Month: May 2024

The Best of Sam Cooke, RCA, 1962

When I realized A Change Is Gonna Come wasn’t on this record, I made sure to buy another Cooke compilation that had it. It very easy to like Sam Cooke’s singing. Wikipedia put it well—his pure tenor voice was big, velvety, and expansive; he was effortlessly soulful; and he had a mellow somberness. For example, Having a Party doesn’t sound as if the party is much fun (unlike, say, Quarter to Three by Gary U.S. Bonds). Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Miss., the same town as John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, and Muddy Waters.

I wish there were a way to know what most adults (and most teens) understood of the language in pop songs. Twistin’ the Night Away says that a fella in blue jeans is dancing with an older queen. The lyrics certainly say it is a same-sex couple, but I guess very few people knew that. Little Richard said that Miss Molly sure likes to ball—the decent folks wouldn’t have allowed that if they knew. Chain Gang is on this record, and I don’t know what anyone thought of it. Was it like 16 Tons, a mostly outdated work song about an unfairly tough job? That convicts in much of the South have it rough? It made it to Number 2 in the charts.

Record Store Day 2013, The Seeds, four songs on two 45-rpm records

If you remember the Seeds at all it is for their top 40 hit ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ in 1965. It is called psychedelic garage rock by Wikipedia–high praise. Turns out they are still around, touring as Daryl Hooper and the Seeds. The more-or-less original Seeds, already embracing nostalgia by going as Sky Saxon and the Seeds, recorded these four songs in 1970. Turned out it was the last new material for the Seeds on a major label. The singles were never distributed. I think they finally saw the light of day 10 years ago so that Seeds fans and rock and roll historians could find out they weren’t very good. Here’s their hits.

Choice Cuts 2010, National Record Store Day, Universal Music Group promotion

There are 16 songs by 16 bands. Side 1 is Violent Soho, ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend.’ Neon Trees, ‘Animal.’ Paper Tongues, ‘Ride to California.’ Findlay Brown, ‘Love Will Find You.’ Anberlin, ‘Mother.’ Imelda May, ‘Johnny Got a Boom Boom.’ Kelis, ‘Acapella.’ And Major Lazer, ‘Pon the Floor.’

Side 2 is Moreland & Arbuckle, ’18 Counties.’ Alpha Rev, ‘New Morning.’ Kevin Hammond, ‘Broken Down.’ Peter Wolf, featuring Shelby Lynne, “Tragedy.’ Shel, ‘The Latest and Greatest Blueberry Rubber Band.’ Aqualung, ‘Fingertip.’ Four Year Strong, ‘Wasting Time.’ Steel Panther, ‘Don’t Stop Believin.’’

It is mostly good. I have included my two favorites here. By the way, Steel Panther nails ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ You may wonder why they would bother—from what I found on the Web, they like comedy and parody.

Spirit, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, Epic, 1970

I was mad this morning when I saw that the New York Times called Spirit a psychedelic band. It was in an article about intellectual property. They were too good for that. Psychedelic bands couldn’t play well, so they played trippy, such as the Amboy Dukes and Iron Butterfly. I looked Spirit up in Discogs and saw that’s what they called Spirit. Those folks should have known better, because they must have listened to 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, a wonderful power pop LP. Nothin’ to Hide is a cheery pop confection about heroin addiction. Nature’s Way bops along looking at death—it’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong. Mr. Skin is the catchiest tune I’ve heard in a while—I’m Mr.-Mr. Skin, I know where you’ve been. Morning Will Come has the coolest falsetto this side of Richard Manuel. Love Has Found a Way and Animal Zoo are classics. How could folks not get it?

Then I noticed the cover. I have always thought it was ugly and never stopped to look closely. It’s a photo of the band looking like a Bruegel painting copied by Dali. Ugly, at the risk of repeating myself, and very surreal. That’s the psychedelic part. Don’t judge this record by its cover.

The Pirates, Out of Their Skulls, Warner Brothers, 1977

When I linked to the Peter Gunn theme in the Duane Eddy obit, I remembered that the Pirates recorded a version in 1977. In the interests of getting everything to touch, here’s that record. Peter Gunn was a TV show that featured a private detective and a jazzy theme song. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer even recorded a version. Wikipedia said Gunn drove a 1959 Plymouth Fury equipped with a car phone. Johnny Kidd and the Pirates were one of the first English rock bands. Kidd died in a car crash in 1966. The group got back together years later with Mick Green taking over the guitar duties. I loved the album cover, bought the record and liked it too.  

It includes Shakin’ All Over (which the Guess Who had made a hit in 1965), Drinkin’ Wine Spo’ De’ O’ D (which the Electric Flag put on their first album because everybody in the band knew it), Lonesome Train, Do the Dog, and a wonderful pun between English and German—Don’t Munchen It (that’s the German version of Munich). They do You Don’t Own Me (not the Leslie Gore song) as a cross between Captain Beefheart and Root Boy Slim.

Paul Robeson, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Columbia Masterworks Records, no date of release

Robeson had many talents. He was a consensus All-American in college football at Rutgers. He then graduated from Columbia Law School while playing in the NFL. Robeson decided artists must take sides on social issues; he chose to support freedom. His continuing support for Stalin/the Soviet Union/Communism was very controversial.

In music he is best known for his singing in Show Boat, especially the song Ol’ Man River. He recorded and released nearly 300 songs. This record is spirituals. It is 10 inches in diameter, smaller than typical 12-inch LPs, and probably predates stereo. My in-laws had wide-ranging tastes.

Duane Eddy, 86, died

He was the master of twang instrumentals in the 1950s and early ‘60s, with hits such as Rebel Rouser and 40 Miles of Bad Road. He was a self-taught guitar player who didn’t read music, yet he was so successful at what he did that I’ll bet he is among the most frequently-included artists in compilations from the ‘50s. Shangri-Las, Shirelles, Kingsmen, maybe the Righteous Brothers, and Eddy. One of these is not like the others—that twang evokes Eisenhower’s second term very powerfully.

I found out from his obit that Eddy was married to Jessi Colter from 1962 to 1968. He must have been much better looking than his photos. On my Waylon Jennings album ‘I’ve Always Been Crazy,’ Eddy produced the four-song medley of Buddy Holly hits. Jennings played with Holly (and was married to Jessi Colter from 1969 till his death in 2002).  Everything touches if you read enough of the small print.