I used to be such a boy,but I have seen the terror of my ways.The Strokes have cornered a few hooks and terrorized them into submission,using them to tantalize testosterone top-heavy lads,making them dance like innocents caught in American/Iraqi crossfire;but I'm past that age where testosterone tampers with my thought processes.
Vitamin C,real name Colleen Fitzpatrick,ex-singer of Eve's Plum,has made Last Night,by blending it with Blondie's Heart of Glass,into the pop song it always wanted to be.Gone is the nasal whine of the original replaced by cool clear vocals that caress rather than puncture the ears.
On the 12" you get three versions.If you want a good dance work out you'll pick the A side.I favour track two,not so hurried I think it's slightly more reflective tenor illuminates where other versions obfuscate.
08 Apr 04 ·gaymod: oh come on unathanthium, I iike your style, Last Nite, is a great song but it is a very obvious sub motown parody...and Dr. Feelgood- She Does It Right does it a milllion times better 09 Apr 04 ·unathanthium: Sub motown,I love sub motown.Parody,I love that too.And if Dr.Feelgood do it better,congratulations to them.A million times better,though,hm,that's an awful lot of noughts.And I don't think we need a pub rock revival.
Sounds almost like a country-rock interpretation of their own early-60s hits, with absolutely breathtaking harmonies that prove that Brian wasn't the only gifted composer in the band. But what is that instrument in the background, a mellotron, perhaps? Great lyrics: "Have you ever been down Salinas way?/where Steinbeck found the valley/and he wrote about it the way it was in his travelin's with Charlie."
This group were a revelation to me when I heard about them a couple of years ago (a friend turned me on to the reissue CD). Apparently this album featured the cream of Nashville session musicians, and it certainly sounds incredibly well executed. This is a mournful 60s pop song with an incredibly crisp production and some heartfelt vocals.
available on CD - Livin' Love (Teenbeat)
08 Apr 04 ·gaymod: i know what you re saying...on the same tip is Fiest - Mushaboom ....but i do have a weakness for Rosie Vela
If romantic, dramatic, emotionally fragile and beautifully orchestrated baroque pop with woodwinds moves you then you're blessed... by me.
available on CD - Complete Recordings (Mercury)
08 Apr 04 ·gaymod: is this a cover of the old doo wop standard ? which Zappa was involved in 12 Apr 04 ·tempted: No, it's a Left Banke original. 11 Jan 06 ·Swinging London: Haven't heard that for years! Nice to be reminded of it. My fave by them is 'Pretty Ballerina'.
As far as I know, they never had a hit here in England.