YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 156 (Leaving You)
(Originally finalized on September 15, 2025)
Preface: So, here we are. We've reached the end of the second years' worth of themes since the resurgence of this music log (tripling the log's original length). This would be a tidy place to leave it off. But, as much as that would please me, I haven't yet exhausted my collection of prospective themes. However, we've passed the inflection point at which the ideas have begun to deplete faster than they're growing. In other words, we're approaching an ending. We're just not quite there yet.
As the remaining themes could increasingly be considered the "drips and dregs", there is an argument to be made for leaving off on a high note. But I don't see the point in leaving these last few ideas unventured, for better or worse. So I'm going to keep it going through at least one more quarter, and then I'll re-evaluate. In the meantime, this will be another "ending" you can take with a grain of salt. Consider it a companion to my Going Away theme from two quarters back.
Monday: Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You [Led Zeppelin, 1969]
Comments: Proving right from the outset that they could do to folk what they would also do to the blues - that is, turn all the dials up to eleven - this cover of a tune popularized by Joan Baez (and previously covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service) epitomizes the sonic approach that Led Zeppelin referred to as "light and shade". "You made me happy every single day. But now I've got to go away."
Tuesday: Journey - I'm Gonna Leave You [Look Into The Future, 1976]
Comments: Closing out Journey's sophomore album, this song is a world away from the thematically similar, but sappy '80s ballad I'll Be Alright Without You. There's a whole lot going on in this song, including a riff that sounds suspiciously like Kansas' hit Carry On Wayward Son (which would be released later that year).
Wednesday: Scorpions - Leave Me [Lonesome Crow, 1972]
Comments: German rockers Scorpions scored some mainstream hits in the '80s, but could be counted among those bands (like Journey!) that sounded different in their early years. With more of a progressive bent, Scorpions debuted as a family band, before Rudolf's brother Michael Schenker left to join the band UFO.
Thursday: Buffalo Springfield - Leave [Buffalo Springfield, 1966]
Comments: As a companion to the track from Buffalo Springfield's debut album that I shared for my Going Away theme, here's one about leaving. Although written by Stephen Stills (as last time) - who can be heard singing - it's Neil Young's frenetic guitar work that really stands out.
Friday: Bad Company - Leaving You [Burnin' Sky, 1977]
Comments: Neither this song from the band's fourth album, nor the song that titled my last theme, are among Bad Company's biggest and most recognizable hits. But their sound is smooth and consistent, like a mix-in that doesn't stand out, but adds body and substance to this musical cocktail. "I can't stop the tears that you cry, but I've got to say goodbye."
Saturday: Keef Hartley Band - Leavin' Trunk [Halfbreed, 1969]
Comments: Although not as successful or well-known as Cream or Fleetwood Mac, this is another band formed by a cast-off from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - in this case, drummer Keef Hartley. Here, they give the electric rock treatment to an old blues by Sleepy John Estes, who inspired many blues-based rock bands of the era.
Sunday: Pink Floyd - Don't Leave Me Now [The Wall, 1979]
Comments: The Wall is an album that touches on some pretty dark subject matter. On paper, this song sounds horrendous - a violent abuser pleads with his lover not to leave him. But it's so ominous-sounding, and dripping with pathos, that I can't help but find it compelling.
Honorable Mention: Joe Bonamassa - Stop! [The Ballad of John Henry, 2009]
Comments: There are a lot of leaving songs out there - including at least three titled Take It Or Leave It, all by different bands - but since I'm paralleling my Going Away theme from two quarters ago, I want to share another song from Joe Bonamassa's album The Ballad of John Henry. The word "leave" isn't to be found in the title, but the song's subject matter is still related to the topic of the week. "Time after time, I've tried to walk away. But it's not that easy."