The McGarrigle/Wainwright Saga

Pardon me if I'm dominating the blog.

Structural idea for the "Concerts" section: a series of solos / duets / group songs that seem to speak to each other -- different songs from different points of view about the same love(s). Inspiration: The McGarrigle/Wainwright clan.

I actually can't decide if I like this for Concerts or not. Might be too insular. But here it is. By the way there are about five million songs I could post about them -- but I will pare it down to THREE which is VERY DIFFICULT.

Kate McGarrigle's "Go Leave" which I mentioned in another post but here it is again, this is her performing it in 1984:

(Kate's sister Anna also wrote the gorgeous song "Kitty Come Home" which I wish I could find live... I put it in the Dropbox if anyone wants to listen, it's so lovely.)

Moving on... Loudon Wainwright's "Father and a Son" plus "Rufus is a Tit Man" -- performed in 1998:

(by the way, to hear Rufus' perspective, listen to "Dinner at Eight": " why is it so, that I've always been the one who must go, that I've always been the one told to flee, when in fact you were the one long ago actually in drifting white snow who left me...")

Martha Wainwright's "Bloody Motherfucking Asshole" -- this version isn't the greatest audio wise but it features some audio difficulties and someone shouting out a request, wondrous cliches:

(There's also this song Father/Daughter Dialogue... but I can't find them singing it live.)

OKAY I can't narrow it down to just three! Last one: this clip of Rufus, Loudon, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Roche singing Rufus' song "Poses" -- I think in 2011? It's so beautiful, and Martha looks just like a young Kate. Heartbreaking. 

(Or you can watch this one, with Martha singing backup with her baby son. NOW I'LL STOP.)

Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge

Oh man -- just watched the clip Erin brought in again -- it's so good:

It reminded me of another Kris Kristofferson song that is about loving someone who you're not with anymore, "Loving Her Was Easier". Jonathan actually tried to convince me to cover this song as Undine -- I tried but couldn't quite make it work -- but maybe that's because it was destined for this show.

There's a clip of Kris singing it at the same taping where he did the duet with Rita, but I love this version of him singing it as an older man:

And here's a beautiful version with Willie Nelson -- check out Kris' arms, man!

Update: one more clip! Here's him singing the same song in 1972 -- the same taping as the duet with Rita Coolidge! Which blows my theory that he wrote this song about her.

Okay JUST ONE MORE: here's them singing a duet from 1978. What do you read from their body language here??? Also note the amazing set (from Johnny Cash's Christmas show):

Laurel-Anne and Frederick BACK STORY

Now that the cat's out of the bag I can reveal the inspirations for old Laurel-Anne and Frederick.

One part Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham (supposedly they met at a party and she started singing), one part Sonny and Cher (she got all the attention when he was really the mastermind), one part Gram Parsons & Emmylou (moving to Laurel Canyon, a sudden tragic death), one part Richard & Linda Thompson (he writes the songs that she sings, she's pregnant as they're writing their last album together). With inspiration definitely taken from other duos that have come up. And Matt's Dad turned him onto Delaney and Bonnie -- which is kind of crazy, I feel I copied their story in inventing Laurel-Anne and Frederick, without knowing it. Their daughter Bekka ended up touring with Fleetwood Mac as a lead singer in the 90s which is kind of like the backstory I was going to invent for Laurel-Anne and Freddy's son Theo.

It's also possible that Matt invented them and created the wikipedia page. 

Oh except for the proof! Check them out, they're such a crazy blend of hippie/vegas/southern jam band! And she's adorable!

Awwww! And check out this clip of their daughter Bekka singing Neverending Song of Love! The video's not great but you get the sentiment.

So back to L-A and Freddy. What I was thinking of doing next was somehow finding a way to make it possible for Freddy to leave Laurel-Anne for another woman just after she gave birth, AND die before she gave birth. And then she both quits singing and writes an amazing song about their breakup / his death that they sing together 30 years later (or, she sings it with their son) (who is his spitting image by the way). But this doesn't work with Jonathan's observation -- that it works best when it could plausibly be true. So that's something to think about.

And of course, I chose the name Frederick because it was bouncing around the room -- and I didn't even realize how much! It's a potent name. Right now there are like four Frederick threads, right? It's one of those weird random synchronicities that should not be ignored.

Hold On

I think this is one of my favorite John Lennon songs, and one that can turn me to a puddle in no time. The song is from the 1970 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. I find it really hard to listen to this song only one time and will often, to the chagrin of anyone else in the house, play it over and over.

As Faith has been bringing up so beautifully in etudes, the destroying thing for me about this song is the hindsight of what happened to John & Yoko. I think of this song as the one he would have given her as a tool of comfort after his death. Instead, he wrote it first, and was murdered second.

I wasn't able to find any video footage of performance, but here's song with the record cover (which is itself a love story).

Go Leave

Jesus Christ.

The mother of all heartbreaking kiss off songs: "Go Leave" by Kate McGarrigle.

As I may have mentioned before, I cannot listen to a McGarrigle song without weeping. It's chemically impossible. Here, listen to "Heart Like a Wheel" and see if you can resist:

  

And it's only love, it's only love, that can wreck a human being and turn him inside out...

 

And last but not least, the love story of Kate McG & Loudon Wainwright sadly went the way of so many of the other duos we've mentioned (he left her for another woman, yadda yadda). I've realized that something I find beautiful in these stories is watching two people who've gone through a wrenching breakup sing together onstage years later. I can't find a clip of the two of them singing together, but I know there must be one.  I'll keep searching.

Goodbye Bert Jansch

Watching videos of him solo or with Pentangle, there's a refreshing lack of drama. Just letting the music speak. In this video in particular, the vibe is just so awesome - glasses of wine sitting around, Orange amps. Maybe this is another duet/band archetype?