Yesterday we had Butch Cassidy, today it's the Sundance Kid. See? Easy when you know how. And he's got a pair of those special binoculars with a camera inside. You ought to get a pair yourself.
Here are ten songs I had to group together under the rather long-winded title of "Famous Wild West Heroes & Outlaws".
The internet would have you believe that this is a photo of Keanu Reeves stealing a camera from a paparazzi and legging it. Apparently, that's not what happened... but it still seems an appropriate image to accompany this week's answers, given that they represent...
A TOP TEN THIEF SONGS
10. Learning to read on the hifi.
Phonics is the system used to help kids read these days. "Never had 'em when I was a kid and I read fine, etc. etc."
After completing my Top Ten tribute to the work of Phil Spector on Tuesday evening, I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. Yes, I'd covered the very best of Spector's own musical output... but what of his legacy? If it hadn't been for his influence, chances are we wouldn't ever have heard any of the songs below... at least not in the way we know and love them.
(As to the photo above, Bruce probably regrets that now almost as much as the ill-advised Ben Affleck goatee.)
Prior to the sessions that produced this, Ring Ring, and other Spector-esque Abba classics, engineer Michael B. Tretow read Richard Williams' book Out of His Head: The Sound of Phil Spector. After that, he layered on the overdubs, and Abba's sound changed forever.
Roy Wood made no secret of the fact that he was aiming to recreate the Wall of Sound on songs like this one and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday. The kitchen sink was full utilised.
From the opening echo-drenched drumbeats, stolen directly from Be My Baby, there's little doubt that the Mary Chain had been listening to a lot of Phil Spector.
Producers Johnny Franz and Ivor Raymonde set out their stall as the British equivalents to Phil Spector, and this is probably the song that came closest to emulating the Wall of Sound sound. Ironically, it was released in 1966, the same year Spector became demoralised with the music industry following the weaker-than-expected chart performance of his masterpiece, River Deep, Mountain High.
Produced by George 'Shadow' Morton, who aimed to take Spector's sense of melodrama to the next level... and arguably succeeded on tracks such as this and Past, Present & Future. Morton wore a cape in the studio, but - as far as I know - never pulled a gun on anyone.
As much as Jim Steinman stole from Bruce Springsteen, he stole far more from Phil Spector. If Spector created the Wall of Sound, Steinman built another three walls and then a roof on top. Many see this as excess, but it's that very excess that appeals to me in Steinman's work. He might get more respect if he had a little more restraint... but he's all right in my book.
Back in the 90s, record company bosses tried to get Spector to work with Steinman... to produce, of all people, Celine Dion. Spector refused, saying he had no desire to work with, "amateurs, students, and bad clones of yours truly."
Steinman, in typically Steinman-esque fashion, replied, "I'm thrilled to be insulted by Phil Spector. He's my God, my idol. To be insulted by Phil Spector is a big honour. If he spits on me, I consider myself purified."
I'm sure George will have something to say about me placing this at #2, or for choosing it ahead of anything from Pet Sounds, which Brian Wilson described as an "interpretation" of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production technique. I will freely admit that I consider God Only Knows to be a better song than Good Vibrations (and maybe even my #1)... but God Only Knows doesn't sound as Spectorish to me as this does.
Brian Wilson created Good Vibrations with the aim of portraying his "whole life performance in one track", telling himself, "This is going to be better than You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". Spector pulled the song apart, saying there was way too much "tape manipulation" and too many edits for it to be a "beautiful" record.
1. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Well, I'm nothing if not predictable, am I?
Producer Mike Appel explains how Bruce came to him before the recording of Born To Run and said, "I’m trying to meld my lyrics with more Phil Spector-type songs and I’d like to use his production values", which Appel then helped him develop.
“Phil’s greatest lesson," Bruce later said, "was that sound, sound, sound is its own language.”
Yesterday, all the answers seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay...
Due to holidays in the sun, I can't award points in the post today, but I'll try to congratulate the winners in the comments section later (wifi permitting).
10. The sound of double strength executives. I can do a pretty good William Shatner.
I set quite a challenge with my Number 88 choice, offering ten points for a correct guess, figuring that nobody would stand a chance.
Nobody did.
However, a couple of you came VERY close... so close in fact that you revealed to me something I didn't even know about the song I'd chosen. It's not an original. It's a parody! More on that in a moment...
First, the runners-up...
The Swede suggested Rocket 88, one of the forerunners of rock 'n' roll, originally recorded by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats... with a little help from Ike Turner (Brenston was Ike's saxophonist). It's been covered since by all manner of rock 'n' roll greats, but its place in the history of rock 'n' roll would surely guarantee it a place in this countdown... if it wasn't for a certain other song we'll get to shortly.
All of which brings us to my choice, an irresistible hymn to all the geeky girls the singer had dated in the past. It's a track I stumbled across when it went viral a few years back and being a bit of a geek myself, I loved all the lyrical references...
Of course, I really should do my research. Because up until last week, I had no idea that this was actually a parody of a much older song by an American band from the 70s and 80s called The Nails. I do not claim to know everything, so I'll happily tip my hat (and award points to) Alyson, Rigid Digit and Swiss Adam for directing me towards the original... which I also now love... though not quite as much as the Adam Fromm version. You never get over your first love.
Eighty-seven? No definites, it's a pretty open field. Any ideas?
I do love a great opening line, yet it's been almost three years since I did Volume 1 of this particular Top Ten. So here's ten more cracking openers... see if you can identify them from the lyric alone. Click the link to see if you're right. (Except number one: you can have that for free.)
I hope that comment can be taken as me being ironic, not sexist. I certainly don't think the writer of this song was sexist. Quite the opposite. I think his point was more: sometimes it's the little things that drive us apart.
Look, far be it from me to try and sway the voting on JC's ICA World Cup this week, but really... that's so clearly a better opening line than "This and that, they must be the same". (Although I'm guessing C will disagree.)
My hearing aid isn't that powerful. Then again, I reckon The Move might have been augmenting more than just their ears...
My head's attracted to A magnetic wave of sound With the streams of coloured circles Makin' their way around.
You may prefer the version by The Fall, of course. If you can make head or tail of it. I certainly can't. Everyone needs a hearing aid to understand Mark E. Smith's vocals.
1. The Beach Boys - I Can Hear Music It couldn't have been anything else at Number One, could it?
A Jeff Barry song, originally recorded by Phil Spector with The Ronettes, this was Carl Wilson's first taste of being the Beach Boys' boss while Brian was off being bored... or "listening to the grass grow". If anyone ever tells you Brian was the only genius in the Beach Boys, play them this...
What's your favourite hearing aid song?
I SAID "WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE HEARING AID SONG?!?"
Sometimes I pick a topic that, for one reason or another, fills the Top Ten with music of one particular genre, or era. Most of this week's list comes from the 60s and 70s... which suggests it's no longer seen as politically correct to write about bad women. Which is nonsense, considering some of the misogynistic crap that gets on the airwaves these days. (Although it'd be just as sexist to stop writing songs about bad women - since true equality comes from seeing the bad and the good in everyone.)
Oh, and in case you were wondering where all the bad girls are... They'll get their turn one day.
Originally recorded in the early 1930s, though it wasn't widely known until its re-release in the late 60s (shortly before James's death in 1969) and, no, I didn't discover it until I read / saw Ghost World. I guess the blues don't get much more authentic than this. But I'm not going to pretend to be an expert.
Cher had three US Number One Hits in the 70s, though only Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves was an international success.The second #1 was Half-Breed, in which she portrayed a woman outcast for being half white, half Cherokee. (The video for that, from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, is hilariously wrong in a Parks & Recreation-style way.) And then came Dark Lady, in which Cher returned to her Gypsy roots with a watered-down version of Redbone's The Witch Queen of New Orleans (which I'm saving for my Top Ten Voodoo Songs, in case you were wondering why I hadn't found room for it here). It was 25 years before she had another Number One record... you know, the one that gave us Auto-Tune. Don't hate her for that.
By the way, Cher is 69 this year. Isn't it time she started putting some clothes on?
The only contemporary record on the list this week, this is from Eric Church's latest album, The Outsiders, and it's an eight minute epic. Think you know what modern country music sounds like? Think again...
Oh, and the Devil in question...? Her name is Nashville.
Lou Rawls has one of my favourite voices in soul music . Don't go searching for the lyrics online though - every lyrics site I checked had confused this song with another Evil Woman we'll meet a little bit further down this list. Which only goes to show that all those sites steal content from each other and don't bother to check its veracity.
Lou's song is actually a cover of Evil Woman by Spooky Tooth, a cool slice of laidback 60s psychedelia. Cool... but not Lou.
OK, you have every right to hate me for this... like I care what you think. This is one of Cliff's three biggest selling singles; I was four when it came out and my mum listened to a lot of Radio 2. Plus, I prefer it to the Marty Robbins track of the same name. Just.
If you don't like Cliff's version, I suggest you listen to the one by Krystine Sparkle (the song's co-writer). I can guarantee you'll go back to Cliff. Alternatively, check out the versions by All About Eve, Hayseed Dixie or Cradle of Filth. Something for everybody.
Also, if it wasn't for Devil Woman, we wouldn't ever have had...
You may be more familiar with the Black Sabbath version, but this is the original from a year earlier (1969). Ozzy's is heavier but it doesn't have a trumpet solo.
While we're on the subject of Black Sabbath, I suppose I should also offer Lady Evil for your consideration.
It's good to see Jeff Lynne getting some respect again this year - proof positive that if you stick around long enough, even the muso-snobs will come around to the fact that you're a national treasure. Not heard the new ELO album yet (beyond the typically Lennon-esque single), but this is one of their very best. Love that opening...
Looking for a definition of the phrase "phallic imagery"? Look no further...
Also, you know that nightmare you have where you leave the house without your trousers and everyone is staring and pointing at you and eventually you get chased by a load of sailors...?
Today's the worst day of Andrew Mueller's life... except for yesterday. And he's not overly optimistic about tomorrow. His solution is to call up every science lab in town, looking for a time machine that he can borrow. You get the idea...
From the amazing new album, Tape Deck Heart... though you have to buy the Deluxe Edition to get this doozy...
I’m a gonna build myself a time machine
On particle physics and the power of steam
It runs on diesel oil and Donnie Darko daydreams...
Packed up, sat in my DeLorean
Like some kind of amateur historian
I’ll visit the Renaissance and the Romans, the Victorians
Drinking in Deadwood in the 1880s
Rock 'n roll and drive-thrus in the 1950s
Trying not to change things so the plot lines don’t get shifty...
1. Huey Lewis & The News - Back In Time
Often overshadowed by that other Huey song from Back To The Future, this is the lesser-remembered track that plays out over the end credits. And if that sax intro doesn't take you back in time to 1985, 1.21 gigawatts isn't going to help you...
Tell me, doctor, where are we going this time Is it the 50s - or 1999?
Ah, yes, remember when 1999 was in the distant future?
Great Scott! Comments? Where we're going, we don't need comments...
Remember when the Stereophonics had potential? Every time I listen to a track from that superb debut album, I shake my fist at the sky and scream, "WHAT HAPPENED!?!"
Written back in the "great" depression,
recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby to George Michael to Mandy Pantikin (Saul from
Homeland!) but it's Thea's version that breaks my heart.
OK, I'm bending the rules with this once, since the lady in question isn't without a home to call her own. Then again, neither is she that other kind of tramp. And let's face it, I could hardly leave it out. Although Frank's version is best, look who else recorded it...
This came very close to hitting the top spot, and on any other day it might do. It's also one of my favourite men & women bickering songs (one day I'll compile a list), basically just one big argument between Otis and Carla, with some hilarious trash-talking and zinging comebacks. My favourite is the bit where Carla calls Otis a tramp for not being able to afford to buy her all those minks and sables and stuff she wants and Otis replies, "I can buy you minks, rats, frogs, squirrels, rabbits, ...anything you want, woman." to which Carla comes back, "Look, you can go out in the Georgia woods and find them, baby." Makes me smile every time I hear it.
I seriously consider this to have one of the greatest first verses of any pop song ever written.
I was born in the wagon of a travelling show My momma had to dance for the money they'd throw Papa would do whatever he could Preach a little gospel, sell a couple of bottles of Dr. Good...
But what do I know?
Which one are you taking with you when you hit the road, Jack?
