'Wouldn't you just die without Mahler?' posed Maureen Lipman to Julie Walters in Educating Rita. She might, but I wouldn't. However these are my current platters that matter:
Jane/Jefferson Airplane. Post White Rabbit, pre-We Built This City, a nice slice of uber-Seventies pomp rock, before pomp rock was invented.
Come Sail Away/Styx. Still finding so many different elements to this number. The nice slow beginning, then it rocks out, then that bit that puts me in mind of being by a harbour, has a kind of marine quality, like The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot.
Years May Come, Years May Go/Herman's Hermits. At the end of their band life really, it's poignant. Very out of step with the time when you think about it, but you've gotta love them. I have had a different HH fave every six months for more than 20 years. This is currently 'it'.
Signs/Five Man Electrical Band. 'And the sign said: "long haired freaky people need not apply"/So I tucked my hair under my hat' etc. It's 1971 and Canadian youth is revolting. And so they should.
Holiday Time/Hildegarde Knef. This woman has the most fantastic voice. This song about changing times is pure '71. From the compilation album The In-Krauts, which I highly recommmend - who wouldn't want songs from the Fatherland from the late Sixties/early Seventies? - Knef is a modern-day Dietrich, with plenty of humour and some great Teutonic takes on English lyrics. Mrs Five-Centres thought it was a man singing. Slightly weird.
Shambayla/Three Dog Night. I lovely feelgood summer song, as recently featured in Lost. Why did they only have one hit over here?
Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)/Reunion. If I'd heard this when I was a teenager, I could have learned all the lyrics off by heart. But try doing it now. This is a list song, which I love. A novelty, which I also love.
All My Friends Are Back Again/Al Jones. Makes me want to cry. A folk song by a very underrated singer. Off my favourite compilation of all time, the mighty Gather in The Mushrooms.
Delta Lady/Joe Cocker. About Rita Coolidge apparently. Unintelligible lyrics save for 'Standing wet and naked in the garden'. Sexy!
The Great Dominions/Teardrop Explodes. When Julian Cope was semi-normal. Big production, possibly about childhood, lovely, grandiose.
6 comments:
"So I took off my hat and said 'imagine that, me workin' for you'"
The only version of that song I know is by a really bad American heavy rock band from the late 80s called Tesla. I thought they wrote it, everyday's a school day, ain't it?
I've never heard that version before. I love it when you find out something's not original - like the middle bit from Len's Steal My Sunshine coming from More More More by the Andrea True Connection. Who'da thunk it?
I heard More More More on the radio the other week and noticed the Len connection. It's the same as Strawberry Switchblade's Since Yesterday having the intro that's also featured in Beach Baby by First Class, which is, I believe, in turn, a bit of classical.
Anyway, here's a link to Tesla:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic90R6ZNaIM
List songs, eh? In The Year 2525 and We Didn't Start The Fire are the only songs that occur to me.
I'm currently enjoying Andrew Gold's 'best-of' album, especially as it's got a song on it called Urania, which sounds a teeny bit rude.
I'm now going to spend the rest of the day trying to remember other list songs. Does It's The End Of The World As We Know It count?
The In-Kraut sounds intriguing. A mate had a similar French compilation which was quite groovy (but I don't remember the name of it), which contained an ace cover of These Boots Are Made For Walking (Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher).
Probably counts Kitten. "Leonard Bernstein!"
Can't think of any others at the moment, though, except perhaps I'm In Love With the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk by The Freshies, which namechecks lots of record labels.
I recommend both volumes of the In Kraut.
Post a Comment