On This day – The Dark Side Revealed!
Feb 17, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1972 Pink Floyd started a four-night residency (can a residency really be just 4 days?) at London’s Rainbow Theatre during which they premiered Dark Side of the Moon – and I continued to lose Floyd.
During the 4 night ‘residency’ Floyd showed the forthcoming album to the world. The press was, of course, rapturous. “Of course” because the press loved Floyd at the time, they could do no wrong. Even though they had subjected us to Meddle and the dreadful Atom Heart Mother.
Meddle was a muddle. There was always going to be a transition between the Barrett Floyd and the non Barrett Floyd and perhaps meddle came out too soon. Anyway it was a mess. Atom Heart, dear oh dear……… What can I say? The moment I remember shaking my head (not in a good rythmic way) to Floyd was at the Colston Hall in Bristol as they fried eggs on stage. It was at that point when I thought that Floyd had lost it as far as I was concerned. To go from the wonderful Saucerful, the magnificent Ummagumma, to bacon butties on stage……..
Anyway, Darkside was recorded in two sessions at the Abbey Road studios between May ‘72 and March ‘3. It then sold squidilions of copies all over the world and other minor planets. They ascended to demi god status and ruled over the progressive musical universe until it imploded and they self destructed in a collision of mega egos.
I am really sorry to the die hard, or the Johnny come lately Floyd fans who disagree with me but “Set the Controls” YES, “Money” NO.
Blank Generation
Feb 15, 2010 Uncategorized
There is no real reason to post this other than it refers to Blank Generation and my fave guitar player Robert Quine.
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Doug Fieger Writer of “My Sharona” Dies
Feb 15, 2010 On This Day
Doug Fieger who fronted The KNack and who co-wrote their biggest hit “My Sharona” died today after a long battle against Cancer.
“My Sharona” was The Knack’s debut single and went on to be their biggest hit (most of us are hard put to remember any of the others). It was released in 1979 and was reported to be the biggest single of the whole of the 70s. As can be imagined a hit of that size without similar follow ups is a mixed blessing. Especially coming so early in their career it was something of an albatross, even if it was a golden one.
I really like the song. It is, of course, the second best pop single of all time. The best being Another Girl by the Only Ones…..
The Knack Live Play the Second best EVER Single
And Nirvana, prefaced by the quote “It changed my life” THAT is the measure of a great song.
Copying is the HIghest Form of Praise….. HammerFall
NOW, The Best Single EVER
And Live
You know, I really must write about the songs that change lives. There are two examples here and there are so many. Any suggestions?
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On This day – B A Baracus Grooving to Boy George!
Feb 11, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1986 Boy George guested on The A Team and B A Baracus is shown groovin’, if not movin’, to Karma Chameleon.
For those of tender years The A Team was a TV programme built around a group of ex marines (or something), who had been banged up in the stockade (or somewhere), after being falsley accused of something, or other.
There were 4 members of the A Team George Peppard played the colonel, the leader. Mr T was B A Baracus, the token big hard black man. (Before you dissagree and say that it was not tokenism. Do you think that any black actor would have been given the role of colonel back then?). The ladies’ man was played by Dirk Benedict (ex Battlestar Galatica star). Last but defo not least was mad, not bad, Murdock played by Dwight Shultz (who also played the slightly mad Reginald Barclay in Star Trek The next Generation).
In this episode Boy George played himself, not such a hard gig then. The plot is that Face has signed this band (Cowboy George) to play this dance hall to make a few bucks. However, his contract allows artists to be substituted and Boy George turns up to play in red-neck-mid-west-shoot-em-first country. (You know where that is it is next to the bobbies-with-pointy-hat-red-double-decker-buses-going-past-Big-Ben land on the LA film lot). There is also the usual crooked sheriff and something about a bank heist……
This was part of the 4th series of The A team during which the audience plummeted (not Boy Georges’ fault) and the improbable let’s-make-a-tank-out-of-2-oil-drums-and-a-Beetle scenes became more ludicrous.. The explosions became louder and more, well, explosive and still no one was ever killed!
The two good bits of the episode are Murdock revealing his taste in music when he plays The Lennon Sisters* singing “Too Marvellous for Words” and Boy George playing to a redneck audience, and them loving him….
The A Team was always fantasy.
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On This Day – Stagger Lee (Yet Again)
Feb 9, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1959 Lloyd Price reached number one in the States with “Stagger Lee”.
“Stagger Lee” has been recorded many times under many names by many people.
The song has been Bowderized, revised, chewed up and spat out by too many people to mention. Some of whom should have known better and some of whom had no idea of the history of the song and what it was about.
The definitive recordedversion was by the wonderful Mississippi John Hurt in 1928 although the song had been sung ever sinc ethe original crime in 1895.
Just why this particular crime became immortalised is not known (at least to me). The facts of the case m’lud, as the say, are quite simple. Stagger Lee Shelton was pimp and taxi driver in St. Louis. Not just any pimp along with a number of other pimps collectively known as “The Macks” they seemed to love the attention they got. Stagger was friends with Billy Lyons. One night they were drinking and began to talk politics, that developed into an arguement. Billy took Stagger’s hat from his head. Stagger demanded it back, Billy refused and Stagger shot him.
Killed over a hat.
Stagger and Billy became subject of a song that has mutated and survived during the following 100 years and shows no sign of being forgotten 115 years after the crime.
Alternative titles have included; “Stagolee”, “Stackerlee”, “Stack O’Lee”, “Stack-a-Lee”, “Stack Shot Billy”, and other variants that owe a lot to the original like The Clash’s “Wrong ‘Em Boyo”.
Among the artists that have sung and recorded the song are; Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly, Sidney Bechet, Beck, Pat Boone, James Brown, Cephas & Wiggins, Neil Diamond, Johnny Dodds, Fats Domino, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Woody Guthrie, Bill Haley & His Comets, The Isley Brothers, Taj Mahal, Memphis Slim, Modern Life is War, Wilson Pickett, Professor Longhair, Sam the Sham, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Ma Rainey, Tom Rush, Ike and Tina Turner, Dave Van Ronk, Doc Watson, George Thorogood, Muddy waters, Billie Holiday, Nick cave
Anyway you get the idea virtually evryone who is someone has recorded a version of the song.
The interesting thing about Lloyd Price’s version? It removed any referrence to the murder and Stagger and Billy just shouted at each other and made up the next day…..
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On This Day – Teen Angel Tops
Feb 8, 2010 On This Day
On this day in 1960 Mark Dinning hit number 1 in the States with his ode to careful parking “Teen Angel”. This is a song about parking a car on a railway crossing and the inherent perils that poses.
Not the first teenage death song there have been many tragic pop songs. Notable songs on the list include the classics; “Endless Sleep” (1958 – Jody Reynolds), “Tell Laura I love Her” (1960 – Ray Peterson), and – of course – “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro (Although that song is tragic on so many levels…..)
I rather think that song titles should warn you about the content which is why I have a soft spot for the Smith’s “Girlfriend in a Coma”. I also think that if people hit on a winning formula it is sometimes a mistake to follow it slavishly. After all The Shangri-Las had a lot going for them but they are now remembered for just 3 songs. “I Can never Go Home Anymore”, “Give Us Your Blessing”, and the one that started this path of despair, “Leader of the Pack”.
It would seem that “Leader of the Pack” also inspired Jim Steinman to write “Bat Out of Hell”, which you may or may not think is a good thing.
Songs about tradgedies are nothing new but we tend to forget some of the older ones. Billi Holiday’s Strange Fruit remains as powerful and disturbing as the day it was recorded.
On the other hand her version of “Gloomy Sunday” is a classic way of changing the direction of a tragic song. In the original version the narrator commits suicide. In Holiday’s version she wakes up and it has all been a dream…….
Another song that has been tweaked is “Season’s in the Sun”. The song is the narrator’s dieing farewell to his wife, friends and family. The original refers to the wife’s infidelity while the popular English versions refer instead to a young and innocent daughter.
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2 Resolutions Broken!
Feb 5, 2010 Rants
When I started this blog I promissed myself 2 things;
1. I would never, never, talk about politics (well, this is supposed be about music)
2. I would never talk about ear hole music (folk) or C&W (the devil’s music).
So, 2 resolutions broken. Folk and politcs.
David Jones is a well respected folk singer in the UK, and here he is singing a classic anti-capitalist, left wing song. I know nothing about the chap that he is supporting, and do not care particularly. All I know is that it resonates of “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist” (an essential book in everyone’s political education) and is a song that I sang in my youth at political rallies. The song kicks in at about 5.50 (ish).
Tags: david jones, folk, rock and blues
