Mar 092007
Few bands have a third singer-songwriter who gets to contribute a song to a band’s record. Fewer yet make strong contributions. At this risk of setting the stage for a quick 2-person battle between Ron Wood‘s fantastic contribution to The Faces, “Ooh La La” (see cool, live Ronnie Lane version above) and any of a handful of George Harrison‘s contributions to The Beatles, I am calling on your vast knowledge of obscure rock ephemera to identify The Greatest Performance by a Band’s Third-String Songwriter.
For starters, there’s only one rule I can think of: XTC contributions by Colin Moulding, who somehow occupied the Harrison role in 2-songwriter band, will not be accepted.
If I was smart enough to figure out which Teenage Fanclub guy wrote which song, I’d nominate one of them. That’s off the top of my head…
I have a feeling that one of the guys from Sloan will get a nomination and that the annoying thread from a few weeks ago will resume.
How about Ginger Baker?
I’m having real difficulty figuring out the order of songwriters for Teenage Fanclub. I say Norman Blake is first, then Gerald Love, then Raymond McGinley. But I think the only thing putting Love in second place is that he wrote “Ain’t That Enough.”
I’m the token Canadian who’s seen Sloan since the period of the Halifax Pop Explosion (I still have friends from that scene) and have interviewed them too, aannd I’ll be going to see them play here – getting tickets this week!:) even though I’ve already seen them at least two or three times for each tour. They’re just a fun band. And yeah! Good choice on that one! Each person – including the drummer – if anyone is more apt for a (new)Beatles comparison, it’s them.
For the Fannies, Grand Prix is probably the best group effort, although Blake and Love write the most fan-worthy songs, discography-wise.
Another nomination: Big Star (chilton/bell/hummel/stephens), maybe not so much for Stephens, but he did have a bit to offer. And a bit with The Pixies Francis/Deal/Lovering thing …
Yeah, I’m stumped at knowing the hierarchy, if any, of Teenage Fanclub’s writers. There’s one person left in Mom’s Basement who would know, but he refuses to come up and play here.
Sloan is also tough to figure. Is the slightly beefy, dark-haired guitarist the #3 songwriter or the little Al Jardine-looking guy? Or is it the drummer? I think of the drummer as #2, the beefy guy (who may now be mostly gray, if memory serves) as #3, and Al Jardine as #4. If that’s the case, #3 wrote one of my favorite Sloan tracks, the kickoff track to One Chord to Another; #4 wrote my second-favorite song from that album, the one that namechecks Ringo’s “Photograph”; and #2 wrote my third favorite song from that album, “400 Metres”, or something like that – maybe the album’s final or penultimate track.
I didn’t mean to imply that I dislike Sloan, BTW, just in case you’re wondering. The thread was annoying because of typically hateful (but yet funny) remarks from someone on the old listserv who hasn’t crossed over here yet, so of course the fans defended them and on it went.
Jody Stephens is a great one. He did write “For You” on Third/Sister Lovers and I really like the 2 songs he wrote for In Space esp. “Best Chance We Ever Had” (though “February’s Quiet” is great, too; anyway both are way better than most of Chilton’s stuff on that album).
I’m not sure about the David Lovering, thing, though. I always thought it was Black Francis and Kim Deal that were the only songwriters in The Pixies.
Also: Young Fresh Fellows (McCaughey/Bloch/Silva)
Remember, folks: For purposes of the Battle Royale, it’s not just bands with 3 songwriters but a specific, stunning song written by the third songwriter in the band’s hierarchy. Make sure you provide examples once the hierarchy has been determined. Although I love “The Good in Everyone”, I can’t consider it superior to “Ooh La La” or “Something”, to choose one Harrison classic. Don’t let these old codgers get out of this Battle Royale without a good challenge!
Does “Ooh La La” really count, since it was co-written by Ronnie Lane?
OK, I vote for “What a Bringdown” by Cream, written by Ginger Baker. Well, it’s certainly better than his drumming!
Eh, that’s okay, Lovering was a bit of a blip if anything. I was just throwin’ it out there.
Don’t make me have the penultimate mental breakdown here Mr. Mod! 🙂 It’s Murphy (or as my friend Jenny and I like to call him “Dirty-Greasy” because he’s always slickin’ up to the girls backstage), then Pentland (glasses) and then Jay Ferguson (most of their 70s pop numbers are atributed to his wisdom), and Andrew (drummer – also one of Chart Magazine’s 20 sexiest Canadian musicians – hello!;) wrote songs as well, one of my favourites “People of the Sky”
Sorry guys, as usual, I need to get back on track :)!
I just thought of a good one. Jason Isbell is clearly third banana in the Drive-By Truckers, behind Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, but his track “The Day John Henry Died” is my favorite track on their 2004 album, The Dirty South, and possibly my favorite DBT song, period.
he’s good for 1 or 2 tracks an album, clearly third string.
Oats wrote:
Damn! All these years of being a rock nerd and I never knew that?!?! You’re right. “Ooh La La” is now disqualified from competition. Shocking! Disgraceful!
Sally, thanks for the reminder of the names of the members of Sloan.
London Calling’s Guns of Brixton by Paul Simonon? Wasn’t that a song writtten out of jealousy over royalties? If so, that would truly be Harrisonian.
Now that I think of it, The Clash’s biggest hit was written by their emergency quarterback, #44, Topper Headon.
I think I might like the schmaltz of Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” almost as much as any of the bombastic hits. Written by fourth-stringer bassist John Deacon.
Fourth-stringer bassist, man, that’s bad even for ME!
Byrds’ bassist Chris Hillman – who moved up from fourth-string to third-string once Gene Clark left – wrote a couple gems on Younger Than Yesterday, like “Have You Seen Her Face”.
I am shocked, SHOCKED! that no one has mentioned Bill Wyman’s psychedelique masterpeace In Another Land.