The latest news, analysis and opinion ✓ NEWS of the WORLD incorporates The Invisible Man XaX ✓ For back posts, see http://cyberianz.blogspot.com and https://invisiblepaul.blogspot.com ✓ The editor does not necessarily agree with opinions expressed on this site, though often he does.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The Petersens do a new take on that old Country standby, Crazy, written by Willie Nelson. That number went on to become one of Patsy Cline's biggest hits.
This is the kind of song Ellen Petersen Haygood does so well. She needs to be able to go full-throated on basic emotions, which she does with her customary panache in this attractive video.
As always, fabulous support comes from her siblings and bandmates.
Ellen gushes, "The first artist that ever had me fall in love with singing was Patsy Cline. I would take entire road trips and the only artist I would have blasting through my speakers and singing along with was Patsy. It's an honor to cover another one of her masterpieces!"
Lead vocals: Ellen Petersen Haygood
Backup vocals: Julianne, Katie and Matt Petersen
Mandolin: Julianne Petersen
Fiddle: Katie Petersen
Guitar: Matt Petersen
Bass: Karen Petersen
Dobro: Emmett Franz
Songwriter: Willie Nelson
Well, the surf IS up somewhere. So is Matt's finely modulated pitch as he and his band, the Petersens, reprise the Beach Boys number In My Room in his room, where there isn't much surf.
Unless you count the surf-like party atmosphere given off by the players.
Matt has a most excellent voice, and so it is quite interesting that he aimed a bit above his usual pitch when singing lead. No doubt he wanted to do the Beach Boys justice. He has, and he and his bandmates have put together a polished Bluegrass fusion gem. Bravo.
As is so often true of this band, the impact of the audio and the visuals together is very, very pleasing.
It appears that the set is Matt's old room in his parents' house, rather than at his current residence. One clue is that mandolinist Julianne is wearing slippers. She was still living at home when the video was shot, we're led to assume.
The video outro, when the credits roll, is fun, as the adult kids act like the little kids who once all lived together in that house in the live entertainment mecca of Branson, Mo.
You'll notice that in the video, Ellen (married to musician Mike Haygood) is still very pregnant, meaning the video was shot before Oct. 12, when she gave birth to a baby girl.
Another observation: Matt has since lost the stash.
Julianne, with the expert backup of her highly polished Bluegrass string band, pleases mightily with the lead vocals in a new video covering that old soft rock standby, Our House, by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young.
We can be nearly certain that Julz chose this old 1970 number, showing that she makes a strong contribution to her band, the Petersens.
Of the whimsical footage at the end, Ellen (probably) writes, "Don't try and analyze the outro. It truly was spontaneous and there was no thought behind it haha. Just take it for what it is and maybe someday Katie will find what she is looking for..."
Well, playing Dr. Freud anyway, note that Mom is reading a bit about some -- presumably older -- guy thinking he rates a young woman. Along with that is Katie supposedly looking for something that isn't there -- which we can interpret as herself. I.e., she is not available.
Ha ha.
As Dr. Freud might put it, "Truly spontaneous is not truly spontaneous."
You can poke around their sites and find the running joke about Katie fleeing the UPS driver whom she accidentally waved at.
But of course the more important point is that the little cabin in some Ozarks park is full of familial love. It's a real house of love, that is.
UPDATE:
Oh gosh! Their most recent video nixes off their usual bit of whimsical nonsense for the outro credit roll. They shouldn't take whimsy in reviews so seriously!
But I guess whimsy can backfire. Poor Julianne evidently had to cut off an outro with a wisecrack about her Beatles "co-writers" after being besieged by humorless nim-nods.
From Wikipedia, we learn:
Our House was written by the British musician Graham Nash and recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their album Déjà Vu (1970). The single reached No. 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 20 on the Cash Box Top 100. The song, an "ode to countercultural domestic bliss," was written while Nash was living with Joni Mitchell.
Lead vocals, mandolin: Julianne Petersen
Harmony vocals: Emmett Franz, Katie Petersen, Ellen Petersen, Matt Petersen
Bass fiddle: Karen Petersen
Dobro: Emmett Franz
Guitar: Matt Petersen
Banjo: Ellen Petersen
Fiddle: Katie Petersen
Scarface Julz: Absolutely smashing!
Julianne was injured in a traffic accident some months back but bears her scar with fortitude.
Katie Petersen and her bandmates serve up a delicious new Bluegrass version of the traditional folk song Shenandoah.
She and her band, the Petersens, performed this number beautifully years ago, before the group had its own Youtube channel and before dobroist Emmett Franz joined the gang.
This version is another delight, augmented by the image of the hugely due Ellen, who has to play her banjo side-saddle. A girl, Macy Katherine, is now ensconced with Ellen and her husband Mike, who performs with another family band, the Haygoods.
Katie is in top-notch singing form here. And being fit as a fiddle, she's in top-notch form generally.
Brother Matt is the understated glue on this video, as he is in many of the band's performances. Aside from keeping everybody in key, Matt uses his guitar to craftily complement everyone else, and will never upstage anyone (except with his jokes between songs). But watch this guy. He's a true-blue flat-picker. And when he sings lead, what comes out can only be called art.
Of course, the masses will dig Emmett's dobro bridge/break. He's definitely an income-generator.
Mandolinist Julianne is a lot like Matt. She gives understated but steady support on backup, deftly complementing her clan. But when she's singing lead, she's outta sight, man!
Bassist Mom (Karen) is a highly trained musician, who has steadily improved her playing during her run as group bassist. Everyone counts on her to keep the time. No drum to hold the beat.
This is a pure string band; no snare drum allowed! And even tho Matt's idol Merle Haggard played an electric guitar, no ax will be seen here! These string purists are a bunch of hypocrites: A resonator guitar, or dobro, does almost the same thing as an electric guitar. Both amplify the sound -- one with a resonator and the other with an electric amp, and both produce a variety of sharp, twangy tones.
But then again, the fans are often purists. So whaddayagonnado?
I must say I was both amused and bemused by Chronically Online Man Discovers His Salvific Vision of Beatrice, which is one of the songs Julianne Petersen sings in her university Capstone Concert.
Amused because what guy wouldn't look at the beautiful and good-natured Julianne without seeing a Beatrice? Bemused because I wonder… no, never mind…
One of the nuggets in this little treasure is her duet with her sister Katie on a song they co-wrote: Silly Girls.
As an English literature student, Julianne's purpose was to write poetry which she then converted into song. But it's not just any poetry. She's not being a mere lyricist. She's writing true poetry (no doubt that's why she admires Bob Dylan). The result is a fine wine with an excellent bouquet. A very fragrant performance indeed.
This material has little in common with the styles she exhibits in her family Bluegrass band, the Petersens. Nor is it in the vein of typical girl pop. It's something special to which people with refined tastes are likely to relate.
And then Julianne, being Julianne, drops a bomb on everyone near the concert's close when she reports -- without elaboration -- that a few months previously she'd been hit by a truck. She looks none the worse for wear, thank God. Well anyway, the brush with death inspired a bit more music and poetry in What a Lovely End, What a Lovely Life. She still bears a scar from that scrape, which is why I've dubbed her Scarface the Beautiful. (You'll notice that in the concert she's careful to limit views of that side of her face, but later she became very self-confident about letting the public see it.)
Scarface the Beautiful
Google AI squib on Dante's Beatrice
Beatrice was the fiancee of Dante Alighieri. In The Inferno, Beatrice is Dante's deceased lover. She has a relatively small role in the book, but she plays a much bigger part in the two subsequent books of The Divine Comedy.
Beatrice's primary function in The Inferno is to intervene on Dante's behalf by sending Virgil to guide him. Beatrice is also a mirror upon which divine love is reflected and serves as the pilgrim's bridge to salvation.
Beatrice was described as a "pure" soul worthy of heaven. After losing a bargain with Lucifer, she was forced to accompany him to hell to become his bride. Her capture was the catalyst for Dante's journey through the Inferno and the redemption of his soul.
Beatrice was the daughter of Folco Portinari, a Florentine banker. Dante fell in love with Beatrice when he first saw her at the age of nine. They had a second encounter near the Arno River in Florence when both were in their late teens. Dante did not see her again until exactly nine years later in 1283. Tho the two barely spoke during this second encounter, Dante's love for her grew stronger. Beatrice died at the young age of twenty-four and Dante fell into a deep sadness. Dante would dedicate much of his early poetry, written in the vernacular dialect of the streets of Florence, to Beatrice.
In accord with the vagaries of search engine algorithms, News of the World is republishing a number of items on the Petersens, a family Bluegrass band popular worldwide.
Emmett Franz makes a surprise quantum leap as a musician with his latest composition, Wrong Side of Tomorrow.
Even if you've never suffered from addiction or alcoholism, surely you know someone who does. Emmett's lyrics do just what lyrics should do: aim for the heart.
His bandmates in the Petersens do a tremendously polished job supporting his hillbilly vocals, at which he excels.
This particular number works well as Bluegrass, but other musicians may easily find that it also makes good Rock, Blues or Pop.
As far as I know, his song is not autobiographical, but nevertheless he his has divined how to hit a core. This song shows a radical departure from his previous work.
I am really curious as to how that happened. In part, I suggest, he had to walk away from his dobro for a bit. His mastery of that instrument may have been in the way of this new development in creativity, tho in the video he still wields it with his usual expertise.
Hopefully he'll fill us in sometime on the source of his inspiration, tho I'll bet some of it has to do with the approach of middle age as he enters his upper thirties (about 37).
One minor quibble: The term "five-step plan" doesn't resonate. The term "12-step program" is widely accepted, tho "12-step plan" would also work.
From left, Matt Petersen, guitar; Julianne Petersen, mandolin; Emmett Franz, lead vocal and dobro; Ellen Petersen, banjo; Karen Petersen, bass fiddle; and Katie Petersen, five-string fiddle.
Wrong Side of Tomorrow
Wakin' up on a concrete slab
On the other side of the railroad tracks
A puddle of shame poolin' around my head
My good sense upped and left me for dead
I wanna quit, but then again I don't
Say I'll do better, but I know I won't
Keep thinkin' one day I will change my ways
But it's always too little, too late
The wrong side of tomorrow
A day late and a dollar short
Just how low do I have to go
Before I finally change my course?
I say I need just one more chance
And a five-step plan to follow
But here I am again
On the wrong side of tomorrow
A year ago I had a woman's love
A warm soft bed and a roof above
Until that day when it all went south
She came home and, well, she threw me out
She said "Hon, I ain't letting you in
Till you sober up an' you try again"
Don't sound that hard, till you're knee-deep in it
But I can do it, if she give me a minute
The wrong side of tomorrow
A day late and a dollar short
Just how low do I have to go
Before I finally change my course?
I say I need just one more chance
And a five-step plan to follow
But here I am again
On the wrong side of tomorrow
Time has never been on my side
The more I buy, the more it flies
The wrong side of tomorrow
A day late and a dollar short
Just how low do I have to go
Before I finally change my course?
I say I need just one more chance
And a five-step plan to follow
But here I am again
On the wrong side of tomorrow
The wrong side of tomorrow [x2]
Songwriter: Emmett Franz
Katie Petersen shoots for the stars with this dazzling album
Katie is singing America's real song: Love stinks, but we gotta have it!
Millions can identify with her longing for true love and her disappointment with relationships, as expressed in the songs she wrote for her new album, I Wrote You a Song.
This album is a real class act. It's an amazing blend of naughty and nice, disappointment and hope, slick schtick and true art, Girl Pop and serious poetry. Musically it's actually pretty wild.
It's definitely not Bluegrass -- tho she does slip in a whiff of her refined Bluegrass fiddle somewhere, just to add a dash of spice to this delicious brew.
Every one of these polished cuts has something strong to recommend it. As I've said many times previously about Katie's work, you hear her deeper on every rehearing.
Katie's band, the Petersens, has showcased one of her album's songs, Sherwood, in a Blegrass version.
In fact, I suggest an inexpensive three-CD gift idea (you'll have to buy each CD separately):
At Petersen Band merch you can purchase hard copies, or go to the streaming platforms for electronic copies.
Katie's new album
Julianne's new album
Any Petersens album
Sherwood Will you be my Robin Hood?
Rescue me from all these lies?
Sherwood is a number with a real Pop pull. Women everywhere wish they could have Sir Galahad -- or Robin Hood -- rescue them from a love-starved existence and bring them into some Utopia where Love is Supreme.
Katie lays this one down with high craft and high appeal.
Waiting for You to Grow Up
Men! They're really just boys! Sounds like a bit of impatience creeping in. How long can we go on like this?! Musically really sprightly.
Bye, Bye Baby Do you want to say I do?
Well, I don't, not to you.
This one is another tasty Popsicle. Sort of a meld of cotton candy and girl angst. Yeah, and it's got a good beat, and you can dance to it. Wildly fun.
A Tisket, a Tasket My heart was full of loving hopes, but one by one your sorry notes
have started to affect my basket weaving. So now I'm leaving.
The trouble with trying to say something meaningful about some of these songs is that the meaning lies in the lyrics, music and performance.
Airplane Mode Give me a signal you miss me a little
and I'll hop on the quickest flight
This very positive song -- in the spirit of Get Me a Ticket for an Airplane -- hides that one disconcerting point in the middle of the song. I'm coming home now!!! (well, maybe, maybe not).
But, this is a real GIRL ALBUM, so get used to it, man. Musically, as I said, it is a crazy blend of working girl angst, poetic art and teeny bopper bop. But the amazing thing is, somehow, IT WORKS.
What'll I Do? I want to learn how to fly
But you see this rope I’ve tied?
Every time I lift my wings into the wind
I hear uncertainty reply
What if he doesn’t love me, what’ll I do?
Katie should be exceptionally pleased with this very fine piece. A truly touching poem about a tender girl who fears taking the plunge into love -- where, after all, it's easy to get badly burned. Yet she ends on a positive note, perched on that branch, ready to let go and let...
A beautiful song, musically it is incomparable.
Faux Fir And darling you don't love me
But I'd rather face the truth
than spend another year of make-believe with you
You're a real gym-bo, with nowhere to go, is the lament. No one likes fake news, or fake love either. You're all show, but no glow. This is a nice bouncy number.
I'd Call Home The kind of love that seeks your best no matter how far off you roam
If I were you then I’d call home
This is a lament about a bust-up for which she blames herself. I suppose she's pleading, Call me, Honey... please. It's another one of Katie's deep and refined pieces.
Farewell Waltz
Note the title of this moody instrumental.
The lonely hearts theme is big in the music industry, of course, and Katie has hit the bullseye with I Wrote You a Song.
