Honky Tonk Highway

OK - these guys are in Newcastle tonight and I can almost smell the music! A workmate saw them up at the Byron Bay Blues Festival and he reported a great gig and one of the "finds" of the festival (for him). They'll be turning up at the Vic On The Park Hotel at Enmore tomorrow night and the way I'm feeling right now, I think I'm gonna have to go - which will make it two nights in a row after I take in my preferred gig at the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle on Friday night. The above pic may not (again!) show the exact band coming with Fred but I CAN recognise a few of them - the guy in the dreadlocks (Darcy) is unfortunately no longer the Squirrels' bass player so he's not coming and I can't see the drummer at all. Good Fredhead Friends in Canada say the following is the line-up on this tour:

Willie P Bennett, Mando + Harmonica (centre)
Dan Walsh, Dobro, Baritone Guitar, & Gibson ES 335 (left)
Roger Marin, Pedal Steel, Fender Telecaster (2cnd from left)
Kori Heppner, Drums (Merch Queen as well)
Luke Stackhouse, Bass

. . . and, of course, the big bloke on the right is Fred. Try to get to at least one of these concerts 'cos it may be some time before Fred brings his band out again! (By the way, did I tell you I once drove Fred from Newcastle to Sydney after a gig? :-))

The heading of this piece refers to the following:

My good friend over at the Mule pointed out how much she enjoyed Fred Eaglesmith's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah taken from a CMT Christmas special compilation. As much as I enjoyed Fred singing the song, I was curious as to why he only sings the first and last verses of Cohen's original lyrics:

(First)
Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That david played, and it pleased the lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

(Last)
I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the lord of song
With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah

I've enjoyed Cohen singing his own song, as well as k d lang's anthemic version on her Hymns Of The 49th Parallel CD but I've never really enjoyed the second and third verses of the song:

(Second)
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

(Third)
You say I took the name in vain
I don’t even know the name
But if I did, well really, what’s it to you?
There’s a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken hallelujah

Really don't blame Fred for dropping those verses - or even if in fact he had anything to do with it. Maybe time was a factor. Maybe I'm just missing something. Maybe I need a bottle of red wine with a Canadian to understand it all!

Further enquiries about Hallelujah - with a heads-up from Fredhead Frank Eaton who, via the Jason Hammond web site, transcribes (with others) many of Fred's chords and lyrics, - uncovered a Fred co-written song (with Canadian singer/songwriter, Jenny Whitely) entitled Hallelujah Haircut which has a bouncier beat, a much less spiritual base and some damn fine singing from the Whitely woman - listen here (click on her name and wait for the music to come on). Think I'm gonna follow this whole record company - Black Hen Music. Next stop - maybe a quick review after tomorrow night but definitely a full round-up after the Bridge show.