"Duncan and Brady" -- 3/5 Agreed, this track could've used some banjo. They went for a more natural sound on this album, and it could've really elevated this. Decent musicianship here, and Pete gives it his best vocally.
Today's song is Come and Sit Down Beside Me: The penultimate song on the album and a pretty good one. Peter's fragile voice suits a softer song like this quite well and the background harmonies work nicely. He and the band did well to expand on Lead Belly's recording. 3/5.
Come and Sit Down Beside Me - This is a lovely cover of the Lead Belly song. Peter’s vocals really work for it and the instrumentation and background vocals are wonderful. 5/5.
Come an Sit Down Beside Me This is OK and suits Pete's voice. The arrangement is good, but it could be a bit more distinctive. The backing vocals sound good but could be louder in the mix. Enjoyable. 3.3/5
I like this - the arrangement is uncluttered without being sparse - it breathes. Peter sounds really good here - his voice was made for stuff like this. And it's just got an overall nice feel - a highlight of the album. Gonna round up here... 4/5
This is a nice track. This kind of approach is what I would’ve welcomed from Peter more throughout his solo career. Low 4/5
Come an Sit Down Beside Me - 3.5/5 This WORKS for Peter's vocal range, simple and straightforward. It almost reminds me of a lullaby. So far I have enjoyed more of these tracks than what was on the previous SSB albums.
Today's song is Jean Harlow: Peter's voice, despite its imperfections, is fine here and this style of song was also a fine choice for him. He doesn't have to strain himself too much and, while there are fine lines between success and failure, he sounds fine and dandy here. The song itself is a surprisingly jaunty account of Jean Harlow's death at the age of only 26 and the lyrics aren't exactly deep or illuminating. It fits the band quite well in spite of that, and is quite a positive way to close the album. 3/5.
Jean Harlow - A surprisingly jaunty song on a sad subject matter. Peter and the band sound good and they hit the groove on it. Nick Lowe would do a similar song, Marie Provost, years later. 3/5.
Jean Harlow This is an interesting song, and Pete's voice fits the song just fine fine fine. Particularly when he gets to the 'shang-a-lang' bits. The arrangement is good with the layered guitars. 3.4/5
I’m not sure exactly why.. but this one really works for me. Sounds like a pop song but it’s grim. 4/5 A Monkees version (chip Douglas productuon) would’ve made a better single than DW Washburn… Lol
Today we will discuss the album Relax Your Mind: I enjoyed this album when it was released and it still stands up pretty well. The choice to use songs associated with Lead Belly means that it hangs together better than most of Peter's releases, and the use of the band to assist with vocals helps cover for some of Peter's deficiencies. There are also quite a few tracks that are genuinely enjoyable. It would have been stronger if they'd cut a couple of songs though - perhaps Black Betty and Goodnight Irene - and listening to Peter singing most of the 14 songs is not something that I can do on a regular basis. 3/5.
I really appreciate that this thread introduced me to this album. The majority of it is enjoyable to my ears and I wish Peter had made more albums in this vein in his career. For me, Peter was best when he leaned into his folk. I also think having a theme… Leadbelly… helped keep the focus, as was said above. 4/5
I think this is probably Peter's most fully realized album. More acoustic/less generic bar rock is definitely the way to go. And it's thematically coherent, as well. I can't say I love it but I definitely like it a lot and while I'm glad Peter got here at the end, I wish he did a lot more stuff in this style. 4/5
Relax Your Mind is 3/5 I actually like this album better after hearing it all like this one by one over several days. The first time I heard some of it when it came out it didn’t really register for me. Not to recap the songs but I think Black Betty is a good track unlike popular opinion here, but do agree that they should have tried a different approach on Goodnight Irene.
Was finally able to listen to the last few and my assessment would be along the lines as most others that this is enjoyable and overall pretty even without too many bad tracks. I would go with a 3 as well. Getting in a lot of Tork on the new Monkees channel too. At this moment they are cranking out Little Red Rider as it appears they are playing DSN in its entirety. And soon we will all be sharing our thoughts on that release, which may even be better than I first thought and my first thought was it was awesome.
Relax Your Mind (Album) - This is perhaps Shoe Suede Blues best album. Interpreting Lead Belly's songs was a good project for Peter and the band, joined by his brother Nick, and for the most part they did an excellent job throughout the album. On many of the tracks Peter and SSB really hit the groove. What gives this album an aura of poignancy is that it is Peter Tork's last one as a solo artist. I know he had hoped to do some more recordings and perhaps do some online live shows. Sadly, the cancer prevented him from pursuing these projects. Even recording Angels We Have Heard On High for The Monkees Christmas Party album was a major effort for him, and apparently, it's his very last recorded song, Peter's final gift to the fans. I'm really glad that Peter got to do this album with Shoe Suede Blues, a project he obviously loved and had a feel for. As his final recorded statement as a solo artist, I will definitely treasure it. 5/5.
