Badfinger (Max)

Who – Getting In Tune

This song was originally on the Who’s Next album released in 1971…my favorite album of that year and maybe of the seventies. That year was an incredible time for albums. Led Zeppelin would release their most remembered album Led Zeppelin IV a few months after Who’s Next.

There is not a bad song on the album. Roger excels on this song and it builds up in the middle for good dynamics. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked Getting In Tune number 8 on its list of the 50 greatest songs by The Who. Nicky Hopkins plays piano on this song.

The Who’s Next album is one of the most sonic-sounding albums I’ve ever heard. Glyn Johns produced it and said this: “I have a residing memory of sitting in the truck, my hair being parted by what was coming out of the speakers, a massive amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins. There have been a few occasions over the years when I have been completely blown away, believing without a doubt that what I was listening to would become much more than just commercially successful but also a marker in the evolution of popular music, and this was one of those moments.”

Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his “Lifehouse” project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who’s Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished “Lifehouse,” but the songs ended up on the great album Who’s Next.

Pete Townshend wrote this as part of his “Lifehouse” project. He wanted to release a film about a futuristic world where the people are enslaved… but saved by a rock concert. Pete couldn’t get enough support to finish the project, but most of the songs he wrote were used on the Who’s Next album.

Townshend’s use of the ARP synthesizer on Who’s Next was groundbreaking. He didn’t just add texture to it but the ARP became part of the structure of the songs. This was not like today’s synthesizer where you just took it out of the box. It had to be programmed and connected together…and not many people knew how to do it. He took a risk using it because technology in general always moving ahead, Who’s Next could have sounded dated a few years afterward but it still sounds fresh and interesting today…unlike some 1980s synth music.

The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in the UK, and #5 in Canada in 1971. It also peaked at #7 on the US Billboard Top Pop Catalog in 2014.

Getting In Tune

I’m singing this note ’cause it fits in well with the chords I’m playing
I can’t pretend there’s any meaning hidden in the things I’m saying

But I’m in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you
Right in on you
Right in on you

I get a little tired of having to say
“Do you come here often?”
But when I look in your eyes, I see the harmonies
And the heartaches soften

I’m getting in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you

I got it all here in my head
There’s nothing more needs to be said
I’m just bangin’ on my old piano
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)

I’m singing this note ’cause it fits in well with the way I’m feeling
There’s a symphony that I hear in your heart, sets my head a-reeling

But I’m in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you

Baby, with you
(Baby, with you)
Baby, with you
(Baby, with you)
Baby, with you

I’ve got it all here in my head
There’s nothing more needs to be said
I’m just bangin’ on my old piano
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow

Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow, yeah
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)

Replacements – I.O.U.

THIS sound is what I missed in the 1980s while growing up in that era. The Replacements were a throwback band in a lot of ways. The guitar could have come off of Exile on Main Street. The guitar tone does not sound pretty or clean…that sound went missing in the land of overproduction in the 80s.

IOU was more band biography as were several of their songs, Westerberg was eager to cancel out old relationships...“I want it in writing / I owe you nothing.”

The song appeared to be directed at former manager Peter Jesperson and guitar player Bob Stinson, but Westerberg said the literal inspiration came from an encounter with Iggy Pop: “I was on the bus with him after a show, and somebody asked for his autograph. He wrote, ‘IOU NOTHING.’ I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

This was off of the album Please To Meet Me recorded in Memphis with Jim Dickinson producing. Dickinson also produced Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers album a decade before. Bob Stinson was out of the band at this time and it was recorded as a trio of Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, and Mars.

Westerburg has said he wanted their albums to sound timeless…not as tied to the decade they were recorded in. For the most part, he got his wish.

This song kicked off the album Please To Meet Me with a bang. To these ears…the best pure rock band of the 80s.

I.O.U.

Give me a/get me out of this little stinkin’ fresh air
Ninety days in the electric chair
Step right up son
Gonna show you something ain’t never been done
You’re all fucked

Listen, it don’t cost much
I lay down the line that you touch
Never do what you’re told
There’ll be time, believe me, when you’re old
You’re all wrong and I’m right

Please be on your honor
Please be on your side […sucker?]

Listen to the story all right
I’m losing all I own on that dotted line
Step right up son
Gonna show you something ain’t never been done
You’re all wrong and I’m right

You see I want it in writing, I owe you nothing
Want it in writing, I owe you nothing
Want it in writing

Slade – Far Far Away

I’ve become a fan of this band. I only heard them second-hand through Quiet Riot in the 80s until they finally had a couple of hits in the 1980s with Runaway and My Oh My. This song was a bit of a departure from the high-octane songs they had been releasing. They veered off the formula on purpose with this song.

I love watching old Slade videos on youtube. They were a lot of fun to listen to and watch. Slade was a hard-rocking glam band that somehow never made it in America until the 1980s. Their golden period was in the early to mid-seventies in the UK. Noddy’s voice is extremely strong and the melodic structure of their songs is very catchy but not in a bad way.

Slade was at the height of its success and their manager Chas Chandler suggested they make a movie. So they made a movie called Slade In Flame. The movie itself got good reviews and so did the soundtrack. BBC film critic Mark Kermode called it the “Citizen Kane of rock musicals.” I’ve never watched this film but I am going to now.

This was the first single to be taken from the soundtrack. The movie follows the history of a fictitious group in the early 1970s called Flame who were played by the members of Slade.

Singer Noddy Holder wrote the song after a long period of touring when he was thinking of home. He was looking out of a hotel window overlooking the Mississippi river with Slade’s manager Chas Chandler. The singer was thinking how far the band had come when a big paddle riverboat came down the river, all lit up. Holder had mentioned to Chandler that he saw the yellow lights go down the Mississippi …Chandler seeing the inspiration asked him to write something about it and he wrote Far Far Away with bass player Jim Lea.

The song peaked at #2 in the UK in 1974.

I found this description about the movie. A pretty gritty story of the formation of Flame, a fictional band played by the four members of Slade. In the movie, Flame were to hit the big time quickly, only to be hit by violence, and off-stage legal and financial battles, eventually leading them to split. It’s a hard-hitting look at the less glamorous side of the music biz.

Far Far Away

I’ve seen the yellow lights go down the MississippiI’ve seen the bridges of the world and they’re for realI’ve had a red light of the wristWithout me even gettin’ kissedIt still seems so unreal

I’ve seen the morning in the mountains of AlaskaI’ve seen the sunset in the east and in the westI’ve sang the glory that was RomeAnd passed the hound-dog singer’s homeIt still seems for the best

And I’m far, far awayWith my head up in the cloudsAnd I’m far, far awayWith my feet down in the crowdsLettin’ loose around the worldBut the call of home is loudStill is loud

I’ve seen the Paris lights from high upon MontmartreAnd felt the silence hanging low in No-Man’s-LandAnd all those spanish nights were fineIt wasn’t only from the wineIt still seems all in hand

And I’m far, far awayWith my head up in the cloudsAnd I’m far, far awayWith my feet down in the crowdsLettin’ loose around the worldBut the call of home is loudStill is loud

I’ve seen the yellow lights go down the MississippiThe grand Bahama island stories carry onAnd all those arigato smilesStay in your memory for a whileThere still seems more to come

And I’m far, far awayWith my head up in the cloudsAnd I’m far, far awayWith my feet down in the crowdsLettin’ loose around the worldBut the call of home is loudStill is loud

And I’m far, far awayWith my head up in the cloudsAnd I’m far, far awayWith my feet down in the crowdsAnd I’m far, far awayBut the sound of home is loudStill is loud

Led Zeppelin – Out On The Tiles

This one is a great deep cut by Led Zeppelin. It was on Led Zeppelin III and is looked over but it has a great riff by Jimmy Page. It’s nice to find a Zeppelin song that hasn’t been played to death…the guitar riff is killer on this song.

In Japan, this was mistakenly placed on the B-side of “Immigrant Song” rather than “Hey, Hey What Can I Do.” Those copies are rare collector’s items.

Bron-Yr-Aur 1970

Bron-Yr-Aur Now

Robert Plant remembered an 18th-century cottage called Bron-Yr-Aur he had visited in his youth and felt it would be a great place to temporarily escape life in the fast lane and commune with nature. Plant invited his co-writer, guitarist Jimmy Page, and in the spring, the two men took their instruments and supplies to the retreat to recharge their batteries. The place had no running water or electricity at the time.

Robert Plant: “It was time to take stock, and not get lost in it all, and what better way to keep it real than at a place with no electricity, candles for light, water from a stream, and an outside toilet?”

Many fans didn’t embrace Led Zeppelin III like their first two albums. The band would routinely bludgeon their audiences with hard rock. This album had a lot of acoustic mixed in with rock guitar. I think it’s the most underrated album in their catalog. The next two albums would combine these two elements perfectly. Led Zeppelin III was the turning point of Led Zeppelin…after that album. To my ears…this is when Led Zeppelin grew up musically.

Led Zeppelin III peaked at #1 in the US, Canada, and UK in 1970-71.

Drummer John Bonham would talk about going “out on the tiles,” meaning to bars – the title is a British term for going out on the town. Jimmy Page wrote this song around the phrase. Bonham, along with Page and Robert Plant, got a writing credit on the track.

Jimmy Page: “That’s ambient sound. Getting the distance of the time lag from one end of the room to the other and putting that in as well. The whole idea, the way I see recording, is to try and capture the sound of the room live and the emotion of the whole moment and try to convey that. That’s the very essence of it. And so, consequently, you’ve got to capture as much of the room sound as possible.”

Jimmy Page: “When Robert and I went to Bron-Yr-Aur we weren’t thinking: ‘Let’s go to Wales and write.. The original plan was to just go there, hang out and appreciate the countryside. The only song we really finished while we were there was That’s The Way, but being in the country established a standard of traveling for inspiration and set a tone for Led Zeppelin III.”

Below Jason Bonham tells the story of Out On The Tiles

Out On The Tiles

As I walk down the highway all I do is sing this song
And a train that’s passin’ my way helps the rhythm move along
There is no doubt about the words are clear
The voice is strong, is oh so strong

I’m just a simple guy, I live from day to day
A ray of sunshine melts my frown and blows my blues away
There’s nothing more that I can say but on a day like today
I pass the time away and walk a quiet mile with you

All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah

I’m so glad I’m living and gonna tell the world I am
I got me a fine woman and she says that I’m her man
One thing that I know for sure gonna give her all the loving
Like nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody can

Standing in the noonday sun trying to flag a ride
People go and people come, see my rider right by my side
It’s a total disgrace, they set the pace, it must be a race
And the best thing I can do is run

All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
All I need from you is all your love
All you got to give to me is all your love
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah

You Can’t Take It With You

I first watched this 1938 movie in the 90s and I still watch it from time to time. Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur had great chemistry on screen. The following year they would be in “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”…another great movie. Capra wanted Jean Arthur in It’s a Wonderful Life but she was committed to a Broadway show.

This movie is about a rich man named Tony Kirby (Jimmy Stewart) who is working reluctantly for his ruthless banker dad. He falls in love with his stenographer Alice (Jean Arthur). The father doesn’t really care but his mother is outraged that he would love someone beneath him. This part of the story you have seen before but it’s when the great Lionel Barrymore who plays Alice’s grandfather Martin Vanderhof enters… the movie gets going.

Martin and his family do exactly what they want, his daughter Penny received a typewriter in the mail by mistake and thinks she is a novelist, Alice’s sister dances every time music is played and a basement full of unemployed older gentlemen who like to invent things…especially firecrackers… It’s a crazy household but they live life and are not bothered by a thing.

This is the opposite of the Kirby family who is uptight, overwhelmed, and disgusted by this family…except Tony of course.

The movie is full of off-the-wall humor and Alice’s family is great. Anyone that comes to the house wants to stay…and sometimes does. The grandfather goes out and finds one person (Mr. Poppins) who invents things but works at a terrible job and Martin invites him to live at the house with his family to be…”a lily of the field” and quit his dreadful job.

Here are some quotes from the meeting

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: How would you like to come over to our house and work on your gadgets?

Poppins: Your house? Well I don’t know, thank you.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Oh go on, you’ll love it. Everybody at over at our place does just what he wants to do.

Poppins: Really?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Mmm-hmmmm.

Poppins: That must be wonderful. But how would I live?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: The same way we do.

Poppins: The same way? Well, who takes care of you?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: The same One that takes care of the lilies of the field, Mr. Poppins, except that we toil a little, spin a little, have a barrel of fun. If you want to, come on over and become a lily too.

This is a screwball comedy and a good one. Lionel Barrymore is magnificent in this. Just a few years later he would play mean Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life.

This movie was directed by Frank Capra. Some critics in his day called him “Capra-corn” because of the optimism he showed for the everyday man. I think he was a great director. This is one of his best movies.

It’s a very good movie…any movie with Jimmy Stewart can’t be bad. The comedy holds up today. After the movie, you will want to be a lily of the field.

This movie is based off a play written by the great George Kauffman and Moss Hart.

Bob Seger – Against The Wind

I’ve met some Seger fans who basically stopped liking his music when this album came out. I don’t understand that really because this is one of my favorite Seger songs although I do like his earlier ones the best. Classic Rock radio has really worn this one thin but I still listen to it when it comes on. The older I get the more I can relate.

I always thought Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then was a great line. Funny enough…Seger was going to scratch that line because he said it didn’t sound right grammar-wise… he changed his mind when people told him it was the best line in the song.

The album Against The Wind was huge. It is his only number 1 album to date. Fire Lake is what attracted me to the album and I had it many years ago. The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #26 in the UK in 1980.

The title track peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100 and #6 in Canada in 1980.

In the lyrics he mentions “Janey”…who was thought to be long term girlfriend Janey Dinsdale. He confirmed it in an interview at the time: Janey says to me all the time, ‘You allow more people to walk on you than anybody I’ve ever known.’ And I always say it’s human nature that people are gonna love you sometimes and they’re gonna use you sometimes. Knowing the difference between when people are using you and when people truly care about you, that’s what “Against the Wind” is all about. The people in that song have weathered the storm, and it’s made them much better that they’ve been able to do it and maintain whatever relationship. To get through is a real victory.

Half the album was recorded with his Silver Bullet Band and the other half at Muscle Shoals studio with their rhythm section.

Seger won the 1980 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal Grammy award for this song.

Bob Seger: “My old friend Glenn Frey of the Eagles had an idea that our guitarist Drew Abbott should play along with the piano solo. He and I then went out and did the background vocals together. The line ‘Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then’ bothered me for the longest time, but everyone I knew loved it so I left it in. It has since appeared in several hits by other artists, so I guess it’s OK.”

“The only thing that bothered me about that phrase was the grammar. It sounded grammatically funny to me. I kept asking myself, ‘Is that correct grammar?’ I liked the line, and everybody I played it for – like Glenn and Don (Henley) – were saying, ‘That’s the best line in the song,’ but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t right. But I slowly came around. You have to understand that songwriters can’t punctuate anything they write. I work in such a narrow medium that I tend to second-guess things like that. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen that line in a few other songs since I came up with it, so I guess it was okay after all.”

Against The Wind

It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
‘Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then

Against the wind
We were runnin’ against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin’
Against the wind
The years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again

Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind

Well those drifter’s days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

Against the wind
I’m still runnin’ against the wind
I’m older now but still runnin’ against the wind
Well I’m older now and still runnin’
Against the wind
Against the wind
Against the wind

I’m still runnin’ against the wind
I’m still runnin’ against the wind (against the wind)
I’m still runnin’ (against the wind)
I’m still runnin’ against the wind (against the wind)
Still runnin’ (against the wind)
Running against the wind
Running against the wind (against the wind)
See the young man run (against the wind)
Watch the young man run (against the wind)
Watch the young man runnin’ (against the wind)
He’ll be runnin’ against the wind (against the wind)
Let the cowboys ride (against the wind)
Oh (against the wind)
Let the cowboys ride (against the wind)
They’ll be ridin’ against the wind (against the wind)
Against the wind (against the wind)
Ridin’ against the wind (against the wind)
Against the wind

The Super Fight ….Rocky Marciano vs Muhammad Ali

Does anyone remember this? I saw this as a kid in the mid-seventies. It was filmed in 1969. It was released on January 20, 1970, and it grossed 5 million dollars in 1,500 theaters across North America and Europe. This is a fun piece of pop culture. In accordance with the conditions laid down by the distributor, bonded guards collected all prints after a single showing and took them to be incinerated. Obviously, that didn’t happen because prints were found in the mid-seventies.

By the time this was filmed…Rocky had been retired for 14 years and he lost around 60lbs to look the part. Ali was in his prime at the time but this wasn’t a real boxing match…it was fought by a computer and the two boxers mimicked what the computer said would happen.

They filmed two different endings with each winning. The one that was released in The United States, Canada, and throughout Europe showed Rocky winning. A small group in Europe showed the version in which Ali won.

Ali was critical of some people in his career but he never said a cross word about Rocky Marciano. Both boxers respected the other.

Marciano became the only heavyweight champion with a perfect professional record, undefeated in 49 fights, who successfully defended his title six times before retiring on April 27, 1956. He won 43 of his pro bouts by knockouts.

He would never see this film released. Marciano died on Aug. 31, 1969, in a small plane crash near Des Moines, Iowa, the day before his 46th birthday. It was only three weeks after he finished this boxing match with Ali.

…

Loretta Lynn and Jack White – Portland Oregon

I was listening to Led Zeppelin earlier and now I have switched gears. After Loretta Lynn passed away I spent the night listening to her Van Lear Rose album and finding again how great that album is. I would recommend taking a listen to this song. It works for country, rock, and pop. I love the opening line… Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz, If that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huh.

She did a lot for women in the business and paved the way for later stars. Songs like The Pill and X Rated were largely ignored by country radio at the time but that didn’t stop them from hitting #1. She was one of the best songwriters in country history.

The White Stripes dedicated their 2001 album, ”White Blood Cells,” to her and she found out about them. Jack was still with the White Stripes at the time, but he approached her backstage and the two had a conversation that led to him following Lynn home to Tennessee and making an album with her.

They recorded and released this album in 2004. She wrote this song years before about a romance that wasn’t…she pretended to have a romance with her guitar player at the time to make her cheating husband jealous.

This one is a duet between Jack and her and it’s great. As I said yesterday…if modern country was like this…I would listen. Their voices go really well with each other. Country radio would not play it but the album still peaked at #2 on the Country Charts and #24 on the Billboard 200 in 2004. They didn’t win any country music awards but came away with two Grammys.

jack White must have liked Nashville because, in 2009, White opened the doors to his very own Nashville-based record label, Third Man Records.

Jack White: “I said when I was first asked about her what I thought and I said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century. I still believe that, she was such an incredible presence and such a brilliant genius in ways that I think only people who got to work with her might know about. What she did for feminism, women’s rights in a time period, in a genre of music that was the hardest to do it in, that’s just outstanding and will live on for a long time.”

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The top video is Lynn and White receiving a Grammy… I would recommend watching the Letterman show version of the song at the bottom. The youtube police took the good quality one away but I found another. I like how White and the band make a LONG build-up…and the anticipation mounts before Lynn comes on. Jack White has that country band really rocking. Their voices sound so good in this song.

The video below is Lynn and White winning a Grammy…its really funny.

Portland Oregan

Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizzIf that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huhWell I lost my heart, it didn’t take no timeBut that ain’t all, I lost my mind in Oregon

In a booth in the corner with the lights down lowI was movin’ in fast, she was takin’ it slow, uh huh, uh huhWell, I looked at her and caught him lookin’ at meI knew right then we were playin’ free in Oregon

Next day, we knew last night got drunkBut we loved enough for the both of us, uh huh, uh huhIn the morning when the night had sobered upIt was much too late for the both of us in Oregon

Well, sloe gin fizz works mighty fastWhen you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass, uh huh, uh huhHey bartender, before you closePour us one more drink and a pitcher to go

And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)

And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)Yeah

And a pitcher to goAnd a pitcher to go

Badfinger – Money ….Power Pop Friday

Badfinger is the band that got me into power pop. After reading about them my interest widened into The Raspberries and Big Star. If any of you readers have a time machine I could use…take me back to January 19, 1973, at the Chicago Aragon Ballroom…where The Raspberries opened up for Badfinger. That would be a power pop dream.

This song was the B side to Badfinger’s hit Day After Day released in 1971. It was a good song written by bassist Tom Evans… I zeroed in on this song from the album Straight Up. I’ve heard it used for some radio bumper music for talk and sports shows. The melody and harmonies stand out in this one.

Straight Up has two of their big hits…the beautiful Day After Day and what I consider the best power-pop song of all time…Baby Blue. It’s not just the hits that are good….the band had three songwriters with Pete Ham, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. Tom and Joey were not at their bandmate’s writing level but they were very good. There is not a bad song on the album.

On the album, the song Money was connected with the Evans and Molland song Flying. They flow into each other to make a really good melody… similar to what the Beatles did on Abbey Road.

If you want to try out a Badfinger album that is not a greatest hits package…this is the one to start at. Badfinger was not known as an album band but this one I would consider one of the best power pop albums ever. Pete Ham wrote the best songs for Badfinger without a doubt but Tom and Joey did come up with some absolute winners. Pete was sometimes compared to Paul McCartney and George Harrison in his songwriting abilities.

The band started out as the Iveys with Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Ron Griffiths, and Mike Gibbins. Tom played guitar in that lineup but Griffiths had to quit because of family problems. Tom took over bass and they recruited Liverpudillian singer-songwriter Joey Molland for guitar.

Joey Molland is the only member left with us from the original lineup. He still tours as Joey Molland’s Badfinger.

Allmusic Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine about Straight Up:

Straight Up winds up somewhat less dynamic than No Dice, largely because that record alternated its rockers, pop tunes, and ballads. Here, everything is at a similar level, as the ballads are made grander and the rockers have their melodic side emphasized. Consequently, the record sounds more unified than No Dice, which had a bit of a split personality. Todd Rundgren’s warm, detailed production makes each songwriter sound as if he was on the same page, although the bonus tracks — revealing the abandoned original Geoff Emerick productions — prove that the distinctive voices on No Dice were still present. Frankly, the increased production is for the best, since Badfinger sounds best when there’s as much craft in the production as there is in the writing. Here, there’s absolutely no filler and everybody is in top form. Pete Ham’s “Baby Blue” is textbook power-pop — irresistibly catchy fuzz riffs and sighing melodies — and with its Harrison-esque slide guitars, “Day After Day” is so gorgeous it practically aches. “Perfection” is an unheralded gem, while “Name of the Game” and “Take It All” are note-perfect pop ballads. Tom Evans isn’t as prolific here, but the one-two punch of “Money” and “Flying” is the closest Straight Up gets to Abbey Road, and “It’s Over” is a fine closer. Still, what holds the record together is Joey Molland’s emergence as a songwriter. His work on No Dice is enjoyable, but here, he comes into his own with a set of well-constructed songs. This fine songwriting, combined with sharp performances and exquisite studio craft, make Straight Up one of the cornerstones of power-pop, a record that proved that it was possible to make classic guitar-pop after its golden era had passed.

Money

Money stole my lady
Fools have a way of making me crazy
Money buy you freedom
Rules have a way of making me lazy

So we grow a little older
With another tale to tell
So we grow a little colder
With another tale to tell

Money make you feel unhappy
Fools have a way of making me crazy

So we grow a little older
With another tale to tell
So we grow a little colder
With another tale to tell

Rare Earth – (I Know) I’m Losing You

I remember this single because of the label…it was given to me when I was around 10. I love the artwork of many of these old singles. The music is not that bad either with this one.

Rare Earth began as a popular Detroit club band called The Sunliners in 1960. They couldn’t get anywhere for years. The band decided that part of the problem might lie in their name and that a more contemporary one was needed. The band came up with Rare Earth which seemed cool, back to nature, and more reflective of the times.

They were then introduced to Barney Ales the vice-president of Motown Records. Ales had come to see the band on the recommendation of Berry Gordy’s ex-wife Margaret who was acquainted with Rare Earth’s manager. Barney Ales was looking for white rock acts for a new Motown division that reflected the album rock that was growing on FM radio at that time.

This was Rare Earth’s follow-up to their hit Get Ready. Motown pressured Rare Earth to record another Temptations hit, this time with Norman Whitfield – who had co-written and produced the original version.

The result was another major success for Rare Earth. (I Know) I’m Losing You peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #15 in Canada, and 20 on the Billboard R&B Charts in 1970. The song was on the album Ecology, Rare Earth’s sophomore effort and it peaked at #15 in the Billboard Album Charts.

Members of the band started dropping out and being replaced beginning in 1971. The group stopped touring together in 1974 when a split happened. Two members, including original member Peter Hoorelbeke, left to form a short-lived group called HUB.

The remaining Rare Earth members continued with replacements and recorded Back to Earth in 1975. They produced seven more albums and continue to tour. A roster of band members from 1960 to the present contains over 30 different musicians, with founding member Gil Bridges being the only constant.

Lead singer Pete Rivera: What made it so interesting, was that he actually got on our case for trying to sound like the Temps the first time we did the song the way we thought it should be. Whitfield listened for a while and then he spoke up and said, ‘You guys sound great on this tune, but I think you should give it a different flavor and presentation.

“The song was originally about 45 minutes long, Norman cut it down to 12 minutes for the album [Ecology] and then down to 3 minutes for the single. He was a master at editing.”

(I Know) I’m Losing You

Your love is fadin’, I feel it fade
Ah, your love is fadin’, I feel it fade
Ah, your love is fadin’, woman I feel it fade

Ah, woman, woman your touch, your touch has gone cold
As if someone else controls your very soul
I’ve fooled myself long as I can
Can feel the presence of another man

It’s there when you speak my name
It’s just not the same
Ooh babe, I’m losing you
It’s in the air
It’s there everywhere
Baby, baby, babe, I’m losing you

When I look into your eyes
A reflection of a face, I see
I’m hurt, down-hearted and worried, girl
‘Cause that face doesn’t belong to me
It’s all over your face
Someone’s takin’ my place
Ooh, baby, I’m losing you
You try hard to hide
The emptiness you feel inside
Ooh, babe, I’m losing you

I can’t bear the thought of losing you
Ah, woman, can’t you see what I’m goin’ through
I’m losin’ my mind (losin’ my mind)
And it’s all because of you
I can’t bear the thought of losing you
I’m losin’ my mind (losin’ my mind)
And it’s all because of you
I can’t stand the thought of losing you

Mavericks – All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down

The country I liked in the nineties was this…NOT Garth Brooks. I also listened to Dwight Yokum as well.

The Mavericks’ front man, Raul Malo, co-wrote this with the country songwriter, Al Anderson. Malo hs said that Buck Owens was a big influence on this one. It does have that Bakersfield sound and it reminds me of Dwight Yokum. It has a cool stringy telecaster sound during the solo. It also has that Tex-Mex sound that was popular then.

When I hear a song…the last thing I think of is…WOW, I want more accordion! With this song though it fits like a glove. The accordion was played by Grammy Award-winning Tejano music accordionist Flaco Jiménez.

This is their highest charting song to date. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Country Chart and #15 on Canada’s Country Charts in 1996.

This song was on the Mavericks’ fourth studio album. The album features the Country musician, Trisha Yearwood, who duets with the band on a cover of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra song, “Somethin’ Stupid.”

The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Country Charts, #3 in Canada’s Country Album Charts and #58 in the Billboard Pop Album Charts, and #54 in Canada.

Co-writer Al Anderson: “I thought that was a dumb song. Like I was doing, ‘What the hell is this?’ Then I heard the record on the radio, and it was the best – that’s my favorite record of all time. I’m able to zone in on Raul when it comes to songs. I really enjoy writing with him.”

All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down

I can’t sleep a wink anymore
Ever since you first walked out the door
Then I just started drinking to forget
But I don’t think the worst has happend yet

All you ever do is bring me down
Making me a fool all over town
They all wonder why I wear a frown
That’s ’cause honey all you ever do is bring me down
Hear me now, I go, whoo

It’s funny how my whole world fell apart
I think I saw it coming from the start
I tried to tell myself that you’d be true
But I expected way too much of you

All you ever do is bring me down
Making me a fool all over town
They all wonder why I wear a frown
That’s ’cause honey all you ever do is bring me down
I take ma’m

All you ever do is bring me down
Making me a fool all over town
They all wonder why I wear a frown
That’s ’cause honey all you ever do is bring me down
That’s ’cause honey all you ever do is bring me down
Honey all you ever do is bring me down
Two, three, four

…

Loretta Lynn 1932-2022

Very sad news that Loretta Lynn passed away at the age of 90. I met the lady one time and she was wonderful. She was the definition of the word classy.

When I was eight years old, my mom took me to Loretta Lynn’s ranch. I actually had breakfast with Loretta Lynn. My mom knew someone who knew her… we were at her Ranch that was just opened to the public. She saw us and pointed and said “come in here” and we sat at the table and ate with her. She was very nice. She kept asking if I needed anything and if I was having a good time.

She was one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met. Even though I was young, she didn’t talk down to me…she talked to me. It was a wonderful experience and even I knew at that age it was special…that this didn’t happen all of the time.

She wrote about real-life situations with women during her career. Her songwriting was honest and pure.

It saddens me that she just passed away. She is up there with Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, and a host of other country legends. I was happy back in 2004 when Jack White of the White Stripes produced her album Van Lear Rose.

Jack White of the White Stripes is a huge fan of Loretta Lynn. The White Stripes dedicated their 2001 album, ”White Blood Cells,” to her and invited her to share a bill with them at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.

Jack White produced her album “Van Lear Rose” and he asked Loretta to write all 13 songs for the album. The title refers to the Van Lear Coal mines from her youth. White said he would have been happy just to play tambourine on the album as long as he got to work with her.

Country radio snubbed “Van Lear Rose,” and the album received no CMA Awards nominations but it still reached #2 on the country charts and #24 on the Billboard 200. Lynn notched five Grammy nominations for her new music. In February 2005, she and White won Grammy awards for best country album and best country collaboration.

The album is great and this is the song that I liked best. If modern country music was this…I would actually listen! As I type this…I get mad all over again by the way country radio treated this album.

Van Lear Rose

One of my fondest memories
Was sittin’ on my daddy’s knee
Listenin’ to the stories that he told
He’d pull out that old photograph
Like a treasured memory from the past
And say child This here’s the Van Lear Rose

Oh how it would bring a smile
When he talked about her big blue eyes
And how her beauty ran down to her soul
She’d walk across the coal miner’s yard
Them miner’s would yell loud and hard
and they’d dream of who would hold the Van Lear Rose

She was the belle of Johnson County
Ohio river to Big Sandy
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal
All the miner’s they would gather ’round
Talk about the man that came to town
Right under their nose
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose

Now the Van Lear Rose could’ve had her pick
And all the fellers figured rich
Until this poor boy caught her eye
His buddies would all laugh and say
Your dreamin’ boy she’ll never look your way
You’ll never ever hold the Van Lear Rose

Then one night in mid July
Underneath that ol’ blue Kentucky sky
Well, that poor boy won that beauty’s heart
Then my daddy would look at my mommy and smile
As he brushed the hair back from my eyes and he’d say
Your mama
She’s the Van Lear Rose

[Chorus]

Right under their nose
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama

Ronnie Van Zant: “I confess, those songs are there to
cause some controversy. I like looking for trouble. I mean, I always dug
Neil Young and we’ve been friends ever since the song came out. It was just there to provoke a little excitement. Ya gotta catch the audience off guard to keep ’em
listening.”

I was never going to post this song because it is one of the most overplayed songs in rock history. I still like Ed King’s opening riff…it’s so crisp and clear. The Turn It Up phrase was a mistake. Van Zant was telling the engineer to turn up the volume in his headphones…they liked it so they kept it.

While writing this post I listened to the song around 5 times in headphones. I noticed things that I’ve overlooked through the years just because I was so familiar with it. The song has some great hooks, riffs, and piano fills. Forget the lyrics…the music for this song is full of catchy runs. I heard things I never heard before…I now know why it was a hit.

In a rehearsal for the first album Gary Rossington was playing around with the simple D-C-G chord structure and Ed King added the main intro. They knew they had something special and it was written in a few minutes. After writing this Van Zant said, “this is our Rambling Man” in reference to the Allman Brothers’ rare hit single. The song ended up on the second album (Second Helping) and became a breakout hit for the band.

The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100, #6 in Canada, and #31 in the UK in 1974. The band was very popular in the UK.

There’s absolutely zero doubt Sweet Home Alabama was a revenge song—a rebuttal to Neil Young’s Alabama and Southern Man…for the sweeping generalization of all southerners as bigots past and at that time present by Neil. Neil even admits this now.

Neil Young: “My own song ‘Alabama’ richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don’t like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue.”

There is also an easter egg in the song. After Van Zant sings “Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her” you can hear what sounds like Neil Young singing Southern Man out of the left speaker…it’s Al Kooper the producer imitating Young. You need headphones to hear it.

This song did not start any bad feelings between the two singers in fact it drew them closer. Neil was a fan of Van Zant and Van Zant was a fan of Neil and wore his shirt many times. Neil Young sent Ronnie Van Zant the song Powderfinger for the band to record but the plane crash put an end to that. Young performed Sweet Home Alabama one time only at a benefit less than a month after the plane crash as a tribute to them.

Just as Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA was misinterpreted, this song was also. The line about George Wallace has drawn controversy… In Birmingham they love the governor (Boo, Boo, Boo). Some ignored the boo’s, and at first thought, they endorsed the guy.

Ronnie Van Zant: “Wallace and I have very little in common, I don’t like what he says about black people.”

In the Watergate lyrics, it’s been said that Van Zant was saying the north made mistakes also. The Swamper’s lyrics are about the Muscle Shoals recording band with Jimmy Johnson.

The backup singers were Merry Clayton and Clydie King. Merry Clayton was on Gimme Shelter and amazingly enough…Southern Man by Neil Young.

The band would also dive into gun control with “Saturday Night Special” and saving the environment with “All I Can Do Is Write About It.”

Ronnie Van Zant: “We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two. We’re southern rebels, but more than that, we know the difference between right and wrong.”

Sweet Home Alabama

Big wheels keep on turning
Carrying me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think it’s a sin, yes

Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well I heard old Neil put her down
Well I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don’t need him around anyhow

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I’m coming home to you

In Birmingham they love the governor (boo, boo, boo)
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I’m coming home to you
Here I come Alabama

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I’m feeling blue
Now how about you?

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I’m coming home to you

Sweet home Alabama (Oh sweet home baby)
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama (Lordy)
Lord, I’m coming home to you
Yea, yea

Prisoners – Far Away

When the organ leads off…I would have sworn this song is from 1967 but no…it’s from 1983. They were part of the Mod revival in the 80s minus the mopeds and parkas of the early sixties.

It’s a song that I listened to once and thought…that song is ok…then I wanted to hear it again an hour later…after that, I listened to it all day at work. I like the small hooks placed strategically in the song.

All the instruments are on the mark and the singer has a voice that bends but never breaks. As I wrote this post…I’ve listened to it around 4 or 5 times…it’s almost like potato chips…you can’t stop at one listen…at least not me. It sounds like it could have been a cool Doors album track.

This British band formed in 1980 and debuted in 1982 with A Taste Of Pink, on their Own Up label. They ended up with a few record companies that included Stiff Records. This song was on their album 1984 The Wisermiserdemelza.

They ended up making 4 studio albums altogether but called it quits in 1986 and later regrouped for a final single in 1997 but they failed to find commercial success.

Far Away

…

Lemmy …A Documentary

This is about Lemmy Kilmister the founder of Motorhead. The documentary is called Lemmy: 49% motherfucker. 51% son of a bitch. His name was Ian Fraser Kilmister…better known as Lemmy.

I’m not a huge fan of Motorhead but I do like a few of their songs. Lemmy though is another matter. He is a great subject for a documentary. This was made in 2010 and it’s hard not to like the guy. He was who he was and he wasn’t changing for anyone. He reminds me a little of Keith Richards…but a rougher version.

Lemmy saw The Beatles in the Cavern and is a huge fan which surprised me. He was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and he played with Hawkwind and later formed his band…Motorhead. They took punk and heavy metal and cross-pollinated the two forms in some ways.

This documentary was released in 2010. Some of the people in this documentary per Wiki are Slash, Duff McKagan, Ozzy Osbourne, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammett, Nikki Sixx, David Ellefson, Scott Ian, Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Peter Hook, and Marky Ramone, as well as Nik Turner and Dave Brock of Lemmy’s former band Hawkwind. The filmmakers were also able to capture many candid moments with colleagues such as Dave Grohl and Billy Bob Thornton conversing with Lemmy in bars and recording studios.

Lemmy passed away on December 28, 2015. Even if you are not a fan…you probably will enjoy this.

This is the complete documentary.