UMPIRE2's Semi-Personal MUSIC Thread

[umpire2]

Trail of the Lonesome Track No. 12

"It's A Monday Kind Of Tuesday"---Hello People (1967)

I would be hard-pressed to find a song that I loved more from a band that I cannot stand.

The Hello People's schtick was appearing as mimes and never speaking, aside from singing their songs. They totally creeped me out as a kid when I saw them on TV (either in late 1968 or early 1969). They practically gave me the willies.

However, as far back as I can remember, I loved this song and bought a copy of the 45 as soon as I saw it in a record shop in 1973.

The rest of their output runs from 'eh' to absolute shit, but I adore this song.

One interesting note (for those that are interested), other than developing a small cult following in the late 1960s, The Hello People really went nowhere---until they stopped being an independent band and started backing up Todd Rundgren on tour in the 1970s (I believe during the 'Todd' tour in 1974).

(Another interesting bit that probably does not belong here is that Rundgren's former back-up band----after he left The Nazz---included Tony and Hunt Sales, the sons of comedian Soupy Sales; Tony and Hunt Sales later joined David Bowie in forming Tin Machine---a sad era in Bowie's otherwise illustrious career).

I'm done talking now.

http://youtu.be/_Glu3J0HVP4

[Wee Hector]

Originally Posted by umpire2

Trail of the Lonesome Track No. 11

"Thank U Very Much"----The Scaffold (1967)

It might not seem like much, but The Scaffold's 'Thank U Very Much' is a bit of a kick for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it was co-written by band member Peter Michael McCartney (Paul's bro, under the name Mike McGear). The Scaffold were a comedy team (trio) that performed skits and humorous songs (not unlike the more famous Monty Python's Flying Circus and iconic Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band).

The Scaffold actually had a #1 record in England with 'Lily the Pink', but I like 'Thank U Very Much' quite a bit better (and I have the original 45).

http://youtu.be/Ei1m0juaYEM

Totally unexpected but no less welcome. Like you I loved Lily the Pink but always preferred this one. And several years later the link between Scaffold and the Bonzos would become much closer in Grimms.

[umpire2]

Good to see you, Hector!

[umpire2]

NUMBER 224:

"GRACE UNDER PRESSURE"---RUSH (1984)

I may have said this before, but if one doesn't like Rush, well...you don't like Rush.

But if you have any sense at all, and you DO like Rush, you still might not be ready to admit that "Grace Under Pressure" was the tightest, most well-structured musically, album the band had released to that point AND, as far as total originality was concerned, it was their peak.

Sure, you can still be amazed at how, after nearly 40 years, three guys can still be able to produce great material time after time, but something has to be "the best" that a band has ever done...and this is it.

Just listen: 'Distant Early Warning', great; 'Afterimage', great; 'Red Sector A', very great; 'The Enemy Within', great; 'The Body Electric", very great; 'Kid Gloves', very good; 'Red Lenses', very good; 'Between The Wheels', great.

It is probably little wonder that the band had a letdown on "Power Windows", their next release (I know, I crap all over "Power Windows", but that is only because it is such an anomaly in the Rush catalog...an album that is only decent). After 10 studio albums that, for the most part, each was better than the last, they needed a creative breather.

I have not yet listened to last week's new release, "Clockwork Angels" (the band's 20th studio album), but if it is half as good as "grace Under Pressure", it will be well worth the wait.


http://youtu.be/PFk33Cr-aVw

'Red Sector A'

[umpire2]

The Trail of the Lonesome Track #13

"Cool Jerk"---The Capitols (1966)

This number is totally amazing, full of soul, full of rhythm, danceable, drive-able, and sex-able.

Written by Ralph Jones and Don Stoball to take advantage of the dance craze 'the jerk' that was sweeping Detroit clubs in late 1965 and early 1966, they reformed their old singing group that had broken up in 1964, and, backed by the Motown session band The Funk Brothers, they recorded "Cool Jerk" in the spring of 1966 and it was an immediate smash.

I can remember hearing this song as early as I can remember, and for a long time I thought it was a much older song---like from the 1950s. I bought the single in the mid-1970s and it has been in my regular rotation ever since.

"Cool Jerk"!

http://youtu.be/JNCWhdYmPoE

[umpire2]

I will still go with the 1966 original, but in looking for the You Tube video of "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols to post, I ran across this cover version by KAKO.


It is totally cool and worth a listen.....

http://youtu.be/8pJymv2uEAM

[umpire2]

After yesterday's "Cool Jerk", I was thinking about other dance tracks and how sometimes the simplest songs can be the best. Hence.....

Trail of the Lonesome Track #14

"Wah-Watusi"---The Orlons (1962)

Another dance craze that preceded 'The Jerk' was The Watusi in 1961 and 1962. The first "Watusi" release (a totally different song) was by The Vibrations in 1961. It is a nice track and made a stir, but to me, Philadelphia's The Orlons topped the Watusi race in the Spring and Summer of 1962 with this bouncy number.....

http://youtu.be/0yqsv6h7A44

[umpire2]

Trail of the Lonesome Track #15.....

Though still (at a stretch....try to dance to this) dance-oriented, let's move 37 years beyond "Wah-Watusi" to 1999's "The Frug" by Rilo Kiley.

The references in the song are to several dances (The Frug, which developed in 1963-1964, The Swim, The Freddie (1963, inspired by the spastic movements of lead singer Freddie Garrity), The Robo-Cop, etc) and about trying to fit in.

Simple, simple, simple, but I love this track.

Rilo Kiley, now defunct, I understand, were bouncing around for 14 years, led by former child actors Blake Sennett and lead singer Jenny Lewis.

http://youtu.be/WSO4Y9ygPIw

"The Frug"

[umpire2]

Trail of the Lonesome Track #16

"Let's Boogaloo"---Willie Rosario (1968)

I admit I never heard this track until it appeared in the film BLOW, and I tracked it down, only to find that it was 33 years old (almost as old as me!:eek:)

It is a great, groovy track that deserves more attention, as does Willie Rosario himself. At 82, Rosario has been playing, performing and recording for nearly 65 years. Born in Puerto Rico, he lived there until after World War II, when his family moved to New York.

Rosario, who had already played congas in bands in Puerto Rico, began to frequent clubs in NY and that is where he first saw Tito Puente playing timbales. They became Rosario's instrument of choice. He took lessons with Henry Adler and started to play in various bands around NY.

By 1959, he led his own group and in 1962 won his first recording contract.

Around 2000, Rosario semi-retired back to Puerto Rico, where he still lives and occasionally performs.

In 2002, he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame, but he is relatively unknown outside of the greater Latin-American community.

http://youtu.be/Y9mLvKjYZfc

[N.E. Woman]

Originally Posted by umpire2

OK, the original concept of this thread was to create a kind of 'Desert Island' music list, but unlike most "Top Ten"'s, I wanted to put together the top 1,000 albums 'of all time' ----IN MY OPINION.

Looking through my 11,000+ albums, I could only come up with 970 "must haves" (I know---this sounds ridiculous to some, but I listen to music constantly and must have variety).

So, in a COUNT DOWN, I am going to mini-review my TOP 970 albums that I couldn't do without if I was trapped on a desert island (with a portable generator, plenty of food, books and about a half-dozen women, of course).

Feel free to point out YOUR favorites, without condemning MINE.

The first review coming up shortly...

How do you rate 11,000 recordings? Can you explain a little bit on how you came up with the top 970?

Where do you put all your albums? Do you have a room specifically for categorizing your music?

This is fascinating.

NEW

PS - I love music too, but I'm not sure I could rate my favorites.

[richief]

Originally Posted by Wee Hector

Totally unexpected but no less welcome. Like you I loved Lily the Pink but always preferred this one. And several years later the link between Scaffold and the Bonzos would become much closer in Grimms.

The memories come flooding back, and yes I prefer "Thank-you" over "Lily".

Originally Posted by N.E. Woman

How do you rate 11,000 recordings? Can you explain a little bit on how you came up with the top 970?

Where do you put all your albums? Do you have a room specifically for categorizing your music?

This is fascinating.

NEW

PS - I love music too, but I'm not sure I could rate my favorites.

All done with difficulty and a little hair pulling, I guess.

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by N.E. Woman

How do you rate 11,000 recordings? Can you explain a little bit on how you came up with the top 970?

Where do you put all your albums? Do you have a room specifically for categorizing your music?

This is fascinating.

NEW

PS - I love music too, but I'm not sure I could rate my favorites.

If you have gone through the thread, I've talked about this already and even answered a question similar to yours.

First, I have 1 room totally dedicated and another partially; they are categorized by genre, then internally by alphabet.

How I go about rating them? I've said this, too, and there are clues in many of the reviews. It is also fairly obvious. (And I have 'rated' more than 11,000, as I have gotten ride of thousands that I did not like well enough to even keep, much less make a 'Top 1,000'):

If an album contains a great track or even two, no matter how good those songs are, it is not even remotely going to make the list if the rest of the album is poor, mediocre or even so-so.

One totally awful song will not eliminate an album from consideration, but two might and three almost certainly will, even if the rest of the album is excellent.

What I look for is for most (all is nearly impossible) of the tracks to be at least very good to excellent, not to have any really poor tracks, to be relatively original and well-performed. Melody is very important to me, musically, along with rhythm. Some listeners are satisfied with either beat alone (or even volume alone, which I really don't get), lyrics alone or even 'performer alone' (I can understand having favorite singers or bands---I have them myself---but just because your favorite band records something does not automatically make it brilliant. This is a fairly ridiculous concept). I think lyrics are important, but a lyrically good album will never make the list if the music isn't good. That is why this is not a 'Top 1000 POETRY list', or a 'Top 1000 Dance Music list' or a 'Top 1000 Hip-Hop list' or a 'Top 1000 Metal list'.

If people are honest with themselves, most albums, even 'big hit' albums only contain two, three, four or maybe five tracks that are really good. The rest are filler. Sometimes the filler is OK, sometimes it is not. This includes most people's favorite albums.

I go by my own taste, which I admit is esoteric, and because taste is involved, two-thirds of people will probably think I am wrong two-thirds of the time. That is OK, because this is just a demonstration of MY opinion. I wouldn't even say that I am completely correct in my choices (except for being correct for ME); I do think, however, that (universally speaking) I am nearly HALF correct.

I talk too much.

[N.E. Woman]

Sorry for re-asking the questions... I actually skipped through a lot of the comments of others, and your answers, so that I could just read your "list". From now to the end, I will read every posting.

One last question... Sorry

By percentages what is your library composed of?

Vinyl
CD
Tapes

Thanks,
NEW

PS- you don't talk too much.

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by N.E. Woman

Sorry for re-asking the questions... I actually skipped through a lot of the comments of others, and your answers, so that I could just read your "list". From now to the end, I will read every posting.

One last question... Sorry

By percentages what is your library composed of?

Vinyl
CD
Tapes

Thanks,
NEW

PS- you don't talk too much.

At this point I have many more CDs than vinyl LPs, mainly because over the last 25 years, albums have been rarely offered on vinyl, and when they are, they are super-expensive. For someone who used to get vinyl records for $3.99 to $5.99, it was a major transition to have to pay $9.99 to $11.99 for CDs. It is more of a shock to have to pay $19.99 to $24.99 for a vinyl copy of a CD that I can get for $9.99.

Also, I don't just have 11,000+ items, I have 11,000+ different albums. About 1/2 of the things I have an vinyl, I also have on CD.

I have almost no tapes anymore.

I also have a lot of single songs on my iPod that I do not have on either CD or vinyl.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 223:

"MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED, TOO"---NEW RADICALS (1998)

There are a lot of people who diss this album as uneven fluff.

OK.

After you get your ears examined, maybe you should get your head examined, too. Or, MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED, TOO...to think that anything in the 'pop' arena is worthless.

THINK AGAIN (If you still have the ability to think).

When I first heard 'You Get What You Give' (one of THE greatest pop songs EVER written, both musically, lyrically and in the 'I don't really give a fuck' brashness of its presentation), I thought, "OK, this is just too good to be anything but a flash-in-the-pan, One-Hit-Wonder piece, because no one in this day and age can keep this up."

I was right.....and I was wrong.

I bought the album and was blown away by the enthusiasm of 'Mother We Just Can't Get Enough', the dripping slackness of 'I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away The Ending', which marvelously comes across like a ganja-gorged airhead lyrically and, after musically sounding like sweat running from a wall of latex paint, it shifts to an almost tender plea concerning over-commitment for love to the point of being untrue to oneself. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.

Even though 'I Don't Wanna Die Anymore' is really good, it is almost a letdown after the first three tracks, because it is ONLY very food.

The irrepressible JOY in 'Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You' makes me smile like a blithering idiot every time I hear it, even after 100 or more spins. Hell, I want to MEET Carolina!

'Someday We'll Know' is one of the greatest 'once this life is over' and break-up songs ever. The combination is tearful, innocent and insightful at the same time. As much as 'Jehovah' makes me smile, 'Someday We'll Know' just chokes me up. This kind of emotional roller coaster is a rare achievement.

The title cut starts out somewhere in a sewer tunnel, inhabited by a recluse with a fascination for reverb.....but occasionally it wrestles out a tune that is Rolling Stones by way of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. Good. Strange, but good.

'In Need Of A Miracle' is a nice song with a very good melody; 'Gotta Stay High' is a better song with an even better melody line.

'Technicolor Lover' is totally cool from the 'nose kazoo' riff, through the hip-swinging verses to the bouncy chorus. It is a finger-snapping stroller.

'Flowers' is a swirling ode to love (even though it has a chorus that states winningly that '"My love is real, as real as the flowers you smoke to get high").....now THAT is love.

'Crying Like A Church On Monday' is the closer and it has a spiritual quality and more lyrical intensity.

A super album that deserved at least six or seven follow-ups. It's enough to make one cry.

Gregg Alexander, the brains behind "Brainwashed" was a bit taken aback by the popularity of the album (over one million copies sold in about 10 months)and particularly the song 'You Get What You Give'. Unwilling to tour and annoyed by the press seeking interviews, television programs seeking appearances, Alexander almost immediately retired from the biz.

There has been nothing since.

http://youtu.be/34RnvBQ6KIk

'Someday We'll Know'

[umpire2]

NUMBER 222:

"RUBBER SOUL"---The Beatles (1965)

The first of two 'transitional' albums preceding "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", wherein the Liverpudlians move from being the rock/pop mop-tops to extremely clever songwriters and musical experimenters.

"Rubber Soul" contains some brilliant tracks, some very good ones (both old-style and new), some good tunes and some OK bits, but overall the album is excellent and does essentially what the boys want it to...expand their horizons.

In the brilliant category, we find 'Norwegian Wood' one of the first real slice of life songs that first John Lennon and then Paul McCartney would become so adept at; the strange and fascinating 'Nowhere Man'; Paul McCartney's elegantly simple 'Michelle' (which, like 'Yesterday' took the Beatles' songbook into the "standards" category) and 'In My Life' (not one of my favorite Beatles' tracks, but I recognize just how good it is, both musically and lyrically).

In the very good zone, there are 'Drive My Car', 'You Won't See Me' (a song that became a blueprint for The Monkees' basic style'), John Lennon's 'Girl' (which is his crack at writing a 'Michelle', and it is very good, but not as good as McCartney's effort) and 'I'm Looking Through You' and 'Run For Your Life', the two pop/rock throwbacks that are just very cool.

In the 'good' group, there are George Harrison's 'Think For Yourself' and 'If I Needed Someone' (not great, but nice efforts)and 'The Word' (which sounds like Lennon and McCartney were oddly trying to copy Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs).

In the 'OK' corner, we have 'What Goes On', a song written in the 'Honey Don't'/'Act Naturally' vein that Ringo could passably sing. Now, I like Ringo, and the song is OK, but it is one of the weakest tracks on the set; also 'Wait', which is also not bad, but it doesn't have much of a lyric and the melody is not strong enough to make it any more than 'OK'.

Fourteen tracks, 4 of them brilliant, 5 very good cuts, 3 good ones and 2 of then OK. Certainly island worthy.

[umpire2]

.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 221:

"Language, Sex, Violence. Other?"---Stereophonics (2005)

Talk about being dissed in the U.S., the Welsh band, The Stereophonics, with 5 of their 7 albums hitting NUMBER 1 in the U.K., managed to hit their highest level in the U.S. with 2005's "LSV.O?", peaking at.....wait for it.....#127.

#127

ALL of The Stereophonics albums were worthy of breaking into the Top 20 in the years they were released, but in the U.S., more people are interested in listening to complete twaddle.

I would not bring a box load of Stereophonics albums to the island, but they are ALL good. Especially "LSV.O?", which we are briefly looking at here.

It is my personal favorite by the band, and it is one of those albums where there are not really any SUPER cuts, but every one of the eleven tracks is very good (if you want standouts, try 'Superman', 'Dakota' and 'Deadhead').

This is a group that deserves a serious listen, so get your head out of Justin Bieber's ass, clean the Katy Perry shit out of your ears, walk quickly away from John Mayer before he puts you to sleep again and listen to something good.

http://youtu.be/i52IcQBV1DM

'Deadhead'

[umpire2]

NUMBER 220:

"Head Over Heels"---Poco (1975)

If you've ever listened to the lyrics of The Eagles' 'Peaceful, Easy Feelin', it would somewhat describe this superior album by Poco.

"Head Over Heels", while still country-rock oriented (more country than rock, always), this album has a much more 'pop feel' than the band's previous efforts, probably in an attempt to attract a larger audience after their eight previous albums never reaching higher than #38 on the Billboard Charts (the first eight averaged a peak of #58, and only the loyalty of a core fan base that guaranteed sales of about 200,000 to 250,000 units kept Poco going).

The pop move did not work much better, sales-wise, as "Head Over Heels" only made it to #43 and eventually sold about 323,000 albums, but as far as quality is concerned, it is super.

The highlights of the album are three Paul Cotton penned tunes ('Down In The Quarter', 'Georgia, Bind My Ties' and 'Let Me Turn Back To You'); three Timothy Schmidt numbers ('Keep On Tryin' ', 'Flyin' Solo' and 'I'll Be Back Again', medium-tempo but sprightly songs) and 'Dallas', written by Steely Dan's Walter Brecker and Donald Fagen.

There ARE no bad tracks on the album, and, although not as high quality as the aforementioned seven songs, Rusty Young (the band's steel guitar and banjo player) was coming into his own as a songwriter and while 'Lovin' Arms' and 'Makin' Love' are only good, the up-tempo 'Sittin' On A Fence' and the ballad 'Us' are very good.

Poco was always a quality band, but they were never rock enough to draw a large audience from that genre, never country enough to pull the George Jones set and rarely poppy enough to lure teeny-boppers.

A shame, really.

http://youtu.be/LgBn4Wk5DuQ

'Flyin' Solo'

[umpire2]

NUMBER 219:

"Blind Faith"---Blind Faith (1969)

Critics.

What do they know?

With much anticipation, the "Supergroup" Blind Faith released its first album in the Summer of 1969, and many critics were disappointed with the effort, some calling weak, some calling it unoriginal and some saying that Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech simply could have done a more 'exciting' job.

Huh.

"Blind Faith" contains 6 tracks, 4 of which are absolute classics (Winwood's 'Had To Cry Today', 'Can't Find My Way Home' and 'Sea Of Joy' and Clapton's 'Presence Of The Lord'). Ginger Baker's 'Do What You Like' is very good and there is nothing wrong with 'Well, All Right' and, in fact, the arrangement of the Buddy Holly tune is very inventive.

If there is anything to complain about (but I don't think so), it is that the album is not 'flashy'; but who needs flash? The songs are all good to great. That should be enough.

Baker is a bit subdued on drums on Side One, picking things up a bit on 'Sea Of Joy' and delivering his usual performance on the 15-minute 'Do What You Like'. Other than that, the performances are quite nice by professionals who were not trying to prove anything, because they did not have to.

"Blind Faith" is the only album by the group. Clapton took the negative reviews to heart (he is very sensitive) and quit the band, moving on to start his ensemble group, Derek & The Dominoes; Winwood and Grech gave Ginger Baker a hand on HIS enemble project, Ginger Baker's Airforce, before the two went to work on what was supposed to be a Winwood solo album, but evolved into a Traffic reunion ("John Barleycorn Must Die", 1970) with Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood showing up and Grech playing bass.

Despite the critics' moans and Clapton's bailout, "Blind Faith" hit #1 on the Billboard Charts and remains a classic to this day.

http://youtu.be/R2xRYw3DmRY

'Had To Cry Today'

[umpire2]

NUMBER 218:

"HONEYMOON SUITE"---HONEYMOON SUITE (1984)

In 1984 and thereabouts, I was much more susceptible to pop-rock, and although most of what I liked then has faded in my opinion over the years, the debut by Honeymoon Suite has not. I am not saying that it is cerebral or musically brilliant, but I still like it after about 28 years, and I would miss it if it were not on the island.

I tried to "stay into" Honeymoon Suite for a couple of albums after, but in comparison, they sound watery and weak. "Honeymoon Suite" (the debut) might not be your cup of tea, but if you are looking for branded 1980s pop-rock nostalgia, you need go no further.

The lead-off 'New Girl Now' is a grabber, and 'Burning In Love', 'Stay In The Light', 'Face To Face' and 'Heart On Fire' are also top tracks. All of the album is very good, but it is very genre specific.

[Wee Hector]

Originally Posted by umpire2

NUMBER 222:

"RUBBER SOUL"---The Beatles (1965)

The first of two 'transitional' albums preceding "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", wherein the Liverpudlians move from being the rock/pop mop-tops to extremely clever songwriters and musical experimenters.

"Rubber Soul" contains some brilliant tracks, some very good ones (both old-style and new), some good tunes and some OK bits, but overall the album is excellent and does essentially what the boys want it to...expand their horizons.

In the brilliant category, we find 'Norwegian Wood' one of the first real slice of life songs that first John Lennon and then Paul McCartney would become so adept at; the strange and fascinating 'Nowhere Man'; Paul McCartney's elegantly simple 'Michelle' (which, like 'Yesterday' took the Beatles' songbook into the "standards" category) and 'In My Life' (not one of my favorite Beatles' tracks, but I recognize just how good it is, both musically and lyrically).

In the very good zone, there are 'Drive My Car', 'You Won't See Me' (a song that became a blueprint for The Monkees' basic style'), John Lennon's 'Girl' (which is his crack at writing a 'Michelle', and it is very good, but not as good as McCartney's effort) and 'I'm Looking Through You' and 'Run For Your Life', the two pop/rock throwbacks that are just very cool.

In the 'good' group, there are George Harrison's 'Think For Yourself' and 'If I Needed Someone' (not great, but nice efforts)and 'The Word' (which sounds like Lennon and McCartney were oddly trying to copy Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs).

In the 'OK' corner, we have 'What Goes On', a song written in the 'Honey Don't'/'Act Naturally' vein that Ringo could passably sing. Now, I like Ringo, and the song is OK, but it is one of the weakest tracks on the set; also 'Wait', which is also not bad, but it doesn't have much of a lyric and the melody is not strong enough to make it any more than 'OK'.

Fourteen tracks, 4 of them brilliant, 5 very good cuts, 3 good ones and 2 of then OK. Certainly island worthy.

I've always had a fascination for "Rubber Soul" as it was one of the Beatles albums I didn't get when it came out as at that time I used to get the latest album at Xmas and they were bringing out 2 a year.

Unlike yourself, my favourites include "In My Life" and "If I Needed Someone".

If I have one criticism of this album it in the production. The sound is terrible on certain tracks, notably "Nowhere Man" which sounds like it is coming from a tinny transistor radio. It lacks the depth which made the previous album "Help" exciting almost as though Paul had to use guitar strings on his bass. Fortunately by the time the next album came out this had been resolved.

[umpire2]

Hector, I agree with what you said about the production. The Beatles were always a bit sketchy in that area, right through the end, so it isn't as though they 'got the bugs out' after a poor technical beginning in the studio ("Let It Be" being the ultimate example, wherein production appears to have been handled by amateurs using nails, dental floss and gravel inside a cave.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 217:

"PAST MASTERS: VOLUME 1"-----BEATLES (1962-1965/1988)

The 1988 CD release contains tracks originally only released on singles (both A & B sides) and EPs and which had not been part of the Beatles' album packages.

While it is a bit of a mixed bag of early recordings (including the oh-so-slightly different version of 'Love Me Do', which was the first single release by the band. Recorded soon after Ringo replaced Pete Best on drums, this version was issued on the first pressing of the single, but, for reasons I do not fully know, a second---and more familiar version, recorded a few days later with Andy White on drums---was substituted and was the version released in the U.S.)

'From Me To You', a fairly obscure single in the Beatles' catalog (if there is such as a thing as obscurity among Beatles' tracks) was their third single release and not included on an album. It hit #1 in the U.K., but did not fair as well in the U.S. 'Thank You, Girl', the 'B' side of 'From Me To You' is just as good a track.

'She Loves You', the fourth single release was the big 'breakthrough' track in the U.S., bringing on "BEATLEMANIA".

Once again, 'I'll Get You', the 'B' side of 'She Loves You' is a great song and clearly shows that the Beatles, under the studio guidance of George Martin, were never going to offer lesser quality throwaways on any of their releases.

'I Want To Hold Your Hand', single number five, was the band's biggest hit yet and set off a wave wherein the Liverpudlians had the top five singles at one time in the U.S.

'This Boy', a very simple but well-constructed, sweet and harmonious track was the 'B' side of 'IWTHYH'.

There are four tracks from the "Long Tall Sally" EP: Three covers and one original Lennon/McCartney track. Little Richard's 'Long Tall Sally', Carl Perkins 'Matchbox' and Larry Williams' 'Slow Down' are fun rave-ups and 'I Call Your Name' (originally written for John Lennon's buddy, Bill J. Kramer, which strangely makes this a 'cover' by the songwriters themselves) is a nice medium-tempo rocker-ballad.

The next non-album single is the excellent and hard-edged 'I Feel Fine', with the good, but not-quite-as-good 'She's A Woman' as the 'B' side.

While 'Ticket To Ride' is not included here, because it was a regular album track, the 'B' side of that single, the ballad 'Yes It Is' is contained herein. It is another really nice cut.

'I'm Down', the 'B' side of the single 'Help' is here. It is a jump-rocker that is not as good as most of the tracks here, but that is only a comparative, since it is pretty good in any case.

Another Larry Williams song is included and 'Bad Boy' is one of my personal favorites among Beatles' covers.

Finally, this set includes two German language singles: re-recordings of two of the band's biggest hits, intended to make a bigger impact in the German market. 'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand' (Come, Give Me Your Hand---slightly different lyrics than 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' in order to fit the rhythmic spacing), and 'Sie Liebt Dich' (She Loves You) are as close to the original versions as possible, but there are detectible differences (some intentional, as in the hand clapping in 'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand').

A masterful set.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 216:

"DISCOVERY"---Electric Light Orchestra (1979)

By the time "Discovery" was released in 1979, all traces of the original Electric Light Orchestra format had been eliminated and 'ELO' was totally a pop band. Although Jeff Lynne had been moving in the direction of pop for years, it was only on the two previous releases, 1976's "A New World Record" and 1977's "Out Of The Blue" that the pop leanings had begun to overshadow the rock. On 1979's "Discovery", there IS no more rock. Following "Discovery", ELO went almost entirely down the tubes, the pablum taking over on 1980's "Xanadu", followed by the weak "Time", the only slightly better "Secret Messages" and the waste of time "Balance Of Power" before the band folded.

"Discovery", however, has value, since Lynne could write very good pop melodies and there are seven good tracks out of nine on the record. (Lynne also wins the 'Ray Davies Rip-Off Of Others' Themes' Award for 'Last Train To London', which brings us to The Mary Tyler Moore Show for the chorus).

My favorite cuts here are the ballads 'Need Her Love', 'Midnight Blue' and 'Wishing', along with the fun story-song 'The Diary Of Horace Wimp' and the biggest hit from the set, 'Don't Bring Me Down'.

I went back-and-forth a few times on whether to include this record on the list, and finally decided to bring it (making it the fourth on the list so far that is borderline).

[umpire2]

NUMBER 215:

"SOMETHING/ANYTHING"---TODD RUNDGREN (1972)

In Todd Rundgren's career he has moved from "White-Philly-Soul" to pop to rock to jazz-rock to progressive rock to salsa to jazz-pop to pop-rock to experimental rock and back again. An interpreter rather than an innovator, Rundgren has been at least good at everything he has tried both as a performer and a producer.

"Something/Anything", his 1972 double-album tour-de-force, is just that: Something and Anything. It falls a bit short of 'EVERYTHING', but not for lack of trying.

The album is both serious and humorous, contains everything from harder-edged rock to teen-angst pop, and just about all of it works across 25 tracks. Sure some cuts are a lot stronger than others and some are weaker, but generally speaking, this is an excellent set.

To start off, we have the Top Ten hit 'I Saw The Light', a pop number that became (and still is) one of my favorite songs EVER. Some songs just grab you, and 'I Saw The Light' grabbed me, put the cuffs on me and locked me in its embrace forever.

Other great, slow and medium-tempo pop tunes, just on Side One, are 'It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference', 'Cold Morning Light', 'Sweeter Memories' and 'It Takes Two To Tango'. The sixth track on Side One is the rocker 'Wolfman Jack', a very cool tribute to both The Wolfman and Top Forty radio.

Side Two contains the terrific jazz-pop instrumental, 'Breathless', which could be a theme song for any romantic film about Paris or Rome (or even Brussels or Monte Carlo for that matter) and even includes the thematic bit from the obligatory disco or party scene that probably has a montage effect.....you know what I mean if you think about it.

The very nice calliopedic 'The Night The Carousel Burnt Down' is double-layered, as a simple story of a fire on the Midway, but also an allegory for the passing of childhood and innocence.

'Saving Grace' is a good medium-tempo ballad, but the tortured sexuality of the slower 'Marlene' is much, much better. 'Song Of The Viking' is best classified as a novelty song; it is a bit funny on first listen, but it does not hold up either musically or lyrically. 'I Went To The Mirror' is a bit of a dirge and is OK, but not up to the quality standard of most of the album.

Side Three starts off with the harder-edged 'Black Maria', a very good number and continues with the poppy 'One More Day (No Word)'. 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' is an excellent, single-worthy pop-rocker.

'Torch Song' is probably the biggest loser on the album, a melody-less ballad that sounds as though it were still being worked out on the piano, searching for a hook to make it significant, but that hook just never comes. 'Little Red Lights' is a hard rock number that is OK, but nothing special.

'Overture---My Roots: Money (That's What I Want)/Messin' With The Kid' is just a fun medley of old club-recorded numbers. A throwaway, but somewhat cool.

'Dust In The Wind' is a decent ballad, but 'Piss Aaron' is an hysterical set of vignettes, set in the 'Old School Days', relating the adventures of Piss Aaron (who always pissed in the school hallways), Dumb Larry (the inveterate toker and prankster) and Chuck Biscuits, who ate anything and everything he could get his hands on. Just f-u-n-n-y!

'Hello, It's Me' is a re-recording of Rundgren's minor hit with The Nazz from 1968. It is slightly re-worked but essentially the same.....but this time a much bigger hit, peaking at Number 5 on the Billboard Singles Chart and remaining a radio staple for the last 40 years.

'Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me' is a tongue-in-cheek look at Civil Rights and racism. It is not funny, but it is sarcastic, thought-provoking and truthful.

'You Left Me Sore' is a sad/funny look at VD, the aftermath of one night stands and 'Slut' is a kind of precursor to 'You Left Me Sore': a birds-eye view of the end of the night at a bar when pick-up time has arrived ("She may be a slut, but she looks good to me"); two very good, funny AND real tracks.

Twenty-five songs: 8 of them great, 6 very good, 3 good, 4 OK and only 4 not-so-hot. A really nice effort by T.R.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 214:

"Big Thing"---Duran Duran (1988)

Categorizing Duran Duran would take several adjectives: New Wave/Dance/Pop/Rock/White Funk.....even New Romantic, as far as look and attitude are/were concerned.

The bottom line, however, is that Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor (the mainstays for this record) rarely made bad music. It just depended on how well entire albums hung together, whether they were island-worthy.

"Big Thing" is. It is a bit mechanical, but that is not always a bad thing, as the melodies and beat are consistently good and several of the songs skit the edge of what might be labeled 'industrial pop'.

There are some great tracks ('Too Late Marlene', 'All She Wants Is' and 'The Edge Of America'), some very good tracks ('Do You Believe In Shame', the title track, 'Land' and 'Lake Shore Driving') and some pretty good tracks ('I Don't Want Your Love', 'Drug' and 'Palomino').

Not the best Duran Duran set, but good enough.

[umpire2]

NUMBER 213:

"Mott"---Mott the Hoople (1973)

I imagine that because of the track 'All The Young Dudes', must people, if they think about it all all, believe that Mott the Hoople's 1972 album "ALL THE YOUNG DUDES" was their biggest U.S. success.

Wrong.

"All the Young Dudes" peaked at #89 on the U.S. Billboard Charts and still (40 years later) has not achieved gold record status (only about 460,000 units by 2008).

While not a gold record either, "MOTT" made a much bigger splash in the U.S., reaching #35 on Billboard. It did not have a smash single like David Bowie's 'All The Young Dudes', but "MOTT" contains 9 (out of 9) very good tracks, starting with the minor hit, 'All The Way From Memphis'.

'Whizz Kid' is a fine number, the anthem 'Hymn For The Dudes' is extremely appealing, 'Honaloochie Boogie' is an infectious romp, 'Violence' and 'Drivin' Sister' are nice rockers, and 'Ballad Of Mott the Hoople' is a sweet ballad. The first half of the medley, 'I'm A Cadillac/El Camino Dolo Roso' is only so-so, but when the instrumental second half kicks in, it gets pretty cool. The closer, 'I wish I Was Your Mother' is a really nice medium-tempo cut that is somewhat reminiscent of the Rod Stewart Faces.

A quality set from a band that should have been much more famous.

[richief]

Mott the Hoople, one of the bands I would listen to has a youth, many great tracks, but you could never get a BBC DJ to play Roll Away the Stone on Easter Sunday.

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by richief

Mott the Hoople, one of the bands I would listen to has a youth, many great tracks, but you could never get a BBC DJ to play Roll Away the Stone on Easter Sunday.

I got that.

[umpire2]

UMPIRE2's OCCASIONAL SOAPBOX EDITORIAL #10

"Morrissey & Me"

Thirty years ago, I connected with the Smiths in a big way. When they broke up, while I was not devastated (like some girls who wore knit hats, leggings and layered clothing and only occasionally bathed), I was disappointed.

I moved on, however, and embraced Morrissey (disclaimer #2: Not literally, because I don't go much for self-loathing, pasty Irish MEN), at least figuratively. He seemed enough of a continuation to be supported, I thought the music and lyrics were more than worthy, and for 6 albums (more than The Smiths produced), this feeling continued.

It faded, though.

I was listening to Morrissey tonight and wondering how and why it faded, and faded fairly rapidly.

Oh, I still like that stuff ("Kill Uncle", "Viva Hate", etc), but the perverse joy is no longer there, and it is 'like', not 'love'.

Never being a celibate bi-sexual vegan cynic, I'm not sure why I liked Morrissey so much in the first place, but I did. It just somehow went away and I am not sure why.

I'm not sure why, except to say that things change and people change and feelings evolve and what one wanted to stay the same forever never will. While it can often be fun to reminisce and dwell in the past, the past is not the present and it is in the present and the feelings we have now that are the most real.

[umpire2]

[umpire2]

The Trail of the Lonesome Track #17

"Mack the Knife"---Bobby Darin (1959)

Maybe a fairly obvious choice, but one of the most played and most covered songs ever, "Mack the Knife" began 'life' as "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" in Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht's Die Dreigroschenoper (better known hereabouts as The Threepenny Opera) in 1928.


The song had been copied, covered, slightly changed with lyrics re-arranged a number of times before Louis Armstrong popularized a version in 1956. Bobby Darin loved Armstrong's interpretation, but wanted to 'jazz it up' even further and, along with Tom Dowd, arranged a finger-popping chart that ran totally counter to the deadly, threatening and sombre lyrics (even in English translation) that fit the mood of the original 1928 production ('Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear/and he shows them, so pearly white/just a jack-knife has MacHeath, dear/and he keeps it out of sight')

Darin's version (which he was cautioned by Dick Clark NOT to record and release) was an unbelievable smash in the midst of the doo-wop/rock 'n' roll era, propelling Darin to superstardom more in the genre of his real heroes, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Armstrong, despite his early "Splish-Splash" , "Dream Lover" success. The rest of Darin's career, as he wished it, was a nightclub, Las Vegas ride which was unfortunately too short because of a congenital heart condition (Darin died at age 37 in 1973).

Darin's legacy is full of great interpretations of great tunes, but "Mack the Knife" is his signature song.

[richief]

I always thought the lyrics did not fit the tune, but still love the Darin version

[tosca6060]

Can't believe you mentioned Honeymoon Suite. From my late teen years. Saw them at a bar almost Thirty Years ago. Not bad but a little soft for my tastes back then. The ladies loved them that's why we would go see them.

From Wikipedia (paraphrased) :The band was originally formed in 1981. Band members were from Niagara Falls and Toronto area. New Girl Now , won them an unsigned band contest put on by Toronto Radio station Q107 (now a classisc rock station).

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by tosca6060

Can't believe you mentioned Honeymoon Suite. From my late teen years. Saw them at a bar almost Thirty Years ago. Not bad but a little soft for my tastes back then. The ladies loved them that's why we would go see them.

From Wikipedia (paraphrased) :The band was originally formed in 1981. Band members were from Niagara Falls and Toronto area. New Girl Now , won them an unsigned band contest put on by Toronto Radio station Q107 (now a classisc rock station).

Thanks for the input, Tosca!

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by richief

I always thought the lyrics did not fit the tune, but still love the Darin version

Actually, the tune is the same as written by Weill in the late 1920s. The arrangement changes the beat, the instrumentation and the phrasing.

Originally, the instrumental accompaniment was supposed to be only a (here I am struggling to remember the word for it......drat.....) well, hand organ-----like a street organ grinder would use.

[richief]

Originally Posted by umpire2

Actually, the tune is the same as written by Weill in the late 1920s. The arrangement changes the beat, the instrumentation and the phrasing.

Originally, the instrumental accompaniment was supposed to be only a (here I am struggling to remember the word for it......drat.....) well, hand organ-----like a street organ grinder would use.

Accordion, the squeeze-box with keyboard and buttons?

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by richief

Accordion, the squeeze-box with keyboard and buttons?

No, not an accordion......damn.....some day I will remember.....

[umpire2]

Just popped into my head-----and this is not the proper name for it-----but some people call them a 'hurdy-gurdy'

[umpire2]

Trail of the Lonesome Track #18

"You Don't Own Me"---Lesley Gore (1964)

I remember the splash made by "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy in 1972/1973. That was a OK song with pretty boorish and predictable lyrics that took advantage of the rise of the Women's Rights Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. To a great degree, the song was a "follower", not a leader.

HOWEVER, go back 9 years to late 1963 and early 1964, in an era of tremendous musical chauvinism (a-la 1962's "Bobby's Girl" and 'Lightning Strikes' to name 2 of hundreds of like songs) and listen to LESLEY GORE's "You Don't Own Me" (written by John Madara and David White) for a breath of fresh air.

You want to hear a girl speaking for herself, standing up for herself and demanding the same rights, even in dating and choosing what to do, you'll better find it when the girl stands alone rather than jumping on a bandwagon when enough people are saying the same thing shows that conditions have already changed.

"You Don't Own Me" is not only lyrically different and outstanding for its time, but it is musically astute, beginning in a minor key, but building through a key change to a 'G' Major to an 'A' flat Major to an 'A' Major as the singer, GORE, gains confidence and energy in making her statement.

It is absolutely terrific.

http://youtu.be/dCfu4JKtop0

[Wee Hector]

Originally Posted by umpire2

Just popped into my head-----and this is not the proper name for it-----but some people call them a 'hurdy-gurdy'

Cue for this classic



By the way I can recommend listening to this backwards when you are high!

[richief]

Originally Posted by umpire2

Just popped into my head-----and this is not the proper name for it-----but some people call them a 'hurdy-gurdy'

It appears from the little research I did that Hurdy Gurdy is the correct name, that or Ukrainian Lira. Maybe it is an onomatopoeia named for its distinctive sound. It appears to have its roots in eastern Europe from around the time of the Byzantine empire.

[ThomP]

Hope you don't mind me posting a video of my own, but you should check these guys out Ump Found em on YouTube a few weeks back! Pretty cool stuff...

[richief]

Took me all the way back to the 20s, still nice though.

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by richief

It appears from the little research I did that Hurdy Gurdy is the correct name, that or Ukrainian Lira. Maybe it is an onomatopoeia named for its distinctive sound. It appears to have its roots in eastern Europe from around the time of the Byzantine empire.

Very good, Rich

[umpire2]

Originally Posted by ThomP

Hope you don't mind me posting a video of my own, but you should check these guys out Ump Found em on YouTube a few weeks back! Pretty cool stuff...

Very nice, Thom! I have (I think) 11 versions of "Undecided", but I've never heard/seen that one! (I also wouldn't mind her doing that little wiggle on my lap while she's singing.....)

[umpire2]

NUMBER 212:

"SOME GREAT REWARD"---DEPECHE MODE (1984)

Starting off with the perky 'Something To Do', Depeche Mode delivered their best effort since their debut, "Speak & Spell" in 1981. After Vince Clarke left the band, it was as though it took Martin Gore three years to come totally into his own as a songwriter and this album was a major breakthrough, particularly in the area of strong melodies to go along with the futuristically industrial beats.

Lyrically strong and musically very good, 'Lie To Me' tells a kind of truth; 'People Are People', the first hit single for Depeche Mode in the U.S. was originally written as a medium-temp ballad, but was perked up at the suggestion of keyboardist Alan Wilder.....good suggestion, Alan.

'It Doesn't Matter' IS an excellent sombre ballad and the slinky, back-alley feel of 'Stories Of Old' is a bit reminiscent of the stalking intro to the 'Fight' dance in West Side Story. Very cool.

'Somebody' is a very sweet and shy ballad, the kind that lays bare the soul; it is followed by the wonderfully catchy 'Master & Servant', an S&M delight.

Despite his important contribution to 'People Are People', the Alan Wilder-penned 'If You Want' is only OK, but the album's closer, the intentionally depressing 'Blasphemous Rumours' is terrific ("I think that God's got a sick sense of humour, and when I die I expect to find him laughing".....what a line!)

Great album by Depeche Mode!

[umpire2]

[umpire2]

.