Mystery Train
I’ve been reading a lot of Greil Marcus’ work lately, and I don’t think I’m that far off in saying there aren’t many music journalists like him around anymore. Although some of the comparisons he makes are a bit grand or far reached, it seems that he can hear/see things in music that many people (myself included) can’t. To put it simply, he can make a six minute Dylan song seem as complex and spacious as Homer’s The Odyssey.
In his famous book Mystery Train he traces the lineage of Rock and Roll back to two men, Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson. From there he moves forward and names four inheritors of the sound who best embody what Rock and Roll in America really stands for. A couple of his choices seem unlikely but by the time you’re through the book it all makes sense. This is a must read for anyone who loves the ‘mystery’ and spectacle of old Rock and Roll music.
Inheritor #1 - The Band:
Inheritor #2 - Sly and the Family Stone:
Inheritor #3 - Randy Newman:
Inheritor #4 - Elvis Presley:
- Peter
ps,
Hail hail rock ‘n’ roll, comes from r ‘n’ b and soul
Don’t leave me standing in the cold
I used to fake ‘I never grow old’
Hail hail rock ‘n’ roll, don’t leave me standing on the bleak
Don’t leave me stranded on the street
I see the light, I feel the heat
or
Hail, hail rock and roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock and roll
The beat of the drums, loud and bold
Rock, rock, rock and roll
The feelin’ is there, body and soul.
