The subject applies to so many things these days, but of course the subject is the name of a song. A Rolling Stones’ song.
It is a Rolling Stones’ song from the days of Andrew Loog Oldham, Brian Jones, and Nanker Phelge, attributed to Jagger-Richards. Recorded in 1965, it was the Stones’ first No. 1 hit. Mick Jagger said the song is the one that made the Stones different than other bands. He’s surely right, at least up to a point a few years later.
So it isn’t amazing or anything that the Stones played this song at their 1969 shows at Madison Square Garden. These shows became the meat of Get Yer Ya Yas Out, one of the great live albums of all time.
But what I found tonight was the video of the Stones playing the song at the Garden during those Ya Yas shows, mostly because I was looking for Janis Joplin things and she was standing beside the stage that night.
The original is a riff-based song where the music totally propels the satirical lyrics.
This live version introduces Mick Taylor to the band, and the results are not surprisingly magical. What is old becomes new. This doesn’t diminish the brilliance of what Mick and Keith started, and Brian Jones arranged, but how awesome to add lovely guitar solos!
I hadn’t heard this before. If you have, please be patient. I’m not saying it’s the best version. But it is a fantastic version by a band operating at peak effect.
And Janis Joplin, how I got here, is standing in the crowd.
We’ve talked about them but not enough. They’re every bit as good the Beatles and the Stones and the Dolls and Howlin Wolf. The truest mark of greatness is that it keeps revealing. As it happens I have a dead speaker, which means I only hear one channel. Listening to Roxy with only one channel is amazing. What a band, including every single bass player, and there’s a different great one on every album. I mean, check out the bass on this, not to mention everything else. I also believe that Ferry writes lyrics to match anyone’s, including this song if only because he’s “growing potatoes by the score.”
My appreciation for the music of Donovan (Leitch) has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride.
When I was a kid I was captivated by some of the early hits by Donovan. “Sunshine Superman” reached #1 and “Mellow Yellow” came close, stopping at #2, both in 1966.
As my taste in music became more mature, I looked back on those hits as novelties and moved on. That caused me to ignore future hits like “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (a weak Dylan rip off) and “Atlantis.”
But several years later I learned that he wrote a Judy Collins song I liked, “Sunny Goodge Street,” and “Season of the Witch” that was the highlight of the Kooper/Stills/Bloomfield Super Session album.
More importantly, I learned that Donovan went with the Beatles (my heroes) to Rishikesh, India in 1968. While there he taught Lennon and McCartney a finger picking guitar style that they soon employed on several White Album songs, like “Dear Prudence,” “Julia,” “Mother Nature’s Son” and the lovely evergreen “Blackbird.” That earned him some mega cred in my book.
So I did more digging and discovered this credibility and respect carried over to a long list of rock royalty… which brings me to the SotW.
“Epistle to Dippy” features Jimmy Page on guitar. Actually, Page played on numerous Donovan songs including the aforementioned “Season of the Witch” and “Sunshine Superman.”
This track “only” reached #19 in the US. The lyrics of “Epistle…” are written in the form of a letter to a friend that joined the army. In subsequent interviews Donovan has shared that he hoped is friend Dippy would hear the song and contact him. He also claims to have “bought” Dippy out of his service enlistment, apparently something you could do in England back then.
In 2008 the ithinkihatemy45s blog wrote:
The non-LP “Epistle to Dippy” is one of the best from this period, a lysergic, almost Barrett-esque single with sproingy guitars, sawing cellos, and a harpsichord break. Even though some of the lyrics are, uh, dated (“Look on yonder misty mountain / See the young monk meditating,” “Elevator in the brain hotel,” etc.), give it a pass for its great arrangement, great spaced-out vocal, and great melody; this is easily in the same league as killers “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and “Sunshine Superman.” Donovan’s psychedelic pop – “Dippy” in particular – seems to be the reference point for the Rolling Stones’ strange attempts at the form in 1967: “Dandelion” and “We Love You” take more from records such as this one than they do any, say, Beatles disc.
Another great Donovan song is the title track from the album Barabajagal (1969).
On this one, Donovan is backed by the Jeff Beck Group – including Beck (guitar) Ron Wood (bass) and Nicky Hopkins (keys). They rock out while at the same time giving the cut a jazzy feel. The blue chip trio of woman background singers — Lesley Duncan, Madeline Bell and Suzi Quatro – adds a special spark to the recording.
The lyrics are incomprehensible – mostly nonsense syllables – but fun to sing and listen to.
So I vote that you take Donovan seriously (if you don’t already) and give his back catalog a listen. You won’t be disappointed!
It’s an annual happy day today as my Fantasy Baseball Guide magazine arrived in the mail. Though I’m neither kissing a man nor smoking a fag in this year’s edition, it made me think of this Wire Pink Flag classic.
Every forming hardcore band that could hardly play covered this in the early 80s.
Thank you Peter Kreutzer and his superhero alter ego Rotoman.
New York based funk metal band Living Colour burst onto the music scene in 1988 with the release of their debut album, Vivid. That album was popular; reaching #36 on the album charts on the back of the video for “Cult of Personality” that was in heavy rotation on MTV. It ultimately earned them an armful of Grammys and MTV VMAs.
Today’s SotW is “Glamour Boys,” also from Vivid.
Mick Jagger saw the band perform at a club and offered to produce a few songs for them. “Glamour Boys” was one of them. This relationship ultimately led to an invitation for Living Colour to be the opening band for the Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels tour.
It was written by band leader Vernon Reid. It’s a social commentary on the late 80s, New York club scene and the dress and behavior of the wannabe wealthy kids that frequented them. That was something Reid witnessed firsthand and gave him the authority to write about.
The glamour boys swear they are a diva
The glamour boys have it all under control
Always dancing and always laughing
The glamour boys are playing the role
The glamour boys never have no money
The glamour boys wear the most expensive clothes
The glamour boys are always at the party
Where the money comes from heaven only knows
“Glamour Boys” has a reggae-ish donut with a fast tempo, a pop filling, and with a metal glaze on the choruses.
Guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke died of pneumonia today and Motorhead joins another fave The Ramones as a band with no living members from the real lineup.
Fun novelty tune from Ellis, who also did the bewitching and irksome Name Game, but a mesmerizing dance video as well, like a kaleidoscope with swing. Thank you, Walker, for the hat tip.
The Stylistics were one of the best soul groups of the early ‘70s. They scored numerous hits that crossed over to the pop charts on the strength of lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr.’s falsetto, the work of ace producer Thom Bell, and the songwriting by the team of Bell and lyricist Linda Creed. Between 1971 and 1974, they charted an impressive series of consecutive R&B Top 10 hits, including:
Stop, Look, Listen (#9 R&B, #39 Pop)
You are Everything (#10 R&B, #9 Pop)
Betcha by Golly, Wow (#2 R&B, #3 Pop)
I’m Stone in Love with You (#4 R&B, #10 Pop)
Break Up to Make Up (#5 R&B, #5 Pop)
You’ll Never Get to Heaven (#8 R&B, #23 Pop)
Rockin’ Roll Baby (#3 R&B, #14 Pop)
You Make Me Feel Brand New (#5 R&B, #2 Pop)
The best was 1972’s “People Make the World Go Round” (#6 R&B, #25 Pop), today’s SotW.
Bell and Creed’s orchestral style was often reminiscent of the Bacharach/David team. (Dionne Warwick probably agreed since she popularized so many Bacharach/David songs and also recorded a hit with the Bell/Creed penned “You’ll Never Get to Heaven.”) The similarity is especially evident in “PMtWGR,” with its use of mixed time signatures.
The track also follows the early ‘70s trend originated by Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to write songs that reflected social issues of the day; in this case, addressing inner city issues like garbage and bussing strikes, and air pollution.
Trashmen didn’t get my trash today
Oh, why? Because they want more pay
Buses on strike want a raise in fare
So they can help pollute the air
The story behind this song’s chart success is that it was originally an album track, not intended for release as a single. But so many fans demanded radio airplay that the label rushed the record into release as a single. That was a good decision!
