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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2017 18:03:22 GMT -5
Love, love, love Friday on my Mind. What a great single, the tune, the energy, the way it builds to the chorus, everything. Check this out, then! Good on Springsteen for having the good taste to choose that song but I must admit, I don't think his voice is suited to it. Did he cover any other Australian acts on his tour there? (he asked expectantly, imagining the Boss doing a full concert of Olivia Newton-John's greatest hits). **** |
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 27, 2017 19:50:30 GMT -5
Did he cover any other Australian acts on his tour there? Boy, did he?! |
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 27, 2017 19:50:54 GMT -5
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 27, 2017 19:53:04 GMT -5
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 27, 2017 19:53:50 GMT -5
Not quite Olivia Newton-John, but...
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 27, 2017 21:10:35 GMT -5
I'm hearing rumors of Springsteen doing a tribute album for Men At Work
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 27, 2017 21:18:49 GMT -5
Nice little piece on the inside story of the classic rock song Twist And Shout |
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2017 22:40:33 GMT -5
The Saints and the INXS songs sound more like the kind of thing Springsteen would be expected to do well so no surprise there, but his Stayin Alive was a bit of a revelation. It's been a while since I listened to Springsteen much, but it reminded me a bit of his sound on The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle .
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Post by berkley on Apr 27, 2017 23:56:39 GMT -5
50 Years Ago Today-Week 4 April 1967 We end the month with the SSSS (Senate Sub-Committee on Somethin' Stupid) convening for it's first meeting on allegations that organized crime is keeping that song by Frank & Nancy Sinatra at #1. DJs Murray The K, Wolfman Jack and Dan Ingram are called to testify. Each have a doctor's excuse, claiming broken legs. The Somethin' Stupid hearings are quickly sidetracked by robust discussions over the Vietnam War. "I thought that was the subject of the Somethin' Stupid hearings" says Senator Eugene McCarthy. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the music charts: George & Ira Gershwin's 1930 classic makes a mod comeback on the charts courtesy of The Happenings. To see the Happenings is to realize that this clean-cut, wholesome , suit and tie music group is as far from Happening as George & Ira Gershwin. Nevertheless their version will peak at #3. They already scored wholesome top 20 hits the previous year with "Go Away Little Girl" and "See You In September" Elderly constipated people got more than they expected when they heard The Electric Prunes. An early innovative group delving in fuzz tone guitar, psychedelia and sound effects, their first single "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", rocketed up to #11 in 1966. This followup single would peak at #27 The Byrd's were still flying high in their original lineup and again score with a Bob Dylan penned tune. I'm sure Bob appreciated it since he was still laid up from his 1966 motorbike accident. This was the Byrd's 5th top 30 hit. They would never come close to that level in the future Neil Diamond has sold over 120 million records and has had 38 Top 10 singles. Plus he's penned many a song that others had hits. At this point, it's still early in his career, having 3 Top 20 hits in 1966. This is his first 1967 offering. The film Pulp Fiction revitalized the song I don't care what you think, I love this one. Still do. And it's so much better than that silly hodge-podge movie it was featured in. In fact, that film had the audacity to add lyrics to this Hadn't heard that Happenings version of I Got Rhythm before, not bad. Better than I would have expected. We could do a whole side-discussion of 50s and 60s pop acts re-doing old standards in the new style, like the Mamas and the Papas doing Dream a Little Dream. One of my favourite albums is Flamingo Serenade where The Flamingos cover a lot of stuff like this. Their famous hit, I Only have Eyes for You is on it but the whole thing is amazing, especially, off the top of my head, Love Walked In, Time Was, and Goodnight Sweetheart. It's really cool to hear these Tin Pan Alley type songs done in the doo-wop style: even the ones that IMO don't quite come off, like Begin the Beguine, are interesting experiments. Then there's the examples of contemporary artists writing new songs that emulated an older style of popular music, like Winchester Cathedral, Queen's Seaside Rendezvous, or various Beatles songs (usually written by Paul McCartney). Does anyone still do this kind of thing? I like that Electric Prunes song, first time hearing it. Kind of a Bo Diddley style rhythm to it. It sounded like a real live performance too, not a lip-synch, as was often the case on tv shows. Or maybe it was just the bad sound quality of the video. My Back Pages is one of my favourite Dylan songs - except for the chorus, which is a bit of a let-down, musically and lyrically, from the energy and inspired imagery of the verses. As usual, I find the Byrds' version of Dylan a little too pristine, but there's no denying their ability. Neil Diamond was a great songwriter and performer - until around 1975 when he became unbearably sappy and at the same time lost his ability to write a satisfying melody. He wasn't the only one - John Sebastian is another example that comes to mind; John Denver, too; and the guy from Bread, David Gates. Has anyone else noticed this? The last Neil Diamond song I thought was really good was Longfellow Serenade. Casino Royale was my favourite movie as a young kid. Too young to see it at the theatre but I think I watched it at least six times on tv, always in black and white. Haven't seen it for decades now but I have the soundtrack cd and I still rate it as one of the very best movie soundtracks of all time, especially if you restrict it to original scores rather than stuff like 2001 or Tarantino's movies where they pick tracks from existing recordings. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 28, 2017 3:52:39 GMT -5
Hadn't heard that Happenings version of I Got Rhythm before, not bad. Better than I would have expected. We could do a whole side-discussion of 50s and 60s pop acts re-doing old standards in the new style, like the Mamas and the Papas doing Dream a Little Dream. [/quote] Puttin' On The Ritz seems to get a cover version every few years and, of course, in 1982 Taco had a worldwide smash hit with his synth-pop version Then there was Tiny Tim and his whole career was based on those old songs |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Apr 28, 2017 6:03:43 GMT -5
The Byrd's were still flying high in their original lineup and again score with a Bob Dylan penned tune. I'm sure Bob appreciated it since he was still laid up from his 1966 motorbike accident. This was the Byrd's 5th top 30 hit. They would never come close to that level in the future No quite the original lineup: Gene Clark had left the band in March 1966, reducing the group to a quartet. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 28, 2017 23:53:58 GMT -5
Never heard of either acts, but I like the sound of them. James McMurtry is kinda down home sounding and The Derailers sound like some old Bakersfield country bar band. McMurtry, who is Larry McMurty's (author of Lonesome Dove) son, has a fairly eclectic sound. He does some pretty political stuff. The Derailers are originally out of Austin,but they have a definite Bakersfield sound and were heavily influenced by Buck Owens. In fact they did an album of covers called "Under the Influence of Buck." I'm a big fan of both and they're playing at a small venue and the price is great. $17 and $12 a ticket respectively. They both sound good. The Derailers have the more immediately accessible sound, to my ears, but McMurtry seems like he could be the more rewarding on closer listening. I was reminded of Steve Earle a bit, but perhaps that's more because of the political, topical lyrics than the music. Hopefully Slam will report back on how the concerts turn out. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 29, 2017 5:39:24 GMT -5
Odds and Sods of March 1967
With the end of April, a look back at the March 1967 songs that floated around the fringes of the Top 100
Nancy Sinatra was everywhere on the charts, solo and with a #1 duet with her father. Besides Old Blue Eyes, what else was her secret weapon? Answer:Lee Hazelwood who wrote and produced many of her biggest songs (including These Boots Were Made For Walkin', Sugar Town and Somethin' Stupid). Now, beginning with this March release, Nancy and Lee would duet on songs. It would lead to even bigger things
The Seeds were an influential garage rock band and considered a pre-punk group. Their 1965 single "Pushin' Too Hard" broke into the Top 40.
Another cult hit of theirs from that year was "Can't Seem To Make You Mine". Here was their first offering for 1967, Mr. Farmer
With the upcoming Summer Of Love becoming a very public American phenomenon, the powers-that-be woke up to the drug culture that was spreading among the younger generation. LSD was soon declared illegal and drug references in songs would get them banned from air play. A song like this from the one-hit group Rainy Daze would be unlikely to get on the charts a few months hence
I must remember to throw in the word groovy now and then on these posts. And one of the groovy debuts for March was The Peanut Butter Conspiracy featuring female lead singer Barbara "Sandi" Robison and future Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden. Far out
I would have loved to have seen Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs in concert. Loved Sam's turban which made him stand out. "Wooly Bully" and "Lil Red Riding Hood" were big hits in 1965 and 1966. Sam The Sham was not finished.
More of Odds and Sods for March coming real soon. Outta Sight Man
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Post by Spike-X on Apr 29, 2017 22:46:20 GMT -5
The Saints and the INXS songs sound more like the kind of thing Springsteen would be expected to do well so no surprise there, but his Stayin Alive was a bit of a revelation. It's been a while since I listened to Springsteen much, but it reminded me a bit of his sound on The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle . It's interesting you should say that; the strings were there because they also played New York City Serenade. They just decided to have some extra fun with them. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 30, 2017 1:53:58 GMT -5
Odds And Sods Of March 1967 Part 2
Here's the single from The Blues Project, written by Al Kooper. It would be the only single to chart for this critically lauded group and Al would depart right after it was recorded.
Sopwith Camel was the 2nd San Francisco psychedelic band to achieve a recording contract with a national record label and the firsr to have a Top 40 single ("Hello Hello"). They only stayed together for 6 months and cut 1 album. "Postcard From Jamaica" would peak at 88
It's weird, looking back at this period with hindsight, to see 2 major trends-The rise of psychedelic bands and the last gasp of many British Invasion groups. Peter And Gordon were on their last legs, all four of them. They had already scored many big hits ("World Without Love, Lady Godiva') but this would be their last appearance in the Top 40. Peter Asher would later work for Apple Records and manage Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor
The Blues Magoos were from Da Bronx, NY and best known from their hit single of 1966 "We Ain't Got Nothing Yet" from their first album Psychedelic Lollipop. here's the followup single fro their 2nd Album Electric Comic Book. What? Electric Comic Book? Who's got this in their collection?
Let's finish this with a tune from ? & The Mysterians. They had a #1 hit in 1966 with 96 Tears. So to follow up on that, someone had the bright idea to release a single in the same vein. I think there's only 2 notes that are different than 96 Tears.
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