At this short session we had two new guys: Charlie, who learned to play in Florida, and Artie, who learned during a cruise to Hawaii. Then the regular crowd shuffled in: John D., Ken, Jen, Arlene, WendySue, Tim, Janet, Bill, Marianne, Jack, Larry and Anne. The theme was, "Anyone named Neil except Neil Diamond." (We did a Neil Diamond night awhile back.) It was mostly Neil Young and Neil Sedaka.

1. Harvest Moon, Neil Young, 1992 (Ken)

The first song turned out to be the best song of the night, well-suited for ukulele playing. The intro was D D6 and Dmaj7 repeating. You could be lazy and hold a plain D the whole time, but if you don't mind getting your pinky into the action, the Dmaj7 does sound pretty. In the verse the Em7 is much friendlier than a real Em. I always see if I could use that any time I see an Em. Sometimes you can get away with it. (I do the same for D7 E7 and B7 as a substitute for D E and B.) Then in the chorus there's an A seven suspended four. I like to write out these long chord names to show off that I know something complicated. But the A7sus4 is actually just a one-finger chord. It's an unusual sound. You can't substitute an A or A7 for it. It won't sound right. But it couldn't be easier to switch between the A7sus4 and a plain A7, and it sounds fantastic. If you dare sing as high as Neil Young does on this song, you can play these easy chords and impress your friends. You'll appear as though you really know what you're doing.

Harvest Moon, also the album title, was one of the last modern albums I own. (Somebody taped their CD onto a cassette and gave it to me.) "Modern" is defined by the Thorndike Barnhardt dictionary as "anything after 1984." There's some gorgeous stuff on it. Go out and buy it after work this Thursday. Play it a lot. I associate this with the time that the Mrs. and I were courting. We both loved it. It's a shared nostalgia for us.

2. Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Neil Sedaka, 1961 (WendySue)

We were decent on this (the first of four Sedaka songs we did) despite the occasional Fm. I can do an Fm but not easily and not quickly. I was the youngest of seven kids, and each time one of us turned 16 we played the 45.

3. Calendar Girl, Neil Sedaka, 1960 (WendySue)

It went a little better than the previous song, though we had trouble ending it.

4. Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Neil Sedaka, 1962 (WendySue)

The big big hit turns out to be partially hard due to the fast changes several times in a row. We should raise money to build a statue for Neil Sedaka, if not for his wonderful body of work, then for this one monster hit, a teenage lament for the ages.

5. Stupid Cupid, Connie Francis, 1958 (WendySue)

I never knew Sedaka wrote this. My sister Eileen dug this song and so did I. It was a childhood staple. Yet it did not go easily. It was hard to start. There were just a few fast-changing chords. We got a little better half way through. It was a noble attempt but some didn't know it. I thought it was famous, but maybe just because we had the record. Arlene desires to go on record to state that Stupid Cupid is a stupid song.

6. Heart of Gold, Neil Young,1972 (Ken)

Bill did the harmonica on this one. Kazoos were unnecessary. It's probably his most famous song, his only Number One. It's funny to think that such a giant of music had only three AM hits.

7. Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Neil Young, 1970 (Ken)

This was pretty, one of the Top 40 hits. It's from After the Gold Rush, the album with Southern Man on it. Though Southern Man was famous, it wasn't released as a single.

8. Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon, 1984 (Jen)

A little tough. We didn't know it well except for the chorus.

9. Four Strong Winds, Neil Young, 1978 (Bill)

We played along with the video and it was pretty easy.

10. Old Man, Neil Young, 1972 (Dan)

We were just so-so, though it wasn't hard. This was the last of his hits played on AM radio.

11. Helpless, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, 1970 (Dan)

At the very end of an abbreviated night, we rushed to fit this in. Ken sped us up into happy-ukey territory, and as it got ever faster, we collapsed. Perhaps a "modified happy-ukey" or"semi happy-ukey" version would have been the way to go, but those terms are hard to pin down.

Do you remember the Miller beer commercial from 40 years ago? "If you've got the time, we've got the beer. Miller tastes too good to hurry through." Helpless is a song which calls out for the lazy, repetitive strumming of D A and G. Go ahead and try it while slowly sipping a Miller High Life.

For the next time, we'll be muddling through without Ken's help on the laptop and projector. Bring in a dozen or fifteen paper copies of whatever you like. This will be an OPEN JAM.

-- Dan.