New Year...More Deep Dives
From the feedback I am getting, it seems my readers enjoy my deep dives more than any other column. Uncovering songs that were rarely played on FM radio in the 70’s is something I love and while todays column may be shorter than others, I am sure there a couple of songs here that will trip your trigger.
My first selection is “First Names” by Lee Michaels. Yes, that Lee Michaels of Hammond Organ fame. Interestingly, this song has little or no organ parts. It is guitar driven with maybe 10 lines of lyrics. It’s 13 minutes of solid guitar and not much else. The album it comes from, Space and First Takes, only has five songs on it. Side two has one song, the title track, “Space and First Takes”. Interesting that an artist in 1972 could get away with that but Michaels was coming off of some success and the record company let him go with it.
My next song is a bit of a departure but I think by now you know I like protest songs and “The Ghetto” by Donnie Hathaway is one of the best I have ever heard. Hathaway was one of the few artists that crossed over from pop to more controversial songs. The song has an almost African feel with it’s beat and the congas playing throughout. It is not specifically a protest song but more of a song of pride for a place Hathaway knew all too well as a kid.
Another artist that I don’t think ever gets enough credit is Edwin Starr. He may not be truly rock and roll but neither were The Supremes or The Ronettes so I am taking a liberty here. It really would be a toss up between “25 Miles” and “War” but since once again I like to lean to protest songs I will have to go with “War”. Recorded at the height of the Vietnam war, this song was one of the greatest declarations against that war ever recorded. I challenge any artist today to come up with a song as good and as powerful as this one. Another bullet point in my assertion that music today can’t hold a candle to almost anything written in the 60’s and 70’s.
For sheer uncomfortable, re-listen to Patti Smith’s “Gloria”. I was never a big Smith fan. I do get that she was instrumental in developing Punk music but in my humble opinion, I am not so sure that is a great thing. Back to Smith, I always felt it was about her performance of the song as opposed to the song itself and if you are Rod Stewart or Mick Jagger, that works, but she isn’t. Her take on this song is excellent however. Her rendition is so unique that it actually is a plus and her back up band is awesome.
How about I throw everyone for a loop now? I do occasionally put songs in from the mid 80’s and while I don’t think the time period was especially fruitful or creative, it did have some songs that stuck with me over the years and one of them is “Ball of Confusion” by Love and Rockets. Love and Rockets were an alternative band in the ‘80’s that had some big hits in England and a few here in the US (Thanks to WLIR on Long Island). This version of “Ball of Confusion” sounds a little like the original but some of the lyrics were changed to represent the problems in England at the time. It’s a pretty good cover and it stays true to the original while adding those alternative components (fuzzy guitar, different beats) that made it more contemporary.
My last song is “Half Moon Bay” by Mott the Hoople. From their debut album, this song is over ten minutes and it was derided in the press for falling apart and ruining the album overall. As usual, I disagree. It is the bands rock opus and it came on the second side of their first album. It has several different musical breaks that seem to make little sense but you have to remember, it was 1969 and bands were experimenting with all sorts of things and this was Mott the Hoople’s experiment. Sue me, I really like the song and I think everyone should listen to it and give it a shot. Maybe late on a Friday night when the kids have all gone to bed.