The short version: That was on the original pressing of the band's debut album, but after "For What It's Worth" became a hit, it was removed in favor of the million-seller.
It's a little sloppy, to be sure, but I love it for a) the quote from "Day Tripper" at the end, and b) its ahead of its time sort of punkish folk-rock insouciance. Man, what I wouldn't have given to see those guys live.
And and oh my god -- that bridge is a work of freaking genius!!!
I had no idea that existed until alert reader Bob in IL hipped me to it the other day, and thank you Bob -- it made me laugh out loud. Especially "You got a part time job in a leather shop called Whips of All Nations..."
I should add that whole thing kind of took me back because at the time it was recorded, I was actually in the midst of a several year stint doing radio spots for Polygram Records (long story -- don't ask how). I don't remember much about the period, but I do remember I wrote and produced an ad for The Osmonds Christmas Album, featuring frequent Woody Allen-collaborator Len Maxwell doing the voice of Humphrey Bogart.
"The Osmonds Christmas album...it's good, schweetheart. REAL good." 😎
...no, wait, now that we're living in Nazi Germany 2.0, that's not a particularly good joke anymore.
Sorry.
What I meant to say was please enjoy the late great Ben E. King and his gorgeous cover of Bruce Springsteen's "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."
Or perhaps The Hollies' superb 1975 version.
BTW, I saw the Hollies do that live at the old Bottom Line that year, and Bruce (who was not yet the household word he became shortly thereafter when Born to Run was released) was sitting at the table directly in front of me.
Get me drunk sometimes and I'll tell you the simultaenously hilarious and tragic story that accompanied the evening. 😎
Meanwhile, have a great Fourth, everybody!!! Assuming you don't find what's happening in our Noble Democracy at the moment a little too depressing to be festive. 😎 😎
In case you're wondering, Eddie Lawrence -- aka The Old Philosopher -- was one of my heroes as a kid. Not to mention a major fashion influence. 😎
And if memory serves, another one of my childhood heroes -- Soupy Sales -- used to play the above on his afternoon show all the time.
I should add that "musical accompaniment by the Sentimental Four" is now my all time favorite credit on a recorded product ever. 😎
From Stereogum:
Charli XCX Responds To Boomers Criticizing Her Use Of AutoTune At Glastonbury
With Glastonbury in the books, Charli XCX has completed yet another massive Brat festival set. You’d think audiences in her home country would be most receptive to her over-the-top presentation, but apparently, some UK boomers were not pleased with Charli’s exaggerated use of AutoTune and her lack of a backing band. She shared some thoughts on the matter in a short series of tweets today following her Saturday night headlining set. She wrote:
Like the idea that singing with deliberate autotune makes you a fraud or that not having a traditional band suddenly means you must not be a “real artist” is like, the most boring take ever. yawn sorry just fell asleep xx[I'm]really enjoying these Boomer vibe comments on my glastonbury performance. it’s super fascinating to me.
Oh puhleese. There's a phrase for doing a set with totally auto-tuned vocals and without live backup. The phrase is "Lip-synching."
Which means what she was offering the audience differed from Milli Vanilli exactly how? 😎
Also, somebody really needs to tell this pretentious low-talent bint that the words "brat" and "twat" actually rhyme. 😎 😎
For Those About to Spock!©
And I would have paid good money to see both of the above in a theater. 😎
Okay, the above is a real generation gap divide thing. I mean, what Gen Z'er remembers Redd Foxx, let alone the entire genre of party LPs? 😎
Coming tomorrow -- a tribute to the great Rusty Warren (I keed, I keed!!!) 😎😎
See, I told you guys I'd get something up this weekend.
Anyways, enjoy.
Oh, and like I said -- if you click on the images you should be able to read the thing.
Kids, I am most sincerely sorry but -- forgetting the crazy shit that's been going on in the regular world (the NYC mayoral primary alone exhausted me) but it's been a very stressful week for me medically (I came out fine, I'm happy to say, but let's just say it was problematic for a while).
Anyway, I just didn't have the energy to come up with the traditional Weekend Listomania or Essay Question, and I hope you'll forgive me.
Tell you what, though -- if an idea for some kind of posting hits me overnight, I'll do the unusual and put up something Saturday or Sunday. No promises, but I'll try. 😎
In all seriousness, the video above is part of what is now a mini-genre of sorts, one in which supposedly sophisticated Gen Z musical types on YouTube get exposed to classic rock for the first time and they dig it.
In this case, the guy in question (who apparently is a producer of some repute) is given a very intelligently chosen playlist of the Top 5 songs by The Who -- none of which he claims to have ever heard before (yeah, I know, I know) -- and he has his tiny mind appropriately blown.
For us adults watching it, the most fun is when he gets to the iconic scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again" and completely and wonderfully loses it.
That said, and all Boomer snark aside, I still find it difficult to believe these influencers and music professionals have never previously been exposed to the songs in question. I mean, it's not like the Who haven't been played endlessly in movies and TV cop shows and in commercials and on oldies radio. Is it really because kids(?) today get all their music from streaming services or some such shit?
Honestly -- I don't get it.
Hey -- like I promised, at least it's got nothing to do with the Beach Boys. Also, I'm particularly fond of the Nancy cartoon; I mean, who amongst us hasn't danced to a steam drill on at least one occasion? 😎
Regular music posting, more relevant to the theme of this here blog, resumes on the morrow.
My god, that's gorgeous. And unlike classical guy Göran Söllscher, whose cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" I posted yesterday, the kid's doing it all on a conventional six-string guitar.
Damn, but I hate talented people. That said, you can find out more about the kid at his website over here.
And okay -- I promise we return to music NOT written by people from Hawthorne, California on the morrow, and for at least the next week and a half after that. 😎
[h/t Jai Guru Dave]
The guy playing that utterly amazing version of "Eleanor Rigby" on the 11-string(!) acoustic guitar is a Swedish virtuoso named Göran Söllscher; I had never heard of him (or heard him either) until last Saturday, when the above got played on the morning show on New York's classical station WQXR, and it blew my tiny mind. He's apparently something of a Bach specialist, and a very big deal in classical circles; he records for Deutsche Grammaphon and Wiki informs me that he's sold over a million records to date. Which kinda rocks.
In any event, the above is just spectacularly beautiful, and wait till you hear the Youtube version of him doing the Beatles' "In My Life." (Go find it yourself -- what, I have to do everything for you guys?) 😎
In all seriousness, though, I gotta say -- never in my most drug addled '60s moments under the headphones listening to the likes of Revolver on my dorm room stereo did I forsee that the pop music I loved would someday go totally highbrow.
____________________________________
*Today's title is a reference to the debut single by Paul Revere and the Raiders, who, of course, were often noted for their classical influences and refined demeanor. 😎😎
That being the case, and given that you're probably burnt out as well, I thought I would post the most non-threatening question I could come up with.
Which leads us, inexorably, to today's business. To wit:
...and the post-Elvis solo pop star or band member (in any genre) you would most like to meet or have met one-on-one is...???
No arbitrary rules whatsoever, thank me very much. Just somebody, past or present, you think you would have enjoyed hanging out with for a little while.
My nominee? I think you'll be surprised to learn it's Dusty. Or Miss Springfield if I'm nasty.
Why? For two reasons. 1) I would have loved to hear that sexy/velvety singing voice just talking to me. And 2) By all accounts, she was what we used to call "a great broad." 😎
Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
[h/t ChrisE]
On why Brian Wilson was not just the usual pop music bozo poseur, i.e., of the kind that dominates today's Hit Parade of Hell.😎
Seriously -- you don't normally expect (or get) that level of intelligent music criticism from a local TV news guy. Kudos and bravo, my friend.
Hey -- at least he gets the guitar and bass parts right, which is more than I've ever been able to do. The guitar solo sucks, however. 😎
With five of the actual Beach Boys -- including Brian and Carl -- contributing harmonies behind them.
And may I add that a) it's wonderful to see the Boys -- and in particular Brian(!) -- having such an obvious good time.
And b) if watching that clip doesn't make you smile from auditory canal to auditory canal, there's no hope for you. 😎
And, more to the point, my utter confusion over whether it was a moderately amusing parody or -- and I found this a terrifying prospect -- actually meant straight.
In any case, while researching some Beach Boys stuff last week (for obvious reasons) I stumbled across another clip by the guy that has left me similarly and absolutely flummoxed.
To wit: a performance of "God Only Knows," and I can only say "God Forgive Me" for posting it. 😎
Or maybe I should say "Brian Forgive Me." I haven't got it sorted out.
But seriously -- is there some kind of celebrated Finnish sense of irony I'm not familiar with? Are the Finns noted for being a largely joyful people up there in the darkening shadow of the Arctic Circle? Or what?
Help me out here, friends -- or else I'll post the clips of Ilkka covering "Itchykoo Park," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "It's All Over Now."
And you really don't want me to do that. 😎😎
In the meantime, have a great weekend, everybody, and stay well. -- S.S.]
NYMary:
I must confess I find it a little odd to be writing this -- the Beach Boys music is pretty much my lingua franca, and the idea that they need defending feels weird to me given how much I love them (although I understand your skepticism, at least in the abstract. After all, Mike Love sucks).
In any event, here's why I think they deserve respect from mere mortals like you and me.
TEN REASONS THE BEACH BOYS ARE SELF-EVIDENTLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AMERICAN BANDS OF THE SIXTIES.
IF NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT.
1. They invented an instantly recognizable sound of their own, one that practically defines a genre. Very few rock artists can make that claim. (Chuck Berry with "Johnny B Goode", The Byrds with "Tambourine Man," the Ramones, and maybe U2). That alone should guarantee the Beach Boys immortality.
2. What Raymond Chandler did for California in prose the Beach Boys did in music. They reflected a place and a time and made a kind of poetry out of it. They were not fake.
3. Five part harmonies, astoundingly gorgeous. And Brian's conception -- mating progressive jazz voicings a la the Four Freshman with classic doo-wop -- was totally unique. Here's a 1965 live clip that proves the point -- and if this a capella version of the Freshman's "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" doesn't put a lump in your throat, you need to check your meds.
4. From their inception in the early 60s, they were pretty much the only self-contained rock band in America. Wrote all their own songs, produced their own records. Who else was doing that?
5. Kick-ass live act. If you doubt it, listen to Beach Boys Concert, get a video of their closed-circuit show from '64, or find The T.A.M.I Show video, in which -- performing on the same bill with the Stones, James Brown and most of the Motown acts, they tear the audience to shreds. Carl Wilson was a killer surf guitarist, and the rhythm section was as good as anybody in rock at the time.
Here they are in 1965 (from the the aforementioned T.A.M.I Show -- with a to-die-for version of "I Get Around."
6. Contrary to myth, they were not white bread at all. Carl and Dennis Wilson were as soulful singers in the r&b sense as anybody else working in the mid-Sixties. And that includes Stevie Winwood or Felix Cavliere.
7. The car and surf songs are actually quite brilliant. Who else ever conceived of writing love songs to a carburetor? And has any rock song ever conveyed as much sheer teenage elan as "Fun Fun Fun" or "I Get Around"?
8. Brian's best songs from the early period anticipate the confessional singer/songwriter LA genre. "Don't Worry Baby" may be as nakedly emotional and self-revealing as anything Joni Mitchell ever wrote. Ditto "Warmth of the Sun" or "In My Room" or "When I Grow Up."
9. The albums that preceed the sainted Pet Sounds and Smile are masterpeices. The Beach Boys Today, Brian's first real studio concept album, is masterly; "When I Grow Up" isn't even the best song on it (try "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" or the astounding Sinatra goes r&b of "The Back of My Mind" sung by Dennis). It's every bit as good as Rubber Soul in terms of consistency and melodic invention. The follow-up --Summer Days and Summer Nights, of which "California Girls" is simply the icing on the cake, is even better -- it's every bit Brian's Revolver. He never used the studio more impressively than "Let Him Run Wild" or emulated the Beatles with the riffy brilliance of "Girl Don't Tell Me."
10. The album that follows Pet Sounds and Smile is another masterpiece. Wild Honey is one of the handful of great white r&b albums of the period, and if you doubt it check out the title song or Carl's gorgeous reading of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her." And in it's back to basics way, it's very much of a piece with the Beatles White Album.
I could go on about the Beach Boys early 70s output -- you could make a fabulous comp album with songs like "Marcella" (one of their best ever rockers), "This Whole World" (Brian's canniest pocket symphony), "All I Wanna Do"(the most glorious use of reverb in history), "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" (progressive rockabilly, if you can believe it), "Do It Again" and any number of others up through "Trader" on Holland.
The decline after that was appalling, to be sure, but you get my point....the Beach Boys have a huge body of really transcendent work, and Brian wasn't the only big talent in the band.
Have I mentioned that Mike Love sucks?
In any case, the above 2021 cover of one of his greatest songs, by fellow Angelenos Los Lobos, seems like an appropriate tribute.
This afternoon, while walking home from lunch at my Forest Hills watering hole, an attractive woman (of, as they say, a certain age) who I've never seen before in my life, stopped me on the street and said, out of the blue -- "Brian Wilson just died."
I really don't know where to begin. We looked at each other and just...ah hell.
Anyway, here's a glorious song you might not know from a solo album he did in 1998.
Other than that, I kinda lack the appropriate words at the moment. Maybe tomorrow.
So I was a huge fan of the first two albums by Brit-rockers Brinsley Schwarz, both of which came out in 1970 and were stylistically a sort of expensively produced-sounding mashup of commercial prog and CSN-ish Laurel Canyon hippie shit. I got them for free when I was a baby rock critic at my old college paper, and Nick Lowe's vocals and songwriting did it to me instantly. But above and beyond, the band's secret weapon was the gorgeously lyrical organ playing of Bob Andrews; here, from the debut set, is a song that sort of sums up the band's approach at the time, and as you'll hear, Andrews basically steals it.
I was still at school when the band's third LP, Silver Pistol, arrived. I knew nothing of the backstory -- short version: the Brinsley's management had flown over 100 journalists from the UK to NYC to review the band in performance at the Fillmore East, and hopefully launch the group to stardom; the junket, however was a complete fiasco and widely assumed to be a career ender. So I was also unaware that the new album's stylistic reinvention as what would later be called pub rock was not by itself down to it being recorded under primitive conditions on a mobile eight-track in the basement of the band's communal London home. In any case, the song below -- written by Lowe, but powered by a sublimely Buddy Holly-ish piano part by Andrews -- nailed me immediately, and it's been one of my all-time favorites ever since.
Anyway, as attentive readers are aware, Andrews departed this sad vale of tears last Thursday, at the way too young age of 75. After I posted about him on Sunday, Friend of PowerPop© ChrisE sent me the following video, which was previously unknown to me. Basically, it's Andrews doing a tutorial on how to play his part on the above (and on "Juju Man," another song from Silver Pistol). As you can doubtless imagine, I nearly swooned off my chair when I watched it, and unless you're seriously perverse of ears (and lacking in a soul) I think you will too.
I should add that, as you probably know, I'm a keyboard player (albeit a limited one) myself, with an electric piano device similar to the one Andrews is playing in the clip, and you better believe I'm gonna try to learn that part. I'll keep you posted on how that's working out. 😎
Okay, I know the Davis one isn't a cartoon but it cracked me up anyway so cut me some slack.😎
Regular music posting resumes on the morrow, weather permitting.
Welcome to the “Best Rock&Roll Music of the 21st Century, Part VIII”, by Captain Al!!!So let me tell you my favorite musical artist of this century! Maybe some of you may have heard of her! I’d hadn’t been aware of her until 18 months ago but well known or not she’s a force of musical nature.
So señoras y señores -- I give you Juana Molina!!!.
She’s Argentinian. Sings in Spanish. She walked away from her very successful career as a comedian whose TV shows were a huge hit all through South & Central America. Think a sort of Saturday Night Live en espanol vibe.
Juana and her family left Argentina in the 1980's because of the oppressive political situation. She fled to the USA, learned to speak English, and upon later returning to Argentina embarked on a musical career that somehow turned into the hugely successful comedic career! How the heck did she become my favorite musician (and hopefully soon yours) of this century? As Steve says: “Let’s discuss!”
As I said, her music is new and forward looking, but most of all fearless in its explorations and methods. Think Sam Phillips (the Sun Records visionary producer, not the singer/songwriter who used to boink T-Bone Burnett) or Jefferson Airplane. Doesn't sound like them, but her music has their same exploratory spirit.
Here's our first example, and let us stipulate that while Juana walked away from her career in comedy she sure learned a lot about how to create compelling videos. This one, in particular, is a real hoot -- funny, spacey and political; for me it’s up there with The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields." Enjoy!
Now let’s look at how she puts her music together while performing live. Using modern equipment, and a fresh viewpoint at each show, she never performs a song in quite the same way twice. Watch and listen when she constructs her song “Paraguaya“. I think you'll find it pretty amazing.
And let us now stipulate that Juana, as with all of my favorite musical artists, is still capable of surprising me.
So now I’m about to twist your R&R ears around one more time, because Juana is also a prankster. Stay with this video of Juana & her band playing “Paraguaya” quite differently from what we just heard above. Make sure you stay to the end, because she will twist your head around 180 degrees with this performance.
Since she sings all her music in Spanish I don’t have a clue what any of the songs are about, and I slso don’t care! She always looks to creating her music in slightly new ways I’ve never seen/heard before.
Is she the future of rock? I don’t have a clue, but I feel she's the future of quality modern 21st century popular music.
At least I hope so -- for our (and my granddaughter’s) musical sake! And if rock is dead (?) then at least I want to live in Juana Molina’s musical universe for the next several years.
-- Capt. Al
And with that, we bid a fond (hopefully temporary) farewell to our aquatic friend.
So thanks, pal...I enjoyed the above immensely, as I (and doubtless our readers) have enjoyed the entire series.
I gotta admit, Captain -- I'm not sure I particularly get Molina. I found your exegesis intriguing, nonetheless, and I'll be sure to keep an eye on her.
But in the meantime, thanks again Al -- see ya soon, and keep on rockin' in the free world!!!😎😎😎
He was my favorite member of Brinsley Schwarz, and my favourite member of The Rumour.
Here he is with the former, performing perhaps the most gorgeously lyrical Hammond organ part in the history of music.
And here he is with Nick Lowe, performing perhaps the greatest insane piano part freaking ever.
I should also add that he produced this.
Okay, I have to add this wonderful story about the guy.
The short version: So Andrews was, not surprisingly, a huge fan of The Band's keyboard genius Garth Hudson, and was constantly updating his gear in emulation of the Great Man Himself; if there was an effects pedal or amp Hudson used, Andrews would immediately add it to his arsenal, trying to get that elusive Hudson sound. Only problem was, no matter what he did, he couldn't quite achieve total Garth-ness and it drove him nuts.Anyway, sometime in the 70s, The Band toured the UK and at one point wound up rehearsing at the Brinsley's studio and using their equipment. Garth walked in, said nothing to anybody, turned all of Andrews' keyboards and other equipment on, put his fingers to the keys, and immediately sounded just like himself.
And Andrews, who had been lurking in a corner too awed to even say hello to his idol, literally wept.
Goddamn -- as I am wont to say of late, this death shit is really starting to piss me off.
That is, of course, the pre-Grace Slick edition of Jefferson Airplane, with (now mostly forgotten by history) original gal singer Signe Toly Anderson up front in Grace's slot; it is, apparently, the last official portrait of that lineup, taken around the time of the splendid farewell concert immortalized in the album pictured below.
In any case, I had never seen it before, and it got me to thinking (yeah, yeah, I can hear the jokes...). 😎
And that lead me (and us) inexorably to the subject of today's business.
To wit:
...and the best example of a band that was either significantly better OR markedly inferior after a personnel change is...????
Discuss.
I'm gonna nominate these guys in the former category, and I say that knowing full well that the Peter Green or Danny Kirwan editions of the band were pretty swell in their own rights.
But I mean, sweet jeebus, was that lot to die for or what? (I should add that it is one of the great regrets of my life that the Floor Models never got around to covering "Go Your Own Way.")
But enough of my yakkin' -- what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
P.S.: A special coveted PowerPop No-Prize© will be awarded to any reader who can tell me definitively whether the partially obscured band member behind Marty Balin in the top right of the picture is either Skip Spence or later drummer Spencer Dreyden. From a chronological standpoint, it should be Dreyden, but I'm just not sure I see it.
Enjoy these in the meantime, won't you? 😎
Real stuff goes up on Friday -- promise.
Heh. 😎
Actual music posting resumes on the morrow, weather permitting.
I'm speaking, of course about...
Aptly titled The King of In Between, the film chronicles the remarkable half century-long musical odyssey of Garland Jeffreys, a dreadlocked Brooklyn born and NYC-based singer/songerwriter who never quite broke through to a mass audience despite several major label albums and at least one song -- "Wild in the Streets" -- that was a massive hit outside of the USA. Why isn't he a household name? Well, basically nobody ever quite figured out how to market him, as Jeffries' music and persona straddled genres -- r&b, reggae, Dylan-esque narratives, street punk a la Lou Reed (with whom Jeffreys went to college) -- and influences in a way that inevitably caused the kind of confusion that doesn't easily make for chart success, especially for a mixed-race guy.
The film, deftly helmed by first-time director Claire Jeffreys (yes, the missus) has all sorts of great performance footage, from the downtown late-'70s to some intimate house concerts done before Jeffrey's retirement a few years ago, and celebrity fans like Laurie Anderson, Harvey Keitel, Vernon Reid (who has, as you might expect, some interesting things to say about Jeffreys and race in America) and Bruce Springsteen show up with fond reminiscences of working with the guy. Jeffreys himself comes off as funny, likeable and (surprisingly) without a trace of the bitterness I would have exhibited if I'd had his career (heh).
Bottom line: A must-see; it's playing in theaters now, so if it's near you, make tracks. In the meantime, you can find out more -- including alerts for when it will be available on home video or streaming -- over at the film's official website HERE.
Of course, that's assuming it's meant straight, which I'll grant you is indeterminate. I mean the accent alone...he sounds like Madeline Kahn doing Marlene Dietrich, so who knows?
I should add that a) I can find no information about who or what this guy is, so if anybody has an idea...and also b) that if you look on YouTube you'll discover some equally surreal/hilarious Beatles covers by him.
But don't worry -- I'm not gonna inflict THOSE on you. 😎
But in my defense, I got a little freaked out when I heard the recent news of Rick Derringer's passing.
The short version is that back in my teenage years I was a huge fan of The McCoys. And one of the reasons was that front-guy/fab guitarist Derringer was pretty much exactly my age, which I thought was incredibly cool and inspirational.
Needless to say, having him now die at my age is, shall we say, somewhat less thrilling. 😎
Oh well, in any case, I've posted this song before (in 2021), but I absolutely adore it, so cut me some slack. It's from 1967, and it was basically only a minor hit at the time, but it remains one of my favorite things Derringer ever did. I mean seriously -- between the brilliant lead vocal and that fabulous Wes Montgomery-inspired guitar solo (which was major league hip at the time, and still is) Rick would deserve to be immortal if he had never achieved anything else.
And yes, I owned the 45 version.
All of which, to nobody's surprise, leads us inexorably to today's business.
To wit:
...and your favorite (or least favorite) guitar solo on a pop/rock/country/soul single of the Sixties is...???
No arbitrary rules whatsoever. Oh wait, there is one -- nothing by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band need apply in either category. Sorry, I love Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop, but they do tend to go on longer than the rest of the stuff that I hope is gonna get nominated. In other words, I'm prejudiced in favor of more concise stuff, and since it's my blog...😎😎
Alrighty then..."Beat the Clock" is obviously my pick for fave. So what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
Cool song, no?
And therein lies a tale and an opportunity.
The short version: "Silent Treatment" was recorded in the Weasels 4-track basement studio in sylvan Teaneck, NJ, and originally saw the light of day on their extremely limited edition (three copies?) album Pop Go the Weasels in 1984. The song was written by my colleague Glenn Leeds (who contributes keyboards), and the remaining credits are Dave (Jai Guru Dave) Hawxwell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Allan Weissman on bass, and Mike "The Drummer" Sorrentino on drums (heh).
As you may have noticed, I did not contribute to the production (I was on hiatus from the band, for reasons too complicated and silly to get into here); nevertheless, the guys left a hole in the track -- an instrumental interlude beginning around the 2:16 minute mark and ending, before the return of the last verse/chorus, at approximately 2:40 -- for me to add one of my characteristically mediocre guitar solos. Which I never did.
That being the case, we have decided to do something about it after all these years.
To wit: THE WEASELS ADD A SOLO CONTEST!!!!!
That's right, kids -- you too can be a Weasel, at least if you have access (as I suspect many of you do) to a home recording facility. All you've got to do is take the track and dub a guitar solo of your own in the hole discussed above. It can be any style whatsoever -- imitate George Harrison, Tom Verlaine, that guy from Boston (the band), Chet Atkins, Nigel Tufnel, anybody; just mix it in with the track and send it (preferably in flac or wav. format) to my e-mail -- ssimels@gmail.com.
And then we'll all have a good laugh at your expense.😎
No, actually you'll be proclaimed an honorary Weasel, and we'll post your efforts here for the adoration of a waiting world.
We will also gift you with a copy of the Weasels fabulous 2016 greatest hits CD, the aptly titled Crimes Against Humanity.
And what could be more of a motivator than that? 😎😎
In all seriousness, I think this could be a lot of fun, and I'm willing to bet somebody out there has a really great solo in them.
I'll keep you posted on how this thing develops, for good or evil.
[h/t Steve Schwartz]
It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea which one of our friends actually shot that; I'm gonna have to do the research. 😎
Oh, and BTW, the reason I posted it is as a teaser.
Because sometime later this week, I'm gonna be putting up a Bandcamp link (utilizing that picture as the art) to an mp3 of an absolutely fabulous -- and actually power pop(!) -- song by the Weasels. And there's gonna be some possibly VERY interesting potential for reader participation (hint: it involves those of you who are guitarists) as a result.
As I'm fond of saying -- could be a hot one!!! 😎😎
The above is, of course, from Bruce's show in England the other week -- the one that drove our batshit insane president even a little crazier than normal, threatening criminal investigations against Bruce, plus Beyonce, Oprah and Bono (who, of course, is not even an American citizen.)
In any case, Springsteen and the band have always done Dylan's song quite splendidly, and this version (just released in a shall we say well-timed CD edition) is no exception.
I should should add that Bruce, pointedly, changes a word in my 2nd favorite line of the song -- "and for each unharmful gentle soul displaced inside a jail."
It was "misplaced" in the original; Bruce's substitution seems poignantly pertinent given that we're stripping people, who are in this country legally, of their habeas corpus rights and then sending them off to hellish foreign gulags for such heinous crimes as writing OP-EDs in their collge paper.
Oh, well -- enjoy your holiday, everybody!!! 😎
I think we can all agree that's one of the loveliest and most generous of spirit songs ever heard by sentient mammalian ears. But its implicit message raises some interesting contradictions, and that -- as you may have suspected -- leads us inexorably to the theme of the day's business.
To wit:
There are bands who fell apart, due to lack of commercial success or other factors, and thus never fulfilled their artistic potential, and there are bands who overstayed their welcome long after they had exhausted theirs. Name your favorite example in either category.Discuss.
Self-explanatory, I think, and no arbitrary rules whatsoever, so have at it.
I should add, however, that my nominee in the second category is -- and I say this with no happiness at all -- The Youngbloods.
The short version: Their first three albums on RCA, with the Lennon and McCartney-esque team of front people Jesse Colin Young and Jerry Corbitt, are masterpieces. Their later albums (on Warner Bros. and their own Raccoon label), after the departure of Corbitt, are IMHO completely unmemorable and a real slog to get through.
As for the first category, don't even get me started. 😎
Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
Okay -- not the greatest one ever. 😎
My apologies -- I am feeling extremely lousy, physically, today. I won't bore you with the details, but just consider yourself lucky you're not having the same problem.
An actual fab Weekend Listomania goes up tomorrow -- no fooling!!! 😎😎😎
Jeez, I don't even want to think what they would have done to Sinatra when he styled himself Chairman of the Board. Or Elvis as The King.
In all seriousness, when somebody sent me the above, I actually wasted time searching the internet to see if it was real. I mean -- Fox News? Seemed credible to me.
The bottom line, of course, is that when we can't tell actual news from parody, we're in serious trouble.
More conventionally music-themed posting resumes on the morrow.
I had absolutely no idea that these had guys covered the song, let alone that it went to Number 8 in the UK, deservedly. I should also add that fabulous DC5 lead singer Mike Smith is without a doubt the most underrated vocalist of the Brit Invasion. Seriously, he's just great on this -- soulful, inspirational, and damn.
Oh, and also -- speaking of things I didn't know, please ponder this, which I found at Wikipedia yesterday.
[Dave] Clark was a close friend of Freddie Mercury, whom he had known since 1976. He was by Mercury's bedside when the Queen singer died on 24 November 1991.
Have I mentioned that words fail me?
Also hah. 😎😎
Regular -- and very cool -- music posting resumes tomorrow.
I know, I know, it seems unlikely, even given my widely celebrated lack of imagination, but it's true. Seriously -- I did the research.
So, of course, this leads us, inexorably, to today's business. To wit:
...and your favorite (or least favorite) album cover on a post-Elvis LP in any genre -- pop, rock, soul, country, jazz, comedy, original cast/soundtrack or classical(!) -- is...???Discuss.
No arbitrary rules whatsoever, but for obvious reasons -- particularly that, post-Sgt. Pepper, the album cover had pretensions of being an art form -- I think we should restrict it to the pre-CD era. I mean, top of my head, I can't think of many small-scale covers that have made much of an impression on me in the last couple of decades. But your mileage may vary, of course, so I'm not gonna be a Hitler Jr. on the subject.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, my favorites are a four-way tie.
Beginning with this splendidly tacky example of 50s/60's classical cheesecake.
Yes, I said classical cheesecake. Trust me, it was a real genre, usually represented on stuff from the smaller, indie, classical labels. I should add that there were countless LP versions of this Rimsky-Korsakov warhorse that were similarly (and some a little more daringly) art-directed than the above. (Think: boobs.)
And then there's this one, which speaks for itself.
And this, which I think remains the most evocative and best art-directed album cover of all freaking time. I mean, really -- forgetting the layout and typography of the thing, I can hear the music and feel the Manhattan summer heat just looking at it.
And then, of course, there's this masterpiece.
What -- you seriously thought I wasn't gonna include something by a band I was in? It is to laugh. 😎
I should add that the above is currently hanging, framed, on the wall of my local Forest Hills watering hole the Keuka Kafe.
If you're in the neighborhood, drop by to ogle it and have the pierogies. Tell 'em PowerPop sent you.
Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
From the May 6 2025 issue of American Songwriter:
In July 1964, the Beatles made a triumphant return to Stockholm, Sweden, after their February debut in America. They had been there nine months earlier on tour, where they had been greeted at the airport by only a few dozen fans.The Fab Four took this in stride, seeing an opportunity to connect with their Swedish fans. However, when they returned, the airport was flooded with thousands of people. Par for the course after the Beatles’ big Ed Sullivan debut.
Among their fans that day was Roger Wallis, a British-born musician and researcher. In 1964, he was a member of the student brass band at the Stockholm School of Economics. The group called themselves Mercblecket, and Wallis often sang and arranged the music for the group.
Wallis managed to speak with Paul McCartney, and after chatting, he shared a copy of Mercblecket’s EP. Titled Mercblecket Beats the Beatles, the EP featured four covers of Beatles songs. It included “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “This Boy,” “All My Loving,” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”
The cover of Mercblecket’s EP is eerily similar to the cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The group dressed in marching band uniforms and posed around a bass drum. The Beatles, in turn, seemingly recreated this on the Sgt. Pepper cover.
However, many Beatles fans have pointed out that there are more specific references and allusions in the Sgt. Pepper cover. This is most likely more than just a reference to a Swedish brass band. Still, the coincidence is hard to ignore.
In footage taken at the time of the Beatles’ arrival in Stockholm, it’s clear that Mercblecket were in attendance at the airport. Dressed in their uniforms, the brass band regaled the Fab Four with tunes as they exited the plane.
While the similar cover art is probably just a coincidence, many have speculated that Paul McCartney could have had the image in mind when he conceived the original sketch. McCartney was the first to receive the EP, after all.
Oh sure -- it's probably just a coincidence.
Right. And I'm Marie of Romania. 😎
[h/t Jai Guru Dave]
Seriously, I've loved that song since it first appeared (ironically enough on the 1982 soundtrack to Fast Times at Ridgemont High) but I always thought Jackson's version could have rocked a little harder. In any case, somehow I managed to completely miss the above (which is transplendent) until I stumbled on it last weekend, and I would just like to thank all you bastids for not hipping me to it earlier.
Ingrates!!! 😎
From the promo material:
In 1979, The Knack kicked open the doors for a global power pop explosion, and a year or so later, almost as quickly, the doors closed again, but not before a mass of their contemporaries followed them through. Soon, a bunch of others got caught up in the excitement and the record business relearned the power of guitar-driven pop - the first few years of the '80s were as exciting for power pop as the last couple of the 70s had been, and even when it returned to the underground, the music continued to flow throughout the decade.We're on the second disc, in between Marshall Crenshaw and Cheap Trick -- and how fabulous is that?‘I Wanna Be A Teen Again’ follows the 80s power pop explosion from its hypocentre early in the decade to its enduring late period gems, exploring both leading and lesser lights, the old hands and new talents who made it such an exciting musical happening. By the middle of the decade, the term power pop had been all but retired, but a handful of new bands found success by avoiding it, whilst new movements, including the Paisley Underground and indie pop, helped keep others alive under new brandings. All the while a small number of holdouts, the pop equivalent of the soldiers lost in the jungle after the war had ended, strove to keep the music and the name alive.
Packed with classic cuts and long-overlooked rough diamonds, and appearing at a time when new outfits like The Lemon Twigs pick through the body of 80s power pop for material and inspiration and some key artists like Redd Kross and The Bangles are celebrated in books and film, ‘I Wanna Be A Teen Again’ is a timely examination and celebration of this action-packed era and its thrilling sounds.
The set features over 75 songs, neatly alternating between hits and deep cuts from a myriad of name artists/genre faves (I can't believe we're on an album with The Bangles, Rick Springfield(!), The Go-Gos, Shoes and Eric Carmen) and obscure characters like us; you can peruse the complete track listing -- and pre-order the thing, which will be available starting July 18 -- over at the Cherry Red website HERE. I'm told there will be a booklet with extensive liner notes and lotsa cool photos, including one of the Flo Mos; I'm also informed that you'll be able to stream the set over at Spotify, and I'll keep you posted on further details as I get them.
And may I just say, and for the record (as it were) that I'm over the moon thrilled and honored that we're a part of this thing, and my only regret is that my departed bandmates -- 12 string ace Andy Pasternack, who wrote the song, and drummer Glen Robert Allen -- didn't live to see it.
PS: Oh, and here's the compilation's title song, which I must confess I was previously unfamiliar with.
Of course, I am now, unsurprisingly, totally nuts about it.
[cross-posted at Floor Your Love]
I mean, what the hell...it's not like the Power Pop Police are gonna come after me.
So -- this leads us inexorably to today's business. To wit:
The greatest male vocalist, in any popular music genre, who made hit records in the second half of the 20th Century, was Nat "King" Cole.
Discuss.
And by discuss, we mean starting with yes or no, obviously.
In case you're wondering, I vote yes.
Why? Well, as you can plainly tell from that clip, Nat's magisterial phrasing and sheer vocal gorgeousness simply oozed soul, elegance and sex appeal. And he made it look and sound so easy it felt almost supernatural.
Plus, when he wanted to -- he rocked.
Fun fact: His 1957 recording of "When I Fall in Love" (i.e., the one above) reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1987, when it was re-released in reaction to a version by Rick Astley. Heh.
Okay, look, I'm being a little silly here deliberately; I'm aware that this is all subjective and that of course there's no one greatest singer (or guitarist or songwriter or group).
And "greatest"? What the hell does that even mean?
I mean, c'mon, I'm a professional.
But, and I say this as a life-long rock-and-roll chauvinist: Nat rules, okay?
So have a good time with this, won't you?
And have a terrific weekend, everybody!!!
That's dead-on, and very funny. I particularly like the bit about Sonic Youth.
Why? Because (1) the original LP version was never released in the States, and (2) for some reason it was never on CD anywhere till 2022 (on some difficult to find non-US label).
Oh, and which, BTW, you can now get from Amazon for...dig this... two hundred bucks.
I mean -- what?
Weird!!!
Anyway: While browsing some Shocking Blue videos the other day, I discovered to my delighted surprise that said album -- complete -- is now up on YouTube for free.
Je repete -- complete. For free. Can you freaking believe it?
Anywhere, here's the link and enjoy! It's actually a really good album!!!
Have I mentioned that YouTube is the contemporary version of the Library at Alexandria? 😎
I've been on a Shocking Blue kick of late, in case you hadn't noticed.
Anyway, I had never previously seen the above video until I chanced across it the other day, and musical merits aside, but may I just say, and for the record, that lead singer Mariska Veres could have had me if she'd played her cards right. I mean -- hubba hubba, as today's kids put it.
But seriously, though -- for the life of me, I can't comprehend what this inspirational verse...
Put some love in your heart
Like you put the ink in the inkpot.
Learn it and you will enjoy it baby
To put the ink in the inkpot.
...could possibly mean.
Oh well, it was recorded, after all, in a uniquely censorious era, when songwriters around the world were forced to take great pains to disquise what they were really talking about. 😎
Inspirational verse:
I'm not one to start complaining
Why am I so sour?
I'm not losing ground, I'm gaining
Why am I so sour?
Everything is going my way
Traffic's moving on the highway
Don't mind eating fish on Fridays
Still I'm feeling sour
I actually owned that album solely for "You Tell Me Why," a gorgeous folk-rock ballad that's one of the great lost singles of the Sixties, but that lyric from "In Good Time" always used to make me laugh when I cranked it up in my college dorm room. I hadn't thought about it in ages, but the other day, with the recent passing of Pope Francis, it (perhaps unsurprisingly) popped into my head unbidden.
I should add that if it came on the radio now, I kinda wonder how many contemporary listeners would even get the historical reference. 😎
