I virtually never bother to read liner notes. I can't explain why. I really should.
So I'm listening to George Jones "The Spirit of Country"
(which is just an amazing album) for the the first time in a long time, and A Good Year for the Roses comes on.
Knowing that Elvis Costello covered it on his country album, Almost Blue.
So naturually, I picked up the liner notes and read them.
Here's some of what I found:
Quote:
As the title might suggest "Almost Blue" was not originally intended to be a "country" record, rather a collection of melancholy songs of many styles.... However the country ballads soon became my main passion. This wasn't exactly a new fad. I had played Hank Williams songs in the folk clubs and pubs, while, as daft as it may sound, I recall being advised to remove "The Best of George Jones" from the Stiff Tour bus sound system in case it "confused" visiting journalists (it was 1977). The song "Stranger in the House" had been removed from my first album, "My Aim is True", for similar reasons., but when George Jones began his "My Special Friends" album in 1978, I was invited to Nashville to sing it with him. The trip was somewhat anti-climatic. Mr. Jones did, indeed, not show. However I should stress that this was due to some extra musical legal hassle rather than any lurid reason....
In April '81, with Pete Thomas, Steve Niave, Nick Lowe on bass and John Hiatt on guitar, I took part in a cable television special based on George Jones' "My Special Friends" album. Having flown to Los Angeles, I discovered that I had contracted mumps. I put my vanity aside, as I was determined not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing with George on state. Forutnately he had the immunity which the childhood illness gives, so despite my gargoylic appearance (and although I was quarantined from most of the other artists who included Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette and Emmylou Harris), our duet went ahead. After the show I went to George's trailer/dressing room to say "Goodnight", but upon mentioning some of the obscure titles that he had cut and that we were planning to record, I was treated to a private George Jones concert of a few bars of each song.
The liner notes also include several personal annecdotes about the Cash family. Nick Lowe was/is? married to Carlene Carter. He also points out not surprisingly that Gram Parsons provided his first sustained interest in country and that GP/Grievous Angel had the greatest influence on "Almost Blue"
I know a lot of folks here have a mental block about country music but if you do, you're really missing out on some of the greatest songwriters ever. If it takes listening to almost blue and then seeking out some of the original versions of the songs, I'd recommend doing that. Almost Blue is a damn fine record on its own merits I might add.
And Here's the lyrics to A Good Year for the Roses in case you're not familiar with it.
Quote:
I can hardly bear the sight of lipstick on the cigarettes there in the ashtray
Lyin’ cold the way you left ’em, but at least your lips caressed them while
You packed
Or the lip-print on a half-filled cup of coffee that you poured and didn’t drink
But at least you thought you wanted it, that’s so much more than I can say
For me
What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin’
Funny I don’t even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It’s been a good year for the roses
After three full years of marriage, it’s the first time that you haven’t
Made the bed
I guess the reason we’re not talkin’, there’s so little left to say we
Haven’t said
While a million thoughts go racin’ through my mind, I find I haven’t said a word
>from the bedroom the familiar sound of a baby’s cryin’ goes unheard
What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin’
Funny I don’t even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It’s been a good year for the roses
np: George Jones "The Spirit of Country"
