Nick Cave is one of those musicians that cannot be put into any one category in a musical sense. This song is the epitome of that. This song sounds nothing like anything else of his that I have ever listened to, yet it is distinctly Nick Cave the same way that Tom Waits is inimitably Tom Waits, even if he were to be singing "Hit Me Baby One More Time."
First of all, this song is a hidden track. You have to go looking for it. It's actually a "0" track that you have to rewind backwards from song #1 in order to find. Computers will not play this song. Many cd players will not, either. So it's fun to track down...
Then there's the music. The best description of I ever heard of The Dirty Three is that their music "sounds like music that belongs to a spaghetti western directed by David Lynch." The wailing backgroung strings evoke a sense of forlorn longing and desperate wanting, evoking an image of fallen angels reaching towards heaven...
"We were searching for the secrets of the universe
and we rounded up Demons and forced them to tell
us what it all meant.
We tied them to trees and broke them down one by one.
On a scrap of paper it wrote these words,
as we read them the sun broke through the trees.
'Dread the passage of Jesus for he will not return.' "
Look for it. The Curious and eclectic side of you won't be disappointed.
available on CD - Songs in the Key of X (Warner Brothers)
10 May 03 ·konsu: A brilliant collaboration. One that should be commited to an entire album to say the least. Also look for Dirty 3's "Sharks" EP, which has Nick and the boys doing a great version of "Running Scared" live. I think it's a promo tour release from 98'.
This is the sound of ecstasy, the most joyful song to ever hit the charts! Quite unlike the mope-rock of recent decades (although I like the Smiths too). It just rings out, I think because it has a very heavy emphasis on the "dominant" musical tone.
The Association, of course, had several huge hits in the 1966-68 period, like "Cherish", "Windy", and "Never My Love", and the also-wonderful "Along Comes Mary" (their debut), but in my opinion "Everything That Touches You" is definitely their best.
22 May 03 ·konsu: Yes indeed! Birthday is such a great album. I think this one was a minor hit for them, but the rest of this record is just as worthy of exhaltations. Check out the tune "Like Always" as well. Pure genius!! 24 Jun 03 ·tinks: i heart birthday. but then again, i heart the association. even stop your motor. 22 Dec 04 ·ronin: Their interweaving vocal harmonies still blow me away, especially on songs such as this one, my personal fave. "Insight Out" was 1st album we ever purchased independent of parents. "Requiem for the Masses" is another powerful harmonic tour de force. Who sings (not yells) like this anymore? Every member of the group (even Brian!) sang. 14 Apr 05 ·Goes Up To 11: My then-girlfriend (now wife) and I had breakfast with the Association at about 2 am in the Atlanta Hyatt-Regency's coffee shop after a concert at Georgia Tech in 1969 or 1970. Nice guys! Although the Association took a lot of critical heat in the years since, I remember them as extremely professional musicians, able to precisely recreate their complex studio vocal harmonies live in concert. Part of the reason may have been that they were the first band I remember employing a mixing board out in the audience during a concert, something that became standard practice in the industry within a few years afterwards.
RYTHM HERITAGE WERE THE COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS OF THE THEME FROM "SWATT", THE T.V. SERIES.
HEAVY INSTRUMENTATION SPICED WITH LOTS OF FEELING.
THIS THEME IS AT THE SAME TIME POWERFUL AND EASY GOING.
23 Jun 03 ·konsu: Don't forget the "Baretta's theme", which smokes as well. From the album "Discofied".
Kinda surfy bouncy arrangement of this old Gershwin number, with five-part harmonies! Free Design ain't got nothin' on these cats!
from You Were On My Mind (A&M) available on CD - You Were On My Mind/Make Someone Happy (Collectors' Choice)
23 Jun 03 ·konsu: These people were just great. So many great versions of cool songs, done in some unexpected yet refreshing ways! "Love me not tomorrow" is such a moody stunner, and I love their bossa-folk version of "Make someone happy"! For fans of 60's folk-pop that takes chances, and consistently amazes. 17 May 06 ·bullitthead: they kept me alive and well through Viet Nam
Barry White flawlessly blended the sounds of soul and classical music and practically invented disco. This instrumental rescues the string section from the stuffy opera house and creates a difinitive sound for the 1970's. You can hear his influence in much of the decade's music that came after this song's release.
from Rhapsody In White (20th Century Fox Records T-433) available on CD - Barry White: Ultimate Collection (Polygram POL 542291)
28 Jun 03 ·konsu: Hey! There's a great vocal version of this tune on one of the "Love Unlimited" vocal records Barry produced with a trio of ladies. It's on the album "In Heat" (20th Century T-443 1974). It just got reissued on CD. It's kinda fun hearing lyrics to a song that's so well remembered as an instrumental!
