1001 Songs Challenge #773: Remedy (1992)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

 

The Black Crowes – Remedy (1992)

 

 

We are saying goodbye to Cape Verde today, dear reader, and making our way back to the US. We head on over to Georgia where we take in a band who specialised in rock and blues. Formed in 1984 The Black Crowes have had a sporadic career with multiple hiatuses and line up changes. We join them in 1992 with their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the track – Remedy. 

In Remedy the narrator appears to be pleading with a girl to change her ways though the meaning behind the verses is not quite clear. In the opening verse we hear reference to a bird being killed on a windowsill while the second seems to suggest this girl is subservient to her mother. What the narrator ultimately hopes for is this girl will join him and embrace a remedy that he has. The group have said the remedy in question is drugs and that the song itself is about freedom, a critique of anti-drug laws the band felt were unjust and unnecessary.

I have heard of The Black Crowes but prior to this challenge they were just a familiar name. There are so many bands to sample that some slip through the net as the years go by and this was another. Remedy is a decent rock number, boasting some nice heavy guitar and the backing vocals are striking here as well, As already mentioned the group have disbanded multiple times in their career but continue to perform to this day though with the original lineup much changed as the years have passed.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)