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IanWagner
The Rustic Bumfiddler
Posts: 47916
Registered: Aug 2007 |
 Posted June 16th, 2011 03:49 PM IP    
Same deal as last poll, the winner of each will proceed forth, this time to a semifinal.
This set is only 42 minutes, so no excuse not to listen and expand yr mind. And most other sets will probably be even shorter.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G961NNIK
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IanWagner
The Rustic Bumfiddler
Posts: 47916
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:07 PM IP
Really strong start with the intense, Who-quality intro to the noxious punk bubblegum snot of Yummy Yummy Yummy. Joey Levine is a cross between Freddy Cannon and Dee Dee Ramone. A real contender, and an important song in rock history.
Your Squaw Is On The Warpath is one of Loretta's best I'm-A-Badass tunes, with some of her best wordplay, and one of the most memorable central images and hooks. An even better one comes up on a later poll.
Your Mind And We Belong Together attempts to answer the question "Can a band that is already dead commit suicide?". Four and a half minutes of subversive folk-pop brilliance, topped by a searing cyanide-25 guitar solo from the great Johnny Echols.
Had to put on one of Gary Fuckett & The Union Crap's creepy bits of pederast-pop. Horrible, but memorable, like going in yr parent's bedroom and finding something you shouldn't in their dresser. It sucks, but it belongs on this poll, particularly after the Love cut.
And back to Loretta for another classic, You've Just Stepped Out. When a woman continually writes backtalkin' jive like this, I guess she doesn't actually have to leave her no-account husband. She got it all out on the guitar. Her voicing of "I can't hold your love by FORCE" is one of my favourite moments in country music.
I am helpless as soon as the building intro of You're All I Get By starts. Completely, utterly. I put my thoughts on this one into the Motown thread. Every fucking second of this is a highlight. But Marvin's "OHHHHHH!" orgasm after Tammi's "you're all I need!" and their come-together "YEAH!" right after that top it for me.
You'll Never Walk Alone was Elvis's "Easter Special" inspirational single for 1968, and as he was at a low commercial ebb before the TV special of later that year, this one sank nearl without a trace. But you know, if Elvis magically appeared before me to take a request, this just might be my choice. As intense and soulful as anything in the James Carr catalogue, and with a strange element of anger as well. Listen for the "k" sound at the end of the word "walk", every time he sings it. Strange thing, I think of this one as a performance that far transcends the single format. So, it will be shunted to second place here. But it is precious.
For Battle Of The Bands, The Turtles unearthed an old Byrds demo and made it a soaring, trippy pop masterwork, so hip that De La Soul sampled it nd brought unlicensed sampling to an end. Listen for the subtle dose of synthesiser, Kaylan's amazing voice, and how the layers of vocals and strings disappear in and out of each other. Stunning. This one wasn't a single until the following year.
Perfect heaven-to-earth transition to The Lollipop Shoppe's brutal You Must Be A Witch, a classic from the Last Year Of The Garage. Heavier than anything in the grunge/alt 90's canon. Amphetamine heart-exploder music.
You Met Your Match was Stevie's least popular single this year, but quite possibly his best. A furious bit of cynical proto-funk/rock, Stevie's outrageous cool and the Jamerson 8th-wonder-of-the-world bass vie for attention here, and hit the finish line tape simultaneously. Listen for Stevie's percussive vocal finale, where the words simply become sounds, syllables, music.
Wasn't overly familiar with Zoot's smokin' Easybeats-style You Better Get Going Now, but it is storming, and another contender. Interesting that Australia of 1986 and 1968 were in a similar musical place, in terms of sound and vitality.
You AIn't Goin' Nowhere was the real single off of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo. Though I am on record as finding Sweetheart as singularly overpraised, arguing with this one is foolhardy. It is the full achievement of the entire Byrds-country experiment. Love the three-dimensional vocal arrangement on the chorus, where Gram Parsons is right in the foreground, sounding like no one else but himself. Great feat of production for Gary Usher. Still not as good as the original Basement Tape.
Yesterday's Dreams isn't one of the Tops' ultimates, but is still a pretty great, striking bit of work, a very sad, melodic song, performance and production. The gospel-piano feel is unusual for Motown. This one seems to be a big melodic influence upon The Blue Notes' If You Don't Know Me By Now. This one is a sleeper, gets better as it goes along, and in the mind after it ends.
Sticking with Motown Sound, we have The Miracles' Yester Love. Again, not one of the group's worldbeaters, but the formula is still a knockout. Listen to the dynamism of both the instrumental and vocal sides of the arrangement, the punchy playing of guitarist Marv Tarplin, how Smokey uses wife Claudette's voice as a velvet curtain across the back of the soundstage, and how Smokey's melodic sense never failed him in this era.
Even on a hokey lyrical hookline such as this, he comes up aces.
Then there's Words. This is the first cut here that suffers a bit due to overexposure. Still, there's a lot to love here. The declamatory sound of the piano, the subliminal guitar jangle, how much Barry Gibb believed in what he sang, down to every last bit of vibrato trail. Somehow, they transcend Engeldinck Humperbert mom-pop blandness and come closer to Scott Walker and Dusty Springfield.
This one is You're All I Need To Get By for me. Couldn't be anything else, really. Pure subjectivity on my part, although I think it could be backed up with objective analysis.
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Justin
Charles Nelson Reilly's SHORTS!
Posts: 842
Registered: Apr 2011 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:13 PM IP
'Yummy yummy yummy' is an important song in rock history? If that's the case, does that also make 'Sweet Pea', and 'Sugar Sugar' important songs, also?
Our Band could be Your Life.
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:33 PM IP
Quote:
Justin wrote:
'Yummy yummy yummy' is an important song in rock history? If that's the case, does that also make 'Sweet Pea', and 'Sugar Sugar' important songs, also?
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It sure fucking does! Especially the latter. I'd fight in a back alley to prove the dominance of "Sugar Sugar" over just about everything released that year by "real" "important" "acts."
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:41 PM IP
Here's the shiv I'm bringing with me to the fight.
I am SO voting for "You Met Your Match." I love the Marvin/Tammy song, but man oh man, "You Met Your Match" is SCORCHING. That is some serious god-damn soul music, and those backing vocals push it way over the damn top. ESSENTIAL, perfect, brilliant.
I love "Your Mind And We," too. A wicked, weird little bastard of a number. And God knows I adore "Words" -- the Gees of this era were unbeatable, all drama, all "happy ending." Weirdly, I think I've aged past "You Ain't Going Nowhere." My love for Sweetheart has faded over the years. There's plenty of Byrds I still love, and I think it's a great record, I just find it a little polite next to "Sin City" or something as batshit as "Notorious Byrds Brothers," the TRUE synthesis of pop and country.
Oh yeah, and I absolutely love "Yummy Yummy Yummy" with all my heart.
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:42 PM IP
Wait, Marvin/Tammy got four votes out of the starting gate with no comments next to 'em? Who voted for 'em? I mean, deserves it and all, but it won before we even started!
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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halleluwah
Total Rock Cumshot
Posts: 7300
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:54 PM IP
Quote:
Jon wrote:
Wait, Marvin/Tammy got four votes out of the starting gate with no comments next to 'em? Who voted for 'em? I mean, deserves it and all, but it won before we even started!
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Whoops! I thought it was In Your Eyes when I voted! Dammit!
Seriously, I can see myself voting for the Marvin/Tammi, but I'm holding off until later. I want to see how all these songs sound next to each other. Plus, I don't believe I've heard the Zoot track and one of the Lorettas yet.
I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 04:55 PM IP
The Zoot track is cool!
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:15 PM IP
Yeah at one point, it read "Posted 35 minutes ago" with 4 votes for Marvin/ Tammi securely in place. And the runtime is 42 minutes.
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:25 PM IP
Quote:
The song is sung from the point of view a man distressed to find out his lover is under an acceptable age. |
Seems like the perfectly logical thing to do, write a song complaining about how you like sex with underage girls.
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:29 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
Seems like the perfectly logical thing to do, write a song complaining about how you like sex with underage girls.
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Well, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band did that too, and far creepier and better! If the singer is, like, 22 or something, I can understand the sentiment (I believe I dated a 16 year old when I was 21) but if the guy's like 35 -- and he SOUNDS 35 -- it's just creepy.
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:31 PM IP
Well, to be fair, Puckett was 26 in 1968.
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Jon
The Bubblegum Supremacist
Posts: 9213
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:36 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
Well, to be fair, Puckett was 26 in 1968.
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That's pushin' it. Hugely. He needs to leave the underage chicks alone, yo. Someone should have written a follow-up song called "Leave The Underage Chicks Alone, Gary."
I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
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halleluwah
Total Rock Cumshot
Posts: 7300
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:45 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
Well, to be fair, Puckett was 26 in 1968.
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Thing is, that's what ALL his hit singles appeared to be about, though. And Young Girl isn't even the creepiest one. You ever heard This Girl Is a Woman Now? I know that musical artists often kind of have a pet subject matter that they explore on multiple occasions, but shit...how would you like to be known as that guy who always sings the pop songs about romancing underage girls? And bizarrely, he wore a Civil War uniform while doing it. How a phenomenon like Gary Puckett was allowed to happen in our society is a puzzle I'll never really figure out.
That said, if the songs themselves were any good, we'd all be looking past the subject matter and calling it 'provocative.' Because, you know, think about Serge Gainsbourg. But Young Girl pretty well blows, and Puckett's vocal delivery sounds like a dry run for that oversinging fat Canadian loungefly David Clayton-Thomas. So he's an incredibly easy target, but one I'm happy to keep aiming at.
I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
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Matinee Idyll (129)
Camp Counsellor
Posts: 8218
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 05:47 PM IP
Erm, 'You Showed Me' is here! I have been known to spend hours on end with that track on repeat. The organ fades in, and it closes with the echoey "showed me how to doooooo... showed me how to doooooo..." and the sighs and shimmery strings and amazing ass-kicking wonderment. All you can do is play it again! That song really demonstrates quite aptly the sound of the inside of my head.
Everything I know here is great, can't wait to hear the ones I don't know! Thanks Ian!
And what the fuck man, you went to the trouble of seeking out 'You Better Get Going Now' - you sir, are fucking lovely! :) What a charmer.
"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
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the captain
Tiger Beat Centerfold
Posts: 2234
Registered: Sep 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 06:05 PM IP
Shit, I'm going to miss this poll. I'm going on vacation and won't be back for about a week. Dammit.
yes.
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Matinee Idyll (129)
Camp Counsellor
Posts: 8218
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 06:08 PM IP
This poll alone (Z-W) is an embarrassment of riches. Sweet heck!
"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 06:10 PM IP
Damn "You Must Be A Witch" is a right scorcher... and the solo on that Love song: HOLY FUCK.
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 06:31 PM IP
As much as I'd love to go against the apparent grain here, I simply have to award my vote to "You're All I Need." All of the Motown stuff here sounds completely fresh and buoyant, where the rock stuff... you can just sense the creeping serious *importance* that becomes a mainstay of Rock with a Capitol R in the encroaching decade.
(Edited by Beckner)
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IanWagner
The Rustic Bumfiddler
Posts: 47916
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:08 PM IP
Great stuff right outta the gate! Thanks for listening and voting, Dave, Jon, and all ya'll.
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halleluwah
Total Rock Cumshot
Posts: 7300
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:53 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
and the solo on that Love song: HOLY FUCK.
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Have you heard the tracking session for that song on the Forever Changes CD, Dave? That's one of my favorite session highlight tracks I've heard. You can really hear Arthur Lee kind of goading that solo out of Echols. "Man, I don't get you. You were playing in the same register the entire time!" Then at the end, after the final take finishes: "hey, that solo was really out of sight!" It's interesting hearing Echols struggling to get the feel on that solo that Lee was looking for, and to finally nail it.
I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:55 PM IP
ADMISSION: I never got into Love.
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IanWagner
The Rustic Bumfiddler
Posts: 47916
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:57 PM IP
"I give you two minutes to play and you stay in ONE FRAME OF THE GUITAR! You gotta BLOW, man! Course, you were the one who said you could play in the studio. No one to bug ya!"
Yes, I love that tracking tape as well.
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IanWagner
The Rustic Bumfiddler
Posts: 47916
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 07:59 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
ADMISSION: I never got into Love.
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That is cause ya probably went for Forever Changes before the first one. Grab the first one. You'll love the shit out of it.
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 08:01 PM IP
Quote:
IanWagner wrote:
That is cause ya probably went for Forever Changes before the first one. Grab the first one. You'll love the shit out of it.
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Jason Penick
Peanut Butter Conspiracist
Posts: 4501
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 08:49 PM IP
Quote:
Jon wrote:
That's pushin' it. Hugely. He needs to leave the underage chicks alone, yo. Someone should have written a follow-up song called "Leave The Underage Chicks Alone, Gary."
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Does anybody bother to listen to the lyrics? He's not doing it with her. He falls in love with her, then finds out she's under 18, then does the noble thing and tells her to "get out of (his) mind". It's not exactly "Hey Little Tomboy".
That said, voting for Love, just edging out the Lollipop Shoppe.
http://crystalsphere1.blogspot.com/
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Beckner
One Motherfucker
Posts: 19221
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 08:53 PM IP
Quote:
Jason Penick wrote:
Does anybody bother to listen to the lyrics? He's not doing it with her. He falls in love with her, then finds out she's under 18, then does the noble thing and tells her to "get out of (his) mind". It's not exactly "Hey Little Tomboy". |
Quote:
Beneath your perfume and make-up
You're just a baby in disguise
And though you know
That it is wrong to be
Alone with me
That come on look is in your eyes, Oh, |
Dude, at worst, it's perverted. At best, it's misogynist, indicting her in his personal obsession.
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Jason Penick
Peanut Butter Conspiracist
Posts: 4501
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 09:07 PM IP
Quote:
Beckner wrote:
Beneath your perfume and make-up
You're just a baby in disguise
And though you know
That it is wrong to be
Alone with me
That come on look is in your eyes, Oh,
Dude, at worst, it's perverted. At best, it's misogynist, indicting her in his personal obsession.
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You're a fan of KISS, right? How is this any worse than "Christine Sixteen" or 8 million other rock songs out there? Clearly the whole song is about her coming onto him, and him pushing her away which is neither misogynistic nor perverted.
http://crystalsphere1.blogspot.com/
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Matinee Idyll (129)
Camp Counsellor
Posts: 8218
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 11:31 PM IP
Has nobody mentioned how cool it is that we're starting at the end of the alphabet? No letter-bias here.
"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
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Matinee Idyll (129)
Camp Counsellor
Posts: 8218
Registered: Aug 2007 |
Posted June 16th, 2011 11:38 PM IP
Ohio Express, they were basically an early incarnation of 10CC, right? I certainly remember Graham Gouldman wrote one of their later hits, 'Sausalito'. Anywho, this totally fucking rocks. Really not far removed from the boogie rock of Status Quo or Canned Heat. Great feel, great vocals, great song.
Loretta Lynn is SUPOIB! Pure sass, love that gal. BIG rhythm section, backing vocals, pedal steel and the chugging electric guitars. Killer lead vocal from Loretta, really brings it.
Love, fantastic. Moves through a whole load of moods, subtle stylistic shifts but it's all unified by that chirping Fender guitar and Arthurs voice which has actually grown considerably on me (that was always my stumbling block). They really didn't need Hendrix to join them. Great toon.
Young Girl, funnily the first time I heard this was on a budget 50's compilation. It was the only 60's track (I blame quality control) and did sound even more bizarre alongside 1980's rerecordings of Yakety Yak and There Goes My Baby. That wierd chord/melody bit when he sings "You're much too... YOUNG GIRL" is pretty damn catcy, damnit.
More stunning Loretta, I've got a few of her albums from this period (including that extraordinary Greatest Hits) but not the Squaw one! Should fix this up real soon!
You're All I Need To Get By starts up exactly the same as Feel by Big Star. Amazing, imparts a real sense of anticipation.
Elvis - fuck me.
Turtles I've said enough about already.
Lollipop Shoppe is stunning, the garage couldn't contain these guys. I love how their name is so cute and innocent sounding, but they bring a hell of noise.
Holy shit is Stevie cool. Unbelievable. How many genres did this thing invent?
Zoot were unfairly dismissed as a wimpy bubblegum band by 'serious' music fans down here, but still put out some great singles, and this has one of the best fuzz guitar parts I've ever heard and is basically just a kickass pop tune.
Never heard any of the Gram Byrds before, this is indeed very nice. Should check them sometime.
Gorgeous Four Tops, reminds me of that beautiful Bobbie Gentry tune 'I Wouldn't Be Surprised' in its tone and atmosphere.
Not a favourite from Smokey, but even second-tier Miracles is better than most. Killer, slinky chorus.
Bee Gees, it's amazing but I like 'World' alot more. Was that this year too? Darn.
Loretta, Marvin and Tammi, Elvis, Stevie, Bee Gees, many real contenders but Turtles are too hypnotising, I MUST vote for them.
AND WHEN I TRIIIIIIED IT, I COULD SEE YOU FALLLLLLL, AND I DECIDED, IT'S NOT A TRIP AT ALL!!!
"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
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