I told you way back in 52 That I would never go with you
C wondered who did the original of that. RD replied that it was Smiley Lewis... and that if you listen carefully to the instrumental break, Dave gives a shout out to him, along with Huey 'Piano' Smith (who played piano on the original version), Fats Domino (who also covered it) and Chuck Berry (who doesn't appear to have recorded it at all, but maybe he played it live?).
RD then offered the controversial opinion that the cover versions by Ben Folds Five and Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club were both better than Trevor Horn's original. I'm not sure I agree with that - there's something about the original that just sends a shiver down my spine (in a good way) although they're both fine covers. I'd add the version by Presidents of the United States of America to the list of cracking covers.
Other songs I found that referenced 1952 included...
There are, of course, 52 weeks in a year, so I thought I might find loads of references to that. However, the only ones that leapt out at me were these...
However, I have to agree with both Lynchie and Rigid Digit that there was one very clear winner this week. It was the song that introduced me to this particular artist and established him in my mind as both a lyricist and guitar player of great note...
Said James, "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world Beats a '52 Vincent and a Redheaded girl. Now Nortons and Indians and Greavses won't do. Oh, they don't have a Soul like a Vincent '52
If that doesn't break your heart by the end of the song, then you've got granite in your chest...
51 next week... anyone got anything that can challenge The Swede's obvious suggestion?
Following on from my Fairground Top Tens, Adrian requested "a Ronan Keating-free Rollercoaster Top Ten" over on Facebook. Well, I'm always happy to oblige... though I have a curious love/hate relationship with Ronan's biggest hit as it was written by former New Radicals man Gregg Alexander, and if he'd bothered to record it himself I can't help thinking I'd have liked it a lot more.
So strap yourself in... and get ready for the ride of your life!
10. Sleeper - Rollercoaster
From the final Sleeper album, the one so few people bought, I can't find this song anywhere online. A shame, because it's a cute little indie pop song which Louise & co. always excelled at.
Thanks to Deano for pointing me in the direction of these mental Aussies. If the band name alone doesn't get them points, the video throws in the kitchen sink.
Sadly, I can only find a 30 second clip of this wonderful song online, but that's still enough to fall in love with....
I had a friend who treated love Like a luxury development On the other side of town And one day his girl got up And left and slammed the door And his fine walls came falling down
But don't be blue, he built a fairground there For you and I to ride
One of Adrian's biggest problems with that Ronan Keating song was the creakingly obvious metaphor of life being a rollercoaster. Here, Mr. Duffy has a similar go, calling love a rollercoaster... yet it's much, much sweeter. Conclusive proof that there are no bad metaphors, just metaphors used badly.
Or something.
1. The Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster
There's a gruesome urban legend that the background scream around about the 2 1/2 minute mark in this song actually came from a woman being murdered in the studio during the recording. (Was it the engineer's girlfriend?) It's utter bogwash, of course, but you could believe just about anything when it comes to The Ohio Players. Those guys were mental.
Covered more recently by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers... but that wasn't a patch on the original.
As requested, ten rollercoaster songs and not a Ronan in sight. Any other scream-worthy suggestions?
Regular readers will know that I'm no great fan of music that's made purely for shaking your bits to, especially if it's made purely for shaking your bits to whilst off your heads on E. Still, while I can't claim to be a raver, I can still spot a top rave tune... (sort of).
Pretty obscure Stuffies b-side from the excellent Love Bites & Bruises collection.
8. John Moore - Ave The Rave
Stealing the guitar riff from Elvis Costello's Pump It Up, the third member of Black Box Recorder sends mum and daddy to and early grave on this lost track from his only solo album. Lost, because I can't find a decent link to it online.
Mad Jim McMad's first stab at writing Holding Out For A Hero, released on his long forgotten (but epically unforgettable) solo album, Bad For Good. I do probably overuse the word "genius" on this blog, but in Jim Steinman's case, I can never use it enough.
"Too much is never enough..." is pretty much Jim's mantra.
1. Buddy Holly - Rave On
Had to be. One minute 51 seconds of pure pop bliss.
