Had to make room for a big personal favourite among Lesley Gore's cruelly underlooked, extremely interesting and dramatic later singles, He Gives Me Love (La La La). No explanation further, I just love it. Other Lesley singles from this year worth checking out: Small Talk, I Can't Make It Without You and I'll Be Standing By 9produced by the Gamble-Huff team) and 1969's Take Good Care (Of My Heart) and her genius mix of 98.6/Lazy Day.
You just gotta love Hawaii Five-O, no matter who you are. This is really a session-musician record made under the Ventures name, with drummer Hal Blaine giving one of his best performances. Brief and right to the point, this one.
Harper Valley PTA was one of the year's biggest hits, a small town hypocrisy-skewering country novelty/story song that was this year's Ode To Billie Joe. Jeannie C Riley didn't turn out to be another Bobbie Gentry, but she made a lot of excellent, interesting records in her own right. This is a definite classic, and I'm partial to it, as I used to cover it in a band in the early 90's.
Amazing that a record as powerful as Hard To Handle wasn't issued during Otis's lifetime. This was actually the flipside of the lesser studio runthrough of Amen, which charted higher on the pop chart. This one was the winner on the R&B listings. It is a truly astounding track, the noxious BlackCrowes cover version be damned (also, see Mae West do it in Myra Breckinridge, in a see-it-to-believe-it production number!). I tend to think of this one as an abum track-deep cut, so I am discounting it as a vote choice. Incredible, though.
Another in the "THAT-was-a-single!?" category is The United States Of America's Hard Coming Love. One of the coolest bands to discover for the deep 60's listener, this band of early electronic pioneers featured the excellent voice of Dorothy Moskowitz. This is their most searing, notorious tune, and it must have been seriously shortened for single release. I can't think of this as a single, though. It should inspire anyone for whom this is a USA introduction to pick up their classic debut LP.
Heading over to Oz for a record I wasn't at all familiar with, The Strangers' Happy Without You. Clearly a studio effort, with a superslick horn arrangement, but with an explosive drum performance. Punchy as hell, easily comparable to US things like Midnight Confessions. Great request.
One I made room for late in the game was Nancy SInatra's Happy, which I thought some sunshine-pop leaning folks here would enjoy hearing. This was the year of Nancy's last notable hits, both of which are heard on this set. This one is a personal favourite, with a backing track that at times seems to have little relation to the vocal melody. Crazy bass and organ. Nice double-tracked vocals on the bridge.
Another of The MG's' later, progressive hits was their cover of Montenegro's memorable Hang 'Em High theme. Love the drama of this record, the percolating rumble of the band underscoring Booker's classic B-3 sound. Just great. Check out Steve Cropper's piercing solo in the fade section.
We move into the G's with a perfect segue into Masekela's Grazing In The Grass, another record that most folks know by the sound, not the artist or song title. Of course, this would be covered memorably in vocal form the following year by The Friends Of Distinction, but this original instrumental may have the edge. Like Hawaii 5-0, if you're not smiling and moving in your chair, you're in need of some type of respiration and probably shouldn't be reading this.
Another Oz entry I wasn't familiar with is The Wild Cherries' Gotta Stop Lying. Again, a powerful, brutal record. Furious and intense. Great request.
A huge, huge personal favourite I had to hail here is up next. R. Dean Taylor is one of the most interesting figures in Motown history, a white singer-songwriter from LA who originally recorded terrible novelties such as My Lady Bug Stay Away From That Beatle for the company's VIP catch-all label imprint. By the mid-60's, he had developed a distinctive country-rock story-song style, one that would eventually pay off with the Top 10 hit Indiana Wants Me. He would also be called to Detroit by Berry Gordy to spice up the writer's pool following the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, co-creating tracks such as Love Child. As far as I'm concerned, Gotta See Jane is his masterwork, and one of the best 60's records few seem to have heard. An amazingly strange, powerful, odd, compelling deah-rock recording, which contains a bizarre mixture of elements and an insistent, memorable, obsessional core hook. Tanked upon release, became a minor hit when reissued on the Rare Easrth imprint. Listen and marvel at this one. Props to Saint Etienne for calling this one out by name in their great Good Humor album track Erica America.
One of the best bubblegum chorus hooks ever is contained in the Fruitgum Company's extra-fine Goody Goody Gumdrops. One of my big faves in this set. Props to Redd Kross for utterly stealing the melody for their song The Faith Healer.
This trip to Oz is the charm, The Easybeats' fierce Good Times. Mixes like this were only created in the 1960's, that's all I can say. Every element of the recording sounds totally distinct, but it all fits together perfectly. This band were a tough, tough outfit, and this one is a pounder. They seriously rival the Small Faces on their own turf here. CRAZY piano, which sounds like Nicky Hopkins after his second music lesson.
Good Time Girl is the other Nancy classic from this year, with one of my favourite intros of 1968. The staccato organ and slow trumpet kill me. I love how slowly the arrangement builds, and how the full-on chorus doesn't disappoint at all. Then a hard tape edit seems to return us back to the beginning of the same performance! I may be crazy, but I like this as much as any Bacharach. A big fave for me, but the two Nancys cancel each other out here.
The biggest classic rock fave here is Going Up The Country, which may give it the popular win. This one has suffered some Woodstock-damage overplay, but it is a great record really, pretty unique as a flute-drenched pop blues. And Blind Owl Wilson's voice is just as great as it sounded on On The Road Again. Paul McCartney can be heard enthusing about his first hearing of the tune during the Get Back sessions.
For me, among one of the more interesting, diverse and entertaining sets of these polls, this one has to be Gotta See Jane, which I hope I can turn some folks on to.
Becky The Queen Of Soul Posts: 2534 Registered: Aug 2008
Posted July 12th, 2011 02:33 PM IPMore evidence that '68 was a great and diverse year. I wanted to vote for Masekela, then remembered that I also love the Friends of Distinction version. So I went for R Dean Taylor.
IanWagner The Rustic Bumfiddler Posts: 47962 Registered: Aug 2007
Jon The Bubblegum Supremacist Posts: 9213 Registered: Sep 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 03:23 PM IPI gotta give this one a solid listen. This looks like a super-interesting set.I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
Jason Penick Peanut Butter Conspiracist Posts: 4501 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 03:37 PM IPSmall observation, but "Hard Coming Love" wasn't issued as a single until Sundazed put out an alternate version in 2004. Indeed, no singles were actually released by Columbia off of the USA album.
Of course, it's such a great song that I had to vote for it anyway!
http://crystalsphere1.blogspot.com/
Jon The Bubblegum Supremacist Posts: 9213 Registered: Sep 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 03:40 PM IPI was just about to throw my vote to "Gotta See Jane," an ASTONISHING song that I'd never heard before -- but then the Easybeats kicked my fucking ASS. I had to vote for it.
This WAS an interesting poll. Really dug the Leslie Gore, Harper Valley PTA of course, and the totally fucked up United States of America tune. But yeah, the guitar sound on that Easybeats song -- you can't beat that. You just can't.I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
Jon The Bubblegum Supremacist Posts: 9213 Registered: Sep 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 03:44 PM IPIn fact, I gotta check out more Easybeats. Clearly I've been remiss.I don't know why I ever believed the Chipmunks had the lowdown on punk.
halleluwah Total Rock Cumshot Posts: 7305 Registered: Aug 2007
Quote: Jason Penick wrote:
Small observation, but "Hard Coming Love" wasn't issued as a single until Sundazed put out an alternate version in 2004. Indeed, no singles were actually released by Columbia off of the USA album.
Aw fuck, that's my fault. I was just looking for singles off the USA record, saw that listed, and didn't check the release date. That was my request. I love that album a lot.
Sorry about that...I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
Jason Penick Peanut Butter Conspiracist Posts: 4501 Registered: Aug 2007
Aw fuck, that's my fault. I was just looking for singles off the USA record, saw that listed, and didn't check the release date. That was my request. I love that album a lot.
Sorry about that...
Hey, don't be sorry Jason! They were an incredible band, and shouldn't be excluded from the polls just because Clive Davis didn't see fit to issue a single. I'm glad you included them!
http://crystalsphere1.blogspot.com/
MoogDroog Michael Bolton's mullet Posts: 8501 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 05:34 PM IPAhh, i was all set to vote Harper Valley PTA here, expecting the headspinning version Andy B uploaded in his New Orleans thread! This one isn't a patch on that, though.
On with the poll!
Hard Coming WTF...?
"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."
Becky The Queen Of Soul Posts: 2534 Registered: Aug 2008
Quote: IanWagner wrote:
This trip to Oz is the charm, The Easybeats' fierce Good Times. CRAZY piano, which sounds like Nicky Hopkins after his second music lesson.
It IS Nicky Hopkins - not sure how many lessons he had though!"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
IanWagner The Rustic Bumfiddler Posts: 47962 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 12th, 2011 09:38 PM IPTHAT EXPLAINS IT! Probably after his second hit of Australian weed.
Quote: IanWagner wrote:
A huge, huge personal favourite I had to hail here is up next. R. Dean Taylor is one of the most interesting figures in Motown history, a white singer-songwriter from LA who originally recorded terrible novelties such as My Lady Bug Stay Away From That Beatle for the company's VIP catch-all label imprint. By the mid-60's, he had developed a distinctive country-rock story-song style, one that would eventually pay off with the Top 10 hit Indiana Wants Me. He would also be called to Detroit by Berry Gordy to spice up the writer's pool following the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, co-creating tracks such as Love Child. As far as I'm concerned, Gotta See Jane is his masterwork, and one of the best 60's records few seem to have heard. An amazingly strange, powerful, odd, compelling deah-rock recording, which contains a bizarre mixture of elements and an insistent, memorable, obsessional core hook. Tanked upon release, became a minor hit when reissued on the Rare Easrth imprint. Listen and marvel at this one. Props to Saint Etienne for calling this one out by name in their great Good Humor album track Erica America.
Damn, His vocal really is freestyling on this one - made me think of the '86 polls.
What I really loved about this track is that you are IN THAT CAR WITH HIM flying through those streets and highways on the mad dash back to see Jane. What a rush. Sound effects employed dramatically and tastefully, a real trip. Reminded me of the Shangri-Las with the doomed melodrama feel. Thanks for including it man!"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
Posted July 13th, 2011 02:05 AM IPJohn Farrar (the singer and guitarist in The Strangers) went on to manage and produce all of Olivia Newton Johns albums from If Not For You up to Xanadu. Also wrote a bunch of her singles ('Home Ain't Home Anymore', Have You Ever Been Mellow', 'Something Better to Do') and even "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You're The One That I Want" from Grease.
Love that guy, and 'Happy Without You' rocks my socks.
(Edited by Matinee Idyll (129))"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
Posted July 13th, 2011 07:33 PM IPAww, that's ok! I've been getting into a routine of: wake up, turn on computer, download singles poll, listen, get mind blown. Rinse and repeat.
I can wait, sort that craziness! :)"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
Quote: Jon wrote:
In fact, I gotta check out more Easybeats. Clearly I've been remiss.
I'd start with the Singles A's and B's collection. They really were like The Beatles, The Stones, The Small Faces and The Kinks all rolled into one glorious package with some other ineffable, unique quality. Killer, killer act.
As much as I adore other major bands like The BeeGees, The Loved Ones, Twilights, Masters Apprentices and a wealth of rough garagebands from the 60's - no other local act came close to The 'Beats this decade for consistency of ass-kickery.
AC/DC even wanted Stevie as their vocalist, but he was focussing on a solo career so they chose Bon.
This clip tends to blow minds:
(Edited by Matinee Idyll (129))"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
OMAR Proud To Be Contarded Posts: 507 Registered: Feb 2010
Posted July 14th, 2011 11:12 AM IPVoted "Hawaii Five-O", baby!
(I always sorta disliked "Going Up The Country". Gets on my nerves.)
IanWagner The Rustic Bumfiddler Posts: 47962 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 14th, 2011 01:40 PM IPNo new poll today either, sorry.
halleluwah Total Rock Cumshot Posts: 7305 Registered: Aug 2007
Posted July 14th, 2011 02:49 PM IPI'm a little time-strapped today, so these are gonna be short and sweet:
He Gives Me Love (La La La) - Lesley Gore
The moments when the grand, major-key choruses break out of the darkly pensive verses are nothing short of triumphant. And it sounds huge. Beautiful record.
Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures
That's gotta be somewhere on the highest shelf of the greatest TV themes ever. How can you not love this shit? I didn't know that was Blaine on drums (although that's not exactly uncommon from that period); he does sound great here.
Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
This has never been a huge favorite of mine, but I think that's just a personal hangup; it reminds me too much of the noxiously catty country parenting style I saw a lot of growing up in Missouri. A lot of people I knew had parents like this, and they always annoyed me. But that really shouldn't reflect on the song itself, which is pretty good in that sort of country-funk style that was sowing its first seeds around this time and would reach full fruition within a couple of years.
Hard To Handle - Otis Redding
This song is the bane of my existence, having played it hundreds of times over the past ten years in bar bands. I am beyond burned out on it; I am China Syndrome-d out on it, with my level of weariness and disdain for it burning deeper into the earth's mantle as we speak. But that's really the Black Crowes' fault. When I hear Otis' version, it always strikes me as strange to be actually enjoying listening to this song. This original is such a great slice of Stax braggadocio, and Otis sounds so damn cool singing it, that it reminds you of why it became such a standard in the first place.
Hard Coming Love – United States Of America
Yeah, this turns out to not fit in very well with the single concept, but it is always good to hear this band. I'd forgotten how violent and unhinged the drumming on this track was. And the electric violin is potent enough of a lead instrument that you never notice that the band didn't have a guitarist. I love Dorothy Moskowitz's voice; she is emotionally a blank slate, which adds another level of ambiguity and other-worldliness to their already tripped-out sound. The thought of hearing this on the radio, now or then, is amusing. (If they'd been so inclined, I think "Coming Down" from this album would have made a great single at the time, though.)
Happy Without You – The Strangers
That intro is so powerful, with that wonderfully dramatic chord progression, and it leads into a biting, bitter verse, sung in entertainingly tough fashion. The sing-songy female choruses gleefully chirping "I'm happy without you" after the guy's angry intensity are pretty funny. Good song.
Happy - Nancy Sinatra
Was this a Lee Hazlewood production? It sounds like it could be, with the truly outre rhythm section performance (especially that wild, daredevil Jerry Scheff-esque bass) colliding with the spirited, but more socially acceptable, organ. Nancy sounds like she's having a blast here, cracking into near-laughter at several moments, and I like the slightly ethereal touches on some of the harmony bits.
Hang 'Em High - Booker T. & The M.G.'s
Rhythmically, this has to be one of the most sophisticated records the M.G.'s ever made. The way they build drama with dynamics and tension, culminating in that tricky stop-start syncopated section, is too damn much. That band doesn't get as much credit as they deserve for being as musically adventurous and diverse. Yes, they were one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) group of soul musicians ever, but they never limited themselves to being one-trick ponies, no matter how good they would have still been limiting themselves to that one trick.
Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela
That's one of the all-time records for summertime. I used to think that cowbell was distractingly loud and kind of annoying when I'd hear it on the radio, but now I think it just might be the key to making the whole thing work as well as it does. This whole record it about joy, and the carefree abandon with which that cowbell is played and mixed is a novel and perfect way to put that on display.
Gotta Stop Lying – The Wild Cherries
I love how this is a garage record in its essence, but the way it's written melodically, it still goes for this grand, anthemic quality. It also has, along with Cropper's bit on "Hang 'Em High," probably the best guitar playing of any song in this set.
Gotta See Jane - R. Dean Taylor
What a strange, wondrous record. This comes across like some kind of weird merger of Del Shannon and Holland-Dozier-Holland to me. It races urgently forward in a kind of "7-Rooms of Gloom" mold, with these snaky, unexpected melodic twists and a string arrangement that alternates between beautiful (the way those cellos enter in the first verse) and unsettling (the spiky bit in the middle). And the psych touches, from the sound effects to the tinny EQ'ing on the vocals to the ghostly harmonies, work really well. It's a unique experience.
Goody Goody Gumdrops - 1910 Fruitgum Company
Fun stuff. Not much to say. Bubblegum music is enjoyable, elemental stuff when it's done well, but by its nature it defies any attempt to analyze it.
Good Times - The Easybeats
This is one of those Friday night dancing frantically type of songs (or I'm guessing it is, since I never go out to dance), a party stomper that sounds like a crazier Shondells record. I like how all three of the Easybeats records from these polls have been completely different: the power-pop, the piano ballad, and the dance raver. And they do all of them very well. I can imagine this guy singing for AC/DC now that Joe mentions it. He does have sort of a cool reserve/wildman dichotomy going on that Bon Scott seems to have learned a lot from.
Good Time Girl - Nancy Sinatra
Well, I left myself a note last night to be sure and make special note of the atmospheric staccato organ intro and slightly Bacharach-ish/sunshine pop atmosphere, but reading through the previous comments, I realize that Ian already did.
Going Up The Country - Canned Heat
I like "On the Road Again" much better than this one, and I swear it's not just because of its Woodstock overuse issue (that said, can YOU hear this song without thinking of that dove-on-guitar-neck poster?). I just think Blind Owl's falsetto worked best within the eerily sinister vibe of the former tune, where it comes off as ghostly, whereas as a child I literally thought that Mickey Mouse was singing this song. I'm more charitable towards the song now and can find some enjoyment in it, but it's not among my favorite classic rock songs.
Give me a moment on the vote. Haven't figured that out yet.I'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMINGI'MCOMING
kenny Charles Nelson Reilly's SHORTS! Posts: 920 Registered: Feb 2008
That's gotta be somewhere on the highest shelf of the greatest TV themes ever. How can you not love this shit? I didn't know that was Blaine on drums (although that's not exactly uncommon from that period); he does sound great here.
Quote: halleluwah wrote: Hard Coming Love – United States Of America
Yeah, this turns out to not fit in very well with the single concept, but it is always good to hear this band. I'd forgotten how violent and unhinged the drumming on this track was. And the electric violin is potent enough of a lead instrument that you never notice that the band didn't have a guitarist. I love Dorothy Moskowitz's voice; she is emotionally a blank slate, which adds another level of ambiguity and other-worldliness to their already tripped-out sound. The thought of hearing this on the radio, now or then, is amusing. (If they'd been so inclined, I think "Coming Down" from this album would have made a great single at the time, though.)
Nice comments J,
I've always thought 'Garden of Earthly Delights' would have been a great single - I think it has the catchiest chorus of any of the 'rockers'. "You will find them in her eyes, IN HER EYES, IN HER EYYYYEEEEES!" Stick 'Cloud Song' or 'Where is Yesterday?' on the B-side and you've got a hell of a single.
What a band - incredible sonic experimentation backed by strong songwriting and exquisite performance. Can't beat that.
I was obsessed with the album for a good year, never got into the 'sequel' in quite the same way.
(Edited by Matinee Idyll (129))"Nick is the Mode guy. Jon is the Duran guy."
can YOU hear this song without thinking of that dove-on-guitar-neck poster?
Er yes! I don't think that's ever suffered from being over played too much over here. Maybe it's just me, but probably the only Canned Heat song I ever hear over here is Let's Work Together, and even then Bryan Ferry's version is more common. I did once hear this song in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Er, which is American anyway...
So yes, this one still sounds fresh to me. It's just such a weird song - it's full on boogie rock, but its really, really soft with the high vocals and flute and even the restrained drums. Its a unique take on the boogie. So it got my vote.
