Sanity Sunday- Songs by Neil Young

 by Nomad

The spotlight of this week's Sanity Sunday shines on the classic hits of Canadian singer/songwriter, Neil Young. His biography is much too long and detailed to go into here but his Wikipedia bio covers all of the high points.
In November, Young celebrates his 72nd birthday (unbelievable, right?) and that makes him one of the surviving "greats" of the 60s.
A rare honor for a rare kind of artist.
Here's my selection of Young hits.

Sanity Sunday- Four by Vashti Bunyan

  by Nomad

There's probably never been a career quite like that of Vashti Bunyan. In 1970, when her first album, Just Another Diamond Day, was released it was blasted by critics. Commercially, it was a flop, with only a few hundred copies pressed with little to no advertisement.

The experience was enough to make the English folk singer-songwriter, disillusioned and discouraged, turn her back on the music industry and retreat into obscurity. That might well have been the end of the story.

However, in the thirty years that followed, something peculiar happened. The album (along with her singles that never made it on any albums) began attracting the interest among record collectors and bootleggers. Eventually, that reevaluation of her short music career led to official re-issues that album.
This led to inspiring a whole new generation of folk artists and her music has reached a wider audience than ever.

In Remembrance of John Martyn

by Nomad

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the death of British singer and musician John Martyn. Here's May You Never, which comes from his 1973 album, Solid Air.

His biography reads:

In a world that lacks compassion, John Martyn and his music, is a breath of fresh air. John was an incurable romantic who sang from his heart; no other artist sang with such commitment and emotion. People have fallen in and out of love listening to the most enduring and magical songs of deep sensitivity that have been sung over his forty year plus career.  

Pete Seeger: The Passing of a Troubadour with a Conscience

by Nomad

At the age of 94 folk singer Pete Seeger has died. Many younger readers may not know who this man was. During the 1960s, Seeger harnessed the power of music to rally a nation. At that time, the relatively obscure folk music market suddenly became a tool of protest for causes such as  international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.

"Where have all the Flowers Gone?" written by Seeger with Joe Hickerson in 1955, is one of my personal favorites. It has been sung by a large number of artists from Vera Lynn, Bobby Darin, Olivia Newton-John to U2. Marlene Dietrich recorded her own version, Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind. (It's surprisingly good too!) 

This anti-war song has been translated in dozens of languages. In Turkish- Söyle Çiçekler nerde? In Russian- Где цветы, дай мне ответ? and even in Hebrew איפה הפרחים כולם

Let's listen to Seeger rendition.

If you are interested in learning more about the man, PBS produced a documentary saluting his life. It's worth your time.

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