Musically Invigorated

Let me start off by saying that I was recently musically invigorated. I had the opportunity to see Jamie Cullum's concert on DVD, "Live at Blenheim Palace." I was reminded of why I consider him as one of my all-time-favorite musicians. He was a spectacular showman, a little OA sometimes, but spectacular nonetheless. He is a master at the piano and has a voice that is at once both cool and raw. At one point in the concert, he used his Yamaha grand piano as a percussion instrument, like bonggos, only it was made of shiny, expensive black wood and strings. The percussion routine was used as an intro to one of my favorite songs of his, "Next Year, Baby." It was also in this concert that I was introduced to a song that I have heard often before but never paid attention to: the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows." I did a bit of research on this song (by reading this) and I find the background story of its origins fascinating. Although it is a love song, what made the song special is that it reminded me of home and how much I miss it.

Here's a video of Jamie Cullum singing his version of "God Only Knows." This was arranged for the string quartet by his bass player-slash-band leader, Jeff Gascoyne. Enjoy!