Old Man Crotchety is in a sentimental mood today. Sentimental, but not at all gloomy. Outside, it’s sunny, and the air is autumn fresh. It is a bit breezy, though. So, here’s a version of Wild Is The Wind by the wonderful blues-rock singer and guitarist, Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Wild Is The Wind was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for a 1957 film of the same name. Since then, it has been covered by many other artists. Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey and Tanita Tikaram have all given it the standard crooner treatment. There are more interesting versions by George Michael and Chrissy Hinds (with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble [sic]). And David Bowie raised the ante again with his take on Station to Station. But Joanne Shaw Taylor trumps them all.
Last year I heard something I thought I would never hear: a British white girl playing blues guitar so deep and passionately it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end!
Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, around 2002
The lyrics exude a deep, consuming passion – a passion that those early versions fail miserably to convey.
“With your kiss, my life begins”. Until then, I was an empty husk. Cold, sterile, devoid of life. But, now, for the first time, I am fully, wondrously alive.
That is not a message to be sung softly in the comfort of a cocktail lounge; it needs to be delivered by the wild, untameable wind of a soul newly awakened. And that is something that Joanne Shaw Taylor does supremely well, both as a singer and as an electric blues guitarist.
Crotchety Man 