Ride Captain Ride [album+2017 MikePinera ext. ending] - The Blues Image

Details

Description

Performed by The Blues Image
Original Release April 1970
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SYNOPSIS
Blues Image lead singer Mike Pinera wrote this with their keyboard player Skip Konte. Mike's wife Valerie told us: "Ride Captain is a story from his imagination. I know when he was in the studio recording that album, they needed another song and he wrote it on the spot. He came up with 73 from the keyboard having 73 keys. A lot of people say it relates to a few different stories."

The keyboard they used was a Rhodes electric piano, and this was an early use of the instrument on a popular song. A plausible, but false interpretation of the song is that it is about Sir Francis Drake's voyage on the west coast of America. Drake did sail once with 73 sailors, and he sailed in the vicinity of San Francisco. Drake's ship was considered "mysterious" because of its opulence, funded by seizures from Spanish ships.
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THE SOUNDTRACK
For any fan of 70's music, one Classic Rock track stands out.
"Ride Captain Ride' by The Blues Image is a one hit wonder who's music is timeless. The single version had a slightly truncated guitar ending, while the album gave us a few more notes. But in the end, I always felt something was missing.
I always wondered what would this track would have sounded like with a full ending?

OK, you might call this sacrilege but I endeavored; what if I combined the album version with Mike Pinera's extended guitar ending from his 2017 "Timeless" album?
OK, they don't match exactly but they're pretty close.
Have a listen and see what you think.

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YOUTUBE TRACKLIST
00:00 Ride Captain Ride (04 : 18)

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LYRICS
Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay
Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say
"We're callin' everyone to ride along to another shore
We can laugh our lives away and be free once more"

But no one heard them callin', no one came at all
Cause they were too busy watchin' those old raindrops fall
As a storm was blowin' out on the peaceful sea
Seventy-three men sailed off to history

Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip
Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship
On your way to a world that others might have missed

{Bridge}

Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay
Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say
"We're callin' everyone to ride along to another shore
We can laugh our lives away and be free once more"

But no one heard them callin', no one came at all
Cause they were too busy watchin' those old raindrops fall
As a storm was blowin' out on the peaceful sea
Seventy-three men sailed off to history