Posts Tagged ‘Steely Dan’

  
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Parlour to Parlour, Episode 16: The Spring Heeled Jacks Original Swinging Jass Band

by Michael Fortes

parlour_to_parlour

I knew that the Spring Heeled Jacks Original Swinging Jass Band’s debut album, The Dicky Comstock Show, was going to be good. The band’s bassist/arranger (and a very good friend of mine), Josh Morrow, had been sending me rough mixes as he and singer/guitarist/primary songwriter Nate Dunton worked on the tracks. What I didn’t know was that the album would be so good, so engaging — magical, even — that it would be one of the most-played albums in my collection during 2007. But as much as I enjoyed the record, it was maddening to know that so few ears had a chance to hear it.

On the one hand, it’s very easy to admire the steadfast ideals of the Jacks. For one, the music comes first. Whatever works best for the song is what Josh and Nate will do, regardless of who came up with what idea. And then there’s the time and care they spend on the tracks themselves. The first rough track Josh sent to me was back in July of 2006. The final Dicky Comstock Show album was revealed in 2007, and at least one track dating back to those sessions is still being tinkered with. No, this is no Smile/Chinese Democracy kind of saga. Facebook followers of the band know this, as they routinely leak tracks in almost-finished form and in experimental remixes. (more…)

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Friday, July 17th, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 7/20/74

by Jason Hare

Hi again, everyone! Thanks for all the fantastic comments on the all-Michael Jackson edition of CHART ATTACK! Did you notice that Motown jumped all over his death and released Michael Jackson: The Stripped Mixes? And it’s scary to think that this is only the tip of the iceberg. But that’s all I’m going to say about it — I’m all MJ’d out and I imagine you are, too — so this week, let’s go back a full 35 years and see what was at the top of the charts for the week ending July 20, 1974!

10. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) — Olivia Newton-John  Amazon
9. The Air That I Breathe — The Hollies Amazon iTunes
8. You Won’t See Me — Anne Murray  Amazon iTunes
7. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number — Steely Dan Amazon iTunes
6. Rock the Boat — The Hues Corporation Amazon iTunes
5. On and On — Gladys Knight & the Pips Amazon iTunes
4. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me — Elton John Amazon iTunes
3. Rock and Roll Heaven — The Righteous Brothers  Amazon
2. Annie’s Song — John Denver Amazon iTunes
1. Rock Your Baby — George McCrae Amazon iTunes

10. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) — Olivia Newton-John

This song is a pretty simple pop-twinged country tune (it peaked at #2 on the Country chart and remains her highest charting song there), and is a fine vehicle for ONJ’s beautiful voice. However, the choruses feature a backing vocal by what can only be described as a drunk bullfrog. There are a number of voices joining in behind Olivia on the chorus, but this guy is just way lower (and louder in the mix) than the others, and it sounds odd. I mean, clearly it was done to achieve a certain feel, but I just can’t get behind it. What I can get behind, though, is any clip of Olivia Newton-John, ever, because she is SO DAMN CUTE.

9. The Air That I Breathe — The Hollies

I really love this song. For me, it’ll always be one of those songs that just transcends time and genre. That being said, it’s a cover fave for many “light” artists: Barry Manilow, k.d. lang, Air Supply, Judy Collins…the list goes on. The Hollies version is actually a cover itself; it was co-written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood and recorded by Hammond in 1972. Phil Everly covered it in 1973, and in 1974 the Hollies had, by far, the greatest success with it, reaching #6. It wound up being the last of their numerous top 10 hits. I like Hammond’s original version, and I’m also partial to a cover by Semisonic; those links will take you to the excellent Coverville podcast where I heard both for the first time.

I was thinking about including a clip of the Hollies performing the song, but then I’d be turning down a perfectly good opportunity to look at Olivia Newton-John again. So here’s her cover.

8. You Won’t See Me — Anne Murray

Aw, crap. Who the hell asked for this? Did the Beatles split affect us so much that we just allowed any cover to reach the Top 10? When Paul sang it, he had irritation in his voice; I don’t know if Anne Murray has ever sounded irritated in her whole life. She gets rid of the awesome “ooh la la la” backing vocals, and confuses the listener by featuring a somewhat funky fade-in, creating a vibe that is completely eliminated by the time she starts to sing. And yet, according to the liner notes of her greatest hits album, Lennon apparently told Murray that her cover was his favorite Beatles cover. Like, ever. If this is true, then clearly John had a soft spot for Captain & Tennille, because this track sounds like it was ripped right off of them. In fact, I’m unconvinced that this isn’t actually a C&T track with Murray singing over it.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse…check out those shoulder pads!

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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Song-Off Jr.: Doing It Again

by Matchup Monkey

recycle

Welcome to our first reader-requested Song-Off Jr.  A while back, forwardgirl proposed a threesome…and although we felt a bit uncomfortable with it at first, we’ve finally decided it’s time for a little bit of adventure.  Apologies to those who got shut out of the bedroom (The Chemical Brothers, Jay-Z, Queens of the Stone Age, Nada Surf, Stroke 9, Dianna Krall, Wall of Voodoo, Mase, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Matthew Sweet, Aimee Mann, etc.) but there are only so many bodies that can fit on a king-sized bed.

The Beach Boys – “Do It Again”

Steely Dan – “Do It Again”

The Kinks – “Do It Again”

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What kind of lover are you looking for?

View Results

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Last week, Madness sent Iron Maiden sulking to its room, as “Madness” took home 59% of the vote over “Can I Play With Madness.”  Join us again next week for a jurisdictional battle, as we tackle the subject of Non-Traditional Law Enforcement.

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Friday, February 13th, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: 2/14/81

by Jason Hare

Howdy, everybody!  Happy Friday and welcome back to another edition of CHART ATTACK! This week’s mix is relatively eclectic, yet — as was often the case in the early ’80s — completely inoffensive.  And you’ll find references to John Lennon in four of this week’s singles.  On with the chart — let’s look at February 14, 1981!

10. Hey Nineteen — Steely Dan Amazon iTunes
9. Givin’ it Up for Your Love — Delbert McClinton Amazon iTunes
8. Keep On Loving You — REO Speedwagon Amazon iTunes
7. (Just Like) Starting Over — John Lennon Amazon iTunes
6. Woman — John Lennon Amazon iTunes
5. Passion — Rod Stewart Amazon iTunes
4. The Tide is High — Blondie Amazon iTunes
3. I Love a Rainy Night — Eddie Rabbitt Amazon iTunes
2. 9 to 5 — Dolly Parton Amazon iTunes
1. Celebration — Kool & the Gang Amazon iTunes

10. Hey Nineteen — Steely Dan (download)

I love Steely Dan.  And I love “Hey Nineteen.”  And although I’ve never had any misconception about this song’s subject, it was only when listening to this song the other day that I realized: Donald Fagen both looks and sounds like a skeevy, dirty old man, and “Hey Nineteen” is, in fact, not helping his image.  And despite the fact that Fagen was only 32 when this song was recorded, it’s not a stretch to hear it and imagine him being, say, 50.  SKETCHY.  Here’s a picture of Donald Fagen with Japanese musician Juri Panda Jones.  Look at this while listening to “Hey Nineteen,” willya?

Right?

Something else weird happened to me while I was listening to “Hey Nineteen” recently.  Whenever I sing along with it, I always avoid the lead line (except for “that’s ‘retha Franklin”).  I just sing the backing vocals.  And, when I sing them, I sing them like…you guessed it.

Oh, picture of 3 Time Grammy Award Winner Michael McDonald, how I’ve missed you.

Anyway, so yeah, I always sing those backing vocals like McD.  But when listening to the song the other day, I realized: I don’t hear McD as a prominent voice.  I mean, I think I hear him in there, and I know he sang backing vocals on Gaucho, but you know that I have a tendency to hear a little bit of McD in everything, so I could just be crazy.

Steely Dan only had a few Top 10 hits ( “Do It Again” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” and what the hell, we’ll give “Peg” credit for reaching #11, only because of McD), but this was their last one, peaking here at #10 for only two weeks.

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Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Hey, You Kids Get Out of My Yard!: Holdin’ Out for a Hero

by Darren Robbins

When I was a kid, my heroes were, at the very least, deserving of adoration. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Cheap Trick, Dan Pastorini (the one non-musician of the bunch) — the one thing they had in common was that they were immensely talented at what they did. Some would say that they were among the very best, and thus, they seemed bigger than life to me and the millions who adored them. I was inspired by them and what I perceived to be their dedication to the craft. I also admired their shrewd understanding that a fair bit of marketing went a long way, too.

Of course, the music world is not just full of legendary artists such as those named above. For as long as there have been artistes, there have been those whose marketing overshadowed their artistic endeavors. I’m thinking along the lines of C.W. McCall, Taco, and — oh, what the heck — Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

Such one-hit wonders would invariably come out of nowhere, dominate the airwaves for every last second of their fifteen minutes of fame and then, thankfully, disappear into pop oblivion. The respectable artists who were temporarily swept aside to make way for this brief dalliance with the latest “here today, gone tomorrow” pop confection would then return to their rightful place on radio playlists and the ship would right itself.

I mean, acts like Tiffany, Sly Fox, After the Fire, and others had their success, but it was always understood that they’d go away. That’s what one- or two-hit wonders did. It was understood.

But then something weird happened.

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