Entertainment For Lively Minds
Ron Sexsmith - Genius
Posted by dai on 19 January 2010 - 7:54pm.
You may know him, you may not. I've taken the liberty of creating a spotify playlist with a sample of the content available there.
Give it a listen if you like, this guy needs to be better known. A Feature in The Word Magazine would also be a great idea !!
http://open.spotify.com/user/admorgan/playlist/0NdouiZ3Y7nGK2vdorZ2AV
(hope it works)
- More from dai.
- Login or register to post comments
-
A big admirer of his work
A great songwriter criminally neglected by the masses although that is usually an indicator of someones talent. Always loved the Eddi Reader song On a whim and it wasnt until I got his cd of rarities and outtakes that I realised it was one of his - anyone that can leave a song that good off one of their main releases must have a special talent.
Secret Heart
I know this isn't the "what song makes you cry" thread, but this one has me reaching for the kleenex every time :)
Thirded
Great playlist, Dai. Shame Cobblestone Runway and Retriever aren't on Spotify, otherwise you'd have to add:
Former Glory
Gold In Them Hills
Hard Bargain
For the Driver
Whatever It Takes (the original not the Michael Buble version...)
My 4 year old...
is convinced that it's actually called "Farmer Glory". I hate to disillusion her.
I'd have to insist on the inclusion of...
"I'm going down to Lebanon, Tennessee" , because I think it's simply one of the finest songs ever written.
Great to see a thread on RS. Perfect candidate for a slot at next summers Cornbury festival, I reckon.
Mike and Roy
Those are great choices and I would have included those songs plus a few from Blue Boy which is actually my favourite album of his. Lebanon Tennessee should be there too, but I kept it to (more or less) 2 from each album to demonstrate his remarkable consistency.
I first saw Ron Sexsmith by accident
Went to see Elvis Costello live, RS was the support. I was completely blown away by him. Sobbed during Strawberry Blonde. Loved him ever since.
It would help
raise his profile if he toured the UK every now and then. AFAIK he's played just one London gig (@ £45 a pop)in the last two years and has nothing planned for the future. He has an unusual talent to be sure but he does hide it under a bushel. Thanks for the playlist.
£45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He's raised his prices a bit. I've seen Ron 4 or 5 times and never paid anything like that. I think I missed that tour as it coincided with a period of unemployment and I wasn't even looking at ticket prices.
Otherwise a great idea to raise his profile among the Massive.
He did a UK tour last year ...
... with Nick Lowe.
I think there will be a new album this year and probably an extensive tour to acompany it.
Agreed
I bought Ron's first album when it it came out after hearing a track on Andy Kershaw's show and have bought every one since - a massive talent.
Got to see him on tour supporting Nick Lowe recently and it was just about the perfect bill.
He certainly doesn't spread himself thinly, he tours all over the world almost constantly, and has played London for instance, 4 times in two years (Itunes Festival/The Roundhouse/The Scala/Albert Hall).
And did you know he guested on the latest Michael Buble album?
Good call...
I caught him in 2004 and 2006 in Glasgow (£15 each time - bargain). He was excellent each time playing solo and with the band. He has been round since then so he is definitely out there. I don't think he is all that interested in the PR side of things which might be the reason for his relatively low profile. I clocked Gordon Strachan (then Celtic football manager) at the 2006 gig and he and Mrs S looked like they thoroughly enjoyed the gig. Nice one Gordon.
He's just terrific
Great playlist - thank you.
I've often thought that 'Thinking Out Loud' in particular might be one of life's 'perfect' songs. Delicate, precise and moving.
'Seem to Recall', too!
Where to go with Ron?
I bought his debut album years ago and thought it was wonderful. Lebanon, Tennessee is indeed a beautiful song.
Being the lazy sort, I've not followed up on his other stuff, so in the words of another timeless lyric, where do I begin? (I can't get access to Spotify right now, so can't enjoy the playlist.)
I'd say "Cobblestone Runway"
or "Other Songs".
They're both absolutely wonderful. but, to be fair, so is most everything he does.
Yes, Other Songs
And everything else! As I wrote above , a personal favourite is Blue Boy (produced by Steve Earle).
Cobblestone Runway was the first RS album I fell in love with
From the first lines of the first song (which I will now always think of as 'Farmer Glory' - thanks Hannah) I was hooked. Gold In Them Hills is the song I play to people to convert them to Ron - profound, moving, bittersweet, haunting, inspiring... Simply a beautiful song.
Funnily enough I'd already been lent a copy of Other Songs before I heard Cobblestone Runway and couldn't get into it at all. Couldn't stand the way Mitchell Froom had coated everything in reverb. (But don't take my word for it as it's plenty of people's favourite album of his. And even I love Strawberry Blonde)
What's Ron Up To?
Every Christmas the FPO delights in asking for an album which she knows I'll squirm with embarrassment at having to buy.This year it was Michael Buble's Crazy Love.Imagine my further chagrin when she pointed out said album includes a cover of(and indeed a duet with the man himself) Ron's"Whatever It Takes).
Bootlegs
Point your moose at this site for some really good quality Sexsmith live recordings.
http://time-has-told-me.blogspot.com/search?q=sexsmith
and....psst, you ain't seen me right!
There should be more threads called Ron Sexsmith - Genius
I know I´m close to one year late for this party, yes. But I have arrived and to prove it I´m here.
Better late than never, Ola!
Thanks! "Never" is such a weird concept
New album coming early next year, btw. Nice!
New single streamed
http://www.ronsexsmith.com/