Name your price, I'll take you to paradise...
When I started to think about doing a blog, the primary purposes is to keep a running commentary of things that make up the twostepcub, like culture, politics, but most importantly, music. Back in the day when I started a webpage, I devoted a page to record reviews of CD's I had listened to, as a kind of a fun "let's pretend I can write for Rolling Stone" thing. The problem is, it's quite a bear to update it without jumping through all sorts of hoops. This blog will hopefully shine some light to some people on some music you haven't ever heard of, or maybe stir up something that you haven't heard in awhile. Now I can start with one of the classics, like Revolver or Nevermind, but why go easy. Behold.
(And oh, man, does the picture look like the first gay couple at the prom, ever...)
For those of you not born before 1980, the 70's was a time where the cheesiest and most uber-sensitive music was not only put out, but getting big time sales. A land where the Captain & Tennille-asaur, and Neil Sedarchaeopteryx ruled the world. But CHEESY doesn't necessarily mean BAD. And on this and upcoming posts, I'll hopefully guide you between the Velveeta and the Stilton. I'm still getting the hang of the blogging "thing", and hopefully I'll be posting soundclips soon, but for now if you're interested about something either allmusic.com or one of the bookstore sites (Bn.com, amazon, etc.) or even I-Tunes can let you listen to a snippet pretty snappy. And hey, if you likey, buy something.
"England Dan and John Ford Coley" were part of a string of lite rock duos (read Hall & Oates, Seals & Crofts, Loggins & Messina, America et al...) that sort of bubbled around in the decade. Dan Seals is now more known as a country artist (Bop with you baby...), while, Coley (actually Colley) is ...well...is I actually don't know. Rhino's best of (as with most of their "best of's " in similar packaging) is the best concentration of hearing the best they had to offer, which surprised me to be truthful. I mean I remember "I'd Really Like To See You Tonight" from any number of doctor visits or beach afternoons with the folks. Hearing it again, of course without the AM radio speaker, made me double take it. I mean, beyond the totally Barry Manilow piano intro, this is basically song about the big A word. Of course, you couldn't just SAY it, so with it pretty little euphemisms goes to promise that he basically doesn't feel like a relationship, he just wants to get with her for "A little while". Of course beyond that, it's striking for it's conversational lyrical style, like we've caught him in a middle of a phone conversation. It almost reminds me of how the Spinner's "I'll Be Around" was written, like we're put right in the middle of a scene of a movie. Of course everything comes full circle and Barry Manilow ended up covering the song in the 90's.
As big of a hit that song was, ED&JFC surprisingly hit the US top ten 3 more times. "Nights Are Forever Without You", written by Parker McGee, the man who wrote "I'd Really Like...", is basically an all-out cryfest. Do NOT listen to this after a bad breakup. (Why is this my favorite song on the album then? Color me melancholy.) "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" is another romantic ballad, very America-like but not very memorable. However the song that REALLY came in a new light was their last big hit, "Love Is The Answer". I mean, Todd Rundgren, king of all that is power-pop, wrote this song, originally on a hidden Utopia album. Listening to it again, you can definitely hear his style, from the oblique chords to the stirring lite-gospel background singers (very much reminding me of Jefferson Starship's "With Your Love").
The rest of the songs include every one of their charting singles save one (one that only hit #75, no less...). The best of the rest include "It's Sad To Belong" (a song about temptation), "Soldier In The Rain" (a song about returning war vets), and "The Prisoner" (a song about the leader of their religious sect, the Baha'i faith. The least essential are "Gone Too Far" and "Why Is It Me", which aren't bad per se, but a little same samey in the mix, and "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart", which suffers a little from the faux-disco production more than anything else. However all and all these 16 songs give a satisfying glimpse into some of the best of this genre of pop music.
Grade: B
Classic Songs: I'd Really Like To See You Tonight, Nights Are Forever Without You, Love Is The Answer
(And oh, man, does the picture look like the first gay couple at the prom, ever...)
For those of you not born before 1980, the 70's was a time where the cheesiest and most uber-sensitive music was not only put out, but getting big time sales. A land where the Captain & Tennille-asaur, and Neil Sedarchaeopteryx ruled the world. But CHEESY doesn't necessarily mean BAD. And on this and upcoming posts, I'll hopefully guide you between the Velveeta and the Stilton. I'm still getting the hang of the blogging "thing", and hopefully I'll be posting soundclips soon, but for now if you're interested about something either allmusic.com or one of the bookstore sites (Bn.com, amazon, etc.) or even I-Tunes can let you listen to a snippet pretty snappy. And hey, if you likey, buy something.
"England Dan and John Ford Coley" were part of a string of lite rock duos (read Hall & Oates, Seals & Crofts, Loggins & Messina, America et al...) that sort of bubbled around in the decade. Dan Seals is now more known as a country artist (Bop with you baby...), while, Coley (actually Colley) is ...well...is I actually don't know. Rhino's best of (as with most of their "best of's " in similar packaging) is the best concentration of hearing the best they had to offer, which surprised me to be truthful. I mean I remember "I'd Really Like To See You Tonight" from any number of doctor visits or beach afternoons with the folks. Hearing it again, of course without the AM radio speaker, made me double take it. I mean, beyond the totally Barry Manilow piano intro, this is basically song about the big A word. Of course, you couldn't just SAY it, so with it pretty little euphemisms goes to promise that he basically doesn't feel like a relationship, he just wants to get with her for "A little while". Of course beyond that, it's striking for it's conversational lyrical style, like we've caught him in a middle of a phone conversation. It almost reminds me of how the Spinner's "I'll Be Around" was written, like we're put right in the middle of a scene of a movie. Of course everything comes full circle and Barry Manilow ended up covering the song in the 90's.
As big of a hit that song was, ED&JFC surprisingly hit the US top ten 3 more times. "Nights Are Forever Without You", written by Parker McGee, the man who wrote "I'd Really Like...", is basically an all-out cryfest. Do NOT listen to this after a bad breakup. (Why is this my favorite song on the album then? Color me melancholy.) "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" is another romantic ballad, very America-like but not very memorable. However the song that REALLY came in a new light was their last big hit, "Love Is The Answer". I mean, Todd Rundgren, king of all that is power-pop, wrote this song, originally on a hidden Utopia album. Listening to it again, you can definitely hear his style, from the oblique chords to the stirring lite-gospel background singers (very much reminding me of Jefferson Starship's "With Your Love").
The rest of the songs include every one of their charting singles save one (one that only hit #75, no less...). The best of the rest include "It's Sad To Belong" (a song about temptation), "Soldier In The Rain" (a song about returning war vets), and "The Prisoner" (a song about the leader of their religious sect, the Baha'i faith. The least essential are "Gone Too Far" and "Why Is It Me", which aren't bad per se, but a little same samey in the mix, and "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart", which suffers a little from the faux-disco production more than anything else. However all and all these 16 songs give a satisfying glimpse into some of the best of this genre of pop music.
Grade: B
Classic Songs: I'd Really Like To See You Tonight, Nights Are Forever Without You, Love Is The Answer
Comments