That opening G#m chord is simple but so effective. That strum on that chord alone drew me into this song and still does. When I was 14, I bought this single and wore it out. Finding the single sleeve that went with it for this post brought back so many memories. At that time I knew Gary US Bonds vaguely for Quarter to Three. Now this one is the first song I think of when his name comes up. This guitar sound is perfect, and I love the bounce of the song.
Springsteen wrote the song, and it sounds like it could have fit on one of his own records. The recording sessions took place at the Power Station in New York. Members of the E Street Band played on the track. Bonds brought his voice, while Springsteen supplied the song and the energy behind it. Springsteen and Van Zandt ended up producing the album.
The song accomplished something that is not easy to do. It sounded modern for the early 1980s but still carried some early 60s rock and roll sound. Older listeners would like it, and so would the teens of the day. This teen certainly did. This song was one of my favorite early 80s hits. It has a timeless sound that is hard to pin down in a time period.
This was released as a single in 1981; it became Bonds’ biggest hit in nearly twenty years. It reached the Top 20 in the United States and helped introduce him to a new generation of listeners. More importantly, it proved that Bonds was far more than an oldies act. The success of the song led to more recordings and appearances for him. It was cool to see Bruce work with an older influence, and their sound went together well.
It peaked at #11 on the Billboard 100, #15 in Canada, #43 in the UK, and #11 in New Zealand.
Here she comes walkin’ down the street
You know she’s walkin’ just like
She’s walkin’ to come and see me
Oh she’s so young and she’s so fine
I know what’s on your mind
Know what you want to do
But if you mess with her
I’m gonna mess with you
You better watch your step
You better stay in line
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
Oh this little girl
This little girl
This little girl is mine
Well if the world was mine to do with
What I want to do sir
Well I’d wrap it up in a bow
And give it all to her yeah
And all my love
All of the time
You know I’d hold her tight
I’d never let her go
And late at night
You know I’d love her so
Yeah I’d treat her right
So she’d never mind
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
Oh this little girl
This little girl
This little girl is mine
Mine, mine, mine
Hey you better watch out
I’m telling you the score
Are you going to be sweeping your
Broken heart up off the floor
Oh and that ain’t all
I’m telling you my friend
I know what’s on your mind
I know what you want to do
But if you mess with her
I’m gonna mess with you
You like the way she moves
You like to watch her walk
You better listen up
‘Cause man this just ain’t talk
You better watch yourself
You better stay in line
Now mister I said
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
This little girl
This little girl
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
This little girl
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
This little girl
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
Yeah, yeah
This little girl
This little girl
Oh this little girl is mine
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
This little girl is mine
This little girl she’s mine all mine
Now this little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
Oh I said this little girl
This little girl
This little girl is mine, mine, mine
This little girl is mine
Oh this little girl is mine
…
Steve Van Zandt – Until The Good Is Gone
I listened to some tracks of Van Zandt, Miami Steve, or Little Steven… any of his monickers gives you heartfelt Americana soul music. One band he always pushes is The Rascals, and I can see why. You hear that influence in his music, along with the Jersey Shore sound he helped create. This song is so tuneful, and some tasty guitar licks are going on, especially in the intro. Listening to this album was a pleasure, song after song. His passion really comes through his voice in this one.
This song came from Little Steven’s 1982 album Men Without Women. At that point, Steven Van Zandt was still a major part of the E Street Band, but he wanted something of his own. He grew up loving soul records, girl groups, and the Phil Spector sound. Those influences were all over this album. The sessions took place at the Power Station in New York. Van Zandt wanted the record to sound alive. Not polished to death. He wanted horns, echoes, and emotion.
The recording is hard into soul music. The horns punch through the mix while the guitars and rhythm section keep it grounded in rock and roll. Van Zandt and horns have a great history, like Sixteenth Avenue Freeze Out. There are stories that Springsteen added backing vocals during parts of the sessions, which gave the album even more of that Asbury Park spirit without turning it into an E Street record.
A lot of the material on Men Without Women had been around since the Southside Johnny days. Van Zandt was writing constantly then. Songs moved around between projects depending on where they fit best. This song ended up fitting perfectly on this album because it captured that mix of street soul and rock-and-roll. The record did not become a massive commercial hit, but over the years fans have come back to it. The song still sounds real today. It feels like musicians in a room, playing for the song rather than for the charts.
Until The Good Is Gone
Hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmm
Yeah, we always stood on the same block way back then
Waiting to find out where in the world we fit in
Then something on the radio changed everything we’d been
Ever since, I need it, over and over again
Where it comes from baby, I don’t know
That same old something just won’t let me go
It’s too late baby, it’s been too long
Don’t try to stop me ’till the good is gone
Now listen, it seems like only yesterday I could hear big mama call, (yes)
Get the boys and meet me down at the union hall, (yes)
And always in the background even after everybody’s gone
It was something on the radio saying, “Come on, come on”
Where it comes from baby, I don’t know, no no
That same old something ain’t gonna let me go
Oh it’s too late baby, it’s been too long
Don’t try to stop me ’till the good is gone
Let me hear you now
Say yeah, yeah, alright
Come on
Oh, yeah yeah yeah
Now baby
Oh
Woah
So many others never beat the city line
They weren’t so different, they just ran out of time
You need something in your soul baby that’s gonna keep you strong
Oh that kind of good never ever ever never gonna go wrong
Where it comes from baby I don’t know, don’t know
That same old something just won’t let me go
Oh it’s too late baby, it’s been too long
Don’t try to stop me ’till the good is gone
Say one more time
Don’t try to stop me ’till the good is gone
One more time
Don’t try to stop me ’till the good is gone
Oh let me hear you say it
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Let me hear you say it
Say yeah, yeah, yeah
One more time
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah honey
Oh yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah yeah), sing
Say yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), say everybody say
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
Say one more time
Yeah (yeah)…
New Site: oldsteamships.com
I have been writing about the RMS Titanic on my blog, and I think it fits the pop culture theme I have, but I would like to write about the Olympic, Britannic, and other ships like the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and the RMS Empress of Ireland. But I thought it would work better in a separate blog. I won’t be posting a ton to it, but it will give me a place to write about them without disrupting the flow at powerpop.blog. If you are interested, come along, but I get it if you are not. That is why I’m making this blog. A release valve for me to explore this subject when I find something interesting. Thank you all for reading as always.
Green On Red – Keith Can’t Read and Gravity Talks
I usually just pick one song out, but I couldn’t decide which one. So I thought, hmmm, my blog, my rules today, so we are going to have a two-for-one Saturday! I’ve read where someone said about this band…it’s alt country meets the Replacements. In some songs, that is true. Some of their songs sound epic, and they were reaching for something big…and many times pulled it off.
I have to give WordPress credit for knowing about this band. I missed them in real time, or I would have been buying their records. I found out about them through a fellow blogger and have been listening to them ever since. This is what I wanted the mainstream to be in the 80s and why I listened to more alternative and heartland rockers. Green On Red had a quality that I talked about in earlier posts. You can hear a car wreck coming, but they pull it between the lines just in time!
They had everything I like in a band. A raw sound that was in no way polished. They were always one of those bands that critics loved but radio mostly ignored. They came out of the Paisley Underground scene in the early 1980s, but unlike some of their peers, they were harder into country-rock and the Stones-style rock. They were made up of Dan Stuart (vocals/guitar), Jack Waterson (bass), Van Christian (drums, later of Naked Prey), and Chris Cacavas (organ). It’s basically a marriage of classic rock, punk, psychedelia, country, and garage rock.
Keith Can’t Read never became a hit, but that was the story of Green on Red. They influenced a lot of bands that came later in alt-country and Americana, yet they stayed underground. Dan Stuart had a way of writing about losers, addicts, drifters, and broken friendships without turning it into self-pity. He is a very underrated songwriter. The song was on the album Here Comes The Snakes released in 1989.
Gravity Talks was the title track of the 1983 debut album by Green on Red, and it captured the band right at the point where garage rock, psychedelia, country, and desert atmosphere all collided together. The song never became widely known, but it became one of those tracks roots-rock fans have praised for years. That whole album had a reputation as a lost classic. Critics later described it as reckless, ragged, and impossible to neatly categorize. I love the organ in this one and Dan’s voice. His voice is instantly recognizable.
Keith Can’t Read
Get outta the street right now
Your in the way
The red light has turned to green
I ain’t got all day
There ain’t no pictures in this book
Just dirty pages take a look
If you think your woman is good to you
Think about when you’re away from her
What you put her through
There ain’t no pictures in this book
Just dirty pages take a look
Get off of your knees right now
Your looking up my nose
Girl that ain’t gonna cut no ice
Heaven knows
Gravity Talks
Suppose you really knew
What’s it all about
And someone you thought you knew
He asked you out
I’m not easy I know
Gravity talks
Suppose you really thought
You had it in the bag
And an old man he walked up
And he took it all
I’m not easy I know
Gravity gravity talks
Suppose you really knew
What’s it all about
And someone you thought you knew
He asked you out
I’m not easy I know
Gravity gravity talks
Robert Plant – Tall Cool One
When Robert Plant made his first solo album, I didn’t know what to think. I was expecting Zeppelin, but he threw a curve. Something that grew on me, and later I realized if Plant went back to Zeppelin style music, he wouldn’t have lasted long. I got my first car in 1983, and I was riding in style in my 1966 Mustang. Big Log is one of the first songs I remembered playing in that car. I have followed Plant ever since the Pictures at Eleven album.
This song came out in 1988 on the album Now and Zen, a record that gave Plant a major commercial comeback in America after a few years of uneven sales. The song was built around a rocking riff and a big arena-rock sound, but Plant and producer Tim Palmer also loaded it with Zeppelin history. He was trying to combine modern production with older rock influences.
I thought at the time, he was finally embracing his history and adding it to his approach. The music video made that clear by mixing old clips of Led Zeppelin with new footage of Plant performing. It shocked some fans because he had spent years distancing himself from Zeppelin. Sampling music was huge at this time, and the lawsuits were flying from older bands that were sampled. Plant didn’t have to worry about that in this one. He sampled his own Led Zeppelin catalog, including Black Dog, Whole Lotta Love, Dazed and Confused, Custard Pie, and The Ocean.
MTV played the clip constantly, and the song became one of Plant’s biggest solo hits, helping Now and Zen climb up the charts. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Album Charts, #4 in Canada, #7 in New Zealand, and #10 in the UK in 1988. The song peaked at #1 on Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, #25 on the Billboard 100 Charts, and #87 in the UK, and #22 in New Zealand.
Long Cool One
Like a cat running in the heat of the night
Got a fire in my eyes, got a date with delight
Some kinda moaning in the heart of the storm
I’m gonna love you so hard, if you want your loving done
Lighten up baby I’m in love with you
With my one hand loose I am to satisfy
You like my loving machine, I like your bloodshot eyes
Real gone girl jumping back with the beat
I’ll be your tall cool one with those crazy feet
Lighten up baby I’m in love with you
I’m so tall and you’re so cute, let’s play wild like wildcats do
You’re gonna rock your tall cool one
I’m gonna say that – you’re gonna say – aaah
You stroll, you jump, you’re hot and you tease
‘Cause I’m your tall cool one, and I’m built to please
M-m-move over mister step on back in the crowd
‘Cause she’s a whole lotta sister ’bout to drive me wild
Lotta place I’ve seen, lotta names lotta words
No one compares to my real gone girl
Lighten up baby I’m in love with you
Firm – Radioactive
I was graduating from high school when I heard this band. There was a buildup about them because of the members. You had guitarist Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), singer Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company), drummer Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), and the great bassist Tony Franklin (who worked with many). I went out and bought the single for this one.
They managed to create a band that avoided nostalgia and sounded like a working group rather than a reunion act. The goal was to write fresh material rather than new Zeppelin or Bad Company songs. They did that because they didn’t really sound like either. The song was written by Paul Rodgers and became the band’s biggest single in the U.S., helped by heavy rotation on MTV during their peak.
The band itself released only two studio albums: the self-titled album in 1985 and Mean Business in 1986. Even with the short lifespan, The Firm gave Page a way back into recording and touring after a difficult stretch in the early 1980s. Page admitted it was never meant to last past two albums. Page was coming out of a difficult time after Zeppelin ended.
Ok, yes, I love bass, and that stands out in this one. Tony Franklin used a fretless bass to get that smooth sound. I remember some older Zeppelin fans were unsure about the keyboards and production style, but the song found a younger audience that was already listening to harder-edged 1980s rock. Over time, this song became the signature track for The Firm and one of the better-known post-Zeppelin recordings connected to Jimmy Page.
The song peaked at #28 on the Billboard 100, #75 in Canada, and #76 in the UK in 1985. The song was written by Paul Rodgers.
Radioactive
Well I’m not uptightNot unattractedTurn me on tonight‘Cause I’m radioactiveRadioactive
There’s not a fightAnd I’m not your captiveTurn me loose tonight‘Cause I’m radioactiveRadioactive
I want to stay with youI want to play with you babyI want to lay with youAnd I want you to know
Got to concentrateDon’t be distractiveTurn me on tonight‘Cause I’m radioactiveRadioactiveRadioactiveRadioactive
I want to stay with youI don’t want to play with youI want just to lay with youAnd I want you to know
Got to concentrateDon’t be distractiveTurn me on tonight‘Cause I’m radioactive oh yeahOh yeah radioactiveDon’t you stand, stand too closeYou might catch it
Smithereens – Blood And Roses
I always liked this band and the sound they had in the 80s. I look at them the way I do at Big Star and The Replacements. Why didn’t they take off commercially? It makes no sense to me at all, but the charts and mainstream radio got this wrong. Now, let’s bring some power pop back to this power pop site!
This was the song that first gave The Smithereens national attention. It was released in 1986 on their debut album, Especially for You. It was based around a heavy bass line, which makes me happy, sharp guitar parts, and the voice of songwriter Pat DiNizio. The song had been around in some form before the band signed a record deal. It was part of the material they developed while playing clubs across New Jersey and New York. When it appeared as a single, college radio picked it up, and most importantly, MTV did as well.
DiNizio wrote this song after reading the 1946 novel “Blood and Roses” by British writer Helen MacInnes, though the lyrics were not a direct adaptation. Instead, he used the title to frame a story about a difficult relationship. Like many Smithereens songs, it drew from pop culture and personal memories.
It was produced by Don Dixon, who kept the arrangement sharp and tight, letting the rhythm section carry much of the song. It became the band’s signature song, still tied closely to the sound of American college radio in the mid-1980s, when guitar bands were finding an audience outside of mainstream radio. And that is where I was at the time!
The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Charts in 1986. The album peaked at #51 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Blood and Roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday
Saw you standing in the rain
Then I heard you say
I want to love, but it comes out wrong
I want to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
Wild flowers in the springtime
October we were wed
In winter time the roses died
Her blood ran cold and then she said
I want to love, but it comes out wrong
I want to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday
I saw you standing in the rain
Then I heard you say
I need your love, but it comes out wrong
I tried to live, but I don’t belong
I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
Blood and roses (roses)
Blood and roses (roses)
Blood and roses (roses)
Marriott and Lane – Lonely No More
I ain’t lonely no more
Got a woman, got a kid
Got a whole lot more
Got my own backyard
With a fence and a big front door
As big a fan of Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott as I am, I never heard their 1981 album Majik Mijits. Sometimes when I run across something, I get really excited. This is one of those times. Marriott is probably my favorite vocalist of that genre.
It was recorded in 1981 but not released until 2000, after both had passed. The opening song, Lonely No More, has a nice choppy rhythm and a fantastic groove. The lyrics are simple and repetitive, but they are so grounded in everyday life that I love them. I was 14 in 1981, and I would have bought this if it were released.
This album came from a reunion that probably surprised a lot of people. By the early 1980s, Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott had been apart for years. Their time in Small Faces was long behind them, and both had gone through hard stretches. Lane was dealing with multiple sclerosis, and Marriott had come through the rise and collapse of Humble Pie. When they crossed paths again around 1981, the old connection returned quickly. They had argued in 1969 when Marriott left the Small Faces, but their friendship was still there, and so was the music.
They recorded under the name The Legendary Majik Mijits, bringing in musicians from the British pub-rock world. The songs sounded natural, closer to musicians sitting together in a room than looking for radio play. Recording together again gave them a chance to step away from pressures and expectations. There was no pressure to recreate Small Faces. They were older, and the music reflected that.
The album sat in limbo for 19 years after it was recorded. Part of that came down to Lane’s health. Touring and promotion would have been difficult, and there was little interest in pushing the record without him being fully involved. Marriott said he did not want the album turned into something that forced Lane into a situation he could not handle physically. So the tapes stayed unreleased, almost becoming forgotten sessions. Majik Mijits finally appeared in 2000 and was remastered in 2014.
They did one show together. This next is from Lane’s website:
Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane got back together in 1981. Steve flew back from Atlanta, Georgia, to play a one-off gig with Ronnie at the Bridge House pub in East London. The gig on 1st September included the band Blind Drunk with old mates Jim Leverton on bass, Mick Green of the Pirates on guitar, Mick “Wynder K Frog” Weaver on keyboards, and Dave Hynes on drums. Sam Brown, daughter of Joe joined on backing vocals.
Lonely No More
I ain’t lonely no more
Got a woman, got a kid, lord, got a whole lot more
Can’t be lonely no more
Got my own back yard, I got my own front door
(lonely no more)
Can’t be lonely no more
(lonely no more)
How can I paint what I was now I ain’t gonna be lonely no more
(lonely no more)
(lonely no more)
I ain’t lonely no more
Sat here by the fire with my dog on the floor
Can’t be lonely no more
That’s one thing I know, lord, I’m certain, I’m so sure
(lonely no more)
can’t be lonely no more
(lonely no more)
How can I be what I was, don’t you see I can’t be lonely?
(lonely no more)
(lonely no more)
lonely no more
(lonely no more)
I ain’t lonely no more
got a woman, got a kid, I got a whole lot more
can’t be lonely no more
I got my own backyard with a fence and a big front door
look out
(lonely no more)
woo
(lonely no more)
(lonely no more)
lonely no more
(lonely no more)
can’t be lonely
(lonely no more)
can’t be lonely
(lonely no more)
can’t be…
Honeydrippers – Rockin’ At Midnight
Back in the ’80s, I remember seeing this band on SNL. Of course, the big thing at the time was that Page and Plant were working together again, although not with Zeppelin. I loved their sound, and I went out and bought the single Sea Of Love.
You know what I liked most about these recordings by the Honeydrippers? Rather than modernizing the song, they kept the arrangement close to the spirit of the original. The horns, piano, and guitar all feel like a small-club sound. It doesn’t have a huge, polished studio production.
This song was first written and recorded by Roy Brown in 1949. Brown’s version had that jump-blues energy that helped bridge swing music into early rock and roll. Roy’s original version peaked at #13 on the US R&B charts. Little Richard has mentioned Roy Brown as a huge influence.
I first really found out about Plant and his love of rockabilly through The Concert of Kampuchea. He sang the Elvis song Little Sister with Rockpile. Great performance of that song. So, when I heard the Honeydrippers, it sounded totally in place. Robert Plant had been talking for years about his love of early R&B and jump blues, the records he grew up with before Led Zeppelin. The Honeydrippers project gave him a way to step outside Zeppelin’s shadow and record the kind of songs that first got him interested in music.
The band’s floating members were incredible. Robbie Blunt was one, and he did a lot of great work on Plant’s solo music. To me, his guitar playing was just as identifiable as Plant’s voice; it was that important in Plant’s music. I would say the same thing about James Wisely, whose guitar playing was just as important to Chris Isaak. Other members included Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, Brian Setzer, Paul Shaffer, and many more. Talent was not an issue for this band.
Their album The Honeydrippers: Volume One peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #40 in Canada, and #56 in the UK in 1984. The song peaked at #25 on the Billboard 100 and #18 in Canada.
A concert by The Honeydrippers
Rockin’ At Midnight
Have you heard the news?
There’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby
With all my might
What a wonderful time we had that night
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Have you heard the news?
There’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby
With all my might
What a wonderful time we had that night
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Now, sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine
They got caught on Caledonia’s land
Sioux City Sue, she told it all
Those fellas got drunk and they had a ball
Crying hey, hey
Good rockin’ at midnight
Well, two times
Well, I tell y’all about now Deacon John
He got so high they had to take him home
Hear the news about Ella Brown
He stole a chicken and he ran out of town
Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig
She fell down and she lost her wig
Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick
Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick
Crying hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh now let’s go two times
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, wanna tell you all about now Deacon John
He got so high they had to take him home
Here’s the news about Ella Brown
He stole a lot of chickens and he ran out of town
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Now, now, now Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig
She fell down and lost her wig
Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick
Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Uh, mm, rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Gonna rock
Well yeah I’m gonna rock
Gonna rock
We gonna rock
Ooh-hoo yeah we’re gonna rock
We’re gonna rock
There’s still rockin’ at midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight, yeah oh
Let’s go out ah
Now sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine
They got caught on Caledonia’s land
Soon pretty soon they told it all
Those girls got drunk and they had a ball
Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
We gonna rock
We gonna rock
Yeah-es we gonna rock
Now, now, now we gonna rock
We gonna rock
Ooh-ah-yeah
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
Paul Kelly – Darling It Hurts
Thought I would cover Paul Kelly today with this rock song Darling It Hurts. I’m starting to know his music more and more now. His Christmas song How To Make Gravy has been on my list since 2022. With this song, yes, I love that guitar, but that organ is what hooked me on this one. He kept the organ right below the surface, and it fits. Below is a quick rundown of Paul.
Paul Kelly was born in Adelaide, Australia, and began performing in Hobart in 1974. By 1976, he had relocated to Melbourne, working the pub circuit before forming the Dots, who released Talk (1981) and Manila (1982). He moved to Sydney in 1984 and, alongside Steve Connolly and Ian Rilen, released Post in 1985. The following year, he formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls and released Gossip (1986). The band later regrouped as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, issuing Gossip in the United States and following it with Under the Sun in 1987.
In 1993, Kelly published Lyrics, a collection of his songwriting, and continued evolving his sound with a new lineup that included Shane O’Mara, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe, Stephen Hadley, and Spencer Jones. He has remained consistently active, continuing to record and release new material. His most recent album, Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train, arrived in 2021. Over the course of his career, Kelly has released 28 studio albums, along with 6 live albums, 8 compilations, and 64 singles.
This song was off his album Gossip, released in 1986. The song peaked at #19 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. The album peaked at #15 in Australia and #34 in New Zealand. The album was in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.
This link will take you to a live version that YouTube would not let me embed.
Darling It Hurts
I see you standing on the corner with your dress so highAnd all the cars slow down as they go driving byThought you said you had some place to goWhat you doing up here putting it all on show?Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
Do you remember Darling how we laughed and criedWe said we’d be together till the day we dieHow could something so good turn so bad?I’d do it all again ‘coz you’re the best I’ve ever hadDarling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
See that man with the glad handsI want to kill him but it wouldn’t be rightNow here comes another man with the glad bagsI want to break him but it’s not my fightIn one hand and out the otherBaby I don’t even know why you botherDarling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
I see you standing on the corner with your dress so highAnd all the cars slow down as they go driving byIn one hand and out the otherBaby I don’t even know why you botherDarling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonightDarling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonightDarling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
Los Lobos – Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)
This song has the effect on me that an Otis Redding song would. It makes me feel good, and it has a 50s – 60s R&B sound to it, at least to me. Also, the groove is infectious. They kept the structure simple and let the groove carry it. César Rosas handles the vocals, and the band keeps everything locked in behind him like a machine.
This song appeared in 1987 on By the Light of the Moon, the album they released in the same year as the success of La Bamba. That put the band in a different spot. They suddenly had a wider audience, but instead of repeating that sound, they went back to something closer to their roots, mixing rock and roll with R&B and older influences they grew up on in East L.A.
Los Lobos (Spanish for “The Wolves”) started in the early 1970s in East Los Angeles. High school friends David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Cesar Rosas, and Conrad Lozano started playing together. The guy who brought them together was Francisco González. He left the band before fame and became the musical director of El Teatro Campesino and went on to start Guadalupe Custom Strings. They started off by playing top 40 music, but soon tired of that. They drew inspiration from the Mexican folk music they heard as kids. They didn’t fit into the typical rock band mold… instead, they experimented with acoustic instruments like the jarana, requinto, and bajo sexto.
They opened for such artists as The Clash and The Blasters. Steve Berlin, who was born in Philadelphia, played saxophone for the Blasters and then left the group to join Los Lobos. To his delight, he found the other members of Los Lobos shared a love for country artists such as Hank Williams and George Jones. The band mixed so many styles…Mexican folk music, country, and rock all in the same bag.
This song peaked at #21 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, #45 in New Zealand, and #99 in the UK in 1987.
When love’s in vain, love can be so strangeThere ain’t nothing I can take to kill this painSet me freeWhy don’t you, Rosa Lee?
She is a dream, but she’s so hard to pleaseShe moves around like an Egyptian queenSet me freeWhy don’t you, Rosa Lee?
I’m so afraid of losing youBut there’s only so much that a man can doFor Rosa LeeWhy don’t you set me free?
When I hit the road the time goes slowThinking about the places I used to goWith Rosa LeeWhy won’t you set me free?
They’re trying to close the Tu y YoThe Latin playboy and the sky room showsRosa LeeWhy don’t they let them be?
I can’t get used to losing youBut there’s only so much that a man can doFor Rosa LeeWhy don’t you set me free?
People say that you were made for meI knocked my head [?]But they’ll never know the hurt it takes to beRosa Lee
When love’s in vain, love can be so strangeBut I never thought I’d wear a ball and chainSet me freeWhy don’t you, Rosa Lee?
Set me freeWhy don’t you, Rosa Lee?Why don’t you set me freeWhy don’t you Rosa Lee, yeah
Why don’t you set free, why don’t you set freeYou got to set me freeYou got to, you got to, you got to set free, baby, ah, yeah, ooh
Replacements – Hold My Life
There is a reason I like SNL’s first 5 seasons the best, and to me, they never came near that again. Were some of the later seasons just as funny or funnier? Yes, they were, but more rigidly controlled. Why am I bringing this up on a Replacements post? One word…Risk. I like it when actors, comedians, and musicians are on the edge. You know good and well it could break apart at any moment, but somehow they manage to pull it back together at the last minute. Artists who take chances and run the risk of running off the road are exciting. Sometimes a chaos grenade needs to be pitched in to liven things up. No bigger chaos grenade than the Replacements musically.
One thing that took me a while to learn when I played in various bands, it’s alright to mess up (I don’t mean stupid mental mistakes). As long as you were trying to push the song forward, take chances. I’ve been on stage when a song falls apart. Not a good feeling, but you learn from those things. I noticed the crowd always loved it when you tried different things on the edge.
The crowd was not musicians, but they could feel a car wreck coming, but more often than not, it didn’t come and was pulled back between the lines…but it was the thought of watching a train/car wreck. In other words, the phrase “playing with fire” came into play, but it paid off so many times. After a while, you can control the chaos when you conquer your fear of making mistakes. Then it becomes second nature, and you know how to progress, and the mistakes stop, but the thought/energy doesn’t…so we learned to risk it from time to time. I guess that is why I love the Replacements so much…they perfected that energy. I first learned it from The Who.
The Replacements are famous for that mentality. Everything sounds like it could fall apart, and that’s exactly the point. This song is the opening track from the album Tim from 1985. The Replacements had already built a reputation for mixing chaos with something close to truth. It doesn’t ease you in; it drops you right into the middle of the chaos.
The recording came during sessions with producer Tommy Erdelyi, better known as Tommy Ramone. The Ramones drummer pushed the band toward to something tighter, but you can still hear and feel the sharp edges. I always liked the line “Hold my life until I’m ready to use it.” It sounds like a throwaway at first, but it stuck with me. Back then, it sounded like an attitude. Now it sounds more like a question. There’s frustration in it, maybe a sense of being stuck between wanting control and not knowing what to do with it.
This album was their first major label release on Sire Records in 1984. This would be the last album by the original band because Bob Stinson would be kicked out a couple of years later. Tim was placed 136th on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 137th in a 2012 revised list. The album peaked at #186 on the Billboard Album Chart in 1986.
Hold My Life
Oooo well, well, wellI bought itDown on all foursLet me crawlIf I want ICould dieOh byMy handTime for decisions to be madeCrack up in the sunLose it in the shade
Razzle dazzle razzle drollTime for this one to come homeRazzle dazzle razzle dieTime for this one to come aliveAnd hold my lifeUntil I’m ready to use itHold my lifeBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose it
Well, well, wellAnyone could tellClassic aweA lucky shotOoo-leh-doHate ’emSomeday soonFace ’emTime for decisions to be madeCrack up in the sunLose it in the shade
Razzle dazzle razzle drollTime for this one to come homeRazzle dazzle razzle dieTime for this one to come aliveAnd hold my lifeUntil I’m ready to use itHold my lifeBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose it
Just my, just my, just myWe might crack up in the sunBut we’ll lose it in the shade
Razzle dazzle razzle drollTime for this one to come homeRazzle dazze razzle dieTime for this one to come aliveAnd hold my lifeUntil I’m ready to use itHold my lifeBecause I just might lose itBecause I just might lose itHold my lifeHold my lifeHold my, hold my, hold my, hold my, hold
Godfathers – She Gives Me Love
There’s no easing into She Gives Me Love. It hits fast and stays there. Released in 1986 on Hit by Hit, the track shows what The Godfathers were about in their early run: tight playing, sharp edges, and no interest in slowing down.
I listened to their first real album Birth, School, Work, Death, and it was fantastic. I then skipped around and listened to some songs throughout their career. Super band… they have a tough, rough Katie bar the door… no-holds-barred sound. I hear some Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Sloan, and other bands in them.
The main reason I like them…the hooks. They know how to develop and use great hooks in the right places. While you have the hooks and melodies, you also have the super-aggressive anger riding on top of everything. They mix it perfectly. In short… abrasive in-your-face rock.
The band, led by Peter Coyne and Chris Coyne, came out of the UK scene with a sound that pulled from R&B and stripped-down rock. You can hear that here. The guitars are direct, and the whole thing feels built for a small room turned up too loud. It doesn’t try to expand beyond that.
This is one I came across later, digging past the usual tracks people mention. It felt like finding something still wired tight after all these years. No buildup, no release, just straight through. Sometimes that’s all you need.
She Gives Me Love
Don’t claim to understand herI wonder what she’s doing with meDon’t know what she does with the rest of her timeBut she gives it to me for free
She gives me loveShe gives me love
She never takes my moneyBut she always steals my timeShe’s the kind of a girl that if you gave her the worldShe’d say it wasn’t worth a dime
She gives me loveShe gives me love
It’s not easy to explain itThe effect she has on meMake a dumb man talk and a blind man seeThat sweet little mystery
She gives me loveShe gives me love
She gives me loveShe gives me love
Formerly Brothers – The Return of the Formerly Brothers …album review
A while back, I really started to get into Doug Sahm because the guy was quality, period. Everything I’ve heard from him I’ve liked. Thanks to halffastcyclingclub for more information about Doug. He was born in 1941 and had singles out when he was 14 in 1955. He was a child prodigy and a proud Texan.
The Formerly Brothers brought together three players who already had long histories: Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, and Gene Taylor. I’m grateful they did, and the reason I first listened was because of Doug Sahm, but he is far from the only one on this album. When three artists of this caliber get together, sometimes it can feel forced, but this one doesn’t. The album was released in 1987.
They got their name from the press always introducing them individually as “formerly of” different bands. They started this album after appearing at the 1986 Edmonton Folk Festival. The project came together as a collaboration between these artists who had crossed paths for years.
Doug Sahm founded, with Augie Meyers, The Sir Douglas Quintet. He would go on to have a solo career and also play with The Texas Tornados, among many others. The American-Canadian Amos Garrett became known for session work, including his time with Paul Butterfield and his guitar on Maria Muldaur’s Midnight at the Oasis. Gene Taylor worked with many artists, including Canned Heat and, later, The Blasters, but he was always in demand for his piano playing.
By all accounts, they got along well, and the music shows this. It sounds like very talented musicians having fun at a party, but the music stays precise, yet not rigid. What makes the record work is that it doesn’t try to give us any new style of music. It sticks with styles like blues structures, R&B grooves, barroom riffs, and pure country. Sometimes bundled all together for our listening pleasure.
The music slips easily into different styles like changing socks. The first song that got my attention on this album is the song Teardrops On Your Letter for its soulful sound and that tremelo guitar to open it. Sahm knocks that vocal out of the park. They cover Dylan with Just Like A Woman and it is a version I will go back to.
Louis Riel is another song that caught me right away. Again, it was the soulful voice of Sahm. The opener Smack Dab In The Middle is somewhere in the middle of R&B and Country. Big Mamou is pure old school country. Probably my favorite on the album is Queen of the Okanagan.
The record blends blues, R&B, country, and Texas roots music while blurring the lines between them. Sahm’s voice carries a lot of it while Garrett’s guitar fills the spaces with that clean tone and bending style. Gene Taylor’s piano is a big part of this album as well.
There’s a loose feel across the album, but it’s not sloppy. It’s the kind of looseness that comes from experience. If you’ve spent time with Sahm’s solo records or the Texas Tornados, this sits right alongside that world, just scaled down a bit.
The album won the Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album at the Juno Awards of 1989. Also, here is a 15-minute interview with Doug Sahm. He tells a lot about his history in this one.
Joe Cocker – When The Night Comes
In 1989, I remember riding around in my Celica and hearing this song a lot on our then-local radio station, 103 WKDF. Later on in 2000, I got to see Joe Cocker open up for Tina Turner. Great concert with two huge talents. He hadn’t lost a step at all in 2000. The last time I posted a Cocker song, Christian reminded me about a later hit for him. It was either this one or Keep Your Hat On… but either way it’s excellent.
When this song opened the album One Night of Sin in 1989 and marked a strong return for Cocker. The track was written by Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, and Diane Warren, and you can hear that late 80s style in the structure, built for radio but still rooted in R&B and rock.
The guitar entrance is what caught my ear. Over that, Cocker’s voice carries the song. He doesn’t overplay it; he lets the quality of his voice do the work. It is controlled, but still has that edge he was known for, and what I love about him. The track became one of his bigger late-career hits and helped reintroduce him to a wider audience at the end of the decade. I’ve heard the album, and it’s good, and they avoided overproduction.
It felt current for the time, but still like Joe Cocker. The groove pulls you in, but it is the vocal that keeps you there. It is a comeback song that doesn’t try to go overboard; it just works. The song peaked at #11 on the Billboard 100, #23 in Canada, and #65 in the UK in 1989. The album peaked at #52 on the Billboard Album Charts, #60 in Canada, and #20 in New Zealand.
When The Night Comes
Hold onI’ll be back for youIt won’t be longBut for now there’s something elseThat’s calling meSo take me down a lonesome roadPoint me east and let me goThat suitcase weighs me downWith memories
I just want to be the one you run toI just want to be the one you come toI just want to be there for someoneWhen the night comesLet’s put all the cares behind usAnd go where they’ll never find usI just want to be there beside youWhen the night comesWhen the night comes
Two spirits in the nightThat can leave before the morning lightWhen there’s nothing left to loseAnd nothing left to fearSo meet me on the edge of townWon’t keep you waiting I’ll be ’roundThen you and IWe’ll just roll right out of here
I just want to be the one you run toI just want to be the one you come toI just want to be there for someoneWhen the night comesLet’s put all the cares behind usAnd go where they’ll never find usI just want to be there beside youWhen the night comesWhen the night comes
I know there’ll be a time for you and IJust take my hand and run awayThink of all the pieces of the shattered dreamWe’re gonna make it out some dayWe’ll be coming backComing back to stayWhen the night comes
I want to be the one you run toWhen the night comesTo be the one you’d come toI want to be the one you run toOohI just want to be the one you run towant to be the one you come toI just want to be there for someoneWhen the night comesLet’s put all the cares behind usAnd go where they’ll never find usI just want to be there beside youWhen the night comesWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesWhen the night rolls downAh ah when the night comesI want to be with youAh ah when the night comesOh ah when the night comes inAh ah ohAh ah when the night comesWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesI want to be right by your sideAh ah when the night comesYes babyAh ah ohDon’t do that to me womanAh ah ohEver stayed when the night time gets in hereAh ah when the night comesI want to rise and up in theWhen the night comesAh ah when the night comesAh ah ohLove me
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 