The Jon Bon Jovi Record You dind't Know You'd Want Or Need - Now Less Blustery, Still Blazing And More Glorious

It's funny how some things just..slide. Last year I started a little series of reworked and rejiggered soundtracks with an album that combined three sources to make a more satisfying version of a Dick Tracy soundtrack. That was the first publication of the series, but far from its first project, which somejow involved one Jon Bon Jovi. I must've gotten the idea from reading Tom Beihan's great column on number one records, and it talked about "Blaze Of Glory", Jon Bon Jovi's title song for the brat pack Western sequel Young Gunds II. I had liked the song back in the day, and I agree with Brehan that that song slaps, hard,. The same thing, unfortunately cannot be said of the album that it comes from, titled after its big single. 

Here's the issue with that album: Bon Jovi's (the man) blustery hard rock and power ballads are hardly distinguishable from Bon Jovi's (the band) blustery hard rock and poer ballads, so Blaze Of Glory isn't a particular good listen. It's just too much of, you know, blustery hard rock and poer ballads. So I had an album that I had picked up from the bargain bin for its big single, but that I barely ever listened to. Then I realized that I also have Alan Silvestri's score to Young Guns II, which I also don't listen much to, either. So, that"s where the rejiggered soundtrack impetus originally came from. I figured, I have two albums that I rarely ever listen to, maybe I can use these to create one I would like to listen to? 

Oh boy. JBJ thinking he looks like a cool-ass cowboy. Never change, Jon, never change...

So I started that project, getting busy on Audacity, then - presumably for time reasons - stopped...and just never picked it up again. Blaze Of Glory went from first rejiggered soundtrack to last. I finished it after  - in a stroke of holiday-related music activity - I finished the three rejiggered soundtracks I had either started or planned. And to my surprise, almost all the work was already done, I just had to assemble the pieces. I tried to turn down the blustery hard rock factor, by a lot. Obviously by throwing out a number of songs, including his "I Hear You Knocking"-rip off "You Really Got Me", for which he only didn't get sued 'cause it was an album track I reckon, the theft is so obvious. And then I replaced a couple of songs which the production make hard to appreciate by acoustic versions from radio appearances and concerts. In one specific case - you might've heard this before from me, as I tend to hold a grudge - I had no choice, because the worst decision of Bon Jovi and his team concerning Blaze Of Glory was murdering its second-best track mid-glory. 

"Blood Money" is the only acoustic, countr-sounding number on the album, and thus its biggest outlier. Which someho got the people putting together that album to brutally fade it out in the middle of the song, right during its chorus! I have rarely heard such an odd fade, but since - as can be heard on the full four minute version - Bon Jovi launches straight into the next verse, they kind of had to. Or, you know, not. On an album on which nearly every big blustery rock song - including the title track - is running too long, they couldn't find another minute and a half to let "Bloog Moeny" play out? Low-down bastards, the lot of them! Mongrel dogs! Red-haired stepchildren! (Ok, simmer down, OBG, simmer down...) Seemingly the idea of an accordeon-led track on a Bon Jovi album was too much to take for the powers that be to let that song alone. Breihan says that no one cares about Jon Bon Jovi's take on country blues, but I beg to differ, sir! Them's fighting words! 

Full cover art included. Not the best resolution, but I liked the idea of a wraparound cover

The solution of having the (admittedly slightly muffled) acoustic full version of "Blood Money" and then the produced but amputated studio version as its reprise isn't ideal, but that's what I got. I also found a short track of Jeff Beck trying out ideas for solos for "Bang A Drum", so I added some Beck guitar at opportune moments (tracks 2, 13 and 18 if you must know). More Beck for your buck, never a bad deal, right? (The man was quite busy at the time adding guitar to soundtracks). 

As for Alan Silvestri's score, I wanted to keep the Western/cowboy feel of things, so I greatly de-emphasized the fully orchstrated stuff and mostly kept the more acoustic stuff with guitar, lots of percussion, even banjo! This means, that some of the cues are really short, serving as little interludes between the songs. Of the songs I kept, there are the two songs from the film (the title song and "Billy Gets Your Guns") - both running over the end credits, thus really, really stretching the 'From And Inspired By The Movie' moniker of the album - as well as the pretty good, albeit too long and thus edited "Justice In The Barrel" and "Bang A Drum" with more Jeff Beck on guitar. "Bever Say Die" and "Santa Fé" have been replaced by acoustic takes. 

And that's pretty much it. Don't let the name Jon Bon Jovi put you off before giving this a listen, as I think it's certainly better than the two albums associated with Blaze Of Glory. It maybe isn't the absolute best album you've ever found on these pages, but worth a listen either way. 

How 'Bout A Nice, Banjo-Slingin', Harmony-Singin' Bluegrass Chartbuster Weekend, Folks?

Because havin' a good ol' hoedown with some fun versions of some fine songs from the pat, who'd deny such a thing? I mean, probably a number of y'all, but that's your personal problem, eh!? Because again, we have some good stuff loaded up in this slick, black-and-white packaging. It's never too late to jump on the Bluegrass Chartbuster Train, 'cause that train is gonna drive 'round these parts for a good long time, bubba. Volume 15 is one of the all-new created volumes done after, uh, expansion wave three or four, I lost count here, folks. Seeing how it was created quite a bit later than the backbones of a ton of other volumes, we have a ton of newcomers or recent additions on here. 

Considering the age of him and his co-horts, we have veteran newcomer Daniel Upstaff, together with the Uptown Troubadour doing another very nice Tom Petty cover, the underrated "Angel Dream" from the She's The One soundtrack. Jill Tonic, who are just enough Bluegrass to be featured (they're basically a banjo-enhanced guitar band) cover Jimmy Eat World's modern classic "The Middle". Mark "Huggy Bear" Lavengood - friend to Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and a number of other artists featured here, it really is a pretty tight-knit community, where most young 'uns know each other - covers Bruce's "Hungy Heart. JD Casper - getting national attention on The Voice, or so I heard - covers Post Malone's "Chemical" from the very latest Pickin' On album project. And finally Americana cult hero Chuck Prophet is joined by an All-Star Bluegrass Band to cover "Sweet Jane". Yay!

As for other unusual covers, well, did you think that you'd get a Bluegrass version of a Devo song in this series? If you did, I salute you, you might be Nostradamus! Love Canon go quite a bit outside of the usual cover material for "Whip It". The Brothers Comatose turn to Huey Lewis & The News for "I Want A New Drug". And Molly Tuttle, backed by Golden Highway, really respects the original's psychedelic bent on her cover of Jefferson Airplan's "White Rabbit". Far out! Plus, you know, the standard excellent work of series stalwarts Cornbread Red, Iron Horse, or The Infamous Stringdusters. 

On the 'we're doing this with a big-ass smirk on our face' front, we got Finland's own Steve'n'Seagulls opening things with a fun version of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper", while we also have another band that's walking on the very thin line between fun cover and send up. A couple of volumes ago, I asked for suggestions from the small commenting readership group, and Berni - some people, notably me, call her Bluegrass Bernie - suggested Hayseed Dixie, a band that I had previously banned from the series for being too jokey and tongue in cheek. She also sent around a collection of the more serious-minded cover versions of the band, and well, I can be swayed by well done counterarguments. So, starting from this volume, the jokesters from Hayseed Dixie will occasionally bring their own brand of Bluegrass fun to proceedings, starting on here with "Mrs. Robinson". 

So, another batch of twenty solid to great Bluegrass covers of songs from - and here it's pretty much true - the last sixty years. That should be enough to conjoure a good time over the weekend. Listen To the pickin' and grinnin', and hum, hop or grin along.  

I Don't Hate The Fuckin' Eagles, Man, But I Hate Don Fuckin' Henley...And Here's Why

Donald Hugh Henley is a big fat liar who doesn't want us to have nice things. Like, you know, unreleased Eagles music from their heydays. Donald "People Call Me A Liar, And They're Right" Henley flat out denies that such a thing exists. When they brought out a handful of live tracks a couple of years ago - the same ones that ended up on the bonus live disc of The History Of The Eagles I believe - he said. "We tried to find stuff, but that's it, there's literally nothing left in the vaults." Says the guy under whose auspices the Eagles put an awful cocaine-fueled and deeply unfunny 'gag reel', an awful  joke song, and a three-and-a-half-minute potpourri of musical scraps from The Long Run on the band's box set, just to have something unreleased on it, but somehow forgot cruelly decided not to put early b-side "Get You In The Mood" on there, an item Eagles fans had been clamoring for years. It took them eighteen years and another box set to do that. 

And of course, there is more stuff. Some stuff we know, and a lot of stuff we don't, because Henley flat out doesn't want us to. The perfectionist Eagles don't want you to hear demos or early run-throughs of songs, much less any abandones songs or outtakes. Such things don't exist in Eagles Land, according to Don "I have a very loose relationship with the truth, and that's the truth" Henley. There is no way a band as perfectionist as the Eagles created these things out of thin air, without trying out arrangements, getting the vocal arrangements right etc. Also, we know this to not be true because despite their absolute best efforts, one or two tracks snuck out, most notably "Get Up Kate", an outtake from the debut album. Like "Get You In The Mood" it's another Glenn Frey-track, which probably explains its fate - he has four credited songs, having given one to Randy Meisner to sing - plus the b-side and at least one outtake. Clearly, Frey was way ahead of evryone else in terms of bringing material in the band's earliest days, so in order to stay balanced, some of his stuff didn't get out at the time.

But why wouldn't you want to bring this stuff out years later, when hardcore fans who have waited decaded for this stuff? Well, the Eagles don't do outtakes, thanks for asking kind sir, and now screw you and get lost with your bullshit before we sic security on you. Mr. Henley wishes not to be disturbed. So, you wonder, am I going anywhere with this? Yes, yes, I am. The Eagles infamously sacked legendary producer Glyn Johns midway through the recording of what became On The Border. They were sick and tired of the rainy English weather, of Johns' 'no drugs in the studio' policy and of Johns' supposedly soft production syle, when the band tried to, quote, unquote, 'rock out'. Johns also infamously didn't see tha as a rock act ("The Who is a rock-and-roll band, and you are not that", he told them), and so they packed up their shit, fle back to the States and hired Bill Szymczyk to complete the recording to their liking. Only two of the On The Border tracks, "You Never Cry Like A Lover" and "The Best Of My Love" were saved from the Johns sessions in London. Now, I love "You never Cry Like A Lover", despite or because of Johns' echo-laden production, that Henley and Frey hated so much. And, you know, "The Best Of My Love" was the first Eagles song to make it all the way to number one. So, I dunno, maybe that Johns fella knew a little something about something? 

But that in't my point. My point is: of course there were more songs written and played in London in 1973, and of course the fuckin' Eagles and Don fuckin' Henley don't want you to know taht, and they sure as hell don't want you to hear them. A single bootleg from a 1973 exists that has to works-in-progress exists (shout out to BB Chronicles who made this available), and while Bernie Leadon's song, possibly titled "Georgia Peach" (but who really knows?) is a neat, but rather non-descript country rocker, Randy Meisner's "Wait And See" is indeed the great, lost Eagles song. It certainly sounds like no other Eagles song, and certainly no other song from the Country Eagles of the first four albums. It's a ten minute plus monster with some bluesy guitar and some extremely loud guitar - as close to a guitar freak out as the Eagles ever came. Now, some lowering of expectations are in order. The Eagles aren't all of a sudden sounding like Hendrix or Captain Beefheart or something, they still unmistakably sound like themselves. It starts with steel guitar, so you feel relatively safe in thinking it's, you know, a Randy Meisner ballad, but you can hear that the song wants to rock out, and around the two-minute mark the rock guitars come in. Things slow down again, with some patented Eagles close harmonies, but well...if this track wants to be a guitar epic, well, who's gonna stop these young men? When they repeat the title phrase a couple of times around the four-minute mark, you'd think that here the track would be faded out in a studio version, but the band is just getting started, revving the guitars up again.

Johns was right, the Eagles aren't The Who or Led Zep, but damn if they don't give it their best shot here, and on one of the Johns sessions tracks to boot. Whether you think the word 'great' in 'great lost Eagles song' is exagerrated or not, "Wait And See" at least shows something that I insist on to people who write off the band to easily. They did some genuinely interesting stuff in their early years, when they were still willing to take chances. In the latter years, everything is so polished that you can almost find your reflection in it, but even worse, everything seems calculated to maximum effect. No one can say that an Eagles track surprised them, but, say Randy Meinser's ghostly guitar rocker "Take The Devil" from the debut or Bernie Leadon's weird symphonic-country instrumental "Journey Of The Sorcerer" from as late as 1975's One Of These Nights are weird enough to have your ears perk up. 

The bootleg from which "Wait And See" isn't great, so some indulgence in terms of sound is required. This is an audience recording from 53 years ago, after all. I did some noise reduction and raised the lead vocals a bit, for them not to be overwhelmed by the instrumental backing, but I can't do wonders and you would still be able to tell that is comes from a so-so bootleg, so I stopped there. I think it's plenty listenable, so that's good enough for me. Of course if Don "who you're calling a liar, here, buddy...I lie if I choose to all day long, son" Henley would have been nice enough to, you know, issue the studio run through that must surely exist - again, there is no way in hell that the Eagles improvised this ten-minute monster on the spot - but yeah, that would really be the fday that hell freezes over. So, for this song, this is about as good as it gets for the time being - someone with more and better knowledge of audio software should take a crack at this - and well, until hell freezes over, tell me what you think of the great lost Eagles track, sung by the great lost Eagle in the ever-underrated Randy Meisner. 

These Pearls Have Been A Long Time Comin' (But They Ain't A Long Time Gone)

Well, this has been a long time coming. And no even longer due to some unexpected recent events. First off, OK, OK, I admit it, I neglected the OG of this blog a bit. It has been a month since the last episode of All Pearls, No Swine, and I used the time I had this summer to work on a bunch of long-gestating projects - rejiggered soundtrakcs, the ever-expanding Bluegrass Chartbusters and Alternate Albums like the recently posted reworked Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - without necessarily thinking of, or spending time, on All Pearls, No Swine. For years, literally, this was the ol' faithful of this blog. Knowing I had this rich stock of volumes ready, whenever I wasn't sure what to post or didn't have another projct ready, I'd just post an All Pearls, No Swine. But now that the stock is used up for a while, I have to remind me to compile and get these things on the road. 

The good news: I had fun compiling this last volume, which came together realitively easily and quickly, hopefully a good omen for the immediate future of this series. Now that some bigger and more time-consuming projects have ended, I should find more time to post these in shorter intervals, for old-school blog visitors who kind-of got into One Buck Records via these comps. But, you know, circumstances also somewhat conspired to make the three and a half of you waiting for a new dose of All Pearls, No Swine even longer. This write-up was supposed to go up wednesday last week, but then Catherine Ringer died and I did the Rita Mitsouko tribute. So I pushed it back to Saturday, but then Duncan Sheik died and the spot was taken by a tribute to him, and then I wrapped up the Ringer and birthday business and now we finally have arrived at All Pearls No Swine Vol. 43. A Long Time Comin', Not A Long Time Gone. 

The M.O. is pretty much the same as always: some rock, some funky stuff, some folk, one or two country rock tracks, and one or two slightly psychedelic adventures. By now, you know what you'll get with these. Again, no big names on this one, with the biggest name possibly the not-too-long-ago anthologized Arrogance, with early single "A Foreshadowing" which is a good song but I didn't like it in my chronological anthology, as it would have slowed things way down too early in the disc, so it got relegated to All Pearls, No Swine duty, which is - all in all - a fine place to be. 

Looking back on the list of artists, and seeing that we have hit an anniversary-ish volume 25 of 70s-set All Pearls, No Swine, it gets harder to see how many APNS alumni are around, but Doug Firebaugh is here with another of his miniatures that nowadays we would call Americana, and so is Germany's finest finger-picker of the 70s, Werner Lämmerhirt, this time with a fine cover of "If I Were A Carpenter". I love Lämmerhirt's smoky voice, too bad he wasn't a songwriter and didn't really make a name for himself, it's always nice to hear him. 

We have the patented mix of rock, folk, some country rock. as with the last 70s-set volume, I was in the mood for some groovers, so we have a bunch of those, including Game's "Stop, Look, Listen", Zazu's "Country Eyes", Cameron's "I've Been Down" and The Cates Gang's "We All Got To Help Each Other". Folk lovers will probably dig Ryan Trevor's "By The Water", Bureman & O'Rourke's "Ol' Bill", John Southern's "On The Isle Of You" or Lackey & Sweeney's "Good To Cry". Oh, and for the secret glam fan in you, there's ex-Spider from Mars Woody Woodmansey with his follow-up band U-Boat glamming and rocking it up in album opener "Oh La la".

If you're an All Pearls, No Swine veteran, you'll recognize my usual tricks. If I make some room for psyhedelia, it's usually towards the end of the album. So this volume ends with the triple whopper of the aforementioned Arrogance track, Ethel-Ann Powell's "The Elephant Patch" and Fred's "A Love Song", which certainly shows his love for distorted guitars (and distorted lovers?). 

So, either way, lots of good, unknown stuff from the 70s that bears the one and only OBG level of approval. Quality-tested, as usual, as well as volume EQ'd and the rest. So, it was a log time coming, now let's hope you have a good time with All Pearls, No Swine Vol. 43. 

P.S.: Nothing to do with APNS, but I've seen that the giftbag in the birthday thread contained only one album, the Sinners soundtrack, which obviously wasn't the plan. It seems the last upload in a common folder somhow erased the others. Anyway, I upped Manassas and Dennis Wilson's Bambu in their respective threads for those interested...

'Kay, If You Won't, I Will: Happy Birthday, One Buck Records!

Yes, it is that time of year again. Yesterday was the third anniversary of this blog. I didn't expect anyone to know that, so I'll sing my own 'Happy Birthday' to me and my blog. Ah, three years, that's already longer than some bigger and better different blogs have lasted, and man, I don't know if it's the whole getting older thing, but those years have just flown by. I have the theory that three years is about the point in time, where a certain fatigue creeps in, but I'm happy to report that my 'getting a little bored' period was, like, two weeks this summer. If that is all of the mid-life crisis that the blog business can offer for right now, I think we're in good shape. I am on pace to have slighly less offerings for 2026 than the two preceding years, but some slowing down is to be expected. 

Speaking of expectations, so what can you guys expect from the next year here at One Buck Records? Well, more of the same, and some of, uh, the different. I gotta workshop that one. So, flagship series All Pearls No Swine and Bluegrass Chartbusters will continue, and - as I have mentioned before - there are a number of rejiggered soundtracks awaiting release. I will continue to dig up lost treasures from the 70s, Americana or otherwise, and generally speaking albums or artists that deserve to be heard more or relistened to again. Alternate albums will come out when inspiration, time and the wish to work on that all came together at the right time, although some stuff is in the pipeline (any Gillian Welch fans out there?). 

I'm also thinking of adding some new stuff, like finally unveiling the reason of the blog's name and start posting stuff about the real One Buck Records. I liked the flashback on Poco I did this spring, running through their career chronologically, so I'm thinking of doing the same with Gene Clark. Which means some reposting of the existing alts I did, but also tons of new stuff. When I say, we'll deep dive, we'll fuckin' deep dive! There's an Australian country rock special that I wanted to do for, literally, years, so maybe this year is the good year for it. Plus, you know, whatever else catches my attention at any time. Oh, squirrel!

I'm not only singing my own birthday songs, I am also - same as it ever as - the one bearing gifts. Call it three out of three. Three alt albums from three different years of One Buck Records activity. Already got those? Good for you! New music coming soon, same as it ever was. Missed those? Dig in! You're welcome, same as it ever was. 

So, today's three out of three are:

Manassas' Do You Remember The Americans?, the re-imagined second album by that short-lived outfit. One of my first alt albums, and one that I think still holds up really well. It also beats the tar out of Down The Road, but that wasn't really a super-hard task. More info is of course right here.

My spin on Dennis Wilson's never-issued sophomore album Bambu, more coherent than any official archival release. Just a grand ol' time with Denny, the last, unfortunately, before things got really dark really fast. As usual, more info right here. 

And the totally re-mixed/re-imagined soundtrack album for Sinners. I listened to that a couple of days ago, and I was like 'damn, boy, you did good on that one'. I had a ton to say about the film and the album, so if you got some time to waste, you can read all that stuff over here. 

And that's it, folks. regular programming will take up in short order, same as it ever was. If you are along for year four, gimme a 'hell, yeah'! 

What's that? I don't think I heard ya properly...

Le Dernier Encore De Catherine Ringer

Okay, fine, it's dead musician week here at One Buck Records. I hope one or two of you enjoyed the Rita Mitsouko post from last week, because I'm not quite done with Madame Catherine Ringer, to everyone's surprise, including my own. When my wife told me Ringer had died a week ago she was unhappy, because no one seemed to talk about it, as if it was no big deal. But that's mainly because the tributes on social media etc. were slowly starting to pour in. Turns out it was a reasonably big deal, they just needed some time. Wednesday evening at least France 2, one of the state channels, was ready. First, they went with regular programming, which happened to be the anniversary 600th episode of somewhat legendary music show Taratata. Taratata is known for two things: artists playng music live, and cover songs, udually done in improbable duets. Usually, an artist would play one of their songs they'd come to promote, then team up with someone to cover a classic. Catherine Ringer showed up quickly in a 'flashback'. 

But after that show, there was a special edition of Tarata 'cobbled together' (that's actually how it was credited) by the show's producer and presenter Nagui in about a day, collecting pretty much every Catherine Ringer solo appearance of the last 18 years.i had finished up the Rita Mitsouko post while listening with one ear and occasionally throwing an eye on the Taratata anniversary show. During the Catherine Ringer special my ears perked up for some of the special duets, first when fellow enfants terribles Shaka Ponk (in which Ringer no doubt saw a bit of her own and Fred Chichin's subversive spirit) raised some hell with her in tow on a cover of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie", then when she teamed up with Christine of Christine And The Queens for a take on Led Zep's "Stairway To Heaven". I searched and found both of these covers, then decided to augment these with two other duets. All of these will make up Le Dernier Encore, an EP of Catherine ringer plus duet partners. 

The first track is the aforementioned Shaka Ponk collaboration, then we hear Ringer trying to sing the Arab language to support Rachid Tahab on "Ya Rayah". Then we're off to known francophile Iggy Pop, who duets on a torch song reading of "I've Got A Spell On You", though my favorite is Pop's banter. First he invites her to duet with him in his best French, but uses the reserved-for-young-women 'Mademoiselle' (to which Catherine protests:'Madame! Madame!'), then after the song he says "let's get out of here, babe" in such a tender way. Oh, and then we end the EP with that aforementioned duet on "Stairway To Heaven". 

So, four more songs, before this blog and I let go of Catherine Ringer. Etes vous prêt pour le dernier encore? 

Maybe He Was A Genius? No, Probably Just A Very Good Songwriter And Pop Craftsman...

Ah, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Another day in the office, another death in the office. I don't want this blog to turn into obituary central, but pretty much ever since it's beginning I planned to post something from Duncan Sheik. And now I kind of have to do it, like, right now, because Sheik just died. C'mon, people, I'm getting as sick of writing obits as maybe you get of reading them. I don't have a huge emotional link to Mr. Sheik, I just admired his sleek, smart pop music. I'll just say that 56 is no age to die on people, but oh well, who's asking me. Earlier this month I had the worst first day of the worst new school year ever, when I learned before my first course that a colleague in the department had died the week before. Nice guy, not a particularly close friend, or anything, more like a friendly work acquaintance, but his death shook me a lot. Forty fuckin' years old, healthy lifestyle, keels over and dies of a fuckin' heart attack. Leaves a wife and kids of six and three years old. As I said above, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. If you felt that ol' OBG was a little morose in some of his recent write-ups, then you're right on the money, and though I hadn't kept taps on Sheik - who enjoyed a successful career on Broadway in the last two decades - this isn't gonna brighten my mood. Not one bit. As noted philosopher Billie Joe Armstrong said, wake me up when September ends. 

So, Duncan Sheik. His five minutes of stardom in 1997, when "Barely Breathing" ruled the airwaves, at least for a while, and the ensuing short career as a teen heartthrob completely passed me by, much as Sheik did completely in my corner of the world. But the name sounded enough of a bell almost a decade later, when I fished his 2002 album Daylight out of a bargain bin. What a great catch that was. Daylight is a top notch album for about two thirds before it peters out a bit at the end. But before Sheik adds little pop pearl to little pop pearl as if forging a necklace of pop perfection. Unsurprisingly, All Of These Things - The Music Of Duncan Sheik draws heavily upon Daylight, with a third of its 18-track line-up coming from that album, and I could have still easily added at least one other song. 

Sheik called Daylight "the Trojan Horse of pop", where the pop sheen and catchy melodies hide some unexpectedly deep or subversive - for a mainstream pop record - lyrics, but it was also a bit of a last hurray and goodbye to the world of pop. Sheik had tasted life as a pop star, decided he didn't really like it, and once his contract with Atlantic was up after Daylight, he more or less willingly walked away from pop stardom. Having other people on stage sing his songs was perfectly fine, so around the time of the release of Daylight, he had started to work on musical theater, and would spend the next two decades plus writing for Broadway, winning Grammies and Tonies along the way, not that he much  - cared about that. From time to time he would issue another album for the faithful, without caring about sales or promotion. He was happy plying his trade as a relatively anonymous contributor, with his pop career further and further retreating in the back mirror. 

And yet, that pop career - short as it was - was full of wonderful moments. And eighteen of these are collected in All Of These Things - The Music Of Duncan Sheik, which will either introduce you to this fabulous artist, or bring back happy memories otherwise. 

Now that's a heartthrob for ya...

Godspeed, Duncan. Hopefully Sheik's Buddhist's faith brought him some peace in the knowledge that he will return in another life. His religious beliefs, though never brought out particularly openly, permeats the sentiments of facing mortality in the comp's closer "Hymn", so I'll leave you with a couple of those lines.

And she asks me

how many sunrises 

will we watch from start to finish 

how many will we witness?

And my answers

are only ever surmises

maybe a handful of times

...before the next life.

R.I.P. (and happy return?) Duncan Scott Sheik, 1969-2026