50 Years Ago This Week Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Fire and Rain," James Taylor (16 weeks) "Heaven Help Us All," Stevie Wonder (11 weeks) "Montego Bay," Bobby Bloom (16 weeks) "Share the Land," The Guess Who (10 weeks) "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" / "Patch It Up", Elvis Presley (10 weeks) Re-entering the chart: "Superstar," Murray Head w/ The Trinidad Singers (First charted Jan. 31, 1970, reaching #74 US; reaches #60 US this run) New on the chart: "Let Your Love Go," Bread (#28 US) "One Bad Apple," The Osmonds (#1 US the weeks of Feb. 13 through Mar. 13, 1971; #37 AC; #6 R&B; #51 UK) And new on the boob tube: Hogan's Heroes, "The Dropouts" The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 23, episode 15 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 4, episode 15 Hawaii Five-O, "Paniolo" Ironside, "Blackout" The Brady Bunch, "The Impractical Joker" The Partridge Family, "The Red Woodloe Story" That Girl, "That Script" Mission: Impossible, "Takeover" Adam-12, "Log 175: Con Artists" The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Howard's Girl" _______ 55 Years Ago Year-End Blowout Special From the week ending December 25, 1965: "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore," The Young Rascals (#52 US) "It Was a Very Good Year," Frank Sinatra (#28 US; #1 AC) _______ What J.T.B. said. And FWIW, what I played (and own) is the album version; the single version was edited down and had faux-live audience noise added. Sure you've heard it before...it was called "1-2-3" then. I find this one interesting in that it has a little more of a garage rock sound to my ear than their future hit "Western Union". Not to my ear. It's very now...give or take 55 years. A bit more understandable, as it's a cover of a doo-wop song...which was from the early '60s, but early '60s doo-wop is commonly lumped in with '50s music. It's interesting to hear the Beach Boys put out something like this after a release from the Pet Sounds sessions, but there's a story behind that... Also found this tidbit: Sounds like the one you got is full scale; mine is maybe half scale; the trunk is under a foot high. I used to put it on top of the TV.
Ahh, okay, that makes sense. I love pretty much everything from Jesus Christ, Superstar. I generally like Bread, but this isn't one of their best. This is a catchy Oldie... wait, the Osmonds? No! I think I remember this, except for the spoken parts. Is it a cover or something? Gotta admit, this is a Sinatra song that I like. Interesting. It's all new to me. Heh, that one I know. "Western Union" is a goodie. That's interesting. I don't hear the "Thanks, Dean," though. No, it's the tabletop version. I didn't think she should be messing with a full-sized tree anymore, but I was outvoted Mom to One.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing _______ The Ed Sullivan Show "The Great Santa Claus Switch" (Season 23, episode 14) Originally aired December 20, 1970 This special teams up Art Carney (in the dual roles of Santa Claus and evil magician Cosmo Scam) and the Muppets, with narrative bookends provided by Ed Sullivan, who's depicted as reading the story to children. Alas, I wanted to like it more than I did, finding that it dragged a bit, filling up its hour with mediocre musical numbers. Cosmo's scheme to impersonate Santa as a means of burglary seemed a little Grinchmiliar. Santa's habit of unsuccessful magic trick attempts was a bit random, though it did have a brief moment of payoff. His disarming niceness in all situations, however, was a nice touch. The part I enjoyed the most was the sequence in which Cosmo has Santa's suspicious elves replaced one by one with his own minions, the Frackels...and the elves' roll call song is repeated each time to display the new substitutions. And I'm sure that somebody here quite liked the elves' escape from Cosmo's lair disguised as rocks, which included elf hero Fred breaking the fourth wall to indulge in multiple puns of this nature... Fred: I used to be scared, but this costume has made me a little boulder. On the subject of the special's status as an Ed Sullivan episode, the name The Ed Sullivan Show is displayed at the end of the closing credits. _______ The Odd Couple "The Blackout" Originally aired December 24, 1970 Felix and Oscar are already having power issues in the apartment prior to the game, while Felix sets up the situation that the guys are already untrustworthy of Oscar's ability to pay his debts...which is underscored when Felix tries to hit up the super (Herbie Faye) for a loan so he has enough cash to play. The lights go out in the entire building during the game, and a neighbor named Inga (Cynthia Lynn), whom Felix has been flirting with at the grocery store, comes to the apartment by mistake. When the power comes back on, a $50 bill is missing from the top of the cigar box that serves as the bank. Felix turns the lights out to give whoever took the bill the chance to replace it anonymously, and it turns back up at the top of the box; but the guys are still suspicious of Oscar, and make excuses to cut the game short. Felix reveals to Oscar afterward that he put the $50 in the box out of his wallet to cover for Oscar, convinced that Oscar swiped it. Reading mystery books for ideas of how to solve the crime (Oscar cites Perry Mason as one of the great detectives--here I thought he was a lawyer), Oscar comes up with the idea of reassembling the entire gang, including Inga, at an odd hour of the morning to reenact the scene of the crime. Surprisingly, everybody comes. During the reenactment, Felix's attention is drawn to a sandwich that Oscar made in the dark, which turns out to have a $50 bill as one of its fixings--bitten into along with the rest of the sandwich. _______ Adam-12 "Log 85: Sign of the Twins" Originally aired December 26, 1970 The officers are about to respond to a call about a zoning dispute when an all-units call about an officer having been shot at a liquor store takes priority. Officer Quinn (Larry J. Blake) is only wounded in the leg, and is able to give a great deal of detail about the suspects and their vehicle. The owner, Carl Kegan (Stacy Harris), complains about Quinn's ineffectiveness, while separately giving completely contradictory details. When they compare notes, the officers suspect that Kegan is hiding something. Quinn also tips them off that Kegan didn't fire at the robbers, when he had a gun in his hand and a clear shot. Detectives later confirm that Quinn's details were more on-the-mark, helping them to identify one of the possible suspects. When the officers later go back to the liquor store to inform the detectives there, Kegan is confronted with this information and eventually admits that one of the robbers was his own brother...but he says that he doesn't know his brother's current whereabouts. The officers proceed to their original call, which concerns a senior citizen named Mrs. Wade (Sheila Bromley) who's making money giving astrology readings out of her apartment, in a residential neighborhood. She seems genuinely unaware that she was doing anything wrong, and Malloy suggests that she try to get a permit to do it at a senior citizens' club that she mentions. She correctly identifies Malloy as a Leo, and manages to narrow down his exact birthday (July 23, I think it was). Next the officers see a druggist (Howard Culver), who's concerned about a 14-year-old neighborhood boy named Terry Pendleton having brought in a partially consumed bottle of Seconal pills, asking a lot of questions about potential overdosing. They go to the boy's home and talk to his mother (Margaret O'Brien), who'd just attended a lecture about drugs that the officers had given, and seems very defensive about their questions. After putting out a description of Terry (Buddy Foster), they spot him on the street and chase him down. He doesn't want to talk and insists on being taken to the station instead of his mother; and when taken home, he urges her not to talk. When informed that Terry's facing a felony, Mrs. Pendleton admits that the capsules are hers, that she's been getting them under the table, and that she's been taking eighteen a day. Finally, the officers receive a request from the detectives investigating the liquor store robbery to rendezvous with them at a service station. The detectives have gotten a lead on the suspects' address, which is within sight of the station, and have the officers stake the place out while they check out some other leads. Eventually the vehicle that Quinn had identified pulls in, and when it looks like the suspects are about to leave again before the detectives have gotten back, the officers rush in to intercept the suspects. There's an exchange of fire, in which one of the suspects is wounded in the leg. _______ This song is all that I've got of the soundtrack, though I did see a production of it at a Westchester County dinner theater several years back. The theater shut down this year because of you-know-what. But isn't it adorable? I think Bread is trying to do rock! Apparently the Osmonds had been releasing records for several years. I'm not familiar with their earlier works, but it seems that they finally found breakout success by aping the Jackson 5. I'm dancing with my hobgoblin here. I went ahead and reluctantly bought this one...I could stop there, as it's their only #1--and the only song by them that I can recall ever having heard on oldies radio--but I'm inclined to at least give their Top 10 singles a try. By the time I've done that, I've bought their $6.99 collection and might as well include all of their Top 20 singles (which I'll be covering here anyway), as I'll already own them... It was originally recorded by the Rascals, but subsequently covered by a number of other artists over the years, including a 1992 single version by Divinyls that was part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film soundtrack. It is an attention grabber. I had to get this one in before the New Year, for contrast with 2020. And me. Turns out that bit of business is from the largely different, extended, more live-in-the-studio album version:
That's the stuff! It probably helps if you first see it as a nine year old. Gneiss one! By the way, while I came up with no evidence that the episode was ever released as part of the show, my research did turn up this little obscurity: An unsold pilot from the early 60s where Kermit plays a Medieval bard. You'll recognize some Muppets that later turned up in Frog Prince. Not a lot of trust in this group. He does do the Sherlock Holmes thing, though. A sandwich with extra bread. I wouldn't think that this is something that cops would hold against a civilian. Mother's bunch of little helpers. Dramatic symmetry. I wonder if it was the guy's brother. Yeah, my local theater shut down, too, although I just got a postcard that they are planning to open on a yet-unspecififed date. That's what I mean. I always thought this song was the Jackson 5. It's probably the Rascals I'm thinking of. Ah, no wonder.
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs Derek & The Dominos Released November 9, 1970 Chart debut: November 21, 1970 Chart peak: #16 (December 19, 1970) #115 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003) The album opens with the country rock-flavored "I Looked Away," which, like the majority of originals on the album, was co-written by Clapton and Bobby Whitlock. Appropriately enough, it's about "Layla": And if it seemed a sin To love another man's woman, baby I guess I'll keep on sinning Loving her, Lord, till my very last day Next is the album's second most familiar song, the powerful "Bell Bottom Blues" (charts Feb. 27, 1971; #91 US): I'm sensing a theme here... "Keep on Growing" is notable for having a guitar in each channel, with a third in the middle for the solo--all apparently Clapton, as Duane Allman isn't on this track. Duane is on side one's closer...the first of the album's covers, Jimmy Cox's blues standard "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out". Side two commences with one of the album's gentler tracks, "I Am Yours," written by Clapton based on The Story of Layla and Majnun by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami, which is the work that inspired...well, you can figure that much out. Next is "Anyday," featuring Clapton and Allman on guitar. I assume other vocalist is Bobby Whitlock. As the original songs on the album go, it's pretty undistinguished to my ear. The remainder of the side is devoted to the album's longest track, an immersive impromptu jam of the Charlie Segar blues number "Key to the Highway": Side three's opener, "Tell the Truth," has an interesting story behind it: "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" is an enjoyable and relatively memorable, but still not particularly outstanding, up-tempo rocker: The third side closes with Eric and the band in good blues-jamming form for "Have You Ever Loved a Woman," written by Billy Myles and originally recorded by Freddie King in 1960. Side four opens with a strong but almost unrecognizable cover of "Little Wing"--I guess they knew better than to try to out-Hendrix Jimi! Next is the album's final and least notable cover, of Chuck Willis's 1956 R&B hit "It's Too Late". The album goes penultimate with its title track, the artist-defining "Layla" (charts Mar. 27, 1971, reaching #51 US, #7 UK; recharts May 13, 1972, reaching #10 US; recharts in the UK in 1982, reaching #4; #27 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time): Not attempting to compete with that epic masterpiece, the album closes on a low-key note with its shortest song, Whitlock's gentle "Thorn Tree in the Garden," which "was recorded with Whitlock, Clapton, Allman, Radle and Gordon sitting in a circle around a single microphone." Overall, this makes for a pretty good, solid listen, though I'm not sure how much casual listening I'll be giving it going forward, as I have a busy album spotlight year ahead between the two eras. Its representative tracks will be with me for a while in the master shuffle, however. _______ I'm relieved that you're not too disappointed. And I was nine when the Star Wars Holiday Special aired...and wondered the next year why they didn't rerun it... That would've totally flown over the heads of the intended audience. I didn't know that the Muppets went back that far. I meant to note that it seemed like a big step back after the Christmas episode...and it aired on Christmas Eve, no less! I was writing this one up from memory without having taken notes while watching most of the episode, so I forgot to include a beat where they turned up that Kegan had fired on and killed a previous robber. Now under different circumstances, that might've actually been his motivation for being gun-shy in this incident. But the attitude of our hero officers was that the robbers had shot a cop, so such force was warranted. Think it was his partner, but he might have been the shooter. And Reed did note the poetic justice. Reading up a smidge, it seems that the song was originally written with the Jacksons in mind, by a George Jackson (apparently no relation). Anyway, isn't little Michael Donny so cute?
It's kind of sad how it all turned out. Clapton was really kind of a mess, and had his share of tragedy. It gets a good amount of airplay, though. Definitely one of the all-time classics. Nah, it's definitely a personal thing. You've got to admit, though, those are some great monster Muppets and Art Carney is a joy to watch. Still waiting for that Special Edition Blu Ray. Their loess. I knew they did as far as variety-show appearances and commercials (when Kermit was a lizard!), but I had no idea they scored a pilot that early. There was actually a second pilot in the same setting, too, but it was much less ambitious. Maybe they aired them out of order for some inscrutable reason. Not as cute as Michael. I was never a big Donny and Marie fan.
It didn't end well between him and Pattie, but at this point--when I'm sure the general public had no idea what was going on--it's like an Arthurian romance...Clapton is Lancelot, Pattie is Guinevere, and George is Arthur...which could be considered a step up from being the Third Beatle. And FWIW, George and Eric remained friends to the end.
It was definitely epic and inspired great art. And that is amazing. I guess you have no apatite for mineral puns.
50th Anniversary Cinematic Special Gimme Shelter Directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin Starring The Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richard, Mick Taylor, and Bill Wyman) Premiered December 6, 1970 (New York) The film goes in and out of the MSG concert, early performances shown being "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". These are intercut with foreshadowing of the end, as the Stones review film footage of the Altamont concert and listen to a radio report about the stabbing of Meredith Hunter by a member of the Hell's Angels, who were recruited to provide security. The extent of what happened out in the audience is clearly news to the band. Then the focus shifts back to the announcement of the Altamont Free Concert, in segments that feature celebrity lawyer Melvin Belli (infamous in these parts for his 1968 role in "And the Children Shall Lead") working the speaker phone to arrange the show. In this he's shown running into a major logistical roadblock regarding the scale of needed parking space. This relatively brief portion of the film is most noteworthy for giving late 1970 audiences a preview of the above-mentioned songs, which are coming our way in '71 with the Sticky Fingers album. The focus goes back to MSG with a segment of Let It Bleed track "Love in Vain" being played over slo-mo footage of Mick onstage; and opening act Ike and Tina Turner performing Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long". The Stones apparently opening their MSG set with "Honky Tonk Women"; security issues at Altamont are foreshadowed as guys and girls alike have to be dragged offstage. Mick's bit about busting a button on his trousers, which was edited for the live album, comes off more naturally as presented onscreen. Audio from a performance of "Street Fighting Man" at MSG plays over people setting up and flocking to the Altamont concert. Mick is hit by an attendee while walking from a helicopter to his trailer; we only see the aftermath on camera. There's lots of footage of wild young attendees engaging in times-signy behavior reminiscent of Woodstock. The daytime portion of the concert commences with the Flying Burrito Brothers performing "Six Days on the Road", and continues with Jefferson Airplane doing "The Other Side of This Life". Chaos and confusion ensues as the Hell's Angels try to beat back crowd members with pool cues, culminating in Paul Kantner chastising them on microphone for knocking out Marty Balin, who attempted to intervene. The Grateful Dead appear on camera, but aren't shown performing. After dark the headliners mount the stage and go into "Sympathy for the Devil," while the Angels are involved in more scuffles as seen from onstage. Mick interrupts the song to try to tell everyone to cool out. Mick is not wearing a devil costume, but a half-black, half-red puffy shirt with trailing sleeves. After some additional incidents that include at least one felled person being dragged out, Mick tries ineffectually to reason with the audience and the Angels again. The band then proceeds into "Under My Thumb," the number immediately after which the stabbing of Meredith Hunter occurs. Cut to Mick in the editing room viewing the footage in detail, with David Maysles, I presume, freezing the frame to indicate the silhouette of Hunter's gun. The film then takes us back to the concert, with the Stones proceeding into "Street Fighting Man," clearly unaware of what just happened in the audience. The Stones are then shown leaving the concert via helicopter, and a sobered Mick is shown leaving the editing room. The film ends with footage of crowds leaving the next day, accompanied by a live recording of the title song. A tidbit of interest: _______ This is the point where human rights organizations start getting involved.
RIP, Dawn Wells, the sweetest castaway ever. A biker gang named Hell's Angels. What could possibly go wrong? So, kind of a Hell's Angel himself. One of which is my favorites Stones song. Unfortunately, it turned out to be kind of the anti-Woodstock. "Shame on you!" "Let's think about this logically." Hmm, I wonder what was on there and if it still exists. Now I feel like schist.
These parts are almost pathetic. I know there were problems with the venues changing, but a celebrity lawyer is taking the helm for organizing this massive public event? He spits out stuff about "affidavits" and "orders" but he is clearly in over his head at this point. But so is everyone else involved. Belli also seems insufferably self-satisfied. Yeah, IIRC Balin is pointing and arguing with someone below and then jumps off the stage, never to be seen again! Good plan! Later Keith Richards gets a little heated, too, singling out "that cat there" for causing some trouble, but Mick Jagger is clearly the leader and tries to take a calming approach, however ineffectual. His appeals to togetherness and peacefulness just sound futile, and even naïve. Another great choice by the Maysles brothers! Compared to the Stones (and Burritos) I always found the Airplane's number unfocused and weak. But their brand of psychedelic jamming was never really my bag. The last time I watched this movie I was much more affected by it than when I first saw it in the '80s. It is, as my wife said the first time she saw it, terrifying. The way they allow the foreboding to build is terrifically effective. By the time the concert starts everybody knows: It's dangerously beyond control, but it's just too big to stop. Everybody involved is going to have to go into survival mode and ride it out. The Maysleses are great at finding and holding on faces that reveal something: Charlie Watts's thoughts turning over and over as he tries to process the footage, Jagger much more guarded while looking at the same, the girl who is crying while trying to enjoy the music, the cold-eyed gum-chewing Angel who looks itching for a fight, the young fellow so intent on the music that his face is locked in puzzlement, the guy completely in his own tripped-out world as he pulls faces and looks like he's regressing to a caveman. I remembered a lot of the faces absolutely clearly after some 20 years when I rewatched the movie. The short shot of concert-goers picking their way up the hill in the dark, backlit by a spotlight, has an almost post-apocalyptic eeriness. The overloaded helicopter escape seems like kind of a foreshadowing of Saigon 1975. I really like the version of "Gimme Shelter" at the end, more rhythmic strummed chords than the arpeggiated way Keith plays it live later on. I haven't found this style of the song on any recordings other than in the movie, but it's probably out there somewhere in their universe of box sets and special re-releases. I think it must be an unwritten law that this has to be mentioned every time this film is discussed. Anyway, this is a really great movie. I may watch it again soon.
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight (Part 1 of 2) All Things Must Pass George Harrison Released November 27, 1970 Chart debut: December 19, 1970 Chart peak: #1 (January 2 through February 13, 1971) #437 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003) I'd intended to cover this in one sprawling post, but ran afoul of the character limit. Even the board software thinks that this album was too damn long! The standard narrative is that George had so many songs backed up from typically only being allowed two per Beatles album that he had to release a triple album to get them all out...but this is really more of a double album with a relatively dispensable bonus disc. Thus, while it certainly contains plenty of strong material, the choice to release all three discs in one package strikes me as having been rather indulgent. And the spottiness of George's subsequent solo releases suggests that perhaps he might have held onto some of these songs for the future. He could have gotten an even better double album out of the first two discs, or pared the contents of those down to one killer single disc. That said, I never had more than a passing interest in George's late-/post-Beatle career, and while the 30th anniversary CD set of ATMP has been in my collection since it came out, this album was previously only casually listened to. Delving into the album in more detail for the purpose of this review helped me to appreciate it as a document of George's experience in the years leading up to it. The album opens on a moodily mellow note with "I'd Have You Anytime," a Harrison/Dylan collaboration. Following this, the album wastes no time going straight for the big single--the first chart-topper by any of the former Beatles--"My Sweet Lord" (charted Nov. 28, 1970; #1 US the weeks of Dec. 26, 1970, through Jan. 16, 1971; #10 AC; #1 UK; #454 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time): Next is "Wah-Wah," an upbeat if negatively lyriced rocker written during George's temporary walk-out from the Get Back / Let It Be sessions in January 1969. Contrary to expectations upon seeing the title, the song doesn't employ the guitar effect of that name. The first side closes with the album's longest non-Apple Jam track, the sprawling "Isn't It a Pity" (#1 US as double A-side w/ "My Sweet Lord")--distinguished as "(Version One)" for the album's purposes: Furthering the narrative of George's artistic backup, the composition of this song and "Art of Dying" reportedly date back to 1966! Side two opens strongly with the album's second most popular track and one of George's catchiest singles, "What Is Life" (charts Feb. 27, 1971; #10 US; #31 AC): This is one of those songs that just makes me instinctively notch up the volume. Next is "If Not for You," a charming Dylan composition from his contemporaneous New Morning album, the sessions for which George participated in. A cover of this song, based on George's arrangement, will be Olivia Newton-John's first chart hit in 1971. Dylan's presence on the album--despite being one of the few musicians on the planet who didn't participate in its recording--continues with "Behind That Locked Door," a Harrison composition written to him. Speaking of wah-wah, the album's Wiki page drops the tidbit that an uncredited Peter Frampton played on the tracks that featured Drake. "Let It Down" is striking for the contrast noted below... I'd say that the first disc closes with "Run of the Mill," but the triple LP likely had its first four sides sequenced for automatic record changers, in which case this would have been the first side of the second disc. Anyway, the song has a story of waning Fabness... Side three--which would have been on the second disc one way or the other--opens with "Beware of Darkness". I find "Apple Scruffs" to be kind of cute in its concept, but not of much musical enjoyment. The second disc's worth of material definitely ventures into weaker and less memorable territory. "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" also has a story that's more noteworthy than the song that conveys it. The album--and George's solo career--take a turn for the more blatantly preachy with "Awaiting on You All"...but at least the music grabs your attention here. The controversial lines are pretty cute: And while the Pope owns 51% of General Motors And the stock exchange is the only thing he's qualified to quote us Side three closes with the album's title track, "All Things Must Pass": To be continued...
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight (Part 2 of 2) All Things Must Pass George Harrison The side of the album that would have shared a disc with side one opens with "I Dig Love". It opens with a catchy (multiple?) keyboard hook, at least. Spiritual concerns come to the fore again with the morbid yet upbeat "Art of Dying". Glad it wasn't just me thinking that it sounds like disco! It's interesting and not a bad listen as recorded here, but if George pulled this out at Abbey Road back in '66, I can't blame John and Paul for giving it a pass. "Right, then...let's have a go at 'Taxman,' shall we?" As previously alluded to, the reason for adding a qualifier to "Isn't It a Pity" is because the album gives us a more succinct reprise, "(Version Two)," which features Eric Clapton on lead guitar. The album proper closes on a pious note with "Hear Me Lord," which has a good gospel-influenced sound. Wiki doesn't have as much to say about the final disc--which I assume remained separate sequentially--Apple Jam (referring to the Beatles' Apple Studios, where it was recorded). Side five opens with the full triple album's longest track at over eleven minutes, "Out of the Blue," which isn't as immersive as I like my sprawling instrumental jams to be, as it mostly stays on the same loudly monotonous track. This is followed by the only vocal song on the disc, "It's Johnny's Birthday," which was recorded in commemoration of the 30th birthday of, yes, that Johnny. Its demented, carnivalesque arrangement was based on a Cliff Richard song, which eventually resulted in co-credits being added for the original writers, Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. The last number on this side is a much shorter instrumental, the more enjoyably hard-rocking "Plug Me In". Side six contains only two instrumentals. "I Remember Jeep"--the title of which refers to Eric Clapton's dog--features Ginger Baker on drums. It's attempting to be a little more ambitious/experimental, but I find the "outer space" electronic effects grating. The full triple album closes with the Chuck Berry-style "Thanks for the Pepperoni". Overall and with due consideration, I have to stick to my guns on this one. The first couple of sides make a very strong first impression; but with even the most casual of listens, somewhere in the middle two sides the album comes to seem like it's never-ending; and the general consensus on the last two sides is that they're throwaway filler. So it's a very frontloaded work that I could see myself putting on some more in the future, but which would inevitably entail starting but never finishing it. _______ I saw that last night...she had a long life, but it shouldn't have ended with COVID. I had considered making a crack about the not-so-friendly Angels... Hmmm...I'd like to think that it's the obvious one, but have learned not to expect the obvious from you. "I WILL DESTROY YOU! YOU WILL BE SWEPT AWAY TO MAKE WAY FOR THE STRONG!" I think that he was genuinely expecting to catch lightning in a bottle, for this to be the next Woodstock...the main kink in that plan being the Hell's Angels. Rights issues, perhaps? Didn't they withhold their performance from the Woodstock film and soundtrack so that they could do their own release? Now that you mention it, I recall it having more of an impact upon watching it for the first time back in the '90s. This time, while my memory of the film's details was vague to nonexistent (the main part sticking out in my memory being the editing room reveal of the gun), I went in knowing what to expect. I know exactly who you're talking about here, and what the hell was up with that guy!?! He's just plain freaky to watch. Well, it is of some interest in a place like this, and was news to me! Hopefully you have it in a more modern format than I. Getting my copy ready for viewing brought to mind those immortal words, "BE KIND--PLEASE REWIND". _______ HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! 1966 1971 2021...?
And was that his law office? It looked like a cross between a badly-decorated restaurant and a junk shop. That was just a joke, the Dead never played. One version is they got bad vibes and split, another is that everything was getting so delayed that they gave up their spot so the Stones set could start at a reasonable time. Sure, I would have mentioned it if it was me. Wow! No, I have it on a streaming service, I've just been watching it with the commentary track. Seconded!
Well, it was the the threshold between the '60s and '70s... Ah, right...now I remember reading that. I recorded it in '94, I presume, when VH1 did an all-Stones day as a promotion for the kickoff of their Voodoo Lounge tour.
Impressive. An excellent song, despite the religion. I assumed it meant that somebody's a crybaby. This one is my favorite. No, that was not her time. I'm complicated. I'm also not sure which one you think is the obvious one. As for Mick's quotes, it was a genuinely nice try. It's a tragedy the way things turned out, but he was complicit in that. Happy New Year to all! 2021 seems stable so far. I'm keeping an eye on it.
55 Years Ago This Week Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "I Hear a Symphony," The Supremes (10 weeks) "I'm a Man," The Yardbirds (10 weeks) "1-2-3," Len Berry (15 weeks) New on the chart: "Call Me," Chris Montez (#22 US; #2 AC) "Michelle," David & Jonathan (#18 US; #3 AC; #11 UK; written by...but you caught the album spotlight, right?) "California Dreamin'," The Mamas & The Papas (#4 US; #23 UK; #89 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) And new on the boob tube: The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 18, episode 17 Branded, "The Golden Fleece" 12 O'Clock High, "Falling Star" Gilligan's Island, "Not Guilty" The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Steel Assassin" Hogan's Heroes, "Happy Birthday, Adolf" Get Smart, "Double Agent" _______ One of them was a chart-topper, and the other didn't make the Top 20. Slow Stones were never my bag. I like to sing along, "Willllllld horses / couldn't speed up this song". Had to inspect the image to verify what the guy in the middle is doing. Looks more like he's playing a keyboard, very angrily. In the immortal words of a guy named John, "It can't get no worse."
It's funny that this came out in January. I've always thought of it as a Summery song. Kind of redundant. An Oldies classic. Well, that's surprising. But I'll go with the chart-topper this time. I do like "Wild Horses," but my favorite Stones tunes tend to be the rockin' ones. Hmm. Maybe I'm just used to him. Or maybe it's the background color here. Or maybe your eyes are even worse than mine. Knock on wood.
50 Years Ago This Week Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "After Midnight," Eric Clapton (12 weeks) "I'll Be There," Jackson 5 (16 weeks) "We've Only Just Begun," Carpenters (17 weeks) New on the chart: "Mother," John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (#43 US) And new on the boob tube: The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 23, episode 16 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 4, episode 16 Hawaii Five-O, "Ten Thousand Diamonds and a Heart" Ironside, "The Quincunx" The Odd Couple, "They Use Horseradish, Don't They?" The Brady Bunch, "Where There's Smoke" The Partridge Family, "Mom Drops Out" That Girl, "Those Friars" Love, American Style, "Love and the Only Child / Love and the Wig" Mission: Impossible, "Cat's Paw" Adam-12, "Log 115: Gang War" The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Party Is Such Sweet Sorrow" _______ My first exposure to this song was Billy Crystal doing it on a karaoke machine in When Harry Met Sally...which I've always considered to be a New Year's movie, so the song is right where it should be. Well, at least somebody got a modest hit out of it. The original could have been a #1. And the debut of another major mid-60s artist...the music of the decade is entering its peak period. I am using Big Blue, and some of the guitar details seemed obscured.
Ah, well, there's better on the way. Interesting. I never saw that movie. Ah, that's too bad. I love those green Smilies.