07 Jul 04 ·milhouse-paris: First of all, almost all of Nico's work is pure beauty. She's most famous for her work with or related to the Velvet Underground, including her "chelsea girl" LP. But for me this is quite unfair, because Nico was not just an "eg�rie", a "frozen beauty" or a "femme fatale" clich�. She was a stunning songwriter and singer: Three of her 70's albums (desertshore, marble index and the end)are simply wonderful. Sad and graceful as Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and other songwriters considered geniuses because they were born men...
Haunting melody inspired by the Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
Lyrics are truly depressing for a so called "girls band" and this song so unique has been qualified as one of the saddest ever made in the sixties. The Shangri-Las is a fascinating and under-rated band that deserves to be re-discovered. Quick list of recommended songs : Remember (Walkin' in the Sand) -yes they did this too!-, I Can Never Go Home Anymore, Give Us Your Blessing, Leader of the Pack, etc...
available on CD - The Best of the Shangri-Las (Polygram)
18 May 04 ·delicado: This song is utter genius. 'just don't try to touch me... because that will never happen again'. They are indeed under-rated. It's strange really. There are CD compilations out there, but they all seem to marketed in a budget kind of way. 18 May 04 ·jeanette: There's hot debate as to what this song means... I've read that it's about a rape survivor which kind of makes sense but I think it has too much mystery to it to define completely. George "Shadow" Morton surpasses even the greatest hopes for girl-group trash-drama.
As to the compilations, there's a great one on RPM called "Myrmidons Of Melodrama". Strangely, its available in two different covers, with slightly altered tracklisting (a few songs on one not on the other and vice versa) but either one contains all their best tracks and some amusing "Radio Spots" with Mary Weiss (lead singer) giving tips on how to behave on a date. "Don't barge on ahead like a baby elephant" she advises; "you'll get attention all right, but it won't be favourable". 07 Jul 04 ·milhouse-paris: The two different versions of "Myrmidons of Melodrama" are quite different, not only because of the tracklisting, but also becouse the most recent one(2002, by RPM) has stereo versions of 5 songs. I'm not sure that these songs sound better in stereo than in mono... 27 Apr 05 ·delicado: I now have the newer 'Myrmidons' comp. So many great tracks. My favorite bit of this song is right at the end when she says "I'm all packed up and I'm on my way - and I'm going to fall in love ... but at the moment, it doesn't look good ... At the moment, it will never happen again."
