Song of the day: Chain - "I'm Gonna Miss You Babe"

Time for some blues.

Here's Chain with "I'm Gonna Miss You Babe" (1973):


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Frank's Faves on Fridays

King's X – "Lost In Germany" (1992)

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I remember once reading about this band on a blog and got interested in them because they were described as a sort of prog metal band with Beatles harmonies. It piqued my interest so I grabbed Gretchen Goes To Nebraska (1989) (AllMusic reckons it's their best album). I listened to it (three times) and was underwhelmed. The focus of each song seemed to be on the guitar part, with everything revolving around that (or, in other words, everything about the song was subservient to the guitar). I didn't hear much in the way of Beatles harmonies – or memorable songs, for that matter. There were harmonies in the vocals, but nothing I'd call especially melodic. For me, the melodies just weren't singable, hummable, or even memorable. And the song structures weren't particularly memorable, either. The musicianship was good, and it was well recorded, but overall the album just didn't float my boat. Unfortunately, it's the same with "Lost In Germany". Everything about it perfectly acceptable, but none of it sticks in my brain for any length of time. I can understand why King's X have a cult following – they're extremely good at what they do (heavy, slightly-proggy rock with multitracked vocals), but what they do isn't really my bag. With everything I've heard from King's X so far, I just wish it was more about the songs and less about the guitar. That said, I did like "Lost In Germany"'s guitar part.


The Steve Miller Band – "Things I Told You" (1982)

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Steve Miller goes New Wave. Ugh. Next.



Davy Jones – "Welcome To My Love" (1971)

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Wikipedia tells me that "Welcome To My Love" was the B-side of Davy's 1971 single "Rainy Jane". It sounds to me like every cringe-inducing Las Vegas lounge song ever recorded, the kind of thing that's been performed by every suit-wearing Las Vegas performer who ever lived. I honestly couldn't tell when the record was made, because the song is so drenched with cheese and saccharine that I lost all sense of musical eras. For all I know, it could have been recorded in the Fifties, the Sixties, the Seventies, the Eighties, and the Nineties simultaneously. My first guess was the 1960s – which shows you how much I've been following the career of Davy Jones. Regardless of my poor Davy Jones-related guessing skills, "Welcome To My Love" tips just a little too far into chirpy cheeky chappy territory for my liking. It sounds like young Mr Jones is grinning uncontrollably throughout the entire song, and I find that unsettling.



The Shoes – "I Can't Go Wrong" (1989)

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The first thing I noticed was how dated the production sounded. Any band – even a skinny tie band like The Shoes – that tries sound up-to-date instantly makes them sound dated because they're trapped in the sound of the time their track was recorded. Speaking of "dated", the verses in "I Can't Go Wrong" remind me of Dave Edmunds' "Girls Talk". Apart from a possible similarity to "Girls Talk", I can't really think of anything in particular to say about "I Can't Go Wrong" because I found it (warning: heresy alert), like all Shoes song I've heard, unremarkable. It comes, it goes, and as soon as it's finished I don't remember what I just heard. It's a problem I have with most skinny ties bands, including The Shoes.


Bonus instrumental:

Baja Marimba Band – "Georgy Girl" (1967)

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This track, although pleasantly cheesy, suffers from a distinct lack of Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger, and Bruce Woodley. For me, this version is a big miss. (Although I did like the drumming. It was very enthusiastic in the fills.)

Song of the day: Even - "Show Me Some Discipline"

Here's Even with a mighty decent cover of a Sunnyboys song:

Even - "Show Me Some Discipline" (2005)

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Here's the original:

Sunnyboys - "Show Me Some Discipline" (1981)

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I've already expressed my feelings about the Sunnyboys (I don't like 'em). Because of this, you probably won't be surprised that I think Even's version is a vast improvement.

Even official website
Even on MySpace
Sunnyboys on MySpace

Song of the day: Boom Crash Opera - "Great Wall"

Here's Boom Crash Opera with the irresistible* "Great Wall" (1986):


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Boom Crash Opera on MySpace

(*Well, I find it irresistible. However, as people from the land of Americans like to say: Your mileage may vary.)

Song of the day: Mississippi - "Will I?"

Here's Mississippi with "Will I?" (1974):


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If you listened to the song (and I hope you did), it may have occurred to you that it sounds a fair bit like early Little River Band.

It just so happens that in 1975 Mississippi added Glenn Shorrock as lead singer and changed their name to... well, I reckon you can guess.

Song of the day: Crossfire - "Youth In Asia"

For a few weeks some time ago, Tuesdays on this blog was reserved for hotshot instrumentalists. You may have been led to believe (by me) that I had officially retired Hotshot Instrumentalist Tuesday. I thought I had, too.

However, I just remembered a track by an Australian jazz-rock band that I really, really want to play you. (Really.)

The band is Crossfire, and they were active in the 80's. They held the distinction of being fairly unloved in Australia for two reasons: jazz fans thought they were too rocky; and rock fans thought they were too jazzy. As for me, I thought they were just right. They had fabulous musicianship, and their tracks had actual tunes in them. In other words, they weren't just showing off all the time – they were aware that people would want some music to listen to, not just instrumental prowess. The band was also fond of puns (as you'll see by the name of today's track).

Apart from everything mentioned in the previous paragraph, the main reason I'm playing you today's track (no, it's not to torture you) is to highlight Crossfire's bass player, Phil Scorgie. As far as I'm concerned, Phil Scorgie is the best bass player in Australia*.

As for the track itself, there are two things in it that I want to point out:

1. The absolutely killer riff starting at 3:20. What a riff.
2. Phil Scorgie's bass solo starting at 4:56. I loved it so much that I learned to play it. (It's what bass players do.) All those harmonics are great to play.

Anyway, here's Crossfire with "Youth In Asia" (1981). By the way, the track goes for 10 minutes, so if you're not particularly interested in it you may want to go and make a cup of coffee (the track will still be going when you come back):

Crossfire - "Youth In Asia" (1981)

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"Youth In Asia" appears on Crossfire's 1981 album, Hysterical Rochords. (They love Spoonerisms, too.)

Non-essential sidenote involving Wikipedia Weirdness: Wikipedia has an article about jazz in Australia, and Crossfire are mentioned. (Yay!) However, the link for the Australian jazz band called Crossfire on that page is actually for a glam metal band from Israel called Crossfire. (Non-yay!)

Okey dokey. I think that I'm now finished with hotshot instrumentalists on Tuesdays. I can't guarantee anything completely, but I'm pretty confident in saying that you probably won't be bothered by fancy-pants musicians here from now on. Maybe.

Phil Scorgie on MySpace

(*I know I've raved about Divinyls/Hoodoo Gurus bass player Rick Grossman before, but I think Rick is Australia's best rock bass player.)

Song of the day: The Sunshine Ponies - "If Our Days Are Numbered"

Here are The Sunshine Ponies with "If Our Days Are Numbered" (2010):


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The Sunshine Ponies is a labour of love for Scott Thurling (Hi, Scott!), the chap who runs Popboomerang Records. The band itself is actually a collection of Scott's musician friends (Hi, Scott's friends!) who wrote and performed the music to poems and lyrics supplied by Scott and his partner, Sarah (Hi, Sarah!).

The result is Mixtapes & Soundtracks, an album that's only just been released (actually, a couple of days ago). "If Our Days Are Numbered" is one of the album's 22 (!) tracks. You can listen to (and buy) the whole thing over at Bandcamp.

Song of the day: 1927 - "That's When I Think Of You"

My friend Col (Hi, Col!) has asked to hear a song by an Australian band from the 80's/90's that I'd completely forgotten about.

So...

Here's a band called 1927 and a song with a title that's pretty ironic considering how I haven't been thinking about this ditty for the last couple of decades:

1927 - "That's When I Think Of You" (1988)

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"That's When I Think Of You" appears on the band's debut album, ...ish (1989).

I remember liking the song when it came out*, and hearing it again after all these years, I still like it.

I'm not sure why, but "That's When I Think Of You" now reminds me a little of John Waite's "Missing You" (1984):


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It probably doesn't sound anything like it, but still it reminds me of the Waitemeister's song. (Maybe it's the steady beat. Who knows?)

(*No gay jokes, please.)

Song of the day: Blackfeather - "Seasons Of Change"

It's been a while since I played you some early-70's Australian prog rock (which is understandable, considering this is a power pop blog).

Nevertheless, here's Blackfeather with "Seasons Of Change" (1971) which features a very pretty tune played on a recorder:


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"Seasons Of Change" appears on Blackfeather's magnum opus, At The Mountains Of Madness (1971).

If you didn't know who played the recorder on that track (why would you?), I reckon you'd have a hard time guessing.

It was Bon Scott.

Yes, that Bon Scott.

Before joining a certain hard rock band and AC/DC-ifying the world with his vocals and magnificent frontmanliness, Bon was lead vocalist (and recorder player) of a prog rock band called Fraternity who knew the guys in Blackfeather (the early-70's Australian prog rock community was very small). Fraternity liked "Seasons Of Change" so much that they recorded their own version just a few months later, with Bon singing and playing recorder:

Fraternity - "Seasons Of Change" (1971)

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I may have already asked this rhetorical question before, but I'm going to ask it again:

Isn't music history fascinating?

Frank's Faves on Fridays

Gilbert O'Sullivan - "Get Down" (1973)

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I am incredibly glad that you suggested "Get Down". For me, this song can never be played often enough – or be too loud. I've always adored "Get Down", ever since I first heard it. And that verse! When Gilbert's singing the verse, is there a better tune in the known universe than that? (Possibly, but not when it's playing.) And, of course, the song's nowhere near long enough, so you have play it again. And again. And again. This is precisely the kind of song that reminds me why I loved AM radio in the Seventies so much.



The Tourists - "So Good To Be Back Home Again" (1980)

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I didn't mind this, but it's not a patch on my favourite Tourists track, their magnificent version of "I Only Want To Be With You" (1979):

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But "So Good To Be Back Home Again" is alright, I suppose. It just didn't grab me anywhere in particular.



The Fantastic Baggys - "Surfin' Craze" (1964)

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A jaw-droppingly shameless rip-off. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this song exists precisely because of the popularity of The Beach Boys. I know you're a big fan of The Beach Boys, so you're undoubtedly familiar with the very song that "Surfin' Craze" mercilessly references (i.e., the real thing).



Beverly Bremers - "Don't Say You Don't Remember" (1972)

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This is a song and an artist I'd never heard of before, and I'm extremely grateful to you for foisting it upon me. I loved it. I have to admit, though, that when the singing started, my first thought was "It's Little Donny Osmond!" but then it settled into a great Big Ballad, and not the kind that Hair Metal rockers created in the Eighties. As far as I'm concerned, "Don't Say You Remember" = excellent.



Bonus instrumental:

The Marketts - "Out Of Limits" (1963)

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What a weird surf guitar instrumental. It sound like the kind of thing I've heard before, but I don't ever remember hearing the names of the artist or the song (maybe all surf guitar music sounds similar to me). I was puzzled by that odd sound effect in the background. I thought it was an army of staplers, all stapling in synchronization. Weird.



I must say, Frank, that with this week's songs I'm exceedingly pleased with two of your choices. You scored a direct bullseye with "Get Down" (excuse me while I play it again), and the Beverly Bremers song was a revelation.

Splendid!

Song of the day: Regurgitator - "Polyester Girl"

This time last week I played you a song by Regurgitator. At the time I was torn between two Regurgitator songs to play you. I ended up going with "Happiness", a slightly psychedelic track. This week I thought I'd play you the other one. It's completely different, and hideously catchy:


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Official website
Regurgitator on MySpace

Song of the day: The Innocents - "The B-Side"

Here are The Innocents with "The B-Side" (1980):


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"The B-Side" was, rather appropriately, the B-side of "Sooner Or Later", their debut single as The Innocents. (Before then, they were known as Beathoven).

If you're wondering what the A-side sounded like, wonder no more...

[Song of the day – May 9, 2009]
The Innocents - "Sooner Or Later" (1980)

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The Innocents/Beathoven official website

Song of the day: Ashton, Gardner and Dyke - "Resurrection Shuffle"

Yesterday's song was a cover of "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (thanks for the suggestion, Googs!). The original version was recorded in 1971, and hearing it again got me in the mood for another track from that year:

Ashton, Gardner and Dyke - "Resurrection Shuffle" (1971)

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I like 1971.

There are plenty of covers versions of this splendid little ditty. In amongst the squillions of very ordinary ones I listened to for this post (oh, the sacrifice!), I did manage to find a few interesting ones.

Firstly, there's an Australian version. Jimmy Barnes teamed up with fellow Australian band, The Living End, on Jimmy's duets album Double Happiness (2005) and recorded a fairly frisky version:


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Next up, we have Tom Jones belting it out as only Tom Jones can:

Tom Jones - "Resurrection Shuffle" (1971)

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Moving further afield, here's Slovak big band dude Braňo Hronec & His Orchestra:

Braňo Hronec & His Orchestra - "Resurrection Shuffle" (1972)

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And finally, my favourite cover version of the song. It's by Troy Torino, a metal band from The Netherlands:

Troy Torino - "Resurrection Shuffle" (2008)

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Excellent.

Song of the day: The Party Boys - "He's Gonna Step On You Again"

I received an email by a friendly chap or chapette* by the name of Googs who asked me to play a track by Australian "good-time" (i.e., drinking beer and playing music loudly) band The Party Boys. No problem, Googs.

The Party Boys were a loose agglomeration of Australian and international rock music veterans who occasionally got together to play, drink, record, and drink. (Par-ty! Par-ty!)

So, here to help you stomp your way through the day (well, at least for four minutes) are those aforementioned good-time boys:

The Party Boys - "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (1987)

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Apart from the extra stomping, I don't think the PBs' version sounds terribly different from the original by John Kongos:

John Kongos - "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (1971)

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Although plenty of artists have recorded the song, I won't waste your time with all of the international ones. I'll just pester you with the Australian ones...

In addition to the one by The Party Boys, there's one by an Adelaide punk band:

Exploding White Mice - "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (1987)

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And there's one by an 80's girl group:

Chantoozies - "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (1987)

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I only managed to get through about 17 seconds of the Chantoozies version.

By the way, if there's an artist or song you'd like to hear, just give me a hoy. I'm eager to play requests. (I'll play anything.)

(*It's a little difficult to tell the gender of someone who call themselves "Googs".)

Song of the day: Barry Ryan - "Eloise"

Here's English singer Barry Ryan with the monumentally, stupendously, ridiculously – and wonderfully – melodramatic "Eloise" (1968):


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I love the demented vocalising at the very start of the song. Unfortunately, whenever the song was played on the radio that demented vocalising couldn't be heard because it was blocked out by the voices of radio announcers who had no idea that it was pure sacrilege to talk over any part of this track.

By the way, the insensitivity of radio announcers reminds me of a comment a radio producer once made about commercial radio: "Music is what we play in between the ads." Yes, indeedy.

Weird fact: "Eloise" was written by Barry's identical twin brother Paul.

(Thanks to Col for suggesting "Eloise". I hadn't heard it in years and had completely forgotten about it. I'm glad there are people like Col around to remind me.)

Song of the day: The Richies - "Fallen Stars"

Here are The Richies, a Melbourne band who appear to worship a certain Scottish band, with their jangle-and-harmony-drenched "Fallen Stars" (2003):



"Fallen Stars" opens The Richies' only album, Forever & Today (2003), which is available in a few places (see the end of this post).

When I first heard "Fallen Stars" I was amazed at how much the background singer sounded like my brother (Hi, Anthony!). I was convinced that he had darted off to Melbourne at some stage to record with them. (When the singing starts, the background vocal sounds exactly like my brother.) I've now come to realise that it wasn't my brother (Hey, Anthony, how's it goin'?), but in all probability an actual member of The Richies instead. I have to admit that I'm still not entirely convinced, though, because it sure does sound like that brother of mine (love your Facebook picture, brother).

Buy Forever & Today at Bandcamp
Buy Forever & Today at Popboomerang Records
Buy Forever & Today at CD Baby)

Song of the day: Crowded House - "Mean To Me"

I won't embarrass you (or anyone else) by gushing about this song, but I will say that I think it might just be one of Neil Finn's best efforts*:

Crowded House - "Mean To Me" (1986)

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Crowded House official website
Crowded House on MySpace

(*It's definitely in his top 50.)

Frank's Faves on Fridays

Terry Black - "Baby's Gone" (1966)

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I liked this a lot, but I kept thinking it would sound much better sung by a girl (as in "a girl singer from the 60's"), because I reckon it'd make a great torch song. Why can't I find any cover versions of this sung by a girl? Grrr. (Or maybe that should be Grrrl.*)



The Move - "Curly" (1969)

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I honestly don't know how to respond to either "Curly" or The Move. I know that I'm supposed to absolutely adore it because it's by The Move, and I'm supposed to love The Move even more. (One music critic I like, George Starostin, goes into paroxysms when talking about Roy Wood and The Move: "Wood was, no doubt about it, one of the most brilliant musical geniuses of his epoch" etc) However, I like the song. I like The Move. I like Roy Wood, but I don't actually think the band (or Roy) were all that revolutionary. Sure, their instrumentation was occasionally odd (you can thank Roy's imagination for that), but to me that's irrelevant – what matters to me, as always, is the song itself. "Curly" is pleasant, but I don't think it's the work of brilliant musical geniuses. (Or maybe the plural of that is "genii".) For me, I'll describe "Curly" in a word that has the unfortunate habit of damning with faint praise: it's "pleasant".




The Coasters - "Shake 'Em Up And Let 'Em Roll" (1968)

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I hadn't heard this before. I didn't mind it, but I can imagine The Band doing a cracking version of this song.



Gene Vincent - "Lotta Lovin'" (1957)

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One Elvis clone. I'd always thought that Gene Vincent was Gene: Leather-Clad Individualist. This song, however, throws that notion out the window. Unfortunately for Gene, "Lotta Lovin'" reminds me of one of my favourite Elvis songs, "Stuck On You" (1960):

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(I've never been much of an Elvis fan, but everything – and I mean every single thing – about "Stuck On You" is utterly, completely, and totally irresistible to me. And Elvis's singing in the middle eight makes my brain perform cartwheels.)



Bonus instrumental:



The T-Bones - "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach Is In)" (1965)

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Groovy. I like it a lot. (Update: I've heard it a few more times now. I've also found out that it was originally an ad for Alka-Seltzer. I now officially Love This Song.)

(*Sorry about that.)

Song of the day: Regurgitator - "Happiness"

Here's Regurgitator with the slightly trippy "Happiness" (1999):


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Official website
Regurgitator on MySpace

Song of the day: Michael Carpenter - "Can't Go Back"

Here's the irrepressible Michael Carpenter with "Can't Go Back" (2009):


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"Can't Go Back" appears on Michael's latest solo album, Redemption #39 (2009). If you like your power pop a little rootsy, I reckon you'll like the album. (Plus, it's only ten bucks so you can't really go wrong.)

Michael Carpenter on MySpace

Song of the day: A band - "Only Lonely"

Here's one of my favourite Australian bands from the 80's with a song I've already raved about in a previous post (it was a bonus track there) but have no compunction about playing again:

A band - "Only Lonely" (1983)

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"Only Lonely" appeared on the US version of the band's debut album, Desperate (1983).

By the way, there's an earlier version of the song. It appeared a year earlier on the band's mini-LP, Music From Monkey Grip (1982), a collection of six tracks used in the film Monkey Grip. The only major difference that I can spot between the two versions is the bass playing (well I would, I suppose, considering I'm a bass player). In between their mini-LP and debut album the Divinyls recruited Rick Grossman for bass duties, so that would explain the difference in the track's bass-ness. If nothing else was different about the two versions of the song*, then I guess when the band went into the studio to record the album, they took Rick aside and said "Rick, baby – we've got a song already recorded and we want to put it on the album, so how about we scrub the original bass part and you record yours? Maaaaate... it won't take you long. Waddyareckon? Rick? Baby? [Pause] You can? Great! Maaaaate... we knew we could count on ya."

Here's the earlier version:

A band - "Only Lonely" (1982)

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And here's a live version (I can't stay away from this song):



(*Having had another listen to the tracks, I can hear that the drums are different, too. So maybe it was completely re-recorded.)

Song of the day: Even - "Karmic Flop"

Here's Even with the opening track from their debut album:

Even - "Karmic Flop" (1996)

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Not a bad way to introduce yourself.

Official website
Even on MySpace

Song of the day: Johnny Farnham - "Rose Coloured Glasses"

Here's Johnny Farnham with the gorgeous "Rose Coloured Glasses" (1968):


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There may not be much more to the song than that tune in the chorus, but what a tune!

Incidentally, I don't quite know what Johnny is playing at, wearing those sunglasses in the video. As far as I know, it's the only time he's ever been seen performing wearing sunglasses, and I find it a little puzzling why he chose this particular song to put on the shades. Maybe he thought they looked like rose-coloured glasses. (They don't.) Maybe he was going for a Roy Orbison look. Or maybe he was just trying to look cool and groovy. But I don't know of any time that Johnny was ever cool (or groovy), not even after he had a career makeover in the 80's and emerged as the all-grown-up, FM-friendly John Farnham. Because of his ever-cheerful and friendly demeanour, Johnny/John's always been every Australian mother's favourite son. However, I don't think every Australian mother would have approved of those sunglasses. ("Take those things off, Johnny! We can't see your lovely eyes.")

(Thanks to Col for suggesting the song.)

Song of the day: Neon - "New Direction"

Here's the difficult-to-Google Neon with "New Direction" (2005):


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Although I've already played you songs from their only* album on four separate occasions, I think it's a great album and have no trouble at all pestering you relentlessly with yet another track from it. Honestly, I could play you pretty much any song from it, as each song is an album highlight. (Love that album.)

(*So far. Although the band have broken up, I'm really hoping they release another album. Really, really, really.)

Song of the day: Bubblerock: "Satisfaction"

This is without a doubt the oddest version of this particular song that I have ever heard:

Bubblepop - "Satisfaction" (1974)

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And I love it.

My favourite cover version of that rather well-known Rolling Stones ditty used to be the one by Devo, but this version by Bubblerock manages to be even weirder than Devo's, and therefore automatically gets my vote as Best Ever Cover Version Of A Rolling Stone Song.

I found out that Bubblerock is the alter-ego of Jonathan King, the chap who helped launch the careers of artists as diverse as 10cc, the Bay City Rollers, and Genesis. That's one nice pedigree you've got there, Jonathan.

I also found out via Wikipedia that:

"In 1979 the pop impresario Jonathan King scored a minor hit single under the pseudonym Father Abraphart and the Smurps entitled 'Lick a Smurp for Christmas (All Fall Down)', a parody of Father Abraham and the Smurfs."

Yes, indeedy:

Father Abraphart and the Smurps - "Lick a Smurp for Christmas (All Fall Down)" (1979)

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