A few weeks ago, I watched A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys on CBS. The two-hour special featured performances by John Legend, Brandi Carlile, and Beck, among many others. It reminded me how much I love the music of the Beach Boys.
The group had so many big hits that fans often overlook some of the hidden gems that weren’t in the Top 40. And believe me, there are many if you take the time to dig for them. Take, for instance, today’s SotW – “Please Let Me Wonder” from The Beach Boys Today! (1965).
“Please Let Me Wonder” is a bridge from “Don’t Worry Baby” (another classic) to the more sophisticated song cycle on Pet Sounds. The instrumentation used is not typical for rock music, but there isn’t any excess — every note serves the song. Many of the players are from the famous Wrecking Crew, including Carol Kaye (bass), Glen Campbell (12-string), Barney Kessel (guitar), and Earl Palmer (drums). It is worth listening to very carefully to try to pick out each instrument as they are layered to construct this beautiful arrangement.
Lyrically, Brian Wilson sings of “wondering” if a girl is in love with him, rather than facing the reality that she may not. It is backed by beautiful Four Freshman inspired harmonies like so many other Beach Boys’ tracks.
In the month of 4/20, it is notable that “Please Let Me Wonder” has often been cited as the first song Wilson wrote on marijuana.
Today’s SotW was written by guest contributor Michael Paquette. This is Michael’s 8th SotW essay since 2020.
John Hiatt grew up in the Indiana cornfields as the sixth of seven children in a Roman Catholic family. When he was 9 years old his brother committed suicide and two years later his father died after a long illness. He took up the guitar at the age of 11 and began listening to blues, Elvis, and Bob Dylan.
At the age of 18, he moved to Nashville where he became a staff writer for Tree Publishing. One of his recordings, “Sure As I’m Sitting Here”, was recorded by Three Dog Night and became a hit (#16) in 1974. As a solo artist, he first worked with the Epic label before moving to MCA and then recorded four albums with Geffen Records in the early eighties until they dropped him because none of them charted. When financial problems drove him out of Nashville and out on the road, he became influenced by the edgy music of Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.
His dependence on alcohol and drugs nearly ruined his career until he was offered an opportunity by Andrew Lauder, who ran the British label Demon Records in association with Elvis Costello and his management. Andrew promised him he would put out any album he recorded and asked him who he would like to work with. Hiatt replied Jim Keltner and Nick Lowe, never imagining they would accept the invitation. He returned to Nashville and worked with those two artists. Given only four days in the studio to work together, he managed to cut one of the finest albums of his career — Bring the Family (1987). He finally had a minor Billboard hit with “Thank You Girl” (#27). Bonnie Raitt brought some attention to the album by including “Thing Called Love” on her multi Grammy winning album Nick of Time (1989).
The song I chose from this breakthrough work is “Lipstick Sunset”. A song, like many of his works, that is about heartbreak and lost love. Ry Cooder lays down a terrific slide guitar accompaniment on this recording.
This is a song about how love is hard for the artist. He sings:
And Lord I couldn’t tell her
That her love was killing me
By the end of the day
All her sweet dreams would fade
To a lipstick sunset
The song continues and it appears that he ”can only see as you take away the light.” And then it seems that he left his lover waiting, and calls out:
So hold me in the darkness
We can dream about the cool twilight
Til the dawning of the day
When I make my getaway
To a lipstick sunset
It is uncertain whether the lovers will meet or part. Maybe another day.
A prolific songwriter, many of his compositions have been covered by other artists. “Have A Little Faith In Me” was covered by Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton, Jewel, Mandy Moore, and Bon Jovi. But “Lipstick Sunset” remains solely his own. He breaks it out in concert on rare occasions. Having seen him a few times over the years I would say that his shows remain some of the best I have ever witnessed. His storytelling is captivating and his rapport with his audience makes it a pleasure to attend.
In 2000 and 2001 Hiatt recorded two albums with Vanguard Records — Crossing Muddy Waters and The Tiki Bar Is Open. These two albums were critical successes and earned him Grammy nominations. Like “Lipstick Sunset”, all of Crossing Muddy Waters was recorded without a drummer. It is a raw and spare album with elements of bluegrass brought into his Americana sound. He has had considerable artistic success and he is highly respected in the industry but has never enjoyed commercial success beyond what he achieved with Bring the Family.
Today’s SotW is “Highly Strung”, an instrumental by Orianthi featuring Steve Vai tha’t custom made for guitar lovers. I’ve never heard an instrumental with a more perfect title. It describes the music as well as the guitars that it features.
Orianthi is an Australian, woman guitarist. She’s also a singer/songwriter, but on “Highly Strung” she just shreds. 38 now, she’s been performing in bands for 24 years, ever since she was only 14. Still, she’s hardly known in the US by the masses, despite gigs with Alice Cooper and Michael Jackson and one Billboard top 20 song, “According to You”, in 2009.
“Daddy Rollin Stone” is a soul rocker that was written and first recorded by Otis Blackwell in 1953. You may recall that Blackwell wrote a number of rock standards, like this Elvis Presley trifecta — “All Shook Up”, “Don’t Be Cruel”, and “Return to Sender.”
“Daddy Rollin’ Stone” was covered by Derek Martin, an American soul shouter, in 1963.
It wasn’t a hit here in the US but it was very influential with the British Invasion groups. John Lennon called it out as a favorite of his and The Who recorded it in 1965. It was also later covered in the ‘70s by the New York Dolls in live performances.
“Pictures of Matchstick Men” was a hit by the British band Status Quo in 1968.
It reached #12 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also included in the compilation album Nuggets, Vol. 2: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire & Beyond.
Next is “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Vanilla Fudge. (That’s a great ‘60s psych band name, isn’t it!)
The song was originally released by The Supremes and was a big Motown hit. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Vanilla Fudge’s slowed-down, plaintive version — produced by “Shadow” Morton — unexpectedly made it to #6 in 1967.
Now is it just me, or do these two tracks sound eerily alike?
Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes chose If You’re Feeling Sinister as his Last Night a Record Changed My Life selection in a recent issue of MOJO.
If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996) was the second album released by the Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian. Many fans, besides Oberst, consider this to be Belle andSebastian’s best album out of a catelog that is very good.
One song on the album that captures me is the beautiful and melancholy “The Fox in the Snow.”
Fox in the snow, where do you go To find something you could eat? Cause the word out on the street is you are starving Don’t let yourself grow hungry now Don’t let yourself grow cold Fox in the snow
Girl in the snow, where do you go To find someone who will do? To tell someone all the truth before it kills you They listen to your crazy laugh Before you hang a right And disappear from sight What do they know anyway? You’ll read it in a book What do they know anyway? You’ll read it in a book tonight
Boy on the bike, what are you like As you cycle round the town? You’re going up, you’re going down You’re going nowhere It’s not as if they’re paying you It’s not as if it’s fun At least not anymore When your legs are black and blue It’s time to take a break When your legs are black and blue It’s time to take a holiday
Kid in the snow, way to go It only happens once a year It only happens once a lifetime Make the most of it Second just to being born Second to dying too What else would you do?
In the first verse, the fox stands as a metaphor for loneliness. The loneliness theme is expanded in the second and third verses. The girl in the snow takes solace in books, and the boy on the bike rides endlessly and aimlessly – like Forrest Gump on wheels. Both are living their lives and going about their business nearly invisible to the rest of the world around them. But in the last verse, the tone shifts. The kid playing in the snow is joyous for the experience of something that may only happen once a year or once a lifetime. His/her youth and naivete allow the kid to delight in the simplicity of frolicking in the snow. There is hope!
The music complements the lyrics. It starts with a very softly played piano and a fragile vocal by Stuart Murdoch. Then comes a gentle acoustic guitar and a little later, drums. By the end of the second verse, Isobel Campbell’s cello (and a violin), and quiet harmony vocal on key lines, take the song to the next level.
If You’re Feeling Sinister has earned many accolades over the years. It is often cited in “best of” lists, including its place at #481 in the 2020 Rolling Stone survey of the Top 500 Albums of All Time.
I was watching TV and saw this HomeGoods commercial:
If you’re over 50 years old, you probably recognize the music as “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club, the Talking Heads offshoot featuring Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. I would guess Esquire magazine’s, Bria McNeal is not over 50. In an article titled “The 45 Best Songs of 2022,” she wrote about Big Energy’s song “Latto”:
Latto dominated the charts this year with “Big Energy,” a song that can carry you from your late night TikTok scroll all the way to the club. The track samples Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” and reimagines it for a new era of bad b*tches. Her braggadocious lyrics combined with the track’s tantalizing melody make it an undeniable hit.
So, what’s my problem? It’s that she doesn’t seem to know that the Mariah Carey song also samples “Genius of Love.” That is an inexcusable omission in my book. She should have said something like “The track uses the same sample of Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” that was the foundation for Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.”
In the arts, it is important to give credit where credit is due!
As many of you know, I’m a huge Steely Dan fan. It pains me that they are often now labeled as Yacht Rock. They are so much better, consistent, and eclectic than most of the schlock that falls into that genre – popular though it is!
So whenever I learn about some Steely Dan obscurities, I need to go deep to learn more. In April 2020 I wrote about the song “American Lovers” by Thomas Jefferson Kaye that featured most of Pretzel Logic era Steely Dan as his backing group.
Today I’d like to introduce you to “I Mean to Shine”, by Linda Hoover, which was written by The Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.
Like Kaye’s recording, Hoover’s record was produced by Gary Katz and featured several members of the early Steely Dan line-up (Becker, Fagen, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Denny Dias), but two year’s before their debut would appear.
The album had songs composed by The Band’s Richard Manuel (“In a Station”), Stephen Stills (4 + 20), three by Hoover herself, and five by Becker/Fagen.
So why are we just discovering this now? Well, the answer has an interesting backstory.
As it turns out, Katz heard the 19-year-old Hoover and wanted to promote her recording career. He introduced her to the legendary, mob associated, Morris Levy of Roulette Records. Knowing how Levy operated, Katz enticed (bribed?) Levy to sign Hoover by offering him publishing rights to the songs. The only problem was that Katz could only deliver on his offer with Hoover’s compositions. When Levy saw the record cover and realized he would only be paid for three songs, he was pissed off and put the kibosh on its release. The album sat dormant in the vaults until last summer when it was finally released by Omnivore Records. Hoover was 71 upon release!
If “I Mean to Shine” sounds familiar to you it is probably because Barbra Streisand released a version in 1971. On her version, she was backed by the all-female group Fanny with Bobby Keyes and Jim Price on horns.
Linda Hoover’s album deserved to be heard 50 years ago. At least we finally have it now. Give the full album a listen on Spotify.
When I was a teenager growing up in New York’s Hudson Valley, I would listen to WNEW-FM out of New York City. At 60 miles north of the city, we were right on the edge of how far the radio station’s signal would travel. But I would tolerate the signal fading in and out to hear the best music being broadcast by the coolest DJs.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a hip website that has a history of the station and offers a plethora of airchecks. I went deep down into the rabbit hole.
I particularly enjoyed an interview of John Lennon that Dennis Elsas conducted in the WNEW studio on September 28, 1974. Lennon came in to chat with Elsas and to play a few of his favorite records as well as to share a few cuts from his new album Walls and Bridges which had been released just 2 days prior.
One of the songs John chose to play was “Showdown” by The Electric Light Orchestra. He described them as “Son of Beatles.” Then he gave me the idea for this SotW! In his setup for “Showdown,” he said:
“Now for those people who like to know where licks and things come from which I do, ‘cause I’m always making little things myself, this is a beautiful combination of ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye and ‘Lightning Strikes Again’ Lou Christie. And it’s a beautiful job with a little ‘Walrus’ underneath.”
Are you curious to hear what Lennon heard? Let’s do it!
In my final recognition of Black History Month, today’s SotW is “Alright” from Kendrick Lamar’s seminal album To Pimp a Butterfly.
“Alright” was released as a single in 2015, about a half year after the August 2014 protests broke out in Ferguson, MI, related to the killing of the teenage Michael Brown by a police officer. The song confronts the friction between police and the residents of black communities – like Compton, CA, where he grew up – that they serve and has become the unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement. (The video for “Alright” accentuates this.)
Lamar is no ordinary lyricist. He has a very high intellect that shines through the references he chooses to communicate his message. Take, for instance, the rapid fire lyrics of the second verse of “Alright.”
What you want you, a house? You, a car? 40 acres and a mule? A piano, a guitar? Anything, see my name is Lucy, I’m your dog Motherfucker, you can live at the mall I can see the evil, I can tell it I know when it’s illegal I don’t think about it, I deposit every other zero Thinkin’ of my partner put the candy, paint it on the regal Diggin’ in my pocket ain’t a profit, big enough to feed you Every day my logic, get another dollar just to keep you In the presence of your chico ah! I don’t talk about it, be about it, every day I see cool If I got it then you know you got it, Heaven, I can reach you Pat Dawg, Pat Dawg, Pat Dawg, my dog, that’s all Bick back and Chad, I trap the bag for y’all I rap, I black on track so rest assured My rights, my wrongs, I write ’til I’m right with God
An essay by Kyle Flick dissects the verse:
In this verse, Kendrick illustrates a battle he has with Lucy (Lucifer) as he offers Kendrick everything he could want. Kendrick stands before Cerberus, the hound that guards Hell, and he is beckoning him to come in and speak with Lucy. Kendrick mentions 40 acres and a mule, which is what the government originally promised recently freed slaves but never ended up giving it. Lucy offers Kendrick any material object he could want, trying to tempt him into coming to his side and ignore the opposite, God. Kendrick knows that the devil is evil but he is nonetheless being persuaded by Lucy to give into his greed. Kendrick wants to live like the rich rappers he listened to as a teen and Lucy is using this to his advantage to try and get Kendrick to come to his side. Kendrick realizes though that nothing will be able to satisfy his greed which Lucy embodies. He is becoming consumed with getting as much money as he can, falling into Lucy’s trap. Finally, Kendrick says, “Ah!” he realizes he is falling into his vice of greed and materialism and was very close to accepting Lucy’s offer.
Despite the intense language, imagery, and subject matter, the song is intended to convey hope and optimism – “we gon’ be alright.”
To Pimp a Butterfly reached #1 on the Billboard 200 upon its debut in 2015. A 2019 article in TheGuardian, titled The 100 best albums of the 20th century, placed it at #4. It also took the #19 slot in 2020 when Rolling Stone updated their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
