Wednesday, June 03, 2009

You Ain't Going Nowhere

From the uneven but ultimately wonderful 1996 tribute album to Cleveland's finest -- Raspberries Preserved -- please enjoy power pop god (and former half of the mega-country duo Foster and Lloyd) Bill Lloyd and his amazing version of "Going Nowhere Tonight."





"Going Nowhere" is one of the perhaps less celebrated Raspberries tracks; in fact, the original is a kind of throwaway Eagles-lite country pop thing that never made much of an impression on me despite (or perhaps because of) appearing as the B-side of the sublime "I Wanna Be With You." Lloyd, however -- genius that he is -- located the passionate guitar rocker lurking within it, and the result is a perfect mix of soaring harmonies, romantic longing and glistening Stratocasters that wouldn't have been out of place on a Big Star album. Just terrific.

And as always, if the download thingie over at the divShare link doesn't work, just e-mail me and I'll send you the mp3.
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10 comments:

  1. steve simels6/03/2009 8:41 AM

    Note to self: Obscure cuts from decade old tribute albums less interesting than expected.
    :-)

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  2. Kid Charlemagne6/03/2009 10:01 AM

    Still has a bit of twang to it! Good one! Worst COVER ever! Where they marketing to that heretofore untapped foot fetish market?

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  3. steve simels6/03/2009 10:04 AM

    The second best cut on this album is a George Harrison/Badfinger-esque version of the even more obscure "Rose Colored Glasses."

    I'm prejudiced, though -- the band that does it features the drummer I've been playing with since the early 80s.
    :-)

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  4. Noam Sane6/03/2009 12:17 PM

    Now that's what I call powerpop. Very cool.

    Are those supposed to be raspberries on the cover? Looks more like carmel corn.

    Mmmm, carmel corn.

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  5. Blue Ash Fan6/03/2009 12:56 PM

    What about the Flashcubes' cover of "I Can Hardly Believe You're Mine"? Definitely one of the stand-outs on a somewhat uneven tribute album.

    Of course, I realize I'm being redundant in saying "uneven tribute album."

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  6. TMink6/03/2009 2:45 PM

    Bill is great, I met him at some parties when he was with Foster and I was married to a woman who worked at RCA. A very likeable chap, he signed my copy of Feeling The Elephant.

    I need to get the rest of his stuff pronto.

    Trey

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  7. NYMary6/03/2009 3:04 PM

    Bill's my Facebook buddy; we chat sometimes. Yes, a genuinely nice man. But I think I marginally prefer his version of "Step Inside" from Play Hollies in Reverse to this one.

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  8. steve simels6/03/2009 4:13 PM

    Lloyd's "Step Inside" is pretty spectacular, and that whole Hollies tribute is worth hearing.

    And Lloyd's "Set to Pop" album is masterpiece. Just saying.

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  9. Kid Charlemagne6/03/2009 4:36 PM

    That Hollies trib LP is one of the best of the genre. Mary, what did you think of "Shoe Fetish"?

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  10. Blue Ash Fan6/04/2009 8:50 AM

    "Step Inside" is indeed spectacular. But don't forget to give Brad Jones his due on that one, too.

    "Set to Pop" was the record that turned me into a rabid power popper in the '90s. "Masterpiece" truly is the word, Steve. Not a duff track on it.

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