After a while, can you take your eyes off the heavy petting about to break out, behind Marvin Gaye‘s left shoulder, between the tuxedo-clad gentleman and his lady?
And what is it about “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” that made it one of the most heavily covered songs of its time? Is it really that great a song? Beside Nick Cave and whoever covered it on a likely Hal Willner-produced Jimmy Webb tribute album has anyone covered this song since the mid-’70s? I mean, I like the song possibly more than I should myself. For me, it’s one of those songs endemic to the soon-to-be-failed aspirations of slightly groovy middle class families at that time. You may be familiar with my take on this from things I’ve written in the past regarding my love for Dionne Warwick and her treatment of the Bacharach/David catalog – or my relationship to giant stereo consoles and conquistador sculptures. I’ll tie it all together someday, I promise.
