Bob Lind's Message Board

Hi folks,

This morning my music player randomly selected Elusive Butterfly and it prompted me to search for other folks on the Internet for whom it resonated. There is a nice version of Bob singing the song 'near a pond' at Jackie and Arlo Guthrie's property in 1992. That's on Youtube (just search 'Elusive Butterfly Berkshires'...I'm unable to post the URL as a newcomer)

Apart from that, I thought I'd list out some of the songs that Bob was competing with to reach No. 5 that year...a pretty illustrious list

(You're My) Soul and Inspiration - The Righteous Brothers
19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones
A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
A Must to Avoid - Herman's Hermits
A Place in the Sun - Stevie Wonder
Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
Born a Woman - Sandy Posey
Born Free – Matt Munro
Bus Stop - The Hollies
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas
Cherish - The Association
Cherry, Cherry - Neil Diamond
Day Tripper - The Beatles
Dedicated Follower of Fashion - The Kinks
Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? - The Lovin' Spoonful
Don't Bring Me Down - The Animals
Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
Elusive Butterfly - Bob Lind
Georgy Girl - The Seekers
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
Green, Green Grass of Home - Tom Jones
Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? - The Rolling Stones
Help Me Girl - Eric Burdon & The Animals
Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
Husbands and Wives - Roger Miller
I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love - Petula Clark
I Fought the Law - Bobby Fuller Four
I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself - Dionne Warwick
I Saw Her Again (Last Night) - The Mamas & The Papas
If I Were A Carpenter - Bobby Darin
Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan
Knight in Rusty Armour - Peter & Gordon
Lady Godiva - Peter & Gordon
Lady Jane - The Rolling Stones
Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees
Leaning on the Lamp Post - Herman's Hermits
Lil' Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs
Listen People - Herman's Hermits
Look Through Any Window - The Hollies
Mama - B.J. Thomas
Mellow Yellow - Donovan
Message to Michael - Dionne Warwick
Monday, Monday - The Mamas & The Papas
Mother's Little Helper - The Rolling Stones
My Love - Petula Clark
My World Is Empty Without You - The Supremes
Nowhere Man - The Beatles
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Paperback Writer - The Beatles
Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann
Rain on the Roof - The Lovin' Spoonful
Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops
Single Girl - Sandy Posey
Sloop John B - The Beach Boys
Strangers In the Night - Frank Sinatra

For me, it would be between 'Nowhere Man' and 'Elusive Butterfly' as to the one that 'stops me in my tracks' and floods the senses

Hi to you Bob! I'm noting other songs now. Nice to connect with the group!

Namaste,
Dave.

Welcome to the board DavenOz. Great to have you with us.
You've done some serious research here.
Hope you've checked out the new stuff too (see the "Documentary Preview" post above).

Hi again Bob,

Yes, I saw the film clips - great stuff! I've also seen a couple of posts from other Aussies hereabouts and the mention of a shop in Sydney that carries your recent work.

Thanks for the comment about the research. Here's a little story that explains that research and maybe connects 'Butterfly' and your recent song 'Spilling Over'.

There was a young (secret) love of mine from grade school (would you believe!?) and it seemed to me that all those wonderful 60s love songs were written with this secret love of mine as their subject 1966 was the year after we went our separate ways to High School and beyond, but I retained this massive attachment. Elusive Butterfly and all those other songs just captured it all.

Anyway, 40 years later (two years ago), we met up and she admitted she'd loved me too! I compiled all these songs from 1958 (when I was six), to 1966 that captured our love for me and sent them to her (so I'd already done the research). Well, we relived love and explored all its aspects as adults, but with these pristine young-love memories in tow, plus poetry etc.

There you go...from Buddy Holly (True Love Ways) to Nowhere Man to 'found again in nets of wonder and love'. We have this little line from T. S. Eliot that kind of says it all.

"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time"

I guess you've had some pain along the way - poets can't reach the depth without it. But you've emerged along with your (old-time and new-time)audience to savour the joys too. There's really no way we can repay you, except to say thanks (and buy your new work...yes indeed).

Haha, we were sitting in a cafe the other day and she pointed at our reflection in a window and said: 'who are those two old people sitting over there?'

Kind regards,
Dave

P.S. I'd mentioned the 'Berkshires' in the previous post and it kind of reminded me of something. Aha, got it...James Taylor's 'Sweet Baby James': '...and the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frostin'...with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go...'

Hi Dave
Nice to have another Aussie on board.
Beaut story of yours, too. And your list sure brings back some memories for me. Brisbane has a great radio station, 4KQ, that regularly plays many of those memorable 60's hits...but I have yet to hear them play Elusive Butterfly. Must take them to task.
Maddo

On another music forum that I visited, someone posted a poll asking people what was the best decade in music - the 60's, the 70's, etc.

One person gave the very perceptive response that in fact the best decade was the "Sixventies". He went on to explain that by that term he meant the period from about 1965 to 1975. Not sure if he made up the term himself. Reflecting on it I decided thaty he was right. There was a world of difference between the music that made the charts in the early half of the 1960s compared with the latter half. From Bobby Vee/Del Shannon/Dion and the Belmonts to Bob Dylan/Bob Lind/The Byrds/Mamas and Papas/Jim Webb. That's a huge quantum leap.Not to mention the great progressive rock bands like Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd.

Things seemed to kind of settle after that, up until 1975 it seemed basically a consolidation of what went on before. It wasn't until the late 70's that Punk and New Wave turned the whole thing on its head once again.

yeah...my late (& much loved ) brother Tony would say - "If you were good in '66 - you were GOOD !"

..I think even the usual suspects (Beatles, Stones, Elvis - whoever!) - when you remember their catalogues - around '66, they put out their best work...

Hi Maddo, Bob, and Danny,

Thanks for the replies. I have to admit I haven't been around for a couple of months and just returned 'on a hunch'.

I was interested to hear about the 'Sixventies' idea Bob. I said I'd compiled a list of top 40s from '58 to '66, but the truth is I'd gone all the way to '75. Yes, that was a cutoff for me too. As a bit of of an amateur 'buff' I could never abandon the Buddy Holly era (since the Beatles and English groups were inspired by him and others). The upper limit is kind of defined for me by the beginning of groups like The Bay City Rollers and Bucks Fizz etc, and yes Punk (the year the music died haha). I was a bit disappointed with Neil Young in that regard, but that's another story.

It seemed to me that there wasn't just a consolidation in the late 60s and early 70s but a refinement and the bands became more like 'maestros' of the art of guitar, lyrics, etc. I'll never forget buying 'All Things Must Pass' and playing it in my VW in the rain. Eric Clapton and the like just got better and kept raising the bar.

I saw the Band's movie 'Last Walz' for about the 30th time the other day. Lots of key players in that one, including the (other) love of my life Joni Mitchell.

All a bit off topic in terms of Bob's work, but connected for sure - all part of the nets of wonder.

See ya,

Dave.

Oh yes, Joni Mitchell is a musical goddess.

There was a time when I nominated her as the only artist who had not recorded anything I didn't love. That is not quite true now, I have heard a couple of things that were fairly ordinary, but I still think she has been one of the most consistently good - and imaginative - artists of either gender over the years. Every album has been a bit different from the one before.

Ok, Nets of Wonder '66, inspired by Elusive Butterfly, and currently dealing with Goddess Joni

Like most other folks I mostly knew Joni from Big Yellow Taxi, but a friend played me Hissing of Summer Lawns in '77 and I was just blown away.

Only in the last few years did I (re) discover Circle Game, which, coincidently, was from '66 (!).

It has these lines, which I wouldn't mind having on my tombstone:

And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

There's a Youtube of her singing the song in '66 (I still can't post URLs).

There's a mystic/romantic/philosophic aspect to the writing of that time and probably no surprise that the following year became the Summer of Love, which Brian Wilson said wasn't about sexual love but a higher love. I think it's a bit like the Romantic Age of poetry with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Blake and expanded (transcendentally) with Emerson and Thoreau in prose, and also Emily Dickenson I think.

One wonders what would have happened if Vietnam hadn't messed things up.

The above clip is from a documentary and includes David Geffen (manager), Tom Rush (fellow song-writer) and Elliot Roberts (Joni's first manager). I wonder if our host Bob Lind ran into any of those folks at the time.

Hissing of Summer Lawns is brilliant, as are Court and Spark and For the Roses.

I actually thought Big Yellow Taxi was one of her more ordinary songs, not bad but just a bit of fun. Wasn't it on the same album (Ladies of the Canyon) as The Circle Game?

If I remember correctly, the latter song was covered by Buffy Saint Marie, and I didn't learn until a long time later that it had been written by Joni.

One last bit about Joni Mitchell.......have all you Joni fans heard the Hissing Of Summer Lawns demos that have recently surfaced? There's also one for Dreamland. Really interesting to hear her early takes on these songs.

_________________
....I went to the river and I stood on the shore. I stood in the twilight of the life I had before....

No I haven't. That would be interesting, but I would probably prefer to hear new material. I've been meaning to check out her recent album Shine, but I haven't got around to it because I have been totally preoccupied with seeking out material from a band who are apparently not new, but new to me, called Porcupine Tree.

There is still great music being made out there today, it's just a matter of finding it!

Agreed...there is some great music today...

..and not necessarily in the Lind vein...

...I am blessed in that I have kids in early 20's & late teens who introduce (assail?) me to new music all the time...

...I can appreciate The Eels, etc, and mix the kids' stuff with mine - old and new...

Hi again to the Bob Lind gang,

Hope everyone's well and 2009 has started off a bit better than 2008.

I suppose I ought to do the right thing and complete that list I provided in the first post (ahem, yes I know it's been a year already) :-)

Just came across the document I used for the list of '66 songs - it had a second page. That's why I only got down to the S's.

So here are the other songs on the list:

Sugar Town - Nancy Sinatra
Summer in the City - The Lovin' Spoonful
Sunny - Bobby Hebb
Sunshine Superman - Donovan
Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
Tar and Cement - Verdelle Smith
The Cheater - Bob Kuban & The In-Men
The Joker Went Wild - Brian Hyland
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers
These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
We Can Work It Out - The Beatles
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted? - Jimmy Ruffin
Winchester Cathedral - The New Vaudeville Band
With A Girl Like You - The Troggs
Woman - Peter & Gordon
Words of Love - The Mamas & The Papas
Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
Yellow Submarine - The Beatles
You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
You Keep Me Hangin' On - The Supremes

I think it just adds to Bob's achievement!

Regards,
Dave

P.S. Hey Bob, I would have enjoyed hearing a duet of you and Verdelle Smith...Tar and Cement is another one of those especially memorable songs...

(Hope Bob doesn't mind me horning in on this post)...

Hey Dave:-

Yeah, love "Tar and Cement" also...but it made me curious that round about the same time, we had "Concrete and Clay", by Unit 4 Plus 2...?

Coincidence, I suppose...

_________________
"Some may call it wanderlust, some may call it crazy.
I don't call it anything - I Just Let It Take Me."