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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2019 23:25:36 GMT
For my next album reviews thread, I thought I’d take it a different direction: it’ll be ours, not mine; and it’ll be songs, not albums. The thinking is it can move along more quickly, not having to wait for someone to write up some big analysis of a whole album. And it can be less demanding, not asking other participants to listen to 30, 40, 50 minutes’ worth of music, but instead 3, 4, or 5.
No scheduling, no order to follow, either.
My thought is, somebody posts a song (ideally linking to a YouTube version or something) and a few thoughts: why did you post it? Stuck your head the past few weeks, or haven’t heard it in 25 years? Love it? Hate it? The rest of us chime in. And whenever—ideally not immediately, but whenever it seems that the discussion has slowed, maybe after a day or so—somebody else posts another one. Repeat.
It’s not an assignment. Nobody has to listen to anything, much less everything. But it would be nice if people tried to chime in, listen even to unfamiliar songs and, in return, people do the same for you. It’s no great investment of time doing just one song at a time. In that spirit, we can generally pick things that won’t be horribly unappealing to everyone else. (I won’t spam the joint with atonal free jazz or Captain Beefheart’s wilder moments, I promise.) That said, hey, it doesn’t have to be “Greatest Hits of Classic Rock and Roll,” either. Obscure or legendary, heavy or soft, whatever. Let’s just play it by ear. How badly could it possibly go? When it drags or flops, post another song!
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2019 23:26:00 GMT
”Good Morning, Good Morning,” the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)A new thread, a good morning, eh?
I’m guessing everyone knows this one. But I find a lot of people consider this a lesser track from this album. Not me. I love it! The horns are so bright, so brassy, really in your face. (And before you mock me by saying they’re “brassy” when they are indeed brass instruments, they aren’t ALL brass instruments! Some are woodwinds. So back off!) I’ve also always loved the totally mundane lyrics, the simple two-word refrain. It’s so straight ahead, horn chart notwithstanding. Yes, there is that great compound meter (12/8 basically, where each of the four beats is divided as a triplet) section starting the first time at around :45, where the horn parts play what would normally be a bass line that isn’t quite as straight-ahead, which makes for a great contrast. But otherwise it’s BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT. Insistent. But not just straightforward, it is—as was that whole album—almost cartoonish. That’s probably why I was so attracted to this album as a child, it was just a technicolor dream. (But not a coat. Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week.) As an adult, I could do without the animal sound effects, but they sure did the trick when I was a kid. Anyway, I love it. And good morning (he says in the evening) to you all.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 21, 2019 0:56:44 GMT
I agree with every point and observation, 100%. I'm always bummed when I hear a Beatles fan axing this song to make room for "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane". Again, I love the humor. For instance, I remember playing this song for one of my younger brothers and he chuckled when John sang, "after a while you start to smile, now you feel cool". That line always puts a smile on my face, literally! Others might think it corny or lame, but I love that John's not taking himself too seriously there. Clearly, he's not worried about not seeming cool. I bet he wasn't even wearing his leather jacket!
I also love when John harmonizes with himself in the last verse. It just sounds so great to me. Really, I love his lead throughout. People (including John himself) talk about "Strawberry Fields Forever" as being this really heavy backing track with a soft lead vocal, but I actually think this song pulls that off even better. I can't think of any other song where John sounds like he does on this song. And, the backing track is equally unique. It's fun just listening to that. Also, the guitar solo is killer!
Yeah, I'm a fan of this one.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 21, 2019 12:40:13 GMT
Great idea for a thread!
I'm also a fan of "Good Morning Good Morning". I think the uptempo song adds much needed life to the album. I read somewhere that the animal noises were inspired by the dogs barking at the end of "Caroline, No". However, "Good Morning Good Morning" was recorded in February and March 1967, so I wonder if there is any connection to SMiLE? John did "borrow". My obsession with sequencing makes the song feel odd, appearing so late in the album as opposed to much earlier. Good morning!
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Post by kds on Nov 21, 2019 13:17:02 GMT
When discussing The Beach Boys, I've mentioned albums where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Good Morning Good Morning kinda fits the bill there. It's the perfect song for the Pepper album. However, it's probably not one I'd put on a Beatles playlist, if that makes sense. But, the structure is brilliant, and the placing on the album is as well, as the rooster segues perfectly into the reprise of the title track.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Nov 22, 2019 13:29:32 GMT
Haven’t heard this in a while! It’s certainly not my favourite on the album but I do enjoy it. The stop and start pacing makes it interesting and more than just a silly song (though there is nothing wrong with being a silly song, either). It’s one of the songs that tends to put me back into the world of this make believe band that’s playing it, so its placement on the album works for me.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 22, 2019 17:09:12 GMT
Tommy James being mentioned in another thread reminded me of the fantastic layered opening of "Draggin' the Line". There's more that could be said, but I think I'll stick to the opening.
Listen for this: 1 - Bass and drums 2 - Guitar and 2nd bass (?) 3 - 1st vocal and organ 4 - 2nd vocal 5 - 3rd vocal 6 - horns 7 - 2nd guitar
Pretty cool, right?
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 22, 2019 18:16:53 GMT
I actually had no idea that was a Tommy James song. I was casually familiar with it, but it was just one of those songs out there in the world I'd heard. The layering of instruments and voices line by line is a cool addition.
One thing that strikes me, doesn't it seem like the snare on the backbeat is almost a little late throughout? Not badly, or like a mistake, but like a style choice. Which might be intentional to suit the feel of "draggin' the line." I don't know.
Thanks for sharing this one.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 22, 2019 18:31:32 GMT
One thing that strikes me, doesn't it seem like the snare on the backbeat is almost a little late throughout? Not badly, or like a mistake, but like a style choice. Which might be intentional to suit the feel of "draggin' the line." I don't know.
I think so. It drags ever so slightly. That had to be intentional. I'm not sure if there's a cause and effect here, but there's something very hypnotic about this song. Also, if you aren't listening too closely, it's not hard to hear Mike singing the "draggin' the line" bass vocal part.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 22, 2019 18:37:35 GMT
Wait, that is Mike Love? It sounded so much like him, but I had no idea it was actually him.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 22, 2019 18:41:20 GMT
Wait, that is Mike Love? It sounded so much like him, but I had no idea it was actually him. No, it's not. I just meant that it sounds like him. It's the perfect part for Mike to sing. Really, it's too bad Brian (or anyone else) wasn't writing songs for the boys in this style (at that time). It's not too far off from "Darlin" or "The Letter", in my opinion.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 22, 2019 18:43:16 GMT
Ah, thanks for the clarification! I did wonder while listening whether it WAS him. So when you said his name, I jumped. But yeah, absolutely, it is something he could have done. Definitely up his alley.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 22, 2019 19:23:25 GMT
I actually had no idea that was a Tommy James song.
Neither did I when it first came out, but I remember it very well. "Draggin' The Line" was a great summer song in one of the best years in popular music - 1971. "Draggin' The Line" was not a Tommy James & The Shondells' song. By 1970, Tommy James had gone solo.
Yes, I always thought the song dragged slightly, too, but it seems to pick up steam as the song goes along. I always liked the sound of the song; it almost has a psychedelic feel to it, which we know Tommy James was known for. Every time I hear the song on an oldies radio station, it takes me right back to a great time, a time spent with my transistor radio, a bicycle, and a baseball glove - the summer of 1971!
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Post by kds on Nov 22, 2019 19:49:38 GMT
I was introduced to Draggin the Line in the summer of 1991, via the cover by Beat Goes Bang in the movie "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead."
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 23, 2019 20:06:48 GMT
Here's one that's neither new nor old, neither classic nor necessarily obscure. I got this album to review years ago--in 2004--when I was doing that sort of thing, having never heard of the Heartless Bastards. Their debut album showed a powerhouse vocalist in bandleader, guitarist, and songwriter Erika Wennerstrom.
The music was pretty basic, a kind of heavy garage rock with anthemic leanings. It was at its best right away, only becoming more tedious as their career progressed and Wennerstrom became more ambitious. For my money, it doesn't get better than the first three songs of the first album. This, "New Resolution," is one of those songs. I love the dirty bass tone, the somewhat rudimentary drum fills, and of course Wennerstrom's huge vocals.
I hope you enjoy it.
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