There is a very distinct guitar sound that I love and have been trying to find a vehicle for in the band I’m in. It’s the late ‘60s sound of the Coral electric sitar (by Danelectro). Whenever I’ve tried to explain the sound I’m referring to I always cite two, well known examples – The Box Top’s “Cry Like a Baby, and “Hooked on a Feeling” by B.J. Thomas.
I had no idea they were both played by
the same guy, southern session guitarist Reggie Young, who died last week.
Young played on many other classic
tracks from the ‘60s and ’70s, including:
Suspicious Minds Elvis Presley
Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond
Skinny Legs and All Joe Tex
Dark End of the Street James Carr
Son of a Preacher Man Dusty Springfield
The Letter The Box Tops
Drift Away Dobie Gray
Cocaine J.J. Cale
I Can Help Billy Swan (a previous SotW)
According to the New
York Times obituary, “a compilation album of 24 tracks from sessions on
which Mr. Young played, including recordings by Merle Haggard, Jackie DeShannon
and Bobby (Blue) Bland, is to be released by the English label Ace Records this
week.”
It will be well worth checking out!
BTW, use of the Coral did not end in the
late ‘60s/early ‘70s. Dave Stewart, of
Eurhythmics’ fame, played it on Tom Petty’s 1985 hit “Don’t Come Around Here No
More.”
A few weeks ago I had the idea bouncing around in my head to write a post about my favorite misogynistic, politically incorrect songs. The deal was sealed when I was at a fantastic wedding in New Orleans last weekend and one of the songs that DJ Pasta played at the reception was on my list — Jimmy Soul’s “If You Wanna Be Happy” (#1, 1963).
If you don’t know the song, it has the
lyric:
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So from my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you
And has a spoken work dialog that goes
like this:
Voice #1
Say man!
Voice #2 Hey baby!
V#1 I saw your wife the other day!
V#2 Yeah?
V#1 Yeah, an’ she’s ug-leeee!
V#2 Yeah, she’s ugly, but she sure can
cook, baby!
V#1 Yeah, alright!
Now you can’t be too sensitive about
this, because it’s all meant in good fun.
But at a wedding reception?
Then there’s “First I Look at the Purse.” The original was recorded by The Contours of
“Do You Love Me” fame. It was released
on Motown’s Gordy label in 1965 and was written by Smokey Robinson and Bobby
Rogers and only managed to reach #57 on the Billboard
Hot 100.
But the J. Geils Band rescued the song, put it onto their eponymous 1970 debut album, and released it as their first single.
This one has offensive lyrics such as:
Some fellas like the smiles they wear
Some fellas like the legs that’s all
Some fellas like the style of their hair
Want their waist to be small.
I don’t care if their legs are thin
I don’t care if their teeth are big
I don’t care if their hair’s a wig
Why waste time lookin’ at the waistline?
First I look at the purse!
The last song I’ve selected for this little theme (though I’m sure there are many more that fit it) is “When I Turn Off the Living Room Light” by The Kinks.
“… Living Room Light” was released on
The Kinks’ The Great Lost Kinks Album. This 1973 set was a collection of previously
unreleased tracks in the Reprise vaults that the label put out after the band
had moved to RCA.
More demeaning lyrics:
Your nose may be bulbous, your face may be
spotty
Your skin may be wrinkled and tight
But I don’t want to see you, the way that you are
So I turn off the living room light
All intended with tongue firmly in
cheek, so don’t be offended. Just giggle
a little!
The Moody Blues were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2018. In the opinion of their multitude of fans, it was long overdue. Other perennial “bridesmaids” have also crossed the finish line in recent years — Yes (2017) and Chicago (2016). That leaves Todd Rundgren as one of the last artists that have been wrongfully omitted, though you may also have a favorite that is still in waiting.
But back to the Moodys. One thing you have to say about them is that they have been very consistent with their sound. They hit with “Go Now” soon after their formation in 1964 and settled on their classic lineup – Graeme Edge (drums), Mike Pinder (keyboards, vocals), Ray Thomas (vocals, flute, percussion, harmonica), Justin Hayward (guitar, vocals), John Lodge (bass, vocals) – by 1966. This is the group that recorded their catalog of well-known albums, from Days of Future Passed (1967) to Seventh Sojourn (1972). Beyond the ‘70s, the band in various configurations recorded high quality releases. Some even yielded hit singles like “Gemini Dream” and “The Voice” (1981) and “Your Wildest Dreams” (1986).
Today’s SotW is the title track from the 1999 release, Strange Times.
This song is well played by the classic lineup, less Mike Pinder. A highlight is their use of acoustic guitars and (as always) the harmony vocals. The lyrics are hokey, hippy gibberish, but hey, this is the Moody Blues.
This was the last album that included the work of Ray Thomas. Thomas died just after the New Year 2018, so he missed the band’s Rock Hall induction. Too bad.
Are you looking for a great album you maybe don’t know about?
Aztec Camera’s High Land Hard Rain is one.
Scottish music grown out of punk rock with a severely optimistic bent is charming, musically delightful. I surrender. Go get it.
The Honeycombs were an English beat band from the early 60s, with jangly guitars and catchy tunes, good looking guys in suits and, surprisingly, a female drummer, Honey Lantree, who died in 2018 just before Christmas.
According to the NY Times obituary, Anne Lantree showed up for her guitar lesson, sat down at the drum kit in the studio and was such a natural that she was soon asked to join the Sheratons, an amateur band that then changed it’s name to the Honeycombs after Lantree changed her first name to Honey.
The Honeycombs were gifted with the perfect and enduring Have I The Right? by its songwriters, Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard. Have I the Right? is a pounding love song that I would say is not so much beloved by daylight, but is shouted along with, feet stomping, in any bar or pub that nears closing time. Which makes it near perfect, some of the time.
Have I the Right? topped out at No. 5 in the US and No. 1 in the UK.
The Honeycombs had one other hit, That’s the Way, on which Honey shared vocals with regular singer Dennis D’ell.
The obituary page of the New York Times was filled with musicians this week. Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show was the first to draw me to the page. Then I saw that Pegi Young, Neil’s long-time wife, passed away – as did Christine McGuire of the McGuire Sisters and “Honey” Lantree of the Honeycombs.
Finally, Dean Ford, singer in the Scottish group Marmalade died last Monday in LA. He was only 72.
Marmalade’s most famous hit was “Reflections of My Life.”
Yeah, I know, it’s kind of sappy, but it brings back happy memories (for me) from a simpler time back in the early ‘70s. Its harmony vocals and orchestration give the track an early Bee Gee’s sound.
Besides, it also has that “reverse” guitar solo by Junior Campbell. Here’s how Wikipedia describes the solo (that begins at about 1:45):
The song is in the key of G major and the solo was recorded thus:
The first 4 bars were recorded as normal, with Campbell playing a long “G” note, tied over from the last beat of bar 3, through bar 4, with slight feedback sustaining the long note.
The eight track tape was then turned over, and Campbell played against the reverse sound of the track, including his initial first four bars ensuring that he played another long “G” near the same point which could be cross-faded against the original – the tape was then turned over to normal setup, and he selected just 4 bars from the reverse recording which are bars 4-7 inclusive – this was cross-faded with the original at bar 4 – he then picked up from bar 8 through to bar 16 as normal, so in fact, only 4 bars are actually “reversed”.
“Reflections…” reached #3 in the UK and #10 in the US.
