Jonathan Foster was featured on Bloggerhythms just a little over a year ago with a discussion of his fifth full length album, Lantern Shade. While readers may disagree, I wrote in that post that Foster is more of a singer-songwriter than a folk musician because there is a little bit of pop and rock in his music. However, he jettisoned those influences completely while making "The Mountain Echo," his quite satisfying brand new single and video.
Previously, Foster always recorded with the intent of releasing an entire album, but he's doing things differently this time around. When asked if a new album is forthcoming the Californian explained, "For now, this is a stand alone single that has come out of a new batch of songs I've been working on. The hope will be to continue to work on new songs individually for the rest of the year while touring, and with any luck a new album will get developed as a result for a release next year. This is a change in approach from how I have completed projects in the past and we'll see how and where it goes from here. I was pleased how efficiently this came together with my long-time collaborators being involved - Joe Mistal on drums, Bruce Turgon on bass, and featuring Morgan Hannaford on mandolin."
Foster also discussed his inspiration for the track. "It's certainly a nostalgic song. I attended Clifton-Fine Central School from Kindergarten to 12th grade graduation in Star Lake, New York, and the yearbook there is entitled The Mountain Echo which I thought would make for a fitting folk song. The visions in the lyrics come from the cold run before soccer practice, the first outdoor baseball game of the year, school dances, the sensory overload of adolescence, feeling stuck in a small town, how fast it actually goes by, and a reminder that the only constant in life is change (along with a team nickname change from Indians to Eagles)."
The accompanying colorful video is a "self-made creation" that - unlike many of those produced during the heyday of MTV - is actually related to the topic of the song.
Unlike a lot of musicians who run out of fresh ideas as their careers progress Foster is one artist whose work continues to impress.
"The Mountain Echo" is easily available to the public. This could change of course, but currently you can find it on many of the popular streaming services: Pandora, YouTube Music, Spotify, Deezer, and iHeart. You can also purchase it from Bandcamp,Apple MusicandiTunes.
You can discover more about this talented songwriter on his website.
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen...
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi...
Without expressing my views on the subject here is a rerun of a post that is quite relevant today considering the surprise leak of the controversial - but not yet officially released - Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. Originally published here on June 27, 2013, it has generated a higher number of comments than one of my posts usually receives. Have you ever heard of Mike Rabon? No? I didn't think so. He was the lead guitar player for The Five Americans, a band that charted five singles a long time ago. They reached the top twenty only once - in 1967 - with "Western Union," a song co-written by Rabon that is still played on oldies radio stations today. Eventually, The Five Americans went their separate ways and in the early 70s Rabon hooked up with another band, Gladstone ("From down home in Tyler, Texas U S A," their debut album cover said). From that LP the unknown group lifted "A Piece of Paper" as a single. It only got as high ...
Click on image to enlarge I've always tried to keep this blog as classy as possible. Controversial topics such as politics are discussed only when there is a relationship with a piece of music that I've written about, and you'll never see any coarse language here at all. Rest assured, for those of you who like it that way things won't be changing in the future. However, I have some sad news today that is forcing me to be less than 100% polite and I'm asking you to indulge me just this once. After 67 years, Mad Magazine , the hilarious rag that always brings back some of the top memories from my youth is mostly going away. I remember riding my bike to the local pharmacy to pick up the latest issue but after August 2019 it will no longer be available at newsstands. Beginning in September Mad can only be purchased in comic book stores or by subscription. I haven't read a copy in decades but I'm still sad that it's gone. Future issues will feature ne...
The original lineup of Chicago has always been one of my all time favorite bands. My affection for this great horn band is such that I want to discuss all of the albums they recorded before Terry Kath's unfortunate and accidental passing. Their debut album is now forty years old, and it's followup is not far behind, yet their music endures to this day. * * * * * Everyone Must Own * * * * Excellent * * * Good * * Fair * Poor * * * * * Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - Whether they were playing screaming psychedelic hard rock, jazz, blues, or love songs, everyone in the band proved they were worthy of the huge mass success that followed CTA 's release. The band's ability to play anything and play it well is the hallmark of their debut album. The stars are Robert Lamm, Terry Kath, and the horns, and even Peter Cetera demonstrates he can be a rock and roll animal when he wants to be. The standout tracks are Lamm's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It...
thank you for your kind words and review Charlie - 3 cheers to music - JF
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