Blog Country 152 - Puerto Rico

 

This one is going to be somewhat controversial given that Puerto Rico is not actually a country but rather a Caribbean island and an unincorporated US Territory.

It is a U.S. possession rather than a sovereign nation or a U.S. state which sounds like something Trump would have done when he was relevant. It is recorded as a country in the Google Blogger stats and that is good enough for me.

Somewhat less controversially I have decided not to include the biggest two acts from Puerto Rico namely Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny.

Instead let's start with Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, known professionally as Daddy Yankee who is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and songwriter and is dubbed the "King of Reggaeton" and "Godfather of Reggaeton" Reggaeton is a popular music and dance genre that originated in Panama in the late 1980s and was heavily shaped and popularized in Puerto Rico during the early 1990s. Here he is with Rosa Live.

Next up is Elvis - that's Crespo not Presley. He is a merengue singer  - that is a vocalist who performs  a lively style of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic that combines African and Spanish musical elements.His offering today is Tu Sonrisa 

Ismael Rivera, also known as Mealo was a Puerto Rican composer composer and salsa singer.His contribution is Boma De Navidad

Olga Tañón has earned two Grammy awards, three Latin Grammy awards and 29 Premio Lo Nuestro awards.I'm not sure whether Asi Yo Soy was responsible for any of them.

Finally I give you the band Superaquello with Escuchate.

The next country raising its head above the barricades is one of the world's smallest countries which should make it even more trickier than usual to come up with some songs.

Daddy Yankee - Rosa Live

Elvis Crespo - Asi Yo Soy

Ismael Rivera - Bomda de Navidad

Olga Tanon - Asi Yo Soy

Superaquello - Eschate Esta

Saturday Shuffle 166

 

The Saturday Shuffle returns after a well deserved holiday.

It features songs by three musical legends that you may not necessarily be familiar with.

We start with the legend that is Jonathan Richman. Some of you may be disappointed that neither (the various versions) of Roadrunner or That Summer Feeling are not featuring.Instead you are getting the wonderful I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar.

If you recognised Charlie Daniels as today's cover star you may be eagerly looking for The Devil Went Down to Georgia. It's hard to believe but he and his band  has had other songs including High Lonesome.

Today's final offering is from John Mellencamp. Not the brilliant Jack and Diane but rather the B-Side Hurts So Good.

More dancing, hurting and lonesomeness next Saturday.

Jonathan Richman - I Was Drinking In The Lesbian Bar

The Charlie Daniels Band - High Lonesome

John Mellencamp - Hurts So Good

Dark Enough To See The Stars

 

2026 Charity Shop Purchases # 38 - Mary Gauthier - Dark Enough To See The Stars

When I was courting Mrs CC I took her to see Mary Gauthier. It is fair to say that she was not impressed describing it as the most depressing concert she had ever been to.

Despite that I quite enjoyed her first few albums before and after the Millennium.

Step forward twenty years and we have her 12th album Dark Enough To See The Stars from 2022 on the Thirty Tigers label

And yes it is an album primarily about grief ! However for me it is far from depressing and I wonder just how personal an album it is .

John Apice from Americana Highways gives a good review and writes mourning those who passed is a way of celebrating them and certain songs can be therapy

I was pretty surprised as to how much this album moved me and I will certainly be dipping in on occasions whenever melancholia kicks in.

Mary Gauthier - Amsterdam

Mary Gauthier - Dark Enough To See The Stars

At our first holiday cottage a few miles south of Portpatrick it was dark enough to see the stars

Pokey La Farge & the South City Three

 

2026 Charity Shop Purchases # 37 - Pokey La Farge & the South City Three - River Boat Soul 

From Bandcamp. If this does not pique your interest I don't know what will:

From St. Louis, Missouri comes a wonderfully fresh and quirky kind of pop music that combines a riverboat ragtime sound with Delta-meets-Appalachia songwriting, all laid down in front of a big, big swingin’ beat. LaFarge is a neo-hobo, constantly traveling and continually inspired by early American roots music from throughout the land

 

I was vaguely aware of the name with a couple of songs in the music folder although I am unaware from whence they came. That and the cover were enough for me to take a punt 

From 2010 on the Free Dirt Records label Riverboat Soul is his 3rd out of 12 albums  by Pokey to date.

I wasn't to sure of the first few tracks at first but I gradually grew into the album. I suspect that it will quicky become a grower and one that I will reach for reasonably often

Wiki describes their genres as Blues, Folk,Country, Swing and Jazz. I think it will sit rather nicely on the Blue Americana shelves

Pokey La Farge & the South City Three - Hard Times Come And Go

Pokey LaFarage & the South City Three - In The Graveyard Now

Not to be confused with the frog-faced fascist grifter!

 

Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am

 2026 Charity Shop Purchases # 36 - Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am.

I had heard the name Melissa Etheridge before but knew nothing about her music. There were a few of her albums dotted about the shelves in Sue Ryder and I decided to take a punt on Yes I Am.

From 1993 and on the Island label Yes I Am is her third album and allegedly the one that catapulted her into stardom. Indeed by 2010 it had sold 4,348,000 copies (yet it has never crossed my radar!)

Wiki describes her music on the album as Blues Rock and Hard Rock. i can see where they are coming from.

It's really not for me and I think it is the first one from the Sue Ryder haul that will be going back to charity. It was worth a purchase if only to confirm that. i'm glad I picked up only one!

Melissa Etheridge - I'm The Only One

Melissa Etheridge - Come To My Window

Dwight Sings Buck

 

2026 Charity Shop Purchases # 35 - Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck

I am on record for saying that when it comes to the music of Dwight Yoakam that you are best to concentrate on his pre 2000 Albums.

However, I am prepared to make an exception when he is covering the songs of Buck Owens.

As AllMusic writes Is there any singer better suited to record an album of Buck Owens covers than Dwight Yoakam? ... this is a tribute in the purest sense of the word, and an album no fan of either artist should miss

The album was released on 23rd October 2007 on New West Records so not as new as I originally thought.

There were a couple of other post 2000 albums but I thought I should quit while I was ahead

Dwight Yoakam - My Heart Skips A Beat

Dwight Yoakam - Cryin' Time

Dwight Yoakam - Excuse Me ( I Think I've Got a Heartache)

Best of Dave Edmunds

 

2026 Charity Shop Purchases # 34 - Dave Edmunds - The Best Of

I hit gold over two or three visits to the Sue Ryder shop in Newton Stewart. Someone had obviously handed in a decent number of decent CDs and I was in the right place at the right time to fill my boots.

The Best of  Dave Edmunds CD is a 13 track album on Swan Song from 1981- track list here

When I got home I discovered I already had The Many Sides of Dave Edmunds -The Greatest Hits and More here

Fortunately there are a few songs on this one which don't appear on the other so I will draw from them.

Normally I would have checked the spreadsheet on my phone but I was too busy stripping the shelves.

Space may dictate that this one will require to go back. We'll see.

Dave Edmunds - Deborah

Dave Edmunds - A.1. On The Juke Box

Dave Edmunds - The Creature From The Black Lagoon