MoogDroog Michael Bolton's mullet Posts: 8501 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 05:30 PM IPChoosing between The Creation and Sharon Tandy on this one is almost impossible. Both incredibly cool records but i think I have to give it to the dead-eyed, ceaseless How Does It Feel."The other thing is that the quality of the mp3's I listen to varies especially as some of the music from the likes of Led Zeppelin is old, even with re-mastering still isnt up to the quality of the likes of Def Leppard."
MoogDroog Michael Bolton's mullet Posts: 8501 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 05:32 PM IPHey Jude has never been a song i've liked, really. I can't even get into the Pickett version til the last minute or so (and i've tried, loads).
The Shorty Long is amazing too. That's probably my favourite of the albums I discovered in Ian's Motown thread. It's a riot."The other thing is that the quality of the mp3's I listen to varies especially as some of the music from the likes of Led Zeppelin is old, even with re-mastering still isnt up to the quality of the likes of Def Leppard."
Quote: IanWagner wrote:
This poll has turned red...with purple flashes.
Ha! Nice one. What a fucking band."Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
halleluwah Total Rock Cumshot Posts: 7300 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 13th, 2011 03:54 PM IPHow Does It Feel To Feel - The Creation
Damn cool track. It pains me to learn that there’s a version out there missing the feedback, which sounds like such an integral part of that main riff that I can’t imagine hearing the song without it. This fucker snarls angrily at you, assaults you, and makes you beg for another. And talking about whip-crack snare drum sounds, you could do a lot worse than this track. The first time I played the intro, I wasn’t prepared for it, and every time I heard one of those snare hits, it made me involuntarily blink.
Home Cookin' - Junior Walker & The All-Stars
Love it. I’d kill to be able to play bass like that. For somebody not really known as much of a singer, I think Junior did great for himself. His delivery was always spirited and perfect for the material. His stuff is the perfect get-off-your-ass-and-dance music. And I dug his other track here even more.
Hole In My Pocket – The Rockets
It’s striking how much they already sound like Crazy Horse here, even though those guys only accounted for three band members out of six. But this would sound right at home if you placed it in the middle of the Horse’s ’71 debut. Danny Whitten already sounds like some booze hound they picked up on the corner and stuck in front of a mike, and that is a good thing. The guy just oozed this funky, disheveled strain of plaid-shirted soul like few other white guys you’ll ever hear. And the song is great, the type of thing that probably took about ten minutes to write, but whose perfect simplicity you could spend years trying to duplicate yourself. And the fiddle is killer. That Bobby Notkoff was something; same guy who helped make Neil’s “Running Dry” so haunting the following year.
Holding Onto Nothing – Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton
It’s a very good duet record, with the two of them both in fine, dignified form, taking a clear-eyed view of why their love is going to hell. It’s very slick and miles away from the honkytonk as a production, but the two of them work marvelously well towards a common emotional goal, and it comes off as effortlessly affecting.
Hold On – Sharon Tandy
Within the first twenty seconds, I knew this would probably be what I’d end up voting for. Even having read the previous raves about this track in this thread, it’s still startling to hear how insanely aggressive this sounds. It sounds like the guitar is revolting, attacking its master to death during that solo. But over the rabid din, she maintains this laid-back cool to her vocal approach, like some sexy Medusa teasing you to come closer while her snakes are snapping at you at the same time. What a gloriously demented record this is.
Hip City (Part 2) - Junior Walker & The All-Stars
So funky it hurts. There’s really no ‘songwriting’ here to speak of; it’s basically just a one-chord vamp cut from the middle of a jam, over which Junior shouts some stuff about dancing and calls out some cities. It’s artless. But that groove is so IMPOSSIBLY funky; who needs an actual song at a time like this? Anybody worried about this record lacking hooks or whatever just isn’t dancing hard enough.
Hey Western Union Man - Jerry Butler
It pains me that you can’t write songs like this anymore. A song about desperately trying to log into your IM account to tell your woman you love her just doesn’t have the same weight, you know. Hell, maybe Jerry Butler could still sell that concept, though. He’s so damn good at never overplaying his hand as a singer. You know how you see some great actors who delight in chewing scenery, drawing attention to themselves at every turn, and you can never take your eyes off them, while others just toil thanklessly in the shadows because their performances are so understated and naturalistic, but they can feel a bit more ‘real’ at times? That is kind of like the relationship between Jerry Butler and most other soul singers. He’s a fantastic singer, but he never calls attention to that fact. The song’s great too, driven by that double-time drum beat that still feels laid back, and a chorus that goes for the high stakes in terms of beauty and power.
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Hey Jude – Wilson Pickett
I decided that I still do like this song. I mean, yes, it is overblown far in excess of the level of modesty it deserves, and some of its lyrics don’t quite make it. The Wilson Pickett version is about at the right length for the song, I think. It still feels more than epic enough without having to drive the point in to your head repeatedly for four additional minutes. But the thing is, I have to admit that it’s clearly the work of a master melodist. I can’t imagine having a gift like that, where you can just spin off melodies that are original, but immediately sound like they’ve been around forever the first time you hear them. What makes it work so well is the contrast between the simple, almost child piano lesson-esque verse melody, which hooks you in and gets your guard down, and the more sophisticated and moving bridge. Neither of those sections would work as well without the other one there, alternately adding and taking away weight. And listening again, I’ll give you that Ringo’s snare sound is indeed too dull and thuddy, but I maintain that the rest of the kit sounds great. Wilson Pickett’s reinvention of the song as a soul anthem, given a lightly funky arrangement, was a bit of a masterstroke. He pulls out emotional peaks from the song that Paul couldn’t approach, both toughening and tenderizing the message. And adding Duane Allman (even though it’s a very young Duane who didn’t quite have his tone or chops together as much yet as he soon would) to the mix does not make it a fair fight. The Beatles’ cleanliness just cannot compete with that level of soul all gathered in one place. But take away all elements of cultural baggage, production, performance, etc. and just listen to it as a composition? It’s clearly a fantastic melody, and Paul deserves some props for that.
Here I Am Baby - The Marvelettes
More sexily funky sweetness from Motown. You can’t beat that company for consistency, but that also means it’s hard to write anything original and non-repetitive about a lot of their records.
Here Comes The Judge - Shorty Long
On the other hand, this is a pretty unique Motown record, and it’s a blast. This is at Rufus Thomas-level in terms of funky soul humor songs, and that’s a serious compliment. Even if you don’t get off on the humor (and there is some funny stuff in here…”Judge, this boy cannot dance!”), you can’t hear a song this energetically funky and not have a smile on your face.
Help Yourself - Tom Jones
I’ll admit that I cannot hear this without immediately thinking about the sex scene from Anchorman. Like a lot of Tom Jones’ stuff, this has a thick layer of smarmy lounge cheese melted over the top, but at the same time, I can’t help but like it. He always seems good-humored and self-aware about the cartoonishness of his oily God of Chest Hair image, and moreover, regardless of anything else you could say about the guy, you’ve got to admit that he can flat-out SING.
Hello It's Me – Nazz
Honestly, I think I like this original better than Todd’s solo hit version (which is great, of course, but we’re talking in degrees here). There’s something weirdly tranquil about this reading that makes it unique. The vibes, the melodic, bend-y basslines, the distinctive way Stewkey approaches the vocal. I can see why this wasn’t much of a hit at the time, though; it sounds a little subtle to stick out much on the radio, and the hooks are a little muted in deference to the overall atmosphere.
Hello I Love You - The Doors
I’ve never liked this song, and I still don’t. The thick distortion on some of the keyboard and guitar sounds is pretty killer, though.
Hello How Are You – The Easybeats
Not my favorite of the Easybeats stuff I’ve heard so far, but it’s a creditable ballad. There’s a reason that kind of descending-chord piano ballad has become such a cliché these days; there’s something inherently moving about it. And they do it well here, just not quite as well as, say, the Bee Gees.
(Edited by halleluwah)I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
IanWagner The Rustic Bumfiddler Posts: 47918 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 13th, 2011 07:29 PM IPThat Sharon Tandy is insane, ain't it? Love your writing on the Butler, and all else.
Posted July 20th, 2011 04:41 PM IPHuh. The day I reach for Hey Jude over Here Comes The Judge you can stick a fork in me cause I am done. That song is the BEST.
Also liked Creation, JR, Rockets (never even heard of them), Sharon Tandy (she almost got my vote--where the hell has she been? smh), Beatles, wilson Pickett (now I know where Cool V/Paul C got the sample for the Biz's Dedication from!), Marvelettes (this, too, almost got my vote), the Doors (the most obnoxious noise on this poll) and the Easybeats.
Quote: Matinee Idyll (129) wrote:
Hold On... Oh Sharon! What a stunning, freaked out, insanely cool and sexy burst of psychedelic energy. Her vocal is part Dusty, part Sandie Shaw and all perfect - how could you resist holding on!?! Les Fleur De Lys were the backing band, who released a cover of The Who's 'Circles' and some other fine singles. Nothing else they, or indeed Sharon did stacks up against this titan of titillation. Perhaps even including Hendrix (don't quote me on that though) this track may have my favourite guitar-strangling of the year. Unbelievable.
It started life as a B-side, but was re-released as the A because it's so damn undeniably awesome.
Not sure what I'll vote for yet (I'll sleep on it), but not sure you can top this.
(Edited by Matinee Idyll (129))
Quote: halleluwah wrote:
Hey Western Union Man - Jerry Butler
It pains me that you can’t write songs like this anymore. A song about desperately trying to log into your IM account to tell your woman you love her just doesn’t have the same weight, you know. Hell, maybe Jerry Butler could still sell that concept, though. He’s so damn good at never overplaying his hand as a singer. You know how you see some great actors who delight in chewing scenery, drawing attention to themselves at every turn, and you can never take your eyes off them, while others just toil thanklessly in the shadows because their performances are so understated and naturalistic, but they can feel a bit more ‘real’ at times? That is kind of like the relationship between Jerry Butler and most other soul singers. He’s a fantastic singer, but he never calls attention to that fact. The song’s great too, driven by that double-time drum beat that still feels laid back, and a chorus that goes for the high stakes in terms of beauty and power.
R Kelly feels the same way! Although, towards the end he gets so excited he take a text if he's gotta!
kenny Charles Nelson Reilly's SHORTS! Posts: 910 Registered: Feb 2008
I like the song but can barely listen to it these days since I heard it early one morning on the radio and the "snare" (for want of better word) really stood out. It's a crime.
