Tuesday 19 March 2024

Namesakes #77: Smile


Today's edition of Namesakes coincides with my 52nd birthday. I now have as many years as a pack has cards and a year has weeks. I'm celebrating by listening to a selection of songs by the B52s and Billy Joel's sixth album, 52nd Street. 

I'd hoped there might be more than one band called The Birthday Party... but it didn't appear there was. Nobody messes with Nick Cave. I did find a few bands called simply Birthday... but none of them were worthy of note. I know, I thought... as it's my birthday, I should really try to Smile. And so I began to look for bands called Smile...

It was scary how many Smiles there were. 

Also, this edition of Namesakes is the first one in which I've had to call in outside help... the big guns... namely JC, The Vinyl Villain, and his army of devoted readers... to help me track down one of the bands. I'll explain why when I get to Number 14.

DISCLAIMER #1: Due to the large number of bands on show today, I'm not posting videos. 30+ videos in one post would surely break this blog... if not the whole internet. Hyperlinks are on offer instead - just click the link to sample / enjoy / hate on each band as you go. Or choose the links you think may be of interest to you. Because... 

DISCLAIMER #2: Unless you're George, I don't expect you to wade through 30+ different bands called Smile just because I felt the need to. Some people actually go out, have a party or see friends on their birthday. This is how I chose to spend the day... still, remember what Charlie Chaplin said...

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you


SMILE #1

Let's start in 1968 with a band whose lead singer gets top billing, though that's not enough to disqualify them, particularly when you consider all the other reasons to give them a listen:

1. They were from Leeds.

2. Denis Couldry was also a member of Felius Andromeda, aka The Unidentified Flower Objects (who released a single called Flower Power Fred with Harry H. Corbett on lead vocals!)

3. Motorbikin' Chris Spedding was also in the band.

Dennis Couldry & Smile - A Penny For The Wind

SMILE #2


Brian May... Roger Taylor... Tim Staffell. It feels like there's an important member missing from the band that would become Queen... and I don't mean John Deacon.

May and Staffell originally met at private school and formed a band called 1984, way back in 1965. When they headed off to college a couple of years later, they recruited Taylor and the rest was a prelude to history. Staffell left in 1970 to join folk-rockers Humpy Bong, while May and Taylor eventually met a young lad called Farrokh Bulsara. And then the rest is history.

Do your worst, Queen-haters... I won't mind. They were nothing without Freddie... although May's skill with a guitar is clearly evident on the track below...

Smile - Earth

THE SMILE / SMYLE #3

Also from 1969, this lot were Canadian and originally known as The Smile, then they became just Smyle. As always, I picked the song title that most appealed to me...

The Smile [Smyle] - Be Somebody Else's Friend

SMILE #4

Californian band from the early 70s with Chris Rae on guitar. Rae, not Rea. They appear to have released a few singles, but this b-side was the only thing on the tube of you...

SMILE #5

New Orleans band from 1971, although they're stuck firmly in the 60s by the sound of it. Shortest song today - extra marks for that, surely?

SMYLE #6


Holland, 1972, and another Smyle with a Y. For further information: "Band uit Voorburg en Den Haag met O.A. Zanger Bas Muys en gitarist Mark Boon." Isn't Dutch a wonderful language?

SMILE #7

Gentle Greek acoustic rock from 1973...

...it's all Greek to me.

SMILE #8

And now we reach 1974, and a song written by Roger Greenaway, one of the men behind I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony). Quite pleased to find this on "Non Hit Radio" - where "Every Song Is A Non Hit". My former radio bosses would have a heart attack at the very thought.

SMILE #9

Next, a Danish rock band from the mid-70s who mixed covers with their own compositions. This is one of the latter, the b-side to their version of House of the Rising Sun. Previously known as The Sharons. Which is a far better name if you ask me.

SMILE #10

On Tojam Records in 1975, a frustratingly catch slice of "disco-country-funk"...

SMILE #11

Those with no appreciation of the genre used to say that AOR stood for Any Old Rubbish. Being that I have quite a bit of Adult Oriented Rock in my record collection, I am unable to agree with that assessment. This lot though, from 1985... well... at least they're good at jumping.


SMILE #12

One year later. Not much better.


SMILE #12A

I couldn't find any audio for this 1989 German smile... but I thought I'd share their record sleeve, because a picture is surely worth a thousand musical notes... I'm pretty sure Timmy Mallet is in there somewhere.


SMILE #13

Heavy Smile from the US who changed their name to Monsterland in 1990...

SMILE #14

And now we come to the one I needed help for.

Scottish band Smile released one single in 1992, before going their own way. Iffypedia tells me the song "reached no. 20 in the Scottish charts", although the doyen of the Scottish music scene, JC, told me he'd never heard of a "Scottish chart". Likely it was put together by one of the local radio stations at the time. When I started out in radio, in the late 80s, we did a similar thing... although it usually involving ringing about three record shops in the area (one in Bradford, one in Halifax and one in Huddersfield) and then cobbling something together from their weekly sales. Not particularly scientific. 

Anyway, there was no audio evidence of this band to be found anywhere online, and I'd almost consigned them to the reject pile when I noticed that the band's lead singer was one Dean Owens, respected star of the Scottish Americana scene, and someone who's featured here before. That made me more keen to do a little extra work - so I reached out to JC, who himself drew a blank, but was kind enough to put out an appeal on The Vinyl Villain. Within a day, I'd had two separate responses offering to supply me with the audio I needed - one from our old friend Jim in Dubai, and one from another member of the Vinyl Villain Collective who prefers to remain anonymous.

You might wonder if it was worth all that extra effort... but for me, it definitely was. Obvious is a great little pop song and it doesn't deserve to be completely erased from history. Big thanks to everyone who helped me hear it....


SMILE #15

And now for one that probably wasn't worth the effort...

You know how discogs lists bands with the same name by putting a number after each one? Well, these guys are listed as just Smile, presumably meaning they were the fast act to register themselves when discogs opened (or some rabid fan did the job for them). 
 
Also known as Braindead, Gabberhead, Happyheadz, Infernus, Ravers Religion Hardcore Force, Terrorizers, their music is described as "Dutch gabber / happy hardcore".

I managed less than 30 seconds. Because it's my birthday, I thought about requesting that George listens all the way to the end. But I'm not that mean.

Smile - A Good Time

SMILE #16

Also from the mid-90s, but much more palatable to my aging earlobes is this Californian indie band with a penchant for crunchy guitars...

Smile - Staring At The Sun

SMILE #17

Swedish band from 1993, with a song about being born in the 90s! Blimey, they start their pop careers young in the land of the Svea.

SMILE #18

I actually quite like this one. It's from 1995, and if I'd heard it back then, I would have probably bought it. Or at least scrabbled around in the Chuck Out box to see if I could find it there with all the other Non-Hits.

SMILE #19

Also in 1995: The Japanese Oasis. Judging by their logo, at least...


Smile - 明日の行方

SMILE #20

Another Japanese band from the late 90s. Beyond that, I can't really say...

SMILE #21

Lithuanian boyband from 1999. They're no better than UK boybands of the same era.

SMILE #22

From their logo, I figured this 21st Century Swedish duo wanted to be Yes...


No such luck... still, at least they've written a tune about an Antipodean Goddess...

SMILE #23

From 2003, featuring Mr. Ron Vail, who appears to have played with Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits at some point in his career. This is another one that actually made me Smile... if only for a second or two.

SMILE #24

Also known as Smile.dk, which suggests they're from Denmark, although they're actually from Sweden. Anyway, this is the worst kind of squeaky Euro-pop and it hurt my ears almost as much as the Gabberheads did. Still, you might like it...

IF YOU'RE INSANE.

(Only joking, insane people. You listen to whatever you like. Just keep it away from me.)

SMILE #25

A third Japanese Smile, these guys were part of the "Visual Kei" movement, a musical scene influenced by 70s glam rock...

SMILE #26

The Spanish Smile, from the last decade or so. Not the worst thing you'll hear today, but that's very faint praise... you'd have to go a long way to beat the Gabberheadz.

SMILE #27

Aussie Smile, also from the past decade. They might have heard the odd Pavement record when they were younger.

SMILE #28

Italian Indie Smile who changed their name to The Wends in 2022. Presumably they also had to change the name of their website, thenameofthisbandissmile.com.

SMILE #29

And an Austrian Smile, from just last year. By this stage in the game, I've listened to so many different Smiles, I've lost the ability to differentiate between them. The video's a bit odd though.

Smile - Protection

THE SMILE #30

And finally...! 

You may have been expecting this one, as they've been making quite a noise for themselves over the past few weeks. Let's all salute the supreme irony of Thom Yorke using the word Smile, especially in a band name!

This latest Radiohead spin-off band features Thom and Johnny and new drummer Tom Skinner. Iffypedia says critics describe them as like Radiohead, but "with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound." You should try throwing a bit of Banarama in there, Thom.

To help differentiate themselves from the dozens of other bands called Smile, Thom and co. added the definite article. (Perhaps because it's the only Smile Thom has ever had?) As Eminem put it, "All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating".


There were dozens of bands called Smile listed on discogs, but I couldn't find any more music... and believe me, I did look! Most upset that I couldn't find the Swiss Smile from the 1970s with their misspelled hit, Leader Of Loosers, which sounds right up my streeet. (I doubted very much that JC, or any of his readers, would have been able to help me locate that one.)

I know most of you stopped reading this about 29 videos ago, but I'll ask the question anyway... did any of the above Smiles make you smile? Or will you be frowning for the rest of the week?

Hopefully I'll pick a band name with a more manageable number of contenders next week...

Monday 18 March 2024

One Track Mind #3: When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman

(Don't even start me on the unforgivable "Your" / "You're" confusion.)

Can a bawdy joke spoil a great song?

This is the question I ask myself whenever I hear Dr. Hook's biggest hit. Because it's a great song - if you like that sort of thing, obviously, and growing up with Radio 2, I grew to love it - but the hokey pun innuendo soon outlived its welcome.

I was pretty certain I knew who wrote this song - but it turns out I was wrong. I was sure it must be another Shel Silverstein composition, given Shel wrote a number of Hook's hits, including their very best song...


Now that's a classic. Even if you don't care for Dr. Hook's particular brand of laid-back country pop, you have to at least appreciate the way Silverstein's desperate lyric is perfectly matched to Dennis Locorriere's plaintive vocals. I swear when he sings, "Please, Mrs. Avery," I feel his yearning right down to the tips of my toes. What a performance. 

And it turns out Sylvia's Mother is a true story too - Shel was in love with a woman called Sylvia Pandolfi, but she ran off with another man and ended up as a curator at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City. Shel tried desperately to rekindle that romance, but the only contact he had for Sylvia was her mum, and she wasn't having any of it. Nowadays, she'd probably report him as a stalker. I guess "Please, Mrs. Pandolfi" didn't quite scan, so Avery it was. And Mrs. Avery became such a famous figure, she even inspired a sequel song from The Men They Couldn't Hang...


But I'm not here to write about Sylvia's Mother, am I? Let's get back to the song in question. The reason I figured When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman was a Shel Silverstein composition is that Shel was known for being a funny guy. As well as being able to break our hearts with songs like Sylvia's Mother and The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan, Shel wasn't afraid to write a song with a sense of humour. Like these...




You've got to admire the nerve of a man who can rhyme Loretta with Irish Setter, and then get Loretta Lynn to sing it. Silverstein was also responsible for another witty Dr. Hook hit, although it's one I have mixed feelings about...


Now the problem with this tune is the way the Hooksters laugh at their own jokes (or at Silverstein's jokes, anyway) as they sing them. Ironically, ...Rolling Stone is one of their only songs to feature Dr. Hook himself, Ray Sawyer, on lead vocals. Maybe that's part of the problem. Much as I wish to argue in favour of humour in pop songs, I have a problem with people who laugh at their own jokes. Now I've no problem with people laughing in songs, otherwise I wouldn't love this...


You hear Whitney giggling away (around 3'57" if you're in a rush) and you can tell she's genuinely having a good time. She's enjoying herself and having fun. The laughter is natural. Similarly, one of my favourite tracks by this up and coming pop hopeful...


Hey Stephen is a great "why are you wasting your time with those vain cheerleaders when I'm right here?" song, made even better by the line...

All those other girls, well, they're beautiful
But would they write a song for you? 

The little chuckle Taylor gives after delivering those lines (approx. 2'50", busy folk) is priceless. And again, it feels genuine. Not so the self-congratulatory laughter in The Cover Of The Rolling Stone. I wish they'd played that song a little straighter. Or got Locorriere to sing it.

All of which brings us back to When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman (It's Hard), which I'm still surprised to learn wasn't written by Shel... except, maybe not so surprised the more I think of it, because Shel was classier than that. Further warning bells sound when you discover the song was actually written by Even Stevens. No, no Evan. Even. 

Stevens - real first names Bruce Noel - is a man who appears to love a good pun. He's clearly got a sense of humour, as demonstrated below...



...although, hang on, they were both written by Shel Silverstein too. Clearly Even Stevens' own songwriting was influenced by Shel... but I can't help but think Shel would have stopped short of the innuendo that upends When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, a sleazy 70s sexual allusion that's only "bettered" by this...


That one was written by David Bellamy himself. Well, gwapple me gwapenuts!


Not that David Bellamy, obviously. I might look more kindly on it if it was. To be fair, at least innuendo is the whole point of If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body... there's not a better song trapped underneath, begging for your respect. It is what is is and seems quite happy that way. 

My contention then is that When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman is a great song - especially the bridge, which is as heartfelt as anything Dennis Locorriere ever sang...

Maybe it's just an ego problem, problem is I've been fooled before
By fair-weathered friends and faint-hearted lovers
And every time it happens it just convinces me more

That's the bit I love. The bit that keeps me coming back to listen to this track again and again, the bit that gets me past the embarrassment of the smutty innuendo. (I particularly struggle with the "You know it's hard, you know it gets so hard" call-back - yeah, we get it, Even. No need to belt us over the head with it!)

Legend has it that Even Stevens followed Dr. Hook's manager into the studio bathroom to pitch this song. That says it all, really. If only he'd showed a little restraint... When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, It's Tough would have been much better, in my opinion. Or did this song only get to the top of the charts in the UK because of the lowest common denominator sales? If so, I hope Even Stevens sleeps soundly on his mattress stuffed with money, safe in the knowledge that he was one word away from writing a classic...



Sunday 17 March 2024

Snapshots #335: A Top Ten Automatic Songs


Ten songs for Automatic camera lovers everywhere...


10. It's rude to do that, er, ladies.

It's rude to point... er...

The Pointer Sisters - Automatic

9. Bruce Willis Is A Ghost! (Plus seven.)

Spoilers!

Bruce Willis was a ghost in The Sixth Sense. Add 7 and you get...

Thirteen Senses - Automatic 

8. Leave! Do I have to tell you twice?

Go! Go!

The Go Gos - Automatic

7. Cuban drums.

The Bongos - Automatic Doors

6. Bridal armament needs unhooking.

"Bridal armament" was an anagram...

Miranda Lambert - Automatic

5. Suicidal star.

He was the main man in Suicide... and Vega is one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Alan Vega - Automatic Terror

4. Stevie plays solo, without Paul.

Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney sang Ebony & Ivory, about black and white living together in harmony on the piano keyboard. If Stevie were on his own, it'd just be...

The Black Keys - 10 A.M. Automatic

3. Sonja decked me for making a mess of this one.

"Sonja decked" was an anagram...

Dee D, Jackson - Automatic Lover

A hit in 1978, the same year as this...

2. Shakin' all over.

The Vibrators - Automatic Lover

1. Still the top, even after The Boss left.


In the Supremes, Diana Ross was the boss... until she left and Jean Terrell took her place in the top girl band of all time.


Manual transmission resumes next Saturday morning...

Saturday 16 March 2024

Saturday Snapshots #335


Welcome, all you Promising Young Women and Hopeless Old Men to another edition of Saturday Snapshots. Identify the popular musicians below and connect their songs, please...

(I'm worried this one will be too easy. Can you break the Snapshots record?)

10. It's rude to do that, er, ladies.

9. Bruce Willis Is A Ghost! (Plus seven.)

8. Leave! Do I have to tell you twice?

7. Cuban drums.

6. Bridal armament needs unhooking.

5. Suicidal star.

4. Stevie plays solo, without Paul.

3. Sonja decked me for making a mess of this one.

2. Shakin' all over.

1. Still the top, even after The Boss left.

The answers will be published without any further assistance from me, tomorrow morning.


Friday 15 March 2024

The List #1

In 1992, INXS released their best album, Welcome To Wherever You Are. It contains the somewhat prescient song, Not Enough Time. When I hear this song in my head, it goes "Not enough time for all that I want to do" (although the actual lyrics are slightly different). Those lyrics pop into my head more and more frequently as the clock ticks ever onward... in a similar fashion to the way the lyrics to We Have All The Time In The World fill my mind whenever I'm in a rush to get somewhere and I find myself stuck behind a Louis. 

I sometimes wonder if I like too much music. If I'd be better off if my tastes were more niche and not so varied. Because there really is NOT ENOUGH TIME to listen to everything I want to listen to. Every time I visit the tube of you, a new band pops up demanding my attention. On first listen, a lot of them sound intriguing... like this lot, who may well be of some interest to Martin...

Brigitte Calls Me Baby appear to be the latest in a long, long, long line of bands who want to sound like The Smiths. But how many of those ever made it big? Suede? Gene? (Not really.) The Killers? (As soon as they did, they stopped trying to sound like The Smiths.) 

Lead singer Wes Leavins (with his enormous Morrissey quiff) claims to be more influenced by Sinatra, Orbison and Presley... ✔, ✔, ✔... but it's The Smiths I hear (and see) in the videos above and below... and that's why they're on the list.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Impressively Average

"The List." 

Often, when I hear a song I like on another blog, I'll leave a comment saying "That's going on the list." Similarly, when I hear something interesting on the radio. Like this little beauty from Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon...


I like the folky atmosphere on that, and the idea that if we don't keep the old songs alive (whether they be Raglan Road or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), they'll fade from our collective consciousness. I used to enjoy listening to the late Desmond Carrington on Radio 2. He'd play a really diverse mix of music, some of it old and forgotten from the 30s, 40s or 50s, alongside more recent or well known choices. I heard things on his show I'd never heard before on the radio, and probably never will again. 

As Ultan puts it...

Who's gonna play the old songs when all the old-timers are gone?

Here's an old song I've been playing a lot lately...


See? It's all too much, isn't it? Imagine if I just liked indie music, or rock, or old soul, or country and Americana... if I specialised in power pop or new wave or gentle, acoustic singer-songwritery stuff. Then I'd be able to focus. I'd be able to concentrate on one thing and enjoy it for what it is and not always be worrying about finding the next new thing... or the next old thing... in the hope it might hit me like a chaise longue or gradually unveil its beauty over a half dozen listens like the best of Jason Isbell.


But I don't just like one thing. I like all kinds of different things, and being able to switch genres and keep it fresh is essential in my listening. But then I also like digging back into the archives too. Except when do I have the time? I mentioned at the top of the page that Welcome To Wherever You Are is the best album INXS ever made. And yet I'm making that assessment safe in the knowledge that I haven't listened to it all the way through in 30 years. But The List keeps growing, and it's growing from all sides. New things, old things that are new to me, old things that I know but I haven't listened to in ages... and on and on and on...


Take that lot, for instance. Life are from Hull. Let's not hold that against them, because on the evidence of the track above... they're excellent. Bear in mind that they released that two years ago and this is the first time I've come across them, but they already appear to have released three albums. What if they're all as good as that song? I ought to drop everything else this instance and devote the next three weeks to familiarising myself with their back catalogue... but I haven't got the time because I also have to check out these guys...


L.A. Edwards come from... erm, Los Angeles... although the LA doesn't stand for what you think - it's lead singer Luke Andrew's initials. They supported Lucinda Williams last weekend and as soon as I heard them, I knew I wanted to hear more. So they've gone on The List.


There's so much music out there waiting to be discovered, it's a truly daunting prospect. Because what if I never hear that one song that changes my life forever? It's out there somewhere, I know it is. That's why I have The List...










Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...