Tag Archives: song of the week

Song of the Week – My Life as a Dog in a Pigsty, The Bitter Springs

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Today’s SotW is by the eccentric British band The Bitter Springs. I had never heard of them until a few weeks ago when I read a review of their latest album, Everyone’s Cup of Tea, in MOJO magazine. It sounded interesting so I listened to it on Spotify.

This band is a hoot. They formed in 1985 as Last Party and changed their name to The Bitter Springs in 1996. Over this period of time they released scores of singles and about a dozen albums. Everyone’s Cup of Tea is their first since 2006, but it’s a double and filled with interesting songs. How this band has escaped me all these years is a puzzlement.

There are many songs from ECOT that I could have chosen for the SotW, but I’ve selected “My Life as a Dog in a Pigsty” for one reason. It contains the funniest lyric I’ve heard in a very long time (at about 2:30 in).

I split up with my fiancée
She caught me in bed with Beyonce
Beyonce was our dog’s name

That was over a year ago
It was so hard to see her go
But the puppies are doing just fine

Sick? Yes. But funny? Hell yes!!!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Don’t Give It Up Now, Lyres

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In Boston, back in the early 70s, Jeff “Monoman” Conolly formed a punk rock band called DMZ. That band was heavily influenced by the 60s garage band sounds that were popularized by Lenny Kaye’s superbly curated Nuggets compilation. After a couple of years, Conolly dropped DMZ and took his garage band strategy up a notch with his next band – Lyres.

Their best song – and today’s Song of the Week – was “Don’t Give It Up Now.”

I remember going to see them at the now defunct Inn Square Men’s Bar in Cambridge, MA with my friend Phil H. in the early 80s. When they played “Don’t Give It Up Now”, the sweat, energy and excitement in the room was palpable; a truly memorable experience
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Their trademark sound comes from Monoman’s hair raising and nearly unintelligible vocals, his Vox Continental organ playing chords with one hand, and his insistent tambourine played with the other. When you add in the vintage sound Danny McCormack draws out of his Danelectro guitar, you’d swear you were listening to an early Kinks cut or something by the 13th Floor Elevators.

Some time ago, when writing about The Only Ones’ “Another Girl, Another Planet” I remarked “… I can honestly say I’ve never turned anyone onto this song that didn’t instantly and for always fall in love with it. It’s that good!” The same can be said about “Don’t Give It Up Now.”

Enjoy… until next week.

Songs of the Week – Here Comes My Baby, The First Cut is the Deepest, If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out, Cat Stevens

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Today’s Songs of the Week are in tribute to Cat Stevens. Everybody already knows his career highlights including his massive selling early 70s albums Tea for the Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat, and Catch Bull at Four and his late 70s repudiation of the music business and conversion to Islam.

But today I’d like to focus on the earlier part of his career when he was a songwriter in the UK and had not yet broken through in the U.S. I was surprised to learn that a couple of my favorite British pop songs from the late 60s were written by a pre-fame Stevens. You may be surprised too.

The first is “Here Comes My Baby” by the Tremeloes.

This version of “Here Comes My Baby” reached #14 on the Billboard charts in 1967. It’s such an upbeat song that brings an irresistible smile to my face. It also has the added sentimental value of reminding me of some wonderful hours shared with my toddler daughter, hunting for vinyl records at yard sales and listening to the local Boston oldies station. The hip, Hoboken, NJ, band Yo La Tengo recorded a version for their 1990 covers album, Fakebook.

Stevens also wrote the classic “The First Cut is the Deepest”. The version I’m presenting is the one by P.P. Arnold that reached #18 on the UK charts.

P.P. Arnold was an American soul singer that moved to the UK to try her hand in the business there. She scored one of her biggest hits with “First Cut…” But how could she go wrong with such a great song? I’ll bet most of you are thinking “isn’t that Rod Stewart’s song.” Yes, he also recorded an outstanding 1977 hit version that I enjoy every time I hear it. In fact, this song has the rare distinction of having hit versions recorded by 4 different artists. The other two were by Keith Hampshire (1973) and Sheryl Crow (2003).

Finally, I can’t resist sharing Stevens’ own “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out” from the soundtrack of one of my all time Top 10 Movies – Harold and Maude. (Cat Stevens’ version starts at about 2:00.)

The movie is a sweet story about an older woman that teaches a young man about joie de vivre. This simple little Stevens ditty perfectly captures the spirit of the film. If you’ve never seen it, you MUST check it out.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Care of Cell 44 and This Will Be Our Year, The Zombies

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The story behind the UK band The Zombies is an important slice of rock history.

The group was led by keyboard player and songwriter Rod Argent and had a “signature sound” thanks in large part to the breathy vocals of Colin Blunstone. They enjoyed early chart success during the Beatles’ inspired British Invasion in 1964-65 with the hits “She’s Not There” (US #2) and “Tell Her No” (US #6). Check out this video of their early ’65 appearance on TV:

Follow up releases failed to meet with the same success as these initial recordings but the band soldiered on.

In mid ’67, they followed The Beatles – who had just finished recording Sgt Pepper – into Abbey Road studios to begin recording their next LP. Legend has it that they arrived at Abbey Road only to find Beatles’ recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, dismantling the multi channel tape decks he had jury rigged for the Sgt Pepper sessions. The Zombies persuaded him to leave the set up behind for their use.

The end result was Odessey & Oracle. But initially it received little notice in the UK and wasn’t even scheduled for release in the US. CBS in the US only released it after Al Kooper “discovered” the album in the UK and talked them into it. By this time the band had become discouraged and decided to break up. Soon after, US radio stations began to play “Time of the Season” and it reached #3 in the spring of 1969.

Over time, Odessey & Oracle has become recognized as a psych pop classic. Rolling Stone ranked it at #100 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The record is also included in MOJO’s collection of The Greatest Albums of All Time. Clearly then, it is much deeper than “Time of the Season”. Let me prove it to you.

The album opens with “Care of Cell 44”, the most cheerful pop song ever written about someone’s lover being released from prison. (“You can tell me about your prison stay…”, “Feels so good, you’re coming home soon…”)

They group gives The Beach Boys a run for their money on the “Good Vibrations” era multi-part harmony.

“This Will Be Our Year” sounds like a lost McCartney tune.

It has a wonderful, clever melody. It begins as a simple piano based ditty but then the horns come in and you can easily imagine it as a Magical Mystery Tour outtake. The lyric is sweet and innocent:

And I won’t forget the way you held me up when I was down
And I won’t forget the way you said, “Darling I love you”
You gave me faith to go on

It’s amazing to me how much sentiment can be packed into a 2 minute pop song!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Buena, Morphine

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I’ve long been a fan of Mark Sandman’s music. In fact, several years ago I chose his band Treat Her Right’s “I Think She Likes Me” as a SotW. So when I heard that Sandman was the subject of a documentary movie I couldn’t wait to see it. Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story finally debuted in 2011 to a very limited theatrical release. I tried hard to keep tabs on when and where it might be showing in the Bay area, but missed it (if it even hit the screens here).

It’s still not available to stream on Netflix (I don’t use their DVD service), but I recently learned it’s available on iTunes. I finally got to see it and it’s pretty good – at least if you’re a Sandman/Morphine fan.

The Sandman story sits among the most tragic in rock history. Here’s the thumbnail.

Sandman grew up in Newton, MA (a Boston suburb), the oldest of 4 children. He was never the conventional child his parents hoped he would be. After HS, they gave him 3 choices – get a job, got to college, or just go. He left home the next day amidst a snowstorm and went on to do extensive world travel. He took interesting jobs (a fisherman off the Alaska coast), worked on his music and learned several languages.

Boston always remained home and he eventually worked his way back and began to focus on playing in bands. But two tragic events were still ahead of him. He lost his two brothers to untimely deaths — Roger from an unusual illness, and Jon from an unexplained fall from a window. All of his life experiences influenced his music, so let’s discuss that.

Morphine was Sandman’s main focus from 1989 to 1999. The band is commonly acknowledged for having one of the most unusual and interesting instrument line ups in the history of rock music. Sandman played a two string, slide bass. Dana Colley was on baritone sax and Jerome Deupree and Billy Conway played drums at various stages of the group’s career. That’s right – the band devised their now famous sound with just bass, bari sax and drums!

My pick for the SotW is “Buena” from Morphine’s second album, Cure For Pain. Although it is one of the more well known songs to serious Morphine fans, it’s probably still unfamiliar to many of you. More importantly, it is the perfect specimen of the trademark Morphine “low rock” sound (that’s how Sandman described it).

In another tragic turn, Sandman died of a massive heart attack, while performing on stage in Palestrina, Italy. Now that’s a rock ‘n roll death! And I mean that most respectfully. Morphine ceased to exist that day.

Enjoy… until next week.

Songs of the Week – You Will You Won’t & Confusion, The Zutons

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A few months ago the SotW was by the La’s, from Liverpool. Today’s SotW is by another Liverpool band, The Zutons.

The Zutons first album, Who Killled… The Zutons?, was released in 2004. I read a review of it in the British magazine MOJO and knew instantly that I would be something I’d like. That figures – the album did pretty well in the UK, reaching as high as #9 in the charts. Here in the US? Nada. Except that one of the album’s songs, “Pressure Point”, received some notice when it was used in a Levi’s ad. Check it out… it’s pretty funny:

The Zutons – Pressure Point Levi’s Coomercial

Their next album, Tired of Hanging Around (2006), did even better reaching #2 in the UK. Two of its singles charted at #9 – “Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love” and “Valerie”. Some of you might be more familiar with “Valerie” from the terrific cover version recorded by Amy Winehouse.

The band managed one more release, 2008’s You Can Do Anything, but not much has been heard from them since. That’s a shame.

As is often the case, one’s favorite album by a group is the first one you heard. For me that’s Who Killed… ?. I was planning to pick one song and then send you to Spotify to listen to the rest of the album. But for some reason Spotify only offers Tired of Hanging Around. So I’ll indulge and present a couple of songs.

“You Will You Won’t” is a foot stomping, party sing along and it opens with a pretty cool Hendrix inspired guitar squeal.

The Zutons – You Will You Won’t

“Confusion” opens with a simple bass line that’s reminiscent of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”. It’s a bittersweet ballad that features amateurish, but “just right” sax honks by Abi Harding.

The Zutons – Confusion

As you can tell by what’s been presented in this post, the band covers a lot of stylistic territory — and you’ve just scratched the surface. I wish you could also hear their theme song, “Zuton Fever”, and others. All and all, this is a fun, energetic record that you can listen to over and over again. It doesn’t get old.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Midnight at the Oasis, Maria Muldaur

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Maria Muldaur’s self titled, debut solo album is one of my all time favorite records. Let’s say Top 100. Really. I know that’s not a very hip choice, but I go to it on a regular basis and find myself singing along to the tastefully curated selection of great songs written by Dolly Parton, Kate McGarrigle, Dan Hicks, Dr John and Wendy Waldman. And they’re played by a “dream team” of session musicians including Clarence White, Bill Keith, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Andrew Gold, Jim Keltner, Amos Garrett and Chris Ethridge amongst others.

While I would generally select a deep cut as the SotW, today I’m going with the hit – “Midnight at the Oasis”.

This song perfectly evokes the feel of a hot summer night. What with talk of camels, sand dunes and harems, how could you avoid imagining a magic carpet ride to a romantic Saharan tent?

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The lyrics are overtly suggestive, but in Muldaur’s hands they come across as cheeky, not creepy.

The musicianship is impeccable. Jim Gordon (Derek & The Dominoes) takes over the drums. David Nichtern, who wrote the song, plays acoustic guitar. Freebo, Bonnie Raitt’s longtime collaborator, is on bass. Then, at the bridge, there’s that wonderful, tasteful Amos Garrett guitar solo. It’s simple, short and absolutely gorgeous.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – There It Goes Again, Buzzy Linhart

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A few months ago my friend Lissy A was at my house for a band rehearsal. She’s a fine singer and bass player in The Ballisticats that play in bars from San Luis Obispo to San Francisco’s South Bay.

Once she saw my extensive vinyl record collection she realized an opportunity to hear some “almost forgotten” favorite songs. She provided me with a list of songs and asked me to digitize any I might have in my collection. It was a boat load of fun for me to rediscover some of the cool obscurities she identified.

One was the title track from the Buzzy Linhart 1974 album Pussycats Can Go Far. Wow, Linhart hadn’t crossed my mind in a jillion years. I ended up listening to the whole album and have gone back to it several times since. While I like the song “Pussycats…”, I’ve decided my favorite on the album is “There it Goes Again” which is today’s SotW.

Buzzy Linhart – There It Goes Again

The song has very poignant lyrics about disappointment, failure and everything going wrong. But the gospel choir background vocals give it a sense of optimism, not sadness. There’s something about the way Linhart delivers his vocal that reminds me of Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes material (though I doubt Oberst has even a clue who Linhart is).

Linhart was this eccentric guy that was a “musician’s musician” in the 60s and 70s. There are a million stories about him. Like how he roomed with John Sebastian in New York, how he played with Jimi Hendrix, how he did a scene in the cult movie Groove Tube that displayed him in full frontal nudity, and (most famously) how he co-wrote the song “Friends” that became Bette Midler’s theme song. (“Friends” is also on Pussycats…)

The story goes on and on. If you’re interested in learning more, there’s an 80 minute documentary on Linhart available to stream for free on Vimeo:

Famous: The Buzzy Linhart Story

Song of the Week – Hello Hello, Sopwith Camel

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In the second half of the 1960s, several pop songs were released that had a nostalgic, vaudevillian sound. “Daydream” (#2, Mar 1966), “Winchester Cathedral” (#1, Dec 1966), “Honey Pie” (White Album, Nov 1968), and today’s SotW, “Hello Hello” (#26, Jan 1967) by the Sopwith Camel. (You might throw the music of Harper’s Bazaar in there too.) Each of these songs had an old timey feel and vocals that sounded like they were being sung through a megaphone.

The song was later included on the soundtrack for the movie Milk (2008), that depicted the life of the San Franciscan who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in 1977.

The Sopwith Camel came out of the San Francisco psychedelic scene. The recording was produced by Erik Jacobsen who had recently moved to Northern California after having been fired by the New York based Lovin’ Spoonful. In fact, you can hear the similarities in their sound (not to mention that both recorded for the small Kama Sutra label).

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The band broke up the same year that their eponymous first album was released. They reunited to record another album, 1972’s The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon, but never repeated the success of “Hello Hello”, leaving them as another name on the long list of “one hit wonders.”