Tom Dowd – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Primal Scream – Rocks

I posted Rocks Off by the Stones a couple of weeks ago, and Clive (Thanks Clive!) said that song influenced this song by Primal Scream. I took a listen, and I absolutely love it. It sounds like the Faces to me…pardon the pun, but that primal seventies rock. I told Clive it has a throwback sound to it. This was a departure from what they usually did..

This sure isn’t Britpop, which was popular at the time. You can tell when they recorded this that it’s supposed to sound like it could’ve been on a jukebox in 1973, and that is a wonderful thing. When it came out, the song and album baffled some critics, but it connected with a wider audience. It was their biggest UK hit to date. It was on the album Give Out But Don’t Give Up.

They decided to record in Memphis at Ardent Studios, the same place Big Star cut their records, in a location with a southern atmosphere. The idea was to tap into the same groove and gospel feel that the Stones did briefly in Muscle Shoals. The sessions were not smooth. They brought in Tom Dowd to produce, a legend whose resume included Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Eric Clapton. Dowd was used to working with bands who could cut a track live, warts and all. Primal Scream didn’t work that way. It was a constant party in the studio, and Dowd had to work through that.

The album was not easy to finish. Some tracks were reworked in London, others remixed to strip out what the label saw as “too much American bar-band” in favor of something more radio-friendly. Critics were split; some thought it was a brave move, others called it a lazy “Stones cosplay.” But for all the mixed reviews, Rocks came out swinging as the lead single in early 1994, and it worked.

One critic compared the album to U2’s Rattle and Hum, not in sound, but because of their desire to discover American influences with this album. I like it when bands do something different than expected. That is how you grow, and they took a shot, and to me, they ended up with a winner. Jimmy Miller, former producer of the Stones’ golden age, mixed a version of this as well.

The album peaked at #2 in the UK, #22 on the US Heatseekers Albums, and #12 in New Zealand in 1994.

The single peaked at #7 in the UK, #47 in Canada, and #8 in New Zealand in 1994.

Rocks

Dealers keep dealing, thieves keep thievingWhores keep whoring, junkies keep scoringTrade is on the meat rack, strip joints full of hunchbacksBitches keep a bitching, clap just keeps itching

Ain’t no use in praying, that’s the way it’s staying, babyJohnny ain’t so crazy, he’s always got a line for the ladies(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Get your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtownGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtown

Creeps a-keep crawling, drunks a-keep fallingTeasers keep a-teasing, holy Joe’s a preacherCops keep busting, hustlers keep a hustlingDeath just keeps knocking, souls are up for auction

Ain’t no use in praying, that’s the way it’s staying, babyJohnny ain’t so crazy, he’s always got a line for a lady(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Get your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtownGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtown (yeah, yeah)

Ain’t no use in praying, that’s the way it’s staying, babyJohnny ain’t so crazy, he’s always got a line for the lady(Oh, yeah, yeah)

Get your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtownGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyShake ’em now, now, get ’em off downtown

Get your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honey

Get your rocks off, get your rocks off, honeyGet your rocks off, get your rocks off, honey

…

Wilson Pickett – Mustang Sally

Motown and Stax were vital to the 1960s and 70s. This is just my opinion… but Motown had more hits but Stax had an edge that was hard to beat. I always thought their music had more of a groove to it.

This is a song that our band never officially learned…it’s one of those songs where if you have played for a few years…you just know by instinct. We did this one from a request and also Midnight Hour we would play loud and intense.

The music is in groove mode, but Pickett’s explosive voice drives it home. Mustang Sally was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The studio had a unique sound plus some of the best musicians anywhere. It started to get the attention of Atlantic Records and they sent Pickett to record there. Later on, a guitar player known as Duane Allman would end up as a studio musician and talked Pickett into recording Hey Jude.

As soon as they finished this take… the tape flew off the reel and broke into pieces everywhere. Producer Tom Dowd cleared the room and told everyone to return in half an hour. Dowd pieced the tape back together and saved what became one of the coolest songs of the decade.

It was written by Mark Rice. In 1950, he moved with his family to Detroit, where he graduated from high school. After he served in the Army, he joined a group called The Falcons. He soon began singing with the Falcons, whose other members included Wilson Pickett, Joe Stubbs, and Eddie Floyd. But he would find real fame as a songwriter.

“Mustang Sally” began as “Mustang Mama,” which he was inspired to write by the newly introduced Ford Mustang sports car. It was Aretha Franklin, the pianist on Rice’s demo of the song, who persuaded him to rename it.

He recorded “Mustang Sally” as Sir Mack Rice in 1965, and it peaked at #15 on the Billboard R&B chart. Rice did a nice job but the song needed Wilson Pickett’s powerful voice.

Pickett’s version peaked at #23 on the Billboard 100, #6 on the R&B Charts, #28 in the UK, and #4 in Canada.

Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally, huh, huh, guess you better slow your Mustang down
Oh Lord, what I said now?
Mustang Sally, now baby, oh Lord, guess you better slow your Mustang down
Huh oh yeaah
You been running all over the town now
Oh! I guess I’ll have to put your flat feet on the ground
Huh, what I said now?

Listen
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride. Huh
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride

One of these early mornings, baby, you gonna be wiping your weeping eyes
Huh, what I said now?

Look it here.
I bought you a brand new mustang nineteen sixty five. Huh
Now you come around signifying a woman, you don’t wanna let me ride
Mustang Sally, now baby, oh Lord, guess you better slow that mustang down
Huh, oh Lord. Look here
You been running all over the town
Oh! I got to put your flat feet on the ground. Huh, What I said now?

Let me say it one more time ya’ll
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride
All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride

Aretha Franklin – Respect

Otis Redding (the writer of the song): “This girl has taken that song from me. Ain’t no longer my song. From now on, it belongs to her.”

Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin are my two top female singers of all time. When they are singing a song…there is no question about who it is.

Otis Redding wrote this and originally recorded it in 1965, with his version peaking at #35 on the Billboard 100 and #5 on the R&B Charts.

It was Aretha’s idea to cover this song. She came up with the arrangement, added the “sock it to me” lines, and played piano on the track. Her sister Carolyn, who sang backup on the album, also helped work up the song. It was different than Redding’s version. His version consisted of only verses. Aretha borrowed King Curtis’s sax solo from Sam and Dave’s When Something is Wrong With My Baby and used that for the bridge.

Franklin’s version is certainly the best-known version but the song was important in Otis’s career also. It helped establish Redding on mainstream radio. Otis also performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967…this was a defining performance for the singer, who died in a plane crash six months later.

Aretha recorded this in New York City with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. This was one of their first and most famous recordings. They went on to work with Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and The Staple Singers. It was produced by the legendary producer Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd.

Another fun fact…the “ree, ree, ree, ree…” refrain is a nod to Franklin’s nickname, Ree (as in A-Ree-tha). The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #10 in the UK in 1967.

Respect earned Franklin two Grammy Awards in 1968 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female. Franklin’s “Respect” was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002, the Library of Congress added Franklin’s version of the song to the National Recording Registry.

Tom Dowd: “I walked out into the studio and said, ‘What’s the next song?’ Aretha starts singing it to me, I said, ‘I know that song, I made it with Otis Redding like three years ago.’ The first time I recorded ‘Respect,’ was on the Otis Blue album, and she picked up on it. She and Carolyn were the ones who conceived of it coming from the woman’s point of view instead of the man’s point of view, and when it came to the middle, Carolyn said, ‘Take care, TCB.’ Aretha jumped on it and that was how we did ‘Respect.'”

Otis Redding: “That’s one of my favorite songs because it has a better groove than any of my records. It says something, too: ‘What you want, baby, you got it; what you need, baby, you got it; all I’m asking for is a little respect when I come home.’ The song lines are great. The band track is beautiful. It took me a whole day to write it and about twenty minutes to arrange it. We cut it once and that was it. Everybody wants respect, you know.”

Aretha Franklin: “Everyone wants to be respected.”

Respect

What you want (ho) baby I got it
What you need (ho) you know I got it
(Ho) all I’m asking (ho) is for a little respect
When you come home (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just little bit)
When you get home (just a little Bit) mister (just a little bit)

I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
I ain’t gonna do you wrong ’cause I don’t wanna
All I’m asking is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Baby (just a little bit)
When you get home (just a little bit) yeah (just a little bit)

I’m about to give you all my money
And all I’m asking in return honey
Is to give me my propers when you get home (just a, just a, just a, just a)
Yeah, baby when you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)

Ho your kisses (ho) sweeter than honey (ho) and guess what (ho) so is my money (ho)
All I want you to do for me is give it to me when you get home (re, re, re, re, re, respect)
Yeah baby whip it to me (just a little bit)
When you get home now (just a little bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care, T-C-B oh (Sock it to me)

A little respect oh yeah (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)
I get tired (just a little bit)
Keep on tryin’ (just a little bit)
You’re runnin’ out of fools (just a little bit)
And I ain’t lyin’ (just a little bit)
(Re, re, re, re) ‘spect
When you come home (re, re, re ,re)
Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit)
And find out I’m gone (just a little bit)
I got to have (just a little bit)