This concert is an episode of the "PBS Soundstage" TV show. It ran, intermittently, and occasionally using other names, from 1972 to 2018. I've previously posted two episode from the show, a 1982 concert starring Etta James, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint, and a 2007 concert starring John Fogerty. But I've realized this show is a treasure trove that is often overlooked, so I plan on posting a lot more from it. Occasionally, the show encouraged collaboration, like this episode and 1982 one I've posted. In my opinion, those are the most interesting ones of all.
Note that I just redid the covers of the other two Soundstage concerts I've posted, so the text can have a consistent look. I plan to post a lot more of these, so I've just created a Soundstage side label too. Here are the links to the other two, if you want the updated artwork and mp3 tags. Etta James, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint:
https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2023/03/etta-james-dr-john-allen-toussaint.html
And John Fogerty:
https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2022/10/john-fogerty-pbs-soundstage-chicago-il.html
Arlo Guthrie only ever had one big hit, "City of New Orleans," in 1972. It was written by Steve Goodman. His music career was just starting, and Guthrie's cover helped establish his career, as well as giving him enough royalties to go into music full time. Unfortunately, despite being in his early 20s, he already had been diagnosed with leukemia. He managed to have a successful music career for many years, but succumbed to the disease in 1984, at the age of 36. Here's the Wikipedia page for Goodman, if you want to know more:
Hoyt Axton began as a folksinger in the early 1960s, releasing his first album in 1962. He didn't find much success in his own name until the mid-1970s, when he started to have a string of minor country hits. But he had a lot more success as a songwriter for others. His biggest success, by far, was the song "Joy to the World." The band Three Dog Night had a Number One hit with it in 1971. In fact, it was the biggest selling song of that year. He also had a reasonably successful career as an actor. Here's his Wikipedia entry:
At first, this album might have seemed a random collection of three folky singer-songwriters. But after Guthrie had a hit with Goodman's "City of New Orleans," their paths crossed often and they became good friends. Furthermore, it turns out Axton was a cousin to Guthrie, so they were linked as well. I was surprised to discover that while writing these notes. I was also surprised to learn that Axton's mother, Mae Boren Axton, was a songwriter too, and co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel," the Elvis Presley classic.
Anyway, in this concert, Guthrie started out playing a few songs. Then Goodman played a few, then Axton. All three came together to sing the last three, but Guthrie generally took the lead on those. Since this was professionally recorded for TV, the sound quality is excellent.
This album is 58 minutes long.
01 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
02 Take Me Back (Arlo Guthrie)
03 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
04 Son of Week on the Rag [Instrumental] (Arlo Guthrie)
05 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
06 Presidential Rag (Arlo Guthrie)
07 City of New Orleans (Arlo Guthrie)
08 talk (Arlo Guthrie)
09 Boomer's Story (Steve Goodman & Arlo Guthrie)
10 talk (Steve Goodman)
11 It's a Sin to Tell a Lie (Steve Goodman)
12 talk (Steve Goodman)
13 Door Number Three (Steve Goodman)
14 Do You Want to Learn to Dance (Steve Goodman)
15 talk (Steve Goodman)
16 Bone Fingers (Hoyt Axton, Arlo Guthrie & Steve Goodman)
17 talk (Hoyt Axton)
18 Sweet Misery (Hoyt Axton)
19 talk (Hoyt Axton)
20 Less than a Song (Hoyt Axton)
21 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
22 Walkin' Down the Line (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
23 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
24 The Story of Reuben Clamzo and His Strange Daughter in the Key of A (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
25 talk (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
26 Goodnight Irene (Arlo Guthrie, Steve Goodman & Hoyt Axton)
https://pixeldrain.com/u/mB3aeTwc
alternate:
https://bestfile.io/hpcbe6lUoJd4PQ7/file
The cover photo is a screenshot I took from the YouTube video of this concert. It was rather low-res, but I improved it somewhat with the Krea AI program.
Alices Restaurant ?! :)
ReplyDeleteanother interesting Sound Stage video out there is Martin Mull
There are a few comedian episodes of the show, but sorry, my focus here is music, not stand up comedy.
DeleteNot to be too much of a nitpicker here, but the name of track #24 is actually "The Story of Reuben Clamzo and His Strange Daughter in the Key of A."
ReplyDeleteI strive to be accurate, so I appreciate "nitpicking." I just made the change, thanks.
Delete