Squeeze – Piccadilly

I owned the album East Side Story, the fourth album by Squeeze, and this song caught my attention right off. It drew comparisons to the Beatles, especially in Rolling Stone Magazine at the time. That’s usually the kiss of death, and so unfair to any artist to start comparing to Dylan or anyone else.  This album was hyped, but it paid off. This song wasn’t a hit, but it was a hit in my car and at home because I wore it out. So, #1 on Max’s chart.

One of the strengths of Squeeze was always their ability to shift gears within an album. On East Side Story, you get upbeat pop, soul influences, and a few slower pieces. In my opinion, they were one of the best pop bands of the 1980s, but didn’t get played here as much, except for a few big hit singles. Their songs were quality and good, and they didn’t sound thrown together to get a hit. 

It was written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, and the song shows their usual approach with sharp observations about what is around them. Like Tempted, they use adjectives SO well in this, and it puts you in the song. You can see what they are talking about. As in a purple hairdryer, begging folk singer, the neon club lights of adult films and Trini Lopez, and just visuals, you can see. Tilbrook’s vocal keeps things straightforward, which fits the tone of the lyrics.

By 1981, Squeeze had become one of the most reliable songwriting bands of the British new wave era. After the success of Argybargy, the group wanted to try something broader for their next record. Instead of using one producer, the band worked with a couple, Elvis Costello and Roger Bechirian, which helped give the album its varied sound.

When the album was released in 1981, it became one of Squeeze’s most respected records. Songs like Tempted, Labelled With Love, Messed Around, Is That Love, and In Quintessence were the singles, but deeper cuts like this song show another side of the band, just as well-crafted.

The album peaked at #44 on the Billboard 100 and #19 in the UK in 1981. 

Piccadilly

She’s not a picture above somebody’s fireShe sits in a towel with a purple hair dryer,She waits to get even with me.She hooks up her cupcakes and puts on her jumperExplains that she’ll be late to a worrying mother,She meets me in Piccadilly.A begging folk singer stands tall by the entranceHis song relays worlds of most good intentions,A fiver a ten p in his hat for collection.She talks about office she talks about dressesShe’s seen one she fancies her smile is impressing,So maybe I’ll treat her someday.We queue among strangers and strange conversationLove’s on the lips of all forms of engagements,All queuing to see tonight’s play.A man behind me talks to his young ladyHe’s happy that she is expecting his baby,His wife won’t be pleased but she’s not been round lately.The girl was so dreadful we left in a hurryWe escaped in the rain for an Indian curry,At the candle lit Taj Mahal.My lips to a napkin I called for a taxiThe invite of eyes made it tense but relaxed me,My mind took a devious role.The cab took us home through a night I’d not noticedThe neon club lights of adult films and Trini Lopez,My arm around love but my acting was hopeless.

We crept like two thieves from the kettle to the fireWe kissed to the sound of the silence that we’d hired,Now captured, your love in my arms.A door opened slightly a voice spoke in worryMum went to bed without wind of the curry,Our secret love made its advance.Like Adam and Eve we took bite on the appleLoose change in my pocket it started to rattle,Heart like a gun was just half of the battle.

Terry Allen – Human Remains … album review

When I hear about a Texas singer-songwriter, I have to listen. Terry Allen is no exception, and yes, I love the styles he has and the songwriting. I couldn’t pick one from the album, so I thought, let’s go over the album. I listened to this album this week, over and over, and now while I’m writing this. It’s different, and that is a good thing. 

Terry Allen was born in 1943 in Lubbock, Texas, the same West Texas town that produced Buddy Holly. While Holly went straight into rock and roll, Allen took a different path. He studied art at Chouinard Art Institute in California during the 1960s and built a career as a respected visual artist before becoming widely known as a songwriter.

He has never really fit in one category. He came out of Texas in the 1970s, making records that mixed country, folk, and storytelling. The thing about Allen that sets him apart is that he is a songwriter who thinks like a novelist. By the mid-90s, he released this album, Human Remains, an album that sounded loose but carried the stories of people and places. He made this album with the help of Lloyd Maines, David Byrne, Joe Ely, Lucinda Williams, and many others.

It feels like a set of sketches from the American West and Southwest. The songs deal with memory, loss, odd characters, and the passing of time. It’s not a polished “Nashville” production. The record sounds live, with guitars, accordion, and rhythm sections that set the mood. The album is full of characters, wisdom, and plenty of commentary.

The first song that really caught my ear was What of Alicia. I like everything about this song and the lyrics of two people during a time frame until they met. The album kicks off with a rolling number called Gone To Texas with the lyric Hey I don’t need no chickenshit business man, tellin’ me what to do, Even if you ain’t got no business, same thing goes for you. I thought, well, this is different, and I like it. Another song that is mixed with humor is Peggy Legg. There’s a one-legged woman, On the dance floor, An that one leg’s so pretty, She don’t need no more. I mean, that is imagination and clever. 

Flatland Boogie is an enjoyable song about cruising in a Ford in the southwest. I hope you give the album a try. The songwriting is top-notch, and he has wit to spare. The lyrics fit so well together, and the music makes this album accessible to everyone. 

I saw a review by a user, and he said this. I don’t know what kind of music this is. Okay, it’s definitely country,  but it’s not normal country; it’s something different. Can’t put my finger on it. It’s not “rock & roll” country, and it’s not Neo-Traditionalist Country. It’s not folksy, and it’s not artsy. I don’t think any traditional genre would claim this stuff. It’s just Terry Allen.

That’s really close to what I think as well, and it’s a huge compliment. Allen has his own thing going on here, and I respect and enjoy it. Terry Allen, as I said, is a well-known visual artist, and you can see some of his work here. Some of his art is in museums. 

What Of Alicia

Well he just turned 17
When he left old Abilene
With his bag
And permission from the kin
Yeah but things just weren’t the same
After his Momma signed her name
And let the navy…take him in

Ahhh
What of Alicia
Española
13 years old
Child of Mexico

And he just turned 19 years
When he learned to face his fears
Of growing up
And acting like a man
He just cocked his sailor cap
Stuck his hands down in his lap
Leaned back and stroked them girls in Japan

Ahhh
What of Alicia
Española
15 years old
Girl of Mexico

An he just turned 23
When he finally took his final leave
Anchored in the port of San Diego
Yeah he met this border girl
An he fancied her body’s curl
So he married her
Then carried her to Colorado

Ahhh
What of Alicia
Española
19 years old
An old woman
But out of Mexico

Madness – One Step Beyond

In the 1980s, I was watching MTV, and I came across this band playing a song called Our House and I loved it. Not only did I like the song, but the bands irrevelant humor wore off on me. They didn’t take themselves seriously at all, and I respect that.

When this song came out in 1979, it sounded like a party breaking out in the middle of the British charts. Madness was part of the late-1970s ska revival that grew out of London clubs. Their version of this was actually a remake of a 1964 instrumental by Jamaican artist Prince Buster. Madness kept the structure but turned it into something louder and more chaotic. The song begins with Chas Smash shouting “Don’t watch that, watch this!” before the band launches into the riff. From that moment, it feels like a call to the dance.

It’s a fast ska rhythm, brass sounds, and a repeating organ line. Unlike many pop songs of the time, there is very little singing. Instead, the horns carry the melody while the band pushes the tempo forward. It captures the mix of Jamaican ska and British pub-rock attitude that defined the early Madness sound. The record was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who helped give the band a tight but lively sound.

The video, with the group dancing and marching through London streets, helped define their image. Madness were not trying to be serious rock stars. They looked like a gang of friends who started a band and brought the party with them. This was the title cut off of their debut album, released in 1979. The album peaked at #2 on the UK Album Charts and #27 in New Zealand that year. The song peaked at #7 in the UK. 

Here is a later live version. The crowd was ready!

One Step Beyond

(Hey you, don’t watch that,
Watch this!
This is the heavy heavy monster sound
The nutsiest sound around
So if you’ve come in off the street
And you’re beginning to feel the heat
Well listen buster
You’d better to start to move your feet
To the rockin’est, rock-steady beat
Of Madness
One step beyond!)

(One step beyond!…)

Wilson Pickett – In The Midnight Hour

This song has been in my head all week. A great classic soul song and a great song in general. The guitar riff is simple but perfect… it drives the song along with Pickett’s explosive voice. It has to be one of my all-time favorite songs to play on bass or guitar. It’s a sliding riff that stays in a perfect rhythm.

The song was recorded in 1965 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. Pickett worked with producer and songwriter Jerry Wexler and Steve Cropper. Cropper came up with the guitar riff while the band worked out the rhythm in the studio. Wexler encouraged the musicians to play slightly behind the beat, which gave the song its loose but powerful feel. That rhythm became one of the signatures of the Muscle Shoals sound.

The backing musicians included members of the studio band that would later be known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Their playing is tight, but they left room for the song to breathe. Pickett’s voice sits right in the center, rough and urgent, especially when he shouts the title line. Al Jackson Jr. and Donald “Duck” Dunn from Booker T. & the MG’s played on this track with bandmate Cropper.

In the Midnight Hour” was recorded on May 12, 1965, with all musicians performing at once, in the repurposed movie theater that was the Stax recording studio, with absolutely no overdubs. The song peaked at #21 on the Billboard 100 and #1 on the R&B Chart in 1965.

In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant. It was written by Pickett and Steve Cropper.

In The Midnight Hour

I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love come tumbling down
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
When there’ no one else around
I’m gonna take you, girl, and hold you
And do all things I told you, in the midnight hour

Yes I am, oh yes I am
One thing I just wanna say, right here

I’m gonna wait till the stars come out
And see that twinkle in your eyes
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love begins to shine

You’re the only girl I know
Can really love me so, in the midnight hour

Oh yeah, in the midnight hour
Yeah, all right, play it for me one time, now

I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love come tumbling down
I’m gonna wait, way in the midnight hour
That’s when my love begin to shine, just you and I
Oh, baby, just you and I
Nobody around, baby, just you and I
Oh, right, you know what?
I’m gonna hold you in my arms, just you and I
Oh yeah, in the midnight hour
Oh, baby, in the midnight hour

Buddy

I thought I’d take a break from music and movies and head on over to the dog aisle today. The wacky adventures of the author.

Our dog Martha brought home a Great Pyrenees boyfriend not long ago. We got Martha in 2019, right before COVID. We were going to get her spayed, but when COVID came, we thought we would wait. Well, we ended up not doing it. She is an inside dog, but of course goes out in our fenced-in back yard to get out and do her business.

One day, she found out she could jump the fence, and she did. Our neighborhood doesn’t have many dogs, and the ones we do have are small. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Martha and is cool with her when she does get out of our yard, which is seldom, but apparently, she found this dog somewhere, and no one is claiming him around here. We started calling him “Buddy,” and it stuck. He was on our front porch when he heard a gunshot from far off. He took off and went next door, where a teacher lives; she and her kids were petting him when we went over, and they were calling him Buddy, so it works.

We are looking at Facebook lost and found pets in our area, and posted his picture up there. He is very shy and would not come into our house whatsoever. The next day, after we found him, I lifted up the front of his body, and Bailey lifted up the other half and put him in the car. We took him to get scanned for a chip. He doesn’t have one, of course. No collar or anything. We finally got him into our house to look him over by both of us lifting him up.

I also talked to a lady who has owned this type of dog most of her life. She said he could have come from a farmer who had this dog to guard cattle, and they usually would not let them in their house. So, what we might do is buy a dog GPS tracker and a collar to see where he goes when he is outside. Of course, he could have been abandoned…a lot of options.

I have received some responses on Facebook, but no one knows him or claims him. This dog has won over our neighborhood, with at least 3 neighbors telling us that they are willing to chip in on dog food or whatever it needs to keep him here. So, for right now, we have another dog for the moment. He has the patience of Job…Martha will bark at him if he is lying down on the floor…she wants him up. He looks at me like, ” Why is she doing that?“

So for right now…we have around 280 lbs of dogs following us around.

The Prisoner – The Chimes of Big Ben

October 6, 1967 Season 1 Episode 2

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

Both sides are becoming identical. An International community, a perfect blueprint for world order….Number 2

The show has such a good premise. What does a super spy do when he/she retires? Most likely, they won’t be able to live their life in peace, but where do they go?

This was the 5th episode filmed, but it’s the second one aired. This explains the reason a few months have passed in time since he arrived. It’s one of my favorite episodes. The sugar cubes scene is very telling. They have it in his file how many cubes he uses in his tea. Just to mess with them, he changes the number he usually takes. Number 2 looks on in disbelief because Number 6 will not join quietly like some others did.

This episode really pushes the series into spy territory, playing with the idea that escape might be possible. Number Six encounters another prisoner who claims that she has outside contacts and a plan, and for the first time, the Village seems less sealed than it did in Arrival. She insists she knows a way to escape from the Village, and Number 6 builds a raft. After carefully planning their attempt, the two manage to leave the Village and drift out to sea. You think, hmmm, maybe he will break out of there…and he does, but then comes a twist.

The episode borrows the spy checklist… coded messages, double agents, and quiet deals, which suggests a more familiar path forward. You also see in what lengths the village will go to tame Number 6, and it’s out there. It also makes clear that intelligence work itself can be a trap. Trust becomes a liability, and the system Number Six once served is resembling the one now holding him.

It really drives home that escape is not just physical; it is psychological. It reinforces the idea that resistance is expected, managed, and often used against those who attempt it. It’s a great episode with who I think made the best Number 2, Leo McKern. He is one of the few who will return at the end. Be Seeing You!

…

Stooges – Fun House

I like the Stooges because I like raw and uncooked…and that is them. This song was the title track of their second studio album. This one is not just loud guitar and vocals. If you are a saxophone fan, you will like this. Steve Mackay plays the tenor saxophone in this and tears it up. 

When they entered the recording studio in 1970, the band wanted to capture what their shows sounded like. Producer Don Gallucci helped them set up the room so the group could play together, loud and loose as normal for them. Out of those sessions came this song, a track that shows how far the band had moved from the more structured songs on their first album.

The lineup at the time was Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. The song runs on a repeating riff from Ron Asheton while the rhythm section locks into a groove that sticks. Instead of building toward a traditional chorus, the song stretches out. When saxophonist Steve Mackay joins in, adding a free-form part that pushes the music further into chaos.

I love Iggy’s voice in this one. His vocals often move between spoken lines and shouted phrases. The recording keeps the rough edges…which was the goal of the sessions. The band wanted something closer to the stage than to a polished studio track. I tend to write that a lot in my reviews… because well…raw and uncooked remember? That’s what I like. 

When the saxophone really kicks in, and the rhythm keeps rolling, it feels like the walls of the room are closing in…and I like that. 

Fun House

Blow right on it, now!
Blow, Steve!
I feel alright
Yeah, I feel alright
Let me in
Hey, let me in
‘Ey, bring it down

Callin’ from the fun house with my song
We been separated, baby, far too long
A-callin’ all you whoop-dee pretty things
Shinin’ in your freedom, come and be my rings

Hold me tight, callin’ from the fun house
Hold me tight, callin’ from the fun house

Yeah, I came to play and I mean to play around
Yeah, I came to play and I mean to play real good
Yeah, I came to play

Alright
Hey, let me in
Take it down
I feel alright
A-take it down

Little baby girlie, little baby boy
Cover me with lovin’ in a bundle o’ joy
Do I care to show you what I’m dreamin’ of
Do I dare to whoop y’all with my love

Every little baby knows just what I mean
Livin’ in division in a shiftin’ scene

Hold me tight, callin’ from the fun house
Hold me tight, callin’ from the fun house

Blow
Yeah, I came to play
I came to play
Blow, Steve!

Hey
Hey now
Let me in
One more time
Take it down
Take it down
A-take it down

We been separated
We been separated
A little too long

Blow
Yeah, I came to play
Yeah, fun house, boy, will steal your heart away
Yeah, fun house, boy, will steal your heart away
Steal
Yeah
I came to play
I came to play
I came to play
This is it
Baby
Yeah, I came to play
I came to play

Doors – Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

In the 1980s, I went through my first Doors phase. Read every book and even bought an album called An American Prayer, full of Jim Morrison’s poems. I saw the Oliver Stone movie and many of the documentaries at the time. They came back in popularity big time in the 1980s with Morrison making the Rolling Stone cover with the headline “He’s Hot, He’s Sexy, and He’s Dead.” At the time…I thought…well, that is disturbing sounding. 

When The Doors released their debut album, The Doors, in 1967, most listeners expected songs written by Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. But tucked into the record was something unusual, “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar).” It wasn’t written by the band at all. The song came from German theater, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 stage production Little Mahagonny, later used in the opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

They discovered the song through Manzarek, who had studied theater and classical music. The band kept the original English lyrics but changed the arrangement. Instead of an orchestra, they built it around Manzarek’s carnival organ. It stood out on the album, but it fit the band’s taste for the theatrical.

Manzarek’s keyboard carries the melody while Krieger adds small guitar lines. It circles around the refrain, “Show me the way to the next whiskey bar,” until it feels like something being shouted across a room. The structure is simple, but the mood is uneasy because of Manzarek and Morrison. You can hear a slight German polka sound in this. 

The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Album Charts,  #42 in Canada, and #43 in the UK in 1967. 

Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

Well show me the wayTo the next whiskey barOh don’t ask whyOh don’t ask why

Show me the wayTo the next whiskey barOh don’t ask whyOh don’t ask why

For if we don’t findThe next whiskey barI tell you we must dieI tell you we must dieI tell you, I tell youI tell you we must die

Oh moon of AlabamaWe now, must say goodbyeWe’ve lost, our good old MamaAnd must have whiskeyOh, you know why

Oh, moon of AlabamaWe now must say goodbyeWe’ve lost, our good old MamaAnd must have whiskeyOh, you know why

David Gilmour – There’s No Way Out Of Here

Gilmour is one of those guitarists who you know by his tone. That’s all it takes to recognize him playing without knowing it. In the 1980s, Paul McCartney released “No More Lonely Nights,” and I knew right away that he must have called David Gilmour to do the solo…and he did. Gilmour is like Hendrix in that regard; it’s not hard to pick out his sound. 

I will admit, my favorite Pink Floyd music is the Syd Barrett years, although I do like some of the 1970s as well. Listening to Gilmour’s debut solo album, I’m really impressed. His songs were on point and not much wandering into Floyd land. Of course, you hear some; it’s hard not to with his voice. 

When David Gilmour began work on his first solo album, David Gilmour, the idea made sense. He wanted a break from the structure and pressure that surrounded Pink Floyd in the 1970s. As he said, to establish his own identity outside of the “claustrophobic shadow of Pink Floyd.”  The band had just finished the massive tour for Animals, and was entering a tense period that would lead to The Wall. Recording a solo record gave Gilmour a chance to work at his own pace and record songs that didn’t need to fit a concept.

Some songs came from outside writers. This song was written by Ken Baker and had first appeared on a record by the British country-rock group Unicorn. Gilmour liked the song and reshaped it with a heavier guitar sound and a slower feel to fit him perfectly. Once he puts that guitar on a song, it becomes a Gilmour song. 

The songs on this album were shorter and more straightforward. The guitar stayed at the center of the sound. It didn’t try to compete with the HUGE scale of Pink Floyd’s records. Over time, the album has come to be seen as a snapshot of where he was just before the The Wall era began.

The album peaked at #17 in the UK, #29 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #22 in New Zealand in 1978. 

There’s No Way Out of Here

There’s no way out of hereWhen you come inYou’re in for goodThere was no promise madeThe part you playedThe chance you took

There are no boundaries setThe time and yetYou waste it stillSo it slips through your handsLike grains of sandYou watch it goThere’s no time to be lostYou’ll pay the costSo get it right

There’s no way out of hereWhen you come inYou’re in for good

And never was there an answerThere an answerNot without listeningWithout seeing

There are no answers hereWhen you look outYou don’t see inThere was no promise madeThe part you playedThe chance you took

There’s no way out of hereWhen you come inYou’re in for good

And never was there an answerThere an answerNot without listeningWithout seeing

There’s no way out of hereWhen you come inYou’re in for goodThere are no answers hereWhen you look outYou don’t see in

There was no promise madeThe part you playedThe chance you took

(When you come in)(You’re in for good)

Elvis Presley – I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine

Many cool people have cool nicknames. I love Elvis’s nicknames. The Big E, King Of Rock ’n‘ Roll, The Memphis Flash, The Jumpsuited One, The Vibrating Valentino, Ol ’Snake Hips, The Tennessee Troubadour, Mr. Sideburns, The Hillbilly Cat, The Cool Cat, or just EP. 

I was listening to Elvis’s Sun songs, and this one stood out. It’s that rhythm that really drew me into this song. Just a simple little rockabilly song that makes me feel good. I would say that Sun Records Elvis is the Elvis I like best. Not that I never liked the songs on RCA and his major hits, but these records had a sound like no other. This song was the B-side to Good Rockin’ Tonight. 

It was written by Mack David and had been recorded earlier by Patti Page in 1950. Mack David wrote it for the animated film Cinderella, but not used in the movie. He also wrote Rain, Rain Go Away, Baby It’s You, and other hit songs. 

Presley’s version was recorded in 1954 during the same period that produced songs like That’s All Right. Backed by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley pushed the tempo and stayed with that rhythm. Moore’s guitar runs are all over the place, and Black’s slap bass keeps the track moving. Elvis sings with a mix of country phrasing and the energy that would be rockabilly.

This song was recorded in September 1954. It all started a few months earlier for Elvis. On June 7, 1954, WHBQ Radio in Memphis became the first station to play That’s All Right when their disc jockey, Dewey Phillips, aired it on his Red, Hot and Blue show the day after Elvis recorded it. Phillips was a pioneering DJ who played a mix of black and white music that attracted a large and diverse following and helped Elvis on his way. 

He would find worldwide success with RCA, but…I’ll just close this by saying I really love rockabilly, Elvis!

The A side…Good Rockin’ Tonight

I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my lovin’ in the evening time
When I’m with my baby

Well, it ain’t no fun with the sun around
I get going when the sun goes down
And I’m with my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Who cares how many times we kiss
‘Cause at a time like this, who keeps score?

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Who cares how many times we kiss
‘Cause at a time like this, who keeps score

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

And it don’t matter if it’s sleet or snow
The drive-in’s cozy when the lights are low
And I’m with my baby

Makes no difference if the rain comes down
I don’t notice when she’s around
Oh boy, what a baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss
And we’re gonna kiss some more
Well, one kiss from my baby doll makes me hot
More more more more

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I meet my baby

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss and
We’re gonna kiss some more
Well, one kiss from my baby doll makes me hot
More more more more

Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine
I get my loving in the evening time
When I’m with my baby

Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee

I wrote this for Randy’s site for a series he is having called “Herstory.” Here is the criteria: 

We have laid out three criteria to focus on women in music. Each article will include one or more of these.

Songs written by men but sung by a woman with a female POV.

Songs written by a woman and sung by themselves or for/with another woman

Collaborative efforts. Written with input from both a woman and a man but sung by a woman.

First of all, I’m honored to be part of this and to be asked by Randy. Thank you for posting this last week.  My posts are usually personal, and this one won’t be any different, unfortunately. It’s the only way I know how to write. I could never be a critic because I’m too much of a fan.

When Janis Joplin recorded this song, it wasn’t meant to be the centerpiece of the album. The song, written by Kris Kristofferson, had already been around the country and folk circuits, covered by Roger Miller and others. Joplin cut her version in 1970 during sessions for Pearl, not long before her death. She injected life into this song. The lyric about losing love and finding freedom sounded like something she had lived rather than learned.

Me and Bobby McGee quickly became Joplin’s signature song. This was a slightly different vocal for Janis. There is more control in her voice in this one. The producer Paul A. Rothchild was working with Janis to use her voice more efficiently so she could continue to sing later on in her career. Unfortunately, she never got a chance.

The Full Tilt Boogie Band keeps it simple behind her, soft rhythm, light piano, no clutter. That space lets Joplin carry the whole thing. She starts gently, almost timidly (for her), then slowly lets her voice go. The dynamic is incredible to hear, and it never gets old. By the final verse, it feels less like singing and more like remembering. It’s the sound of someone in pain. You feel that pain with Janis; you ALWAYS felt pain with Janis.

Plenty of artists have covered this song. Janis Joplin lived it for just four minutes, but those 4 minutes have turned into 56 years and counting. Kristofferson wrote a strong song, but Joplin turned it into an epic masterpiece. It isn’t about the road, or even about Bobby. It’s about how freedom can feel empty when the person you shared it with is gone. That’s why her version stayed, and the others faded. Without knowing it, she put a claim on that song, and she owns it like no other ever will.

This was Janis Joplin’s only top ten hit, although her songs are still played today. This was released after Joplin passed away. Her death gave the album a lot of attention, and Pearl went to #1 on the Billboard Album Chart in 1971. It was the second song to hit #1 in the US after the artist had died. Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding was the first. Janis idolized Otis, so she would probably have liked that.

Kris Kristofferson: “I had just gone to work for Combine Music. Fred Foster, the owner, called me and said, ‘I’ve got a title for you: ‘Me and Bobbie McKee,’ and I thought he said ‘McGee.’ I thought there was no way I could ever write that, and it took me months hiding from him because I can’t write on assignment. But it must have stuck in the back of my head. One day I was driving between Morgan City and New Orleans. It was raining and the windshield wipers were going. I took an old experience with another girl in another country. I had it finished by the time I got to Nashville.” 

“For some reason, I thought of La Strada, this Fellini film, and a scene where Anthony Quinn is going around on this motorcycle and Giulietta Masina is the feeble-minded girl with him, playing the trombone. He got to the point where he couldn’t put up with her anymore and left her by the side of the road while she was sleeping. Later in the film, he sees this woman hanging out the wash and singing the melody that the girl used to play on the trombone. He asks, ‘Where did you hear that song?’ And she tells him it was this little girl who had showed up in town and nobody knew where she was from, and later she died. That night, Quinn goes to a bar and gets in a fight. He’s drunk and ends up howling at the stars on the beach. To me, that was the feeling at the end of ‘Bobby McGee.’ The two-edged sword that freedom is. He was free when he left the girl, but it destroyed him. That’s where the line ‘Freedom’s just another name for nothing left to lose’ came from.

“The first time I heard Janis Joplin’s version was right after she died. Paul Rothchild, her producer, asked me to stop by his office and listen to this thing she had cut. Afterwards, I walked all over L.A., just in tears. I couldn’t listen to the song without really breaking up. So when I came back to Nashville, I went into the Combine [Publishing] building late at night, and I played it over and over again, so I could get used to it without breaking up. [Songwriter and keyboardist] Donnie Fritts came over and listened with me, and we wrote a song together that night about Janis, called ‘Epitaph’.

The Prisoner -Arrival

September 29, 1967  Season 1 Episode 1

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

I have covered The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker episode by episode, and I think The Prisoner will fit in perfectly. This will be my first British show episode by episode, although I’ve made posts on Fawlty Towers and Are You Being Served. I hope you will enjoy these.

What an opening! You resign from your workplace, and you are abducted by someone or some group and wake up in a pastel-looking village where individuality is a no-go. You are assigned a number, and that is now your name. There are so many symbolic images, and our Number 6 refuses to give in. Also, who would think a white weather balloon-looking device (Rover) could be so menacing?

This episode opens The Prisoner by throwing the viewer, like its hero, straight into disorientation. A government agent abruptly resigns, is abducted, and wakes up in the Village. It’s a bright seaside resort that feels pleasant until it doesn’t. Patrick McGoohan establishes the conflict immediately: individuality versus control and bureaucracy. The episode uses visuals and silence as much as dialogue, which pulls you in. As soon as he awakes from an unfamiliar pillow, the show is on.

The Village itself becomes the real star. Smiling residents, surveillance, and cheery announcements clash with the unspoken threat behind them. Authority is masked as friendliness, and rules are vague but absolute and must be followed. Trying to escape is treated as both foolish and dangerous. The balloon-like Rover makes its first appearance here, not explained, just accepted as the force it is. You will see it in action, and we are not sure why it attacked a Villager, and we are not told why. It reinforces the show’s refusal to reassure the audience that everything will be all right. Names are not used here; only numbers are used. Our spy is now Number 6. The Village is totally internal; no outside is mentioned or displayed. Any map is just of the Village, nothing of the world.

He meets a person who is the so-called leader…today. That would be Number 2. A different Number 2 every episode, with a few exceptions. They want to know why number 6 resigned. That is when our guy Number says I will not make any deals. I’ve resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own. Number 6 comes off as rude and impatient, but it makes sense. He is there against his will and doesn’t know who to trust. Throughout the series, he does find a few he does trust at the moment, at least partway.

By the end, this introductory episode has done its job. It defines the tone and the mystery. It also doesn’t resolve anything. Questions about identity, obedience, and yes, freedom are raised but not answered. That unease is the point and a big reason I kept on watching. As a first episode, it is bold and strange. You think everything will be explained, but it won’t. Beware of Rover!

In this episode, Number 6 is finding out the lay of the land, and the Village is getting to know him. He is looking to get out and give it a couple of shots. He does meet someone he knows, a spy, and he meets a lady with a chance to escape.

And so the trip to the bizarre begins, Be Seeing You!

Pixies – Gouge Away

I started following this band in the 1990s after hearing the song “Here Comes Your Man,” which caught my power-pop ear. It was on their 1989 album, Doolittle. I love the dynamics in this one and the harder style. 

By 1989, Pixies were no longer an underground surprise. After Surfer Rosa, they went into the studio to make a tighter, more direct record. That record became Doolittle. The sessions took place in late 1988 in Boston, with Gil Norton producing. Norton pushed the band toward precision. He said he focused on structure and dynamics. Gouge Away benefited from that approach.

Black Francis brought the song in with its biblical reference; he drew from the story of Samson and Delilah. But in the studio, the band worked on feeling more than sticking strictly to that concept. The verses were kept restrained on purpose, so the chorus would hit harder. That is where the dynamics came into play. I like the sound of Kim Deal’s driving bass in this one. Also, I have to mention, the guitar solo is very unique to me. I love the way they fit that solo in with the sustain.  

Unlike some of the raw edges on Surfer Rosa, Doolittle was built with layering in mind. Multiple vocal takes were tracked to get Francis’s half-whisper right before the explosion of the refrain. The final mix keeps plenty of space in the verses, then opens up when the band surges. As the closing track, Gouge Away was put there to leave a mark. It ends the album the way the Pixies often worked in the studio at that point, controlled and sharp.

The album peaked at #98 in the Billboard Album Charts, #8 in the UK, and #18 in New Zealand in 1989.

Gouge Away

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Missy aggravationSome sacred questionsYou stroke my locksSome marijuanaIf you got some

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Sleeping on your bellyYou break my armsYou spoon my eyesBeen rubbing a bad charmWith holy fingers

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Chained to the pillarsA three day partyI break the wallsAnd kill us allWith holy fingers

Gouge awayYou can gouge awayStay all dayIf you want to

Van Morrison – Warm Love

Dave posted this on his TurnTable Talk on February 19. The topic that he gave us was simple enough…a song with the word love in it. This song and Crazy Love came to mind from Van so I went with this one, you don’t hear this one as often. 

In 1986-87 I bought the Van Morrison album Hard Nose the Highway, and this song, among others, caught my attention. The album is not up there with Moondance or Astral Weeks, but it’s a good album. When I heard this song on the album, I got the feeling I’d heard it before. It did peak at #66 in Canada in 1973. I’m sure I heard it on AM radio when I was a kid. It sounds like a hit. I just fell and am still over his wide-open songs, such as the title track, the previous album track, and “Saint Dominic’s Preview.” 

When I got into Van…I really got into him. I ended up buying his first 9 albums (not counting the early Bang years), from the 1968 album Astral Weeks to the 1978 Wavelength album. I also ordered a hard-to-find Them album from England. An album I still have with me, one of the very few that survived my many moves in my younger days. 

I always thought Warm Love was the sister song to Crazy Love off his Moondance album from 3 years before. Coming off the open sound of Saint Dominic’s Preview, Van Morrison went into Hard Nose the Highway in 1973 in a different headspace. The sessions were very successful, and they recorded over 30 songs. Morrison originally wanted to make it a double album, but the record company talked him into a single one. 

The songs that caught my attention on first listen were this song, the title track, and a song called The Great Deception. He also did a cover of Kermit! Yes, Van covered Being Green on this album. It’s a good album and always a joy to listen to. Van had a band at this time called The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, and they were tight. Some of them played on this album.

The Caledonia Soul Orchestra was the road band that powered Van Morrison through one of the strongest stretches of his career, roughly 1972 to 1974. After the success of Moondance and the more reflective albums that followed, Morrison wanted a band that could move between jazz, R&B, folk, and soul without losing momentum. He found it in a large ensemble built around horns, a tight rhythm section, and backing vocalists who could follow his changes in real time.

A huge talent of Van is to make songs that feel off the cuff but polished at the same time. As with most of the album, it was built around live takes, with horns and backing vocals added only where they felt natural.

The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard Album Charts, #18 in Canada, and #22 in the UK in 1973. This live version is the best one I’ve heard, but it won’t let me embed it here. 

Van Morrison: It is just a boy and girl song, walking on the beach. It’s a young song. I can’t really add to that, except to note that this is a musical love affair, with the girl bringing her guitar.

Warm Love

Look at the ivy on the old clinging wallLook at the flowers and the green grass so tallIt’s not a matter of when push comes to shoveIt’s just a hour on the wings of a dove

It’s just warm loveIt’s just warm love

I dig it when you’re fancy dressed up in laceI dig it when you have a smile on your faceThis inspiration’s got to be on the flowBut these invitation’s got to see it and know

It’s just warm loveIt’s just warm love

And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereWarm loveAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love

To the country I’m goingLay and laugh in the sunYou can bring your guitar alongWe’ll sing some songs, we’ll have some fun

The sky is crying and it’s time to go homeAnd we shall hurry to the car from the foamSit by the fire and dry out our wet clothesIt’s raining outside from the skies up above

Inside, it’s warm loveInside, it’s warm love

And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm loveAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, I can feel it

And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, heyAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, heyAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love

Wilco – How to Fight Loneliness

I first heard of Wilco from the song Secret of the Sea by Billy Bragg and Wilco for the album Mermaid Avenue Volume II. I started to follow them more closely and learned a lot from bloggers about them. 

Wilco was formed in 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, following the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. The band was founded by Jeff Tweedy, along with former Uncle Toledo members John Stirratt, Ken Coomer, and Max Johnston. Over the years, Wilco evolved from an alternative country sound into a more experimental and genre-blending style. After this album, their sound changed from the alt-country sound they had with Uncle Tupelo.  

What first jumps out with this song is the acoustic in front with a small amount of reverb. It takes me back a little to John Lennon’s version of Stand By Me. I can’t get enough of that sound. The song started with Tweedy at the piano. It was written around a repeating chord pattern and a vocal line that doesn’t try to do too much.

This was on the album Summerteeth, released in 1999. It was their 3rd studio album. From listening to them recently, Wilco had already moved past the alt-country tag that followed them after Uncle Tupelo. Being There opened the door. Summerteeth walked through it and didn’t look back. I really like this album.

From what I’ve read, there was tension during the making of the album. Jay Bennett’s role grew, and he and Tweedy wrote most of the album. So did the friction. Multi-tracking replaced some of the earlier live feel. Drummer Ken Coomer has said parts were built in sections rather than full takes. The band was evolving in real time, and not everyone was comfortable with the shift. Still, the focus was on getting the songs right, even if that meant reworking them again and again, and they did a great job.

The album peaked at #78 on the Billboard Album Charts and #38 in the UK in 1999. 

How To Fight Loneliness

How to fight loneliness
Smile all the time
Shine you teeth til meaningless
Sharpen them with lies

And whatevers going down
Will follow you around
Thats how you fight loneliness
You laugh at every joke
Drag your blanket blindly
Fill your heart with smoke
And the first thing that you want
Will be the last thing you ever need
Thats how you fight it

Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time