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.
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.”
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 fizz If that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huh Well I lost my heart, it didn’t take no time But that ain’t all, I lost my mind in Oregon
In a booth in the corner with the lights down low I was movin’ in fast, she was takin’ it slow, uh huh, uh huh Well, I looked at her and caught him lookin’ at me I knew right then we were playin’ free in Oregon
Next day, we knew last night got drunk But we loved enough for the both of us, uh huh, uh huh In the morning when the night had sobered up It was much too late for the both of us in Oregon
Well, sloe gin fizz works mighty fast When you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass, uh huh, uh huh Hey bartender, before you close Pour 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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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.
I watched a Bob Dylan film in the 80s called Don’t Look Back and it covered his 1965 UK tour. In that documentary (which I highly recommend) Donovan comes into Bob’s hotel room and starts playing this folk song called “To Sing For You.” The small audience there is captivated. In the middle of the song, Dylan shouts, “Hey, that’s a good song, man!”
It surprised me because at that time I watched this…all I knew from Donovan were these psychedelic songs like Mellow Yellow and Hurdy Gurdy Man. The melody to Catch The Wind borrows heavily from Bob Dylan’s “Chimes Of Freedom” but Bob didn’t say a word in the documentary.
Donovan and Dylan also made their UK chart debut in the same week, Donovan with Catch The Wind and Dylan with “The Times They Are A Changin’.” Donovan was often dubbed as Britain’s answer to Dylan…NEVER a good thing to be the “new” Dylan/Elvis/Beatles anywhere. There will be no doubt who influenced him though after a listen to the song. It’s a very accessible folk song.
He dated model Linda Lawrence, who was then the girlfriend of the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones soon after writing this song. He bumped into her four years later and they married in 1970.
The song was added to his first album What’s Bin Did and What’s Bin Hid released in 1965. This was released right after Donovan turned 19. The album peaked at #3 in the UK and #30 on the Billboard Album Charts. I could not find an entry in Canada.
The song peaked at #4 in the UK,#10 in Canada, and #23 on the Billboard 100 in 1965. It has been covered by hundreds of artists including Sammy Hagar, Bruce Springsteen’s first band The Castiles, The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, and Rickie Lee Jones.
Donovan:“‘Catch The Wind,’ I wrote it for Linda, although I hadn’t really met her yet. It is a song of unrequited love, yet I hadn’t really met her, so how could I miss her? And I seem to write prophetic songs in the sense of the Celtic poet and I wrote this song before I met Linda, of a love I would like to have had and lost.”
‘She was the first paparazzi-worthy girlfriend and was going out with the most charismatic rock star in Britain, Brian Jones. When I met her she’d just split from Brian, and she told me she wasn’t ready for another serious relationship. We had a passionate love affair, but parted in 1965 as she needed some time away from the limelight in which to grow up. She was only 16 when she and Brian had a child together, Julian, who later I’d raise as my own.
Catch The Wind
In the chilly hours and minutes
Of uncertainty, I want to be
In the warm hold of your love and mine
To feel you all around me
And to take your hand along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide a while behind your smile
And everywhere I’d look your eyes I’d find
For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing ‘twould make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di
When rain has hung the leaves with tears
I want you near to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind
For standin’ in your heart
Is where I want to be and long to be
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
My friend Dave was nice enough to publish this post on his site A Sound Day a couple of months ago for Turntable Talk.
Trent Reznor: “That song isn’t mine anymore”
A good cover song needs to be somewhat faithful, so you know what it is… to the original but not an exact replica as in Todd Rundgren’s Good Vibrations. Very few times do I see covers that are as good as the original, but it does happen. Jimi Hendrix did the trick with Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watch Tower and Dylan does it in Jimi’s style even today. Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt adds a different layer to the song…and it works.
Hurt written by Trent Reznor seemed unlikely to be covered by Johnny Cash. The producer Rick Rubin convinced Cash to give it a shot and it worked. Johnny was a different kind of artist. There are only a few that can cross genres so easily. I think Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash belong in that category.
The song was born in a house that at one moment in time… was a real house of horrors. Trent Reznor, the singer of Nine Inch Nails, moved into a rented house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. Nine Inch Nails recorded the EP Broken and The Downward Spiral album in that house. Hurt was on the later album.
The house was no other than Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate’s old home where Manson’s followers murdered Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steve Parent in 1969. After Reznor met Sharon Tate’s sister…he realized he didn’t want to be looked at like he was endorsing serial killers so he moved out. “When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, ‘What if it was my sister?’ I thought, ‘F— Charlie Manson.’ I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who supports serial-killer bull—-.” Reznor moved out soon later but he did take the front door. It was demolished soon after.
The song deals with addiction struggles and isolation but in the hands of Cash it changes but remains true. This is the one song where I say…watch the video also. I don’t say that often but it adds to Cash’s story. The video was shot in February of 2003. June Cash would die in May and Johnny would die in September.
Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers play on the track.
Trent Reznor: “I pop the video in, and wow… Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Somehow that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure.”
Trent Reznor: “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, what I had written in my diary was now superimposed on the life of this icon and sung so beautifully and emotionally. It was a reminder of what an important medium music is. Goosebumps up the spine. It really made sense. I thought: ‘What a powerful piece of art.’ I never got to meet Johnny, but I’m happy I contributed in the way I did. It wasn’t my song anymore.”
Hurt
I hurt myself today To see if I still feel I focus on the pain The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole The old familiar sting Try to kill it all away But I remember everything
What have I become? My sweetest friend Everyone I know goes away In the end
And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns Upon my liar’s chair Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time The feelings disappear You are someone else I’m still right here
What have I become? My sweetest friend Everyone I know goes away In the end
And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt
If I could start again A million miles away I would keep myself I would find a way
I’m currently reading a book about John Bonham called Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin. So it’s possible you may see another Zeppelin post soon. This song starts like a herd of Vikings coming to pillage your town.
This song was on Led Zeppelin III released in 1970. At the time it was not immediately loved like the first two albums. One reason is that it wasn’t as bombastic as the other two. It mixed in some acoustic numbers along with harder numbers. This album paved the way for their future of mixing light and heavy together that they would master on Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy.
In the Immigrant song…the band played Iceland and Robert got the idea from there. The line “The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands” would stick with them as The Hammer Of The Gods was a line to describe them as well as a book by Stephan Davis about the band. Plant’s love of history played into the lyric, as he was thinking about explorers like Marco Polo and how they must have felt in their travels.
Led Zeppelin would open their concerts with this song for a couple of years. Zeppelin is hugely popular now with fans and critics alike but it took a while for the critics to be interested. Many didn’t like the fact that they made it so fast and the huge amount of money they were making. Rolling Stone Magazine ran many critical articles about them…accusing the band of hype.
This song was released as a single in some markets. A rare thing in Zeppelin’s world. It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 100, #4 in Canada, and #4 in New Zealand. It was not released as a single in the UK. The band didn’t want any singles released but Atlantic did occasionally much to the band’s frustration.
This song was written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Zeppelin has been singled out for being one of the first bands in “Heavy Metal.” Page does not like that tag. “I’m not really sure where we got that tag, there’s no denying that the elements of what became known as heavy metal is definitely there within Led Zeppelin. But the reality of it is that this is riff music, and riff music goes back to the blues — the electric blues of the ’50s and what was going on down there in Chicago.”
He even refused to be interviewed on “That Metal Show” because…guess why? Because it was called “That Metal Show” so he refused because of the word Metal. The host of the show was Eddie Trunk and he said: “He refuses to do anything with the word ‘metal’ in it. Now, ‘That Metal Show’ was way beyond metal, as anybody who watched it knew. We did all kinds of stuff, but he wouldn’t, he wasn’t having it. It was crazy.”
Robert Plant:“We weren’t being pompous. We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be canceled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. ‘Immigrant Song’ was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.”
Immigrant Song
Ah-ah, ah
Ah-ah, ah
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde and sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
Ah-ah, ah
Ah-ah, ah
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
So now you’d better stop
And rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losing
I first heard this band through a song called Hold Me Up a while back. Cool hooks, guitar sound, and melodies. This band has the distorted and jangly sound well mixed together. This song came off of the 1994 album Teenage Symphonies to God which is probably their best-known album. I have listened to this album a bunch and the songs sound like classic songs that have been forgotten.
Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band’s two constant members. They had previously worked together in 3 other bands…Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields in the 1980s.
Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played with them on their first three albums. The album was produced by Mitch Easter who would produce R.E.M among other artists. He gets such a warm sound with Velvet Crush. Matthew Sweet has also worked with this band.
Chastain, Menck, and Underhill reunited in 2019 to tour.
Time Wraps Around You
To the summer of love, from the winter of fear Seasons change us around, the reasons not clear So turn the page Their innocence can’t be saved Beginning again
Like the motions you make, the wave of your hand Like the time that it takes to know that you can Standing by To try and make you feel alright
This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you You know I’ll stay
Through the summer of love, the winter so near Seasons scatter good friends, and more every year Looking back Then you find Learning that It’s time to leave the past far behind
You know it’s alright This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you Know I’ll stay
When I went through my Doors phase as a teen…this one was one of the songs that drew me in. I still like the band but I have sympathy for the members not named Morrison. When they played live in the later part of their career…he could be a handful.
This was the first song on The Doors debut album, and also their first single. It got some airplay on Los Angeles radio stations after their friends and fans kept requesting it. Light My Fire…did just that after this single. Break On Through peaked at #126 in the Billboard Charts, #64 in the UK, and #28 in New Zealand in 1967.
“She gets high,” was in the original chorus but their producer Paul Rothchild thought that would limit the song’s airplay potential, and convinced the group to leave it out. Instead, “high” was edited out, making it sound like, “she get uuggh,” but the “high” line can be heard in live versions and the high was restored in the 1999 remaster.
Elektra Records boss Jac Holzman commissioned a promotional film for this song…later known as a music video. Like The Beatles, The Doors were innovators in the music video medium, creating films of various kinds to their songs. Videos saved bands’ trips to TV studios to mime their latest record. MTV used them as their business plan two decades later.
Elektra Records promoted the album with a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with a photo of the band and the headline, “The Doors Break On Through With An Electrifying Album.” It gave a lot of attention to the band at the time.
John Rechy’s 1963 book City of Night was a huge influence on Morrison in writing this song. There is a passage that Rechy wrote “place to place, week to week, night to night” and Jim turned it into Made the scene, Week to week, Day to day, Hour to hour.
Jim Morrison:“I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing of the established order. I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning.”
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah
We chased our pleasures here
Dug our treasures there
But can you still recall
The time we cried?
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Yeah
Come on, yeah
Everybody loves my baby
Everybody loves my baby
She get
She get
She get
She get high
I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chain us
Eyes that lie
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through, oww
Oh, yeah
Made the scene
Week to week
Day to day
Hour to hour
The gate is straight
Deep and wide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
This is a band I discovered off of the compilation album Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era, 1976–1995. It was a follow-up to the Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968. That album consisted of early American psychedelic and garage rock singles.
Children of Nuggets was the second wave of garage bands that consisted of psychedelic, power pop, punk, alternative, and alt-country, and also included the Byrds-influenced Paisley Underground Scene that was going on at the time. It was a nice break from the disco and synth-driven bands that were all over the top 40 during the 80s.
The Rain Parade was part of the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the early 80s. The Paisley Underground scene contained bands such as The Bangles, Green on Red, and The Long Ryders. There was no shortage of good songs in the period. They just didn’t get the push from their record companies and they were out of step with other bands like Duran Duran.
This song peaked at #28 in the UK Indie Charts in 1985.
Their roots were in punk music but in this band…instead of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, they went for the Byrds jangly guitars. They also resemble early R.E.M. in this song.
David Roback was in this band. He is most famous for being a founding member of Mazzy Star. He was also in a band with Susanna Hoffs before she joined the Bangles.
You Are My Friend
You are my friend
So sad this had to end
Some broken things don’t mend
They lie where they fall
You say the knife
Is twisted in your back
You don’t remember that
It wasn’t in mind
But you’re my friend
And you know
Things are not the same
You can’t hide your lies
’cause this time
there’s nothing you can change
Friend
I’m sad it had to end
You can’t bring back the dead
They’ll burn you down
You’re much too smart
To waste your mind on me
And you know too late
Don’t be a fool
If you’re my friend
My friend
You are my friend
My friend
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