Stevie Wonder - "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (1974)
Released in the summer of 1974 just before it's subject, U.S. president Richard Nixon resigned.
Stevie Wonder was 23 when he wrote, produced and performed almost every instrument on this track. It is short for a funk song, and not really sing-along like a good protest song should be, but it was catchy enough to climb the pop charts. It actually hit number one for one week in November, between Dionne Warwick and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. According to Wikipedia and 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die this is a drum machine, which is an odd choice for Stevie Wonder, who is a very talented drummer. Backing vocals on this track were provided by The Jackson 5, who were still big stars, but a little past their prime. Wonder on the other hand was still going strong and had huge hits in his future. This song owes a lot to 1972's "Superstition" but the added element of a political statement was a new one for Wonder.
Showing posts with label 70s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 70s. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
"Tumbling Dice"
The Rolling Stones "Tumbling Dice" (1972)
A song that is all about the groove.
Joe Strummer of The Clash once claimed that "part of what makes this special, is that the words are a conundrum, like 'Louie, Louie'". Mick Jagger has claimed that the song is ordinary and he doesn't really see what people see in it. The Stones use a backing group of women that kinda give the song a singalong feel. Mick is singing lyrics that are hard to keep up with, but when you hear something you recognize, everyone just sort of jumps in. There's a bit of a brass section, some tinkling piano, a little slide guitar, and world renown saxophone player Bobby Keys adds to that free wheeling "just throw it all in and see what happens" feel like the female backing musicians. But that freewheeling sound was precise. It sounds like it just happened because the musicians care so much. Engineer Andy Johns suggests that as many as 150 takes were done of the song.
Part of the legendary Exile on Main Street album, and part of the Stones live performances for so long that it appears on three different live compilations, the song is one that is often covered. Linda Ronstadt had a hit with it just five years after the original. Keith Urban and Bon Jovi are known to play it live. I've always like the Johnny Copeland cover on an album called Paint it Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones. It's not a enlightening cover, but the whole album is great, so I think well of the song. It does have a ripping good guitar solo.
A song that is all about the groove.
Joe Strummer of The Clash once claimed that "part of what makes this special, is that the words are a conundrum, like 'Louie, Louie'". Mick Jagger has claimed that the song is ordinary and he doesn't really see what people see in it. The Stones use a backing group of women that kinda give the song a singalong feel. Mick is singing lyrics that are hard to keep up with, but when you hear something you recognize, everyone just sort of jumps in. There's a bit of a brass section, some tinkling piano, a little slide guitar, and world renown saxophone player Bobby Keys adds to that free wheeling "just throw it all in and see what happens" feel like the female backing musicians. But that freewheeling sound was precise. It sounds like it just happened because the musicians care so much. Engineer Andy Johns suggests that as many as 150 takes were done of the song.
Part of the legendary Exile on Main Street album, and part of the Stones live performances for so long that it appears on three different live compilations, the song is one that is often covered. Linda Ronstadt had a hit with it just five years after the original. Keith Urban and Bon Jovi are known to play it live. I've always like the Johnny Copeland cover on an album called Paint it Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones. It's not a enlightening cover, but the whole album is great, so I think well of the song. It does have a ripping good guitar solo.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
"Beat the Clock"
Sparks - "Beat the Clock" (1979)
Odd band, interesting story, song that doesn't stand the test of time but is historically significant.
Sparks started life as two brothers from LA who write music that no one else really seemed to get. They eventually got traction in England, and took up residency in London, writing operatic pop music like their big hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us". The vocals were high pitched, the songs were piano driven, and after a few albums with a full band, they still hadn't had any real success outside of England. As the 70s were drawing to a close, they became enamored with Disco, and their new angle was born.
Producer Giogio Moroder had just finished working with Donna Summer and got put together with the Mael brothers who had just ditched the rest of the band. They kept the high pitched vocals and the keyboard driven, but switched to synthesizers. Moroder's disco beats hung the whole thing together and the hit upon the synth duo; a musical style that would burn through England, Europe, and shape the 80s in America as well.
It is a perfect example of a mid 80s New Wave sound, so while it doesn't really sound great to me, you have to respect the fact that this was released in July of 1979. The vocals are impressive, but the song is ultimately a drum loop and a synth player who might as well be looped for most of the track.
Odd band, interesting story, song that doesn't stand the test of time but is historically significant.
Sparks started life as two brothers from LA who write music that no one else really seemed to get. They eventually got traction in England, and took up residency in London, writing operatic pop music like their big hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us". The vocals were high pitched, the songs were piano driven, and after a few albums with a full band, they still hadn't had any real success outside of England. As the 70s were drawing to a close, they became enamored with Disco, and their new angle was born.
Producer Giogio Moroder had just finished working with Donna Summer and got put together with the Mael brothers who had just ditched the rest of the band. They kept the high pitched vocals and the keyboard driven, but switched to synthesizers. Moroder's disco beats hung the whole thing together and the hit upon the synth duo; a musical style that would burn through England, Europe, and shape the 80s in America as well.
It is a perfect example of a mid 80s New Wave sound, so while it doesn't really sound great to me, you have to respect the fact that this was released in July of 1979. The vocals are impressive, but the song is ultimately a drum loop and a synth player who might as well be looped for most of the track.
Friday, July 13, 2012
"Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)"
Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs - "Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)" (1972)
The band, and this song, really jumped into the spotlight when they were featured in the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival.
According to Wikipedia Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs were an Australian pop rock group from the mid 60s that broke up, then reformed in the 70s to become a well respected hard-rock group. The Book points out that this song is their most popular, but not exactly indicative of their later sound, where they were known for being the one of 'rock's loudest acts'. I don't really know how they competed against ACDC for even being the loudest act in Australia.
This song is a great tight song that I can't believe doesn't get any attention on classic rock stations. It's got elements of the later Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynard Skynard, and Elton John. Wonderful harmonies, a passionate lead vocal, a simple chugging along acoustic guitar part and then seemingly out of nowhere just blazing lead guitar chops. And they don't rest on that. The guitar solos are pure 70s heavy lead stuff and the first one is actually competing with an organ which makes it sound like an early precursor to prog metal. Even during the guitar solos (one of which is an outro on the single) they've got an upright piano banging out chords that give the song a fuller, more complex sound that makes it really hard to put a name on. It's like Australian roots rock and I dig it.
The band, and this song, really jumped into the spotlight when they were featured in the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival.
According to Wikipedia Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs were an Australian pop rock group from the mid 60s that broke up, then reformed in the 70s to become a well respected hard-rock group. The Book points out that this song is their most popular, but not exactly indicative of their later sound, where they were known for being the one of 'rock's loudest acts'. I don't really know how they competed against ACDC for even being the loudest act in Australia.
This song is a great tight song that I can't believe doesn't get any attention on classic rock stations. It's got elements of the later Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynard Skynard, and Elton John. Wonderful harmonies, a passionate lead vocal, a simple chugging along acoustic guitar part and then seemingly out of nowhere just blazing lead guitar chops. And they don't rest on that. The guitar solos are pure 70s heavy lead stuff and the first one is actually competing with an organ which makes it sound like an early precursor to prog metal. Even during the guitar solos (one of which is an outro on the single) they've got an upright piano banging out chords that give the song a fuller, more complex sound that makes it really hard to put a name on. It's like Australian roots rock and I dig it.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
"Ever Fallen in Love...(with Someone You Shouldn't've)"
Buzzcocks - "Ever Fallen in Love...(with Someone You Shouldn't've)" (1978)
What is it about early twenty somethings and disastrous romantic relationships making good music?
Pete Shelly, the writer, guitarist, and singer of the Buzzcocks was twenty two when he and his mates in the band were vaguely watching the Sinatra/Brando film version of Guys & Dolls. A lyric about falling in love with a person you should not came on and inspiration struck. The song in very melodic punk, in fact if it wasn't the Buzzcocks, an iconic British punk band, you would just say it was rock. There are two guitars, the bass is doing it's own thing instead of thrashing out the same thing as the guitar, and the drummer is playing way more complex patterns in his fills than a usual punk song. The speed, and recycled lyrics are distinctly punk, and the lyrics being about love are very British punk, it's just so melodic a song I almost want to call it something else. It's also been covered by every second wave punk band you've ever heard of and a bunch more that you haven't. It's a much beloved song, clearly every punk kid has had a rough start with a relationship.
What is it about early twenty somethings and disastrous romantic relationships making good music?
Pete Shelly, the writer, guitarist, and singer of the Buzzcocks was twenty two when he and his mates in the band were vaguely watching the Sinatra/Brando film version of Guys & Dolls. A lyric about falling in love with a person you should not came on and inspiration struck. The song in very melodic punk, in fact if it wasn't the Buzzcocks, an iconic British punk band, you would just say it was rock. There are two guitars, the bass is doing it's own thing instead of thrashing out the same thing as the guitar, and the drummer is playing way more complex patterns in his fills than a usual punk song. The speed, and recycled lyrics are distinctly punk, and the lyrics being about love are very British punk, it's just so melodic a song I almost want to call it something else. It's also been covered by every second wave punk band you've ever heard of and a bunch more that you haven't. It's a much beloved song, clearly every punk kid has had a rough start with a relationship.
Monday, June 25, 2012
"Cokane in My Brain"
Dillinger - "Cokane in My Brain" (1976)
I don't know who Jim is. The producer's name was Joseph, but he apparently went by Jo Jo. I can only hope that somewhere, Jim has learned how to spell New York.
I gotta be honest, I think this might be one of those songs that became popular because it mentioned drugs a lot, and so in the time, it sounded cool. Much like Afroman's "Because I Got High" it doesn't really hold up years later. The music is The People's Choice's "Do It Any Way You Wanna" but played by in house Jamaican studio musicians. The don't play it the same, but it's the same tune nevertheless. They've got some good funk going on, but the original is funkier.
There's really only two lyrics worth talking about. The first is the answer to the question that Dillinger asks over and over again. "/A knife, a fork, a bottle, and a cork/ That's the way we spell New York" (Bullock). The line is a sort of Cockney rhyming slang that dates back until at least the 1910s. A article in the Syracuse Herald from 1915 mentions the phrase in relation to an address on a letter. Other artists, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Information Society have used the phrase in songs. The other lyric is the common complaint of people who throw house parties. "/No matter where I treat my guest/ They always like my kitchen best/" of course Dillinger follows it up with a reason. "/ Because I've got a whole lot of Cocaine.../".
I don't know who Jim is. The producer's name was Joseph, but he apparently went by Jo Jo. I can only hope that somewhere, Jim has learned how to spell New York.
I gotta be honest, I think this might be one of those songs that became popular because it mentioned drugs a lot, and so in the time, it sounded cool. Much like Afroman's "Because I Got High" it doesn't really hold up years later. The music is The People's Choice's "Do It Any Way You Wanna" but played by in house Jamaican studio musicians. The don't play it the same, but it's the same tune nevertheless. They've got some good funk going on, but the original is funkier.
There's really only two lyrics worth talking about. The first is the answer to the question that Dillinger asks over and over again. "/A knife, a fork, a bottle, and a cork/ That's the way we spell New York" (Bullock). The line is a sort of Cockney rhyming slang that dates back until at least the 1910s. A article in the Syracuse Herald from 1915 mentions the phrase in relation to an address on a letter. Other artists, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Information Society have used the phrase in songs. The other lyric is the common complaint of people who throw house parties. "/No matter where I treat my guest/ They always like my kitchen best/" of course Dillinger follows it up with a reason. "/ Because I've got a whole lot of Cocaine.../".
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
"It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl"
Faust - "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" (1972)
Faust was one of the earliest bands signed to Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin Records.
OK, so clearly we've started with some drums, it's a raw sound, you can hear that on some beats the drummer is hitting harder than others, and you can hear the actual "tone" of the drum and not just the percussive hit. The piano part that comes in is only marginally more complex than the drums, in that they play the same note 15 times then one different note, at the same time the drummer hits the drum a little harder. The vocalists that come in sound like they are being recorded on one mike, a little too far away and then the guitar comes in. The second acoustic guitar adds the most complexity so far, and it's about two minutes in when you realize that this song is over seven minutes long, and you just might be listening to some experimental college rock that no one expected anyone else to ever listen to.
Krautrock is the genre name given to a German based highly experimental sound that has no real other binding definition. Some of it is more like jazz, other stuff is more like progressive classical, and then this is sort of an ambient, layers of sound thing. After building a basic sound of drums, keyboard, and vocals, we get several different layers. The guitar starts as something different, giving us hints of complexity, but eventually just becomes another layer. The vocals too go in and out, but for the most part are just another bass layer. About halfway through the song, faint electronic keyboard sounds and the wind start, eventually getting louder until they push everything else into a drone in the back of your mind. It's the kind of sound a Hollywood executive would want a scene of a Native American or Hippie meditation/psychedelic scene to have going on over it. A totally unexpected harmonica solo breaks the drone and suddenly the vocals that you hadn't noticed had disappeared are back in. Then a saxophone reminds you that you are listening to experimental music as the whole thing ends rather abruptly after a short fade out. You are left sitting and wondering "what did I just listen to?"
Faust was one of the earliest bands signed to Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin Records.
OK, so clearly we've started with some drums, it's a raw sound, you can hear that on some beats the drummer is hitting harder than others, and you can hear the actual "tone" of the drum and not just the percussive hit. The piano part that comes in is only marginally more complex than the drums, in that they play the same note 15 times then one different note, at the same time the drummer hits the drum a little harder. The vocalists that come in sound like they are being recorded on one mike, a little too far away and then the guitar comes in. The second acoustic guitar adds the most complexity so far, and it's about two minutes in when you realize that this song is over seven minutes long, and you just might be listening to some experimental college rock that no one expected anyone else to ever listen to.
Krautrock is the genre name given to a German based highly experimental sound that has no real other binding definition. Some of it is more like jazz, other stuff is more like progressive classical, and then this is sort of an ambient, layers of sound thing. After building a basic sound of drums, keyboard, and vocals, we get several different layers. The guitar starts as something different, giving us hints of complexity, but eventually just becomes another layer. The vocals too go in and out, but for the most part are just another bass layer. About halfway through the song, faint electronic keyboard sounds and the wind start, eventually getting louder until they push everything else into a drone in the back of your mind. It's the kind of sound a Hollywood executive would want a scene of a Native American or Hippie meditation/psychedelic scene to have going on over it. A totally unexpected harmonica solo breaks the drone and suddenly the vocals that you hadn't noticed had disappeared are back in. Then a saxophone reminds you that you are listening to experimental music as the whole thing ends rather abruptly after a short fade out. You are left sitting and wondering "what did I just listen to?"
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
"Willin'"
Little Feat - "Willin'" (1972)
Producer Ted Templeman worked with the Doobie Brothers, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Aerosmith, but is most known for helping to discover and produce Van Halen.
This is a great folk song. It's a travel song, a blue collar worker song, and a drug song all rolled up together. It's no wonder that it is a country and roots rock favorite. Originally covered by Linda Ronstadt, it has been covered by the Black Crows, Dwight Yoakam and Bob Dylan. This version is kind of a cover in and of itself. This is off of Salin' Shoes, the second Little Feat album, and it appeared on the eponymous debut album in a really stripped down version first. Almost all of the versions are tremendously faithful, there's not a lot of change you want to do to a trucker song that so perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being on the inside of a rig. Singer, guitar player, and songwriter Lowell George really lets his voice lead you into the story. He's world weary, beat down, misses his woman, subsisting on nothing by uppers and downers, and yet if there's a load that needs to get somewhere, he's still your man.
It's a short song, under three minutes, and yet it includes a beautiful duet between a slide guitar and a piano. He sings the chorus twice, backed by the other three members of the band, and only two verses. It's a song that could easily have been stretched out by any other artist, a five or six minute version with more verses about different parts of the country, different women, and more solos, but instead he ties it up in such a neat bow.
Producer Ted Templeman worked with the Doobie Brothers, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Aerosmith, but is most known for helping to discover and produce Van Halen.
This is a great folk song. It's a travel song, a blue collar worker song, and a drug song all rolled up together. It's no wonder that it is a country and roots rock favorite. Originally covered by Linda Ronstadt, it has been covered by the Black Crows, Dwight Yoakam and Bob Dylan. This version is kind of a cover in and of itself. This is off of Salin' Shoes, the second Little Feat album, and it appeared on the eponymous debut album in a really stripped down version first. Almost all of the versions are tremendously faithful, there's not a lot of change you want to do to a trucker song that so perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being on the inside of a rig. Singer, guitar player, and songwriter Lowell George really lets his voice lead you into the story. He's world weary, beat down, misses his woman, subsisting on nothing by uppers and downers, and yet if there's a load that needs to get somewhere, he's still your man.
It's a short song, under three minutes, and yet it includes a beautiful duet between a slide guitar and a piano. He sings the chorus twice, backed by the other three members of the band, and only two verses. It's a song that could easily have been stretched out by any other artist, a five or six minute version with more verses about different parts of the country, different women, and more solos, but instead he ties it up in such a neat bow.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
"Gloria"
Patti Smith - "Gloria" (1975)
Produced by former The Velvet Underground member and all around award winning record producer John Cale.
It was about eight months ago that I saw Patti Smith live in concert. She was and is a legend, and really knows how to work a crowd, but I think I can honestly say she was not my favorite part of the show. Her voice was harsh and her self righteous attitude seemed almost like a put on it felt so forced. This on the other hand sounds real. Based on the Them song of the same name, penned by lead singer and songwriter Van Morrison; Patti Smith ads a bitter introduction. Simple chord progression and snarled lyrics are part of what makes this song, and the whole album Horses seen as a jumping off point for the NYC punk movement. But I can hear country/folk influences in the guitar and the storytelling. Them sang about a young woman who was coming over and then obviously spent time with the singer. Smith takes the same basic tale and gives it more depth, setting us up the city and the neighborhood, and then really letting us know that when she's sings:
"/Here she comes/Crawlin’ up my stair
Here she comes/Waltzin’ through the hall
In a pretty red dress/And oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine
And I got this crazy feeling that I’m gonna ah-ah make her mine" (Van Morrison/Smith)
she intends to make this the most memorable night that either of the woman has ever had. The song seems to be wrapping up around five minutes in, quoting Smith's opening lyrics, but then the drum rolls, and the ecstatic guitar solo at the end performed by Lenny Kaye is the perfect announcement to the world that Patti Smith is coming, lock up your sons and your daughters.
Produced by former The Velvet Underground member and all around award winning record producer John Cale.
It was about eight months ago that I saw Patti Smith live in concert. She was and is a legend, and really knows how to work a crowd, but I think I can honestly say she was not my favorite part of the show. Her voice was harsh and her self righteous attitude seemed almost like a put on it felt so forced. This on the other hand sounds real. Based on the Them song of the same name, penned by lead singer and songwriter Van Morrison; Patti Smith ads a bitter introduction. Simple chord progression and snarled lyrics are part of what makes this song, and the whole album Horses seen as a jumping off point for the NYC punk movement. But I can hear country/folk influences in the guitar and the storytelling. Them sang about a young woman who was coming over and then obviously spent time with the singer. Smith takes the same basic tale and gives it more depth, setting us up the city and the neighborhood, and then really letting us know that when she's sings:
"/Here she comes/Crawlin’ up my stair
Here she comes/Waltzin’ through the hall
In a pretty red dress/And oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine
And I got this crazy feeling that I’m gonna ah-ah make her mine" (Van Morrison/Smith)
she intends to make this the most memorable night that either of the woman has ever had. The song seems to be wrapping up around five minutes in, quoting Smith's opening lyrics, but then the drum rolls, and the ecstatic guitar solo at the end performed by Lenny Kaye is the perfect announcement to the world that Patti Smith is coming, lock up your sons and your daughters.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
"Anarchy in the U.K."
Sex Pistols - "Anarchy in the U.K." (1976)
Who else would rhyme Anarchist with Antichrist?
So if you've been following the blog, you know that The Damned released their first single a month before the Sex Pistols, and that The Saints released their single a month before that. So why is this song pointed to time and time again as the grandfather, the first shot, the original moment that punk made it? Well there is a story of a TV appearance, but there is also the fact that the lyrics if the song are calculated to burn instead of salve. The Damned and The Saints both recorded blistering songs full of angry guitars and rough vocals, but they were lyrically about young men who were in love, and either rejected or not, but one way or another they were singing about love. Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols were telling Britain's youth to rise up and violently throw off every possible rule and law they could get a hold of. That'll get you some attention and a every expanding fan base that includes young people of today, over thirty five years after the song was recorded.
The song is longer than I would have imagined, over three and a half minutes long. It also has a surprising amount of guitar going on. There's the standard simple chords through a bunch of feedback, but there's actually a solo as well. The bass is recorded by Glen Matlock who left the band after this single and before they could record the second. For all the snarled lyrics of Johnny Rotten, he actually sings melodically and he and guitarist Steve Jones manage a great little harmony there for a few seconds.
Who else would rhyme Anarchist with Antichrist?
So if you've been following the blog, you know that The Damned released their first single a month before the Sex Pistols, and that The Saints released their single a month before that. So why is this song pointed to time and time again as the grandfather, the first shot, the original moment that punk made it? Well there is a story of a TV appearance, but there is also the fact that the lyrics if the song are calculated to burn instead of salve. The Damned and The Saints both recorded blistering songs full of angry guitars and rough vocals, but they were lyrically about young men who were in love, and either rejected or not, but one way or another they were singing about love. Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols were telling Britain's youth to rise up and violently throw off every possible rule and law they could get a hold of. That'll get you some attention and a every expanding fan base that includes young people of today, over thirty five years after the song was recorded.
The song is longer than I would have imagined, over three and a half minutes long. It also has a surprising amount of guitar going on. There's the standard simple chords through a bunch of feedback, but there's actually a solo as well. The bass is recorded by Glen Matlock who left the band after this single and before they could record the second. For all the snarled lyrics of Johnny Rotten, he actually sings melodically and he and guitarist Steve Jones manage a great little harmony there for a few seconds.
Friday, May 11, 2012
"Stayin' Alive"
Bee Gees - "Stayin' Alive" (1977)
I hate this song. It's so damn good.
Seriously though, this is not my kind of music, but aside from the fact that the drum is a loop from another song on the same album ("Night Fever") what is it exactly that I don't like? Well, the guitar solos are repetitive, and I'm not a huge fan of falsetto, but I find it acceptable in other songs. So I guess it really is just the association with one of the worst flash in the pan genres of modern music. So let's take away the drums, and listen to it as if it wasn't one of the most well known disco songs ever written.
The Gibb brothers are songwriters. First and foremost they tell great stories in a few minutes with well crafted lyrics. Their early numbers include a poignant song about miners talking together trapped underground, a soul ballad written for Otis Redding who died before he could record it, and eventually they became known for quiet contemplative songs like "Words", "I Started a Joke", and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". They wrote story songs and folk songs and were well regarded if not huge sellers. They actually wrote "Stayin' Alive" on acoustic guitars, and successfully told a story of inner-city struggle and the release of hitting the club on a weekend. What else works in this song? The harmonies are tight as can be. There's not half a dozen men alive who could have hit any of those notes, much less pulled them together into a three part harmony. Then they used a surprisingly live sounding keyboard to do the horn and string sections, so rather than sounding fake and electronic, it sounds like there are a dozen musicians adding layers to this track, instead of (as best as I can tell) just Blue Weaver playing all of that great backing instrumentation on his keyboard. So we've got a looped drum sample (which would became a staple of the disco genre), some repetitive so-so (and beloved) guitar work, vocals that I both respect and don't really love, a great keyboardist faking a larger group of musicians and a good story. So how does a song with this much balancing back and forth between I respect it and I can't stand it get me to say it's damn good?
Maurice Gibb on Bass. Often overlooked in favor of his good looking lead singing brother Barry or his interesting looking lead singing lead brother Robin, Maurice sang a lot of backup, and played a lot of instruments through the years, but on this track his bass holds the song together. The drums are mechanical, walking to a metronome doesn't make John Travolta, it's the funk and soul in the bass that made this song, that made the scene that made the movie.
I hate this song. It's so damn good.
Seriously though, this is not my kind of music, but aside from the fact that the drum is a loop from another song on the same album ("Night Fever") what is it exactly that I don't like? Well, the guitar solos are repetitive, and I'm not a huge fan of falsetto, but I find it acceptable in other songs. So I guess it really is just the association with one of the worst flash in the pan genres of modern music. So let's take away the drums, and listen to it as if it wasn't one of the most well known disco songs ever written.
The Gibb brothers are songwriters. First and foremost they tell great stories in a few minutes with well crafted lyrics. Their early numbers include a poignant song about miners talking together trapped underground, a soul ballad written for Otis Redding who died before he could record it, and eventually they became known for quiet contemplative songs like "Words", "I Started a Joke", and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". They wrote story songs and folk songs and were well regarded if not huge sellers. They actually wrote "Stayin' Alive" on acoustic guitars, and successfully told a story of inner-city struggle and the release of hitting the club on a weekend. What else works in this song? The harmonies are tight as can be. There's not half a dozen men alive who could have hit any of those notes, much less pulled them together into a three part harmony. Then they used a surprisingly live sounding keyboard to do the horn and string sections, so rather than sounding fake and electronic, it sounds like there are a dozen musicians adding layers to this track, instead of (as best as I can tell) just Blue Weaver playing all of that great backing instrumentation on his keyboard. So we've got a looped drum sample (which would became a staple of the disco genre), some repetitive so-so (and beloved) guitar work, vocals that I both respect and don't really love, a great keyboardist faking a larger group of musicians and a good story. So how does a song with this much balancing back and forth between I respect it and I can't stand it get me to say it's damn good?
Maurice Gibb on Bass. Often overlooked in favor of his good looking lead singing brother Barry or his interesting looking lead singing lead brother Robin, Maurice sang a lot of backup, and played a lot of instruments through the years, but on this track his bass holds the song together. The drums are mechanical, walking to a metronome doesn't make John Travolta, it's the funk and soul in the bass that made this song, that made the scene that made the movie.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
"Superfly"
Curtis Mayfield - "Superfly" (1972)
Who's the black cocaine dealer with a code name that would have made a great nemesis for Spider-Man in the 70s?
Shut your mouth.
I'm just talkin' bout Super Fly!
Then stop parodying the "Theme from Shaft", you're confusing people.
I can dig it.
The song that played over the closing credits of the film Super Fly. Yep, there's a space in the title of the movie, and the album, but not the song. The album is often credited with out-grossing the film it came from. It certainly had a longer last effect. The film was one of the more well known Blaxplotation films of the 70s, which wasn't exactly a long lasting genre. The soundtrack however is Curtis Mayfield's outstanding response to Issac Hayes best selling double album Shaft from the year previous. Both albums are a mix of Soul and Funk, but this track settles more into the Funk category. It does have a distinct melody and chord changes, which is still Soul, but that beat is solid Funk. Big brass hits and heavy landing bass make the sound hit hard and keep you moving, and as happens so often in songs like this, the vocalists decides to make himself heard by taking the song way up into falsetto. Mayfield makes use of this falsetto all the time. There has been a lot of essays written about where the falsetto came from in R&B music and all its derivative forms, including that it made black male singers 'safe' because they were less masculine, and that it was just a question of being heard as the lead vocalist over the multiple lower register singers in a do-wop style group. Here I think Mayfield started singing in falsetto as the lead singer of The Impressions in the late 50s and it became something that set him apart.
This is a really solid track, a non preachy message about how drug dealers are in a terrible business, great bass and brass licks like I said before, and funky fuzzy wah-wah guitar slinking around the corners. What I love is the secondary percussion. The primary drummer is good, lays down a solid hard to ignore beat and that's his job; but what percussionist 'Master' Henry Gibson does elevates the song, and in fact the whole album. Gibson is the conga/bongo performer on the album and he makes the song different. Hayes album makes use of a dozen different instruments, including congas but Gibson's performance on Super Fly really gets heard. This was the second single released from the album, after "Freddie's Dead", but to me, and many others, the brightest spot on the album is actually "Pusherman".
Who's the black cocaine dealer with a code name that would have made a great nemesis for Spider-Man in the 70s?
Shut your mouth.
I'm just talkin' bout Super Fly!
Then stop parodying the "Theme from Shaft", you're confusing people.
I can dig it.
The song that played over the closing credits of the film Super Fly. Yep, there's a space in the title of the movie, and the album, but not the song. The album is often credited with out-grossing the film it came from. It certainly had a longer last effect. The film was one of the more well known Blaxplotation films of the 70s, which wasn't exactly a long lasting genre. The soundtrack however is Curtis Mayfield's outstanding response to Issac Hayes best selling double album Shaft from the year previous. Both albums are a mix of Soul and Funk, but this track settles more into the Funk category. It does have a distinct melody and chord changes, which is still Soul, but that beat is solid Funk. Big brass hits and heavy landing bass make the sound hit hard and keep you moving, and as happens so often in songs like this, the vocalists decides to make himself heard by taking the song way up into falsetto. Mayfield makes use of this falsetto all the time. There has been a lot of essays written about where the falsetto came from in R&B music and all its derivative forms, including that it made black male singers 'safe' because they were less masculine, and that it was just a question of being heard as the lead vocalist over the multiple lower register singers in a do-wop style group. Here I think Mayfield started singing in falsetto as the lead singer of The Impressions in the late 50s and it became something that set him apart.
This is a really solid track, a non preachy message about how drug dealers are in a terrible business, great bass and brass licks like I said before, and funky fuzzy wah-wah guitar slinking around the corners. What I love is the secondary percussion. The primary drummer is good, lays down a solid hard to ignore beat and that's his job; but what percussionist 'Master' Henry Gibson does elevates the song, and in fact the whole album. Gibson is the conga/bongo performer on the album and he makes the song different. Hayes album makes use of a dozen different instruments, including congas but Gibson's performance on Super Fly really gets heard. This was the second single released from the album, after "Freddie's Dead", but to me, and many others, the brightest spot on the album is actually "Pusherman".
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
"War Pigs"
Black Sabbath - "War Pigs" (1970)
Not my favorite song of theirs, but it is on the same side. ;-)
Oh, I had forgotten how slow and dramatic this starts. This is a great song, don't mistake the opening line of this review. Hell, the entire album Paranoid might very well be the definitive blueprint for Heavy Metal. The first side of the album alone has three of the trademark songs of the era. Of course it also has a dreamy hippie-friendly psychedelic track about floating through the universe with your lover while accompanied by bongos. But let's cut them some slack, it was 1970 and no one really knew what direction music was going in. They get to have that one. Back to the music.
This is the lead off track to the album, and they really set a tone of despair and wasteland at the beginning. The WWII era air raid sirens really drive home the war/destruction feel. After the intro, the song is very separated. I mean that each of the instruments takes focus for a second, but not too much overlapping until they break into the jam portion with the two shorter verses in the middle. Then we get what many outlets have ranked as one of the greatest guitar solos in Heavy Metal. Tony Iommi is the only guitarist on the track, he layers himself to create the dense multi-part solo that helped define him as the most influential and greatest metal guitarist of all time. Then, we get the quiet high hat that has segued us before and we are back to vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and his wail telling us that the only way the War Pigs lose their power is when the hand of God calls us all to judgement at the end times. His last lines in the song evoke Satan, not to praise him, but to show where the merciless sinners will find themselves. The song however has more than two minutes left. The first half of that is a typical metal ending, working on the same chords and themes, and heading towards a fade out. But then we get "Luke's Wall"
American releases of Paranoid originally had this track titled "War Pigs/Luke's Wall". Well, Luke's Wall was the name of the section of the song at the end, starting around 6:30 that sounds hopeful, like a hero might be lifting himself out of the ashes. It was named after two members of the band's road crew named Luke and Wall. It gives us some hope that we may not be at the end of the story just yet. Then of course there's the weird sped up few seconds at the end that sound like someone wound the tape up too fast. I don't know what that's supposed to symbolize. Possibly the destruction of the hopeful hero in a bomb blast?
You want to hear some great covers? Of course you do. First we have a band named Elf, that is until they became Rainbow. This cover is live in 1972, just two years after the original. It sounds a lot like the original as well. so why include it? Well, lead singer of Elf, and then Rainbow Ronnie James Dio, eventually became the lead singer of Black Sabbath from 1979 to 1982 before going solo as Dio. So this vocalist eventually played the song live with the original band members at least for a short time. Also the guitar solo is pretty sweet. Most original sound is kind of a tie. We've got Hayseed Dixie with a bluegrass inspired cover that is great, and I love a mandolin, but the Alice Donut jazz band meets metal band sound is so creative. I just think it sounds like they needed a little more practice. But it is hard to hate a band with a trombone in it. I have found a favorite however. This version of War Pigs by The Dresden Dolls has more energy in it than the original, and that's saying something.
Not my favorite song of theirs, but it is on the same side. ;-)
Oh, I had forgotten how slow and dramatic this starts. This is a great song, don't mistake the opening line of this review. Hell, the entire album Paranoid might very well be the definitive blueprint for Heavy Metal. The first side of the album alone has three of the trademark songs of the era. Of course it also has a dreamy hippie-friendly psychedelic track about floating through the universe with your lover while accompanied by bongos. But let's cut them some slack, it was 1970 and no one really knew what direction music was going in. They get to have that one. Back to the music.
This is the lead off track to the album, and they really set a tone of despair and wasteland at the beginning. The WWII era air raid sirens really drive home the war/destruction feel. After the intro, the song is very separated. I mean that each of the instruments takes focus for a second, but not too much overlapping until they break into the jam portion with the two shorter verses in the middle. Then we get what many outlets have ranked as one of the greatest guitar solos in Heavy Metal. Tony Iommi is the only guitarist on the track, he layers himself to create the dense multi-part solo that helped define him as the most influential and greatest metal guitarist of all time. Then, we get the quiet high hat that has segued us before and we are back to vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and his wail telling us that the only way the War Pigs lose their power is when the hand of God calls us all to judgement at the end times. His last lines in the song evoke Satan, not to praise him, but to show where the merciless sinners will find themselves. The song however has more than two minutes left. The first half of that is a typical metal ending, working on the same chords and themes, and heading towards a fade out. But then we get "Luke's Wall"
American releases of Paranoid originally had this track titled "War Pigs/Luke's Wall". Well, Luke's Wall was the name of the section of the song at the end, starting around 6:30 that sounds hopeful, like a hero might be lifting himself out of the ashes. It was named after two members of the band's road crew named Luke and Wall. It gives us some hope that we may not be at the end of the story just yet. Then of course there's the weird sped up few seconds at the end that sound like someone wound the tape up too fast. I don't know what that's supposed to symbolize. Possibly the destruction of the hopeful hero in a bomb blast?
You want to hear some great covers? Of course you do. First we have a band named Elf, that is until they became Rainbow. This cover is live in 1972, just two years after the original. It sounds a lot like the original as well. so why include it? Well, lead singer of Elf, and then Rainbow Ronnie James Dio, eventually became the lead singer of Black Sabbath from 1979 to 1982 before going solo as Dio. So this vocalist eventually played the song live with the original band members at least for a short time. Also the guitar solo is pretty sweet. Most original sound is kind of a tie. We've got Hayseed Dixie with a bluegrass inspired cover that is great, and I love a mandolin, but the Alice Donut jazz band meets metal band sound is so creative. I just think it sounds like they needed a little more practice. But it is hard to hate a band with a trombone in it. I have found a favorite however. This version of War Pigs by The Dresden Dolls has more energy in it than the original, and that's saying something.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
"Roxanne"
The Police - "Roxanne" (1978)
"When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no love."
So what do we call this first early hit by The Police? Is it New Wave? There's no keyboard, but it does come from the same time period as the pop friendly post punk genre. Is it Reggae? The guitarist seems to be playing in a reggae band for sure, and he's half convinced the bass player to come along. But what about the drums? They seem to be playing something like a tango with a lot more cymbals making it almost a dance track, but tango is a dance, so is that redundant? There is also so much dead air that it would take a very confidant band with a lot of composure to pull something like that off, but this was only their second single you say? Oh yeah, and that laugh at the beginning with the piano before it? That's because the singer sat on the piano in the recording studio and they were broke and couldn't really afford to do another take so they left it in. Put all that together and you take a struggling not-really-a-punk-band-not-really-an-anything-band, and turn them into one of the most defining New Wave bands of the era.
Before Sting became a tantric sex advocate, before he wrote for Walt Disney, before he wrote adult contemporary Celtic influenced soft rock, before he became an actor even; he was the bass player, singer, and primary songwriter for The Police. They were an older group of guys, two over twenty five and one over thirty five who wanted to play punk music. They were a little old and a little too talented to be taken seriously so they tried something else. No one believed in them and they had no record deal, so drummer Stewart Copeland got his brother Mike to loan them money for recording time. They slipped in between other acts, showed up on days they weren't at work and waited until other bands no showed and then recorded for a couple of hours as much as they could. It was when Mike heard "Roxanne"; a song Sting wrote while looking out the window at prostitutes in Paris, that he decided they could make it and he became their manager and took the single around to anyone who would listen to try to get them a break. It was a flop when first released, and took over a year before it became even a minor hit in either the U.S. or the U.K. It's a good lesson in never giving up on your dreams. But I'll still always associate it with Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs.
"When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no love."
So what do we call this first early hit by The Police? Is it New Wave? There's no keyboard, but it does come from the same time period as the pop friendly post punk genre. Is it Reggae? The guitarist seems to be playing in a reggae band for sure, and he's half convinced the bass player to come along. But what about the drums? They seem to be playing something like a tango with a lot more cymbals making it almost a dance track, but tango is a dance, so is that redundant? There is also so much dead air that it would take a very confidant band with a lot of composure to pull something like that off, but this was only their second single you say? Oh yeah, and that laugh at the beginning with the piano before it? That's because the singer sat on the piano in the recording studio and they were broke and couldn't really afford to do another take so they left it in. Put all that together and you take a struggling not-really-a-punk-band-not-really-an-anything-band, and turn them into one of the most defining New Wave bands of the era.
Before Sting became a tantric sex advocate, before he wrote for Walt Disney, before he wrote adult contemporary Celtic influenced soft rock, before he became an actor even; he was the bass player, singer, and primary songwriter for The Police. They were an older group of guys, two over twenty five and one over thirty five who wanted to play punk music. They were a little old and a little too talented to be taken seriously so they tried something else. No one believed in them and they had no record deal, so drummer Stewart Copeland got his brother Mike to loan them money for recording time. They slipped in between other acts, showed up on days they weren't at work and waited until other bands no showed and then recorded for a couple of hours as much as they could. It was when Mike heard "Roxanne"; a song Sting wrote while looking out the window at prostitutes in Paris, that he decided they could make it and he became their manager and took the single around to anyone who would listen to try to get them a break. It was a flop when first released, and took over a year before it became even a minor hit in either the U.S. or the U.K. It's a good lesson in never giving up on your dreams. But I'll still always associate it with Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
"Elected"
Alice Cooper - "Elected" (1972)
The single immediately following "School's Out".
The opening contains crunchy electric guitar riffs, feedback that sounds like it belongs to Jimi Hendrix, and a boing sound like a toddler's spring toy would make. The aggressive sounds continue as the drums and bass drive the sound into your eardrums and Cooper's rough and throaty vocals sit on the edge between exciting and annoying. As the song continues though, a full brass and woodwind section comes out, working with the election theme and meant to sound like a high-school marching band was playing along, the song actually elevates above the mass of repetitive guitar riffs and shouted vocals and becomes a really fun track. The band overdub was added by producer Bob Ezrin, who worked with Alice Cooper before, as well as later as a solo artist. He also produced Destroyer, the biggest selling album for KISS, and three of the last four studio albums for Pink Floyd, including The Wall.
The single immediately following "School's Out".
The opening contains crunchy electric guitar riffs, feedback that sounds like it belongs to Jimi Hendrix, and a boing sound like a toddler's spring toy would make. The aggressive sounds continue as the drums and bass drive the sound into your eardrums and Cooper's rough and throaty vocals sit on the edge between exciting and annoying. As the song continues though, a full brass and woodwind section comes out, working with the election theme and meant to sound like a high-school marching band was playing along, the song actually elevates above the mass of repetitive guitar riffs and shouted vocals and becomes a really fun track. The band overdub was added by producer Bob Ezrin, who worked with Alice Cooper before, as well as later as a solo artist. He also produced Destroyer, the biggest selling album for KISS, and three of the last four studio albums for Pink Floyd, including The Wall.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
"Rimmel"
Francesco De Gregori - "Rimmel" (1975)
In Italy, the call him 'The Poet Prince'
Italian singer-songwriter De Gregori was born in Rome in 1951. He was fascinated by American music, particularly folk rockers like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. As the 70s opened and James Taylor and Neil Young topped the charts he grabbed his guitar and began recording. His first few albums were moderately successful but the album Rimmel was a huge success. He began to include other instruments and write more love songs, including the title track "Rimmel". It's a ballad, sung to a former lover. Rimmel means mascara in Italian. It's hard to make out meaning in a poetic foreign language song, but it seems like he is sad that it is over, and perhaps she is sad as well.
The piano is a different instrument for De Gregori, but the song carries it well; makes it sound like a Billy Joel song from the same time period. There's also a quiet organ playing in the background, which along with the quiet background singers makes me think of Dylan. He ties the whole song together with his own simple acoustic guitar, another Dylonesque touch. Francesco calls the ex his Venus of Mascara, when she is standing in the rain, which gives you an idea of how creative his lyrics can be. This moment in the song comes when she asks him if he still has a photograph of her where she is smiling, but not looking. He responds yes, quickly and without thought, which leads to the last lines of the last verse, and the saddest couplet I've heard in a while. "/you said: 'it is all that you have of me,'/ it is all that I have of you." (De Gregori).
In Italy, the call him 'The Poet Prince'
Italian singer-songwriter De Gregori was born in Rome in 1951. He was fascinated by American music, particularly folk rockers like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. As the 70s opened and James Taylor and Neil Young topped the charts he grabbed his guitar and began recording. His first few albums were moderately successful but the album Rimmel was a huge success. He began to include other instruments and write more love songs, including the title track "Rimmel". It's a ballad, sung to a former lover. Rimmel means mascara in Italian. It's hard to make out meaning in a poetic foreign language song, but it seems like he is sad that it is over, and perhaps she is sad as well.
The piano is a different instrument for De Gregori, but the song carries it well; makes it sound like a Billy Joel song from the same time period. There's also a quiet organ playing in the background, which along with the quiet background singers makes me think of Dylan. He ties the whole song together with his own simple acoustic guitar, another Dylonesque touch. Francesco calls the ex his Venus of Mascara, when she is standing in the rain, which gives you an idea of how creative his lyrics can be. This moment in the song comes when she asks him if he still has a photograph of her where she is smiling, but not looking. He responds yes, quickly and without thought, which leads to the last lines of the last verse, and the saddest couplet I've heard in a while. "/you said: 'it is all that you have of me,'/ it is all that I have of you." (De Gregori).
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
"Jolene"
Dolly Parton - "Jolene" (1973)
Under three minutes and still the gold standard.
The song is from one woman to another. The man in the tale is secondary, sure he's the subject of the battle but Parton discuses Jolene far more than she does her man. The song has been covered by The White Stripes, The Sisters of Mercy, Olivia Newton John, and Strawberry Switchblade among others. Each brings something different to the table, and the fact that each interpretation is different is testament to the depth of the theme of the song. However, none of the covers comes close to the emotional depth of the original. Mindy Smith does a great bluegrass influenced cover that I think has the best instrumentation after the original.
Parton's voice is, as I said, full of emotion. Her words are deliberate and heartfelt. Her backing vocalists here come in just occasionally, really adding depth. The music going on under the lyrics is pretty complex and layered. There's a steel guitar, and two electric/acoustic guitars all playing interwoven. The bass guitar plays faster and more complex than a 'typical' country song. At least two violins are playing as well. In addition to the standard drum set, you can also hear some kind of frame drum, whether it's a bodhrán or some other tradition's version. I suppose it could be congas as well. All together, it's a haunting piece that deserves a few minutes of your time.
Under three minutes and still the gold standard.
The song is from one woman to another. The man in the tale is secondary, sure he's the subject of the battle but Parton discuses Jolene far more than she does her man. The song has been covered by The White Stripes, The Sisters of Mercy, Olivia Newton John, and Strawberry Switchblade among others. Each brings something different to the table, and the fact that each interpretation is different is testament to the depth of the theme of the song. However, none of the covers comes close to the emotional depth of the original. Mindy Smith does a great bluegrass influenced cover that I think has the best instrumentation after the original.
Parton's voice is, as I said, full of emotion. Her words are deliberate and heartfelt. Her backing vocalists here come in just occasionally, really adding depth. The music going on under the lyrics is pretty complex and layered. There's a steel guitar, and two electric/acoustic guitars all playing interwoven. The bass guitar plays faster and more complex than a 'typical' country song. At least two violins are playing as well. In addition to the standard drum set, you can also hear some kind of frame drum, whether it's a bodhrán or some other tradition's version. I suppose it could be congas as well. All together, it's a haunting piece that deserves a few minutes of your time.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
"New Rose"
The Damned - "New Rose" (1976)
The first British punk band to release a single.
Released a month after Australia's own The Saints started selling records, The Damned were Britain's earliest recorded punk act, and then morphed into becoming the forerunners of the goth-rock subculture. Lead singer Dave Vanian has, since the inception of the band, worn his hair slicked back, dark makeup around his eyes and white makeup on the rest of his face. That's not the only thing that sets The Damned apart from other punk bands.
While the music is straight ahead punk, the lyrics are upbeat and actually about a boy who has a great girl, so great in fact that he thinks he may not deserve her. The opening line "/Is she really going out with him/" (James) ties the song back to "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but this song is almost sung from the point of view of the rebel who is dating the cheerleader. Musically the song is basic chords and the bass doubling the guitar for the most part making it really simple and really punk. The drum opening is also perfectly punk, it's loud, aggressive, and simplistic. This song is 'important' because it's the first single from a British punk band, the proverbial first shot, but it's worth remembering because it's different. Punk doesn't have to be all disaffected youth and dead end streets; sometimes punk gets a girlfriend, and that's not a bad thing.
The first British punk band to release a single.
Released a month after Australia's own The Saints started selling records, The Damned were Britain's earliest recorded punk act, and then morphed into becoming the forerunners of the goth-rock subculture. Lead singer Dave Vanian has, since the inception of the band, worn his hair slicked back, dark makeup around his eyes and white makeup on the rest of his face. That's not the only thing that sets The Damned apart from other punk bands.
While the music is straight ahead punk, the lyrics are upbeat and actually about a boy who has a great girl, so great in fact that he thinks he may not deserve her. The opening line "/Is she really going out with him/" (James) ties the song back to "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, but this song is almost sung from the point of view of the rebel who is dating the cheerleader. Musically the song is basic chords and the bass doubling the guitar for the most part making it really simple and really punk. The drum opening is also perfectly punk, it's loud, aggressive, and simplistic. This song is 'important' because it's the first single from a British punk band, the proverbial first shot, but it's worth remembering because it's different. Punk doesn't have to be all disaffected youth and dead end streets; sometimes punk gets a girlfriend, and that's not a bad thing.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now"
Slade - "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" (1972)
One of the biggest bands of the 70s according to Great Britain.
In America you'd be hard pressed to find a fan. They wrote and originally performed "Cum on Feel the Noise" which was a hit for Quiet Riot in 1983, ten years after the original. Their highest charting hit in the US was a #20 in 1984 called "Run Runaway". It sounds like Scottish folk song performed with guitars and I've never heard it in my life.There was a video that got airplay on MTV that consists of the band performing in front of a small crowd at a castle. They had seventeen consecutive top 20 hits in the UK from 1971 to 1976 and the highest charting one in America was a #68. Only four of the seventeen charted over here at all. This track only reached #76 in America. None of this is to say they are not a good band. Kiss, Twisted Sister, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and others have named them as influences, so they are at least partially responsible for glam metal and hair metal. This song has been covered by Reel Big Fish, Quiet Riot and The Runaways.
It's a perfect capsule of Glam Rock. Heavy shredding guitars mixed with tight harmonies on vocals. The band is dressed like they're ready to join Elton John on stage, all flashy hats and platform shoes; but sing about drinking and parting with abandon. The misspelling of the title was kind of a thing they were doing, at least half a dozen of their hits had purposeful misspellings. This track really builds up, by the end when it sounds like a stadium full of people are singing along, and vocalist Noddy Holder is just shouting Mama rhythmically into the microphone you can begin to imagine how huge this band was in England and in fact, Europe and Australia as well. The primary songwriters for Slade were the vocalist/rhythm guitarist and the bassist. You can almost tell this song was written by a bassist. It stops and thumps and rocks, and keeps you moving forward. It was also produced by a bassist, former Animal Chas Chandler, who also managed Slade and between the Animals and Slade, he introduced the world to Jimi Hendrix.
One of the biggest bands of the 70s according to Great Britain.
In America you'd be hard pressed to find a fan. They wrote and originally performed "Cum on Feel the Noise" which was a hit for Quiet Riot in 1983, ten years after the original. Their highest charting hit in the US was a #20 in 1984 called "Run Runaway". It sounds like Scottish folk song performed with guitars and I've never heard it in my life.There was a video that got airplay on MTV that consists of the band performing in front of a small crowd at a castle. They had seventeen consecutive top 20 hits in the UK from 1971 to 1976 and the highest charting one in America was a #68. Only four of the seventeen charted over here at all. This track only reached #76 in America. None of this is to say they are not a good band. Kiss, Twisted Sister, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and others have named them as influences, so they are at least partially responsible for glam metal and hair metal. This song has been covered by Reel Big Fish, Quiet Riot and The Runaways.
It's a perfect capsule of Glam Rock. Heavy shredding guitars mixed with tight harmonies on vocals. The band is dressed like they're ready to join Elton John on stage, all flashy hats and platform shoes; but sing about drinking and parting with abandon. The misspelling of the title was kind of a thing they were doing, at least half a dozen of their hits had purposeful misspellings. This track really builds up, by the end when it sounds like a stadium full of people are singing along, and vocalist Noddy Holder is just shouting Mama rhythmically into the microphone you can begin to imagine how huge this band was in England and in fact, Europe and Australia as well. The primary songwriters for Slade were the vocalist/rhythm guitarist and the bassist. You can almost tell this song was written by a bassist. It stops and thumps and rocks, and keeps you moving forward. It was also produced by a bassist, former Animal Chas Chandler, who also managed Slade and between the Animals and Slade, he introduced the world to Jimi Hendrix.
Friday, March 23, 2012
"Born for a Purpose"
Dr. Alimantado & The Rebels - "Born for a Purpose"
"/Like the doctor who was born for a purpose/Rudie can't fail/" (Strummer/Jones)
Written, performed and produced by Jamaican Rastafarian Alimantado after he survived a hit and run accident with a bus. The stories go that he heard the song in his head while recuperating at home and had to crawl across the floor to get to a pen and pad to write it down. The band were a mishmash of several local bands who all donated their time so that the single could be released as a fundraiser. Released in the U.K., and a underground hit, it found a hold in the punk scene primarily due to one single radio program. Tommy Vance was a DJ on the first non BC radio station in England. Before he went back to the BBC in 1978 to host Friday Rock Show and champion heavy metal and hard rock for years, he would occasionally host celebrities on his program on Capitol Radio in London. On July 16th 1977 his guest was Johnny Rotten, weeks after the release of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen". In that radio appearance, Rotten revealed a deep appreciation for many styles of music, including glam (David Bowie - "Rebel Rebel") art rock (Lou Reed - "Men of Good Fortune") experimental (Captain Beefheart - "The Blimp") and funky soul (Bobby Byrd - Back From the Dead). But a lot of what he talked about and played was Reggae. When Vance cued up Born for a Purpose, Rotten jumps in and tells a story that when he had gotten beaten up really bad earlier, he played this song and it got him through it. The album was released by fledgling Reggae label Greensleeves Records which now has the largest catalogue of Reggae music in the world. One of the founders has stated that Rotten mentioning the song on the program was responsible for most of the 50,000 units sold, and ultimately for keeping the label afloat. It was this big success in the U.K Punk music scene that led to The Clash mentioning Alimantado on their 1979 album London Calling on the track "Rudie Can't Fail"
The song itself is infectious. The groove will get into your bones and you will move. That echo effect on the horns that almost make them sound out of tune with each other is great. It sort of reminds me of Mariachi music. Echo effects in general on this track, on the organ, the horns, the bass, the vocals and anything else are what puts this into the genre of Dub, a sub genre of Reggae that typically strips the vocals out of popular songs and then has the bass and drums get reprocessed and turned into a dance hit in a different way than the original. In this case, Alimantado, who worked quite a bit with Reggae and Dub super-producer Lee "Scratch" Perry didn't strip out his own vocals, but he did put a number of dub tricks into the track.
Happy Birthday to me!
"/Like the doctor who was born for a purpose/Rudie can't fail/" (Strummer/Jones)
Written, performed and produced by Jamaican Rastafarian Alimantado after he survived a hit and run accident with a bus. The stories go that he heard the song in his head while recuperating at home and had to crawl across the floor to get to a pen and pad to write it down. The band were a mishmash of several local bands who all donated their time so that the single could be released as a fundraiser. Released in the U.K., and a underground hit, it found a hold in the punk scene primarily due to one single radio program. Tommy Vance was a DJ on the first non BC radio station in England. Before he went back to the BBC in 1978 to host Friday Rock Show and champion heavy metal and hard rock for years, he would occasionally host celebrities on his program on Capitol Radio in London. On July 16th 1977 his guest was Johnny Rotten, weeks after the release of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen". In that radio appearance, Rotten revealed a deep appreciation for many styles of music, including glam (David Bowie - "Rebel Rebel") art rock (Lou Reed - "Men of Good Fortune") experimental (Captain Beefheart - "The Blimp") and funky soul (Bobby Byrd - Back From the Dead). But a lot of what he talked about and played was Reggae. When Vance cued up Born for a Purpose, Rotten jumps in and tells a story that when he had gotten beaten up really bad earlier, he played this song and it got him through it. The album was released by fledgling Reggae label Greensleeves Records which now has the largest catalogue of Reggae music in the world. One of the founders has stated that Rotten mentioning the song on the program was responsible for most of the 50,000 units sold, and ultimately for keeping the label afloat. It was this big success in the U.K Punk music scene that led to The Clash mentioning Alimantado on their 1979 album London Calling on the track "Rudie Can't Fail"
The song itself is infectious. The groove will get into your bones and you will move. That echo effect on the horns that almost make them sound out of tune with each other is great. It sort of reminds me of Mariachi music. Echo effects in general on this track, on the organ, the horns, the bass, the vocals and anything else are what puts this into the genre of Dub, a sub genre of Reggae that typically strips the vocals out of popular songs and then has the bass and drums get reprocessed and turned into a dance hit in a different way than the original. In this case, Alimantado, who worked quite a bit with Reggae and Dub super-producer Lee "Scratch" Perry didn't strip out his own vocals, but he did put a number of dub tricks into the track.
Happy Birthday to me!
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