Jun 232011
School’s out for summer, and that can only mean E. Pluribus Gergely is on the loose to give his fellow Townspeople hell for all manner of misguided opinions on rock ‘n roll, movies, and lord knows what else. Sometimes the man just feels the need to tell it like it is. Why make him try to shove his opinions into a barely relevant post? Why not offer him this open thread from which to conduct his educational efforts? I’ll be across the Atlantic Ocean, sadly far away from the man’s wisdom, but I encourage the rest of you to keep an open mind—and heart—to what he’s got to say. Thanks.
Just for the record, the reason I’m currently up here is that I’m sitting in an unbearable class concerning web based research. It’s an absolute snoozefest.
Know what I’d really like to see? Jungleland’s top ten LP list with a short defense of each.
And while we’re waiting for his response, I’d like to hear RTH’s choices for best cheating song of all time. The cheating genre is amongst my favorites. For my money, nothing beats “Slip Away” by Clarence Carter. There’s some serious soul searching going on there. Carter was definitely going through some sinful behavior during production.
Hope to hear from you soon,
E. Pluribus
Save A Prayer by Duran Duran.
Best cheating song? “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul. “We got a thang goin’ on”.
Hey Tonyola,
That’s a beautiful choice. I got another one -The Impressions’ “You’ve Been Cheatin'”. I get goosebumps just writing that title. Great, great stuff.
Nice to hear from you,
E. Pluribus
P.S. Shawn, come on! You can do better tha!! You served up some serious Einsteinlike insights to me and my brother at the Moderator’s get together. Know that I’m expecting similar perceptive responses.
Can’t go wrong with “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank. Can’t imagine why I’m pulling a blank on George Jones — the wife and I watched a 1960s clip of his from the Grand Old Opry the other day that was absolutely riveting. That man was incredible.
Wow, that Herman’s Hermits press conference was awesome. What a concept.
I just thought of another goosebumper -The Flying Burritos’ “Hot Burrito” No. 2. Not the thing that kicks off the first LP, the slower cut later on the album. Parsons clearly sounds like he’s at the end of his rope. And I gotta give credit where credit is due -the Moderator introduced me to that band. To these ears, “The Gilded Palace of Sin” is the greatest country rock LP of all time. In the words of Bitman, if you don’t agree with that statement, you’re an idiot.
E. Pluribus
The fact that he and Mrs. Jones are going at it every day has to earn it extra points, in terms of both extolling the virtues of cheating and just for sheer volume of said cheating in a single song.
Dark End of the Street. Another one I’ve been digging on lately is Vern Gosdin’s If You’re Gonna Do me Wrong , Do It Right.
I Can See For Miles by the Who
“Know what I’d really like to see? Jungleland’s top ten LP list with a short defense of each.”
I think I can provide the list, but should’t I provide my defense after I am accused of my crime?
BTW – Today’s crime is listening to Bryan Adams’ Reckless on purpose (granted, it’s been 25 years since the last time I gave this one a spin)
Jungleland,
Your point is well taken. That said, I’d bet my entire life savings that everything on your list is something in the nature of Byan Adams’ “Reckless”, i.e. time need not be wasted on an assessment of what will be in need of a defense. All of it will be bad, very, very bad. And as I have stated previously, I have no problem with that in the least because you have proved time and time again that you sincerely enjoy that crap.
Again, I’m sincerely looking forward to the list and the defense.
No cheating faves? C’mon there’s gotta be something on Don Henley’s privately pressed 33rd solo album that tugs at your heart strings.
Time’s a waistin’
E. Pluribus
Reckless convinced me once and for all that Bryan Adams was a phony. He’s the Eddie Money of the Great White North. First of all, he’s always been about as reckless as an accountant. Not to mention he’s Canadian and there not exactly impulsive (unless he’s rioting in Vancouver). Second, what did Adams know about the “Summer of ’69”? He was all of nine years old then.
Don Covey – I Stole Some Love, in which he lets out an anguished cry after he gets sentenced by Judge Cupid for stealing the love of another man. Of course he’s not so distraught that he can’t engage in some gratuitous name dropping at the top of the song.
Being the “greatest country rock LP of all time” is like being the best athlete at the Special Olympics – a fine accomplishment all things considered but sadly not competitive in the real world. And besides, what about the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ek6jL4zF4c&feature=related
tonyola, first of all, don’t insult Eddie Money by comparing him to Bryan Adams; second, reassure me that you didn’t think Adams was The Real Deal before Feckless, er, Reckless came out; and third, just to be fair, I don’t think Robbie Robertson was around “in the winter of [18]65” but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t write a great song about it, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” “Summer of ’69” isn’t phony because Adams didn’t experience what is in the song, it’s phony because he’s numbingly unimaginative and married to every cliche that ever crossed his path.
THIS WINS EVERYTHING!
The only think I knew about Adams before Feckless was the “Cuts Like a Knife” video, and that was enough to instill doubts right there. I’m convinced that Adams used “’69” in the song because “nine” is a single syllable that’s easily rhymed. And Robertson assumed the character name of Virgil Kane for “Old Dixie” – unlike Adams, he wasn’t pretending that the song was his own personal recollection.
I don’t know that song. Sounds good though.
Speaking of cheating, E-mail me privately. You and I need to talk. There’s good reason for me posting this thread. The Moderator needed a break from, well, let’s just say everything. Top of the iceberg was Chickenfrank joining your band. That’s gotta hurt. There’s a guy around town who looks a lot like a younger Ned Beatty that might be filling Chick’s shoes. He loves those “one note” bass lines. Whatever. You take what you can get when word gets out.
I ask all RTHers not to be too hard on the Moderator for the next couple of months (maybe years) or so. Put yourself in his place. Your beloved bassist takes a hike to play for a bunch of guys who think Petty’s rhythm section is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Granted, I’ve never seen you guys play, but that’s what I’m told via the halls of RTH.
Again, be easy on the man.
And Moderator, if there’s anything I can ever do for you, anything whatsoever, just name on it. Lean on me brother. All that stuff in the past (the constant jokes about the REM records in my collection, the comparisons to Daryl Hall, all those jabs at me for liking all that “fake country blues” stuff on Beggar’s Banquet, the phone calls begging me to take a poke at so and so, and then using the same jab to turn the tables on me with more jabs about REM, Daryl Hall, “fake country blues”, unnecessary percussion tricks. . .) means nothing. No harm done. Just stand by me, brother. Stand by me.
Peace,
E. Pluribus
It’s nice to be able to agree with you about something: Gilded Palace is the greatest country rock lp of all time. But I’m still not sure which song you are talking about. The song that kicks off the first lp is “Christine’s Tune” aka “Devil in Disguise.” “Hot Burrito #1” aka “I’m Your Toy” is the slower of the two Hot Burrito songs; “Hot Burrito #2” is the more up tempo.
I wouldn’t call I’m Your Toy a cheating song anyway. The singer wants the girl back, but he’s already lost her.
Also there’s the fact that all this sin and wrongdoing is taking place over make-out music that is so smooth, lubricated, and sensuous it would make Barry White blush.
Isn’t everyone’s favorite album Exile on Main St.? Then you probably just want to know 2 through 10, right?
I think right now my favorite cheating song is Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right by Compulsive Gamblers. I like when the one being cheated on gets a little revenge:
Well now, pretty boy got it in the face
I didn’t mean to mess up your lacy underwear
And get all that blood in your hair
I know it’s kinda sick, but I love it.
It’s a trap, jungleland. Proceed at your own risk.
Of course it is not, though a special EPG version of my top 10 MUST be created
1. Tommy Shaw – Girls With Guns
2. The Outfield – Baggin
3. 38 Special – Flashback………..;)
of COURSE it’s a trap…..
Not top ten, top 21 (no artist twice) alphabetical (and not edited for anyone’s approval)
1. Badfinger – Straight Up
2. Beatles – Rubber Soul
3. Blondie – Parallel Lines
4. Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady
5. Costello, Elvis –Armed Forces
6. Drivin N Cryin – Mystery Road
7. Hendrix, Jimi – Axis: Bold As Love
8. Jayhawks – Hollywood Town Hall
9. NRBQ- At Yankee Stadium
10. Ramones – Pleasant Dreams
11. Replacements – Let It Be
12. Rolling Stones –Let It Bleed
13. Springsteen, Bruce – Darkness On The Edge Of Town
14. Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic
15. Stewart, Rod – Every Picture Tells A Story
16. Van Halen – Van Halen I
17. Whitley, Chris – Living With The Law
18. Who – Who’s Next
19. XTC – Black Sea
20. Zappa, Frank – Apostrophe / Overnight Sensation
21. The Kinks – Something Else
I always thought Summer of 69 was about something other than the year . . .
I suspect I’m on Plurbie’s team on this one; I never liked Morphine. At all.
I got your back, JL. With just a few exceptions, that list looks pretty good to me!
What is this? Where is Loverboy’s “Get Lucky”? Kansas’ “Leftoverture”? Daltrey’s “Under a Raging Turd?”
Where are the choices that separate you from the average RTHer? You and I need to get on this same page about all this: again, I like and respect you because your insufferable taste is sincerely felt in spades. Anybody can put a list like this together. Anybody. I was expecting 21 titles from the likes of Bonnie Tyler, Angel, The Joe Perry Project, Fastway, Frankie and the Knockouts. . .that kind of garbage. Please rethink all this. Let your heart and mind do the writing. Let you heart and mind put down something like “The Secret Value of Daydreaming” by Julian Lennon. If you can’t go that extra mile, it’s going to be the end of a beautiful friendship.
Come on, man!
E. Pluribus
Well, that’s something else that the great majority of nine-year-olds don’t have experience with. Or at least shouldn’t have.
you know i really hated this guy until i met him at the barbeque.
now i really love him!
Jungleland, my apololgies. I missed out on your previous post which tossed these teasers into the ring:
1. Tommy Shaw – Girls With Guns
2. The Outfield – Baggin
3. 38 Special – Flashback………..
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! And don’t be embarrassed by those choices. You and I both know that the Shaw LP says way more to you than Rubber Soul. I love that. Don’t trade in all that glorious individuality for RTH sheepdom. AGAIN, you have the worst sincerely felt pop taste of any humanoid in the Milky Way. Who on Earth would want to trade in that shiny star studded belt for a photcopied certificate that gives you a thumbs up for joining the 700 billion people out there who’ve placed “Let it Bleed” on thier top ten list?
Think about it!
E. Pluribus
EPG,
First of all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOXu90Vp8sU
You’re welcome.
As for Chicken joining the Donuts, I recognized that it might be a touchy situation so before I popped the question to Chicken, I asked the Mod for his blessing (no kidding).
As for the rest of it, I’m not sure if you were taking shots at me, the Heartbreakers, or sliced bread but you don’t need to see us play, you’ve summed it up pretty accurately.
I knew someone was going to give a big thumbs up to Carr’s “Dark End of the Street”. And I knew it was going to be someone like Big Steve. As a matter of fact I knew it was going to be BigSteve because his taste is almost as bad as Jungleland’s. “Dark End of the Street” is the penultimate cheating song for white people who don’t really like black music but need to point to an artist or two to prove that they really do indeed like black music. Carr is highly respected by every major white critic in the universe, despite the fact that he hasn’t a single slam dunker in his catalog. The song is about as exciting as left over creamed corn, failing on all fronts: the lyrics are boring, the performance is acceptable at best, and the rhythm is of no help to the success of the song whatsoever. As a matter of fact, my only real beef with the Burritos’ “Gilded Palace of Sin” is the inclusion of that track. Wanna know who else just absolutely adored Carr’s “Dark End of the Street”? Dave Marsh. Nuff said.
Nice try, Steve. It might be time to revisit those Funkadelic records again too.
E. Pluribus
Cheating song? I prefer “Who’s Making Love” by Johnnie Taylor. “Who’s makin’ love to your old lady/while you were out makin’ love?”
CDM,
I’m not taking shots. I simply recall your fondness for Petty’s band. I find that horrifying. Ages ago, I think I might have seen you guys play somewhere in Fishtown, playing on the same bill as the Moderator’s combo. I believe you were wearing suits. What I saw was very entertaining, much better than anything Petty’s lackluster slugs could ever muster.
Another reason I brought all that up was to introduce another thread -when a beloved member calls it quits to join up with another gang. I’ve been threw it on both sides, and it always blows. It’s like breaking up with some broad you really had the hots for, and when you find out who the new love of her life is, it eats away at your inards until it screws up your day to day functionality. Check out “The 400 Days of Summer”. Can’t speak for all, as usual, but that movie FINALLY captured that feeling I had many a time when I was hit a left hook “Can’t we just be friends?” Everyone and their grandmother knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Again, it’d be a great thread, but I think it would cause too much heartbreak up here. No kidding around . I wouldn’t do that to you. You look and sound too much like one of my best friends from Carlisle. That’s enough to keep me in check. I know that sounds ridiculous, but there it is . . . .
E. Pluribus
“Penultimate”? What would the ultimate song be, then?
Also, even Dave Marsh, like a broken clock, is right on occasion, even if only accidentally.
Right, like I need to be lectured by you about whether my musical taste is black enough. Anyway the song was written by two white guys (Dan Penn and Chips Moman). And I don’t think ‘penultimate’ means what you think it means.
You might also enjoy this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Us0zopFrnc
That’s not my cup of tea, but at least it’s better than your previous example.
Hope all is well!
E. Pluribus
P.S. A buddy of mine turned me on to a real entertaining hunk of poop last night from the Bravo’s cheesefactory. Check out “Platinum”. I thought I saw it all until that thing. Can’t wait to watch it with the wife.
I’ve pretty much had it with anything that defines itself as some type of art, i.e. boredom is in store. To bore is the worst of all offenses. “Platinum” may indeed by tasteless, but it’s certainly not boring.
Thanks for the correction, Misterioso. “I’m Your Toy” is indeed the track to which I’m referring. I’m getting all choked up again just thinking about the song. Parsons sounds like he’s on the brink of suicide throughout the entire thing. It’s an absolute tour de force of pain. It’s so sincerely felt it’s almost embarrassing.
All this brings up another point, to turn in a really great cheating song, all of it has to come right from the heart, which is why I can’t seem to find a decent example that’s not r and b or country. You gotta turn the thinker off and let the heart do the talking. Mockcarr brought up “I Can See for Miles”, which I thoroughly dig, but it just doesn’t work for me as a great cheating song.
I appreciate “Miles” in the same way that I appreciate “Just What I Needed” by the Cars. They’re always cranked up to 11 as soon as they come blasting out of the car speakers. I love ’em, but as far as either giving me anything real to chew on -forget it.
Thanks again for a very necessary correction.
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
Hey Steve,
Just giving you a quick heads up. Someone on your local Craig’s List is giving away a puppy.
Thought you might be interested.
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
You like “Exile” better than “Now”? What about all that bend it, frisbee it, snap it in half stuff that you claimed one could do with it, and it would still be something of holy grail like proportions?
Just curious, “Exile” is indeed your favorite Stones LP?
Hope to hear from you soon,
E. Pluribus
Ha, I just listened through Cuts Like a Knife last week. Besides “This Time” and the nice dings on the bell of the cymbal it is a white-label Bob Clearmountain generic product. Not even any nostalgia value there.
Hiding it here: Best cheating song: “Sneakin’ Sally through the Alley”.
I’ll chime in: It’s my favorite album of all time.
Me too but I never saw that coming.
“your cheating heart” isn’t a good song?
Right, because only noble savages can really express emotion. Black people have this capability in their DNA, but white people can approximate it if they’re poor or rural or at least talk like they are.
While I am a HUGE fan of Now!, the greatest thing mankind has ever done is Exile on Main St. That moonwalk shit? Nothing compared to Ventilator Blues.
You should forget things I say more easily. I’m drunk as often as I can work it in.
Me three. We could have a pretty great lost weekend with most of those albums!
I’ll probably catch hell for this but here’s me with Percy in Richmond doing “Dark End of the Street”. It’s not a good recording, the handycam was at the sound board and this was the slimmed down, 4 piece dive bar version of the band but what the hey,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzts3QICEYs
Nice, gregg! But I’m confused now, does this mean that Percy Sledge doesn’t really like black music?
A hit, a palpable hit!
Drivin’ n Cryin’?
I’ll start by kissing Gergely’s ass by saying that among my long-overdue record spree purchases was The Bird and the Bee’s “Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oats.”
I will now lose favor (most likely) by admitting the remainder of the purchased included:
Love and Rockets – Express
Laika – Sounds of the Satellites
Joe Jackson – Night and Day
Pavement – Westing (by musket and sextant)
Buffalo Daughter – New Rock
Buffalo Daughter – WXBD
As for cheating songs, let’s hear it for the girls! My nomination: Th’ Faith Healers – “Reptile Smile”
Thanks for getting back to me. All that’s fair.
What’s your beer of choice these days? Time are tough, man! I’m payin’ $14.50 for a case of National Bohemian!
E. Pluribus
Foxy lady,
Just for the record, I’m not a big Hall and Oates fan. During high school days, the moderator’s wife (I introduced her to the Moderator) used to take a poke at me once in awhile for looking a little bit like Darryl Hall Whatever. I’m familiar with a lot of their stuff because my sister used to play their records constantly. Digging them is nothing to be embarrassed about. They clearly had the goods, especially on the earlier LPs.
Do me a favor. At some point or another, go on You Tube and check out “Girl I Love You” and “Goodbye” by the Temptones, Daryl Hall’s first group. He was a huge Temptations fanatic. Check out the songs and let me know what you think. I love ’em.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Terry
Oh, and another purchase – you can’t miss: the La’s.
The Temptones are pretty luscious. But I’ll take Hall and Oates because I too grew up with their records and because they (not the records) were just plain weird (case in point, that video posted in the RTH Best Of the Best videos): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZZngTkp54I
That is indeed a winner. They certainly don’t make ’em like that anymore.
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
Out of all the Zappa albums, you pick the tamest two. Good, but still lightweight.
I can miss the La’s. Much ado about nothing. That said, “There She Goes” is a great track, despite the fact that the Moderator finds it structurally inane and therefore, for him at least, totally boring. I agree that there’s no great skill shown in the composition, but the the track works because It’s a nice two and a half minute slice of beautiful sounds. That kind of thing can work for two and a half minutes – but not ten.
E. Pluribus
Sheezus, but you drive me crazy sometimes. Lookit, you don’t have to like anything you don’t want to. But the statement: “I agree that there’s no great skill shown in (‘There She Goes’)…” frankly worries me.
What kind of skill is actually required of any musician beyond delivering “two-and-a-half minute slice(s) of beautiful sounds”? What more do you need? Should Hank Williams or Howlin’ Wolf have added more chords to “Move It On Over” or “Spoonful”? Or is there some racial, economic or genetic reason why only dope-smoking teenagers from England have to do that to make sure their songcraft passes your sniff test?
You bust jungleland’s balls for (supposedly) liking over-composed shite like Kansas and Styx, and you find a three-chord pop song lacking because… it only uses three chords? What exactly are you trying to say here?
I urge you to clarify. And try to do it without accusing me of:
a.) lacking “animality” or some other God-given ability to appreciate music on the same level as you
b.) listening to ELO, ZZ Top or Prince
c.) enjoying the smell and/or taste of dog shit
Listening to a thrift store single by Mashmakhan and wondering if you might actually love this crappy band, given your apparent feelings on the need for complexity in White songcraft, I remain,
Your friend in Rock,
HVB
Drivin N Cryin are my hometown heroes (along with Georgia Satellites) I bet I’ve seen them 100 times since 1986. (including maybe tomorrow night) They never quite made it nationally, but regionally they still play big rooms and sell cds. They used to do The Fox every Thanksgiving Night with Widespread Panic as the opening band
true, but still my faves. I mostly listen to the “you can’t do this on stage anymore” series rather than studio stuff.
The unavailability of quaaludes would be a big part of the reason they *can’t* make ’em like that anymore.
Lordy!
I thought getting married and laid on a routine basis would help you relax a little. Wrong again. Please! Do a bong hit once in a while for the sake of all of us up here! I have problems with Steve’s whiteness, but you’re practically an albino!
Reread my post. I said “no skill in the composition”, i.e. the structural writing of the song. It’s basically one chorus repeated over and over and over again. No chorus, no bridge, nothing else but that wonderful hook that shows up again and again. And all that’s fine. The vocal is more than acceptable and the instrumentation is played and recorded well. All I was trying to say is that that works for me as long as it doesn’t go on for more than two and a half minutes. Past the two and a half minute mark? I need more lyrics, a bridge, leads, etc.
It’s certainly no “Slip Away”, but it’s definitely an enjoyable piece of fluff.
Know what? I sort of regret the years that I tried to be a songwriter because it more or less ruined my enjoyment of pop. Everything is now analyzed. I find myself sometimes liking some tracks because they’re built well regardless of the fact a lot of them have no soul whatsoever. It’d be nice to have a song speak to me again and appreciate the thing for that and that only. That happens once in a while when I hear something like “Slip Away.”
As far as Jungleland is concerned, you’re completely misguided. I love the man. He’s one of a kind. He sincerely loves stuff which I consider total garbage. It speaks to him. Plain and simple. A defense ala composition, instrumentation, production is pointless. He is to be commended for standing up for that slop and letting us all know that he doesn’t give a damn whether we like it or not. He’s got globelike balls, and when you have globe like balls, insults from kooks like me mean nothing whatsoever.
During high school, I worked in an Italian restaurant washing dishes with a guy named Craig who went absolutely bonkers anytime a Scorpions tune blasted out of the radio. And if that Scorps tune happened to be “Blackout”, heaven help anyone that was within a kilometer of the man. Highly theatrical activity would ensue and all would end with a brief trip outside for a quick toke on the smokeless. Know that when he was asked what the hell that was all about, his response had nothing to do with the ins and outs of songwriting. Hard to believe, but “Blackout” was his “Slip Away”.
Whatever. The truth of the matter is that much of what I’ve been blathering on about is most probably the same thing which got you in a dither. Another truth is that I pretty much didn’t even bother to read you post because once I saw your name I knew it was going to be more of the same old shit over and over again. In summation, if I came near the dartboard of any of your concerns, your welcome. If not, tough shit. Me and the ball and chain are gonna get loaded and watch “Swamp People” on FIOS demand which is hands down way more entertaining than analyzing some little nugget of corn in a gigantic turd.
Have a good one,
E. Pluribus
Late to this party so let me start off with a great cheating song, 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – “Somebody’s Been Sleeping”.
EPG, you’ve proven you are not perfect in my eyes if you’re going to talk about James Carr like that. I’m sure I’ve talked about it here before, so search if you are interested in the time I saw him live in 1996 during his short-lived comeback.
Richard & Linda Thompson did a great version of Dark End.
And if anyone is searching the archives, check to see if I signed up on Team “Exile” Would Make A Great EP. If not, consider this my application.
I’ve always wished Sinatra would have covered Me & Mrs. Jones. While he was at it, he could have made one more concept album of cheating songs including a lot of the ones mentioned in this thread. Frank wasn’t much of a soul singer so it probably would have been a train wreck but that doesn’t stop me wishing he had done it.
Love and Rockets – Express
Laika – Sounds of the Satellites
Joe Jackson – Night and Day
3 of my all time faves!
Al,
What are the other Carr tracks that you consider to be classics?
Hope to hear from you soon,
E. Pluribus
I just went to the Yuengling Brewery, and I brought home a few cases of Lord Chesterfield. 14.75 a case at the Berwer’s outlet in Pottsville. The brewery says we should have Yuengling’s in Ohio by August, so my beer of choice, my new “old standby” (which I haven’t had since Rolling Rock turned to piss from New Jersey), will be any one of Yuengling’s fine brews. I figure closer to 20 bucks a case, but that’s fine by me!
And all at discount prices!
EPG – have you actually listened to the whole album? I think there is some song writing that you may appreciate. There are a variety of styles but I would say the bedrock of the album is skiffle.
And sometimes, the simplicity of a repeated chorus can be very comforting. Sort of like warm milk for the ears (maybe not the best image). Or a love song. The words, “I love you” sound great even when repeated in a heartfelt way, and if the song is making an emotional connection for me, I don’t mind a bit of repetition.
Here’s something else you might sink your teeth in to:
Mike Oldfield doing a cover of “Family Man”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeO22R07RZI
Another cheating song:
Illy B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvXA12n-gzQ
Milady,
I have listened to the whole LP. I was superinto the single when it was initially released and bought the long player immediately. Know thaI I have indeed listened to the whole thing. Again, I think it’s weak.
As far as the insights you serve up in the second paragraph, I couldn’t agree more. Case in point is Sam Cooke’s version of “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” -an absolutely gorgeous piece of work. To use your words, it’s heartfelt, the connection is there, and I don’t mind the repetition in the least. That said, the song clocks in at about two minutes.
You sound like a romantic. I like that a lot. What are your thoughts on the early Chet Baker vocal outings on Pacific Jazz? If you’re not familiar with them, please check out his version of “My Funny Valentine” on You Tube. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Always good to hear from you.
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
Chesterfield Ale rules! I love that stuff! Ya got great taste, 2000man!
You and I need to get together at some point and get bombed!
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
Give me the first side of “Freakout” and “We’re Only In It for the Money”in its entirety and put everything else out on the curb.
E. Pluribus
EPG – no space above to reply to your questions about Chet Baker so I’ll respond here:
Chet Baker. What a looker! Forever the image of a certain 1950’s suaveness. Image somewhat adulterated by my many readings and viewings of “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Nice voice, but not what one would expect given that face. “Let’s Get Lost” and “My Funny Valentine” were among our wedding reception songs.
I characterize CB up there with Fred Astaire: both are primarily known for something else, but there singing has so much character and heart that I like it. It doesn’t seem like an add on, as say William Shatner’s vocal musings.
Keep those recommendations coming. Even if I don’t 100% (or even 50%) agree with them, I enjoy listening to them.
Last note: I’m now reading an older book of music criticism: “Seven Years of Plenty: a handbook of irrefutable pop greatness 1991-1998” by Ben Thompson. You would probably like the tone: witty, dry, informational but also surprisingly loving. Although the small type, frequent British media references and the multisyllabic words can be a bit trying at times, there are some good nuggets for consideration. Here is an excerpt from Mr. Thompson’s final paragraph:
“Of course, the record which was really going to affect how things turned out over the next few years had actually stolen a match on it’s rivals, slipping on to the shelves, with no sign of futuristic fanfare, at the butt-end of 1990. Anyone claiming at the time that the first (and, as it turned out, only) album by Scouse overlords of the superfluous apostrophe The La’s was a blueprint for our sonic future would have been cut off from the society of their peers and banned from the operation of heavy machinery. Somewhere in Burnage, though, or out on the road with the Inspiral Carpets, Noel Gallagher was listening.”
So you can blame Oasis on The La’s!
Well, if the La’s were responsible for “Wonderwall”, “She’s Electric”, and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, more power to ’em. I never get tired of hearing those songs.
Did you read that Dave Thompson book yet -“I Hate New Music”? If not, have you heard anything about it?
Hope to hear from you soon,
E. Pluribus
Nope, haven’t read it. But since I like a lot of new music, it would be an interesting read. A Rock Town Hall Book Group this summer, perhaps?
I have 2 rock books on my summer reading list: the Ben Thompson I mentioned above and “Totally Wired: Post-Punk Interviews and Overviews” by Simon Reynolds. It’s the companion to his “Rip It Up” which was ab-fab.
Looks like you’ve got your reads lined up for the summer. Very nice. I’ve always gotta have a book going. I just finished a terrble kiss ass oral history of Lennon’s “Double Fantasy” LP, an album that doesn’t do a whole lot for me. One of the people involved at the session noted that Lennon was very into Christopher Cross at the time of the sessions. He especially like Cross’ “Sailing”. That’s the kind of minutia I really need not hear about someone I like a whole hell of a lot.
Know that I’ll read anything Beatles related.
I’m currently 4th in line on the library want list for a new book entitled “Fire and Rain”. It’s a history of 1970 focusing on the Beatles, James Taylor, CSN, and Simon and Garfunkel. Don’t know anything about it, but it looks good. We’ll see.
E. Pluribus
Steve,
I apologize for my incorrect usage of the word “penultimate”. By the way, the free puppy is still available on Craig’s list.
Sincerely,
E. Pluribus
Now you’re just slipping into bullshitting for the fun of it… right? I mean: “Wonderwall”?! Why, for God’s sake?
Hey man,
“Wonderwall” rules. It’s an absolute masterpiece. Something that great needs no explanation whatsoever. You either get it, or you don’t. You don’t. You do get Prince, ELO, and ZZ Top. I think that’s the root of the problem.
E. Pluriubs
My interest in Oasis ends after What’s the Story Morning Glory. But I love and 100% stand by those first two records, limitations and all.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
E. Pluribus