Couldn’t Get It Right by Climax Blues Band (Sire, 1977)

Ah the good ol’ days – when a record company would let you record a bunch albums and give you time to find your breakout hit. It took the Climax Blues Band until their 9th LP (5th with Sire Records) to finally hit the pop charts with Couldn’t Get It Right which hit #3 in early 1977. But by the time that happened, this UK band, formally named the Climax Chicago Blues Band, neither reminded anyone of Chicago and the climax never came. All that was left was the blues.

This song was written, like so many are, by being forced by the record company to write a hit, so they accidentally do. [Wait, that does contradict my opening statement, doesn't it?] It’s a story that talks about the band on the road and their experiences, especially with New York & L.A. Their comparison of the 2 cities is actually something they did get right. In N.Y. they were a no account fatality and in L.A. they were felt alright, got down, almost drowned and can’t get back they way they used to be. That sounds right for 1977. Even Wood Allen would agree with that one, and did later in the year with Annie Hall.

One nice touch in the song is the vocals. One goes high, the other goes low, especially when he drowwwwwned. [I think Lenny Kravitz built a lot of his vocal style from that note, and of course Curtis Mayfield and Ray Parker Jr.] And you gotta dig that the lead vocalist was also a sax player. The dual vocals, an octave apart, became a distinctive part of the CBB sound. The only other band I can think of that regularly utilized that singing style was Squeeze.

But really I think these guys are being too hard on themselves. What they can’t get right is trying to get through the night. Guys, it’s OK, you can rest – go to sleep. Or is that light you’re looking for, a Motel 6 and you keep missing the exit?

 

Hocus Pocus by Focus (Sire, 1973)

How can you not get amped listening to this song? How many Dusters exceeded the speed limit when this popped up on the radio? How did it take FIFA almost 40 years to include it on a soccer ad? [Probably wanted to avoid the eventual riot.] I mean, how can you go wrong with huge power chords followed by mini drum solos with in between breaks that include yodeling, whistling, a flute solo and an accordion solo? That’s about the only thing that gives it away that we’re dealing with a band from the Netherlands. They might as well have recorded the sound of a windmill shooshing or a leaky dike.

I would be very surprised if that flute solo from Thijs van Leer didn’t inspire Will Ferrell’s performance in Anchorman during the nightclub scene. It sounds crazy and menacing and ridiculous, almost demonic. Maybe it was too over the top for The Exorcist soundtrack, but it wasn’t too far off.

Trying to find the origin of this single is another matter, one of many contradicting tales and various record labels. In fact it’s hard to figure out which version we were even listening to. Was this Hocus Pocus I or II? I think it was II, but released in the US as simply Hocus Pocus. To say there was nothing like it on the radio was an understatement.

The most consistent version of the son’s origin comes from guitarist Jan Akkerman, who said they just created it as a joke, kinda making fun of a lot serious progressive rock bands. [A joke... where have we heard that before?] Laugh, laugh, laugh, it did, all the way up into the Top 10 in the Summer of 1973. Maybe it was so popular because DJs loved saying, “Here’s Hocus Pocus by Focus. It’s so loud, it woke us.”

 

Gold by John Stewart (RSO, 1979)

The man who was a member of the Kingston Trio in the early 60s and wrote the Monkees’ #1 hit, Daydream Believer came from out of nowhere and placed a Top 5 hit in the summer of 1979. John Stewart might not have been a name most people were familiar with, especially pop music fans. He hung around the folk circles and recorded solid but mostly unsuccessful LPs throughout the 70s. Until one day he hooked up with Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nick, who were still riding a ridiculous high from their 1977 domination due to the Fleetwood Mac LP, Rumours. Any sighting of a Mac member was instant news and just about anything they touched turned to….yup, gold.

That’s not to say John didn’t write a good song to begin with. Actually I would loved to have heard an acoustic version of Gold. It’s a very basic song with simple lyrics. But the production gives it a very late-night spooky feel. There’s not much even there, just an electric piano, snare & bass drum, electric guitar strumming in the distance. The arrangement is so sparse, it feels like the song is just going to disappear. The song breaks down, then that bass drum kicks in on the 1-2-3-4 and of we go again. You gotta love those harmony vocals by Stevie Nicks. It sounds like she’s drunk or she’s agreed to one take and then she needs to go meet her dealer.

They capture the feel perfectly of driving at night through the California lights. John pops his guitar in the car, excited for that next gig and speeds off. His buddy, Jim Bass, works pumping gas at a gas station. Don’t see that nowadays, except if you’re in New Jersey. Dude makes $2.50 hr…really? Sounds like Navin Johnson in the Jerk. The guy spends his days tapping our rhythms on gas cans and singing rock & roll in the shower. Is this supposed to be inspirational or pathetic? I guess there’s people out there turning music into gold, but Jim Bass ain’t one of them. The one line I will agree with is California girls are the greatest in the world, each one a song in the making. To which, Brian Wilson replies, ‘Duh!’.

Ironically even though this hit #5 and his LP, Bombs Away Dream Babies hit the Top 10, neither turned to Gold. As a consolation, he was mistaken for Garry Shandling once in a while.

 

Love The One You’re With by Stephen Stills (Atlantic, 1971)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were a folk supergroup sensation in the late 60s/early 70s, with 4 distinct personalities, destined to split he band apart. Personalities? I meant egos. Neil Young had to leave and start his Hall of Fame career and create music for the guys in Pearl Jam to grow up to. Graham Nash, having played with The Hollies, then CSN, decided to conquer another lucrative profession: collecting photographs [that's not a joke...look it up] David Crosby decided to move on to keeping many Mexican drug cartels in business and fathering a lesbian couple’s child..or two. And then there was Stephen Stills.

Wow, the ego on this guy, writing a song about free love and putting into the mainstream. There’s nothing wrong with loving the one you’re with, except that Stephen suggests, nay, says you should IF you can’t be with the one you love. But if you can be with the one you love, who do you love then? This theory was later put into use in the 80s as the Sam Malone technique. But I guess the chics fell for it. Was this really the way a lot of people felt back then? Was free love more of a fantasy that’s grown into a mythic memory rather than a reality? Or was it that the drugs made everyone really horny?

Either way, Stephen’s song owes a lot of it’s success due to its sing-song quality. You can imagine folks sitting around a campfire singing along at least on the chorus. [Let's hope no one broke this out during Boy Scout sleepovers or Church retreats.] And that’s quite a feat considering that the lyrics are sung like they were made up on the spot.

If you’re down and confused
And you don’t remember who you’re talkin’ to
Concentration slip away
Cause your baby is so far away.

Basically Stephen knows you’re tripping, stoned, whatever and he’s laying the groundwork for your cheating excuse.

Well, there’s a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can’t be with the one you love
Love the one you’re with

This is the lyrical equivalent to a smokescreen. Such as, when you do get caught cheating, you just go ‘Baby there’s a rose in a fisted glove…the man is bringing us down.’

Don’t be angry, don’t be sad,
Don’t sit cryin’ over good things you’ve had,
There’s a girl right next to you
And she’s just waiting for something you do.

But please don’t offer to talk with her or watch TV or even play Boggle. Nope, just screw her. She’s waiting. Come on, you got the Stills stamp of approval.

Turn your heartache right into joy

Extra points, if her name is Joy

She’s a girl, you’re a boy.
Get it together, make it nice.
Ain’t gonna need anymore advice.

So if you’re feeling down and you’re bored, take a look to your left, grab the first female you see and get it on. So saith, Lord of Love, Sir Stephen Stills. By the way, stay away from daughter. And watch out for that fisted glove…..

 

My Eyes Adored You by Frankie Valli (Private Stock, 1975)

Kenny Nolan was a struggling songwriter for many years. He fortunes changed dramatically when he hooked up with producer Bob Crewe in 1973. Crewe was most famous for producing and co-writing hits for the Four Seasons. So naturally when the two got together they pitched a song to the Four Seasons to help them get back on the charts. The group recorded it but their label, MoWest rejected it and sent them packing, but not before they sold the song back to Frankie Valli, who knew he had a smash on his hands. Believe it or not, the guys behind Sherry, Rag Doll, Candy Girl and other huge 60s hits were rejected by tons of labels. Until one day Frankie found the small start-up label, Private Stock Records was willing to take a chance and release it. The only catch was that they wanted Frankie to release it as a solo single.

Frankie relented and put it out and in March of 1975, he had his first #1 solo single. Not only that the sound of Frankie’s voice on the radio prompted the Four Seasons to reform and record an album and all of a sudden, Frankie was juggling two careers. Things got crazy for Nolan too, who had his Get Dancing by Disco Tex hit the Top 10 in February of 1975, and then had My Eyes Adored You replaced at #1 by another Crewe/Nolan composition, Lady Marmalade. A hot 1975 for all!

The song is a very touching ballad sung in retrospect by a guy who remembers a crush he had on a girl in the 5th grade, the girl he left behind to head for the city lights. But I always have to laugh at the opening couplet:

My eyes adored you
Though I never laid my hands on you

Sounds like the guy is giving a confessional on Law & Order. Dude you were in the 6th grade. What were you expecting to have happen? Is this a statement or a warning?

Another one of my favorite lines is:

Walking home every day
Over Barnegat Bridge and Bay

First of all, until I sang karaoke I know no idea what the line was. Second, that line is incredibly awkward, but Frankie handles it smoothly. Third and most important, where the hell did these kids live? They had to cross a 1200 ft long bridge to an isolated peninsula on their way home, every day? And he was carrying her books too. No wonder only his eyes adored her. He was probably too tired to do anything else anyway.

One additional fact about Frankie Valli. He suffered from otosclerosis, which is an abnormal growth of a bone in the inner ear, which leads to hearing loss. He was nearly deaf by the mid-70s , until surgery helped him regain his hearing. Up until this song he was singing from memory. This may have been one of his recordings where he could actually hear the music he was singing along with.

 

I Just Wanna Stop by Gino Vannelli (A&M, 1978)

Gino Vannelli is the funkiest Italian you will ever meet, hands down the funkiest Canadian Italian. He made his TV debut on Soul Train, so Don must have thought he was down. He was single-handedly carrying the prog jazz WestCoast sound throughout the 70s until his big Top 5 breakthrough ballad, I Just Wanna Stop. He even name checks Montreal. How many other American hits have mentioned that pleasant but boring Quebec city? [Sorry Montreal. I don't mean to diss you. I have visited your fine city and find it very beautiful, but unmemorable. The only things I remember about Montreal are the Expos used to play there, this song and that you built an airport way too big for your city.] Hey, even Gino had strange thoughts when he thought about those Montreal nights as he basked away in the L.A. smog.

Gino was not successful on his own. He had his brothers Joe & Ross in tow, who produced & arranged the music with Gino as Joe played all the keyboards. Joe’s jazzy keyboard arrangements against Gino’s theatric vocals are one of the reasons that I love his music. But rather than call themselves the Vannelli 3 or Milli Vannelli, they let Gino take the spotlight. Most likely because he had the best voice or was the hairiest, one of the two.

Actually it was the former reason. Gino had a very serious soulful delivery, but showed his tender side on this song. I love the fact people were probably getting it on to this song. That makes me laugh every time I hear it, especially when he sings STOP and everything stops for a second before kicking back in. Did that drop out throw off anyone’s rhythm? Were those background singers warbling their Yardbird-ish For Your Loves more taunting than soothing? If your rhythm was sketchy to begin with, you probably got all flustered by the time the sax solo came in and tried to go faster to catch up.

Obviously this song is about a woman that Gino was with but can’t be with anymore, I guess, because of life and times and the way world must turn. Maybe she was just tired of pulling chest hairs out of her teeth….just a thought.

 

TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) By MFSB (Philadelphia International, 1974)

Chicago DJ, Don Cornelius created one of the longest running musical variety shows ever on TV. In fact it’s the longest running syndicated show ever spanning 35 years. That it was a black owned, black run TV show aimed specifically for a black audience featuring soul music that crossed over into mainstream America in the 70s is nothing short of a miracle. The only African-American performers you might have seen on TV before Soul Train were limited to Harry Belafonte & Sammy Davis Jr. They gave a voice to rising soul stars like Al Green, funkers like War & Kool & the Gang, supporting veterans like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder & Aretha Franklin as they moved to the mature part of their careers. It took soul music into the living rooms of America. They created a disco group from 3 of its dancers (Shalamar) and became the show to learn the latest dance moves. American Bandstand was where you watched people dance. Soul Train was where you watched people get down.

The original theme to the show was Hot Potatoes by King Curtis, but host Don Cornelius wanted something hot & fresh & original as Soul Train’s theme. In 1973, he approached the two men who were in the midst of creating their own genre, Philly Soul. Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, the architects of the Philadelphia house of soul, where artists such as the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The Stylistics, the Spinners and many others were conquering the charts with one amazing hit after another. It made sense to Don that they would create the new theme to Soul Train.

And they did. And it should have been formally called the Soul Train theme. But Don was protective of his trademark, so when Gamble & Huff wanted to release it as single credited to the Philly Soul house band, MFSB, they changed the title to The Sound of Philadelphia (or TSOP). By all accounts it was the perfect name for the track even though Don admitted later he should have loosened up and had his Soul Train name on the record.

Nevertheless this funky instrumental went to #1 in April of 1974. It was surprisingly their only Top 40 hit, although they had lots of great jams, such as Sexy or the disco classic, Love Is The Message. And while most credit Rock The Boat as the first #1 disco single, this is the one that should have gotten the credit. If you are feeling down, this is the perfect song to lift you up. And if it doesn’t make you move, call a doctor.

Wherever you are Don, I hope you’re having a stone gas….Peace, love & soooooooul!

 

Day After Day by Badfinger (Apple, 1972)

The sad story of British band, Badfinger has been well documented, mostly illustrated by the suicides of founders Tom Evans & Pete Ham. To me the writing was on the wall with this 45, Day After Day, written by Pete, backed by Money written by Tom. Without meaning to disparage the members or the details of the band’s history, you could play both sides of this 45 and begin to understand each man’s fears realized. Pete, not knowing how to carry on in a band wrought with financial problems and having a new child on the way, took his own life in 1975. Tom, trying to keep his band & career afloat, burdened by the death of his friend and his ongoing fights over royalties, killed himself in 1983.

This may be a simplistic approach and I don’t mean to lazily connect the dots. I just see this song as two men’s vulnerabilities out on the table, buttons for one who dared to push. That person was Stan Polley, the band’s manager. It turned out that most of the band’s money went to an escrow and when the record company, namely Warner Bros after they left Apple, which was also financially messed up, looked for the money, it was gone. This caused a chain reaction wherein Warner Bros ceased promotion for a new LP, which meant the band couldn’t work and instead would pile up legal bills, leading to the band’s demise as well as Pete’s.

The song itself, though is beautiful and has always been one of my favorites of 70s pop. George Harrison had begun production on it and played slide guitar licks, doubling with Pete. It even featured Leon Russell on piano. But the Bangladesh concert interfered with George’s production schedule, so the tapes were handed over to Todd Rundgren. The song you hear is because of Todd’s work, not George’s, although GH gets the credit. The lyrics are sung in this heartbreaking way wherein a line like ‘I remember finding out about you…’ which should sound angry just sounds desperate and deflating. I’ve heard that this song was about finding out his girlfriend was pregnant. If so, then damn, poor kid. I sure hope my father wasn’t ‘looking out on [his] lonely gloom’ when I was conceived.

The song reached the Top 5 in early 1972 and somehow someway touched something inside of me which connected me to this guy’s loneliness.

 

Maybe I’m Amazed by Wings (Capitol, 1977)

Of all the Solo Beatles work, I’ve always gravitated to Paul’s the most. He was definitely the most prolific, releasing an average of an LP each year during the 70s and racking up 27 Top 40 hits with of them #1s. He definitely wrote the catchiest songs of the 4. And while Let Em In isn’t Yesterday, it sure isn’t Bangla-Desh or Woman Is The Nigger Of The World. Paul is a pop music songsmith – always was, always will be.

Yet some critics held Paul to a higher standard based on his Beatles output (or at least their nostalgia of the Beatlemania). A tune like My Love, which hit #1 for 4 weeks in 1973, just wasn’t good enough for most people. They said Paul was too soft. He lost his edge. He was writing a love song for his wife – what’s the big deal, people? Paul kinda shrugged it off, but decided to respond via song and wrote Silly Love Songs, asking, Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs and what’s wrong with that? The song reached #1 in 1976…for 5 weeks! That’s how good Paul was. He could diss you with a bigger hit.

For me though, Paul was at his best when he wrote love songs about Linda and none was better than Maybe I’m Amazed. It was first recorded on his debut solo LP, McCartney back in 1970. When Wings went out on their tour across America, Paul serenaded the crowds and his wife with this ballad. They released it as a 45 in late 1976 from the Wings Over America live triple album and hit the Top 10 in 1977. Whereas Paul’s original version was short and simple, the 1976 version had more muscle and soul, provided by Jimmy McCulloch’s guitar solos and Paul absolutely singing his heart out.

Through my years, as a child listening to this song with a stereo speaker pressed near a window, laying in the backyard grass as the sun dappled through our forsythia bush, to standing front & center in a Lexington, Kentucky arena in 1990 watching Paul serenade his wife once more in front of my eyes, to sharing the song with my wife when we first met 20 years ago, to hearing the refrain echo in my head as I watched my daughter enter this world, this song will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you, Paul.

 

Whatever Gets You Thru The Night By John Lennon (Apple, 1974)

If you didn’t think John Lennon could get funky, here’s your proof. Perhaps trying to live down his rep as the serious Beatle, Lennon recorded and released this track as the first cut from his Walls & Bridges LP. He had some help from Elton John who played pianos and sang harmony vocals as well as a much needed looser Stones-like feel [probably due to Rolling Stones cohort, Bobby Keys, ripping it on sax]. Elton, who was racking up hit after hit, was convinced that the song was a #1. John didn’t think so and being the only Beatle without a #1, probably was feeling a sorry for himself as well.

Nevertheless Elton made a bet with John that if the 45 went to #1, John would have to play with Elton live at one of his shows. John figured why not. If he has a #1 song and he has to play a show with Elton John, that might actually be fun. {John didn’t do many live shows at this point, Paul too for that matter] Not sure what would have happened if the song stalled at #2 or lower. Would Elton John have to do a piano ballad about the plight of the world without smiling or outlandish costumes. Then that would’ve been a bit. Bash old Elton – only 3= years from his career-jumpstarting stint at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and here he was making records and bets with Winston O’Boogie. Must have been the coke that gave him such balls. [Winston was pseudonym John Lennon used when he played guitar o Elton's cover of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, #1 in early 1975]

Here’s another reason why Lennon might have boogied a bit more those days – he was in the middle of his “lost weekend”. For us laymen that might be a night or weekend; for John it was about 18 months. John was making more headlines getting drunk with Ringo & Harry Nilsson (and occasionally, Bobby Keys) than he was making music. Walls & Bridges was created in the middle of this debauchery and within a another year, he would reunite with Yoko Ono, put music on hold and raise his son, Sean.

On November 28th, John made good on his word and joined Elton on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York and played 3 songs: Whatever…, Lucy… and I Saw Her Standing There. It was his last public appearance on stage and in 6 short years from that concert, Lennon would be gone.