The Legend of CD108: Part 7

And so we reach the end of our trawl through the tracks on my son’s supposedly favourite in-car CD… just as I was finally forced to consign those precious discs to the annals of history. But wait… all is not lost!

Keep reading to discover the saviour of our in-car entertainment!

First though, the final four songs on CD108…

 

Track 20: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Shop Around

Smokey’s first big Motown hit, Shop Around betrays his doo wop roots far more than the polished soul standards he’d soon be celebrated for. The track was originally credited to "The Miracles featuring Bill 'Smokey' Robinson" – and thus a legend was born. It was also the first Motown record to be released in the UK (on Decca) – it wasn’t a hit though; Smokey would have to wait another seven years before he was allowed into the UK charts.

According to Casey “Shaggy” Kasem via iffypedia, Motown boss Berry Gordon rejected the first hundred songs Smokey wrote for him as “garbage” before finally agreeing to take #101. I dunno, it strikes me that pop stars worked a helluva lot harder back in the day.

Some may claim that Shop Around displays a rather sexist attitude to finding a life partner – I’m not offering it up to the Cancel Culture Club committee though, because – let’s face it, the advice comes from Smokey’s mum. Better yet, here’s an answer record from Debbie Dean, the first white artist signed to Motown, released not long after Smokey’s hit.

Debbie Dean - Don't Let Him Shop Around

 

Track 21: Del Amitri - When You Were Young

Another case of the old “after 108 CDs, I’d run out of the obvious tracks by X”. When You Were Young was the fourth single to be released from the third Del Amitri album in 1993. It still made the Top 20 – amazing considering that its two predecessors (Just Like A Man and the wonderfully dour Be MyDownfall) both only scraped into the Top 30.

This is also a case of a song I don’t expect Sam gets at all – I doubt I appreciated its lyrics when I bought the album in my 21^st year on the planet. I do now…

The disappointment of success
Hangs from your shoulders like a hand-me-down dress
And down nostalgia's rocky road
You watch your former lovers growing old

So look into the mirror
Do you recognise someone?
Is it who you always hoped you would become
When you were young?

Justin Currie wasn’t even 30 when he wrote that (though he did have some amazing sideburns). He’s always been a Grumpy Old Man.

 

Track 22: Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want

The original, but not the version most people will be familiar with, since it was Desmond Dekker who took this track (almost) to the top of the UK singles chart in 1970. To be honest, I reckon most people (with the possible exception of Ernie) would be hard pressed to spot the difference. They’re even the same length.

Great tune, whoever’s singing it.

 

Track 23: Smash Mouth - Walkin' On The Sun

Another of those big US ska-punk hits from the late 90s. Iffypedia tells me this was written in response to the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots. In that, I guess it channels the same themes of many of the classic 2-Tone hits from 20 years earlier.

Smash Mouth came from California, and this (their biggest hit?) comes from their debut LP, Fush Yu Mang (see what they did there?). If you were listening to the radio at all in 1997, you’ll easily recall it… and probably their follow-up single, All Star, as well. Anyway, I’m pleased to read that they’re still out there, smashing mouths, thirty years later.

And so we end our review of this particular CD. But despite not having a CD player in my new car, the Sam CDs will live on. I discovered that as well as the slot for a USB (from which I listen to 2+ hours of my own new music every day as part of the commute), there's also a slot for an SD card. And I thought they went out with digital cameras! (Yes, I'm sure people still use digital cameras. But you know what I mean.) So I uploaded Sam CD174 - the latest edition - onto that... but you'll be pleased to know that I also burnt it to an actual CD, for old time's sake.

Anyway, I've enjoy going through this CD and writing about the songs... so I thought maybe I'd try it with another one. But rather than pick a CD myself - I'm throwing it open to you guys. Give me a number between 20 and 150, and I'll reveal which songs were on that CD. (Nothing before 20, as the songs will all be really obvious... and nothing too recent because there's probably stuff on those that I've featured here in the last year or so.) If nobody gives me a number, I'll just use a random number generator. Or draw straws...