~ Like the ripples in a pond, the work of one man spreads out and touches the lives of others ~

From The Soul of One ~ To The Hearts Of Many
TAYLOR HICKS MY IDOL
Taylor Hicks "The Distance"


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Rooted in Blues



"I like to take the Willie Nelson approach to music.
You can’t really pigeonhole me.
And I love that because down deep inside that really makes me feel unique.
I have no one genre, it’s tough to pinpoint my music and it’s because I’ve grown up on all kinds.
And I try to have all kinds of influences in my music.”
~Taylor Hicks~



The blues came out to play in this gem of a video from Taylor Hicks' Pearl River concert!
I love the blue coloring that enhances the video, and Taylor's superb performance, I've tagged it The Blue Pearl!


"The Right Place" ~ Taylor Hicks
with the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra
(formerly The Taylor Hicks Band)
and his Tour Band guitarist Josh Smith
Pearl River Resort
Philadelphia, Mississippi

Video capture: turk711
Pearl River photo credits: Ragsqueen
The View screencaps: Twitter
(Thank You!!)

Yesterday's blog title was 'The Real Deal', and by coincidence today I happened across what Jim Vallance had to say about Taylor Hicks and "The Right Place" in a previous blog entry titled 'The Right Place ~ The Right One'.

You can read the entire post from November here ... but this is what jumped out at me:

On July 17, 2007 Taylor performed "The Right Place" on the popular morning television show, 'The View'.
It was "back to basics", with Taylor on vocals and harmonica and Loren Gold on piano, similar to the way the song had originally been written and demo'd.



It was apparent that Taylor had developed an affinity for the song in the ten months since he'd recorded it.
On 'The View', his vocal performance digs even deeper than it did on the recorded studio version, and Loren provides solid support on the piano.

For anyone who ever doubted the legitimacy of his American Idol success, this performance proves, beyond a doubt,
that Taylor Hicks is the "real deal".






Another coincidence I'd like to share with you is a Swedish group I ran across, with their roots planted in the blues, who just happen to be called The Blue Pearls!



The Blue Pearls are a band from Sweden playing the music they love.
They communicate their own blues and rock feeling, which is improvisational innovative music - rooted in blues.

The Blue Pearls mainly play compositions written by bandleader/guitarist Bela Stephens altered with Fleetwood Mac classics.



Bela Stephens is the powerhouse of The Blue Pearls being guitarist, composer & bandleader.
He can take you to guitar heaven with a superb lyrical solo on his vintage Les Paul or an adrenalin charged high-octane wild wah-wah solo.


"People" ~ The Blue Pearls





Today's cup
“My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood,
musical roots buried in the darkest soil.”
~Ray Charles~

I hope you have enjoyed today's blusey stroll down musical memory lane!

4 comments:

KarinP said...

Bloom, I am so mellow after reading, watching and listening to this Blog! I am in "Blue Heaven" with this one.

The Right Place performance from Pearl River was phenomenal! I enjoyed reading your quote from Jim Vallance and oh, I hope you don't mind if I say I am so proud to be a Canadian. With songwriters like Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams who gave that song to Taylor, it is truly a song to be proud of. Taylor's performance of this song has always touched me deeply and when he started adding the harp to it, I was absolutely done! As I have said many times, I wish this song would have been released as a single because it really deserved airplay and recognition for all three of them but, there is no point in crying over spilled milk now.

I am grateful for people like turk711 who captured these magical and mystical performances of Taylor singing this song.

The song you posted by the Blue Pearls was just great. Loved the guitar in it especially.

I agree with you - with Taylor you never know what style of music you are going to get. I know that Willie is an accomplished artist so he can move from genre to genre very easily. I guess my question is will the radio be receptive to Taylor moving from genre to genre IF that is the case on the new CD? Do you think that it is good thing because it demonstrates his flexibility and talent or does it harm an emerging "new" artist? It is just a question on my mind at the moment.

I think that if an artist "feels" the music that they are singing, then we, the listeners, are more receptive to the song. In the end, it truly comes down to one word when you think about a song - well maybe two words. I need to connect - "FEEL" the music and the lyrics and if one wanders from a "slotted" genre, as long as I "BELIEVE" in the artist, all is right in my corner of the world.

A great blog, Bloom! Thanks for getting my "wheels" turning!

yayamiss said...

Thanks Bloom for all you do for us Tay fans. I was actually at Pearl River Resort on this magical nite. Got to meet Tay out by his fleet of vans - he signed my book, tickets and cd and I got my pic with him while I had my arm around his waist groping his little love handles -- THUD! He was so nice and spent about 30 minute with about 8 of us - I never let go of those love handles, ha! What a great guy and an awesome entertainer.

Anonymous said...

Great stroll down memory lane!
The Right Place was one of those songs that did not grow on me until I saw him do it live. The performance at the View is a haunting one. He put so much feeling into it. Beautiful - just beautiful!!

~Teri (cydter)

Bloom said...

Karin we didn't get to attend this show, but we did share it together via a cell cert and the highlight for me was this performance of "The Right Place".

lol I don't mind at all that you are proud to be a Canadian and proud of the artisitic achievements of your fellow country men ... hey I'm always blooming proud of Taylor!!

I can't answer your question on whether Taylor not being pigeonholed to one genre of music is a plus or a minus when it comes to radio, or even if he will be moving between styles on his next CD.

I do know this though, I sure hope that this time around a video accompanies it's release.
You tube is a highly visable promotional tool that should be
utilized!



Thank you and Welcome
yayamiss
Does the miss in your name stand for Mississippi?

It was a magicial night in MS, and I expect made even more magical by your close encounter lol

Thanks for putting a big smile on my face this morning, I remember well that THUD feeling!



Mornin' Miss Cyder, glad you enjoyed your morning stroll!

I always have enjoyed "The Right Place" and his 'View' performance
is a crowning jewel in my video collection!

"The Maze" was the one that grew on me, at first hearing it was at the bottom of my favs, then I found myself singing it .. and when I first heard it in concert ... well it zoomed up the list!

Girls, the question is ... will Taylor's roots be showing in his next CD?

lol I know mine are :-)