I'm sure that a lot of people would look at this song as cornball, but it really got me. I'm an unabashed fan of the K3 and their ilk, but I have a pretty low tolerance for "let's all get together and do it" songs. This one, though, is an interesting and somewhat melancholy echo of the Kennedy era. It's hard now to imagine a time when a patriotic song could be forward-looking, pride in America as much about her potential as her past. And ironically, now, we have to look into the past to recapture even that sentiment.I'm sure another Trio song will come up before 39-40 is over, and maybe then I'll do a rockin' version, but the sensible thing to do with this one seemed to be doing with it what it was meant for: learning it and singing it straight, just like a real folk song. It's probably been a long time since this song was a major part of anyone's repertoire, but right here a little bit of that folk tradition lives on. I like that.
I also love Miranda's voice.
Personnel:
Rex Broome ~ guitar & vocal
Miranda Broome ~ vocal
I'm thinking Paul Kantner listened to these guys...a lot of his songs in the late sixties/early seventies Airplane era have a similar sort of anthemic feel...
ReplyDeleteFine version be Rex Broome!
ReplyDeleteIf you check the Wikipedia article that I wrote about the KT, you will indeed see that Kantner and scores of others acknowledge a strong KY influence.
And if you check out my own main blog here on Blogger, called Comparative Video 101, you'll find a KT song profiled every week for the last two years with notes on the song, a video/audio with them doing it, and five or more versions from other artists.
And RB - great idea to celebrate #40. Nice looking blog.
Thanks, Jim... I'll definitely look at that K3 blog. The comprehensive treasure trove of other versions is a big draw.
ReplyDelete