Vancouver’s David Beckingham recently sat down to draw up a list of very personal list of great Canadian songs that have played a major part in shaping him as a musician and adult. Beckingham, one of the founding members of Hey Ocean (who are currently on hiatus) is soon releasing his solo debut, Just When The Light (coming out on May 26), a record that’s every bit as personal as his Guest List playlist (see here for more about Beckingham’s personal journey). From his fumblings learning Neil Young on guitar, to stumbling across a member of Crazy Horse out in the Baja desert, Beckingham tells the tales behind these songs like the seasoned storyteller and songwriter he is.
David Beckingham’s Personal Great Canadian Playlist
Neil Young “Needle And The Damage Done”
It’s a classic. The reason this song means a lot to me is because it was one of the first songs my dad taught me on the guitar. We were living in Kenya at the time and we didn’t have electricity or a phone (let alone TV or the internet) so I didn’t have much to do but learn to play the old Yamaha FG-360 acoustic my dad bought in the 70s (which was later stolen on tour with Hey Ocean in Toronto – something I’ve never fully gotten over). I had never actually heard the Neil Young version and didn’t until my late teens but I worked on those hammer-ons for hours on end.
Miss Emily Brown “The Diary Of Amy Briggs”
Emily is a truly beautiful singer and songwriter. She’s also an old friend. This tune comes from her 2010 album In Technicolor which is largely based on a journal her late grandmother wrote when she was 25 working as a stenographer in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps during the second world war. I love this idea for an album. It’s a haunting look into a crazy time in world history and the songs are so good both melodically and for the images they conjure up in the listener. When I walk in to a family home and see old photos on the wall, I always get drawn into them. Looking into the eyes of people who aren’t around anymore. I don’t know why. In Technicolor feels like you’re looking through these old personal photos in an auditory way. It’s like synesthesia. Naturally I love this record and this song is one of my favourites.
Patrick Watson “Luscious Life”
This song reminds me of being on cross-country tours in my early 20s and of the excitement of doing music for a career. We felt like we were somehow cheating the system and I guess we were. My band and I had just discovered Patrick Watson and we were in love with his album Close To Paradise. The arrangements and the dreamy whimsicality of the tunes, his voice, the lyrics were all hugely inspiring for us. We listened to it forever on tour.
Danny Whitten “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”
A longer story…
Often it’s the emotional memories triggered by a song that make it special to the individual.
I was in Mexico with one of my closest friends and musical comrades Ashleigh Ball years (6 or 8 maybe) ago now. It was late December and we wanted a break from Vancouver winter to write and surf and get some sun on our pale Canadian skin. We ended up at a desolate surf camp on the Baja owned by some odd characters and on the edge of the property was this small airstream trailer. It turned out that the trailer belonged to one Robert (Bobby) Notkoff. Bobby, along with Danny Whitten, was an original member of the Rockets, the late 60s rock band who went on to become Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. (Neil is the Canadian connection to this song once removed, FYI.)
Bobby had moved to the Baja to live cheap and reflect on a long life of music, addiction, the loss of friends such as Danny Whitten. The lifestyle had obviously worn his physical body down a fair bit and he, chain-smoked and although he suffered from arthritis in his wrists and hands, he could still play beautifully.
While we were there I had a number of opportunities to play songs with him and his playing really moved me. He made that violin weep angels tears. He told me all about his life. I listened intently as he recounted playing with the LA Philharmonic at age 12, how he performed and recorded with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in his 20s and about his time in the Rockets. He grew incredibly sad telling me about loosing his good friend and bandmate Danny Whitten to heroin addiction. Bobby had struggled for years with heroin and alluded to the fact that he felt responsible for having introduced Danny to his first hit. Bobby struck me as someone who was trying to make peace with a life of regret and pain and it came through in his playing.
Listening to and playing with Bobby remains one of my most treasured musical experiences, perhaps even more than singing onstage with Neil Young last November which is right up there. It was the connection and the intimate insight into a life and a time in music that I revere so much. Hearing Danny Whitten sing this song for some reason brings me back to it every time. I often think about going on a road trip to find Bobby if he’s still around. The email he gave me didn’t work. I think about him all the time.
Feist “Mushaboom”
A fun one…
I have a soft spot for this tune. When I hear it I can feel the sunburn from the summer of 2004. That seems like so long ago. Really just brings me back to times my good friends and I would spend at a good friend’s cabin every summer getting drunk, building sweat lodges, falling for girls, being in the ocean. I’m a kid again when I hear this song. It’s like going through an old shoebox of pictures and all of a sudden the day is over and you’ve been sitting on the floor until your legs are numb and you’re sick with nostalgia.
James Thomas “Alibi”
James is one of my favourite people. He just happens to be one of my favourite songwriters too. He has gift with words and sometimes a single line of his poetry is enough to give me shivers. It’s with humble honesty that he writes and that’s why I find it so good. I love his melodies and the style of finger picking too. It all works so well. He has yet to be recognized as I believe he should but he keeps putting out albums of really beautiful song with minimal production. Mostly him and his guitar, one track of each. Check out some of his earlier work under the name Arn Rhys, too. “Half My Answer” is a great tune. Reminds my of Lenny Breau. It’s all good.