A Bit More Of Music
One of my favorite artists and, I'm proud to say, a friend, Mike Cross plays a song called "And the Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'" by Australian folk artist Eric Bogle. Unfortunately Mike has never recorded it. It is a pretty strong anti-war statement based around the horror that the Aussie troops went through at Battle of Gallipoli. I'm not particularly enamored of the message but the song is superb. It has enough emotional power to bring tears to my eyes. Unfortunately I don't think Eric Bogle's version (link goes to an mp3) is as good as Mike's. Yet Mike told me that he feels it's been recorded enough that he had no interest in doing so. Which is a pity.
I was casting about to add it to my iTunes but I don't care for the spare roughness of Bogle's voice. The Wikipedia page says that a version by The Pogues is well-known but my listening to a sample on Amazon is enough to tell me that Bogle's is better. All in all, Mike has a better voice, just dead-on perfect phrasing and superb guitar-playing. I do wish he'd reconsider recording it.
UPDATE: I figured I'd check Mike show calendar and he's playing in Sykeville, MD this Thursday! As close as he gets to my abode. I'll be calling for a ticket tomorrow.