So, look, fellow RTHers — over the past week, I’ve scored a number of very interesting musical bits and pieces in the thrift store bins of Our Nation’s Capital. But today I want to focus on two or three in respectful tribute to our long-suffering Moderator.
Seriously, guys and gals — ol’ Jim really does put up with a lot from us, and he deserves at least a little bit of respeck every once in a while. So, I have decided to dedicate this third installment of my Thrifty Music series to our own Mr. Mod.
As always, I encourage newcomers to read Volume 1 in the series to fully acquaint themselves with the overarching philosophy behind this ongoing project.
Now — to the Modular tunes at hand!
Donnie Hathaway, “Love, Love, Love”
First up, a nicely scratchy 45 of Donny Hathaway singing “Love, Love, Love.” I submit this to Mr. Mod with the following question in mind: You’ve made it quite clear that you find the What’s Going On album to be bloated, self-indulgent and — seemingly most important — unfocused. Well, here’s an extremely talented singer clearly ripping a very focused page (if not an entire chapter) from that Album You Love To Be Iconoclastic About — and acquitting himself rather nicely, too, if you ask me. My question is: If this were a small part of an album that showed as much focus from start to finish, would you prefer it to the “classic” album it emulates?
Dee Dee Warwick, “I’m Glad I’m a Woman”
Second: You and I have gone toe-to-toe before on the topic of Dionne Warwick. I say she’s only as good as the songs she’s given, and that Burt Bacharach is the only reason she’s worth listening to; you continue to believe in some mush-mouthed notion that she and Burt Bacharach were joined together by God, and that each makes the other reach his/her highest conceivable artistic peak. Well, you and I can continue to disagree about all that. For now, check out this cool A-side I scored of Dionne’s baby sister, kicking major ass on a beautiful song entitled “I’m Glad I’m a Woman” (and I do mean song: this is one of those rare numbers where I find the lyric to be every bit as compelling as the music). Not as idiosyncratic as her older sister, but… wow!
James Darren, “Goodbye, Cruel World”
Finally, Mr. Mod, I offer you a surprisingly fun and catchy single entitled “Goodbye, Cruel World,” sung by teen heartthrob James Darren. Who’s James Darren, you ask? None other than the actor who went on to play Jim Corrigan on T.J. Hooker! By golly, I actually like this song – that pennywhistle figure is killer!
Anyhow, that’s all I got this time out. I’ve saved one or two more tunes from the last couple of weeks’ hunting that I hope to share with you all soon, ’cause they’re really strong. I just wanted to go on record first with this loving tribute to our very own Mr. Mod. Thanks, as always, for keepin’ it real.
Your pal,
Hrundi V. Bakshi
Great stuff, Hrrundi. The scratches at the beginning of the first two tracks are especially powerful. Seriously, I have been planning on writing a piece on the power of scratches themselves for some time. These scratches are great examples of the excitement scratches can add to a record.
Listen, I really appreciate loving tributes to myself, but I’ve got to take issue with some of the ways you’ve characterized my opinons. Later this weekend, I’ll be prepared to hash this out – in a loving way, of course. Until then, I look forward to thoughtful comments from our Townspeople. This is a true service to the community, my friends. Please milk it for all it’s worth. Thanks. Brother Townsman!
Wow. That Donny Hathaway track is just really great! Completely along the same lines as “Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)” and it looks like your 45’s song was only issued two years later in ’73 as well. I was just looking him up on wickedpedia and his death sounds quite mysterious: “On January 13, 1979, Hathaway was found dead on the sidewalk in front of the Essex House in New York City, where he had been living. His body showed no signs of struggle, and the glass from the window in Hathaway’s room had been removed; investigators determined Hathaway had committed suicide. Friends, fans, and the media were mystified at his death, since his career and his partnership with Flack were on an upswing. Flack was devastated by his death, and included the few duet tracks they had finished on her next album.” Do you have any more of his stuff? Great post as always Hrundi! I have the day off, so I’m going to watch The Party!! I’ll post more on those other songs later. I have several of Dionne’s albums (thrift store finds as well), and she can get a bit tired sometimes, but overall she’s got pipes which is why I’ve picked up a few of her things, plus you can’t go wrong with a bit of Burt!
I enjoyed these finds, Fritz–thanks. What did you mean about liking the lyrics on the Warwick song? They struck me as absolutely rote as the issue of quality “song” goes.
Mark
Hrrundi asked:
How does this question differ from “Would Let’s Get It On (the album) have been better had it had more than 3 great songs and did away with all that proto-Quiet Storm filler?” Would this Hathaway track have helped Let’s Get It On be a better album? Certainly!
Re: The lyrics of “I’m a Woman”
I’m not sure I hear what’s so special about the lyrics. They pale in comparison to Hal David’s lyrics on any number of Dionne Warwick songs that deal with the already fading (at that time) notion of the “little woman” who’s happy to serve her man.
I think Dee Dee’s throaty singing makes the song, although that extended “la la” break before the instrumental segment that leads to a key change sounds like a major placeholder. Did she have to rush out on tour to sing background vocals for sis or something?
By the way, don’t ever leave Hal David’s lyrics out of the Trinity of Bacharach/David/Dionne Warwick.
Couple comments on the lyric for this song:
1. Mr. Mod, don’t be puttin’ on airs about Hal David’s lyrics when I’m in the room! I suggest you go listen to “Promises, Promises” to see just how dreadful that guy could be when he was writing for Dionne. Pee- YOU!
2. Regarding the reasons why I like this lyric: I can’t speak for what it’s like to be made to feel glad about being a woman, but, like most dudes on this list, there have been times when I’ve enjoyed being appreciated for my manliness (no snickering, please; you know I mean that literally). The song seems to understand that we just like to feel good about being who we are, and a large part of who we are is wrapped up in our gender. (NOTE: I can only speak for the hetero kind of love I understand, and am not suggesting it’s the only flavor out there. The real core principle here transcends sexuality, anyway: what really gets us as human beings is being most appreciated for the things we can help the least.) Dee Dee takes deep, simple pleasure in acting in a way that defines “womanliness” for her, and she attributes this comfortable feeling to the man who allows her to just be herself. How many of us have never enjoyed feeling that way?
Can we keep it clean around here, man?
By the way, I do better understand why tou like the lyric to the Dee Dee song. Are you cool with that “placeholder” la-la break?
I wonder how the rest of that Hathaway album is? Maybe Townsman Buskirk knows…
Finally, I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the T.J. Hooker-related thriftiness.
Who knew James Darren was multi-talented?