Reno Bo, of the Mooney Suzuki, has done a mixtape for us! He choose theTop 10 Songs It’s OK For a Cowboy to Cry To and lordy, did he choose the perfect songs. From Eric Clapton, George Harrison and the Band to the relatively unknown (but inspiring) Pete Ham, this really might be the perfect mix! I know that I’ve personally cried to a couple of these songs before. “Into My Arms”, anyone? Reno will cruise through LA later this month for a show at the Roxy where he will both open for and play with the Mooney Suzuki. The show, on March 22, will probably sell out so I would get your tickets now! For a more intimate evening with Reno, he will also be playing the following night at Spaceland. Check out Reno’s myspace page to hear his brilliant song (which you can download for free), ‘Baby You’re Not Feeling Me Tonight,’ which would actually fit perfectly on this mixtape. Get out your Kleenex boxes boys and girls. This one’s a heartbreaker. 

 

Reno Bo’s Top 10 Songs It’s OK For A Cowboy to Cry To:

I’ve never seen a western where the cowboy cries. My rule is if a cowboy doesn’t cry, I can’t either. But hey. I guess the best crying is always done off screen. I’d be willing to lay down some significant bread on a bet that Gary Cooper would well up a bit after hearing these babies:

1. “BELL BOTTOM BLUES” – DEREK AND THE DOMINOS
This entire album (Layla and Assorted Love Songs) should be on this list. But this one made the top ten simply because of the guitar solo: Clapton is so broken up, that he can’t even manage to finish playing it. Then there’s the agonizing lyric he screams in the chorus: “Do you wanna see me crawl across the floor to you?” A rhetorical question I imagine. But certainly one worth asking to the right person. 

2. “I’D HAVE YOU ANYTIME” – George Harrison
George starts his first solo album off with one of the greatest songs ever written. It might be as good as “Something.” His buddy Bob Dylan helped out a little bit. It’s obvious that George had been quietly working on his song craft while the Beatles were fighting amongst themselves in the late sixties. It’s not anywhere in the lyrics but while his guitar is gently weeping, George’s tune says “take that, Lennon and McCartney.” From “All Things Must Pass.”

3. “DON’T WORRY BABY” – The Beach Boys
Great story. Brian Wilson’s freaking out a little cuz he started talking shit about how cool his car is, ends up getting challenged to a car race and now isn’t quite sure he can win it. His awesome girlfriend stands by her man and tells him not to worry. Everything’s gonna be alright. Now that’s a woman. The harmonies alone will bring a tear to yer eye. This may also be the first song to have the words “make love” in it which is really just sixties PC teen code for the horizontal hula.

4. “GO NOW” – Paul McCartney and Wings
This track is off of the “Wings Across America” double live album. In what may be his coolest move since turning up to see a little band called the Quarrymen play in 1957, Paul McCartney hands the spotlight over to Denny Laine (whose former band The Moody Blues recorded a version of this in the 60’s) and he nails it. Nevermind the guitar solo. There’s also an incredible version of this by Bessie Banks on the “Girl Groups Sounds” box set. 

5. “PLEASE STAY” – The Drifters
The Drifters’ lead vocalist Rudy Lewis does a hell of a job filling the almost un-fillable shoes of his predecessor Ben E. King by singing the hell out of this Burt Bacharach/Bob Hillard number in 1961. This tune crossed Doo Wop with Soul music in the early sixties and the resultant sound can be heard influencing everyone from The Beach Boys to Dusty Springfield and the Burrito Brothers.

6. “INTO MY ARMS” -Nick Cave
Any song whose first lyric is “I don’t believe in an interventionist God” is worth continuing to listen to. By the time Nick’s finished talking to his earth angel, a classic has been born.

7. “I’VE GOTTA GET A MESSAGE TO YOU” – The Bee Gees
If you are one of those sorry-assed people who writes off the Bee Gees as wimpy disco poster boys in white satin onesies, you are missing out on something great – their sixties work. It’s some of the saddest shit I’ve ever heard. This song’s about a murderer on death row trying to get a message to his lady before heading to that big discotheque in the sky. Fucking painful.

8. “WHISPERING PINES” – The Band
Two words: Richard Manuel. He’s up there with Ray Charles in my book as far as soul singers go. I can see Richard’s ghost at the piano in the next room when I hear this song. 

9. “I’LL KISS YOU GOODNIGHT” – Pete Ham
Pete Ham is the Sriracha hot chili sauce of rock and roll: something so damn good that too few people know about. When Pete committed suicide in the mid-70’s after his perceived failure with Badfinger, the world lost one of its best songwriters. Go out and get “Golder’s Green,” the compilation of home demos this tune comes from.

10. “LOVE STORY” – Harry Nilsson
In the early seventies, Harry recorded an album of Randy Newman songs called “Nilsson Sings Newman.” Randy puts down his switchblade pen for a moment and writes with a feather for this sweet ballad of man and woman. Harry’s otherworldly vocal makes a line like “we’ll have a kid . . . or maybe we’ll rent one” sound tender. The last forty-five seconds of the song is one of the most cinematically gorgeous things I’ve ever heard. 

Public service announcement: If you listen to these songs in iTunes, be sure to turn the screen all the way off. That bright light is a distraction. Listen to these tunes in darkness. Cry away, cowboys and girls.