Just about the time you get inside, get the shoes off, get the stuff out of your pockets and all that stuff, take your coat and tie off and put some lazy clothes on it is time to sit down. Then you can sit down. And a moment or two after that it is time for a walk.
You’d almost think it’s deliberate, but it’s not. The sun is on the clock, and dusk brings a chill, so if you’re gonna go outside, doing it six minutes after you get to the house and 45 seconds after you sit on the sofa is the right time to do it.
Gives you good views, at least. My apologies for walking into someone’s yard for this on.
This sycamore was ready for its closeup.
Just two minutes later, and 180 degrees the other direction.
Direct light this time of the year is fairly dynamic. One last hurrah before everything is diffused in clouds, I guess.
That’s one big leaf!
Yeah, this one is a little blurry, I guess, but that’s how you remember the leaf turn anyway. It’s a mass of color, more than the separate leaves. They only count up there in the altogether.
Down here, you might look at them a bit differently.
But you can’t do that unless you go on the walk.
Let’s briefly return to the Re-Listening Project. Of course, we just spent a whole post on this yesterday, but if we get in one more right here I’ll be caught up for the moment. Today’s installment was at least a contemporary record when I bought it, though it was probably still part of this batch purchase. But I listened to it a lot more because it was the music of the moment, and, in 1996, the harmonica had a moment.
This was Blues Traveler’s fourth album, and it’s the one that has the songs you know. They’re still doing it, by the way. Their 15th studio album came out just last year, did you know that?
Did you also know that John Popper, the guy doing the singing and harmonica playing, was originally in another band with the core guys from Spin Doctors? That group was called The Trucking Company. One day I’m going to look for some of their music, just to see what it sounds like.
Anyway, Blues Traveler sounds like Blues Traveler. And a lot of people liked that sound! This record peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200. The band saw this record land in the top 40 of the year-end charts for both 1995 and 1996. And, of course, there are the two top 10 hits to consider, too. “Hook” hit number eight on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. “Run-Around” peaked at number two on the Adult Top 40 chart, and only Seal could keep them from the top spot, but “Run-Around” stayed on that chart for an impressive 66 weeks.
No wonder, then, that “four” was certified as a platinum record six times. Also, there’s a Grammy tied to this record. Not a bad moment in the sun.
It was a big hit at parties, at a time. I’m sure it got played around our place a lot in college. And it was a good soundtrack for sunny days in the car with the windows down. Popper’s voice needs room to breathe. And let us acknowledge that he can make a harmonica sound like most anything.
I’m going to let “Uncle John,” the last track on the album, and a joyous jam song, play us out. I admittedly don’t listen to the record a lot because a little goes a long way, but this time through, this song caught my attention the most. It has almost all the key ingredients.
I’m going to offer one small quibble, and it isn’t even with the band. If you look on Wikipedia, the post covering Blues Traveler lists their genres: jam band, blues rock, folk rock, alternative rock, all of this is fair in that this group has enough diversity to fill in all the blurry areas where those genres coexist. But to call Blues Traveler southern rock … this band is from New Jersey. The parts that aren’t from Canada.
Anyway, the best Blues Traveler song is a cover, but we should be getting to that soon enough. I say should because while I’m playing these in order, I’m not looking at the discs ahead of time. It’s almost a little surprise with each one.
And that’s enough for now. I hope your Wednesday evening, or perhaps your Thursday, has some little surprise as well. The pleasant kind, if I have any say in it.
