My soul got happy and stayed all day

I am now done with high school and it is most certainly on its way to hitting me big time. Meanwhile I have an amazing song for you all. I'm so happy I remembered to post it because it is one of my all time favorite songs.

The song is done by Paulo Nutini and I absolutely fell in love with it upon first listen. It is incredibly soulful and I love his voice. The song starts off with a vocal intro and then breaks in to an incredible reggae tune. The song goes on like this for sometime, until it breaks in to this guitar solo, the likes of which I haven't heard in a while. As far as reggae/ska tunes go, this is one of the best I have ever heard. And the guitar has rock and roll written all over it-with heavy distortion paired with the Wah-Wah pedal that is used expertly.

The song, which is called "Trouble So Hard (Natural Blues)" is derived from a Vera Hall tune. A couple of years ago I took a class called "Music of the Americas" which was basically a music appreciation class that worked through all the roots of American music. One of the people we learned about was Alan Lomax, who, through a grant from the Smithsonian, went around the country recording back country music, cataloguing the 1940's American music scene. His work was ground breaking uncovering artist like Muddy Waters. The original is a great track in its own and is one of the key songs in the American blues tradition.

All in all, these two songs combine for one of the best songs I have ever heard. I can't say enough nice things about these tracks. They are truly amazing. Till next time, enjoy!

"Trouble So Hard (Natural Blues)" covered by Paulo Nutini from These Streets (2006)

"Trouble So Hard (Natural Blues)" by Vera Hall (1940's)

-S