May 142020
This one goes out to Moon Martin, who died this week. Martin is one of those artists vaguely related to the New Wave era whose record including the original version of his composition “Bad Case of Loving You” I almost bought numerous times but ultimately didn’t buy for fear of being associated with the Robert Palmer hit. Sick, yes, but true. That was a good song, even as done by Palmer, who was right on the brink of becoming incredibly popular and annoying.
I’ve got a couple Moon Martin records, but I don’t have the one with his two best songs, Bad Case of Loving You and Cadillac Walk. I’ll find it one of these days, and I’m sure that right now the price has doubled now that he’s dead, but that’s okay, I’m sure it’s worth 3 bucks. Add in Rolene and the guy has legitimately written three really good songs. Songs anyone should be proud of. That’s more than most people. His records are kind of spotty, but he seemed like a decent guy. I hope he got a great paycheck from Robert Palmer.
It’s 1:24 pm EST, and I just happened on today’s Steve Nieve live performance on Facebook. He and his son, I presume, are playing “I’m Not Angry.”
I was a big Moon Martin fan. His first four albums are very good in a stripped-down no-nonsense kind of way. He was never very famous, but now he’s so unknown that I hadn’t even heard about his passing, and google turns up almost nothing.
If, like me, you would gladly take the “Bob Dylan’s greatest live performance was his first Letterman appearance” side in any argument, then listen to this. It’s a Canadian artist named Daniel Romano (whom I’ve never heard of) doing the entire Infidels album as it was Dylan backed by the Plugz who backed him for that Letterman appearance.
https://outfitdoesinfidels.bandcamp.com/releases
If only…
And here is the real thing, including the rehearsal. Beyond the performance, it’s a classic Bob bit. Making a promotional appearance for his new album, he opens with a song not on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP–PD1BcGE
Bob always looked cool but has he ever looked cooler than this?
Hi all,
Hope everyone is well! Just a heads up! There’s a brand new Hollies documentary up on Amazon Prime, and it looks like it’s going to be pretty good. Expect great footage and lots of commentary from Graham Nash about all the great weed he toked back in the day
I think the Hollies were great. They were definitely a second tier British Invasion band, but they had a LOAD of great hits. I’d take them over Crosby, Stills, and Nash any day of the week. From what little I know about them, their only real flaws were that they didn’t give a rat’s ass about creating art or being cool. They were basically pub guys. Apparently that was an outlook Graham couldn’t handle. He wanted something more than that, something that included dope connections.
And that Hollies drummer is up there with the best of ’em!
Where do you stand on the Hollies?
Unexpectedly, I’m with EPG on the Hollies.
That’s good to hear Geo. I’m hoping a good chunk of the RTH gang opts to watch the documentary tonight. Might be something good to gab about tomorrow.
Today, I was thinking about where I would rank them. They’re no Beatles, Stones, or Kinks, but like I already said, they’ve got a LOAD of winners, and they had a pretty long productive life span.
Your thoughts?
I love the early Hollies hits, but after Nash left they damaged their legacy for me with He Ain’t Heavy and The Air That I Breathe. Long Cool Woman is less icky, but I never really liked it either.
I agree, but they were consistently interesting until Graham Nash left.
It’s good to gab about something great again.
Last week, I had so little interest in all this. I couldn’t believe such a large number of intelligent well spoken human beings could see so much merit in such an incredibly average Joe like Tom Petty. To me, he’s the epitome of 80s econobuy rock. Nothing is worse than getting stuck at a party with one of those vacuous “I like all kinds of music” people. 9 times out 10, they’re usually the ones that think Petty is the cat’s meow.
Long Cool Woman is so weird. While the other two are certainly not as good as their earlier songs, they still catch elements of the Hollies sound in their melodies and harmony vocals. Long Cool Woman is so apparently an attempt to make a comeback with a Creedence sounding record. I know a lot of the details aren’t close to right, but I’d say with the vocal effect and the general choogling, it’s clearly what they were going for. How does a reasonably band with a very distinctive sound decide to chase a hit with a carbon copy of another completely different band’s sound?
Well it worked, so I guess the answer might be self evident.
I like the Hollies a lot. I have a bunch of their CDs, including their BBC sessions CD which has all the interview portions removed. That should be a discussion question for RTH, should BBC radio session albums have the interviews remain or be cut. I personally prefer the interview segments, especially w/Brian Matthew, who was the DJ of the BBC’s Sounds of the Sixiies until he died a couple of years ago.
Is that Hollies documentary the same one that came out on DVD by Reelin’ In the Years a few years ago as part of their British Invasion series? The first lot was them, Herman’s Hermits, the Small Faces, Dusty Springfield & Gerry & the Pacemakers. The second batch was supposed to be the Pretty Things, Donovan & Manfred Mann, but that got scotched by the Great Recession. The Pretty Things doc finally came out a few years ago as part of a box set.
Hey, Lady Gergely and I are watching the documentary now. The clips of the songs are complete, and the interviews are continually interesting. Everything is about how the music was made. Diskojoe, I’m not familiar with the other documentaries, but if they’re anything like this one, I’d watch them all. Everything I’ve viewed so far reaffirms my contention that the Hollies have been sadly underrated by the so called enlightened.
One of the great things about that Hollies documentary is that there’s a scene where they put together “On a Carousel” in Abby Road. You see them play their instruments and sing separately & how the song comes together. There’s also a video for “Wings”, a great song that ended up on the same charity album as the original version of “Across the Universe”.
I’m late to the party, but I agree that the Hollies are near the top of the second tier of British Invasion bands! I’ll have to check out this documentary. I’ve been disappointed, of late, with some rock docs on Amazon Prime.
EPG wrote, “Last week, I had so little interest in all this. I couldn’t believe such a large number of intelligent well spoken human beings could see so much merit in such an incredibly average Joe like Tom Petty…”
As a close, personal friend, I’d like to publicly call you out on this type of comment. I know there’s nothing the two of us like doing less than calling out each other in public, but I trust you’ll grant me an exception in this instance. There’s nothing that stops you from BEING an agent of change, from offering new lines of discussion. Among many other features of participation in Rock Town Hall, a prime feature is the opportunity to grow as a human being. You’re one of the all-time greats around here, a Founding Father no less. Don’t let this tendency to sit out weeks that don’t go your way and then come back pointing fingers tarnish your legacy. Thanks for hearing me out.
Growing as a human being has nothing to do with it. It’s a matter of taste. Again, Petty? What’s next? A reexamination of the Cetera led Chicago years? And actually, I’d take that over the Petty catalog.
Did Petty steal a girlfriend of yours once? He’s not Dylan, but you write as if he’s Eddie Money. I guess people do exist that just don’t like pizza.
Petty’s greatest hits are on par with the Hollies’ greatest hits. How’s that for a starter? But let’s not go there; that takes the heat off you. I’m proposing that you take a look in the mirror and be all the man you can be up here. Where’s your next 12×5?
I do indeed write as if he’s Eddie Money. And just for the record when I do get a pizza, I never get a Papa John’s pizza, despite the fact that a majority of the population thinks that Papa John’s is not only acceptable but tasty.
But would you take Papa Johns over Papa Roach?
Since the Pretty Things were mentioned here, Phil May has passed.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/15/phil-may-frontman-with-the-pretty-things-dies-aged-75
The Moderator speaks: “Petty’s greatest hits are on par with the Hollies’ greatest hits.”
It never ceases to amaze me that you’ll say just about anything for a back slap. I long for the day when you don’t look like a Ken doll down there anymore. Only Sammy Maudlin needed a thumbs up more than you.
No, Petty’s greatest hits are not on par with the Hollies greatest hits, Not one of his titles comes near the dart board of “Bus Stop”, :”I Can’t Let Go”, “Look Through Any Window”, “Carrie Anne”, etc. None of his songs have the craft, delivery, or production of any of those titles, And if you think otherwise, your bar is set so low that any kind of argumentation is pointless. Again, none of the records he’s made illustrate the lessons he supposedly learned from his love of the sixites’ masters. With a little effort, just about anyone can crank out something of a similar caliber to what he serves up. Don’t know about you, but I always wanted something more than that.
Would somebody please grow some balls and also say that Tom Petty is at the very best the “Smartest Dumb Guy”, that the only real difference between him, Bob Seger, or the Steve Miller Band was that he chose to wear new wave like gear and play a Rickenbacker. Had he opted to do the same thing with a beard, Lee jeans, and a Strat like Music Man guitar, it would have been a whole different story.
You know where you heard that Smartest Dumb Guy line. I thought we were speaking in confidence. I’ll come back to this topic – and your issues, really, because there’s little to argue about regarding Petty – later. In the meantime…I need you to rank the following songs in order of goodness, best to worst:
Eddie Money’s “Baby Hold On”
Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise”
Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl”
Tom Petty’s “American Girl”
Tom Petty’s “Listen to Her Heart”
Steve Miller’s “The Joker”
Steve Miller’s “Jet Airliner”
…wait, are we really claiming that Bob Seger is a dumb guy? Or is this just a term with which I’m unfamiliar? For once, UrbanDictionary has failed me.
Sorry, I know it’s not for me but I can’t resist.
Tom Petty’s “American Girl” Real good.
Steve Miller’s “The Joker” Real good. Please don’t make me explain, although I could.
Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl” Real good.
Tom Petty’s “Listen to Her Heart” OK.
Eddie Money’s “Baby Hold On” Passable.
Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” Bad.
Steve Miller’s “Jet Airliner” Execrable.
And Steve Miller was really good at one point. I love the Sailor album. I definitely like it better than and Petty album. The joker was the first slip.
I also like the Hollies better than Petty.
Geo wrote:
“Steve Miller’s “The Joker” Real good. Please don’t make me explain, although I could.”
Please do so.
EPG, you’ve been assigned the task of ranking those songs. Don’t get distracted or try to pull others down with you.
Scott (the other one), I thought I once explained my Smartest Dumb Guy theory. Maybe I didn’t. It could be perceived as highly offensive. Give me some time to write it out in a separate thread. When I do so, I’ll take the hit for the possibly rightly negative fallout to come. I hope people will at least be open to the humanity behind the story I hope to articulate. Thanks.
Meanwhile, EPG, the prospect of the Smartest Dumb Guy theory is not meant as chum for you to avoid your assignment. When you complete that, stay tuned for another quiz – this one involving Mick Avory. Thank you.
EPG – This response is provided in the voice of Kanye:
“Imma gonna answer you, but not just yet.”
geo
What’s your beef with Mick Avory? You know what? I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about no matter what the subject may be!
Mick Avory is superb. He’s in that same gang of drummers that play like Bobby Elliot, Mitch Mitchell, Bev Bevan, Ginger Baker, and Keith Moon. All of them are machines that play with a jazz-like skill not unlike Kenny Clarke, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, etc. Their feel, and I don’t mean this to be demeaning in the least, is a sort of calculated rhythmic sloppiness that complements every nook and cranny of song space. All of this is rocket science to a zero like Stan Lynch. You’re doing well if you can get him to clap on time to the beat.
Ringo is a winner for other reasons. Ringo was probably the first rock drummer who discovered the power of the Brazilian baion beat (2/1/2/1 mostly on the snare) and used it successfully on lots of early Beatles tracks. He also knew when and where fills and space were most appropriate. He always did what he did for the best of the song. Again, concepts far from Stan Lynch’s reach.
As far as ranking the songs is concerned, again, I always give credit where credit is due. “Here Comes My Girl” is a hands down winner. But again, that’s all he’s got. It’s good, but not great, not like the Band who have “The Weight”, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, and “Up on Cripple Creek.” The rest of their shitty catalog gets a pass because they have those 3 masterpieces. The one good Petty track is comparable to “White Lies” by Grin, certainly good, but not great. And there’s nothing else in the Grin catalog to write to gram about.
Know that I’m still waiting in vain for someone with something that resembles actual testicles to make a case for that godawful break in “American Girl.” I’m more than willing to close the door on all this nonsense should someone be able to serve up anything even remotely plausible for its inclusion.
I take it you are asking me what my beef is with Mick Avory…
Nothing, really, but I don’t think, if he hit the rock free-agwnt market in 1968, he would have been that hot a commodity. I think he did a beautiful job if serving the songs of the Davies brother’s through their prime, but for all the years that band got full of itself, in the mid-’70s, there’s nothing to demonstrate that Avory was anything special. He had a delightful, slightly oafish spirit about his playing on the great Kinks albums, buy again, name me a sub-par song from a spotty late-run of their genius album, like Lola vs The Powerman, or whatever that thing is called, where you can say, “You know, there’s not much to this song, but Avory really makes it swing!”
Getting back to the free agency notion, I know you’re not a sports guy, but would you take Avory over Ringo?
No.
The Hollies guy?
No.
Mitch Mitchell?
Not even close.
Keith Moon?
Maybe. I suspect Keith Moon was only as valuable as he was playing in The Who. He might have gotten in the way with any other band at that time excepting The Move. Bev Bevan is the weak link in The Move. He wants to drum like Moon, but he comes out sounding as limited as you think Stan Lynch drums. I try not to pay attention to the drums in most Move songs.
Ginger Baker?
Are you kidding me? I don’t get the appeal of his drumming, and he’d be a major pain in the ass. I’d take Mick Avory over Ginger Fucking Baker and Bev Bevan.
And you ask me what my beef is with Mick Avory. He’s like The Undertones’ Billy Doherty: spirited, doesn’t get in the way of a great song, not that special on a technical level.
I summon my drum advisor, Andyr, to chime in on Mick Avory.
As always, I struggle with your logic. Nobody in their right mind would use Avory’s post Village Green work as the basis for a thesis on his drumming chops. The Kinks should have called it quits after that LP, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing I need not get into right now.
All those drummers I mentioned have a certain style that is, for some reason or another, unique to the UK. It’s loose but extremely skillfull. A great example of that style is what Avory serves up on “Victoria.” I have yet to hear one US drummer approach the kit in that fashion, unless its some retro outfit.
Clearly, EPG, you’ve been breaking social distancing and spending furtive time with You Know Who.
Has Mick Avory ever guested on ANYONE’S record, even Zen for Primates?
This story, if true, so perfectly captures the worst impulses of both Paul McCartney and Roger Waters.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/pink-floyd-snub-paul-mccartney-dark-side-moon/amp/
I’m not sure McCartney or Waters came off as badly as the editor. The article reads as if google translate had worked it’s magic from another language.
Mad props, Al!
Alright, I’ve had enough, Andy! I’ve heard your defense of the “American Girl” break, and I want it once again for all to see right here and now! I want the world to see how truly misguided you are!!!!!!
“I want the world to see how truly misguided you are!!!!!!”
– said the man who ranks Eddie Money higher than Tom Petty
Man, I don’t dislike The Hollies, but I think they’re considered as highly as they deserve these days. No one really think of them anymore and they’re relegated to occasional plays on oldies radio, which is what should happen to most bands. I’d rather listen to Grand Funk any day, but I’m not bitching that no one considers their greatness. They faded away. A handful of old burnouts still play their records, they just aren’t as old as the handful of burnouts that still get excited when Carrie Ann comes on their oldies radio.
Fair enough, 2000 man. That said, I’m definitely one of those burnouts that still gets excited when I hear “Carrie Anne.”
‘“I want the world to see how truly misguided you are!!!!!!” – said the man who ranks Eddie Money higher than Tom Petty’
I have to admit, that is one scorchingly hot take.
Because I haven’t seen it mentioned during this lively and genial discussion, I just want to point out, in case anyone wasn’t aware (I only found out in the past few years) that Mick Avory was a member of The Rolling Stones, ever so briefly (two or three gigs, I think). And being a member, even if ever so briefly, of two of the, what, four or five greatest British rock bands of the 60s, if not all time, isn’t something anyone else can claim, that I can think of. (I don’t put the Faces up there that high, so Ron Wood and Kenney Jones are both out, and much as I love the Yardbirds, I don’t think they’re up quite that high either…although they surely aren’t all the far off neither.)
Yup! Nicely done, Scott. And since I’ve got your attention, and I know you’re a Petty fan (with incredibly slick writing chops, by the way), please give me your take on the “American Girl” break. I’m obviously missing something here. I appear to be the only human being on the planet who doesn’t think its some kind of half assed throwaway that created more post recording time for coke, whiskey, and bimbos.
EPG, you’ve got some homework assignments that are running late. Please set a good example for your students.
Hey Scott, just for the record, in a private conversation with the Moderator, I brought up the Avory/Stones thing. It meant nothing to him whatsoever. Wanna know why? He doesn’t really know a whole hell of a lot about anything, and, more importantly, that kind of left hook makes him look like the 6th grader who’s crapped his pants in the middle of class.
Before anyone got signed up in the early UK 1960s, Avory was very much in demand. Why? Spin any pre Lola Kinks LP track, and the answer is as plain as day. He’s tremendous.
It certainly would have been interesting if the Stones would have given the thumbs up to Avory. I can’t imagine them without Charlie Watts, but Avory definitely wouldn’t have been a choice that would have held them back.
EPG
There are a number of things to like about “The Joker” by Steve Miller.
Thing 1. The verse has a very cool swampy feel. It basically uses the chords from “Hang on Sloopy” and puts them over a very weird, stumbley, half-time blues beat that you would never hear on top 40 radio. The fast repeated notes at the tail end of the bass line phrase and the frequent but somewhat random cymbal crashes are some kind of early country blues anachronism.
Thing 2. The guitars in the verse. You’ve probably only heard the goofy whistling talking slide, but listen to the acoustic guitar that plays along behind the bass, every once in a while tagging the phrase with a rolling little riff in the verses.
Thing 3. The chorus opens up very nicely. The bass line starts rolling around throughout like those little guitar licks in the verse, Two acoustic guitars playing different countrified arpeggio guitar patterns that build up as the chorus goes on. I also like the harmony vocal in there, very standard but just right.
Thing 4. And after each chorus it falls back down, to the stripped down beat, sometimes with no bass drum, just snare.
Thing 5. “Maur-r-r-r-ice.”
Thing 6. “…the pompatus of love.”
Thing 7. This was abut seven albums into Steve’s career. I don’t think it was recorded as a sellout or a grab for the big money; it was probably just an amusing goof that, when completed, turned into one of those gems that would totally stick out on the radio. An unexplainable, undeniable hit that sounded cool. It came out in 1973, which was probably the last minute before consultants started programming everything on the radio to produce maximum listener apathy; don’t play anything that might make enough of an impression that the listener would change the channel. This does sound striking in the context of 1973 top-forty.
If you think it’s stupid, well…duh. If you think it’s terrible, you’re just wrong.
Geo, I was just about to say the same thing!
And Thing 7: “Midnight toker” sung on the radio! Hee Hee.
Nicely stated, Geo and Chickenfrank. Totally agree with both of you!
EPG, re: Mick Avory:
BITE ME.
I’ve now no doubt that you’ve been breaking social distancing guidelines to hang out with You Know Who. I don’t give a damn that the Stones looked into Mick Avory as their drummer. That’s getting into Paul McCartney’s “I could have fucked Yoko first” territory. Do you like The Pretty Things any better knowing that Dick Taylor was originally playing with an early version of the Stones? I thought not.
Your inability to get real on this subject and so many others of late has gotten old. To be fair and more accurate, I’m too old for this nonsense. Hey, while you’ve got You Know Who over, why don’t you invite a few other Legends of Their Mothers’ Basements over for a full-on jam session. You could then wind down with a pitcher of iced Postum and some Colosseum videos.
Easy, big fella. Just for the record, I told You Know Who that you said hello. Know that I had to remind him you were and that you play in a band. He appeared not to be familiar with that info as well,
Good one, EPG. I already lost the pissing war simply by whipping out my dick and unleashing a golden stream, but kudos to you to rubbing it in. I wish you had it in you to actually discuss how you feel about Mick Avory’s drumming, but I guess that would take too much effort.
I already did that numerous times. Again, his approach is the same as Elliot. As I stated previously, listen to all the pre Lola records. The music speaks for itself.
And just for the record, You Know Who drives me out of my skull as much as you, but godalmighty can he drum!!!!!!
Maybe I didn’t hear you among the clatter. As I’ve been trying to say here and on our phone calls, I like Mick Avory’s drumming on those great Kinks albums a lot. We simply disagree that he’s in the top tier. Fair enough. You had me sincerely pissed off, but not so pissed off that I couldn’t go on YouTube and hand you this peace offering:
https://youtu.be/2cOEEX65nSQ
I’ll accept that peace offering, but it would’ve been even better if you could’ve paired it up with that low budget Starship clip you posted a few years back.
I apologize for picking on you. I did indeed go overboard. Take it as a complement. Only my brothers get it worse than you do, Here’s my peace offering. Everyone has a guilty pleasure, and this is mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBETVhHpcPk
I’m apparently in good company because Lennon was a big fan of this song.
I realize that most of my credibility will be gone after this post, but the truth of the matter, is that I really don’t care. You’ve consistently stood behind “Kokomo”, and I’m sticking to my guns with this little slice of sentimental sludge.
I’m looking forward to other RTHers taking off their Fonzie jackets and telling us about their guilty pleasures. Let’s see who the real men are around here.
Mr. Mod,
The first rock concert scheduled at the Tower Theater was The Doors, post Morrison. I was excited. Roy Buchanan was to open. The Doors canned the tour and Roy Buchanan headlined with Flo and Eddie opening. I haven’t thought about that in a million years.
E Pluribus, “Reminiscing” is much better with the video. I bet that’s how Lennon got turned onto it too. Is this the Jefferson Starship rosebud (or some other kind of bud) you were hoping I could dig up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VVtzQfAJzY
Geo, WHAT a memory/experience you had! Was the Tower Theater new at that time, or just new to rock concerts? I never thought about how old that place might have been, what history it had before I started going there circa 1980.
That’s not the one, but that’s certainly just as ridiculous as the one I had in mind. The footage I was thinking of looked like it was shot for some low budget public access channel.
It was actually a movie theater. I saw 2001 there. After the movie theater in my neighborhood had closed down, probably when I was 11 or 12, the Tower in 69th street was our main theater. There was also a theater in the 69th street Transportation complex, on the Market street façade just to the left of the big main entrance, where the pedestrian bridge hits the terminal. I saw HVB’s namesake movie, “The Party”, in that Terminal Theater after getting denied entry at the Tower to see, I think, “The Graduate” because I was too young.
Also, about a year before the Tower turned into a rock venue, I remember a late night discussion among friends regarding yet another theater called the 69th Street Theater which was situated on a point of buildings about a block further to the West, right across from where the trolley lines emerge from the Terminal. We thought it would be a good idea to try and rent the place and put on rock concerts. I was probably a junior in high school but the only other participant I specifically remember was Maggie Murphy, who was in her second year at Temple at that point. I very distinctly remember her saying something along the lines of what a fortune could be made taking the money out of the grubby little hands of the suburban teenagers. Of course, we were too young, inexperienced, and unfocused to do anything about it. In less than a year, a newly formed promoter, Midnight Sun, began running concerts at the Tower and we were kicking ourselves in the ass.
That girl in the Miracles video does a spot on Grace Slick.
Grab the love of your life, EPG, because this may be the one you had in mind:
https://youtu.be/mXOhpfA7tNc
That’s yet another great one, but it’s not THEE one. When you finally find it, you’ll know so because you’ll be laughing so hard you may need a trip to the can.
I’ll have to trust Geo’s memory on the first rock concert at the Tower. I thought I went to the first one and it was Dave Mason and somebody else. I remember going to many movies there (I specifically remember Russ Meyer’s Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, using my high school bus pass as ID) and the theater in the terminal.
And I remember that third theater as well. Geo, was that the same as the Chez Vous or was that a different place? If not the same, it was nearby. The Chez Vous was the place for teen dances back a few years before our time.
And who remembers Record Museum which was a few shops to the right as you faced the Tower? I remember buying my first bootleg there, The Beatles Kum Back.
And there was a music (instruments) and record shop just the other direction from the Tower where I bought all the early Dylan albums after being turned on via the unjustly criticized Nashville Skyline.
Al,
Don’t trust my memory on this after all. Dave Mason and Buzzy Linhart were the first rock show at the Tower on June 14, 1972. That’s on Wikipedia pretty explicitly. after much research about Roy Buchanan and Flo and Eddie at the Tower, I found this:
http://www.mildequator.com/performancehistory/concertinfo/1972/720824.html
It appears that The Doors show at the Tower Theater took place on 8/24/72, but of course it didn’t. The fine print reads:
– Roy Buchanan may have headlined this show.
-The Doors supposed performance in Norfolk, VA most likely does not take place on this date.
Yeah. another thing that didn’t happen on that date was a Doors show at the Tower. Just Buchanan and Flo and Eddie. Maybe the WERE in Norfolk after all.
Al,
I’m not sure if it was the Chez Vous, but I think the 69th Street Theater was never operating during my time in the area that goes back to around 1968 at the latest. It might’ve been. It is right in that same block. “Yon’ Teenagers gather round and hip to the beat that I’m puttin’ down.”
Yes, it was the recently deceased (now not then) Buzzy Linhart. “The time to live is now!”
The show I most regret missing at the Tower – although I didn’t find out about it until decades later – was Blue Oyster Cult. I don’t care about BOC but the opener was T. Rex. I loved Bolan then and now and I don’t know how I could not have been aware of that show.
Mind you, I’ve never seen video or heard a live recording where he wasn’t anything above mediocre but still…
Jumping in here late to say I’m pro-Petty AND pro-Arthur-era Mick Avory.
On The Hollies, they need to be docked points for “Bus Stop”, which is a (presumably accidental) re-write of “Things We Said Today” through and through. But award them make-up points for “King Midas In Reverse”.
Wow, you’re right. I never put that together before. There’s definitely some major “He’s So Fine”/ “My Sweet Lord” action going on there.
And thanks again for reminding me about Arthur. That’s the last good one from the Kinks.
Mighty late to the party here, but for what it’s worth, I’ve been thinking about this for some time:
The honorable E. Pluribus Gergely wrote:
“please give me your take on the “American Girl” break. I’m obviously missing something here. I appear to be the only human being on the planet who doesn’t think its some kind of half assed throwaway that created more post recording time for coke, whiskey, and bimbos.”
I’m a bit confused as to why that isn’t a good enough reason…? 🙂
All right, lame jokes aside, here goes:
I’d actually argue it’s an interesting compositional experiment, using that halftime breakdown in the place where a guitar solo would normally go, and serving a similar function. But it also mirrors the opening section, which is just 18 long bars of D major, leaving no doubt as to what the song’s home key is. (Although the bass plays different notes, supplying the harmonic interest in what could otherwise be an overly static section…but which really very much isn’t. It’s also a nice twist on the usual pedal point situation, which has the bass playing the same note for an extended period, while things change over the top.)
After two verses and two choruses, we get to the instrumental section in question. As mentioned, it shifts into halftime, with a sweet groove courtesy the outstanding Stan Lynch (whose hi-hat work on this song is exceptional, not only providing relentless and energetic forward motion worthy of Benny Benjamin, but choosing some really unusual and extremely tasty places to open his hats). But whereas the intro had just hammered on the tonic, here we move to the V chord. By sticking almost entirely to the dominant, it imbues the section with a slight uneasy feel: we know where the center of gravity is, the center of gravity has been firmly established, and it ain’t here. The halftime should make things feel nice and easy, perhaps even a bit lethargic after the workout of the first half of the song. But because we’re on the G instead of the D, we’re on edge. We’re pretty sure we’re gonna get back home, but we’re not entirely positive. So when we do leave the V and return to the I, and the regular tempo kicks back in, we feel a sense of relief and release, despite the speedy nature.
It’s an interesting choice on Petty’s part, but then there was a pretty fair amount of formal experimentation in those days. Even leaving aside the things like 20-minute prog epics (oh, “Supper’s Ready,” you are so silly and so magnificent. I love you madly, “Close to the Edge,” and I always will, despite your existence giving birth to the likes of, well, the entire Tales from Topographic Oceans LP), and the interesting and fascinating examples of songs with unrelated musical codas (“Layla” and “Thunder Road” being perhaps the two most successful examples, both of which have more than a little to owe the daddy of ’em all, “Hey Jude”), there’s the strange tinkly intro to the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which seems entirely unrelated. Don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely, and I dig it…but it has nothing to do with the body of the tune.
(Then again, the “wine and roses” bridge is also strange, which may be why Lou Reed sometimes nixed it when playing live.)
There’s the guitar solo section of “My Sharona,” which is nothing like the Neanderthal nature of the rest of the tune but instead goes into a sort of if the band Boston played power pop reverie. It’s a bizarre tangent down a completely unforeseen sideroad, and absolutely makes the tune, even if it’s not one of the first half-dozen things you think of when hearing the song’s title.
I’ve always found the brief “hey” sections after the choruses and before slipping back into the verses strange if effective in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but those are short enough to not really count.
Most of all, of course, if you want to discuss unexpected and seemingly unreleased sections in pop songs, you should probably either start or end with the master: Brian Wilson’s uses of a not-dissimilar contrasting section in “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” not only also slows things down to a crawl for his sweet teenage pathos but the bizarre baroque section in “God Only Knows” comes out of nowhere, has little relation to the rest of the song, shouldn’t even remotely work and, of course, is beyond genius.
Because it should not work. It’s so out of nowhere, so out of place, and it somehow—despite coming crazy early in the song, even!—makes perfect sense in the moment. Impossible, and yet there ’tis.
So why did Tom Petty go into that halftime section? My guess: ‘cuz it felt great and sounded better.
…how was that?
Careful, that mention of the bridge in “Sweet Jane” could draw some ire from Mr. Mod, who will certainly reprise his comments about Steve Sesnick’s effective edits on the Loaded album.
Moderator,
I beseech thee to utilize the holy ground of the main stage for Scott’s masterfully crafted defense. It’s a crime that it’s currently buried in RTH’s no man’s land. Had Graham Greene been an RTHer, he might have come up with something similar.
Honestly, Scott, this is one hell of a piece, which is why I feel like such a shit telling you you’re dead wrong across the board.
Will do in the morning, EPG. I’m in the middle of wrapping up a major statement.
Very thoughtful Scott. Much better than my response which is simply, why are we playing defense here? That beakdown sounds cool, full stop. EPG should be the one defending his position, but ultimately it doesn’t matter because it sounds, well, it sounds cool