June 20, 2008 Earworm

I've read that Phil Spector once said that The Four Tops' "Bernadette", "is a black man singing Dylan" and when you listen to Levi Stubbs' delivery, you certainly get the point. With that in mind, I suggest that The Four Seasons' "Beggin'" has an italian man singing Stubbs singing Dylan. He doesn't sing the lyric as much as spit it out. While the rest of the guys provide their usual smooth groove, the mix puts them so far from the lead that they could be in another room if not on another record that just happened to be playing. Meanwhile, Frankie sounds as though he's out on the window ledge singing for his life while about a zillion percussion tricks chant "JUMP".

Bob Crewe was never known for subtlety with his productions and what "Beggin'" lacks in his usual bombast, is more than made up for with business. From the "miss mary mac" handclapping to the tea kettle on the edge of a nervous breakdown string line, everything practically screams "The sky is falling" and the usually steady Valli struggles to keep his balance. That it all comes - and stays - together so beautifully is a feather in the cap of not Charlie Callelo, Crewe's preferred arranger, but of Artie Schroek who should of one not only a Grammy but a Pritzker for keeping the whole thing from tumbling down. Co-writer Peggy (Santiglia) Farina, by the way, should have received an Oscar for best screenplay.

"Beggin'" peaked at #16 during the spring of '67, a busy time for all parties, was sandwiched between two top ten Four Seasons singles - "Tell It To The Rain" and "C'mon Marianne" - and competing with Valli's solo effort,"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". Something was bound to get lost in the shuffle and it's not surprising that something that sounded this troubled took the fall.

Last year, Pilooski respectfully re-mixed it - recognizing near perfection when he heard it, I assume - and in it's new form celebrated its fortieth birthday while sitting on top of the UK dance charts.

Check out the video for the re-mix and have a great weekend.

June 19, 2008 Earworm

Like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", Gordon Lightfoot's "The Circle Is Small (I Can See It In Your Eyes)" is about betrayal. And like "Grapevine", his complaint is about infidelity but his real problem is with indiscretion because he finds himself to be the last to know. Anyone with a circle of friends can understand just how fast those Chinese whispers become a chorus and yet no one really knows the story. Since repetition is everything when it comes to the choicest gossip, Gord is true to form here, repeating the chorus so often that it essentially switches roles with the verse.

He must have loved this song as much as I - or closely identified with its theme - because he recorded it twice: first in 1968 for his "Back Here On Earth" album, and again in 1978 for "Endless Wire". I wonder how we would approach it now in these days of multiple social networking sites, email, and instant messages.

The single peaked at #33, probably because everyone wants to hear a story unless the story is about them.

June 18, 2008 Earworm

I'm told that it's all a part of getting older when the odds change in favor of the grim reaper touching your life with surprising frequency. In the past week I've learned of the recent passing of someone who wandered in and out of my circles so many times throughout the years. Although we were never close, we were always happy to see each other, and his smile once prompted my mother to say, "That boy has got to have one of the sweetest hearts...". Last night brought news of another distant orbiter - practically a cousin due to the closeness of our mothers - who is no longer keeping pace with the world around us. For so many years his clumsy steps and oblivious actions left violent waves in his volatile wake, yet those of us on the shore continued to throw out the life preservers and pray for a happy ending for him and his family.

Old friends, distant relatives, trusted newsmen, musical innovators, and celluloid goddesses: everyone has their time and then a time to go, a fact that becomes more evident with each passing year. And since it's hard to find comfort in a fact when the fact is cold and hard, we hope for peace for the departed and try to imagine a better place where every thing shines as brightly as the stars in the heavens.

The beautiful scenarios that we create in an attempt to find our own peace amongst the facts deserve their own theme songs and I'm finding comfort in "Santa Clara" by The National because they don't mind seeing ghosts and know that they all are going to be "cool happy genius heroes" in our hearts for as much time as we have left. In "Santa Clara", it's recognized that it's up to us, the left behind, to create the happy ending for those who no longer can.

To sway for: Cyd Charisse

Tula Ellice Finklea
March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008

June 17, 2008 Earworm

I'm still not sure if it is a surreal to-do list or a recap of how we got here but Brendan Benson's "Folksinger" is in an awful big hurry to get on with it; taking just enough time to drop his side of the story and build us a beautiful bridge that reminds me of Nilsson at his finest. In fact, the whole "Lapalco" album has the taste of "Pandemonium Shadow Show" atop a crispy Big Star crust with a side of Raspberries and one a fine meal that makes. The guy should be huge in his own right, in cahoots with Jason Falkner, or as a Raconteur.