It’s not an easy choice. It changes with the mood and wind.
I narrowed it down to 1 of 6.
I like the epic tracks with scope and depth. So for me the lyrics are the most important element, but the music is there as well. When Roy creates once of his mammoth songs he tends to chose a big canvas and embellish it with his poetic vision in a way that stimulates you to thinking and understanding the chosen subject in a different way. He likes big issues such as human evolution, society and religion. His words are the paint he daubs the canvas with. They are coloured with the hues of emotions – anger, fury, love, appreciation, nostalgia, hope, despair and beauty. You get the full works in a way that no other singer-songwriter does for me – not even Dylan.
Here are my six nominations:
McGoohan’s Blues
I was fortunate to be around when Roy first wrote and started singing this. It was like nothing I had ever heard. I sat entranced and tried to absorb it into my mind. It scorched my brain. The recording on the FolkJokeOpus album does not do it justice but it is, even flawed, a testimony to the power and the passion. How I wish there was a recording from 1967/68 of Roy in all the fury of those performances. The passion and intensity are branded in my memory. I don’t think anyone has got near to this. It was immense.
I Hate the Whiteman
Probably Roy’s most ‘popular’ some. A song about the North American Indian prior to the arrival of the White Man when life was hard and free. A commentary on the state of Western Society with its alcoholic violence and nuclear holocaust – its propaganda and establishment psychopathy.
Me and My Woman
Another opus on love, society and history. A story of a refuge from the storm of society raging around us. A song with many themes and moods. A beautifully produced song. The music and production reached new heights.
The Lord’s Prayer
This is a bold attempt to marry poetry to music that works brilliantly for me. You cannot get a broader scope than this. The whole of human history encapsulated in a song largely centred in the mind of Geronimo, a man from the Iron Age, a free human being untrammeled by the propaganda of politics, society and the establishment.
The Game
This is Roy with his band doing an electric version of his poetic songs. A warning about the perils of civilisation with all its controls as we are swamped with religion, the state and the strictures of careers and society. A cry for freedom and an end to control and wish for a life with more meaning and individuality.
This version is actually a live acoustic version – different to the album.
One of those Days in England
Another epic song covering the whole gamut of English History, society and the fight for individual freedom in the midst of this social experiment which has such a head of steam that it is gobbling up the planet.
Once again this is a live version.
It is amazing how many brilliant songs I had to put to one side to come up with this limited selection. No doubt everyone has their favourites.
Which one is your favourite?
Work Of Heart is probably one of his best, too, both lyrically and musically.
Hors D’oeuvres is up there too and I’d replace The Lord’s Prayer because the lyrics get too smothered in production trickery and The Game for the same reason. IMHO.
And I forgot that you were referring to a few of these songs in their live performance setting. I usually found his solo performances with a couple of these to be somewhat diluted of their original power and presence. Difficult one.
Another brilliant song but slightly down on the others in my opinion. I loved the Lord’s Prayer – probably my favourite. I like the production. I thought it worked and added.
I also like the Game – probably my second favourite, though McGoohan’s Blues is exceptional to me. I could make a case for any of them. Depends on my mood.
I wasn’t really referring to the live versions. I just happened to find and put up a couple of live ones. I agree with you that they are sometimes a bit diluted in live performance. But the fact that he is able to perform songs of that length and complexity at all is incredible. I never thought he would be able to do The Lord’s Prayer but he did a good job of it live.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
Worth listening to all these gems!
Everyone has their favourites – how about Short and Sweet? Many on Jugula still do it for me.
I just love that live version of Short And Sweet that came out on the tape version of Unhinged. A great track – brilliant lyrics!