A Devilish Playlist For Halloween And Bonfire Night

Introduction

This week we have Halloween on Tuesday and Bonfire Night on Sunday. I always think the Devil is given a bad rap. Think about it, in the Bible God is the one who punishes everyone and forces them to do terrible things, including the genocide caused by the flood. He cast out Adam and Eve because they tried to find things out, turned Lot's wife into salt, told Abraham to kill his son, and the list goes on.

Anyway, the Devil has all the best tunes, so they say, and we can drag the celebration of Guy Fawkes night as well, and how we need someone like that now in the United Kingdom.

The Songs

PJ Harvey - "The Devil" from "White Chalk"

Polly Jean taught herself piano before creating this album. This is a live take of the song and is quite haunting and wonderful, and is on my player fairly often.

Girlschool - "Race With The Devil"

This is a brilliant cover of the Gun original. Jeff Beck was called a misogynist for saying he couldn't believe that a girl was playing that guitar, although it was at least a backhanded compliment because the guitar work here is second to none.

Elvis Presley - "(You're The) Devil In Disguise"

A perfect slice of realized corruption from The King. I can't really say much about this, but I do like it a lot.

The Fright - "Bonfire Night"

Wonderful reverb guitar takes us into this gothic metal slice of rock, so we have at least one for Guy Fawkes.

BETZEFER - "The Devil Went Down To The Holy Land"

Some excellent metal, but it isn't the devil that is doing the damage there at the moment. This video is extremely entertaining and worth a watch, and it is not too loud or violent.

Primus - "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"

I found the original a bit twee and boring, but this is far more entertaining, which is why I have deemed it worthy of inclusion. No Charly Daniels here (I can't even be bothered to check whether my spelling is correct so I am being a little naughty).

Spoon (NCL) - "Li'l Devil"

Once more I manage to include myself in one of my playlists and I may be singing this again later this year. This recording is nearly twenty years old and features some amazing guitar work from Chris Ball.

Atomic Rooster - "Devil's Answer" from "Death Walks Behind You"

I loved all of Atomic Rooster's early work and Vincent Crane had previously worked with the God of Hellfire, Arthur Brown. Love the brooding organ in this and the William Blake painting of Nebuchadnezzar that they used for the album cover.

Tartini Violin Sonata in G minor ''Devil's Trill Sonata''

A sixteen-minute haunting classical piece for your enjoyment.

Tartini dreamt that he made a deal with the devil, and in exchange for his soul, the devil played the violin for him.

The piece Tartini heard in his dream was so beautiful and complex that he woke up and immediately wrote it down.

While this story may be fictional, it has added to the mystique and allure of the sonata, and it continues to fascinate audiences to this day.

Soap&Skin - "Me and the Devil"

This is a wonderfully atmospheric brooding piece both gothic and almost classical. I love this.

The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy For The Devil"

I actually prefer the Bryan Ferry version from "These Foolish Things", but this is the original and is still full of darkness and threat to close this devilish playlist.