shall Be Released from Music From Big Pink (1968)
So if you’ve made it this far you’ll be in need of a rousing finale and there’s only one contender. Performed at The Last Waltz and frequently by all-star line-ups at festivals and tribute concerts, the simple tale of a prisoner yearning for freedom contains the uplifting chorus that we all know and love. The song has the same chord structure throughout, though Dylan has cleverly separated verse and chorus with two different melody lines. Richard Manuel’s falsetto vocal, Robbie Robertson’s guitar and Garth Hudson’s keyboard work their magic in the verses while Rick Danko and Levon Helm join in the chorus.
