Heaven and Hell ~ Gombak Hillbillies video

Can we call this ragtime? It sounds like it. From what I read (on Wikipedia), one of the characteristics of ragtime is that it has a harmonic progression. I don't really know what that means. I think it implies a progression that is smooth in its transitions, with a melody line that moves seamlessly from chord to chord. The progression of chords from major to major 7th, and then to 7th and to suspended 7th, along with the bouncy waltz-time rhythm, makes the song sound ragtime to me. Or maybe I think of it as ragtime only because of this version recorded by Waylon Jennings in the Wanted! The Outlaws album, which was the first recorded version I heard. The instrumentation in the break between the first and second verse sounds like ragtime music. 

I think even Willie intended for it to be ragtime, especially when you hear his original version, which features ragtime-style piano fills.

Whether it's ragtime or rap, I liked this song the first time I heard it. That was when my father performed it during some company dinner. I remember that occasion for being embarrassed for my father because nobody seemed to pay attention to his singing and picking. They were all busy being gluttons at the buffet table filling their plates ... like swine of whom pearls were cast. I thought he sounded really good. I was twelve.

My father taught me the neat little intro run for this song. I think it's one of the best sounding things I've ever played on the guitar (0.07 - 0.14). And it feels very natural for your fingers too, the way it just goes up the fretboard. I had to think about how to play and arrange the solo (1.00 - 1.38). I decided to go with something very loose in the beginning and gradually got a beat going for the second phase of it (1.19). And on that note, over the years I have found that it is easier to arrange a guitar solo piece in waltz time, than it is in standard time. Often in waltz time, a note that is meant to be part of the melody can also doubly act as a rhythm marker.  

Generally, I was, and still am happy with this upload. A YouTube friend of mine Tom Smith, who is an expert on Appalachian mountain music, has a wonderful banjo version, which he says is inspired by mine. I had never imagined that the song could be given the rough mountaineer treatment, until I heard Tom's brilliant work on this. 

Apart from Waylon and Willie, I don't know think any other famous artist has covered this song. That's quite shocking, don't you think. It's such a beautiful little ballad. I love the song so much that I performed it during my wedding. That video is also somewhere on YouTube, but I'm not going to share it here. It was quite a bad performance and the sound system really sucked that day.

Ring of Fire ~ Gombak Hillbillies video

Many of my friends like this upload and I do too, even tho it was not a polished performance. Like somebody on YouTube pointed out, a lot of it is out of tune: the harp was damaged and out of tune, the guitars were not tuned to each other, and my singing, when I go "burnnnnn ...", is out of tune, I end up singing the same note as my siblings when I should be sustaining mine. 

After many years of trying to sing the song on my own and struggling with it, I got the idea that it would be better for three voices to sing the DOWN DOWN DOWN and BURN BURN BURN parts where one voice comes after the other, followed by another. I am surprised that the Carter Sisters never recorded the song this way*. The three note melody line seems perfect for that kind of vocal arrangement. And when I think of the possibilities for this song, I like to imagine what Jazz vocal groups like the Andrews Sisters or Dining Sisters could have come up with for this song, had they recorded it. 

We actually did a few takes after this, but I decided to stick with the first one, because the ones after were not much better anyway. 

Ring of Fire sounds like it was written exactly for Johnny Cash to sing. But if you ever heard co-writer Merle Kilgore sing, he sounds a lot like Johnny Cash himself. The song was first recorded by Anita Carter, and in that record you don't hear the mariachi-style horn riff in Johnny's version. I can't imagine the song without that riff. It's part of the identity of the song. But having said that, British Rock group The Animals recorded a very nice Hard Rock version without that riff, and it works too, replacing it with a Western-style vocal chorus.

But my favourite version is the one by genius banjoist Earl Scruggs and actor-musician Billy Bob Thornton. Billy Bob's singing is fine, but Earl's picking really makes that riff come alive. Makes me feel like shuckin' corn man, whatever that means! 

* Prior to writing this, I had never heard of this version by the Carter Sisters and Mama Maybelle. What can you say, it's just beautiful. 

I know the song has quite recently become popular again, thanks to Adam Lambert of American Idol. 

And I only added that last sentence with the hope of more hits for this blog. Sorry guys. :)  

Flaming Star ~ Gombak Hillbillies video

This was the first recording that me and my brother made and uploaded on YouTube back in early 2008. The video quality is really bad, but the sound's all right. I was really happy with bro's guitar work on this one. After our Made in Japan video, it is the video with the highest view count. And strangely, quite popular with viewers in Germany. Maybe that's because there are many Elvis movie fans there. 

The song is from an Elvis movie of the same name. I've never got the chance to watch the movie, but I'm guessing that it is one of his better ones. I really like the song. I have a thing for songs about death, or dying. The song's lyric and melody come together in a peaceful, melancholic way to me. I was hoping to capture that feeling in our recording. I think my brother managed that with his brilliant fills and solo. That boy was inspired that day! 

What genre is this? Let's call it Western. You can imagine Frankie Laine, or Gene Pitney recording this song. But as far as I know, that is, as far as my search on YouTube goes, no other artist/star has covered this song.

Elvis's singing on this one is, well, pure Elvis. It was recorded when he was on top of his game in the early 60s. If you're an Elvis fan, then you'll know what I mean when I say that I love the part when Elvis goes ... "oh over his shoulder" at 0:12 (video below). It does not get more Elvis than that!