I thought I would get back to the blogs name and feature two power pop songs today.
What is that old saying? More hooks than a tackle shop? This song would fit that description. This is pure power pop where the feel is more important than the lyrics. When you listen to the song in headphones, you can hear things going on everywhere in the song. Twilley’s voice is drenched with delay, and it works in this. It’s the delivery that I like.
The Dwight Twilley Band, Twilley and partner Phil Seymour, was a power pop duo of pure melodic instinct and harmony-drenched hooks. The magic here isn’t just in the title, it’s in the song. Of course, like so many great power pop songs, this one slipped through the cracks commercially. Twilley was cursed with bad label timing and promotion, and Shelter Records was basically a soap opera by the late 70s.
This song was on their 1977 Twilley Don’t Mind album. Shelter Records had switched its distribution around the time this was released. The album only peaked at #70 on the Billboard Album Charts, and after that, Phil Seymour quit, and the band broke up. Seymour saw labelmate Tom Petty hit it big, but not the Dwight Twilley Band. In fact, Tom Petty played some guitar on this song.
Twilley did have two songs that hit the top twenty. I’m On Fire in 1975 and Girls in 1984.
Check out the bass player on the live version.
Looking For The Magic
All my life I’m looking for the magic I’ve been looking for the magic Fantasize on a silly little tragic I’ve been looking for the magic In my eyes
Oh, oh, oh, I’m Looking for the magic in my eyes In my eyes Baby in my eyes
Only child is a silly little ragged She’s been looking for the magic Stay awhile til the city is a desert She’s been looking for the treasure In my eyes
Because a photograph is Like an hourglass out of time And then I never laughed Because I never had no time
Oh, oh, oh, I’m Looking for the magic in my eyes In your eyes Baby in your eyes
I wanted to post this first before I start posting the movies and television shows starting on Thursday, September 4. This is to provide a little history to the two movies and the twenty episodes of the television series. The reviews for the movies are going to be a little longer than the TV episode reviews. I’ll try to keep those brief.
It all started with a writer named Jeff Rice, who in 1970 finished a novel called The Kolchak Papers. It told the story of a wisecracking reporter investigating a string of murders in Las Vegas, murders that turned out to be the work of a real vampire. Networks weren’t sure what to do with it; horror on TV wasn’t exactly safe material at the time. But producer Dan Curtis (of Dark Shadows) saw the potential, and ABC bit and ran with it.
Richard Matheson, the legendary writer behind I Am Legend and many Twilight Zone episodes, was brought in to adapt Rice’s manuscript into a teleplay. He smoothed over some of Rice’s rough edges and made some tight structure and sharp dialogue changes. And Darren McGavin, already a seasoned character actor, was cast as Carl Kolchak.
The result was The Night Stalker, a TV movie that aired in January 1972. It pulled in a staggering 33.2 rating and a 48 share, at the time, the highest-rated TV movie ever, beating out 1971’s Brian’s Song. Viewers were glued to the sight of a driven reporter chasing a vampire through neon-lit Vegas while the cops were pummeled by this thing. It was funny, scary, and unique.
With ratings like that, ABC wanted more. In 1973 came The Night Strangler, also penned by Matheson and directed by Curtis. This time, Kolchak was in Seattle chasing an immortal doctor who needed to kill every 21 years to survive. It wasn’t as tight as the first, but it gave McGavin more space to talk and cemented Kolchak’s character. Once again, the audience tuned in big numbers. A third TV movie was planned, The Night Killers, involving androids in Hawaii, but ABC passed. They wanted a full series.
In 1974, Kolchak: The Night Stalker hit ABC’s Friday night lineup. Each week, Kolchak stumbled into another supernatural situation: werewolves on a cruise ship, a lizard monster in the sewers, a headless motorcyclist, an Aztec mummy, aliens, you name it. It was part horror, part comedy, part newsroom. The production values weren’t up to movie standards, but McGavin’s energy sold it. He made Kolchak more than just a reporter; he was a lovable pest who wouldn’t stop until he uncovered the truth.
It has since developed a huge cult following. Without this show, we may not get the X-Files and many shows to follow.
Next week I’ll feature The Night Stalker TV movie in 1972.
When I’m in the mood to hear a well-written song, I go to either John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, or Guy Clark. They always hit the spot, and this song is one of those story songs that just stuck with me. I look at some of these songwriters not as normal songwriters but mini movie writers.
Guy Clark wrote this song in the early ’70s, drawing from his own childhood in Texas. The old drifter in the song, the surrogate grandfather who taught him about cards, women, and hard living, wasn’t made up. Jack Prigg, a wildcatter and oilfield worker, had lived in Clark’s grandmother’s boarding house, and a young Guy Clark soaked up every curse word and story. By the time Clark wrote the song, the memories meant something more universal, a man who refused to fade quietly.
The song was on Clark’s 1975 album, Old No. 1, and it quickly became one of his signature songs. But it didn’t stop there; it was picked up and recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker (first recording of the song), Tom Rush, Rita Coolidge, and, eventually, The Highwaymen (Waylon, Willie, Kris, and Johnny), covering it in 1985. It’s been covered 32 times. Walker, Coolidge, David Allan Coe, and Tom Rush covered it before Guy released his version.
This is wonderful Americana storytelling is as rich as anything you have heard or watched. He writes these story songs so well that you can see them in your head being acted out like a movie.
Jack Prigg and a young Guy Clark
Jack Prigg was an old oil wildcatter and oilfield worker who lived for a time in Clark’s grandmother’s boarding house in Monahans, Texas, during the 1940s. Clark’s parents had split up when he was young, and he spent a big part of his boyhood around his grandmother’s place. That’s where he met Prigg, who was already an old man by then, tough and weathered from a lifetime in the oilfields. Clark mentioned that he didn’t romanticize the lyrics, he wrote them straight. That’s why this song works, everything is left intact. Clark said, “He was my hero. He was a tough old bird who drank hard, swore a lot, and lived a big life.”
Desperados Waiting For The Train
I’d play the Red River Valley And he’d sit in the kitchen and cry And run his fingers through 70 years of livin’ And wonder, “Lord, has ever, well, I’ve drilled gone dry?” We was friends, me and this old man
We was like desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train
Well, he’s a drifter and a driller of oil wells And an old-school man of the world He taught me how to drive his car When he’s too drunk to And he’d wink and give me money for the girls And our lives was like some old western movie
Like desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train
From the time that I could walk, he’d take me with him To a bar called the Green Frog Cafe And there was old men with beer guts and dominoes Lying ’bout their lives while they played And I was just a kid that they all called his sidekick
We was like desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train
One day I looked up and he’s pushin’ 80 And there’s brown tobacco stains all down his chin Well, to me he’s one of the heroes of this country So why’s he all dressed up like them old men? Drinkin’ beer and playin’ Moon and 42
Just like a desperado waiting for a train Like a desperado waiting for a train
And then the day before he died, I went to see him I was grown and he was almost gone So we just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen And sang another verse to that old song “Come on, Jack, that son of a bitch is coming”
And we’re desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train Like desperados waiting for a train
This very well could be one of those posts that sounded good in thought but not as good in action.
Strange title, huh? Two of my biggest interests growing up were Babe Ruth and The Beatles. An unlikely pair, but they caught my attention and started me down the path of researching and, most importantly, reading. I can be very obsessive about subjects. I probably would be diagnosed with something. When I find out about someone or some event, it’s not enough to know the event, but I want to know why, where, and how. Maybe that is the reason I started to blog. On the blogs, if Dave mentions a music festival that has been long forgotten, I want to know. If Lisa shows a painting on her site, I want to know who did it and what inspired them. When Halffastcyclingclub mentions a little-known artist or song, I want to know more about them.
I always pay attention to the comment section. That is why I blog. When all of you start commenting, I look up the bands you mention. CB, obbverse, M.Y., Warren, Jim, Randy, Matt, Christian, Clive, Phil, Nancy, and Colin (apologies to everyone I left off!) have supplied me with artists that I listen to on a normal basis. Just because I don’t post on them doesn’t mean I don’t listen to that band or artist. It might be months, but they will usually always pop up. Anyway, enough of this boring stuff…on to this other boring stuff. I guess I felt I had to set this up.
When I was a kid, George Herman Ruth was one of my heroes. I’m not a Yankee fan (always have been a Dodger fan); in fact, I usually root against them (especially last November). Those Red Sox and Yankee teams he was on are great to look back on from 1914 through 1935. His stats are unbelievable, and his personality was as big as his home runs. The man would not leave a kid behind waiting for an autograph. He did have bad habits; you could ask any brothel about him if they were still alive.
I parallel my interest in Babe Ruth with my interest in the Beatles. It’s not just the stats of Babe’s career or the popularity of the Beatles. It was never about popularity. No, because I didn’t know how great they were until I started to read about them. It’s an incredible story they both have. To start with little hope of making it in life, hardly at all…much less gaining popularity worldwide… and end up owning the world. Babe came from a poorer background, but the Beatles’ meeting at the right place and time defied the odds. So many things could have happened, but both worked out.
Both were bigger than life. People would travel from miles around to see The Babe hit one out or strike out, and the Beatles drew their share of people as well. They both defined a generation and are still talked about decades and in Babe’s case, a century later. Both are known around the world. You could go almost anywhere in the 20s – 50s and mention Babe Ruth, and they would know exactly who you were talking about. Even now, his name is alive, and the average person has heard of him, and it’s the same with The Beatles.
Maybe that is the reason I’m drawn to Big Star, The Replacements, and other lesser-known artists, and I like to spotlight them. Why did some get so big and others with a lot of talent didn’t? There are similarities between sports and music. Yes, you can be a one-hit wonder in both. The Kingsmen with Louie Louie and Mark Fidrych with one huge season. Both professions can make you a star or a goat. You could get on Bubblegum cards with both as well.
There is one difference between music and baseball/sports. In baseball, if you produce, you WILL get noticed or remembered. You might not be a Hall of Fame player, but you will get remembered by people. In music, you can produce the greatest album or song, but if the record company doesn’t promote you…it doesn’t matter because people won’t hear you. You are judged by the charts, and as we have all seen, sometimes the charts are not always the best. Want proof of that? Look up Chuck Berry’s only number 1 song.
If I had a time machine…I would go back to 1922 and watch Babe Ruth play, and 1961 to see The Beatles play. I would have loved to have sat in the smoky Hamburg club and to go to the Polo Grounds to grab a beer and a dog and watch the Babe.
I guess this is like a trailer or a commercial for coming attractions. I’m going to tackle this series in a few weeks, with each episode getting a post. There are only 20 episodes plus two movies, so this won’t be a year and a half of The Twilight Zone or Star Trek like I did a few years back. I hope some of you readers are fans. It was totally different for its time and really for now. We will follow Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) as he chases monsters in the seventies.
Music posts will not be interrupted…this will be on Thursday, and I may sneak one in earlier in the week if possible. I hope you will enjoy it. I’m going to write up a few before I start posting. Also, Thanks to Lisa, who brought up this series when I told her I was watching The Night Gallery. I have watched this series over the years, but I don’t know the episodes as well as I do The Twilight Zone and Star Trek, so this will be a fun learning experience for me. I had watched The Twilight Zone and Star Trek so much that I didn’t need to research many of them when I covered their episodes.
I hope you will enjoy them. I will start them sometime in September. Also, I think most of the episodes are on YouTube.
Here is a fan-made trailer of the TV movie that spawned the show.
I went home with a waitress the way I always do How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?
This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt is (drum roll please…) A song with a great opening line suggested by Max of PowerPop.
By the time Zevon was recording Excitable Boy in late 1977, he’d already built up a reputation in Los Angeles as a brilliant but different character. He’d been Linda Ronstadt’s piano player, he was pals with Jackson Browne, and he was that rare songwriter who could write a melody that would stick, but it would have a line that would make you laugh nervously. The sessions were stacked with heavy hitters—Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Waddy Wachtel as the sonic glue, Russ Kunkel on drums, and Leland Sklar on the bass. Basically, the best of the 1970s L.A. session scene.
Zevon wanted grit, menace, and the feeling that the whole thing could go off the rails at any second. That’s exactly why this song ended up as the closer; it wasn’t made for a radio single, but it was played quite a bit. The track closes the record with a bang after the short story songs of Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and Werewolves of London. Where those songs work like short stories, Lawyers, Guns, and Money plays like a situation in escalating panic.
Zevon once stated in an interview that this was based on a true story. Zevon and his manager were partying in Mexico when the party decided to take to the road, and it looked like it was “about to hit the fan.” Zevon’s manager feigned a phone call: “Send lawyers.” Zevon jumped in: “And guns… and money.”
I’ve always liked Zevon’s dark songs with a sense of humor. His universe contains a lot of colorful characters. Zevon would go on to write subtler, more introspective songs, but this one, like Werewolves of London, made sure no one could ever mistake him for another singer-songwriter.
This song is on the great album Excitable Boy, released in 1978. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard Album Charts and #12 in New Zealand. It was Zevon’s highest-ranking album.
Lawyers, Guns, and Money
I went home with a waitress the way I always do How was I to know she was with the russians, too?
I was gambling in havana, I took a little risk Send lawyers, guns, and money Dad, get me out of this, hiyah!
An innocent bystander Somehow I got stuck between a rock and a hard place And I’m down on my luck Yes, I’m down on my luck Well, I’m down on my luck
I’m hiding in Honduras, I’m a desperate man Send lawyers, guns, and money The shit has hit the fan
Send lawyers, guns, and money Send lawyers, guns, and money
Send lawyers, guns, and money, hiyah! Send lawyers, guns, and money, ow!
I’ve never been a huge Billy Joel fan, but I do like a lot of his music. I had the Songs In The Attic album, and this is one of the songs that stood out. This is early 1970s Billy, restless and writing about disillusionment, very different from Uptown Girl Billy. I would even say this might be one of the most important songs of his career because of what followed.
Captain Jack is the drug dealer who breaks up the humdrum life of the narrator. Joel didn’t try to hide that in the lyrics at all. Some stations wouldn’t touch it, but others couldn’t stop spinning it. Joel later said the song wasn’t a glamorization, just an observation of what he’d seen in the Long Island neighborhoods where he grew up.
His debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, had been released with a massive technical flaw; the entire thing was mastered at the wrong speed, making Joel’s voice sound unnaturally high. Promotion was minimal, sales were bad, and Joel was locked into a contract that basically gave him pennies per record. He then did the only thing he could do…tour.
The song had quite an effect on Joel. Philadelphia’s WMMR-FM invited Joel to perform a live concert in their tiny Sigma Sound Studios space, just him, drummer Rhys Clark, and bassist Larry Russell. The station’s program director, Michael Tearson, and DJ Ed Sciaky were championing singer-songwriters, and Joel’s Cold Spring Harbor tracks had caught their ear despite the bad pressing.
Joel played an eight-song set, mixing early album cuts with unreleased songs. One of those was Captain Jack. The live performance of this song was rawer and darker than the album tracks he’d been promoting. Listeners lit up the station’s phones, demanding to know where they could buy the song.
Here’s the thing: they couldn’t. Captain Jack wasn’t on Cold Spring Harbor. It wasn’t on any record. WMMR started playing the tape of that live performance regularly, and soon it was one of the station’s most requested tracks, sometimes more than the current hits by Elton John or the Stones.
The WMMR Captain Jack proved Joel had an audience and that he could connect on FM radio without a hit single. By 1973, Columbia had signed him, sent him to Los Angeles with producer Michael Stewart, and Piano Man was born. This was the closing song on the album that included Piano Man and The Ballad of Billy the Kid.
Captain Jack
Saturday night and you’re still hangin’ around Tired of living in your one horse town You’d like to find a little hole in the ground For a while, hmm
So you go to the village in your tie-dye jeans And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens It’s like some pornographic magazine And you smile, hmm
Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you’ll be smilin’ Oh, yeah
Your sister’s gone out, she’s on a date And you just sit at home and masturbate Your phone is gonna ring soon But you just can’t wait for that call, hmm
So you stand on the corner in your New English clothes And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes Oh, but still your fingers gonna pick your nose after all, hmm
But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push, and you’ll be smilin’, oh Oh, yeah-yeah
So you decide to take a holiday You got your tape deck and your brand-new Chevrolet Ah, there ain’t no place to go anyway What for? Hmm
So you got everything, ah, but nothing’s cool They just found your father in the swimming pool And you guess you won’t be going back to school anymore
But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Oh, Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push and you’ll be smilin’, oh yeah
So you play your albums, and you smoke your pot And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot Oh, but still you’re aching for the things you haven’t got What went wrong? Hmm
And if you can’t understand why your world is so dead Why you’ve got to keep in style and feed your head Well, you’re 21 and still your mother makes your bed And that’s too long, whoa, yeah-yeah
But Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Well, now Captain Jack will get you by tonight Just a little push and you’ll be smilin’
Oh, Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Well, now Captain Jack will make you to high tonight Just a little push and you’ll be smilin’
Yeah, Captain Jack will get you high tonight And take you to your special island Captain Jack will get you by tonight Well, now Captain Jack will make you to high tonight
This song is a hell of an album opener. I wrote this last weekend, and I was going to post it for Jim’s SLS Sunday great album openers but I didn’t get to post it. This era was probably the pinnacle of the Stones’ career, both in the studio and live.
By the summer of 1971, the band had officially become British tax exiles. Facing crippling tax rates back home, they scattered across Europe, with Keith Richards renting Villa Nellcôte, a grand 19th-century mansion in Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera. When I say renting, I mean turning it into a 24-hour rock ‘n’ roll asylum. The basement, humid, airless, and filled with cigarette smoke, became the main recording space. Mobile studio trucks parked outside ran cables through windows and stairwells.
Despite the drug use and long hours, they got it done. It would be hard to replicate this album because of how it was recorded. Many of the songs sound low-fi and make them even dirtier-sounding. The vocals on this song are not steady in volume, but that adds to it. This, to me, is how the Stones should sound. If they are too clean-sounding, it just doesn’t work for me in the studio or live. Mick Taylor’s guitar is a huge reason this album sounds so good as well.
This song opened their great Exile On Main Street album. Part of the charm is the muddiness of the recordings. It was recorded in the middle of heavy drugs, hangers-on, and a band fleeing from the taxes of England. It’s a wonder they got a song out of it, much less an album that some consider their best.
What you hear in those opening moments, Keith’s ragged riff tumbling down the stairs like it’s late for work, completely works. This song is sloppy yet tight and a bit menacing. It was a great opener for this album. It clearly told you what was coming next.
Exile On Main Street peaked at #1 on The Billboard Album Charts, Canada, and the UK in 1972. This was released as a single in Japan only.
Rocks Off
I hear you talking when I’m on the street Your mouth don’t move but I can hear you speak
What’s the matter with the boy? He don’t come around no more Is he checking out for sure? Is he gonna close the door on me?
And I’m always hearing voices on the street I want to shout, but I can hardly speak
I was making love last night To a dancer friend of mine I can’t seem to stay in step ‘Cause she come ev’ry time that she pirouettes over me
And I only get my rocks off while I’m dreaming (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off) I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off)
I’m zipping through the days at lightning speed Plug in, flush out and fire the fuckin’ feed
Heading for the overload Splattered on the nasty road Kick me like you’ve kicked before I can’t even feel the pain no more
And I only get my rocks off while I’m dreaming (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off) I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off)
Feel so hypnotized, can’t describe the scene It’s all mesmerized all that inside me
The sunshine bores the daylights out of me Chasing shadows moonlight mystery
Heading for the overload Splattered on the dirty road Kick me like you’ve kicked before I can’t even feel the pain no more
And I only get my rocks off while I’m dreaming (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off) I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off)
And I only get my rocks off while I’m dreaming (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off) I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off)
And I only get my rocks off while I’m sleeping (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off) (Only get them off, only get them off, only get them off)
I like Queen every once in a while, but I have to take them in doses. Queen is over the top, and they went out of their way to do that, which is fine, but in this song, they keep it more simple. I first got into them when my friend Paul, brought the News Of The World album cover to school, as we all loved the cool robot. Before he did that, I do remember this song on the radio. Out of all of their well-known hits, this one is a little different, more pure pop-sounding.
In the hands of another band, this song could have turned into a bland pop song. The harmonies and the arrangement by Queen lifted this song up. It was written by the bass player John Deacon. All members of Queen encouraged each other to write, and each one of them wrote at least one hit. Deacon wrote this one, I Want To Break Free, and the huge Another One Bites The Dust.
It was written for his wife, Veronica, while the couple were newly married. That explains the warmth in the lyrics, which never dip into rock-star bombast. Musically, it stands out in Queen’s catalog because of that Wurlitzer electric piano. Deacon played it and made it the song’s signature sound, even though Freddie Mercury didn’t like that instrument at all. Well, Freddie was wrong here because it fit the song perfectly. You cannot get that sound from a grand piano.
The song came off the A Night at the Opera album. This is one of the two albums that Queen named after Marx Brothers movies…the other one is Day at the Races. They were watching the A Night at the Opera movie while making the album. They became friends with Groucho Marx in the mid-seventies.
It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 100, #7 in the UK, and #2 in Canada in 1976.
Freddie Mercury: I refused to play that damn thing, It’s tiny and horrible and I don’t like them. Why play those when you have a lovely superb piano.
You’re My Best Friend
Ooh you make me live Whatever this world can give to me It’s you you’re all I see Ooh you make me live now honey Ooh you make me live
Ooh you’re the best friend that I ever had I’ve been with you such a long time You’re my sunshine and I want you to know That my feelings are true I really love you Oh you’re my best friend
Ooh you make me live
Ooh I’ve been wandering round But I still come back to you In rain or shine You’ve stood by me girl I’m happy at home You’re my best friend
Ooh you make me live Whenever this world is cruel to me I got you to help me forgive Ooh you make me live now honey Ooh you make me live
You’re the first one When things turn out bad You know I’ll never be lonely You’re my only one And I love the things I really love the things that you do Ooh you’re my best friend
Ooh you make me live
I’m happy at home You’re my best friend Oh you’re my best friend Ooh you make me live You’re my best friend
Hanspostcard recommended this song to me, and it stuck with me. I guess I’ll never forget the name of this band. I heard of the band before because I remember reading about them opening for The Kinks and Tom Petty. John Entwistle played on a few tracks on their first album and produced it. On this second album, Muff Winwood produced it. This song and Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back) are probably their best-known songs.
The band was influenced by The Who and The Kinks, and you can tell. After listening to them a little, they have some pub rock, the punch of it, combined with really good pop songwriting. They formed in London in 1975, with Tony de Meur (vocals/guitar), Richie Robertson (bass/vocals), Bobby Valentino (violin/vocals), and Bryan Wernham (drums). From the start, they had a knack for mixing good pop songwriting with theatrical humor, with some British music hall thrown in. This song was written by Tony De Meur and John Parsons.
Like a lot of late ’70s UK pop/rock, Mirror Star didn’t tear up the charts, but it found a loyal following, especially when the band opened for The Kinks on their U.S. tours. American audiences who were expecting another punk band got this odd pop/rock band.
They released 3 albums between 1977 and 1979. This one was on their second album, Unsuitable, released in 1978. I’ve searched, and they didn’t seem to chart in the UK, which surprised me. This song did peak at #81 on the Billboard 100 in 1979.
Mirror Star
He was a lonely boy, no good at sports He couldn’t run, his legs were short He walked the streets inside his head And spent a lot of time in bed
He practiced on his way to school His friends all said, you’re off the wall He played a tight elastic band His mic was just his empty hand
Mirror, mirror, mirror star He posed in front of every car They all called him crazy kid He ran up to his room and hid
He greased his hair with Vaseline And practiced looking really mean He saw a face that’s going far He posed right there with his guitar
Head’s in the clouds on school reports He’s always lost in other thoughts Made no difference, shut them out He’d be a star someday, no doubt
Mirror, mirror on the wall You never treat him like a fool Here in his room, he is the king The wild applause is deafening
You see his face on every wall From Camden Town to Liverpool He lays a groupie when he’s down And rents the best hotel in town
The kids hang round to see his face And wish that they were in his place Reflections paid, the mirror made ‘Cause posing’s helped him make the grade
Mirror, mirror on the wall You never treat him like a fool Here in his room, he is the king The wild applause is deafening
Mirror, mirror, mirror star Mirror star Mirror, mirror star Mirror, mirror, mirror star Mirror, mirror star Mirror, mirror
I was never a huge Pink Floyd fan, but I did start liking them more and more through the years. My favorite era was the Syd Barrett era, before they became massive. Syd Barrett was a co-founder of Pink Floyd. He is credited with coming up with the band’s name, which was inspired by blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Their debut album has really grown on me and there are some gems on there.
By the time this was recorded in late 1969, Syd was already something of a rock ‘n’ roll ghost story. The man who led Pink Floyd through UFO Club acid nights and their first album (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn) had flamed out under the weight of mental illness. Octopus was the lead single from his 1970 album The Madcap Laughs, his first solo album. Yes, it is worth checking out.
A track that sounds like it was part nursery rhyme and English psychedelia mixed together into a surreal song. In just under two years since his short-lived run as Pink Floyd’s original frontman, Barrett had all but disappeared into erratic behaviour. I’m glad EMI decided to let him try again in 1969; it wasn’t out of commercial ambition because they had to know better. I like this album though, and I would recommend it.
The sessions were chaotic. Producers came and went: Peter Jenner tried first, then Malcolm Jones. When things still weren’t gelling, Barrett’s old bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters were drafted in to finish the job. Between all of them, they managed to pull the album together. Uncut placed this in their 200 Greatest Albums of all time. In 2015, NME (New Musical Express) placed this album at number 7 on a list of best albums recorded at Abbey Road.
The album peaked at #40 on the UK charts in 1970.
Octopus
Trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro’ You have no word Trip, trip to a dream dragon Hide your wings in a ghost tower Sails cackling at every plate we break
Was cracked by scattered needles The little minute gong Coughs and clears his throat Madam you see before you stand Hey ho, never be still The old original favorite grand Grasshoppers green Herbarian band And the tune they play is “In Us Confide”
So trip to heave and ho Up down, to and fro’ You have no word Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Isn’t it good to be lost in the wood? Isn’t it bad so quiet there, in the wood? Meant even less to me than I thought With a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds Clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
The madcap laughed at the man on the border Hey ho, huff the Talbot The winds they blew and the leaves did wag They’ll never put me in their bag The raging seas will always seep So high you go, so low you creep The wind it blows in tropical heat The drones they throng on mossy seats The squeaking door will always squeak Two up, two down we’ll never meet
Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride
Please, leave us here Close our eyes to the octopus ride
I missed this song in Graham Parker’s discography. This is a good one and a cover of the Trammps song they released in 1975. The Trammps would later have some huge disco hits. This one was more Philly soul-sounding. Parker had already been bending R&B and soul into his own style with his first two albums, Howlin’ Wind and Heat Treatment.
It was released on the EP The Pink Parker in late ’77 (a live version was tacked onto the U.S. version of The Parkerilla in 1979). Graham’s version is raw and raucous, much more than the original. The Pink Parker peaked at #24 in the UK Charts and #58 on the Billboard 100 in 1977. He recorded this with his great backup band called The Rumour.
The Rumour would be Graham’s backing band for years. They also recorded their own albums separately and did three in all. They broke up in 1980 and then reformed and started to back Parker up again in 2011 and remain his backup band to this day.
The Pink Parker was an EP, and it basically functioned as a stealth single for Hold Back the Night. The track started getting serious airplay and attention.
Hold Back The Night
Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby
When you left You took the sun Right out of my sky Yes you did Wonder why You went away And never told me why
When the sun go down The moon is near I’m scared to death ‘Cause your face appear
Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby
Loneliness Holding me When I go to bed yes it is Like a character In a book That I have read
When the sun go down The moon is near I’m scared to death ‘Cause your face appear
Hold it hold it hold it hold it
Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby I said hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby
Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby Hold back the night Turn on the light Don’t wanna dream about you baby
I so love the Ramones. They cut through the BS and got down to business. No solos, no lengthy anything…just songs that rock and leave you wanting more. This song peaked at #81 on the Billboard 100 and #22 in the UK in 1977. This was supposedly the first punk song in the Billboard 100. This was the sound of punk going pop, and not in the sellout sense. It would become one of their most popular songs.
If you were standing outside CBGB in the summer of 1977, the street noise wasn’t just the usual loud feedback anymore; it had a melody with the Ramones. They had a lot of influences, but one of them was Bubblegum rock, and it shows. Most of their songs are very catchy.
This song was Joey Ramone’s attempt to write a 1960s-style teenage rebellion song for the late 1970s crowd, and he nailed it. The name was borrowed from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, a pulp heroine with a loincloth and a machete. But in the Ramones’ world, she trades her safari clothes for a leather jacket and heads to the rock clubs.
Tommy Ramone helped produce this track. He is credited on the album under his real name, Tommy Erdelyi. They were more popular years after they broke up than they were when they were together. It’s a shame they didn’t get as popular when they were a working band.
Joey Ramone: “‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’ first came out as a single. I played it for (Sire Records President) Seymour Stein. He flipped out and said ‘We gotta record that song now.’ It was like back in the ’50s; you’d rush into the studio because you thought you had a hit, then put it right out. To me ‘Sheena’ was the first surf/punk rock/teenage rebellion song. I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle with the primalness of punk rock. Then Sheena is brought into the modern day: ‘But she just couldn’t stay/she had to break away/well New York City really has it all.’ It was funny because all the girls in New York seemed to change their name to Sheena after that. Everybody was a Sheena.”
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go They’re ready to go now they got their surfboards And they’re going to the discotheque Au Go Go But she just couldn’t stay she had to break away Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah
Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Well she’s a punk punk, a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker
Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go They’re ready to go now they got their surfboards And they’re going to the discotheque Au Go Go But she just couldn’t stay she had to break away Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah
Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Well she’s a punk punk, a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now
Well this finishes up my solo Beatles favorite songs. We had George, John, and Paul, and now last but not least…Mr Richard Starkey or Ringo Starr, whichever way you want to go. John Lennon was initially worried about Ringo when the Beatles broke up. He wondered how Ringo would make his way…he needed not to worry. In the early seventies, he had more hits than John or Paul did at that time. Plus, Ringo found a career in acting.
Lennon jokingly sent a telegram to Ringo after the success of the Ringo album and said, “Congratulations. How dare you? And please write me a hit song.”
Before I get on with the list. Ringo has had some really good songs on albums since the 1980s, but these I grew up with and are forever linked to him. Also now drummers and many other people are coming around to see just how great a drummer Ringo is.
Back Off Boogaloo – Many think a few of the verses are about Paul, and at this time, I can see that. Paul was suing the other Beatles, which turned out to be a good thing for all parties except Allen Klein. It was inspired by Marc Bolan because he frequently used the word “Boogaloo,” which stuck with Ringo.
2. Oh My My -This is an overlooked Ringo song that is really good. I had this single as a kid from a cousin. The song was on the 1973 Ringo album, which was his most successful album. Three of his former bandmates helped contribute to this album. It contained Photograph, You’re Sixteen, and this one, which were hits. Ringo and Vini Poncia wrote this one.
3. It Don’t Come Easy – A great pop single that fits Ringo’s voice perfectly. If you dig on YouTube, you can hear a version in which George Harrison sings. George Harrison is on guitar, Gary Wright on piano, Mal Evans on tambourine, and Pete Ham and Tom Evans from Badfinger on backup vocals. Klaus Voormann, a Hamburg fan, plays bass. It was credited to Ringo and George Harrison.
4. Photograph – Photograph and It Don’t Come Easy were probably the best straight-out pop singles Ringo released, and they are both excellent AM radio hits. George Harrison and Ringo wrote this one.
5. Early 1970 – Why is this song so high on my list? It’s a Ringo written song, and he has verses about each of the Beatles. Is it technically a great song? No, but it has a lot of meaning behind it, and it shows where Ringo was with the other Beatles at this time. He was really close to George, a friend to John, and with Paul, it was up in the air.
The first verse is about Paul… he talks about his farm, and his new wife Linda, and Paul was very quiet around this time and he stopped coming to Apple. He also told Ringo to get out of his house when Ringo delivered a message from the 3 Beatles for McCartney to delay releasing his debut album because of Let It Be releasing at the same time. They finally gave in to Paul. Ringo was wondering if Paul would play music with him when he came by again. And when he comes to town, I wonder if he’ll play with me.
The second verse is about John. Ringo sings about John and Yoko doing the bed in, and what I thought was “Cocaine” as a kid was really a lesser drug…”Cookies.” He also references Yoko with “With his mama by his side, she’s Japanese.” At the end of the verse…unlike Paul, he knows John will play music with him. And when he comes to town, I know he’s gonna play with me.
The third verse is about George. Ringo and George were extremely close in the Beatles and afterward. Things did pop up between them through the years but they remained friends. He describes George in the first line, Pattie Boyd Harrison in the second, and George’s famous mansion Friar Park in the 3rd. Ringo and George wrote together, and George hung out with Ringo more than the other Beatles. He’s a long-haired, cross-legged guitar picker, um-um. With his long-legged lady in the garden picking daisies for his soup. A forty acre house he doesn’t see, ‘Cause he’s always in town playing for you with me.
6. No No Song – Ok…it’s a pure novelty song but…it’s Ringo. If John, Paul, or George had done this, it wouldn’t be in my top 100…but…again…it’s Ringo. He can get by with it. This was the last of his big hits in America. This one was by Hoyt Axton.
7. Your Sixteen – I had his single as a kid…another one off of the Ringo album. The Ringo album is almost Ringo’s Greatest Hits.
8. Only You – Ringo did a nice cover of this song.
9. I’m The Greatest – Lennon wrote this one for Ringo as well. It was on the huge Ringo album. Lennon knew he could not get by with singing this.
10. Grow Old With Me – John Lennon wrote this song for Ringo, but Ringo waited until 2019 to do it because John gave it to him right before he was murdered.
I had another Ry Cooder song written up and scheduled to go today, but in a conversation, halffastcyclingclub played me this song while we were talking about something else. I decided to try to write this one up for Sunday. I love the spirit and soulfulness of this song. I’ll post the other Cooder song soon. Halffastcyclingclub posted this song on Ry Cooder’s 75th Birthday here.
This song was on his 1974 Paradise and Lunch album. This isn’t a solo showcase or a guitar clinic. Cooder doesn’t treat roots music like a museum exhibit; he has fun with it. You can hear the respect, but you can also hear the joy. It’s a song that, after a minute, I fell in love with.
He sent me the live version, which I would recommend. It’s an old spiritual, passed down and passed around, sung in churches and on chain gangs, more often associated with Sunday salvation. The writer of this beautiful song is unknown, but has been in the American folk and gospel circles for years. Mavis Staples also did a great version of this one. Cooder’s version is almost like a tent revival crossed with a Muscle Shoals jam session.
Cooder’s guitar is wonderful as always in this, but his voice lifts the whole thing skyward with that gospel chorus. This is the kind of song that you don’t just listen to, you get in and ride with it. The album peaked at #174 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1974.
Jesus On The Mainline
I know Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Call Him up and tell Him what you want
Well, the line ain’t never busy Tell Him what you want Wo, that line ain’t never busy Tell Him what you want Well, the line ain’t never busy Tell Him what you want Keep on calling Him up And tell Him what you want
Well, if you want His kingdom Tell Him what you want If you want His kingdom Tell Him what you want If want His kingdom Tell Him what you want Call Him up, call Him up, call Him up, call Him up You can call Him up and tell Him what you want Well, if you’re sick and want to get well Tell Him what you want Well, if you’re sick and you want to get well Tell Him what you want If you’re sick and you want to get well Tell Him what you want Call Him up and tell Him what you want
And if you’re feeling down and out Tell Him what you want And if you’re feeling down and out Tell Him what you want And if you’re feeling down and out Tell Him what you want Call Him up and tell Him what you want
I know Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Jesus is on that mainline Tell Him what you want Call Him up, call Him up, call Him up, call Him up Call Him up and tell Him what you want
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