Song of the Day: "Gone Too Far"

ARTIST: England Dan & John Ford Coley
TITLE: "Gone Too Far"
YEAR: 1977

A friend of mine recently shared England Dan & John Ford Coley's 1977 hit single "Gone Too Far" with me. For whatever reason, I've become quite taken with it. It's a great slice of '70s pop that certainly doesn't deserve to be a forgotten hit. Radio would do well to reach out beyond "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" and "Nights Are Forever Without You" to find gems like this in the England Dan & John Ford Coley catalogue.

To hear the song, click here. It is available on many England Dan & John Ford Coley CDs, including The Very Best of England Dan & John Ford Coley.

Set lists: Squeeze with Aimee Mann

It's been a while since I've had set lists to post, but on 3 September, I had the great pleasure of seeing Squeeze in concert at the Ryman auditorium. I love Squeeze so much it's not even funny. That's also why I bought my tickets way soon after they went on sale to the general public and ended up with a front row seat (as far as traditional seating goes - there were 12-20 chairs set up slightly closer than my row, but that's still plenty close for me!) Aimee Mann opened, and while I haven't really followed her solo career much, she also performed quite a set. I only really knew one of the songs at all well ("That's Just What You Are") but she did a good job of selling me her material. I'd mean that literally if I hadn't been a little too broke to buy one of the albums at the merch table since I'd already gotten too much before the show. One thing I also noticed was her radiant smile. Anyhow, overall, despite being put off by some of my fellow concertgoers, who apparently think it's a wonderful idea to crowd in front as the show progresses regardless of who might have been enjoying the view without them, I was quite happy with the artists (especially Squeeze - so not a disappointment in the least) and would recommend catching a show if at all possible.

Aimee Mann's set:
1. Stranger Into Starman
2. Looking for Nothing
3. Freeway
4. Phoenix
5. Save Me
6. It's Not Going to Stop
7. That's Just What You Are
8. Red Vines
9. Columbus Ave.
10. My Father's Gun (an Elton John remake)
11. Thirty-One Today
12. Borrowing Time
13. How Am I Different

Squeeze's set:
1. Strong in Reason
2. If I Didn't Love You
3. Revue
4. Up the Junction
5. Take Me, I'm Yours
6. I Think I'm Go-Go
7. Separate Beds
8. Piccadilly
9. It's So Dirty
10. Black Coffee in Bed (there was a bit of an extended jam on this one)
11. Annie Get Your Gun
12. Goodbye Girl
13. Melody Motel
14. Tempted (this one kind of surprised me - I didn't think they'd be pulling out the Carrack material.)
15. Slaughtered, Gutted, and Heartbroken
16. Is That Love
17. Cool for Cats
18. Another Nail in My Heart (my favorite!)
19. Hourglass
Encore
20. Slap and Tickle
21. Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)

The Singles 81>85 (Depeche Mode)

Depeche Mode's The Singles 81>85 largely overlaps with Catching Up With Depeche Mode, but on a whim I bought it anyway. It makes a nice companion piece for the other singles comp, after all. While some are not as crazy about early Depeche as their later material, I think it's great. Songs like "Dreaming of Me," "See You," and "Just Can't Get Enough" stand up great to my ears, even on the same disc as such awesome, awesome tunes as "Blasphemous Rumours," "Everything Counts," and "Somebody." Anyone looking to start or supplement a Depeche Mode collection could do far worse than to look here.

Tracks:
1. Dreaming of Me
2. New Life
3. Just Can't Get Enough
4. See You
5. The Meaning of You
6. Leave in Silence
7. Get the Balance Right
8. Everything Counts
9. Love in Itself
10. People Are People
11. Master and Servant
12. Blasphemous Rumours
13. Somebody
14. Shake the Disease
15. It's Called a Heart
16. Photographic (Some Bizarre Version)
17. Just Can't Get Enough (Schizo Mix)

Song of the Day: "Can't Get There From Here"

ARTIST: R.E.M.
TITLE: "Can't Get There From Here"
YEAR: 1985

"Can't Get There From Here" was a single from R.E.M.'s classic 1985 album Fables of the Reconstruction. It's a great song from a great album, and one for, whatever reason, came into my head. It's a cool song that still gets some replay, and deservedly so.

Take a listen to the song here. It is available on R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction and, I imagine, a compilation or two.

The Day Is Brave (Brendan James)

I was quite taken with Brendan James's song "Green" when first I heard it, so I was happy to be able to pick up his album The Day Is Brave thanks to a nice coupon from Borders. James has a unique voice and songwriting sensibility, with the majority of the tracks on the album seeming to be very personal for him, leading to heartfelt performances. Overall, this is a solid debut (I believe) from James and I certainly would recommend that people into "singer-songwriter"-type performers check him out.

Tracks:
1. Green
2. All I Can See
3. Hero's Song
4. Early April Morning
5. The Other Side
6. Run Away
7. Begin
8. The Sun Will Rise
9. Manchester
10. Let Your Beat Go On
11. Take the Fall

Five Live (George Michael with Queen and Lisa Stansfield)

Five Live came on the heels of Freddie Mercury's death. To give a pretty good idea of how and why this inspired George Michael, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield to collaborate on this live performance at Wembley, here are some quotes from the liner notes:

GM: "Special thanks to Roger, Brian, and John for their kind invitation, and of course to Freddie, who probably saved me from life as a waiter. P.S. Thanks again, Lisa."
"All artist royalties and record company net profits from this compact disc will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust for the distribution to AIDS charities worldwide in memory of the incomparable Freddie Mercury."
GM: "I think a lot of people, not necessarily people who have anything against gay people, are probably taking some small comfort in the fact that although Freddie died of AIDS, he was publicly bisexual. It's a very, very dangerous comfort. The conservative estimate for the year 2000 is that 40 million people on this planet will be infected by HIV, and if you think that those are all going to be gay people or drug addicts, then you are pretty well lining up to be one of those numbers. So please, for God's sake and for Freddie's sake, and for your own sakes, please be careful."

As for the music itself, it's all quite good. There's really nothing more to be said. Listen and enjoy.

Tracks:
1. George Michael & Queen: "Somebody to Love"
2. George Michael: "Killer"
3. George Michael: "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
4. George Michael & Queen with Lisa Stansfield:" These Are the Days of Our Lives"
5. George Michael: "Calling You"
6. Queen: "Dear Friends" (this is an album cut for Sheer Heart Attack)

Chariot Stripped (Gavin DeGraw)

Since I enjoyed Gavin DeGraw's recent self-titled release fairly well, I decided to give his Chariot album a chance. I was happy to find a used copy of the 2-disc edition, issued with a "stripped" version of the album that ends with a rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." Overall, the album makes for a good listen, both in original and stripped form. Some songs don't work quite as well in their stripped forms, but it still makes for a cool bonus disc. Highlights on the album include "Follow Through," "Chemical Party," and "I Don't Want to Be" and "Over-Rated."

Tracks:
1. Follow Through
2. Chariot
3. Just Friends
4. (Nice to Meet You) Anyway
5. Chemical Party
6. Belief
7. Crush
8. I Don't Want to Be
9. Meaning
10. More Than Anyone
11. Over-Rated

The stripped disc replicates this track listing in stripped versions, with final track "Change Is Gonna Come."