Merlefest 2024 Hillside Album Hour Intro

[@clarkakatiff6787]

Very appreciative of this video. Someone should make a short movie about the Waybacks. John Cowan always good. The whole concept is challenging.

[@lizg6515]

These medleys the Waybacks have done in recent years at MerleFest are not too musically satisfying. They didn't used to do them. It was better when they just stuck to one album instead of sounding like a cheesy Vegas band sampling hits of the past. Sorry, that's what it sounds like. Once they get down to the main album, they do a great job. And good album choice this year with Innervisions and a terrific vocalist in Lamont Van Hook.

[@jimmiewilsonWRUW]

The additional songs are usually a tribute to someone who has recently passed on. For example, this year they included a song from Jimmy Buffett and one from Gordon Lightfoot. Sometimes the connection is less obvious. For example, James Nash talked about Tommy Smothers and the impact he had on political issues. Then they included the song that caused the most controversy for the Smothers Brothers TV show, which was letting Pete Seeger sing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" (which was a protest against the war in Viet Nam).

[@lizg6515]

@@jimmiewilsonWRUW Yes, I know and it is a lovely idea to pay tribute. It just doesn't work for me musically. It is jarring to me when they jump from one partial song to another partial song. I'd rather see them do an entire album of one impactful person who passed away and not cover the rest.

[@ehdit]

I agree with the medley comment because the meanings of their choices often goes over my head. Some are obvious, some are not. Plus, most of the time I have no idea when the real album starts (in fact I don't think ever). This year I wondered about the album choice. They played an awesome version no doubt especially with the great vocals but why Stevie Wonder? It seems a lot a people felt that way because by the end of the 2nd song a fair amount of them were gone. I'm not how important the album hour will be to me in the future.

[@jimmiewilsonWRUW]

I think it helps them a lot when they choose an album that has opening chords that are immediately recognizable. Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, Deja Vu, Are You Experienced, Who's Next, Led Zeppelin II, Workingman's Dead, for example. When they did these albums, everyone knew what they were right away. But I didn't recognize this year's album until I did some web searches on my phone to figure out which Stevie Wonder album it was. Some obvious future choices may not prove to be immediately recognizable. How many of us would recognize the opening chords to "She Has Funny Cars" from Surrealistic Pillow? Or "Strange Brew" from Disraeli Gears? (Song #2 from either of those albums would be pretty obvious, though.) A lot of us might recognize "Mr. Soul" from Buffalo Springfield Again, but not everyone. Either of the two mid-70s Fleetwood Mac albums are probably safe bets. The same is probably true with "Brothers in Arms" or "My Aim Is True". Tapestry or Sweet Baby James would be easy ones. So would For Everyman, but people might get confused about which version of "Take It Easy" they were tackling. Especially since they've already done the Eagles. :) They've done two Beatles albums already, but it would still be easy to justify doing "Please Please Me" or "A Hard Days Night". Most of the Simon & Garfunkel albums would be pretty obvious. And what if they went back in time rather than forward? Most of us would recognize "Blue Suede Shoes", but how many would know that it opens the first RCA album by Elvis Presley? I can't even imagine which album they might choose from the Beach Boys. :)