A Playlist Of American

Introduction

Yes, I know the title looks grammatically odd, but the word "American" can be either an adjective or a noun, and it was because a song came on the player that I got the idea for this playlist.

Simple Minds - "The American" from "Sister Feelings Call"

This is my favourite Simple Minds song and when it came on I got the idea from this playlist. The song is relentless and Charlie Burchill's guitar solo coda is what totally makes it for me.

Red Guitars - "America And Me" - Single

Red Guitars are from Hull and I am not sure if this is officially availble in digital form so I bought the 12" single, which was one of the first things I bought when I started rebuilding my now excellent vinyl collection.

Robbie Robertson - "American Roulette" from his debut album

This is a vicious song from Robbie's superb debut album. It drifts in slowly and then smashed you in the face with the sound and the story. Essential listening. This is what real music is.

Little Steven - "Native Amercan" from "Freedom No Compromise"

I took this from Wikipedia in case you were unaware of the multi-talented artist. His music is on the side of the mistreated ethnics in the United States and all over the world, and this song is a gorgeous example.

Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano/Giovanni "Johnny" Henriksen in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s.

Green Day - "American Idiot" Title Track

More relevant today that when it was first released, and still sounds like a perfect fist in an orange face.

Thanks to Harper for this suggestion

Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings - "American By Birth" from "Heroes"

I wasnted to include a song from "Bitter Tears - Ballads Of The American Indian" which Johnny Cash recorded in support of indigenous people, and I have reviewed it here if you want to check it out. Sixty years old but still a very powerful album:

This song with Waylon Jennings is good but a few to many lines about "The South" for today's listening, but it fits the criteria for this playlist.

Simon and Garfunkel - "America" from "Bookends"

Yes - "America" from "Yesterdays"

The song is Paul Simon's sedate exploration of his America. yes had included this in their live set before releasing and edited four minute version as a single.

The ten minute version included here first appeared on "The New Age Of Atlantic" sampler album before finding its way on to "Yesterdays".

The Guess Who - "American Woman"

A fairly brutal song but with an amazing guitar sound. I seem to recall that The Guess Who were a precursor to Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The song was apparent improvised on stage when Randy Bachman broke a string and was trying to replace it and then came up with a riff he wanted to remember.

From the Wiki site:

The song's lyrics have been the matter of debate, often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Cummings, who composed the lyrics, said in 2013 that they had nothing to do with politics. "What was on my mind was that girls in the States seemed to get older quicker than our girls and that made them, well, dangerous. When I said 'American woman, stay away from me,' I really meant 'Canadian woman, I prefer you.' It was all a happy accident."

The Proclaimers - "Letter From America" from "This Is The Story"

Just a gorgeous song from Craig and Charlie Reid's debut album.

The Pogues - "The Body Of An American" from "Poguetry In Motion"

This is a great way to close this playlist. While it may be not as well known as many of their songs, it is absolutely brilliant. You have to give it a listen.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading and listening, and I hope you have found something that you like, and maybe the odd new song for your ears.