What You Should Have Heard #33

My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]

Eric Clapton Mix CD

1. The Badge – 24 Nights
2. Pretending – Journeyman
3. Bad Love – Journeyman
4. Before You Accuse Me – Journeyman
5. They’re Red Hot – Me and Mr. Johnson
6. Hell Hound on My Trail – Me and Mr. Johnson
7. Cocaine – Slowhand
8. Lay Down Sally – Slowhand
9. The Core – Slowhand
10. I Feel Free – The Cream of Clapton
11. Sunshine of Your Love – The Cream of Clapton
12. White Room – The Cream of Clapton
13. Crossroads – The Cream of Clapton
14. After Midnight – The Cream of Clapton
15. Layla – The Cream of Clapton
16. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out – Unplugged
17. San Francisco Bay Blues - Unplugged

I’m actually a little surprised that with my first cut, I’ve got almost two CDs worth of music here. It’s not that I don’t like Clapton; I obviously do. I just didn’t think I’d want to include so much stuff. Some of the second round cutting should be pretty easy; I’ve got a couple of versions of some of his songs (some live, some studio), so it’ll just be a matter of choosing which one I like better.

Not as easy as it sounds. Turns out I might like Clapton as a live performer more than a studio one. And that’s odd for me. I like his 24 Nights and Unplugged versions better than his studio ones, but the live stuff doesn’t get me going. Especially with the Unplugged stuff, it’s more toned down, more reserved. Looks like I’ve got to have the studio stuff. Ditto on the Cream stuff from 24 Nights.

There are three tracks on here that I’m counting as oddities, not because they’re not good, but because of why I’m familiar with them. First is “They’re Red Hot” from Me and Mr. Johnson. After hearing it on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magic, I always assumed it was a RHCP original. I’m not too up on my blues history. Sorry.

I HAVE heard of Robert Johnson though, and if popular media has taught me anything (and I like to think it has), it’s that Johnson made a deal with the devil in order to become a great guitar player and blues musician (thank you O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Supernatural!). Two of the songs here, Hell Hound on My Trail and Crossroads, are Johnson covers (Crossroads is Cream’s cover of Cross Road Blues) that deal with that legend.

Eric Clapton’s Wikipedia entry

Eric Clapton’s AllMusic entry

Eric Clapton’s Official Site

Eric Clapton’s MySpace page

Eric Clapton’s Facebook page

Eric Clapton’s YouTube page

Eric Clapton’s Twitter page

I know I don’t have this version of “Layla” on the CD, but I’ve got to include the video. This was the first of MTV’s Unplugged series (hmm, and only one of three that I watched) that I saw, and it was just an awesome concert to behold.