,,Sid [Vicious] was a good singer, he was a great front man", pre-show Glen Matlock matter-of-factly informs a somewhat sceptical and puzzled yours truly about his clearly musically-challenged, albeit more (in)famous successor, in, arguably, the greatest Punk band of them all, the Sex Pistols. Understandably though, he isn't quite so kind when it comes to discussing Sid's bass-playing abilities, or lack thereof; Matlock, in spite of having left the Pistols, played bass on their seminal, sole masterpiece, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" - without receiving the credit for doing so at the time. All the while - briefly - Vicious took the glory and the fame and became the face of Punk before succumbing to the life and, ultimately, death of a sad and pathetic heroin addict-cum-(most likely)murderer.
But that's an entirely different story altogether.
Meanwhile...
Spot, Kópavogur, Iceland, Thursday May 8th, 2014.
In between typically zealous sets from two locally-legendary Icelandic Punk acts Q4U and Fræbbblarnir, Glen Matlock, formerly of the Sex Pistols, and the Rich Kids, takes the stage delivering an impassioned acoustic gig to an overall indifferent and under appreciative audience, most of which clearly doesn't realize it is being treated to a performance by a living bloody legend. IMHO.
Taking in all the major signposts of his career, from the Pistols to some of his latter-day solo stuff, Matlock's repertoire is a diverse beast, to say the least.
From the underrated Rich Kids, the massively misunderstood Power Pop band he formed after he left the Pistols - featuring, amongst others, former Slik and future Ultravox singer Midge Ure - both "Burning Sounds" and the powerful title track of their only LP "The Ghosts of Princess in Towers" (Quite possibly the coolest album title of all time!) get an airing. And so does "Ambition", a song that was demoed by Rich Kids, but eventually recorded by Iggy Pop for his "Soldier" album in 1980, which featured Matlock as well.
A section of old faves and influences, including the Small Faces' "All or Nothing", The Kinks' "Dead End Street", and the Monkees'/Paul Revere & the Raiders' "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" (The latter was covered by the Sex Pistols) follow suit.
The audience momentarily shows life signs during solo song "Yeah, Right". Matlock's 1996 Creation Records solo set "Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (Quite possibly not the coolest album title of all time!), all simultaneously wall of noise, melody and guitars, is a lost treasure indeed.
A couple of the biggest canons from the Pistols arsenal - "God Save the Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" - get the crowd kinda going as well.
As someone who was famously kicked out of the Pistols because he liked The Beatles (or so John Lydon maintains although Matlock himself insists he left the band), Glen Matlock is nonetheless a vital part of the Pistols' history and, therefore, legacy. Obviously, he had a hand in writing all of their key tracks. And let's just face it, after he left/was kicked out, they were pretty much over and done with...Never mind Malcolm McLaren. Plus the fact that Glen Matlock has been asked to join in all subsequent Sex Pistols reunions should lay the leather jacket wearing ghost of Sid Vicious to rest once and for all.
Glen Matlock recommended listening:
Sex Pistols/"Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" (LP, Virgin Records, 1977)
Rich Kids/"Ghosts of Princes in Towers" (LP, EMI, 1978)
Glen Matlock/"Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (CD, Creation, 1996)
Recommended reading:
Glen Matlock with Peter Silverton/"I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol" (Rocket 88, 2012)
Last month it was twenty years since the passing of one Harry Edward Nilsson - often referred to as simply Nilsson, a singer-songwriter extraordinaire.
Over the past couple of years a renewed interest in the man and his music has resulted in a feature length documentary, a book, as well as a boxed CD set containing his complete RCA catalogue.
Although most fondly remembered as an excellent songwriter, it is all the more ironic that Nilsson's greatest successes as a performer came with songs written by other people, namely Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" and Badfinger's "Without You". A number of artists also covered Nilsson's songs and it is my intention with this little tribute to highlight the best of those...in no particular order.
One of Nilsson's earliest admirers in the mid '60s was producer Phil Spector, who placed at least three of Nilsson's songs with artists he produced - although said songs were to remain unissued for 25 years. Here are a couple of those:
Brian Wilson also loved this song and recorded his own version for a Harry Nilsson tribute album issued shortly after Harry's death in the mid '90s.
The Monkees were also early Nilsson fans via their then-producer Chip Douglas who had been a member of the Modern Folk Quartet before joining the Turtles for a short stint. These couple of songs also appeared on Nilsson's first two solo albums for RCA:
British girl singers Lulu and Sandie Shaw also seem to have been listening to the first two proper Nilsson albums since each of them covered songs from those albums. Unfortunately Lulu's excellent cover of "Without Her" (Renamed "Without Him" for the obvious reasons) is not available on YouTube.
And Three Dog Night had a monster hit with Nilsson's "One" in 1969. Undervalued Motown chanteuse Chris Clark covered it later that same year. Aimee Mann also did a passable cover in the '90s.
Originally written for Welsh songstress Mary Hopkin in 1968, '70s teen idol David Cassidy took "The Puppy Song" all the way to number one in the U.K. in 1973, as a double A-sided single coupled with "Daydreamer". Cassidy, clearly a massive Nilsson fan, also covered "This Could Be the Night" a couple of years later, and "The Story of Rock & Roll" a year or two after that.
Even Sinéad O'Connor has tackled Nilsson. Her fine cover of "The Lord Must Be in New York City" popped up on the "You've Got Mail" soundtrack, which was a lot better than the movie itself.
"The Story of Rock & Roll" was, apparently, first offered to The Monkees although The Turtles ended up recording it - undoubtedly thanks to Chip Douglas. Harry is rumoured to have played piano on The Turtles' studio version.
The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las and The Supremes all recorded a version of Nilsson's Girl Group opus "Paradise". I have a tremendous difficulty picking one version in favour of the other two. However, The Supremes' 1972 Jimmy Webb-produced possesses a certain understated charm...
In spite of all of the excellence entered above, it is better to start the excursion into all things Nilsson with the original source. And as previously mentioned there are currently avenues aplenty to begin the journey. Enjoy it.
Popular Christmas music.I have to be honest here, I just don't like
the stuff much - it's mostly overly sappy and sentimental. Which is perfectly fine for the Elton Johns
and Chris Rea's of this world (no offense). Therefore I happen to like my Yuletide muzak (’Cause,
let’s face it, that’s just what it is…to be played in elevators and department
stores) a bit more rocking and rolling...if you know what I mean. Albeit with the
proverbial tongue-planted-firmly-in-the-proverbial-cheek. Nonetheless, not unlike many other music nuts, I like to make lists (AND check it twice, at least). And now, for better or for worse and in spite of all my aforementioned reservations regarding the issue, it's time to reveal my Top 40 all time favourite Christmas tunes. Obviously - and, given my fondness for nearly all things Spector, perhaps not all that surprisingly - as far as I'm concerned, the always amazing Darlene Love is the undisputed queen of Christmas. Long may she reign. So, here goes... (In
no particular order, neither numeral nor alphabetical):
The Kinks/"Father Christmas"
Ramones/"Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to
Fight Tonight)"
Duncan Faure/"This is Christmas", "Party on Christmas" + "Christmas
Song"
Cheap Trick/"Come on Christmas"
Fountains of Wayne/"I Want an Alien for
Christmas"
Steeleye Span/"Gaudete"
The Damned/"There Ain't no Sanity
Clause"
Captain Sensible/"One Christmas Catalogue"
Bay City Rollers Starring Les McKeown/"Rock & Roll It's Christmas Time"
Billy Idol/"Yellin' at the Xmas
Tree"
The Pogues & Kristy MacColl/"Fairytale
of New York"
The Waitresses/"Christmas Wrapping"
Blondie/"We Three Kings" Joan Jett & The Blackhearts/"Little Drummer Boy" MUD/"Lonely This Christmas" + "Lean
on Me"
John & Yoko/"Happy
Xmas (The War is Over)"
Ertha Kitt/"Santa Baby"
Darlene Love/"Christmas (Baby, Please
Come Home)" + "It's a Marshmallow World" + "Winter
Wonderland" + "All Alone on Christmas".
Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band/"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (Early '80s Live version) U2/"Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" (Yup, the same song) Gary Glitter/"Another Rock & Roll
Christmas"
Sniglabandið/"Jólahjól"
The Monkees/"Riu Chiu"
Beach Boys/"Little Saint Nick" + "Winter
Symphony"
Showaddywaddy/"Hey Mr. Christmas"
Band Aid/"Do They Know it's
Christmas?"(The original)
Stevie Wonder/"Someday at Christmas"
Brenda Lee/"Rocking Around the Christmas
Tree"
Bobby Helms/"Jingle Bell Rock"
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles/"Deck
the Halls/Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella".
Slade/"Merry Xmas Everyone"
GregLake/"I Believe in
Father Christmas"
The Jackson
5ive/"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
Mike Oldfield/"In Dulci Jubilo"
Jona Lewie/"Stop the Cavalry" Roy Wood & Wizzard/"I Wish it Could
be Christmas Everyday"
And...the very best Christmas albums:
V.A./"The Phil Spector Christmas
Album"(1963)
V.A./"A Motown Christmas"(1973)
Elvis Presley/"White Christmas" (Compilation, 2000)
OK, so I can be a bit sappy & sentimental
myself after all ;-)
Here's wishing y'all Happy Holidaze...however
you may celebrate.
Paul Williams. My relationship with the man is complicated.
On one hand he has penned immaculate pop hits for the Monkees and Three Dog Night among others, while on the other his dreaded early '70s Carpenters-phase leaves me completely cold. Not to mention Barbra Streisand. Sorry.
However, towering above all that is his seminal debut solo album "Someday Man" from 1970. This Soft Rock/Sunshine Pop classic has few equals in the genre.
In the mid-'60s Paul Williams was, by his own account, "An out of work actor who started writing songs for his own amusement."
By 1968, though, he had started writing songs with one Roger Nichols, who had the previous year recorded the "Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends" album for A&M Records (Another Sunshine Pop classic, according to many). But also by then Williams had formed the group The Holy Mackerel with his brother Mentor Williams - himself later a composer of Dobie Gray's fantastic 1973 Soul/Country hit "Drift Away" - and others, and they recorded their sole self-titled LP for Reprise in '68.
Mixed male/female singing groups like Mamas & the Papas, The Sunshine Company and Spanky & Our Gang were all the rage during this era and The Holy Mackerel proudly placed themselves in that line.
But as far as The Holy Mackerel LP goes, it's an almost too eclectic effort mixing C&W with Psychedelic Soft Rock and the then-burgeoning Bubblegum sound. So it's an understandably uneven album which sounds at times either frustrating and/or fascinating, but definitely not without its charms.
Mostly it's written by Williams alone, although one of it's stronger cuts "Bitter Honey" is a Nichols/Williams composition.
In the wake of the album's commercial failure there were a couple of non-LP 45s issued. Among them was the Nichols/Williams penned "I Just Haven't Got What it Takes", which later resurfaced as "To Put Up With You" by American Breed and several others before Williams himself at long last recorded the definitive version for the "Someday Man" album.
After the inevitable break-up of The Holy Mackerel Nichols and Williams really hit their stride - although they merely enjoyed an "artistic success" to begin with. Dobie Gray recorded a great version of "Do You Really Have a Heart" - later also to appear on the "Someday Man" album - while The Monkees had the first crack at "Someday Man" itself (both were issued in 1969).
But it wasn't until spring 1970 when the absolute Nichols/Williams artistic pinnacle appeared in the form of that first Paul Williams solo album, "Someday Man".
Today, though, both Williams and Nichols claim it was much more of a collaborative effort than that. Perhaps, then, the credits say it all: Lyrics by Paul Williams; music by Roger Nichols; produced by Roger Nichols.
Basically, the record consisted of properly recorded versions of what had been their best publishing demos of the previous two years.
Although initially this record, as they say, disappeared without a trace, it's just incredible how many of its songs have been covered by other artists. For instance, "So Many People" - a personal favourite of both of its writers - has no less than seven different versions listed on YouTube - but the original betters them all!
The title track has "only" five notable covers listed on YouTube, and again it's Williams very own version which tops the list...
Similarly, the aforementioned "Do You Really Have a Heart" inspired at least seven covers, none of which is quite worthy apart from Dobie Gray's original recording and Paul Williams' very own "interpretation".
All of which just goes to show how far and wide aforementioned publishing demos travelled.
Backed by bits of "The Wrecking Crew" (Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel), "Someday Man" sounds superbly timeless and classic today, and it just beggars belief it was so overlooked at the time.
In the past decade people have awoken up to its charms though, most notably with Mojo magazine rightly claiming it to be a "lost classic" a few years back.
In the aftermath of that long overdue recognition a lovingly compiled "Deluxe Expanded Edition" CD re-issue was released in the U.K. by Now Sounds/Cherry Red a couple of years ago. Needless to say it's an essential purchase.
By pure curiosity (I'd always loved the Monkees' version of the title cut, while also viewing Paul Williams merely as "the guy who wrote some songs for the Carpenters"), I was just lucky enough to stumble upon a nearly unplayed original vinyl copy of "Someday Man" some years ago and was I ever in for a revelation!
Since then it's been a constant companion, both enjoyed and admired regularly...
Nov. 9th, 2012: And they just made a movie about this guy. Hooray for Hollywood! Or something.
It is always sad to hear of one of your musical heroes' passing. After all, in many cases you've grown up with their music; it has been a constant presence throughout your life.
Thus today, upon learning about Davy Jones' untimely death at 66 from a heart attack, one's thoughts inevitably turn to the past: to one's youth specifically. Music having been such a big part of my life for as long as I can recall, The Monkees' music has been there longer than most other.
I can very vaguely remember The Monkees' T.V. series being on in the late '60s, but being born in 1964, I was certainly way too young to acknowledge and appreciate them at the time.
As a teenager I dug feverishly into my older sisters' record collections when they weren't around...and usually without their knowledge. And I seem to recall a snowy winter's day in '77 or '78 when I came across The Monkees "Greatest Hits". And to make a long story short, I've been a fan ever since...
The Monkees were controversial from the very beginning - to say the least. People either loathed or loved them. Sure, they were "manufactured", but still recorded some of the most memorable pop songs of the '60s - many of which were written by some of the best songwriters of ANY era. Goffin/King, Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson, Boyce/Hart, Paul Williams, etc. and so on.
Davy being the only Brit in the band, having been a star of stage and screen in his homeland from a very young age (he appeared on the same Ed Sullivan Show as The Beatles in 1964, as a member of the Broadway cast from "Oliver!" - he received a Tony nomination for his performance - which he had previously performed in London), he became instantly recognizable to American T.V. audiences due to his accent first and foremost, as well as his physical stature (He was short, which became a running gag throughout The Monkees' two years on the air).
The Monkees were an immediate hit and Davy, in particular, was the popular pin-up choice.
The Monkees' history is very well documented elsewhere, so I see no reason to dwelve any deeper into their remarkable history here.
Nonetheless, their mid-period albums such as "Headquarters" (1967 - The first album they were allowed to play their own instruments on), "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd." (1967), "The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees" (1968) as well as the soundtrack to their film "Head" (1968 - Co-written by one Jack Nicholson), are all certified late '60s pop classics.
But inevitably when the T.V. series went off the air their popularity waned and by 1970 the game was up.
Solo careers were launched all around and Davy's debut post-Monkees effort was 1971's "Davy Jones" on Bell Records.
A nice enough bubblegum album, "The Road to Love" is one of its strongest cuts.
But in spite of a memorable guest appearance on "The Brady Bunch", sales were disappointing and Davy's solo career never really took off.
During the '70s Monkees reunions and semi-reunions (Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart) were attempted, but with diminishing returns.
In the early '80s Davy returned to solo work and briefly became a big star in Japan.
During the mid-'80s The Monkees' old T.V. series started to enjoy a revival in re-runs on American cable stations, MTV in particular, and the old Monkee music was also up for a timely reappraisal and critical re-evaluation.
Thus the time for a reunion was ripe and in 1986 Arista Records issued a new compilation album on CD - then a new format - which also contained a couple of recently recorded Monkee tunes, including their version of the Mosquitos power pop classic "That Was Then, This is Now"...
For the past 25 years Monkees reunions (usually minus Michael Nesmith, though) have been a regular occurrence.
In between those Davy always returned solo work (his last show was a couple of weeks ago) as well as the occasional T.V. and film gig. His first love, horses (he was a jockey in his younger days), was never far from his heart and mind either.
Rest In Peace "Someday Man" - You will be missed!
A trivial footnote: Without Davy, there wouldn't have been a David Bowie. Bowie, initally known as David Jones, was forced to change his name to something else as soon as Davy Jones became a household name. Hmmm.
