essential listening. psychedelic rockabilly doesn't get much better than this. check out the chanting in the background! the bells! the sitar-guitar sound! the drum pattern! wanda jackson's vocals! love it to death. can't believe i hadn't recommended it yet...
available on CD - rockin' with wanda
18 Aug 04 ·jeanette: Woooh. I love Wanda and this is fairly atypical of her, but even better for it. It's in the film "But I'm A Cheerleader" too, one of the finest movies I've seen in the last few years. RuPaul is the greatest. After Wanda Jackson.
nice slice of 50's piano-based novelty rock n' roll. at first this sounded pretty average to me, but when the second verse kicked in, and he started singing like a girl as he'd mentioned earlier in the lyrics, i knew it was a keeper. if you hang in there for the third verse, you'll hear where the man got his nickname, too:). i'm heavily into fifties and early sixties "semi-novelty" records, so this was pretty much like hitting the jackpot.
it's the only song of his i've heard that's done anything for me, though.
08 Sep 04 ·n-jeff: Heh, I put this song on this years holiday tape I did for my 6 year old daughter. Quality, cheered me up whenever it rained. I went to see him perform in the 80's in a little pub in Putney. Can't remember a thing about it though apart from it being an old style Rhythm and Blues session. The only other song of his I know (and it was a big hit IIRC) is a ballad in the style my grandmother would have loved. And I can't remember the name of it, but its not a patch on this one.
"I sing like a girl, and I sing like a frog" 16 Aug 06 ·bmsmithsmith: Good choice. First heard this on the Sounds of Monsterism Island compliation. It's a great feel good rock 'n' roll number guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
the perfect teen heartbreak country ballad. the arrangement on this just BLOWS me away. check out the dissonant strings and the gentle steel guitar! not to mention skeeters vocals.. she never sounded better in my opinion, it just comes across as so goddamn heartfelt. marvel at the heavy, deadpan spoken word section at the end!
A desert island break-up song if there ever was one:)
Why does my heart go on beating
Why do these eyes of mine cry
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when you said goodbye
19 Oct 04 ·jeanette: Skeeter sadly died earlier this month. This is a gorgeous song, also brilliantly done by brit-chick Twinkle who I've enthused about elsewhere on these pages. I also love Skeeter's poppier moments, in particular the superlative I Can't Stay Mad At You. 19 Oct 04 ·olli: twinkle covered this? ooh, can't wait to hear it, i totally dig "golden lights"!
lee marvin sings! i really like the simplistic string arrangements here, especially in the intro and chorus. lee marvin's unbelievably gruff voice fits the song well. wish he'd done some more musical work, he'd be fun for an even kitchier easy listening album.
"do i know where hell is? hell is in hello.
heaven is goodbye forever, it's time for me to go.
i was born under a wan'drin' star...."
"when i get to heaven, tie me to a tree
or i'll begin to roam and soon you'll know where i will be"
classic kitch.
from paint your wagon ost
08 Nov 04 ·n-jeff: heh, and for the hit single the flip was Clint Eastwoods ultra weedy version of "I talk
to the trees". Great for starting conversations while DJing in clubs.
"Whats this sh***!?"
"Clint Eastwood"
"Really?, No! what?"
heh.
