Great bubblegum-pop theme to the Dean Martin spy flick done by Boyce & Hart, best known as one of the songwriting teams behind the Monkees. This track features some terrifically dated, non-P.C. lyrics like "blonde hair, brunette, redheads/lying like injuns in the grass/they're comin' through the pass/and buster/you're General Custer". It also features a great Tijuana Brass-esque horn arrangement, and since this came out on A&M, it may actually be Alpert and the boys themselves. The single is pretty easy to find, but it's also available on the fantastic "Mad, Mad World of Soundtracks" comp from Germany, with its accompanying book of soundtrack cover art.
from the single The Ambushers (A&M) available on CD - The Mad, Mad World of Soundtracks (Motor Music)
19 Jan 03 ·konsu: Super underrated songwriting duo. Fab stuff! Also check out their exellent LP "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight?",a big hit for them, but the whole record is really solid! From what i've read, these guys are virtuosos, and did all their own arranging as well as guitar & keys! Very fun stuff... 31 May 03 ·john_l: I just listened to this track (off their Anthology collection), and frankly it just sounds immature. For me the outstanding track by Boyce & Hart has to be "Alice Long", with its kitchen-sink production style; if I had to list my favourite 10 songs of all time I'm sure it would be right in there! 24 Jun 03 ·tinks: i think immaturity is the a-number-one thing these cats had going for them...i mean, they wrote songs for paul revere & the raiders and the monkees for cryin' out loud! granted, this isn't my fave b&h tune (that title probably goes to "p.o. box 9847", but i digress) but it's good. not everything has to be of pet sounds calibre, after all.
Y'know...I really like the latest Dandy Warhols album, in spite of myself. I've never been able to stand them, as they are as about as close a thing to actual rock stars as we have here in Portland. As a result, there's just an awful lot of bitterness in the air. I think that I finally came to the realization that their particular brand of coke-sniffing antics are precisely what I want out of a rock & roll group. I want there to be rock stars on the grand 70s scale again. Somebody has got to inherit Mick Jagger's rightful place as the man to be. I'm not saying that Courtney Taylor should be that man, but at least he's on the right track. This song in particular...as strange as it sounds...it reminds me of the Offspring, but in a good way. And that's the way with a lot of this album. There are songs here that remind me a lot of Beck, ones that remind me a lot of Frank Black and of course the obvious Stones pastiches. In short, there's nothing earth-shatteringly original...but hasn't rock & roll always been about copying what's come before and trying to make it your own? I mean, where would the Beatles have been without Chuck Berry?
from Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, available on CD (Capitol)
24 Jan 03 ·doublebarrelledsou: um... "reminds me of the offspring, but in a good way"
i bet you've been losing sleep on someone finding that comment for months, your day of reckoning has arrived master tinks!
i had no idea you were harbouring love for the dw.
guess what's on ym desk right now. a numark tt-100 baby!
The epitome of deep Southern soul. The pain evident in Carr's voice is absolutely unimaginable.
from the single Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (Goldwax) available on CD - The Essential James Carr (Razor & Tie)
04 Apr 03 ·drchilledair: 2001 obits of James Carr appeared in Japanese publications before they did in the U.S. Alas, Carr travelled to Japan in 1979 for a mini-tour and was apparently unable to make it through a single performance due to mental problems. My guess is that he might have been suffering from lifelong undiagonosed autisism. A favorite Carr track of mine is "Gonna Marry My Mother-in-Law," a 1993 Soultrax single wherein he innocently tosses off the rather outrageous proposition that her mother and not his present wife, "has got the kind of love my heart's been longing for." The protagonist then proceeds to offhandedly list in minute detail the wondrous attributes of THIS "two women wrapped up in one." The tension between the reality of such an socially unacceptable action and the insouciant way with which Carr delivers his oratory never fails to crack me up. Extra-categorically, Carr dwells in the pantheon of music greats. Almost like a idiot savant, the enigmatic Carr was totally unexpressive in everyday life situations, but affected a 180 degree change in feeling tone when he opened his mouth to sing.
"I can't cut loose without my juice!" Dave, Jon & Annie get their priorities straight.
from The Hottest New Group in Jazz, available on CD (Columbia)
08 Apr 03 ·singjohn: An LA-based acapella group called "Sixth Wave" has an interesting version of this song. A sample of it can be found here: http://www.6thwave.com/merchandise.asp
Love LHR! The Manhattan Transfer borrowed quite a bit from them!
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
