I always liked this band and the sound they had in the 80s. I look at them the way I do at Big Star and The Replacements. Why didn’t they take off commercially? It makes no sense to me at all, but the charts and mainstream radio got this wrong. Now, let’s bring some power pop back to this power pop site!
This was the song that first gave The Smithereens national attention. It was released in 1986 on their debut album, Especially for You. It was based around a heavy bass line, which makes me happy, sharp guitar parts, and the voice of songwriter Pat DiNizio. The song had been around in some form before the band signed a record deal. It was part of the material they developed while playing clubs across New Jersey and New York. When it appeared as a single, college radio picked it up, and most importantly, MTV did as well.
DiNizio wrote this song after reading the 1946 novel “Blood and Roses” by British writer Helen MacInnes, though the lyrics were not a direct adaptation. Instead, he used the title to frame a story about a difficult relationship. Like many Smithereens songs, it drew from pop culture and personal memories.
It was produced by Don Dixon, who kept the arrangement sharp and tight, letting the rhythm section carry much of the song. It became the band’s signature song, still tied closely to the sound of American college radio in the mid-1980s, when guitar bands were finding an audience outside of mainstream radio. And that is where I was at the time!
The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Charts in 1986. The album peaked at #51 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Blood and Roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday
Saw you standing in the rain
Then I heard you say
I want to love, but it comes out wrong
I want to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
Wild flowers in the springtime
October we were wed
In winter time the roses died
Her blood ran cold and then she said
I want to love, but it comes out wrong
I want to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday
I saw you standing in the rain
Then I heard you say
I need your love, but it comes out wrong
I tried to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
Blood and roses (roses)
Blood and roses (roses)
Blood and roses (roses)
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Awesome! 😎
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DiNizio said the song came to him when he was walking home from his job as soundman at NYC’s legendary Folk City nightclub through the freezing rain at about four in the morning. The bass line came to him first, and the chords and melody followed as they were built around the bass part. The song is about a girl DiNizio knew in high school, who took her own life.
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I like the fact he got his title from the book. The bass line is what got me to listen.
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There is no blueprint that tells you how to react or cope after a suicide, as we each have our own way of grieving, and we do this at our own pace, but knowing someone that took their life can have a lasting impact.
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Great bass, great song. I second your opinion, it and the album should have been BIG. ‘Green Thoughts’, the follow-up was even better, to me one of the perhaps half dozen best rock albums of the decade. Nary a stinker to be heard on either record.
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Yea…I get pissed for the power pop bands that wasn’t heard enough to show what they had. Some bands got lucky like The Cars and somewhat the same with Tom Petty but he branched out more.
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Nice. Didn’t know this one. The only album I have of theirs is Green Thoughts, which I bought on vinyl on a whim, knowing nothing about the group. They had a good sound. Will have to go back and listen again.
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They do and they should have been more well known for sure. I need to listen to Green Thoughts…the complete album.
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It’s that opening bass lie that got ya Max. That live version is great. Very cool band with lots of great tunes Still sounds good.
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That bass said “come on in Max” its right up my alley. l checked out their live stuff and yea…they were a great live band.
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Keeping this music alive Max. Good job.
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“Blood an Roses” is right up my alley. I’ve covered The Smithereens a couple of times and dig what I’ve heard thus far. I think it was our friend and fellow blogger Dave who initially brought them on my radar screen last fall.
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