Cults – Step Outside

I didn’t know what to think when I heard this song for the first time. It is very atmospheric to listen to but very catchy. I didn’t hear it on the radio, I saw the video and that is what made me uncomfortable at first. I read about the making of it and they got the blessing of the survivors. I guess I better describe the video…they feature Jim Jones and the People’s Temple. They intercut themselves into the footage…and yeah it looked real. 

They first showed the People’s Temple when they were in California and then when they landed in Guyana. They showed most everything up to the night before the mass murder/suicide where over 900 people died. The survivors were happy with this video because it showed some of the good times they had there. The band did screen it for them before they released it…after that, I was ok with it but some would think differently. There are not many humans I hate but Jim Jones is one of them. He was an avowed atheist using people’s vulnerabilities to build a “perfect” socialist/communist town in Guyana and worked them day and night.

The sad part is the people were happy at first in Guyana but Jones refused to let them go if they wanted to leave. He collected their passports and would not give them back and had armed guards around the camp. The town they made had a post office, doctor’s office, school, and about everything they needed but a drug-fueled Jones pushed people to the brink and most were too worn down to resist. 

The Cults was originally a duo comprising Madeline Follin on vocals and Brian Oblivion (multi-instrumentalist and producer). The two met while studying at film school in New York City. They released an EP called Cults 7″ and this song went viral and put them on the map. Since then they have released 6 albums including To The Ghosts released last year. Some of their songs have a sixties-girl group vibe along with that atmospheric sound on top. 

They didn’t release this song but the video was hit a lot. I found it while reading a Jonestown book and searching for more information. 

They evidently made two videos for the song. The Jonestown video is on the bottom. 

Go Outside

But to me, death is not-Death is not a fearful thing, it’s living that’s treacherous

Do not be afraid to dieIf these people land out hereThey’ll torture some of our children here, they’ll torture our peopleThey’ll torture our seniors, we cannot allow this

I, I really want to go outI really want to go outside and stop to see your dayYou, you really want to hole upYou really want to stay inside and sleep the light awayI, I really want to go outI really want to go outside and bathe in light all dayYou, you really want to hole upYou really want to stay inside in the cave where you lay

Well, I know what’s goodExactly ’cause I have been there beforeYeah, I know what’s goldExactly those things night cannot behold

I, I really want to go outI really want to go outside and stop to see your dayYou, you really want to hole upYou really want to stay inside and sleep the light awayI, I think it’s good to go out‘Cause if you don’t you’ll never make a memory that will stayI, I think that we should break upI think I want to live my life, and you’re just in my way

…

X – The World’s a Mess: It’s in My Kiss

I didn’t really start listening to this band until last year. A few years ago, CB mentioned the song Fourth of July and I loved that song with Dave Alvin. I didn’t listen further until last year. This song is from their 1980 debut album Los Angeles. This song has a cool punk feel, plus a vintage cool guitar riff. The song was written by Exene Cervenka and John Doe, the principal songwriters of X.

X was formed in Los Angeles in 1977 and comprised of founding members singer John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, drummer D.J. Bonebrake, and singer Exene Cervenka. With their first album in 1980, their album Los Angeles was critically praised and considered a great one of that period.

The band was founded by Doe (real name John Nommensen Duchac) and Zoom. Soon, Doe would bring his girlfriend Exene Cervenka to band practice; she was a poet, and the band liked her work so she joined permanently. When trying to think of a name…Doe looked around the band members and focused on Exene Cervenka. Her unusual first name was shortened to X…Exene to X…

After Manzarek saw them live…he really connected to the lyrics. He was instantly struck by the lyrics to X’s song Johny Hit And Run Paulene: ‘He got a sterilized hypo, to shoot a sex machine drug/He got 24 hours, to shoot Paulene between the legs.’ Manzarek thought to himself…those are not lyrics…those are poetry.

Exene Cervenka:  It was the first song I wrote where I’d had the ambition to combine a lot of different things. I was writing about the bigger picture – “the world’s a mess,” which is about as big as you can get – and combined it with something more personal – “it’s in my kiss,” which was also a nod to “The Shoop Shoop Song” and the history of rock and roll. There’s a baseball reference in there too, and I feel like the line I wrote “Dirty night dying like a lovely wife” foreshadowed the death of my sister, which is weird. So, yeah, it is kind of a surrealist song, but I chose it because I feel like it was the first time I had a real, kind of developed sense of songwriting, with lyrics that were sort of combining aspects of all the writing I’d been doing since I was young.

Ray Manzarek produced this and also their following three albums. Exene has picked this song in her top 3 of all the songs she did. 

The World’s A Mess; It’s In My Kiss

No one is unitedAnd all things are untiedPerhaps we’re boiling over insideThey’ve been telling liesWho’s been telling lies?There are no angelsThere are devils in many waysTake it like a man

The world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kiss

You can’t take it backPull it out of the firePull it out in the bottom of the ninthPull it out in chords of red diseaseDrag on the systemDrag on my head and bodySome facts here (some facts here!)Which refuse to escapeI could say it strongerBut it’s too much troubleI was wandering down at the bricksHectic, isn’t it?Down we go, cradle and all

No one is unitedAnd all things are untiedPerhaps we’re boiling over insideThey’ve been telling liesWho’s been telling lies?There are no angelsThere are devils in many waysTake it like a man

The world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kiss(Go to hell, see if you like it, then come home with me!)The world’s a mess it’s in my kiss(Tomorrow night may be too late)(Both moons are full like a lovely wife)The world’s a mess it’s in my kiss(Dirty night dying like a lovely wife)(Goodbye, my darling!)The world’s a mess it’s in my kiss(How high the moon? Well, I wish I was.)(The world is fine, goodbye, my darling!)The world’s a mess it’s in my kiss(Both moons are full like a lovely wife)(Dirty night dying like a lovely wife)(Goodbye, my darling!)The world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kiss

The world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kissThe world’s a mess it’s in my kiss

…

Willie Nelson – Whiskey River

After watching that Maria Muldaur video last week with Leon and Willie included…I wanted to listen to some of Nelson’s songs this past week. This one I remember as a kid. This song was on the album Shotgun Willie. It was a turning point for Willie Nelson…he left Nashville’s mainstream country for the Country Outlaw scene. 

I remember Outlaw Country back when I was a kid. Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson are who I remember the most. It was a no-frills version of country music. This was not as polished as what you heard on country radio. It had an authentic and raw sound that people were happy to hear. 

I always thought they brought the Rock image element and feel into country music with these artists. Many of them would have songs that crossed over to the pop charts like Waylon, Willie, and Kristofferson. 

Willie is an American icon, reaching people like Johnny Cash did in country music and beyond. He crosses genres quite well with his music and laid-back image. I also love his guitar Trigger. That guitar is an N-20 Martin. He bought the guitar in 1969 when someone stepped on his Baldwin Guitar. He had the pickups on the Baldwin moved to the Martin. Willie came to love the guitar, he said: “One of the secrets to my sound is almost beyond explanation. My battered old Martin guitar, Trigger, has the greatest tone I’ve ever heard from a guitar. … If I picked up the finest guitar made this year and tried to play my solos exactly the way you heard them on the radio or even at last night’s show, I’d always be a copy of myself and we’d all end up bored. But if I play an instrument that is now a part of me, and do it according to the way that feels right for me … I’ll always be an original”

Shotgun Willie marked a huge departure from Nelson’s previous work. Out came the Willie Nelson that we now know. His look and music changed. 

The song was originally written by Johnny Bush and Paul Stroud in 1972. Willie’s version would always be the definite version of the song. If you listen to Bush’s version compared to Willies…you will quickly see the difference between mainstream country and Outlaw country. This song did well for Nelson…it peaked at #12 on the Billboard Country Charts and #3 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts. Bush was happy about Willie covering it…they were friends and Willie took the song to a huge audience. Outlaw country artists sought more creative control over their music, production, and image… breaking away from the Nashville establishment.

The late Toby Keith with “I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again” and yes it was a true story. 

Whiskey River

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

I’m drowning in a whiskey riverBathing my mem’ried mind in the wetness of its soulFeeling the amber current flowin’ from my mindAnd warm an empty heart you left so cold

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

I’m drowning in a whiskey riverBathing my mem’ried mind in the wetness of its soulFeeling the amber current flowin’ from my mindAnd warm an empty heart you left so cold

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

Elvis Presley – Blue Moon Of Kentucky

How I love this song. I’ve heard it so many times and now I think of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles when Martin and Candy are singing it in a burntout car they were driving. 

Elvis Presley recorded this song as the B-side to That’s All Right in 1954, marking his debut single with Sun Records. It was recorded during his second session with the label on July 6, 1954. Elvis, guitarist Scotty Moore, and bassist Bill Black reimagined the song in a faster, upbeat, rockabilly style. This transformation gave the song a fresh, raw feel that differed greatly from its bluegrass origins.

Presley’s recording became the best-known version of the song and is an early example of what was to become known as Rockabilly, a combination of Blues and Country together with an uptempo beat. The single was very popular locally, helping to build Elvis’s reputation in the Memphis area and laying the groundwork for his later success. DJ’s have said they would play the single multiple times over and over again when it was released. 

Bill Monroe wrote this song in 1946 and recorded the first version playing mandolin backed by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. After the Presley version was released, Monroe recut the song and added both styles to it.

Elvis Presley got an invite to the Grand Ole Opry soon after this, and he was fearful of Monroe’s reaction to his version of the song. He sought out the older Opry star backstage and apologized to him for taking such liberties. Monroe reacted with generosity. Monroe later admitted Presley’s version of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” gave him very big songwriter royalty checks. This song is very important in history… celebrated as a groundbreaking moment where country music met rock and roll with a resounding success. 

The state of Kentucky made this their official bluegrass song. Now let’s listen to the song and listen to the flip side performed by Elvis fan Paul. 

Paul McCartney recorded the Arthur Crudup blues classic, That’s All Right, Mama, with Elvis Presley’s original band members, Scotty Moore (guitar) and DJ Fontana (drums). 

Blue Moon of Kentucky

Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
keep shining bright.
Blue moon, keep on shining bright,
You’re gonna bring me back my baby tonight,
Blue moon, keep shining bright.

I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining,
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.
I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining,
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, it was on one moonlight night,
Stars shining bright,
Wish blown high
Love said good-bye.

Blue moon of Kentucky
Keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, I said blue moon of Kentucky
Just keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue. 
I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Well, it was on one moonlight night,
Stars shining bright,
Wish blown high
Love said good-bye.

Blue moon of Kentucky
Keep on shining.
Shine on the one that’s gone and left me blue.

Terry Reid – Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

A blogger named Warren brought up this song and I want to thank him. This is a great song by a great singer/songwriter who turned down Jimmy Page to join Led Zeppelin. He is the one who recommended Robert Plant to Page. Some people may know this song from Cheap Trick as they covered it on their debut album in 1977. 

This was his self-titled second album released in 1969. I can see why Page wanted him…his voice was fantastic. His nickname was Superlungs for a good reason. He wasn’t a bad songwriter either…the artists that has covered his songs are many.  The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, Arrival, Marianne Faithfull, Cheap Trick, Jack White with The Raconteurs, Joe Perry, Rumer and Chris Cornell.

In around 1967 or 68 Jimmy Page was ending the Yardbirds or continuing a new version of them. He was looking for a singer and Terry Reid fit what he wanted. Reid told Page that he was already committed to two tours with The Stones and one with Cream at the time. He did tell Page that if he paid him the lost money and talked with the Stones to get him out of it he would join. It didn’t happen but Reid also told him of a lead singer he knew named Robert Plant from the Band of Joy that might fit what he was after. Oh, it most definitely did. 

Reid had a busy solo career as a songwriter and performer. He has some songs in movies and many artists as I’ve listed above have covered him. He also works with younger bands now and sometimes as a guest vocalist. Robert Plant called him the outstanding voice of his generation. 

He has released 7 studio albums, the last being in 2016. After hearing his voice and his songs…I am surprised he didn’t hit more. In the later half of the 20th Century he worked with the Eagles drummer, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Marianne Faithfull, Joe Walsh, and many others.

Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Piece

Yesterday feels like running awayFeels like givin’ the childGettin’ lost losin’ my mindI’m feelin’ low and I got no place to goGettin’ all tied upFeelin’ all tied up yeah yeah

Oh yesterday feels like running awayAnd I know, I’m givin’ up my timeTo still love still loveLove’s got me blind

My mind sees the things I don’t knowAnd I got no place to goGettin’ all tied upFeelin’ all tied up

Things I need to tell you loveYou’ll be true I knowThere’s still a chance for a better lifeYes, I know

…

Damned – Alone Again Or

I never knew much about The Damned but this song sounds great. I’ve read about this band a lot and the history around them but never really listened to them as much. I was expecting pure punk but this is quite different. This was left over from my Stiff Records week because this song they did not perform on Stiff Records…it was on MCA. 

The song is a cover of a song written by Bryan MacLean, originally performed by the band Love on their 1967 album Forever Changes. The Damned’s version was released as a single in 1987 and featured on their album Anything. The Damned was formed when guitarist Brian James teamed up with drummer Rat Scabies. They were soon joined by vocalist Dave Vanian (a former gravedigger) and bassist Captain Sensible.

On the 6th of July 1976, The Damned made their live debut, when they supported the Sex Pistols at 100 Club. This was the start of a rivalry between the two bands. They were the first UK punk band to release a single called New Rose. It was 5 weeks before the Sex Pistols released Anarchy In The UK. They were also the first UK punk band to release an album… Damned Damned Damned in 1977 on Stiff Records.

After the release of their second album, Music for Pleasure in 1977, tensions in the band led to their initial breakup. They re-formed in 1978 with a new lineup and released Machine Gun Etiquette in 1979. They started to change with that album with more styles thrown in the mix with garage rock and better melodies. In the early 1980s, they went more to a goth darker version and then in 1986 a more polished and mainstream sound. 

The Damned have released 12 studio albums, 5 EPs, and 22 live albums along with 48 singles…with 10 of those in the top 40.  The band is still touring and they still have original members Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, and Rat Scabies. They last released an album called Darkadelic in 2023. 

Alone Again Or

Yeah, I said it’s alrightI won’t forgetAll the times I waited patiently for youAs you do just what you choose to doAnd I will be alone again tonight my dear

Yeah, I heard a funny thingSomebody said to meThat you could be in love with almost everyoneYou think people are the greatest funAnd I will be alone again tonight for you

Hey, I said its alrightYou know I won’t forgetAll the times I waited patiently for youNow you do just whatYou choose to doAnd I will be alone again tonight its true

Rocky and Rudy

While I was in Atlanta I was having lunch with one of our corporate lawyers named Bill. He suddenly blurted out if anyone at the table wanted a Bearded Dragon as a pet. I thought I had some friends who might want one so I texted a few and all I got was a maybe. His son was getting tired of it so Bill wanted to find a home where he would get more attention.

Sorry for the red light but he was under his red light when I took this. 

Later on, we met him at an exit and he gave me the dragon named Rocky with the aquarium, lights, heat lamp, and everything else you would need. We were in a cargo van so Rocky had a long bumpy ride the next day to his new home. I told the wife when we pulled up to unload…”I have a guy without a home…he needs to have somewhere to stay so I told him he could stay with us. ” She said…”you mean he is in the van????” I opened the door…a complete shock is the best way to describe it. Now Rocky has a permanent home with us. Forget the friends I thought would want him…he is the least needy soul of the entire household. Now we are starting to interact with Rocky more. He will climb on you and sit there on your shirt and chill out. 

A lady I work with lets me babysit her prairie dog (Thea) every few weeks and we have grown quite fond of her. Lori came into my office on July 9, saying she had the prairie dog (Thea) with her. I picked her up and I stopped…she was much heavier and I remarked on how much she was feeding him. She smiled and said no…that is not Thea…it’s his brother. She wanted company for Thea but all they did was fight so she asked if I wanted him. Well yes, I did! She didn’t have a name but Rudy sounded good so we went with that.

One thing I’ll say about prairie dogs is that they’re incredibly unique pets. Rudy, for example, feels almost like having a small human in the house. They’re the most curious animals I’ve ever been around. Rudy is still a work in progress. He’s come a long way, though! At first, he was quite moody, though he still loved attention. Over time, he’s been improving, but I’d say to anyone considering a prairie dog—they require a lot of attention. Rudy craves interaction, so we plan to get him another prairie dog for company in the future.

They’re pretty easy to feed, too. You can find most of their food at the grocery store: oats, Cheerios, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, and other things they love. The main staple we get for Rudy is Timothy Hay, which we buy from the Tractor Supply store.

I take Rocky to an upstairs bathroom we don’t use and he runs amuck and there is nothing in there to chew that would be dangerous. He lives in a 4-story enclosed cage around 5 feet tall. I plan to make a 10×10 wooden box and fill it full of dirt so he can have a place to dig in the spring and he can be outside some.

 I usually get a “yahoo” from him when I come home. He seems comfortable now, and even our dog Martha tolerates him but will tell on him if he gets loose. It’s funny: When a neighbor’s dog came into our house when we opened the door, Martha went to Rudy’s enclosure to guard him.

I will get Thea from Lori sometimes to take home. It’s like having two monkeys running amuck. Thea and Rudy will fight at times but it’s over in 2-3 seconds. They will whip their claws out like they are Ninjas. Prairie Dogs in the wild have a life expectancy of 4-5 years…captive they live 8-10 years. I can see why…they are afraid of nothing. He will stand on his feet and grab Martha’s nose when she bends down to look at him. 

This will end our private zoo, which includes two turtles, a Bearded Dragon, a Prairie Dog, and a Saint Bernard. That is enough; the doors are shut tight now. Rocky gives us the least trouble of them all.

Bread – Down On My Knees

Bread was known as a light pop band in the 1970s. When I heard this I realized they stuck their toe in the power pop water. It sounded familiar when I heard it a few years ago. I then remembered…it was on their 1973 greatest hits album that my sister had.

Band members David Gates and James Griffin wrote this song at the Royal Lancaster Hotel during their first trip to London. Griffin wrote a lot of songs for Bread but the record company always seemed to pick David Gates songs for singles. This song was the B-Side to the song Diary.

The song was off their Baby I’m-A Want You album released in 1972. It was their fourth LP, which proved to be the highest-charting studio album of the band’s career and provided them with four top-40 hits. The hits were “Mother Freedom” – #37 “Baby I’m-a Want You” – #3 “Everything I Own” – #5 “Diary” – #15. That was quite impressive in the 70s when record companies usually didn’t release a lot of singles from an album.  In the 1980s it became commonplace to squeeze as many singles as possible. Bread though…was more of a singles band to begin with.

It was their first album without founding member Robb Royer… Although his departure was due to increasing tensions between him and Gates, Royer continued to write songs with Jimmy Griffin, who remained in the band, hence Royer’s name still turning up in the credits as the co-composer of Dream Lady and Games of Magic. They replaced Royer with studio keyboardist  Larry Knechtel who was a member of the Wrecking Crew.

James Griffin: “The lyric doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me – I think we were each writing about different things. But the song got a lot of airplay, and people seemed to like it.”

Down On My Knees

I’ve told you before
Don’t you hear what I say?
I won’t take it no more
no more making me stay

Down on my knees
You know I’m down on my knees, yeah
Yes I’ve been down on my knees, but I’m through begging please
I wont get back on my knees, yeah

Nobody knows what your putting me through
Nobody knows if it’s worth it for you
Nobody sees you got me down on my knees, yeah
Well I’ve been down on my knees, well I’m through begging please
don’t put my back on my knees, yeah

You know that I always loved you
Never placed myself above you
Don’t let me go with my ways that I could
Don’t tell me no with my ways that you would

Down on my knees
You’ve brought me down on my knees, yeah
Well I’ve been down on my knees, but I’m through begging please
don’t put me back on my knees, yeah

You know how I always loved you
There’s no time that I have tried to place myself above you

Down on my knees
You know that I’m down on my knees, yeah
Well I’ve been down on my knees, but I’m through beggin’ please
don’t put me back on my knees, yeah
Ya I’ve been down on, but I’m through begging please
don’t put me back on my knees

Paul McCartney – Soily

He wrote this song in 1971 and with the Wings they played it live for years. It’s not a love ballad by Paul…it’s a rock song with the same intensity as Juinor’s Farm. In 1974 the Wings recorded an in-studio live version that they were going to release on the album One Hand Clapping. They also shot a video while they were there for a documentary.

The album was shall we say… delayed. It didn’t see the light of day until June 14, 2024…over 50 years after it was recorded. It was recorded right after Band On The Run was released. I like hearing Paul reaching for a distorted guitar in his songs. I wish he would have done more through his career. Paul could write good rock songs such as Juinor’s Farm, Jet, Let Me Roll It, and a few more. 

The video portion didn’t get released until 2010 when it appeared in a box set for Band On The Run. The 4K version hit theaters in September of last year. This song didn’t get released to the public until Wings Over America. It was the B side to Maybe I’m Amazed…both versions of course live. The film was going to be Paul’s way of introducing a new Wings.

Guitar player Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell had left Wings right before the recording of the Band on the Run album.  New members…guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton took their spots. They would use this song as an opener through the years and an encore at some shows. It’s a song that is meant to be played live and was never featured on a studio album. 

The One Hand Clapping Album peaked at #10 on the UK Charts and #74 on the Billboard 100 in 2024. 

Jimmy McCulloch was probably the most talented guitar player Paul ever had in Wings. He famously made it when he was 16 with Thunderclap Newman. However, he had a lot of problems. He was somewhat depressed and when he wasn’t he was drinking heavily there were many arguments between the two men and he often would target Linda for her lack of musical talent. It really came to a head around the time of London Town when Jimmy quit.

Paul McCartney:  “Looking back on it [the Wings era], it’s a lot better than I thought, though some of it is just not played as well as The Beatles. My son plays a lot of Wings, so I’m re-listening, and there’s good shit that I’d forgotten about. A lot of the lyrics were off the wall, drug stimulated. Things like ‘Soily – the cat in the satin trousers says its oily’. What was I on? I think the answer is stimulants.”

Soily

One, two
One, two, three, four!

Well, people gathered here tonight
I want you to listen to me
To your left and to your right
We’ve got some pretty soily company

Readers, writers, farmer, priest
Breed controller, born deceased
Indian, lawyer, doctor, dog
And a plumber with a fattened hog

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Yes, he did!

Well, come on, baby, that soily song
Soily people
Well, come on, baby that’s fine now
Yeah

Romans, Italians, country men
I want you to listen to me
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again
We’ve got some pretty soily company

Liars, cheaters, jungle chief
Saint, believer on relief
Action painter, Hitler’s son
And a commie with a tommy-gun

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
You know he’s right
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, yeah yeah

Well, come on, baby, that soily song
Soily people
Yeah, come on, baby, that’s going round
Yeah!

People gathered here tonight
I want you to listen to me
To your left and to your right
You’ve got some pretty soily company

Readers, writers, farmer, priest
Saint, believer on relief
Hitler’s painter, action son
And a commie with a tommy-gun

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Yeah, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Yeah, soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily, yeah
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
And you know he’s right
Ooh yeah!

…

Dr Feelgood – Milk and Alcohol

Oh, how I love some British Rock. I want to thank Clive for bringing this song to my attention. I first learned about Pub Rock a few years ago from CB and Dave. The Motors are the first band I knew about and then Brinsley Schwarz. The genre sounded like raw rock and roll with a lot of power and punch. I could relate after playing in many bars myself through the years. There is a feel to that music…a lot of loud guitar and sweat which I enjoy. 

I’ve been told that “pub rock” was not a compliment at the time. It started in the UK in the early 1970s.  It was the anti-progressive and glam rock at a time when they were popular. It’s more of roots-type music which is right up my alley. Not that I don’t like glam and progressive but I like the stripped-back approach. 

Dr Feelgood was formed in Caney Island, Essex, in 1971. Their members included Lee Brilleaux on vocals and harmonica, Wilko Johnson on guitar, John B. Sparks (Sparko) on bass, and John Martin on drums. They were one of the main bands in pub rock along with Brinsley Schwarz. They got their name from a Johnny Kidd and The Pirates song Dr. Feelgood. I’ve read different origins but that came from their official site. 

By 1973 they were getting popular on the pub circuit and released their debut album in 1975 called Down By The Jetty. They released Milk and Alcohol in 1979 and it was written by Nick Lowe and John Mayo. Doesn’t it seem there were like 5 Nick Lowes back then? The man was everywhere. The song was influenced by Lowe drinking  Kahlúa-milk drinks after a John Lee Hooker in the United States. It was inspired by a Hooker lyric about milk, cream, and alcohol. 

The song peaked at #9 on the UK charts in 1979. This was the only top 10 song of their career. It was on the 1978 album Private Practice which peaked at #41 on the UK Album Charts that year. A version of the band is still going on now with different members. 

Milk and Alcohol

White boy in townBig black, blue soundNight club, I paid inI got a stamp on my skin

Main attraction dead on his feetBlack man rhythm with a white boy beatThey got him on milk and alcoholThey got him on milk and alcohol

Stay put I wanna goHard work, bad showMore liquor, it don’t helpHe’s gonna die, it breaks my heart

I decided eventuallyThis ain’t doing a thing for meThey got him on milk and alcohol

They got him on milk and alcohol

They got him on milk and alcoholThey got him on milk and alcoholThey got him on milk and alcoholThey got him on milk and alcohol

Got up, I walked outTo the car, start it upFeel bad, sad nightI never saw a red light

Sirens were a screamin’ all aroundI pulled on over and I shut her downA black cop gave me a shove with his gunSaid up against the wall and don’t make a runThey got me on milk and alcoholThey got me on milk and alcohol

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Overlooked Pop/Rock Masterpieces

I hope I’m wording this right and what I’m trying to get across are songs that are not just regular pop/rock songs. Some of these have sections instead of 3 or 4 chords and it’s over with. Intricate songs to duplicate and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. I’ll give you an example…Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody or The Beach Boys Good Vibrations. Those are not songs you just run into a studio and record in one take. Many of these songs took days, weeks, or months to get right recording different sections. 

I usually like down-to-earth and rootsy kind of songs but sometimes I do like listening to these great songs. These are overlooked by the masses with people often connecting with a big hit by the band instead. I’ve picked 3 songs to present here. Being a musician…I can sure appreciate what it took to record these. 

Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) – The Raspberries

I posted a Raspberries song this weekend but this one remains my number 1 song even over Go All The Way because it’s so epic. 

Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) is an epic, ambitious, grand, lofty, extravagant, and brilliant song from the Raspberries. They were swinging for the fences when they made this song and they hit it out of the park. It’s on the album Starting Over released in 1974.

Put some headphones on and listen to this completely to the very end… When I hear it, I think this is what it would sound like if The Who, Beach Boys and Beatles made a song together…this would be it. Musically you have a little of everything. Sliding bass lines, tasteful guitar licks, great vocals, a sax solo that gives way to more lyrics as the song morphs into an AM radio sound… and then comes a solo piano.

Stay until the very end because they dupe you into a fake ending and the drums will come in as if the world is going to end. Then… a Beach Boys final huge crescendo wave will wash over you like a warm summer moonlit night. It’s a wall of sound of ecstasy that you wish would go on forever.

Bruce Springsteen: “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) should go down as one of the great mini-rock-opera masterpieces of all time”

 

Broken Arrow – Buffalo Springfield

The song Broken Arrow is a song that was made in sections and it’s hard to explain it with words… Something is haunting and beautiful about it. I listen to it now and it’s like Buffalo Springfield’s own A Day In The Life. It was produced in 1967 during the psychedelic era. One of my favorite songs of all time…any song with the lyric “He hung up his eyelids and ran down the hall” grabs my attention. Neil Young wrote this beautiful song. Gregg Allman cornered Neil backstage somewhere in the 2000s and pleaded with him to start playing this song again. He did when Buffalo Springfield reformed. 

Care Of Cell 44 – The Zombies

This is one of my favorite pop songs of the 1960s. The vocals are reminiscent of the Beach Boys. It’s a sunny and bright song musically about a guy writing to his girl…in prison. The song doesn’t express or explain why she is in prison just that he will be with her when her stay is over.

The song is arranged beautifully. with the vocal-only arrangements, You can hear Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney’s influence on this recording. Chris White’s (Zombies bass player) bass playing is phenomenal in this song.

It is on the album Odessey and Oracle, one of the best albums of the sixties. The hit song on the album is Time of the Season but it is full of great songs. It charted a year after it was released at #95 in the Billboard 200 album charts in 1969. The song/album would be on my desert island list.

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Head Cat – Fool’s Paradise… album review

I don’t do many album reviews, but this one, I had to write something. I spent this weekend totally locked in on this 2006 album, having it on my computer and phone. It’s a fun rockabilly album well done, and the song selection is terrific. I was going to review another artist, but I got stuck on this one, so I’ll post him next weekend. After the Motörhead post on Friday, CB brought up a rockabilly band that Lemmy was in. I was surprised, to say the least, because I didn’t remember this from the documentary but it’s been a while. I love what I heard. 

I don’t skip tracks because one is as good as the other. There is a bounciness to this album…if that is a word. I could have written a one-word review… FUN. 

Let’s get with the members of this band. On drums, you have Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats. This man pops up everywhere by the way. On Guitar and piano, you have a rockabilly guitarist named Danny B. Harvey. On bass you have Lemmy Kilmister taking a break from Motörhead to play some rockabilly. His voice fits this music well. 

The origins of The Head Cat trace back to a casual collaboration. Lemmy Kilmister, Slim Jim Phantom, and Danny B. Harvey teamed up in 1999 to record a tribute album to Elvis Presley, titled Swing Cats: A Special Tribute to Elvis. The band’s name? Can you guess? Combining Motörhead and The Stray Cats. They released 6 studio and live albums combined. 

They didn’t always pick the most popular rockabilly songs which I love. You have Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Jimmy Reed, and The Crickets songs on this album. Rather than covering Peggy Sue, they cover Peggy Sue Got Married instead which personally I like more. You have a Buddy Holly title cut Fool’s Paradise. You also have Crying, Waiting, Hoping, Not Fade Away, and one of my favorite Holly songs in Well…All Right. 

The reason this and other similar rockabilly albums work is because 1:  The musicians love this type of music and…that damn word again…FUN. 2: The songs are simple and that is not a put-down but they don’t have 12 chords and studio tricks. The songs sound good on backyard porches and would sound great in the Royal Albert Hall or Ryman Auditorium. I think music has moved too far away from this style. 3: When I said these songs were simple I was NOT implying they are easy to play right…on the contrary because you have no distortion box or tricks to hide behind. It takes pure musicians and a love for this music to play it right. These guys grew up with this music so they pour their heart into it. 

I’ll get off my soapbox now but how I wish I would have had this music growing up. I didn’t grow up in this era when the songs were real time but I see why all of the great artists I like… cling to this music. Everyone from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Stones, Springsteen, Dylan, and The Kinks spent their career trying to recapture the spirit in these wonderful songs. The Head Cat did a great job!

Here is the tracklist:

1 Fool’s Paradise
2 Tell Me How
3 You Got Me Dizzy
4 Not Fade Away
5 Cut Across Shorty
6 Lawdy Miss Clawdy
7 Take Your Time
8 Well…All Right
9 Trying To Get To You
10 Learning The Game
11 Peggy Sue Got Married
12 Crying, Waiting, Hoping
13 Love’s Made A Fool To You
14 Big River
15 Matchbox

If you want the complete album on YouTube…here is the link

Well…All Right

Well, alright, so I’m being foolish
Well, alright, let people know
About the dreams I know that you wish
In the night when lights are low

Well, alright, well, alright
We’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
Our lifetime love will be alright

Well, alright, so I’m going steady
It’s alright, let people say
That those foolish kids can’t be ready
For the love that comes their way

Well, alright, well, alright
We’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
Our lifetime love will be alright

Well, alright, well, alright
You know we’ll live and love with all our might
Well, alright, well, alright
You know our lifetime love will be alright

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Maryann Price – Sweetheart (Waitress in a Donut Shop)

If that title looks familiar, we covered Maria Muldaur yesterday with her album Waitress in a Donut Shop. This is where Muldaur got the name for it. She released it a year after this version by Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Dan didn’t sing this but Maryann Price did. Her voice is very unique when she gets going. She doesn’t sound like everyone else.

Because of Christian, Randy, and CB, I have been really connecting with the jazz songs they have posted in the past and talked about. This is why I still blog because I love expanding my musical range and tastes. I will have to admit…as much as I like Maria Muldaur’s version of it…this version swings a little more.

I knew nothing about her until in the past few weeks when CB told me about Dan Hicks and his band The Hot Licks. She can easily cross genres and do about anything from Jazz to Pop to Swing. She has worked in many bands from Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks, Asleep At The Wheel, The Kinks, and more. I like her because she is different and caught my attention. Let’s find out a little about her.

At the age of 17, she was singing commercial jingles in her hometown of Baltimore. She moved on to sing jazz in Las Vegas and then moved to San Francisco in 1969. She soon joined Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks and along with Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (“The Lickettes”) as singers. 

The Licketts
Naomi Ruth Eisenberg and Maryann Price

In 1973 the band broke up and when they did…Ray Davies pounced on that opportunity. Davies asked her to come to England and record with the band. She stayed with the Kink’s for a year, touring extensively and recording…she sang on the album Preservation Act 2. When that was finished she returned to America and formed the Girtones with former Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks guitarist John Girton. In 1980 she joined the Texas band Asleep At The Wheel. 
 She has since gone on to a successful solo career based in Austin, Texas, and also reunited with Naomi Ruth Eisenberg for a live album in 2004 called Live At The Freight + Salvage.

Now back to the song at hand. This was on the Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks album Last Train To Hicksville released in 1973. I’ve been listening to this album on Saturday and it’s a combination of all kinds of music with Dan and the Licketts singing. I hear swing, jazz, pop, and more. The musicianship on this album is top-notch. The song was written by the songwriter Ken Burgan. Maryann is still going strong in Austin Texas.

Sweetheart (Waitress in a Donut Shop)

Sweetheart, but it doesn’t beat for meIt beats softly in love but not for meSweet lips I know I’ll never kissYou’re what I’m afraid I must miss

I’m a waitress in the donut shopI see him on his morning stopHe talks of love but he’s thinking of his sweetheartShe gives him a rough time

He gives me his dime and then partsSoft sighs, soft and pretty moansIn dreams I can make you my own

I’m a waitress in the donut shopI see him on his morning stopHe talks of love but he’s talking about his sweetheartShe gives him a rough time

He gives me his dime and then partsSoft sighs, soft and pretty moansIn dreams I can make you my ownIn dreams I can make you my own

Raspberries – I Wanna Be With You

This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt is (drum roll please…) a forgotten band. I picked The Raspberries but also talked about Badfinger and Big Star. 

I still remember the first time I heard this song on AM radio. I must have been around 7 or 8, walking into my sister’s wood-paneled room. It was playing on WMAK, a station I’ll never forget. The disc jockey, Coyote McCloud, was a legend in Nashville back in the early seventies—everyone tuned in to hear him. It’s funny how clearly I can recall that moment like it was just yesterday.

I wasn’t lucky enough to be a teenager in the 1970s, but whenever I listen to The Raspberries, it feels like I’m transported back in time. I can picture myself in 1973, driving my first car with their greatest hits blasting, feeling the freedom and excitement of the era. The music has a way of making it real.

I’ve always considered the top three power pop bands to be Big Star, Badfinger, and The Raspberries. Together, they captured everything that makes power pop great… soaring vocals, great melodies, and that perfect balance of guitar crunch and jangle. What an incredible time for the genre, with all three bands active at the same moment in history. They may not have found the level of commercial success they deserved, but their influence on music has been huge. 

These bands didn’t just define power pop… they set the standard for what the genre could be. Badfinger and The Raspberries managed to crack the Top 20 a few times, but Big Star didn’t even get that far…which is nothing short of a crime. Bands like Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, KISS, REM, The Cars, and The Replacements owe them a lot. These three bands do pop up every once in a while. The Raspberries Go All The Way was in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Badfinger’s Baby Blue was in the last episode of Breaking Bad, and Big Star’s In The Street was the theme song to That Seventies Show. 

The Raspberries were more than just a band…they were a Cleveland supergroup, formed from the city’s best local acts. The lineup was indeed super… Eric Carmen as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Wally Bryson on lead guitar with his signature crunchy riffs, Jim Bonfanti on drums, and Dave Smalley on bass. Their sound was a seamless blend of their influences—The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, and The Beach Boys—woven together into power pop perfection.

The Raspberries did have 7 singles to chart and 4 top forty hits with I Wanna Be With You being one of them. This song peaked at #16 on the Billboard 100 and #17 in Canada in 1973.  It was the first single from their second LP, Fresh.[It became their second-greatest US hit. They broke up in 1975 after releasing their album Starting Over. Eric Carmen wrote this song. 

Their best-known song was Go All The Way which peaked at #5 in 1972. 

Alex Chilton (Big Star): “I remember when I first heard the Raspberries, Big Star was in a van traveling around doing some dates and we heard Go All the Way on the radio, and we said, ‘Wow, those guys are really doing it!’ I thought that was a great song.”

 

I Wanna Be With You

If we were older we wouldn’t have to be worried tonight
Baby oh I want to be with you so bad
Oh baby I want to be with you
Oh yeah?
Well tonight tonight we always knew it would feel so right
So come oh baby, I just want to be with you

Someday’s a long time and we’ve been waiting so long to be here
Baby oh I want to be with you so bad
Oh baby I want to be with you
Oh yeah?
Well tonight tonight we always knew it would feel so right
So come oh baby, I just want to be with you

Hold me tight our love could live forever after tonight
If you believe in what you’re doing is right
Close your eyes and be still

Baby, oh I want to be with you so bad
Oh baby I want to be with you
Oh yeah?
Well tonight tonight we always knew it would feel so right
So come oh baby, I just want to be with you

Oh I want to be with you so bad
Oh baby I want to be with you
Oh yeah?
Baby I want to be with you so bad

 

 

 

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Dave Alvin – Far Away

I pulled up Dave Alvin’s debut album Romeo’s Escape released in 1987 and heard this song among many of the others. This one I liked right away. He had some great musicians on here including Al Kooper on keyboards. This guy seems to be everywhere in every decade.

After CB recommended The Blasters I’ve followed him around and he pops up everywhere with different bands and performers. The man is a great guitar player needless to say, but his vocals and songwriting are almost equal to it. 

Dave Alvin launched his solo career with this record with a blend of roots rock, rockabilly, country, and blues influences. While his brother continued to handle lead vocals for The Blasters, Dave stepped into the spotlight, taking on all vocal duties for the first time. The album was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and Mark Linett.

This album is pure Americana which fits me perfectly. I started looking at his discography and he has played with so many artists. Artists like The Blasters, X, Los Lobos, Tom Waits, The Knitters, The Pleasure Barons, Gene Taylor, and The Third Man Blind…not even mention the albums he did with his brother. 

Although Dave Alvin never achieved massive commercial success, he has cultivated a following and is highly respected in the music world. In 2000, he earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album with Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land.

A few weeks ago I posted Justified the tv show. Here is Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones doing Harlan County Line from the show. 

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