Sweet Dreams Of You

Sweet dreams of you
Every night I go through
Why can't I forget you and start my life anew
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

You don't love me, it's plain
I should know I'll never wear your ring
I should hate you the whole night through
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Sweet dreams of you
Things I know can't come true
Why can't I forget the past, start loving someone new
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Don Gibson – Sweet Dreams (buy)

Faron Young – Sweet Dreams (buy)

Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams (buy)

The Everly Brothers – Sweet Dreams (buy)

Tommy McLain – Sweet Dreams (buy)

Elvis Costello – Sweet Dreams (buy)

A recent commenter caught me being a bit lazy with the "original" Almost Blue post. I used Patsy Cline's version of Sweet Dreams which really isn't the original, or even necessarily the best version, just the most popular. We here at STWOF like to remedy our mistakes when possible. Hence, this post about the song Sweet Dreams.

The simple, yet effective, song was first performed by its writer, Don Gibson, in 1956. That same year, Faron Young (pictured top) had a No. 2 hit with the song. I really like his honky-tonky version.

Sweet Dreams is a perfect example of how Gibson described his own writing style:

"My songs are simple, and just about all of them are about love. I write about people, not things. I never had a lot of education, and I don't feel easy with words. Most of the words to my songs are real simple. I just make them up to put to some tune on the guitar I've come up with. It's the sound of the guitar that I've always been interested in."

Patsy Cline's crossover hit version of Sweet Dreams was released posthumously in 1963, months after she was killed in an airplane crash at the age of 30. That same year, The Everly Brothers recorded a version for their album The Everly Brothers Sing Great Country Hits.

Three years later, in 1966, Tommy McLain's "swamp pop" version sold three million copies. The liner notes to Almost Blue suggest that this was the version that most directly influenced Elvis Costello's 1981 recording.

Other notable recordings of the song include Emmylou Harris (1975), Loretta Lynn (1977), and Reba McEntire (1979).

Which is your favorite version, and why? My vote goes to Faron because I love that honky-tonk feel.

The Original Almost Blue

In 1981, British rocker Elvis Costello went to Nashville to record a country covers album called Almost Blue. I wrote about it in an earlier post.

I recently picked up a copy of George Jones' 1965 album Trouble In Mind, which contains the original version of Brown To Blue that Elvis later covered on Almost Blue. This gave me the idea to put together all of the other "original" versions of the songs that inspired Costello. In some cases, the versions below are not truly the "original" versions (example Emmylou Harris, Johnny Burnette), but I think these are the versions that most influenced Elvis.

It turns out to be a pretty good collection of country tunes. Right now I'm really enjoying Sittin' And Thinkin' by Charlie Rich.

1. Hank Williams - Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)? (buy album)
2. Patsy Cline - Sweet Dreams (buy album)
3. Loretta Lynn - Success (buy album)
4. The Flying Burrito Brothers - I'm Your Toy (Hot Burrito No. 1) (buy album)
5. Merle Haggard - Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down (buy album)
6. George Jones - Brown To Blue (out of print)
7. George Jones - Good Year For The Roses (buy album)
8. Charlie Rich - Sittin' And Thinkin' (buy album)
9. George Jones - Colour Of The Blues (buy album)
10. Emmylou Harris - Too Far Gone (buy album)
11. Johnny Burnette Rock'n'Roll Trio - Honey Hush (buy album)
12. Gram Parsons – How Much I Lied (buy album)

You Whispered At Horse's Ears

Don't let the first track throw you. Notwithstanding the typically old and twangy nature of this space, rest assured that your proprietor is hep to all the latest tunes flowing through the internets. Here's a funny one from The Teenagers about their favorite starlet, Scarlett:

The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (buy mp3 album).

Favorite line: "You whispered at horse's ears." (That's just genius. They could have said "in," but they said "at." Perfect.)

Read more about The Teenagers here: MySpace. And jump on The Teenagers' bandwagon here and here. (Download the song "Homecoming" for more fun.)

The real Scarlett would probably prefer these songs:

Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (buy album).
Tom Waits – Tom Traubert's Blues (buy album).

The first comes from Waits' tour de fource 1985 album by the same name. The organ intro is amazing. Actually, the whole darn album is musically and lyrically stunning. It's a STWOF Five-star must buy!

The second song comes from Tom Waits' early-period masterpiece, Small Change. Both of these albums have been regulars on the STWOF turntable for years, especially while enjoying a spot of Bushmills.

What's the connection between Tom & Scarlett, you ask? Well, if you haven't heard already, check this out: Scarlett Johansson Covers Tom Waits. Of course, the definitive female-artist-Tom-Waits-cover-album has already been made:

Holly Cole – I Don't Want To Grow Up (buy album).

And here are three more great songs with a Scarlett Johansson connection:

Pretenders – Brass In Pocket (buy album). (video).
Roxy Music - More Than This (buy album). (video).
Elvis Costello - What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding? (buy album). (video).

For further info on Ms. Johansson, check out: Movie Hotties

And finally, in honor of That Truncheon Thing (a superb music blog that officially closed its doors this week), enjoy some live Elvis Costello: Elvis Costello - You Belong To Me (Live). If you've never been to TTT, get there now while all the great music is still available. There are some fantastic rock bootlegs to be had.

A Stranger In The House - Elvis Costello Goes Country

Elvis Costello series, Part 3 of 3.

In 1981, Elvis Costello was coming off an incredible string of legendary rock albums (My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, & Get Happy) when he decided to release an album of country covers called Almost Blue. Talk about a potential career killer! There are a ton of music fans whose favorite kind of music is "anything but country." So, for a lot of Costello fans and rock fans, this was one to skip.

Apparently, the reaction of the country music world was even more negative. In the book Written in My Soul (by Bill Flanagan, 1986), Elvis explained:

"I made the country record, Almost Blue, to get away from songwriting. I didn't anticipate the violent reaction some people would have to it. It became sort of a joke. We put a sticker on it saying, 'This record may bring out a violent reaction in narrow-minded people.' I'd completely underestimated the false and hypocritcal way some people in America assume ownership of this music. People who couldn't give a damn about it, actually, who couldn't name five country songs. It annoyed me because I probably cared more about the songs I was singing than the bloody hacks in Nashville. Billy Sherrill, the guy who produced it, turns out yards of music every week. He's a complete and utter hack. Hasn't got an ounce of feeling in him."

I guess Elvis isn't one to mince words.

By the way, Billy Sherrill was the guy who co-wrote Stand By Your Man, so he can't really be "a complete and utter hack," right?

All controversy aside, and 26+ years later, I think Almost Blue is a good album. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. Here's one from the album alongside the original from George Jones:

Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses (buy album).

George Jones - Good Year For The Roses (buy album).

The Rhino double CD version includes lots of interesting bonus material. Can you imagine Elvis Costello and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing a Flying Burrito Brothers song? While it may sound kind of scary, it's actually really good. The dramatic arrangement lends itself perfectly to the drama of Gram Parsons' lyrics:

Elvis Costello - I'm Your Toy (Live) (buy album).

Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito No. 1 (I'm Your Toy) (buy album).

Costello dabbled in country even before Almost Blue. One of my favorite Costello compositions is a song called Stranger In The House about a relationship gradually falling apart. It first appeared on the 1980 compilation of Costello's "odds and sods" called Taking Liberties. I'm impressed by the songwriting on this one.

The first stanza sets it up nicely:

This never was one of the great romances,
But I thought you'd always have those young girl's eyes.
But now they look in tired and bitter glances,
At the ghost of a man who walks 'round in my disguise.

The real payoff comes in the chorus:

There's a stranger in the house no one will ever see,
But everybody says he looks like me.

Elvis Costello - Stranger In The House (buy album).

If you buy the Rhino double CD version of Almost Blue you can hear Elvis perform this one as a duet with George Jones.

And now for a bit of personal history. The first song that I remember turning me on to country music was Elvis Costello's version of George Jones' tune Brown to Blue, which I heard sometime in the early 1980's when I was still just a kid. It features this great line: You changed your name from Brown to Jones and mine from Brown to blue.

Elvis Costello - Brown To Blue (buy album).

Well that's it for the EC series. Hope you liked it.

Indoor Fireworks - Elvis Costello and Laura Cantrell

The second of three posts in the Elvis Costello series focuses on the song Indoor Fireworks from King Of America (1986).

It's no secret that Elvis Costello is a fan of classic country music--one of the many styles to have shaped his sound over the years. While Indoor Fireworks is not a straight-up country song like Stranger In The House or Radio Sweetheart, the country influence definitely shines through, especially when performed by country singer Laura Cantrell.

This should be no surprise, as Elvis was conscioulsy trying to write a Hank Williams song. Interviewed for the book Written In My Soul (by Bill Flanagan, 1986), Elvis humorously explained his goal in writing Indoor Fireworks:

"I tried to write one that had some chill in it. Like 'May You Never Be Alone' [by Hank Williams]. I was aiming up there. Whereas when I wrote 'The Only Flame In Town' I was only trying to write like Allen Toussaint. I was thinking, "How tough does Hank Williams ever get?" He didn't ever shy away from the matter. If you're going to be true to yourself you've got to say, "Could I say it as cold as Hank Williams did?" You have to keep reminding yourself how strong the really strong songs are."

While it's not likely Hank ever would have sung about Audrey being the "gin" in his "vermouth," (a good line for Elvis), I think Costello hit the mark pretty well with Indoor Fireworks.

Evis Costello - Indoor Fireworks (buy album).

Laura Cantrell - Indoor Fireworks.







And now for a word about Laura Cantrell (who deserves another post on this blog someday). Two of her albums, Not The Tremblin' Kind and When The Roses Bloom Again, are among my favorite country music albums from the last twenty years. Her voice is reminiscent of Kitty Wells and she picks superb material. The famous John Peel went further, calling Not The Tremblin' Kind "my favorite record from the last ten years, and possibly my life." Wow. That's pretty high praise coming from him!

Laura Cantrell - Not The Tremblin' Kind (buy album).

Almost Blue: Elvis Costello & Chet Baker

This is the first of a three-part series dedicated to the genius of Elvis Costello, who in my opinion is one of the most talented musical figures of the last half century. Today's edition features his wonderful composition Almost Blue.

Simply put, this song is a masterpiece. It sounds like something from Cole Porter or the Gershwin Brothers rather than just the latest tune from a prolific 28-year-old "punk" rocker.

The opening lines make the song:

Almost blue...
Almost doing things we used to do...
There's a girl here and she's almost you...

Wow! I wish I could write something like that. Simple but perfect.

Here's Elvis' original version from the album Imperial Bedroom:

Elvis Costello - Almost Blue (buy album).




Now listen this version of the song by jazz vocalist and trumpet player, Chet Baker, from the soundtrack to the movie Let's Get Lost:

Chet Baker - Almost Blue (buy album).

Baker was, to say the least, not in his best shape when he took on Costello's piece, but the song fits perfectly. The movie, which traces Baker's career from jazz idol to junkie (not an unfamiliar path) is worth finding and watching. While Chet's later work may not be for everyone (though, believe me, it grows on you), you have to try something from his 1950's catalog--perfect music for driving your rag top down the Pacific Coast Highway on a sunny Sunday afternoon:

Chet Baker - I Fall In Love Too Easily (buy album)

Highly Recommended!