The Sea is my Soil-What comes to mind when you listen?

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Cotton66

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This is probably my favorite Herb tune from my favorite Herb album. I'm more a fan of TJB's romantic, slower stuff. Some of his music can get a little too close to Polka for me. But, I also enjoy the more jazz and bossa stuff. Anyway, since I got the ol combination record player, cassette, radio up in the bedroom now I've been spinning some wax (I really need to invest in one o them fancy shelf systems one day). WARM has been on constant rotation, along with YE LE ME, and NANCY AND LEE (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood-check out "Some Velvet Morning). Anyway, The Sea is my Soil holds some great imagery. It really brings to my mind specific images, reflections and feelings for me. I was wondering what everyone else "sees" when they hear this song, as well as other instrumentals!? Since I posed the question I'll hold my thoughts til later!
:D
Trent
 
Pretty simple, really, due to the images on the album cover. Probably something that's stuck with me since childhood. The front cover has a reddish-orange glow, and the back cover has a beach. I see a beach at sunset...not a large beach like on the cover, but something a litte smaller, nobody else around. Or I could also picture being out in the sea itself. When I get my own boat in a few years, I'll definitely need to be sure I have the marine-grade CD player ready to go. :D (Anyone for a roving A&M Corner party/tour around the Great Lakes? :wink: )

Sergio's version of the same song (from Favorite Things doesn't sound quite the same--it's not as easygoing, a bit clunky in fact. And being in a different key takes away some of the calmness as well. (I prefer the Cmaj7 over the Amaj7.)

Another "sea" song is, not surprisingly, "Iemanja" from Tamba 4's We And The Sea...although I see an overcast, somewhat rough sea in this one. The title track, too, but on this one I picture being on some kind of boat, well underway in the middle of a voyage.

David Benoit had a couple of Brazilian-themed tracks, which featured Dori Caymmi, that also bring back some imagery of the sea. George Duke's album Brazilian Love Affair has a couple of songs that remind me of water. "Up From The Sea It Arose And Ate Rio In One Swift Bite" reminds me of someone surfing a big tidal wave into the beach. :) "Summer Breezin'" is another one (which has mostly scatted vocals), and the title track makes a lot of reference to the sea and beach as well: "In the morning, on the beach there, people gather, to greet the sunshine."

I know the sea plays a big part in Brazilian life and, especially Brazilian music. It's not only the "locals", but when someone like George Duke can pick up such a strong vibe from it, that environment in Brazil (Rio, most likely) must evoke one helluva vibe! That should be our first Corner field trip! We must visit Rio in the name of music research!

-= N =-
 
Couldn't we find that in Rio also? :wink: Field trip...we need a field trip...

Although for that imagery, I still see the original version of "Girl from Ipanema" working much better. :D

Do any of the cruise lines go to Rio? :?:

-= N =-
 
Longtime readers probably know that this is my favorite TJB song, also. Other challengers come and go, but this is the topper that always comes back.

Sometimes I picture the beach or the ocean...and sometimes I picture the recording sessions for the tune. I always wondered, how many people were involved in the song? Orchestra, choir and all.

I've wondered the same thing about Sergio's "Crystal Illusions." Did A&M have a staff orchestra?
 
I always imagined myself taking a favorite ladyfriend to my favorite secluded coves somewhere in the Pacific...the boat is a powerful yacht and we're on deck getting some sun, her in a white bikini...me looking unfortunately like Quincy...there are porpoises jumping alongside the boat. A storm is brewing on the horizon, though...and we have to outrun it...so I fire up the twin AA Top Fueler Milodon Chevy big blocks that run the thing, and we outrun the storm handily, only to have to do it all again by the end of the song. Whaddaya think? :rolleyes: or:cool:, or should I be :oops:


Dan, who really sees himself as :twisted: when this song plays....
 
Might want to rethink the topless beach plan. Went to one in Germany once, and it ain't pretty like the magazines.

"Iemanja" from Tamba 4 is so different from the version on PRIMAL ROOTS it's hard to believe it's the same song.

When I'm checking my blood pressure and want to relax -- to get an accurate reading -- I hum "Sea is my Soil" and picture the waves, the sunset and Herb riding his horse along the sand.
JB
 
LPJim said:
Might want to rethink the topless beach plan. Went to one in Germany once, and it ain't pretty like the magazines.

When my folks were in Spain a dozen years ago, they also came upon a topless beach. Like you said... :confused: I guess nobody is ashamed to show off what they got, no matter how low they sag! :wink:

Now, on the other hand, when I was on a cruise back in 1999, the Carnival ship Imagination has a "Lido Deck", with a foreboding sign on it saying "Adults Only." Being curious, my father-in-law and my dad both went up to investigate. It's a clothing-optional sunbathing deck. Sorry I missed it! (Although I did "steal away the spirits" and get a picture from across the ship of a spectator watching some crazy event at the pool, from the Lido Deck.)

I don't really equate a cruise ship with "The Sea Is My Soil", unless it's during a quiet moment. My one musical memory of the ship was the constant throb of a Jamaican band on the pool deck that, for days, seemed to play the same song non-stop.

-= N =-
...cabin fever...
 
OK, I picture myself on a beach somewhere with a lovely lovely. It's evening and the sun is setting. The sky is brilliant colors and a warm breeze is blowing and we're just sort of "exploring" each other. I imagine our touches in the plucks of the strings and the raw emotion in the swells of the orchestra when we look into each others eyes. Man, I'm probably making some people queasy. But, this is what I get when I hear this awesome tune. Of course, when it speeds up we're running on the beach. Tra la la.
 
This is a relaxing little jewel that, for me, recalls a special time called teen-years, and having a bod that wasn't ravaged as mine presently is :sad:
but maybe I'll get the ol' Subconcious to re-access the genes of that time, and rejuvinate me, but 'till then, there's a great musical soundtrack for my dubiously spent youth. Seriously, it's cool items such as "Soil", along with "Shades of Blue", and of course Herb's neat introspective version of John Lennon's "I'll Be Back" (which provides one with the opportunity to savor the loveliness of the melody) that are a treat, and while the uptempo item typify the 'Brass', it's in the slow dreamy stuff that one can have a brief excursion into La La Land. For my money, it's that version of "Shadow of Your Smile" that does it for me, along with the aforementioned "Shades...", and of course "Trolley Song", all of which leads to inevitable $60,000 Question: when the hell are the 'other' fine T.J.B. albums going to be released on c.d.? and while I'm at it, can anyone tell me how to get my Hitachi c.d.changer to eject my magazines (or cartridges), as they're stuck, and what's worse is they involve the first 6 Brass disks, and doggone it all, I wan't to use them in this comp!
Warm Wishes and thanx to anyone that can help me with my prob, so that I won't have to pay for someone to do what dorky me can't seem to figger out on his own,
Steve
 
LPJim said:
Might want to rethink the topless beach plan. Went to one in Germany once, and it ain't pretty like the magazines.

Yeah, I've heard the same about nudist resorts. It's rare when the "pretty people" show up. I've heard there are more "Roseanne's" than babes. :shock:


Capt. Bacardi
...shuddering at that thought online...
 
Cotton66 said:
OK, I picture myself on a beach somewhere with a lovely lovely. It's evening and the sun is setting.

Ummm...interesting. :wink:

I'm surprised nobody has replied with something like:

"Dude, this song reminds me of, like, the last monster truck rally I was at! Duuuude, it's a beautiful thing! Them monstah tires ripping through the mud, the roar of exhaust, and them TJB dudes is playin' in the background an', like, I got a six-pack of Miller Lite in the cooler next to me and my chick (Miss Hot Pants 1973) hangin' all over mah sorry self...man, it brings tears to my eyes!! Ridin' in on my Hog with the sun behind me, man...life's good! "

-= N =-
...visuals...
 
Rudy said:
Cotton66 said:
OK, I picture myself on a beach somewhere with a lovely lovely. It's evening and the sun is setting.

Ummm...interesting. :wink:

I'm surprised nobody has replied with something like:

"Dude, this song reminds me of, like, the last monster truck rally I was at! Duuuude, it's a beautiful thing! Them monstah tires ripping through the mud, the roar of exhaust, and them TJB dudes is playin' in the background an', like, I got a six-pack of Miller Lite in the cooler next to me and my chick (Miss Hot Pants 1973) hangin' all over mah sorry self...man, it brings tears to my eyes!! Ridin' in on my Hog with the sun behind me, man...life's good! "

-= N =-
...visuals...

Ok well, mabye if you're like most of the "dudes" round these parts!!! Dammit Rudster, I'll never listen to Sea is My Soil the same again! There goes my lovely lovely!!! :D
 
venturaguy49 <---- must have aged a few years in a few mere minutes, due to the weird freakin' mem'ries that have been invoked. My recollections began with a pleasant evening stroll along the Ventura Pier with Charro, who it seemed would coochie coo me all night long,and she was about to deliver me to pure ecstasy, but just as the moment was unfolding, the Pillsbury Doughboy caught me by surprise, and pitched me over the pier's wall, and after floundering for what seemed like hours, I clunked my head opon some seagoing craft, which turned out to be none other than the Good Ship Lollipop! Now, although I've never been to Spain, nor gotten my kicks on Route 66, I never, and I mean never could have been prepared for what would soon ocurr, for after being fished from the drink by Freight Train Joe, and escorted into Disneyland, the nightmare truly began, as the T.J.B. dudes appeared, and along with Ronald McDonald tied me to the mast, and tormented me with endless choruses of "Disco Duck" untill...well, the next thing I knew, I was awakened by the welcome sound of my alarm, and all was well, or at least when I peeked to my side, and found Lorena Bobett lying next to me
(MAJOR YIKES :!: )
conclusion?
venturaguy49 had better get into a 12-step program soon, to overcome his
life-threatening hookah-habit.
shaken, and confused, vtaguy49, assisted by the Tooth Fairy signs off with
Warm Wishes,
Steve
 
I just hope Trent had both hands on the keyboard when he was writing his impression of the piece... :D


I'm surprised no one has mentioned that American songwriter Peter Udell wrote some English lyrics for this tune back in '68 or '69, also adding the alternate title "I Remember When."

Gaily sounds the night from the street below
Music fills the air
Tenderly (s)he pleads with me not to go
Love is everywhere
Though I'll never hear those words again
I still remember when

Happy hearts, we danced 'round a carousel
Lovers in a crowd
Brightly did the Carnival cover us
Like a perfume cloud
Though I'll never feel that way again
I still remember when

[uptempo interlude -- "la la la..."]

Empty is the joy of a yesterday
Sorrow is a tear
Hopeless is the song of a yesterday
Singing in my ear
Though I'll see my love again
I still remember when

[uptempo interlude -- "la la la..."]

Herb's instro version remains my favorite--I don't really dig Sergio's recording of the song at all. It starts out okay, but it feels like the musicians are just going through the motions... not much emotion in that one.

- William
 
William said:
I just hope Trent had both hands on the keyboard when he was writing his impression of the piece... :D

I certainly did! :wink:

William said:
Herb's instro version remains my favorite--I don't really dig Sergio's recording of the song at all. It starts out okay, but it feels like the musicians are just going through the motions... not much emotion in that one.

I agree--not to mention the overbearing strings in a few places. While it's not a bad cover (I still like it, emotion or not), what I dislike about it are the hand claps in the uptempo section. It just sounds clumsy and a bit awkward, like they didn't know what to put there.

-= N =-
 
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