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Where are they Now?

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Keep It Simple

Van Morrison

Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008

Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008

Another Country

Tift Merritt

Be Your Own Pet

Get Awkward

Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)

Juno – Music from the Motion Picture

Various Artists

Yes - Their Definitive Story

Day and Night Driving

Seven Mary Three

InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY

Tired Of Being Alone

Green, Al

Listen to Al Green:

Control and release. This is the essence of the best soul music, and nowhere is it put to better use than on "Tired Of Being Alone". Al Green has a voice powerful enough to move mountains; yet he reels in all of his intense energy and contains it within the confines of his suppressed singing. When he whispers, you can sense the passion sneaking through the edges, but it always remains in control, until the last possible moment. Where other singers would burst, Green contains himself. Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, even Otis Redding would have vented some steam long before Green lets go. While Pickett burns, Sledge wails and Redding cooks, Green simmers. By holding back, he builds tension until the moment of release is unavoidable, and by then it is so welcome that it is almost soothing. The mostly ad-libbed bridge takes on classical proportions in its perfection.

"Yeeee-aaah, BAAA-BY! I'm tired of being alone here by myself, now. I tell ya, I'm tired baby. I'm tired of being all wrapped up in the night, in my dreams nobody but you, baby."

Here, a near burst of ecstasy is reined in just enough for him to sing/preach about his obsessive state and loneliness. Without hesitation, he then breaks down to a whisper: "Sometimes I wonder...(long pause)...if you love me like you say you do. You see, baby, I-I-I...I been thinkin' about it, yeah. And I been, I been wantin' to get next to you, baby. See, sometimes I fold my arms and say 'MM-MMMM-MMMM-MMMMMMM-MMMMM-MM' Ooooh, Oh, baby, hey!"

Here, he is capable of breaking down his passion to its simplest, most expressive form. He is as vulnerable as a singer can be, simultaneously lapsing into a fantasy vision of love and sounding like a child who can't find the words to express how he feels. The longer he sings, the more he whispers, until he - and the music - becomes almost inaudible. Then comes the climactic moment of perfection, the moment that sums up everything that he needs to say and finally allows him to release all of the built-up tension;

"Needing you has proven to me to be my greatest dream, yeah. AAAAAA-OOW! I'M TIRED OF BEING ALONE!"

I've heard it a million times and it still makes my skin shiver every single time. Every nuance, every breath, every stuttered word, every pinched syllable, every outburst is pure bliss. Soul simply doesn't get any better than this.