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Post by Desert Dweller on May 4, 2020 0:58:59 GMT -5
What Did We Nearly End Up Discussing?The year started with Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence” occupying the Number 2 position in the U.S., a worthy contender but it only occupies that slot for a couple of weeks before sliding down the charts – in the UK it was Cliff Richard yet again and he’s never going to be in this series. Nancy Sinatra spent a few weeks at Number 2 with “These Boots Are Made For Walking” (it did stamp briefly to Number 1 before falling back again). There’s that Frank Sinatra song but really, fuck Frank Sinatra. The Beach Boys gave us a plethora of possibilities with “Barbara Ann”, “Sloop John B”, “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows” (held off the top spot in the UK by “Eleanor Rigby” / “Yellow Submarine” and if you had to choose between whether “Eleanor Rigby” or “God Only Knows” is a better song, well good luck making that call). The Supremes spent a couple of weeks at Number 2 with “You Can’t Hurry Love” but sadly Phil Collins traumatised me with that song as a teenager – one of the very worst cover versions in the history of music – so sorry that’s not happening. But yeah, honestly? Not a lot.
For fun, songs that peaked in the USA at #2 in 1966:
1. Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys 2. 19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones 3. Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonful 4. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) 5. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Bob Dylan 6. A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders 7. Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? - The Lovin' Spoonful 8. Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle 9. L'il Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs 10. Sunny - Bobby Hebb 11. Yellow Submarine - The Beatles 12. Mellow Yellow - Donovan 13. Snoopy Vs The Red Baron - The Royal Guardsmen
That is a... very weird group of songs! I don't think I learned anything about 1966 from that group. I also scanned the group of #1 songs from 1966 in the USA, and it is also a bit weird. The USA charts from the 60s are interesting to look through. It seems like multiple age groups are represented. Whereas when I look at the charts now, it feels very tightly concentrated on one age group.
Anyway, I did check to see whether The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was ever at #2, but it wasn't. Jumped many spots to #1, then dropped to #3.
I also learned "Good Vibrations" hit #1 on December 10th, 1966. Which feels strange. December? The Beach Boys didn't hit #2 here with "Wouldn't It Be Nice"/"God Only Knows", it only got to #8, "Sloop John B" only hit #3 (Another for your "We're Number 3!" project!)
As for "Wild Thing" - It's fun. It's a bit silly, but also fun. I like it.
Very intriguing! These are hard for me to predict because I don't know the UK charts at all. Songs that can hit #2 there may have gotten nowhere that close on the USA charts. And because you aren't picking songs that peaked at #2, I have to look at #1 songs, too. I see a couple USA #1 songs from 1967 that would be contenders for my Best of the 60s list. When I checked songs that peaked at #2 in the USA I saw 3-4 that I really like. Very curious to see what you'll pick!
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2020 9:33:55 GMT -5
(even given the oddity of a flute rather than, say, a guitar solo) More technically/pedantically, I think it's an ocarina on "Wild Thing".
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Post by Prole Hole on May 4, 2020 10:05:16 GMT -5
(even given the oddity of a flute rather than, say, a guitar solo) More technically/pedantically, I think it's an ocarina on "Wild Thing". Then they have gone to a lot of effort to make it sound like a flute. Kidding. Good to know!
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Post by Floyd D Barber on May 5, 2020 21:53:17 GMT -5
(even given the oddity of a flute rather than, say, a guitar solo) More technically/pedantically, I think it's an ocarina on "Wild Thing". "Ocarina" sounds like a sleazy theme park where they keep dolphins in an above-ground swimming pool.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 6, 2020 3:51:23 GMT -5
1967 - “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane”, The Beatles
Outside ≠ Inside
Engelbert Humperdinck – named after the famous classical composer, Engelbert Humperdinck – has never not been a bit of a musical punchline. I mean, there’s that unwieldy name – effective in its uniqueness but scarcely something that begs to be taken seriously. He’s a man who found a furrow and just kept on ploughing, turning out ballad after ballad of fairly bland but competent songs that would nicely fit the average 1960’s dinner party and wouldn’t ruffle any feathers. Limited success and a stalling career in the early 60’s hadn’t really led anywhere, and a change of name from the original could-be-anyone Gerry Dorsey to the strikingly unforgettable Engelbert Humperdinck was a move to try and catch some attention for a singer badly in need of a hit record. It all came together for the former Mr Dorsey, now Mr Humperdinck, when in 1967 he recorded the single “Release Me”. He wasn’t the first to record it but he was the one to make it a big success. The song was a staggeringly huge hit for him, getting into the Billboard top ten in the U.S., and occupying the number one slot in the UK for six full weeks. It became Humperdinck’s defining song, and though he’d go on to have another number one in the UK and considerable chart success nothing would quite be the phenomenon “Release Me” was. In one song Humperdinck found the success he had been looking for, and while the soaring melodramatic vocals and somewhat-cheesy production may sound rather quaint now the success of the song is undeniable. “Release Me” was a genuine, bona fide, powerhouse hit. It is also the song that stopped “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” from reaching the number one spot. This is seen as something of an injustice. In terms of artistic value, it’s pretty tough to argue that “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” – the finest single of the 1960’s without exception – doesn’t deserve more recognition than a corny old ballad belted out by someone with a distinctive but silly name. But this gets at a fundamental truth of the charts. Nobody “deserves” anything. The Beatles – arguably the most influential and important band of all time – don’t deserve to top the charts any more than Humperdinck deserves to be knocked off the number one spot simply because the Beatles single is obviously a superior record. The singles charts are a measure of one thing, and one thing only. Popularity. Nothing else matters because the only thing the singles charts represent is how many units of a particular song are shifted in a particular week. The numbers can be vast - “Release Me” was selling 85,000 copies a day at its peak – but that’s all they are. Numbers. It’s a popularity contest pure and simple, and for the six weeks that “Release Me” was top of the charts Humperdinck can claim that at one point he was more popular than The Beatles. Because he was. No quality is conferred by that success, nor indeed does that success say anything about the material at all, good or bad. Some amazing songs have reached number one. Some terrible songs have. But they all have one thing in common – that’s what was popular so that’s what won. The Beatles don’t “deserve” to be number one with “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” because they didn’t release the most popular song(s). Humperdinck did. It’s not an injustice, it’s just reality. Still, it’s hard not to feel at least a little twinge of regret that the psychedelic masterpiece of “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” never made it to the top. You don’t have to be a diehard Beatles fan to understand that. Famously kept off Sgt Pepper because of the belief the Beatles needed something in the charts, the single is – even given Pepper itself – the purest example of a particular strand of Beatles music, the embrace of the psychedelic and the surreal, an approach which would largely pass at the end of the year with the release of Magical Mystery Tour. The Beatles had done surrealism before (“She Said She Said”). They had done psychedelia before (“Tomorrow Never Knows”). But never had the two strands come together quite as effectively as they do on this single. “Strawberry Fields Forever” is, for once, a genuine slice of surrealism not “surrealism” as a short-hand for “wooo-this-is-a-bit-weird-isn’t-it”. It’s a dreamlike, unfocussed flit through John Lennon’s subconscious, starting with a relative degree of coherence and gradually drifting into disjointed, fragmented sentence structures which suggest meaning but stubbornly refuse to resolve into intelligibility (except through random connections made in the listener’s mind). And, significantly, every member of the band contributes something meaningful to the final product. The child-like yet entrancing opening mellotron chords written by but not played by Lennon on the final version. The swarmandal strum before the verses that seem so short yet add so much texture from Harrison as it slides across the stereo picture. Starr’s almost never been better with some of the most perfectly-placed fills of his career. McCartney unusually underplays the bassline, perfectly supporting the structure of the song and he also contributes just enough piano to fill out the texture of the piece. And of course George Martin, expertly and adroitly interpreting exactly what instrumentation was required to finish the song, with a lone deep cello or stabbing trumpets inserted precisely where they are required. Even the final coda as the song fades back in is, in its tape-looped insanity, a perfect fit as the meandering dream-state of the main song becomes sharper, scarier. Then finally it fades away on a few piano notes and Lennon’s drawled, almost inaudible “Cran. Berry. Sauce”. Silly, but not undercutting. Assembled, as is well-known, from two separate takes that were just the right number of tones apart to synch up and work together (more brilliance from George Martin, naturally), even co-incidence and blind luck play a part in the final song. Today, the universe smiles on them. Against all that “Penny Lane” is often seen as the subordinate of the two songs, something simpler and more straightforward, but it’s not at all. “Strawberry Fields Forever” wears its surrealism and psychedelia brashly, “Penny Lane” is subversively sly about it. McCartney’s lyric sets up a very suburban environment but it’s constantly being undermined by the unreliable narrator of the lyric. This is a kaleidoscopic, MC Escher world and it, too, stubbornly refuses to come into coherence. If this is suburbia, it is an acid-drenched, oversaturated vision of it. There’s some lovely turns of phrase – the barber doesn’t merely like what he does, he shows off “… every head he’s had the pleasure to known”. Things are uncanny – it rains at the start of the song, yet when we get to the chorus we have “blue suburban skies”, the very opposite of the banker rushing in from a deluge. The lyric establishes “in summer / meanwhile back” halfway through the song but when we meet the “pretty nurse” she’s selling poppies from a tray – poppies are sold in September and early November in the UK in support of Remembrance Day, the 11th November. The two chronologies resist cohesion, and we slip and slide through time as we slip in and out of our subverted suburban settings. The music, brightly cheerful and up-tempo, cloaks the deviousness of the lyric – this sounds like a straightforward paean to a comforting hometown yet it’s anything but and even the unexpected key-change at the end supports this, coming across as desperate and forced. The suburban smile becomes strained and stringent, the vision begins to crack, and we end on an ominous intrusion of feedback and Starr’s immaculate cymbal work (and gives us an implicit link between this song and “Strawberry Fields Forever” with its ominous tape-loop squalls of sound at the end – neither song can ultimately resist the intrusion of the “other” into their blissful psychedelic states). “Penny Lane” embraces deranged psychedelia every bit as much as “Strawberry Fields Forever” in its vivid, oversaturated vision. And these two songs together… Well. They’re perfect. And they need to be paired up, really. Quite apart from having been conceived as the start of what would become Sgt Pepper it’s almost impossible to imagine them apart. They belong together, hence the double-A status of this single. And, to bring us round to where we began, it’s that double-A status that kept “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” being a number one. Because what I wrote earlier isn’t true. Humperdinck didn’t shift more units than The Beatles. Due to the way chart rules worked in the UK in the 60’s a double-A single’s sales figures could only count the most popular song on the single. Meaningfully that halves the sales numbers of any double-A side which is why “Release Me” got to Number one even though in reality it actually sold fewer units than the Beatles. Such is the way of the fates. In the U.S. the single went all the way to the top because… you know. It’s The Beatles. And “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane”. How could it not? Humperdinck deserves his success – he still released a phenomenally popular single – but maybe… well, maybe it is an injustice that the Beatles single didn’t top the charts after all. “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” is the best single ever released in the 1960’s, and quite possibly ever – really, who could possibly compete with that? What Else Happened in in 1967?You can’t really start anywhere other than with Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band being released can you? It’s the apotheosis of psychedelia as far as public perception goes and an artistic triumph, though it’s perfect dark mirror, The Velvet Underground and Nico is released in the same year and is every bit as good. Aretha Franklin releases “Respect” which means she ceases to be an up-and-coming artist and becomes the Queen Of Soul. There’s the Monterey Pop Festival, which basically invents the idea of music festivals as we know them today, and Keith Richards and Mick Jagger are jailed for drug possession (it won’t last). Rolling Stone magazine debuts so people can get all serious about music and in that vein The Who release arguably the first concept album – unless you count all the other concept albums – with The Who Sell Out which includes the still-stunning single “I Can See For Miles”. The Doors release their first album – oh well, never mind – as do The Grateful Dead. And Pink Floyd. And The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Genesis are founded and there’s nothing we can do about it now, but so are Sly And The Family Stone so it’s not all terrible. The biggest hit of the year doesn’t belong to The Beatles! No it’s Procol Harum’s interminably awful “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (number two is the joyful, wonderful “I’m A Believer” and number three is “All You Need Is Love”). Miles Davis releases the weird, abstract Miles Smiles and David Bowie releases his first, eponymous album. It’s not very good. Cream give us Disraeli Gears, and The Beatles round the year off with their first critical disaster, Magical Mystery Tour. Well, at least the soundtrack’s good. What Did We Nearly End Up Discussing?Nothing. It was always going to be “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane”. Sorry if you were hoping for Cat Stevens this time out… In fact this single is one of the twin pillars the series is built on – there were two singles I wanted to discuss and this is one of them. The other… well, we’ll get there. But even putting The Beatles to one side there’s surprisingly little to enflame interest. There was plenty of good music around in 1967 but precious little of it came within sniffing distance of the top spot. “Something Stupid” – a self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one – hit the Number Two spot twice, appropriately enough, but there’s not a lot of meat on the bone there. “I’m A Believer” similarly, despite being such a glorious song. There’s a scattering of familiar titles – “Happy Together”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, Scott McKenzie’s excruciatingly bad and potential Hatesong recipient “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” – but the only other serious contender was “Respect” which spent a lot more time at Number two in the charts than it did at Number one.
Rankings: 1. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" 2. The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" 3. Petula Clark - "Downtown" 4. Eddie Cochrane – "Three Steps To Heaven" 5. The Troggs - "Wild Thing" 6. Jimmy Dean - "Big Bad John" 7. Chubby Checker - "Let's Twist Again" 8. Billy J Kramer And The Dakotas - "Do You Want To Know A Secret" Next Week On We’re Number Two…
Go big or go home, and we aren’t going home. Boyo.
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on May 6, 2020 6:36:45 GMT -5
Was that the sleeve they used for the single? Just as they're fully reinventing themselves and heading off into the uncatchable stratosphere, a pic from 1964 is used. Anyway, nothing much to add. Hard to argue against this being the greatest '45 release of the decade, and probably any decade.
I wonder where they would've fit on Sgt. Pepper, if they'd included them. (Which they should have. I'm not suggesting they take anything off the album, either; it would still come in at around 45 minutes with these two added, so shorter than Aftermath or Highway 61 Revisited.) It would be nice to have Strawberry Fields at the end of side one, with Penny Lane first track on side 2, since they do feel like flip-sides to each other. But Within You Without You feels like a side opener, so the whole thing's a bit of a headache.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 6, 2020 10:08:22 GMT -5
Was that the sleeve they used for the single? Just as they're fully reinventing themselves and heading off into the uncatchable stratosphere, a pic from 1964 is used. Anyway, nothing much to add. Hard to argue against this being the greatest '45 release of the decade, and probably any decade. I wonder where they would've fit on Sgt. Pepper, if they'd included them. (Which they should have. I'm not suggesting they take anything off the album, either; it would still come in at around 45 minutes with these two added, so shorter than Aftermath or Highway 61 Revisited.) It would be nice to have Strawberry Fields at the end of side one, with Penny Lane first track on side 2, since they do feel like flip-sides to each other. But Within You Without You feels like a side opener, so the whole thing's a bit of a headache. It's a fun exercise! There's no "right" answer of course because once both songs were released as singles they were never going to appear but saying that my running order would be... Side 1. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band With A Little Help From My Friends Penny Lane Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Getting Better Fixing A Hole She's Leaving Home Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite Side 2. Within You, Without You When I'm 64 Strawberry Fields Forever Lovely Rita Good Morning Good Morning Sgt Pepper (Reprise) A Day In The Life I'm tempted by the idea of putting SFF at the start of Side 2, the piano outro could be fairly effectively cross-faded into the intro strum of WY,WY but I'll let that stand. Of course the real question is: Where do Paperback Writer and Rain go on Revolver?
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on May 6, 2020 11:01:03 GMT -5
It's too hard, and feels like desecrating an eternal monument. I can't do it and I won't do it. Same goes for Revolver.
My 1980s CD booklet, incidentally, says this was considered the running order of side 1 until the last minute:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band With A Little Help From My Friends Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite Fixing A Hole Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds Getting Better She's Leaving Home
Doesn't seem right.
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 8, 2020 3:28:20 GMT -5
They belong together, hence the double-A status of this single. And, to bring us round to where we began, it’s that double-A status that kept “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane” being a number one. Because what I wrote earlier isn’t true. Humperdinck didn’t shift more units than The Beatles.
Until you wrote this I had begun to think that you had gone insane. Or that England had gone insane in 1967? What the hell do I know, I'm an American and "Penny Lane" went to #1 here*. I was actually thinking, "Um, is he only counting the performance of one side?" And it turns out the chart maker only counted one side! Ah, that explains it. I guess. Hard to believe Humperdink outsold "Penny Lane".
Yeah, this is an awesome double A side single. Perfectly complementary songs. Incredible level of musicianship on these two. Fantastic lyric writing. Production does a great job of matching the vibe of the lyrics. A+ work on both sides of the single. Obviously, I think these two songs should have been on Sgt Pepper. That album is not one of my favorite Beatles albums, and its ranking would improve if these two songs were on it. Especially "Strawberry Fields".
Related, Revolver is my favorite Beatles album, and that ranking would be unchanged whether or not "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" were included on it. Though, adding "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper" to Rubber Soul would strengthen that album's argument for #1.
*"Penny Lane" went to #1 here, "Strawberry Fields Forever" landed at #8.
Honestly, looking at the top Billboard list of 1967 I'm amazed that "Strawberry Fields" went all the way up to #8. The top song in the USA in 1967 was "To Sir With Love" and it wasn't even close. The USA chart in 1967 is completely bizarre to me. Such a clear example of a transition time in culture.
What Else Happened in in 1967?
Just wanted to throw in some additional love here for The Velvet Underground and Nico.
Wow, that's a lot of hate for "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers In Your Hair)"! I find that song to be fine. It is weird to me that it became a massive hit and, like, the anthem of an entire cultural movement. Because it's just fine. But.... who knows? I can't explain why songs become big hits now, either.
I can't stand "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", so I'll happily let that one slide. "Happy Together" is a fun song that I still love, but which is obviously not as fun to analyze as "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever".
The US Billboard chart offers up a few other possibilities for #2 discussion, I mean, since I DQ the Beatles here given that "Penny Lane" hit #1 in the USA. Similarly would DQ Aretha Franklin's "Respect", which is obviously an awesome song.
But the USA offers up some interesting contenders peaking at #2:
The Mamas and the Papas - "Dedicated to the One I Love" The Supremes - "Reflections" Stevie Wonder - "I Was Made to Love Her" Gladys Knight and the Pips - "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" Sam & Dave - The original version of "Soul Man"
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Post by Prole Hole on May 8, 2020 4:31:11 GMT -5
Desert Dweller FWIW, Revolver... Side 1. Taxman Elanor Rigby I'm Only Sleeping Love You Too Here, There And Everywhere Paperback Writer Yellow Submarine She Said She Said Side 2. Good Day Sunshine And Your Bird Can Sing For No-one Doctor Robert Rain I Want To Tell You Got To Get You Into My Life Tomorrow Never Knows And you know, if we're doing rankings... Sgt Pepper, White Album, Abbey Road, Revolver, (Magical Mystery Tour), Rubber Soul, Help!, A Hard Day's Night, Let It Be, With The Beatles, Please Please Me, Beatles For Sale, (Yellow Submarine) The moment where McKenzie sings "there'll be a love-in there" is one of the single more insincere moments I have ever heard in recorded music. There's a famous story about George Harrison going over to San Francisco and declaring the whole hippy movement already dead because the pushers and the advertisers and the exploiters are all moving in, and that's what "San Francisco" is to me - just someone who clearly has no idea what he's talking about picking up a few phrases "the kids" are using and fashioning it into a song. Philip Wallach Blondheim III would not be my choice to get a message of universal love across. Anyway... No spoilers, but the Right Honourable Mr Wonder will be making a future appearance in this series!
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 8, 2020 5:35:32 GMT -5
Desert Dweller FWIW, Revolver... Side 1. Taxman Elanor Rigby I'm Only Sleeping Love You Too Here, There And Everywhere Paperback Writer Yellow Submarine She Said She Said Side 2. Good Day Sunshine And Your Bird Can Sing For No-one Doctor Robert Rain I Want To Tell You Got To Get You Into My Life Tomorrow Never Knows
Damn, Revolver would kick ass with those two songs on it. Yes, "Paperback Writer" would need to go there on Side 1.
It's at this point that I remember that I wiped "Doctor Robert" off my playlist because I despise it. Musically, I mean. I don't care about the theme of the album, the lyrics of this song, the reference Lennon is making, the point of it all... It could have the most profound or clever lyrics of all time, and I would have still wiped it from existing in my digital library. I just despise the music. Can I just flat out *replace* it with "Rain"? Thanks! I was wrong. THAT would actually improve Revolver. (Now thinking of doing this on my digital playlist...)
I won't do any rankings here because you would likely be appalled at how far back I'd rank Sgt Pepper. I really don't like it all that much. Essentially I find "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields" to be more satisfying than the entire album.
In fairness, Harrison was there 4 months AFTER this song was released. And this song was likely responsible for pulling a lot of those people there.
Also McKenzie didn't write it. John Phillips did. The co-producer of the Monterey Pop Festival, and a member of the Mamas and the Papas, who probably actually DID know what was going on. And I'd consider him an even less preferable person for singing about Universal Love.
Ooh, intriguing tease
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Post by Prole Hole on May 8, 2020 6:06:48 GMT -5
Desert Dweller - yeah I know McKenzie didn't write the song but I believe he still had it written for him? That it was by Phillips does not increase my regard for it... Oh rank away, scandalise me! (I actually totally understand why some people rank Pepper comparatively lowly. I have done in the past, and honestly the top three could all easily switch place depending on what mood I'm in, though I'll almost always take White over Abbey Road.)
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on May 8, 2020 8:00:56 GMT -5
I looked up my Beatles rankings, as set down in the Quickie Discography Review thread back in Feb 2018. It ran as follows:
Revolver Rubber Soul Sgt. Pepper's Magical Mystery Tour Help! Let It Be ... Naked Abbey Road The White Album A Hard Day's Night Let It Be Beatles For Sale Please Please Me With The Beatles Yellow Submarine
... and I stand by it, sir. I stand by it. (Especially Let It Be ... Naked. I've played the hell out of that recently - superb stuff.)
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Post by Prole Hole on May 8, 2020 8:32:11 GMT -5
I looked up my Beatles rankings, as set down in the Quickie Discography Review thread back in Feb 2018. It ran as follows: Revolver Rubber Soul Sgt. Pepper's Magical Mystery Tour Help! Let It Be ... Naked Abbey Road The White Album A Hard Day's Night Let It Be Beatles For Sale Please Please Me With The Beatles Yellow Submarine ... and I stand by it, sir. I stand by it. (Especially Let It Be ... Naked. I've played the hell out of that recently - superb stuff.) Yeah Let It Be... Naked is way, way better than Let It Be there's no doubt about that. McCartney gets a lot of stick for what happened at the end of the Beatles but he's absolutely on the money when it comes to claiming Phil Spector ruined the original album. I still can't stand "The Long And Winding Road" and I'm sure that's a good 75% because of Spector's awful strings and choral work. Just ghastly. I wouldn't rank the album quite as high as you but it would be middle of the pack, maybe around Rubber Soul. I like the nice high placement of Help!
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 13, 2020 1:08:01 GMT -5
I looked up my Beatles rankings, as set down in the Quickie Discography Review thread back in Feb 2018. It ran as follows: Revolver Rubber Soul Sgt. Pepper's Magical Mystery Tour Help! Let It Be ... Naked Abbey Road The White Album A Hard Day's Night Let It Be Beatles For Sale Please Please Me With The Beatles Yellow Submarine ... and I stand by it, sir. I stand by it. (Especially Let It Be ... Naked. I've played the hell out of that recently - superb stuff.) I don't even remember the original "Let It Be". I only play "Let It Be... Naked". That is a good album.
I think my rankings go:
Revolver Rubber Soul Abbey Road Magical Mystery Tour
Help! Let It Be... Naked The White Album Sgt Pepper A Hard Day's Night
And then the rest are some jumble after that. With the caveat that I really haven't listened to the original "Let it Be" in over a decade.
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 13, 2020 1:48:39 GMT -5
Yeah Let It Be... Naked is way, way better than Let It Be there's no doubt about that. McCartney gets a lot of stick for what happened at the end of the Beatles but he's absolutely on the money when it comes to claiming Phil Spector ruined the original album. I still can't stand "The Long And Winding Road" and I'm sure that's a good 75% because of Spector's awful strings and choral work. Just ghastly.
I quite like the stripped down version of "The Long and Winding Road" on the "Let it Be...Naked" album. I also can't stand Spector's production of that. Ye gods, those heavy strings. Yikes.
I can't even remember who passed me that "Naked" version of the album, but I am forever in their debt. I remember being blown away by the difference in quality, and I don't think I've listened to the original since then. Maybe 10-15 years ago?
There's a truly great lesson there in how big an impact production can have on pop music. Pretty sure I've trotted out OG "Long and Winding Road" vs the stripped down version as an easy example of this when introducing this concept to students.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 13, 2020 5:15:17 GMT -5
1968 - “Delilah”, Tom Jones
Smoooooth
Question – what genre is “Delilah” even in? It’s not really pop music, except in the literal sense that it was “popular” – “Delilah” was the sixth-biggest selling single in the UK in 1968, though even with those figures it didn’t make it to the top of the charts. So popular but not, you know, pop music in The Beatles or The Kinks sense of the phrase. It’s probably a ballad and maybe even a power ballad, a peculiar genre that simply won’t die and will provide steady incomes to everyone from Bonnie Tyler to Guns’n’Roses. It’s definitely a singalong, but is “singalong” even a genre? Probably not. Like previous entry “Downtown” it’s largely orchestral in its construction rather than being based on the typical guitar-bass-drums set-up the majority of songs in 1968 were but “Downtown” doesn’t remotely sound like it belongs to the same genre as this ode to love, betrayal and murder. Indeed, in some ways songs like “Delilah” represent their own genre, and fellow Welsh leatherlungs Shirley Bassey neatly falls into this category – whatever it is – as well. The reason for all this genre questioning is simple – “Delilah” really isn’t like much else in the charts throughout 1968. It’s a year dominated by folk-rock, psychedelia, soul and the start of heavy rock and the song itself was held off the top spot by “Lady Madonna” and, um, Cliff Richard (“Congratulations”, which to be fair had the benefit of being the UK’s Eurovision entry that year – the UK lost to Spain by one point). Yet it was vastly successful despite being so apparently rootless. Of course, some of the song’s success can be put down to the person belting it out. Tom Jones has more power in his voice than most small countries could muster collectively and the sheer volume and strength of his performance go a long way to selling what is, in truth, a faintly ridiculous premise. Jones had plenty of hits under his belt by this point in his career, including a Bond theme which similarly utilises the unstoppable force of his voice, but “Delilah” is… well, it’s quite something. The lyrics to “Thunderball” don’t make a lot of literal sense and skate by on the power of Jones’s performance, but the lyrics to “Delilah” involve a man passing by his girlfriend’s house, seeing her in flagrante with another man, so he kills her because he feels slighted and waits for the police to turn up and arrest him while asking forgiveness from his now-dead ex. Pretty catchy theme for a number two hit, right? Much of Tom Jones’s performance obscures this, not because he’s not singing it well but in fact quite the reverse. He sings it so well it’s hard to actually concentrate on what it is he’s singing because the performance is captivating. There are few voices in popular music quite like Tom Jones. It’s also vastly melodramatic – it’s hard to imagine a more melodramatic song really, and the melodrama of both the lyric and the delivery also slightly detract from the subject matter. It’s a dark subject matter, but it’s also clearly and demonstrably preposterous, and Jones’s performance leans heavily into this. It is, in other words, absurd in the most entertaining way possible. “Delilah” remains a favourite of Welsh rugby fans but in 2014 there was an attempt to get the fans to stop singing it at matches because it trivialised the murder of a woman. Talk about missing the point. If you’ve reached the point where you’re taking “Delilah” at face value it might be time to go and have a quiet sit-down and consider whether appreciating music is really for you. Tom Jones wasn’t the first person to record “Delilah”. PJ Proby was, a year earlier. Go and have a listen to it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=05araiOJNwM It’s almost exactly the same, except for not being remotely the same. The instrumentation is largely the same, even down to odd choices like the mariachi trumpets. The tempo is the same. Proby’s version ends with a flurry of those Spanish-or-Mexican sounding trumpets and fades out whereas the Jones version has that magnificent final note but other than that the songs have way more similarities than they have differences. PJ Proby sings the song decently. But Jones performs the song and it makes all the difference in the world. Key elements of the song here are singalong (the “why why why” and “my my my” refrains in the chorus) but nobody quite sings them like Jones can, and the difference between the two versions of the song show just what a difference choosing the right performer for the right song can make. Here’s Jones, giving it laldy on TV a few years after the song became a hit. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87jWwzvwd8 Just look at the way he’s performing it. He can barely keep the grin off his face. This is someone who loves performing this incredibly daft song, and it comes across in every second of screen-time – it’s downright charming. And that’s precisely what this song needs, not someone who can competently turn it out but someone who can invest in it. It would be a tough call to say whether “Delilah” is Tom Jones’s defining song, though it’s certainly one of them alongside “It’s Not Unusual”, “Thunderball” and a handful of others. But if it’s not quite his defining song then it’s certainly a song that defines a lot about him. That voice. The melodrama. The ability to take almost any subject and make something of it. And the fact that Jones almost always comes off simply as a nice guy – he can sing about murdering a lover who laughed in his face when caught cheating but come on. It’s Tom Jones! The 1973 performance above encapsulates that – he’s singing about a tragedy but he can’t repress the cheeky glint in his eye while he’s doing it. And that’s fine – Jones has always come across as a pretty likeable person in real life (well, until he grew that goatee and much of his self-awareness and humour rather evaporated) and it’s that charm, energy and enthusiasm that comes through on the song and truly animates it. And most of Jones’s songs, really. It’s just so clear how much he loves performing, and whether it’s a turned-up-to-eleven murder ballad like “Delilah” or something sweetly sentimental like “The Green Green Grass of Home” you can be certain that the now-Sir Tom Jones will be giving 110% in his performance and will never, ever give anything less. And you can’t ask for more than that, really. What Else Happened in 1968?Since we’re talking about singalongs it’s the year of “Hey Jude”, which is also the most popular song of the year though it’s deposed by Diana Ross and The Supremes in the U.S. charts. The number two most popular song this year is the peerless “What A Wonderful World”. Led Zeppelin play their first gig and Brian Jones plays his last with the Rolling Stones. Crosby, Stills and Nash get together, as do King Crimson. The Velvet Underground give us White Light / White Heat, a salutary warning to producers everywhere, and the Delfonics release their first album, La La Means I Love You. One of the icons of rock and roll, the Gibson Flying V, debuts so brace for a lot of strutting in the near future. Johnny Cash is At Folsom Prison and also marries June Carter. Tyrannosaurus Rex release their debut album, the snappily-titled My People Were Fair and Had Sky In Their Hair… But Now They’re Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows. At the other end of the spectrum the Beatles release The Beatles. Syd Barret exits Pink Floyd to be replaced by Dave Gilmour, and James Brown makes his famous television appearance appealing for calm following the murder of Martin Luther King. The Who being recording Tommy, Janis Joplin goes solo, and Peter Tork bails out of the Monkees. And the musical Hair debuts, which means the Age Of Aquarius dawns upon us whether we like it or not. What Did We Nearly End Up Discussing?Yes, it’s not a riot of quality at the number two spot in 1968 as far as the UK goes, unless your idea of “quality” is “The Mighty Quinn” or “Cinderella Rockefeller”. There’s a very high turnover – including our old friend Mr Humperdinck, who’s reduced to being “A Man Without Love” – but most of it is, bluntly, trash even though right at the end of the year we get “Build Me Up Buttercup” by the Foundations and the sweetly stupid “Lily The Pink” by the Scaffold. Across the pond things are a bit better – Aretha Franklin’s cover of “Chain Of Fools” for one. Aretha’s awesome – the song not so much. On both sides of the Atlantic Union Gap put in time at number 2 with “Young Girl” (it makes it all the way in the U.S.), a deeply worrying song that I don’t think you could get away with these days. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson” peaks at number 2 in the States but honestly I’ve never really gotten the appeal of Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sound Of Silence” apart). I mean, we could have talked about Richard Harris’s beyond-hilarious “MacArthur Park” but… maybe not. “Classical Gas” also peaks at number 2. I shall say no more. Rankings: 1. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" 2. The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" 3. Petula Clark - "Downtown" 4. Tom Jones - "Delilah" 5. Eddie Cochrane – "Three Steps To Heaven" 6. The Troggs - "Wild Thing" 7. Jimmy Dean - "Big Bad John" 8. Chubby Checker - "Let's Twist Again" 9. Billy J Kramer And The Dakotas - "Do You Want To Know A Secret" Next Week On We’re Number Two…We take a sly turn towards soul music.
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Dellarigg
AV Clubber
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
Posts: 7,499
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Post by Dellarigg on May 13, 2020 7:12:10 GMT -5
I can't stand this twat. Let's go back to talking about The Beatles. (Okay, I won't, except to say that the other good thing about Let it Be ... Naked is the much-improved running order, and adding Don't Let Me Down.)
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Post by Prole Hole on May 13, 2020 7:26:27 GMT -5
I can't stand this twat. Let's go back to talking about The Beatles. (Okay, I won't, except to say that the other good thing about Let it Be ... Naked is the much-improved running order, and adding Don't Let Me Down.) I cannot claim to be a fan, despite my apparently-controversial stance than his / The Art Of Noise version of "Kiss" is better than Prince's. Which it is. Agreed about the improved running order of Let It Be... Naked. "Don't Let Me Down" is a huge plus, though "Across The Universe" sucks in every iteration.
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Post by exexalien on May 13, 2020 17:18:11 GMT -5
Just want to say that I've been enjoying this series so far. I sort of forgot about it until you posted the link in the shuffle thread earlier - still getting used to this place, and missed that it was filed under "Discography Reviews" rather than the general Music Thread. Seriously, these articles deserve a much wider audience - they're well-researched and very enjoyable to read. A series like this would have fit right in at MOJO Magazine back in the day. Anyway, thanks again and keep up the great work!
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Post by Prole Hole on May 13, 2020 18:34:00 GMT -5
Just want to say that I've been enjoying this series so far. I sort of forgot about it until you posted the link in the shuffle thread earlier - still getting used to this place, and missed that it was filed under "Discography Reviews" rather than the general Music Thread. Seriously, these articles deserve a much wider audience - they're well-researched and very enjoyable to read. A series like this would have fit right in at MOJO Magazine back in the day. Anyway, thanks again and keep up the great work! Thanks! Much appreciated and glad you're enjoying it!
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on May 13, 2020 19:24:37 GMT -5
Am I alone in immediately thinking Listerine whenever I hear Tom Jones?
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Post by Prole Hole on May 15, 2020 9:29:47 GMT -5
Just want to say that I've been enjoying this series so far. I sort of forgot about it until you posted the link in the shuffle thread earlier - still getting used to this place, and missed that it was filed under "Discography Reviews" rather than the general Music Thread. Seriously, these articles deserve a much wider audience - they're well-researched and very enjoyable to read. A series like this would have fit right in at MOJO Magazine back in the day. Anyway, thanks again and keep up the great work! Oh! Also I should have said that I moved the thread so the fault is mine, really. It was on the main music page for a couple of entries then I thought no actually Discography makes more sense.
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 18, 2020 1:44:50 GMT -5
1968 “Delilah” - Tom Jones
Smoooooth
Question – what genre is “Delilah” even in? It’s not really pop music, except in the literal sense that it was “popular” – “Delilah” was the sixth-biggest selling single in the UK in 1968, though even with those figures it didn’t make it to the top of the charts. So popular but not, you know, pop music in The Beatles or The Kinks sense of the phrase. It’s probably a ballad and maybe even a power ballad, a peculiar genre that simply won’t die and will provide steady incomes to everyone from Bonnie Tyler to Guns’n’Roses.
Meh. It is clearly pop music. Not sure why you are genre confused. The link you posted to the PJ Proby version proves that it's a silly pop ballad. It only sounds different because Tom Jones has a voice from the 30s and 40s that you don't hear in pop music much in the 1960s.
I think the only times I've heard this song have been in movies. I looked it up and it looks like it hit #15 in the USA.
The song itself is really silly. I'm not sure why it is mariachi themed. The lyrics are ridiculous. The only thing notable is the singing of Tom Jones. And I'm not sure he really sings the song. Like, he seems to pay no attention to the lyrics at all. He could be singing about anything. I don't know. I'm not feeling this one.
I'm not sure the USA was really that much better. The 1968 chart looks pretty bad to me. Not sure what was going on there. It's a nice reminder that we think all music sucks now, but that's just because what's on the chart often sucks, regardless of era. I checked to see if songs peaking at #3 were better, but no, not really. Definitely helps me to understand why "Hey Jude" was #1 for so long.
The only other song worth mentioning that hit #2 in the USA is Stevie Wonder's version of "For Once in My Life". What an incredible version of that song. Hard to believe it was supposed to be a slow ballad. Listening to those early slow versions is so hard. Stevie just killed it with that faster tempo and more joyful feeling. Though, I know you've mentioned you are listing Stevie in a different year. Just wanted to call this one out because it is one of my favorite of Stevie's covers. 18 years old! Ugh, so talented.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 20, 2020 6:18:00 GMT -5
Desert DwellerThere are so many chances to talk about Stevie Wonder in this project it's frankly absurd. I've already struck three from the list to cover what I'm going to talk about. So talented indeed. "For Once In My Life" is just amazing.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 20, 2020 7:50:00 GMT -5
1969 - "Everyday People", Sly And The Family Stone
Epic indeed
“Everyday People” spent three weeks at Number 2 in February of 1969 before finally ascending to the hallowed Number 1 position in the U.S. And the message of “Everyday People” really couldn’t be simpler. We’re all the same, let’s get on. Race, society and people need peace between them, and since we’re all the same – we’re all everyday people – there should be no reason we can’t do that. It’s a nice idea, though 1969 would go out of its way to try and prove otherwise, what with Reagan sending state troopers into the People’s Park a few months before while declaring a state of emergency. Over a park. And the violence at the Isle Of Wight festival. And there’s Vietnam, of course. Altamont. 1969 is littered with examples of exactly why a song like “Everyday People” was so necessary. No naïve blissed-out white people vaguely hoping for the best, this was a real message that coming together was not just desirable but vital. And this wasn’t simply an abstract point of principal, Sly And The Family Stone walked the walk as well as talking the talk – they were one of the very first of what used to be called “integrated” bands, which is to say they had a line-up which was not all from one race but included two white members alongside the African-American core of the group. It is a sad commentary on the slow process of race relations that a decade later bands like The Specials in England would still be controversial for having “mixed” line-ups, but the start of that process is here, in 1969. The idea that peace and equality could be achieved through music was, obviously, a key hippy philosophy (as much as hippies had any key philosophy) but there’s a vast gulf between stoned hippies in Haight-Ashbury making glib V-signs for peace while drenching themselves in flowers and the urgent necessity for that to become reality when you’re part of a persecuted minority. There’s a reason Stand! has a song on it called “Don’t Call Me Ni--er, Whitey”. Still, “Everyday People”, at least musically, isn’t quite representative of Sly And The Family Stone. It’s calm and mid-tempo rather than funky and up-tempo, and much of the familiar bright funk and psychedelic elements that make up their earlier songs are more muted here. It’s a bit dopey in places (“and Scooby-dooby-doo”) though it comes across as rather charming rather than misplaced. The brass is positively restrained. Effective, but pretty low in the mix. “Everyday People” was a big hit alongside the album Stand! but even then it’s pretty stripped down compared to much of the material on the album itself. In some ways the song is following the advice of James Brown when he appeared on television to call for calm after the killing of Martin Luther King – “Everyday People” is a profoundly political song, but it is not the politics of anger or fury or retribution, it’s the politics of moving beyond that to a world where those things are no longer necessary. Right from the opening few lines of the song we’re told just how irrelevant the artificial boundaries are between “tribes” – “the butcher, the banker, the drummer and then / makes no different what group I’m in”, Sly sings (and the line is quietly underscored with additional backing vocals which aren’t on the opening two lines of the song). For all that this is a song not based in anger or fury it wastes absolutely no time at all in establishing exactly what it’s going to be about. It’s also the song that introduced “different strokes for different folks” as a common expression which, if you have to sum up the philosophy of “Everyday People”, pretty much does it in one single line. And given that message it’s also remarkably non-judgemental. “I’m no better and neither are you / we are the same whatever we do”. This is not a song interested in pointing the finger of blame and that point of view remains consistent – imagining a world where the need to blame is removed because we’re the same. The song also goes out of its way to include all parts of society including class, the wider community (talk of long hairs and short hairs) and – crucially – race with “there is a yellow one that won’t accept the black one / that won’t accept the red one that won’t accept the white one”. The lack of anger in the song is in itself a political state – aligning with the peace and integration message of the mainstream civil rights movement rather than the more radical politics of Malcom X – but the plea for unity is no less powerful for all that. It’s a simple lyric but its power lies in its directness, not in its volume. Protest music was basically inescapable in 1969. This was the year that John Lee Hooker sang “I Don’t Wanna Go To Vietnam”. The Plasic Ono Band released the anthemic (if rather facile) “Give Peace A Chance”, though Pete Seeger singing it in front of the White House backed by half a million people would become one of the enduring images of the year. Lennon and Ono themselves embarked on a series of “bed-ins” for peace. Hendrix played “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, an ironic, contemptuous take on the national anthem of the country currently engaged in napalming villages in East Asia. 1969 is the year James Brown released Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud, and even Elvis has “In The Ghetto”. There are many other examples, of course, but it is in this context Sly And The Family Stone emerged. Something as simple as Desmond Dekker having a huge hit with “Israelites” became a political statement, less for the content of the lyric and more because a reggae song doing that well stood in marked contrast to so much of what was in the charts – indeed “Israelites” was a breakthrough song, becoming the first reggae Number 1 in the UK and the first to break the top ten in the U.S. When acts like Desmond Dekker could break through it indicated a fundamental shift in the way music was being consumed and accepted. It’s inconceivable that “Israelites” – or indeed “Everyday People” – could have been a hit even two years earlier in the swirling heyday of psychedelia. But come Woodstock Sly and The Family Stone would be one of the triumphs and even before that they headlined the Harlem Cultural Festival, the “black Woodstock”, in front of tens of thousands of people. Things changed. Coming off the success of Stand! and “Hot Fun In The Summertime” (which peaked at Number 2) their place seemed secure, but it wouldn’t last. As the 60’s faded so Sly And The Family Stone went with them – firstly succumbing to politics, with the Black Panther Party demanding the removal of the white members of the band, then to heavy drug use which massively destabilised the band. It wasn’t the end for them, and Sly And The Family Stone would go on to produce two more seminal albums – There’s a Riot Goin’ On and Fresh – but the bright, optimistic soul music of the early days was gone, replaced by brooding funk and blues and lyrics more interested in urban desolation and hopelessness than with everyone just trying to get along. It’s hard not to see the decline of the band as analogous to the decline of the 60’s, the optimism and hope for equality dashed by the reality of the 70’s. “Everyday People” is a testament to the hopes that things might get better because we’re all the same. The fate of the band, sadly, is a testament to the opposite. What Else Happened in 1969?A lot. Three of the most important music festivals ever took place, with Woodstock at one end of the spectrum, The Rolling Stones’s disastrous Altamont at the other, and the Isle Of Wight festival somewhere in-between. It’s not a good year for the Stones – Brian Jones is sacked and dies under mysterious circumstances in his own swimming pool, so get ready for a wave of conspiracy theories. The Beatles give their actual-final concert on the roof of Apple, and release their actual-final album Abbey Road (though that won’t stop Let It Be trickling out in 1970). Paul marries Linda, John marries Yoko and that’s pretty much it for the Biggest Band On The Planet. Janice Joplin releases her first solo album, the none-more-Sixties titled I Got Dem Ol’ Kosmic Blues Again Mama! and David Bowie scores an indelible hit with “Space Oddity”, a song that will haunt him pretty much till the end of his career. The big news of 1969 is Elvis’s Vegas comeback, re-establishing him as more than a nostalgia act and propelling him to the top of the charts for the first time in seven years with “Suspicious Minds” – it’s the fifth biggest song of the year. Number four is “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies though, so make of that what you will… Johnny Cash gives us one of his signature hits, “A Boy Named Sue”, and speaking of signature hits Credence Clearwater Revival see a “Bad Moon Rising”. The landmark King Crimson album In The Court Of The Crimson King is released, Dusty Springfield gives us her career-best Dusty In Memphis and The Who’s first rock opera arrives in the shape of Tommy. Eurovision news – it’s a four-way tie! No, I don’t really care either, though the UK’s tie is Lulu’s simply awful “Boom Bang-a-Bang” which even the Scottish songstress’s signature enthusiasm can’t save. Diana Ross and The Supremes release their final single before Ms Ross goes her own way, Kraftwerk – arguably the most important electronic band of all time – are founded, and Neil Young releases his first solo album. The Velvet Underground release the last of their straight-up classics, The Velvet Underground. Led Zeppelin release not one but two albums (including “Whole Lotta Love” on the second one) and right at the end of the year, The Rolling Stones release their best album Let It Bleed, and a little-known band called The Jackson 5 release their first album, Diana Ross Present The Jackson 5. What Did We Nearly End Up Discussing?Stateside, Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” was definitely in contention, as well as “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” by the Supremes, both of which peaked at Number 2 in the U.S. charts. “A Boy Named Sue”, also peaking at Number 2, might have been fun. Peter, Paul and Mary could have been in contention with “Leaving On A Jet Plane” but let’s be real. That is not the definitive version of that song. UK-wards… erm, there’s Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross” in case you were suffering from insomnia. And there’s Elvis’s other hit of the year, “In The Ghetto”, improbably held off the top spot by Thunderclap Newman’s “Something In The Air”. Definitely not featured? The sodding “Age Of Aquarius”, and I don’t care how often you “Let The Sunshine In”. Rankings: 1. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" 2. The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" 3. Sly And The Family Stone - "Everyday People" 4. Petula Clark - "Downtown" 5. Tom Jones - "Delilah" 6. Eddie Cochrane – "Three Steps To Heaven" 7. The Troggs - "Wild Thing" 8. Jimmy Dean - "Big Bad John" 9. Chubby Checker - "Let's Twist Again" 10. Billy J Kramer And The Dakotas - "Do You Want To Know A Secret" Next week on We’re Number Two…A chat about the 60’s in general before we stamp merrily forward in the brown, flared world of the 70’s.
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 22, 2020 2:08:04 GMT -5
I scanned the Billboard chart for 1970. Pretty much nothing that peaked at #2 is of interest to me. Though, there are several #1 songs that spent time at #2 which are very interesting.
Hoping the UK has a good #2 song to talk about, or you pick one of those #1 songs that also were at #2 at some point.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 22, 2020 5:08:55 GMT -5
I scanned the Billboard chart for 1970. Pretty much nothing that peaked at #2 is of interest to me. Though, there are several #1 songs that spent time at #2 which are very interesting. Hoping the UK has a good #2 song to talk about, or you pick one of those #1 songs that also were at #2 at some point. It's a top-ten single of all-time, if that helps any...
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Post by Desert Dweller on May 22, 2020 16:22:21 GMT -5
I scanned the Billboard chart for 1970. Pretty much nothing that peaked at #2 is of interest to me. Though, there are several #1 songs that spent time at #2 which are very interesting. Hoping the UK has a good #2 song to talk about, or you pick one of those #1 songs that also were at #2 at some point. It's a top-ten single of all-time, if that helps any... Ah, then I think know which one.
As for Sly and the Family Stone, yes, that is a very good song. Though, I do prefer their more up-tempo funk songs. I actually didn't know that information about what happened to the group in 70s. Wow.
Also, the fashion visible in that photo on the cover of the single is amazing.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 25, 2020 10:17:30 GMT -5
The 60’s
The 1950’s lasted for approximately thirteen years. The 1960’s, by contrast, lasted around seven. This is the phenomenon of the Long Decade, by which the social and cultural impacts of a particular decade are measured not by strict calendar date but rather by the point at which they are superseded by in the incoming decade. Thus it can be said that the Long Fifties last until around 1963 with the arrival of the Beatles. Musically 1960, 1961 and 1962 have far more in common with the preceding decade than they do to the years that would follow. Rock and Roll had provided a seismic shift in music but ultimately it ruffled feathers rather that killing the bird. Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry burned bright, and the importance of what they did is unquestionable, but they never quite managed to erase the waves of crooners and balladeers that filled the charts. Death and scandal – from Eddie Cochrane and Buddy Holly to Jerry Lee Lewis’s ill-advised marriage – derailed a lot of rock and roll’s momentum. It was a musical style that never actually overturned the old order but rather came to exist alongside it. Elvis could still have a huge hit in 1960 – which he did, taking the two biggest selling songs of the year – but that didn’t stop Bing Crosby or Dean Martin’s career. Tony Bennett still sold by the truckload. The arrival of the Beatles and the vast wave of bands that followed in their wake did obliterate the old older, which makes 1963 and the arrival of Please Please Me as good a place as any to declare the 50’s over but of course it’s not quite that straightforward. The end of the 50’s won’t stop Frank Sinatra having the biggest song of 1966 but as a chart mainstay the days of the 50’s dominant style are over. Other musical styles started to come forward as well – blues and country, and the emerging folk movement led by Dylan in America – which, by the time 1963 rolls around, were starting to make their presence felt in the charts. Please Please Me is a convenient point to read the 50’s their funeral rites but it’s important to remember that it wasn’t just the Liverpudlian four-piece that actually committed the murder. Others had a hand in it too. The ending of the Long Fifties was coming from a number of different directions and it took three years for them to actually die. By contrast, the Long Sixties basically don’t exist. The 1960’s crashed to a close pretty much right at the end of the decade. You can take any number of events which might act as the end of “the 60’s” but Altamont is as appropriate a place as any. A concert, given freely in what was supposed to be a spirit of generosity, destroyed by ignorance, stupidity, drugs, violence and which ended in the deaths of four people. As a metaphor for the end of the hippie dream and the decade it’s pretty apposite. But then there are so many. The Beatles technically broke up in 1970 but if we used that event it would only extend the Long Sixties by a few months, though as the band that embodies the 60’s more than any other their final, fractious end does stand as another tombstone for the decade. And what of the other big bands of the 60’s? The Stones started a creative renaissance right at the end of the decade with Let It Bleed, but Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street don’t quite sound like the same band that recorded Their Satanic Majesties’ Request, and the firing and subsequent death of Brian Jones (another signifier) ended the original line-up. The Kinks start off strong with Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround but commercial success would elude them pretty much from 1970 onwards. The Beach Boys were in an irrecoverable creative nosedive. Diana Ross left the Supremes in 1969. Jimi Hendrix died in 1970. Dylan intentionally imploded his career with 1970’s Self Portrait. Some artists would rise from the ashes but culturally the seven years we think of as “the 60’s” remain remarkably self-contained for the supposed impact they had. The biggest selling single of 1969 was The Beatles “Get Back”. The biggest selling single of 1970 was Mungo Jerry’s jug-band drink-a-long “In The Summertime”. Psychedelia drifted off into prog. Blues morphed into hard rock and heavy metal. Folk became a by-word for twee self-indulgent delusion. The mythology of the 60’s couldn’t escape the gravitational pull of the decade. But then, the 60’s were busy self-mythologizing even when they were in full swing. “Swing” being exactly the word of course because the “swinging Sixties” was how the decade referred to itself, a bit like that annoying person at work who insists you call them by the nickname they’ve chosen to give themselves. But did the Sixties really “swing” anyway? I mean, they probably did if you hung out at the Bag O’Nails club with Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix. Or maybe if you lived within a magic triangle stretching from the King’s Road to Carnaby Street to Abbey Road in London, or somewhere around Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. But beyond that? It would be interesting to know how “swinging” Scunthorpe was. Or Minneapolis. So much of the imagery and impressions of the decade were just excuses to make money, and the mythologizing of the Sixties completely plays into that. The Mini might be an iconic car and an enduring symbol of Sixties Britain but British Leyland didn’t manufacture it in order to hasten in a decade of free love and LSD (frankly they might have built better cars if they had). You can make the same assumption about Volkswagen and the camper van – a sale is a sale whether you’re bedecking it in beads and flowers to go to a love-in or taking it on a nice Sunday drive to the local market town. The miniskirt was an instrument of liberation for women as much as the pill but that didn’t stop fashion and pharmaceutical companies making a killing from them. Mary Quant’s fashions dominate what we think of as Sixties London but good luck finding or affording that if you live outside the M25. Counter-culture opened up a new space for the people who always made money to make more money. There’s a reason one of the dominant narratives of Sixties bands is “getting badly ripped off by the manager”, and the discovery that teenagers had spending power hastened in a whole new era of cheap tat for moneymen to get rich off of. Money is money, whether you’re selling the conformity of a host of terrible Mersey Beat bands in 1964 or trying to convince the world to buy into your image of peace and love in 1968. The money boys get paid either way (and they were almost always boys). That’s not to suggest that attempts to shift what was going on in culture were empty or worthless, nor that there weren’t good intentions behind them. But the sheer scale and implacability of the Establishment was vastly underestimated or at the very least misunderstood, even by those at the top of the new cultural force. Apple, the Beatles catastrophically disastrous attempt to create a company based on artistic value rather than financial necessity was absolutely motivated by the desire to help people. It failed so badly that it became a significant contributing factor in the band’s demise but the motive behind it was still genuinely altruistic. It just wasn’t run by anyone who had the slightest idea how to translate high-minded concepts of artistic liberation in to anything like a workable model. Nor did they have any idea of the kind of resistance they might meet, from scammers determined to soak the company for all its worth to something as simple as them not being able to put up a mural on the Apple Boutique because of complaints from people who actually lived and worked in the area. Were Lennon and McCartney naïve in their approach? Undoubtedly, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth a go. Despite that it still failed and everyone, including the four Beatles, ended up having to go back to traditional record labels. Still, it would be ludicrous to suggest that nothing changed in the 60’s because obviously it did, both for music and broader society. Though even then it’s important to keep things in perspective. There was massive innovation and change in the music scene, that’s beyond doubt, but as we’ve previously discussed the charts are a measure only of what’s popular not what’s artistically worthwhile. And when we look at what actually sold there’s a noticeable absence of kaftans, drugs and politics. The answer may have been blowing in the wind but the question was something quite different. The Beatles had the two biggest selling singles of the decade in the UK with “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” – no surprise there – but the third biggest was Liverpudlian comedian Ken Dodd with the soppy none-more-50’s ballad “Tears”. Normally I’d say “go away and have a listen” but God you really shouldn’t. It’s abysmal, like the bastard love-child of Johnny Mathis and Jimmy Tarbuck set to strings so syrupy Canada could adopt them as a national symbol should there be a sudden shortage of maple trees. The 60’s might have ended the dominant style of the 50’s but that doesn’t mean it was a clean break. In fact, in the UK if we strip out the Beatles from the equation, the top-selling singles artists are Ken Dodd, The Seekers, Our Friend Engelbert, Elvis, Tom Jones, Acker Bilk (!), Frank Ifield and Cliff Richard (!!). It’s not exactly a list made for the radical reinvention of a dominant art-form is it? The music of the 60’s might have changed everything from one angle, but from another the top of the charts aren’t reflecting psychedelic glory, political and social awareness or bucolic folk music. Claim Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” is the best song ever recorded all you like, Rolf Harris still had the 19th biggest selling single with the now-deeply-unfortunate “Two Little Boys”. The Stones don’t put in an appearance until you get to the 36th best-selling single (“The Last Time”, surprisingly, not “Satisfaction” which scrapes in at 43). The Kinks, one of the Great British Singles Bands of all time, don’t crack the top 50. Neither do The Who. There’s no soul or Motown whatsoever, so no Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Supremes… nothing. Of course, that does require stripping out The Beatles, and clearly they do represent a fundamental shift (the biggest-selling album, worldwide, was Sgt Pepper, it will come as no surprise to discover) but it’s striking just how conservative the other top-sellers are without their presence. Once again we see there is no causal link between what is popular and what might actually be regarded as good or significant. The enduring clichés of the 60’s remain, and always will remain, the lens through which that decade is viewed. Screaming girls at JFK welcoming the Beatles. Stoned hippies at Woodstock. Flowers and kaftans and bells. Joints big enough to be used as industrial chimneys. You know the sort of thing. But the disconnect between the image and the reality highlights how the mythologizing of history can overwrite the reality of it, obfuscating the truth. Most places didn’t swing. Most of the big sellers were very traditional. We’ll see more of this as we plunge into the 70’s and embrace newly emergent forms of music, from disco* and punk to glam and funk, and what kind of lasting legacy they will leave. We’ll start that next week but here, at the end of the 60’s, it really is the end of the 60’s. There will be no Long Sixties to discuss, just a backwards glance at a decade which, while undoubtedly shaking up the order of things, still never managed to get beyond itself. And a cultural legacy that will be forever trapped the amber of seven – not ten – years. *Yes! Me! Writing about disco! Next Week On We're Number Two...
We leave the Sixties behind and take our first tentative step into the Seventies. And I almost fell for...
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