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.
Today’s SotW installment continues the series of posts in recognition of Black History Month.
I recently watched the PBS American Masters documentary about Roberta Flack. It was very enjoyable and informative. While I was well aware of her solo hits (“First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”) and duets with Donny Hathaway (“Where Is the Love”), I didn’t realize how much of her repertoire was dedicated to the confronting social issues affecting the Black community.
Flack was a serious woman. She was educated at HBCU Howard University (entering at the age of 15!) and studied music (piano and voice), before becoming a teacher.
Her musical career began in Washington, DC, where she held residencies at the Tivoli Club, the 1520 Club, and later, Mr. Henry’s. She was “discovered” by Les McCann who helped connect her to Atlantic Records for a recording contract.
“Compared to What” was written by Eugene McDaniels, who was featured in a SotW earlier this month. The recording was Flack’s first single. Her release was first, but a later version recorded by McCann with Eddie Harris became more popular.
Lyrically, “Compared to What” is a protest of the social conditions that existed in late 60s/early 70s America – especially the Vietnam war.
Said the President, he’s got his war Folks don’t know just what it’s for No one gives us rhyme or reason You have one doubt, they call it treason I said we’re chicken feathers, all without one gut. Tryin’ to make it real, but compared to what?
And
Unreal values, crass distortion Unwed mothers need abortion
The timeless relevance of the lyrics is astounding!
The American Masters documentary is streaming if you want to see it:
This weekend marks the 15-year anniversary of the Song of the Week. 15 years!!! It started humbly the weekend of February 9-10, 2008. I sent out The Beatles’ “All My Loving” from the Ed Sullivan Show and “Sexy Sadie” from the White Album. I didn’t explain that my selections were chosen to celebrate the anniversary of the Beatles’ debut performance in America, launching the British Invasion; and the passing of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whom “Sexy Sadie” was written about, and who had died earlier that week. I assumed everyone would figure that out.
When I started this I had no plan for how long it would continue. But if you had asked me that first week if I would still be doing it 15 years later, that would have been unimaginable. I’ll keep on writing until I run out of ideas. I hope you continue to read.
Now today’s song of the week.
“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five was one of the first songs to utilize rap music to deliver a political message. Urban ghettos like the Bronx in New York City were badly ignored under Ronald Reagan’s spending priorities and budget cuts in the early 80s. “The Message” called out the reality of life in these inner-city neighborhoods in stark detail. “Broken glass”, homelessness, drugs, prostitution, filth, noise, poor education, unemployment… it’s all in there.
The situation all comes together in the line “It’s like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.”
“The Message” is consistently listed as one of the “Greatest Songs of… whatever.” Dave Marsh scored it at #87 in his 1989 list of the 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Rolling Stone’s 2012 list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time voted it #1. In 2018, liveabout.com gave “The Message” the #3 slot on their list of The 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time.
