Bideodromage
One of the greatest performers, ever. Period. The mighty Neil Diamond is here featured, with some of his most powerful compositions, delivered live, with superhuman intensity. Iterations of trademark embellishments, the origins of which remain a mystery to this day, abound.
Featuring the remarkable voice of Marilyn McCoo.
Composer/Vocalist Townes Van Zandt is responsible for many poignant masterpieces; this represents merely a small-ish sampling. Loretta would be a prime example; though the lyrics are warm, a sense of melancholy nonetheless pervades the song. His “hit” Pancho and Lefty was covered by Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard, and wistfulness clearly prevails. The powerful Waitin’ Around to Die speaks for itself.
Tremendously influential, Van Zandt led a life that was quite troubled, being tormented not only by his bipolar condition, but by numerous addictions which eventually cost the great man his life. He contributed in ways difficult to fathom, however, to the musical landscape, and will not soon be forgotten.
Dwight Yoakam can simply do the impossible with his voice. See North to Alaska, among many others, for evidence. He steps into the very large shoes of legend Johnny Horton, and…whoa. A transcendent, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing performance. And, the same can be said of his live 2013 reading of the Red Simpson-penned Close Up The Honky Tonks. Even a young, inexperienced Yoakam—in his 1985 performance above, he shyly asks the audience if they like the show—kills it. A not-many-times-in-an-epoch talent.
Lili-Marlene Premilovich, later known as Lene Lovich, preternaturally idiosyncratic—and gifted—songstress, happens to play saxophone, is an animal rights activist, and initially wore her hair in braids to keep the locks from the clay, when in art school, studying sculpture. And, damn, she can deliver a tune. With octaves to spare {hear: Momentary Breakdown}.
The great vocalist/pianist/composer performs both solo and with his group Raspberries. The range and breadth of Mr. Carmen’s talent has really never been fully appreciated. And his voice is truly a thing of wonder.
And:
The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and Shane MacGowan work their inimitable magic. Treasures abound. Don’t miss Brennan & Roche.
Special extra added bonus: a performance by the not-really-that-Irish Chad Mitchell Trio.
Kings of the 2-minute and under weight-division, the Ramones pack quite the copious wallop of mordant lyrics into their creations. And Joey Ramone leaves no doubt in these masterful performances as to his total command of the vocal art. Remarkably inventive, powerful, sublime.
Mr. Glenn Tilbrook, longtime lead vocalist for Squeeze, is without doubt one of the foremost practitioners of his craft. There is little he can’t do, and beautifully. Then-member Paul Carrack, primarily a keyboardist, sang lead on the iconic Tempted, for some reason. He certainly did a creditable job, but it sure is a fine thing to hear Glenn take his rightful place at the microphone, for the two live versions presented above. Pulling Mussels, In Quintessance, and Is That Love all illustrate the band’s talents for creating clever, catchier-than-thou pop classics, and Tilbrook is precisely the man you’d want to sing them. Black Coffee in Bed stands as a mighty exemplar of Blue-Eyed soul, with Elvis Costello and Paul Young performing backup vocal duties. Good ol’ Jools Holland makes an appearance or two, here, to boot. A marvelous {and vastly underrated} band.
{Note: this post thoroughly revised, 8/10/2019}
{Revised: 7/6/2019}
“Bowing, and squawking, Running after tidbits; Bopping and squinting, Just like a nitwit…”
Mr. Elvis Costello: One of the very greatest, most idiosyncratic performers and composers. Of this, or any, century/epoch. We will not see his likes again.
Bideodromage 
