March 27, 2007 Earworm

March 25, 2008 Earworm

For the US release of "Alfie", it was not Dionne Warwick who was chosen to sing the Bacharach/David penned theme song, but Cher. While a modest hit for her, Dionne would ultimately be identified with the song, and Cher's version but was all but forgotten. The flipside of that single, Sonny Bono composition called "She's No Better Than Me", had an even bigger date with obscurity. It was not inclused on any of her albums and didn't surface until her installment of the EMI series, "The Legendary Masters". The masters having been long lost, the liner notes warned that it transferred from a "battered mono mixdown" tape.

In a light cocktail party arrangement, Cher sits alone watching her dream baby courting someone else and wonders what's so special. An air of adolescence hangs and it is probably the closest she ever came to capturing vulnerability on tape. It's all very classy and restrained and maybe a little past her bedtime which adds a pinch of weariness that we've seldom heard in her voice since.

"She's No Better Than Me" failed to be included in the recent re-issue campaign of Cher's Imperial catalog, done by BGO in the UK, and her "Legendary Masters" installment is now out of print. "She's No Better Than Me" is again left to languish, just like the songs narrator.

March 24, 2008 Earworm

Berry Gordy's decision to can Marvin Gaye's version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" may have paved the way for the career resurgence of Gladys Knight and The Pips' career, but it also gave credence to the detractors of Motown who claim that it was nothing but an assembly line.

Legend has it that Barrett Strong came up with the idea while walking down a street - "I heard people say it all the time (but) nobody wrote a song about it". Upon his return to the Motown fold, he began working with Norman Whitfield who took the idea in many different directions. The Isley Brothers claim that they were the first to get a crack at it but tapes of that recording remain undocumented and unavailable. It is confirmed that Whit a version of the song with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles but it was shelved after being deemed unworthy by the Quality Control Staff. Rethinking the setting, he took the song to Marvin Gaye who assisted in crafting the ominous arrangement that we know today. Once again, it was shot down by the Quality Control team who declared it too different when compared to the records currently residing in the top five of the charts. Berry Gordy, in particular, was not impressed with the dark turn Whitfield had in mind for the Prince of Motown and the recording was shelved while Holland - Dozier - Holland's eighteen month old production of "Your Unchanging Love" became Marvin's next single, peeking at #7 R&B and #33 pop.

Whitfield took the song to Gladys and Company who worked up a vocal arrangement and began testing it during their live performances before committing it to vinyl. Their version would reach #1 on the R&B chart, #2 pop, and become the company's biggest selling single of 1967. Now that the title had recognition value, Whitfield used Marvin's version to fill out Gaye's latest LP, "In The Groove". DJs began playing "Grapevine" off the album and the response was so strong that it became the number 1 song on Detroit radio and finally Gordy was forced to release it as a single. Two weeks later, it knocked Diana Ross and The Supremes' "Love Child" out of the top pop slot and settled in for a seven week stretch, finally unseated by "Crimson And Clover" in February of 1969. It also topped the R&B charts for the same amount of weeks and became Motown's biggest selling single ever until The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" took that honor nearly two years later.

Marvin's vocal on "Grapevine" managed to convey not only the pain of being of left for another - check out the clipped whimper on "because you mean that much to me", but the embarrassment of having been left out of the loop while the whole world seemed to know what a fool he had been - check out just about anywhere else in the song. Meanwhile, insidious rhythms lead him down dark halls filled with venomous whispers and horror movie strings in a mono mix that puts the listener in a closet with nothing to do but peer through the keyhole.

Prior to "Grapevine", his 30th single to grace the pop chart in a six year span, Marvin had only reached the top ten eight times, four of which were duets with Tammi Terrell, and it was more than a long deserved number one. It marked the point where the man with Nat "King" Cole aspirations ceased to be the dangerously handsome pop star who made white woman wonder while they "hitch-hiked" with their boyfriends, and became the icon of modern soul that he is today.

Easter

the Color Fields exhibit and soundtrack

So, you went to the opening of Click Clique's The Color Fields exhibit at Opal Gallery and got a great photograph, 'zine, and a couple of cds and you are here because you're curious about what some of this music is and who the artists are.

The track list is provided so that you can buy some stuff from the great artists that I've sampled. You definitely want to support the artists, right?
Right.

Disc 1 (white)
01) Polaroid SX70 Land Commercial - Sir Laurence Olivier, 1972
found on youtube
02) The Colourfield - The Colourfield, 1985
from "Virgins and Philistines" which is out of print
03) Pictures of You - The Cure, 1989
from "Disintegration"
04) Yellow - Coldplay, 2000
from "Parachutes"
05) Yellow - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
06) Mellow Yellow - Donovan, 1966
available on "Donovan's Greatest Hits"
07) October Is Orange (day 1 and 2) - Haircut 100, 1982
available on "Pelican West... plus"
08) Orange Crush - REM, 1990
from "Green"
09) Hooray for Hazel - Tommy Roe, 1966
available on "Greatest Hits"
10) Apple Green - The Milltown Brothers, 1990
from "Slinky" which is out of print
11) Pretty Green - The Jam, 1981
from "Sound Affects"
12) Green - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
13) Bein' Green - Kermit The Frog, 1970
available on "Sesame Street: Platinum All Time Favorites"
14) Bowling Green - The Everly Brothers, 1967
from "Everly Brothers Sing"
15) Pale Blue Eyes - the Velvet Underground, 1969
from "The Velvet Underground"
16) I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song) - The Ikettes, 1961
available on "One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found"
17) Mood Indigo - Ella Fitzgerald, 1957
available on "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook"
18) The Moon Is Blue (album version) - Colourbox, 1985
from the album, "Colourbox" which is out of print
19) Blue - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
20) Have You Ever Had It Blue (Uncut Version) - the Style Council, 1986
available on "The Complete Adventures of The Style Council" (but it's not complete at all)
21) Blue Savannah - Erasure, 1989
from the album, "Wild!"
22) Blue Turns To Grey - Tracey Dey, 1965
from Amy 45 #917 - no legitimate cd release or mp3 available
23) Grey - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
24) Fade To Grey - Visage, 1981
from "Visage"

Disc 2 (taupe)
01) Pretty In Pink (first version) - The Psychedelic Furs, 1981
from the album "Talk Talk Talk"
02) Pink Glove - Pulp, 1994
from "His 'N' Hers"
03) Red Rabbits - The Shins, 2007
from "Wincing The Night Away"
04) Red Light - Siouxsie and The Banshees, 1980
from "Kaleidoscope"
05) Red Eyes and Tears - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, 2000
from "B.R.M.C."
06) Red Tan - The Raveonettes, 2005
from "Pretty In Black"
07) Beige - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
08) Purple Rain - Prince, 1984
from "Purple Rain"
09) Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix, 1967
available on "Experience Hendrix"
10) Purple - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
11) The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley, 1958
available on "The Golden Age of American Rock 'N' Roll: Novelty Edition"
12) Deep Purple - Nino Tempo and April Stevens, 1963
available on "Deep Purple/Sing The Great Hits"
13) Black - Pete Yorn, 2001
from "musicforthemorningafter"
14) Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones, 1966
available "The Rolling Stones Singles Collection: The London Years"
15) Black - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
16) Black - Pearl Jam, 1991
from "10"
17) Clean White Bed - Smoke, 1995
from "Another Reason To Fast" which is out of print
18) White - Ken Nordine, 1966
from "Colors"
19) Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues, 1967
edited from "Days of Future Passed"
20) A Whiter Shade of Pale (new stereo mix-2004) - Procol Harum, 1967
available on "Dick Bartley Presents: Classic Oldies 1965-1969"
21) Polaroid Commercial - General, 1980
found on youtube
22) Photographs and Memories - Jim Croce, 1972
available on "Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits"

Choose your color wisely and your music with abandon.

The Color Fields show runs through April 2nd, 2008.

March 19, 2008 Earworm

Stella Parton never had the cross-over success of her big sister, Dolly, but she had a string of country hits in the late seventies that served her just fine. On a trip to rural Ohio in 1978, I was handed a stack of forty-fives that my hosts had pulled from a local jukebox. My two half sisters had been given the first and second pick so there was little left that interested me other than Stella's "Standard Lie Number One" - a title that I loved even more than discovering an unknown Parton.

"Standard Lie Number One" is little more than a list of all the crap Stella's man tells her in an attempt to cover up his dirty deeds. Working late, ran into an old friend; they are all present and accounted for as is "he whispers that he loves me - standard lie number one", a killer line if I've heard one. But it gets even better when she begins to rattle off all the even more damaging lies that she tells herself, topping it off with "that he really loves me...".

Yes, there's enough corn in the whole thing to make syrup but it's sweet in its own way. I really love it. No lie.

March 18, 2008 Earworm

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” Spends 2,184th week at #1 on Hells Hot 100!

Recognized in 1999 by BMI publishing as the most played record of the century, with over eight million spins, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” is not only an undisputed classic, but a pioneer as well.

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” celebrates another milestone as it spends its 2,184th week - a full forty-two years - at number one on Hells Hot 100. In celebration of this achievement, I sat down with Hells number one dj, Satan, to discuss the durability of this classic recording.

Me: Satan, forty-two years at number one; that’s quite an achievement. To what do you attribute the durability of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” in Hell?

Satan: You know, I’ve given that a lot of thought over the years and I gotta tell ya, it’s all about the raw honesty of that lyric. It’s quite selfish in its observations, much like a paranoiac in the way that it doesn’t take the time to ask why.

Me: The ultimate victim?

Satan: Yea, but it’s something that everyone has felt, or will feel. Even if you find true love, it’s pretty much a given that you’re gonna have your heart broken a few times before, if not after. You know, everyone has noted the way Bill Medley’s opening line, “you never close your eyes, anymore when I kiss your lips” – brilliant, by the way - sounds like a finger is holding the record back from its normal speed but, if you think about it… It’s really more like an aural version of the way your stomach feels when you’ve discovered some horrible truth. ‘Like the realization didn’t come from your head but from deep down in your gut.

Me: But what about the music? It’s a pretty revolutionary pop song. Nothing preceding it ever sounded quite like it.

Satan: It certainly was new. The way it works in those little jazz rhythms, its symphonic structure. And it’s actually a little frightening in places – the percussion at times kinda sounds like it’s gonna hit you back… the bongos on the bridge in particular. But it’s hard to pin down - there are so many hooks within that record that, even now, you can find something new to experience. It’s almost overloaded.

Me: Is there a particular hook or piece that you favor?

Satan: Well, the descending bass thing is as sneaky as.. well, hell. It insinuates something menacing is following the vocalist and kinda underscores that realization thing that I mentioned. You know, first the thought, and then reconciling the thought to a new reality. That’s a nifty little trick. But I really love the open throated “ahhhh” thing that occurs during the bridge – very frightened… pained, a little higher in pitch. I’ll tell you a little known fact about that…

Me: What’s that?

Satan: Well, Phil sure wouldn’t admit it – it’s one of his dirty like secrets - like the fact that he didn’t actually produce “Unchained Melody”…

Me: There’s been rumor…

Satan: He wasn’t even there; it was all Bill Medley. But anyway, the choir on “…Lovin’ Feeling”… that wasn’t just the Blossoms you know…

Me: Well, it’s been documented that Phil had just about everyone he knew in there; Sonny and Cher…

Satan: Yeah, yeah… but that choir was sweetened by not only yours truly, but a little vocal group we have down here.

Me: Wait. You’re telling me that you are on “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”?

Satan: Yep. I was standing right between Cher and Darlene Love.

Me: No way!

Satan: Way! I got Cher’s autograph that day. I knew she was gonna be huge one day… Anyway, I’m a little bit more prominent in the stereo mix but that’s a mess so… But I’m not the only representative from down here. I brought in the Zealot Evangelical Choir for some extra support.

Me: Zealot Evangelical Choir?

Satan: Who better to back up persecution than the evangelicals?

Me: You’ve got a point. I’m just surprised to hear that they’re down there. How did that happen?

Satan: What? You thought they were gonna go to heaven?! Besides, it gives the rest of us a chance to make fun of bad outfits.

Me: Of course. So, I have to mention that I’ve done a little number crunching and it appears that “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” either took a while to hit number one, or hasn’t been number one every week since it was released…

Satan: Philly gave me an acetate and I started spinning it out of the box – it went in at number one. Thank God!

Me: What do you mean?

Satan: The song it replaced was “Dominique” by The Singing Nun. Fifty some odd weeks of that…

Me: Ouch! That, to me, just may be the definition of hell.

Satan: Not on my watch. But anyway, in ’65, I think it was February, The Shangri-Las’ “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” popped up to number one for two weeks.

Me: Really?

Satan: Yea. That whole “he’s good bad, but he’s not evil” still makes me chuckle.

Me: That still leaves about four weeks…

Satan: Well, I don’t like to admit it ‘cause I take pride in the fact that I never manipulate the charts, no matter how much Goldner tried…

Me: Yes…

Satan: Around 1996 I put Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” at number one for four weeks…

Me: For the love of… um, Satan, why would you do such a cruel thing?

Satan: A bunch of anti-smoking nuts started making noise so… I mean, it’s HELL people! How ya wanna designate no smoking in Hell? Well, I thought it was a good way to shut them up and I thought it was funny as Hell. “You Light Up My Life”, get it?!

Me: That is pretty funny, actually. Do you regret it?

Satan: Yes, actually I do.

Me: Cruel and unusual punishment, and all that?

Satan: Nope. I regret it because it kinda tarnished my reputation. You know, the devil has all the best tunes and all that.