The Most Awesomest Song of the Day: “Water Rising” by The Joedai Warriors!!!

I have a feature to recognize a slice of good music: The Most Awesomest Song of the Day! 

Here’s a link to the complete list: https://philmaq.com/most-awesomest-songs/

I want to emphasize mostly, relatively newer music, just like on my weekly “Theme Attic” show, Wednesdays, from 1PM-4PM ET!

The show can be heard on WHFR 89.3 FM in the Dearborn-Detroit area of Michigan, or it can be streamed with this link: https://www.whfr.fm/streamer/!

If you’d like to know what I think are even better than the awesome songs, have a look at “The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded”:https://philmaq.com/the-greatest-songs-ever-recorded/! Occasionally, an “awesome song” crosses over to become a “Greatest Song!”

But I can promise this: I will not force my selections. If something doesn’t hit me, I won’t post one.

Everything I do has always been about shining a spotlight on the artist and their music.

Now I will have the potential to shine 365 more spotlights if I want to!

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Foreword:

I posted this one a year ago.

I was inspired by “Water Rising” bu The Joedai Warriors to explain what I thought it was about and what may have been the genesis of the inspiration.

I was totaly wrong!

But music works like that. My interpretation works in “my world.”

It turns out that there was a painting consisting of a flat boat (pirogue?) on some water that triggered the music.

A lot of singer/songwriters sometimes use key words to focus their attention to lassso a muse to formulate a new song.

Joe Peters also does it with paintings.

It just happens to be another weapon in his writing quiver.

The only thing that’s changed between last year and today is that now when I hear the song, a mental image of that exact painting also comes to mind.

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Multiple Philby Award winners, The Joedai Warriors, is a loose association of superbly talented musicians that Indiana (now California) Singer/Songwriter Joe Peters surrounds himself with, depending on the circumstances.

You can also find them as Joe Peters and Friends.

I have six (6?!) albums plus a single by The Joedai Warriors on my mp3 player, which is the key to landing on my show, weekly lists, and eventually my year end Philby lists.

On the verge of releasing a new double album, “Collaboration” (It turns out more artists than Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift were busy during the pandemic!), I decided to focus on a song, “Water Rising,” from Joe‘s Philby winning, “So It Goes” album.

The song was written after witnessing devastating hurricanes, Florence and Michael.

It was one of the first songs I heard by Joe, and it has stuck with me, mainly because of  what I incorrectly thought, was a trumpet solo.

It turns out it’s actually a “flugelhorn” played by Chase Cotten, who also co-wrote “Water Rising.”

What’s a flugelhorn you ask, and what is the difference between it and a trumpet?

Gotcha covered!

I’m not an expert, but the flugelhorn’s sound is fatter and softer than a trumpet. It’s about halway between a trumpet and a French horn.

A flugelhorn?

The first things that came to mind were Chuck Mangione, perhaps its best known player, and the liner notes of Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ first album “Child Is Father to the Man.” 

I vaguely remembered that there was a flugelhorn solo on their version of Harry Nilsson’s “Without Her.” It was played by jazz great Randy Brecker.

I’m sure I’ve heard it more often than that, but I’ll post those examples after “Water Rising.”

While I’m not really a “horn” person, Chase Cotten’s flugelhorn offers a brighter, pseudo classical contrast to the quieter harmonies and melody of “Water Rising.”

And although the inspiration for the song came from nature’s destruction, I also know that Joe Peters is still a practicing hippie, and has an understanding and respect for different cultures both current and ancient.

Two things that can’t be stopped that I’ve learned in my own life–and sometimes at great expense, are time and water.

I see “Water Rising” as a mystical journey where those two come together.

Water fluctuates to different levels and can move things far heavier than it should be able to.

You know, in its simplest form it’s really just little drops of h2o.

Sometimes water can be used as a musical or spiritual metaphor.

There are plenty of cultures that believe that the living has to cross a river to reach the hereafter.

Some of them even have burials that take place on rivers.

On “Water Rising,” I feel that journey is exemplified by the closing, faster paced instrumental section.

That’s my interpretation, but the song is strong enough for anyone else to take the journey and come to their own clonclusions.

Or just enjoy it for the work of art that it is!

The Most Awesomest Song of the Day is “Water Rising” by The Joedai Warriors!!!

Here’s Chuck Mangione’s big hit, “Feels So Good.” You can see him holding his flugelhorn.

And “Without Her” by Blood, Sweat, and Tears:

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I have plenty of other musical areas to explore:

Here’s a link for my weekly list of Fave Songs:

https://philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-songs/

Here’s a link for my weekly Fave Album lists:
philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-albums

My somewhat unusual Hall of Fame can be explored here: https://philmaq.com/hall-of-fame/!

Lastly, but most importantly, is my Philby Awards link! A Philby is my annual award for outstanding musical achievement! https://philmaq.com/philbys/!

 

If you like what you see, don’t forget to spread the word by hitting the “like” button on my Facebook page, Phil Maq!

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