This magnificent track is from the oft-ignored years Aretha spent at Columbia Records. Most of her material for the label consisted of religious songs and jazz standards and she truly shines here. She sings with a sense of urgency and a slight cry in her voice as she pleads with her love not to abandon her. As much as I love her Atlantic catalogue, this song and the album it comes from are at the top of my Aretha Franklin list.
from Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (Columbia CS 8963), available on CD (Columbia)
Dinah Washington was known as "queen of the blues" but she also had a great flare for jazz singing. This is a remarkable example of her phrasing ability and exquisite style. Quincy Jones' genius shines in his musical arrangement and orchestral conduction.
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!
Morrissey, ever the angry young vegan, sings a beautiful tribute to a music idol who has recently died and then proceeds to lash out at the big record companies that repackage and reissue the work of the artist all in the name of the almighty dollar. Sadly the very same thing would happen to the Smiths' catalogue just a few years later. Define 'irony'. Of course I sit here at this computer just 14 feet away from a record shelf that is stuffed with the reissues and repackages of the above named catalogue but I just couldn't resist those cute little 10-inch limited edition vinyl LPs that Warner UK put out in the early 1990s including the very album this song appears on...
06 Feb 06 ·jmurray: Am I the only one who thinks this song is about Ian Curtis and Factory Records? Think about it. Morrissey would have certainly gone to JD shows in the late 70's. Reportedly, he was at the 4 June 1976 Pistols show at Lesser Free Trade Hall. Clearly, Moz and the Smiths rejected Factory Records when their time came about to find a label. Maybe, Moz was not only disgusted with Factory's obsession with repackageing JD material into new releases, but perhaps Moz had a romantic eye for Curtis. Perhaps, they touched "at the soundcheck." And though somewhat morbid, he sang about never tainting his love for Curtis because Curtis was "on their hands a dead star." 07 Feb 06 ·n-jeff: I wouldn't have thought it was the case, it must have been 20 years before factory compiled Joy Divisions stuff. When he died they bought out the scheduled releases: "love will tear us apart", "Closer" and then I think it was a few years before "Still" appeared. They got on pretty quickly with developing new Order IIRC, it couldn't have been that long before "ceremony" appeared.
I'm not Tony Wilsons biggest fan, but I think Factory did a pretty good job of handling Curtis' suicide. And they weren't really that popular anyway, at that time.
Now, the frenzy that marked John Lennons death. That was something else. 07 Feb 06 ·jmurray: Paint a Vulgar Picture was 1987, long after Factory, and the remainder of JD had moved on to New Order. By that time, NO had released numerous 12" singles and LP's all the way through FAC 150, Brotherhood. For the record, FAC 37 was a video release called Here Are The Young Men of JD in Aug '82, FAC 40 is the JD compilation Still released in Oct '81, and NO's first release Ceremony is FAC 33 in Jan '81. There are also many JD appearances on various Factory Records compilations, both LP and video. All of this, of course, going on long before Moz, Marr, Rourke, and Joyce ever were together as the Smiths. One final thought, and please excuse the macabre, listen very closely to the last line of lyric in Vulgar, there is a distinct, but obvious choking sound just after the last word. If Moz hadn't made a career of singing about the "romantic" side of death, suicide, et. al. I would dismiss it as just a gutteral noise, but... 08 Feb 06 ·n-jeff: I bow to your superior research.
And wince to your final thought! 27 Mar 11 ·lasinge: I just tonight thought for the first time about who the song might be about (bizarre, since it's one of my favorite songs) and the first person I came up with was Ian Curtis. This story is old (I know) but it goes on... 27 Mar 11 ·FlyingDutchman1971: The new Smiths bootleg "Unreleased Demos and B-sides" has a great rendition of this song with slightly different lyrics. Grab a copy of you have the chance. 28 Mar 11 ·delicado: It has literally never occurred to me that this could be who it's about. I guess it's possible but it just seems wrong to me somehow. And I don't remember any tacky badges on Factory releases (unless I missed them). Interesting bootleg for sure...
Ms. Simone sings almost with a sense of agony knowing that the object of her affection is untamed and unavailable even as she begs for his love. This track is heartbreakingly beautiful and is great listening in the late hours with the lights dimmed.
from Wild Is The Wind (Polygram 846893) available on CD - Nina Simone: Quiet Now-Night Songs (Verve 314 543 251)
10 Dec 02 ·cdarville: This song is also available on the original release, Wild Is the Wind, available now as a double-release combined with High Priestess of Soul on CD. It's been available for over ten years on Polydor and is wonderful!
