Alphabet Soup Week 09: Artists Filed Under E
A spreadsheet nerd explores the alphabetical distribution of his musical collection. Cracking open the greatest hits vaults for the first time. The power of empathy.
Welcome to week 9 of Alphabet Soup!
Over the course of the year, I’ve been trying to get ahead of the game by pulling together the tracks for future editions of the series. As of this writing, I’ve selected tracks for all the playlists through week 11 and I’ve completed the sequencing through this week’s entry (obviously!). The sequencing is an important part of the process. I don’t want to take the amateurish and ham-handed approach of simply gathering ten tracks for each week’s letter and dropping them into a playlist in the order in which they appeared in my mental jukebox. There has to be some sort of musical feng shui, the mix needs to have a degree of flow to it. Take week one for example: personally, I just couldn’t have transitioned from Air’s All I Need straight into Audioslave’s I Am The Highway - that would’ve felt harsh and jarring. But with the tracks available to me I was able to make that transition through Airlock, Autour Du Lucie, Ani Di Franco, and Aimee Mann, which felt “right” and made sense to me.
The track selection and sequencing process had been fairly easy and straightforward until a couple weeks ago when I hit “Artists Filed Under E”. Suddenly I was finding it a little more challenging to select a batch of tracks that I could narrow down to ten and begin sequencing in a way that made sense. “Why is this so difficult?! Am I tired? Have I hit a creative wall?”. These were the thoughts running through my head for a couple days. And then, as I scrolled through the artists I’d covered through the first few weeks of the year, it immediately became obvious - the universe of artists available to me had shrunk significantly!!
Over each of the first four weeks I’d had an average of 130 artists, representing 300+ releases, from which to choose each week. Week 9 arrived, and with it the artists beginning with E, and I was presented with a relatively paltry 54 artists with 104 releases between them. The collection of music I have stored in my Dropbox account does include artists and albums which came from sources other than my physical collection (think napster/limewire/DC et al prior to the advent of ubiquitous and easy digital music). After pulling those artists/albums out of the universe, along with a handful of Christmas albums, I was left with 34 artists and 68 albums. Slim pickings indeed!
This realization led me down a bit of a rabbit hole (welcome, you’re now down here with me!) and I wondered what the breakdown by letter would look like for my Dropbox Music collection. I’d always known, from the days in which I used to stand in front of floor to ceiling shelves filled with CDs trying to figure out what I wanted to listen to, that the letters M and S seemed to be statistically overrepresented in my collection, but being the spreadsheet nerd that I am, I endeavored to dig a little deeper. The results (shown below) were consistent with my memories on the letters M and S and surprisingly revealed that the letter B is also highly represented with 166 artists (2nd place behind the letter S with 204 artists) and number one in terms of albums (459 compared to 405 for the letter S). Digging into this a little further, I shouldn’t be surprised by the number of releases with artists like Bob Marley (49 discs) and The Beatles (30 discs) and a handful of artists from my brother in law’s reggae collection comprising another 60+ discs (Black Uhuru, Barrington Levy, Beres Hammond), but the number of artists is higher than I wouldhave expected.
It’s clear I’m now entering a period (odd weeks 9 through 17) where my available list of artists will be limited, bringing a little more of a challenge in track selection. Outside of a few soundtracks, I’ve hardly had to dip into any of my compilation albums yet, but may be forced to do so, particularly with the letter I, which comprises only 27 artists and 45 releases. I shall see when I get there. I always knew the letters Q and X would be a challenge (4 and 3 artists respectively), but U, V, Y and Z aren’t much better. There may have to be some doubling up as we approach the end of the year. Thankfully that’s not something I need to contemplate anytime soon, and I’ll defer to the motto of procrastinators everywhere: why do today what I can put off until tomorrow (or until at least September)?
Alright, enough with the alphabetic distribution stats, let’s get into this week’s music!!
ALPHABET SOUP WEEK 09: Artists Filed Under E
ARTIST: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
TRACK: "The Nearness Of You" from Ella and Louis (1956)
Ella Fitzgerald is widely credited with being the finest female jazz vocalist (some would say in all genres) of all time. It’s certainly hard to argue against that - the depth, tone, delivery, and phrasing are always impeccable. Louis Armstrong was nothing if not a jazz pioneer and perhaps one of the most influential musicians in the genre’s history. Combining these two results in what can only be described as absolute perfection on vinyl, and credit goes to Verve Records founder Norman Granz for making this piece of musical magic a reality.
Reviewing the album on Albumism.com in 2021, on the 65th anniversary of its release, Justin Chadwick had this to say:
“Two of their generation’s most vital, most universally venerated voices and musical spirits, Armstrong and Fitzgerald had collaborated previously on various sides for the Decca label in the late 1940 and early 1950s. On paper at least, and from a vocal perspective, the pairing seemed an incompatible one. Armstrong’s gruff, wavering, guttural growl that cracks and breaks at any moment juxtaposed with Fitzgerald’s graceful, commanding, and wide-ranging style, replete with crystal-clear phrasing and improvisational versatility, was not the most congruous of couplings. However, translated to wax, the duo’s distinctive, contrasting voices complemented each other remarkably well, making for an irresistibly endearing symbiosis in song.”
An irresistibly endearing symbiosis in song indeed!
ARTIST: Esther Phillips
TRACK: "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" from From a Whisper To a Scream (1988)
For Christmas in 2008, I received the Nigel Williamson-penned paperback The Best Music You’ve Never Heard which quickly became an indispensable source of musical discovery. Sadly, this much treasured book never made its way to our new home when we moved five years ago. Given that it’s not available digitally I may have to invest in another copy because it truly was a fantastic resource. Williamson’s book was my introduction to Esther Phillips, in particular the album from which this track is drawn.
Home Is where The Hatred Is, Phillips’ cover of the Gil Scott-Heron track, is a devastatingly appropriate track for an artist who struggled with addiction for most of her far too short life.
By the middle of the 1950s, still only in her late teens, Phillips was already addicted to heroin. After periodic stints for treatment in Lexington, KY, Phillips recovered sufficiently to launch a comeback in the early 1960s, with her biggest success coming with the 1972 release of From a Whisper to a Scream. Home Is Where The Hatred Is was nominated for a Grammy, losing out to Aretha Franklin (her sixth win for Best Vocal Performance R&B, Female in as many years). Franklin promptly gave her Grammy to Phillips.
From her biography, Aretha: From these Roots, Franklin had this to say: “I won for “Young, Gifted and Black” but gave the Grammy to Esther Phillips, who had been nominated for “From a Whisper to a Scream”. I liked Esther’s record, although I didn’t consider it better than mine. I gave her my Grammy because Esther was fighting personal demons, and I felt she could use encouragement. As a blues singer, she had her own thing; I wanted Esther to know that I – and the industry – supported her.”
Those personal demons proved to be too much to overcome, and Phillips died in 1984, at the age of 48, from multiple organ failure due to her long-term drug abuse. In light of her tragic early death, the song’s second verse is almost prophetic: “Stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why / Hang on to your rosary beads, close your eyes to watch me die”.
ARTIST: Esthero
TRACK: "Heaven Sent" from Breath From Another (1998)
Heaven Sent is the second single from Esthero’s debut album, the trip-hop classic Breath From Another. Of all the tracks on the album, this one is probably the least reflective of the genre, what with the heavy rock vibe that accompanies the soaring vocals of lead singer Jen-Bea Englishman (an absolutely fantastic name).
Sadly, despite a couple subsequent releases (2005’s Wikked Lil’ Grrrls and 2012's Everything Is Expensive), Esthero would never come close to achieving the excellence attained on this stunning debut.
As you make your way through this week’s playlist, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do any of these tracks really stand out for you? What do you like? What don’t you like?
Please click the button below to leave a comment.
ARTIST: Everything But The Girl
TRACK: "Missing" from Amplified Heart (1994)
Everything But The Girl, the musical duo of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, had been releasing music for a decade, with seven modestly successful albums under their belt, before achieving worldwide acclaim with 1994’s Amplified Heart. The Todd Terry dance remix of Missing spent 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #2 in 1996. Missing was the first ever single to spend an uninterrupted year on the Hot 100.
Amplified Heart was the first EBTG album I’d ever heard and owned and despite enjoying their two subsequent albums, 1996’s Walking Wounded and 1999’s Temperamental, I’ve yet to go back and explore their earlier work. In 2016 Ben Watt released an absolutely stunning solo album, Fever Dream, which came in at #2 on my AOTY list that year. And last year, like a bolt from the blue, EBTG were back with Fuse, a completely unexpected album that was an honorable mention in my AOTY list.
ARTIST: Eurythmics
TRACK: "Don't Ask Me Why" from Greatest Hits (1991)
The first of three tracks in this week’s playlist drawn from greatest hits collections, Don’t Ask Me Why originally appeared on Eurythmics’ seventh album, 1989’s We Too Are One. The album was huge during my freshman year at university, and the track has always been one of my favorites of theirs. I’ve always wondered why so few people I talk to seem to be familiar with this song. It turns out that the track was far more popular in Canada, where I attended university, than anywhere else in the world. According to Wikipedia, the average chart position for the song was 28th across 15 individual country and regional charts. But in the Great White North it peaked at #13 on the Canada Top Singles chart and claimed the top slot on the Canada Adult Contemporary chart. Kinda strange, eh?
ARTIST: Electric Light Orchestra
TRACK: "Strange Magic" from ELO's Greatest Hits (1986)
Last week I discussed America’s album History as perhaps one of the best “greatest hits kinda bands”. ELO would definitely be another one on that list for me, more a function of not hearing much of their early catalog than not liking their albums. I was six years old by the time they’d released the five albums that produced the 11 tracks included in the 1979 ELO’s Greatest Hits collection. Unlike America, a band whose individual albums I actively sought out for evaluation, I was never inclined to dig into ELO’s catalog. Based on what I’ve heard of their work over the last couple decades, I’ve never regretted that decision. Most of what I hear is a little over the top for my tastes. If I’m wrong on this, and there’s one album that I really need to listen to, please steer me in the right direction!
I could’ve chosen anything from this fantastic collection as there isn’t a bad track in the bunch, but I’ve gone with Strange Magic, which was the second single released from 1975’s Face the Music. I’ve loved this song since I first heard it on one of the British Airways radio channels in 1980 as we flew over to visit family in the UK. It never ceases to amaze me that such memories remain burned into my consciousness.
ARTIST: The Eagles
TRACK: "Seven Bridges Road - Live" from Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1985)
As a kid in the 70s I was vaguely aware of the Eagles - they’re yet another band whose solo albums I’ve never really explored. I only ever had one album by the Eagles, Volume 2 of their greatest hits collection, originally released by Asylum Records in 1982. Funnily enough, it was the lowest charting single of the entire collection, Seven Bridges Road, that inspired me to snag this CD out of the bargain bin in 1992.
I was introduced to this song by a good friend, a fellow music lover who I used to party with between 1992 and 1994. Every night we’d listen to his eclectic selection of tunes, ranging from Jethro Tull’s Stand Up (Fat Man was the song I loved then, but turns out We Used To Know is the one with the staying power) to CCR’s self-titled debut (Suzie Q was my jam) to the aforementioned Eagles track. I’ll always cherish the memories of a bunch of guys in our best interpretation of 4-, 5-, or 6-part harmony belting out our rendition of this track (much to the chagrin of the rest of the floor in the residence halls).
ARTIST: Eric Matthews
TRACK: "My Morning Parade" from The Lateness Of The Hour (1997)
I’ve spoken briefly before about CMJ New Music Monthly, one of my primary musical discovery sources in the mid to late 90s. This monthly magazine, which came with a bundled CD, was a musical bible to me during the years I was able to source it, 1995 to 97 in Halifax, NS and through the end of the decade in Bermuda. If you have a few minutes, flick through the archived version of the February 1996 issue for an idea of just how jam-packed each edition was with musical goodness.
The October 1997 installment introduced me to Eric Matthews via My Morning Parade from his second solo album, 1997’s The Lateness of the Hour. While this track remains my favorite and is still a good listen, the album itself was very much a product of its time, centered as it was within the milieu of the ork-pop scene, and didn’t hold my interest for very long.
ARTIST: Elliott Smith
TRACK: "Angeles" from Either/Or (1997)
My introduction to Elliott Smith came through the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting and Either/Or was purchased on the back of the fantastic songs he contributed to that movie, three of which are from this album. I have to acknowledge that my knowledge of Smith is limited, and this was the only album of his that I ever physically owned. It’s long been on my musical to do list to take a deep dive into his catalog and this week’s entry has prompted me to prioritize that.
While Between the Bars is my favorite song of his, it was Angeles that first grabbed my heart (and pulled it out of my chest, ripped it to pieces and stomped all over it). As long as I can remember I’ve been an incurable and irrepressible romantic and the scene from Good Will Hunting in which the song appears still destroys me whenever I see it. Thankfully, even if the details of the outcome are left to our imagination, satisfaction is delivered in the denouement as we see Will heading west to “go see about a girl”.
ARTIST: Eddie Vedder
TRACK: "Society" from Into The Wild OST (2007)
I’ve only ever been a casual fan of Eddie Vedder through his work with Pearl Jam, primarily on Ten, Vs. and Vitalogy. But in 2007 I found myself captivated by his debut solo album, the Into The Wild soundtrack. I’ve never quite been able to separate the music from the film, a case of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.
This album was one of only a small handful of the soundtracks in my collection that were also solo albums. Off the top of my head, the only other ones I can think of that graced my CD shelves were Purple Rain (Prince and the Revolution), The Virgin Suicides (Air), and Magnolia (Aimee Mann).
Life in the key of E: Empathy
If you’ve been reading this column for a while, you know I like to end with a little motivational or inspirational theme along with a little blurb about why or how I’ve found that theme to be important in my life. Empathy is such an incredible force for shared experience and connection, and sadly it’s a tool that I don’t see practiced nearly enough in a world that needs it more than ever. It’s become one of my foundational approaches towards life.
This beautifully animated audio short on empathy vs. sympathy by Dr. Brené Brown says much more on empathy than I could ever hope to achieve. It’s absolutely lovely.
That’s all for this week’s entry. I hope you found some new (to you) music or rediscovered an old gem you’d forgotten about!
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Here’s the running playlist which will be updated on a weekly basis as each new installment is published.
Tracks missing from the Spotify playlist:
Allegory by Murray Attaway (Week 02)
Thank you for reading Joy in the Journey, I appreciate you being here! If there’s someone in your life you think may enjoy this post, feel free to share it.