Woe - Blood Money [312]

We consider the three roles of this song - in the play, on the album, and as a piece of music in isolation - as Pete, Martin & Sam dig into the value of variation in music, the wash of emotion in Woe, and the restrained delivery of Kitty White.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Woe, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002)

Plain Gold Ring, single, Kitty White (1956)

Plain Gold Ring, Little Girl Blue, Nina Simone (1958)

Plain Gold Ring, Live Seeds, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1993)

Plain Gold Ring, Vows, Kimbra (2011)

Plain Gold Ring, If You Knew Her, Zara McFarlane (2013)

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Another Man's Vine - Blood Money [307]

Repetitions of phrase and imagery dominate this song of lust, violence and betrayal, as Miss Yankey completes her journey with Martin & Sam through Blood Money. We discover more abandonment and bitterness, as well as considering images of infidelity from various different perspectives. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Another Man's Vine, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002)

The Other Woman, Ultraviolence, Lana Del Ray (2014)

The Other Woman, Wonderful Sarah, Sarah Vaughan (1957)

The Other Woman, Nina Simone at Town Hall, Nina Simone (1959)

The Other Woman (studio outtake), Grace (Legacy Edition), Jeff Buckley (1994)

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Just The Right Bullets - The Black Rider [207]

Playwright Simon Stephens and Composer David Shrubsole join Martin and Sam to talk about the influence of Kurt Weill, the nature of musical theatre and the origins of the story at the heart of The Black Rider. Looking at Porgy and Bess and the performance of Nina Simone in terms of themes of addiction, we touch on other autobiographical elements of the play, as well as the effect of poetic vs dramatic lyric writing.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Just The Right Bullets, The Black Rider, Tom Waits (1993)

I Loves You Porgy, Little Girl Blue, Nina Simone (1958)

Just The Right Bullets at 40m31sfrom The Black Rider: The Casting of the 12 Magic Bullets (filmed at the Weiner Festwochen, via YouTube), Wilson/Burroughs/Waits (1990)

I Loves You Porgy, Porgy & Bess, Gershwin/Audra McDonald & Norm Lewis, (2012)

There's A Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York, Porgy & Bess, Gershwin/David Alan Grier (2012)

Trailer for The Threepenny Opera (adapted by Simon Stephens, MD David Shrubsole), National Theatre London (2016)

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Down, Down, Down - Swordfishtrombones [102]

Martin and Sam return for another slice of Swordfishtrombones, as Waits grabs his bible and gives it a good thump. Links to blues performers of the 20s and how seriously we should take Tom's threats of fire and brimstone all feature, plus... the return of the grand unified egg theory of musical accessibility.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Down, Down, Down, Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits (1983)

It's Nobody's Fault But Mine, It's Nobody's Fault But Mine - The Best Of, Blind Willie Johnson (1925/2010)

Nobody's Fault But Mine, Nina Simone & Piano, Nina Simone (1969)

Nobody's Fault But Mine, Presence, Led Zeppelin (1976)

The Soul Of A Man, God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson, Tom Waits/Blind Willie Johnson (2016)

John The RevelatorGod Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson, Tom Waits/Blind Willie Johnson (2016)

Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson, Rickie Lee Jones/Blind Willie Johnson (2016)

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Depot, Depot - The Heart of Saturday Night [021]

Isy Suttie joins Sam and Martin for these final tracks from The Heart of Saturday Night, stuck at the end of the line but not short on topics for discussion. Comparing Nina Simone's metaphorical End of the Line from Pastel Blues to Waits's literal Depot, and envying someone's chances to see Waits live, we enter the home straight on the second season of Song by Song.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Depot, Depot, The Heart of Saturday Night, Tom Waits (1974)

End of the Line, Pastel Blues, Nina Simone (1965)

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