This song is so specifically influential on Jullee Cruise it's hard to not remark upon it, see what I mean. Californian gals Priscilla, Sherrell & Albeth Paris do a Barry Mann & Larry Kolber tune recorded by Phil Spector. A woozy slowed down doo-wop trip out with dreamy strings, seductive intimate vocals and a sultry spoken bit all basted in a thick syrup. So much purity and innocence amongst the wanton lust.
Stars On 45 ripped off the Beatles section of this great bootleg 12 inch from 1980 for their chart topping proto-mash-up international hit. This mix put together by Canadians Michel Ali, Michel Gendreau and Paul Richer is the original songs edited into an awesome mega-mix for a fifteen minute funky dance floor knees up.
Get down.
Ritz – I Wanna Get With You
Madness– One Step Beyond Young & Company– I Like (What You Are Doing To Me) The Gap Band– Baby Baba Boogie 'Lectric Funk– Shanghaied Kano– It's A War Spinners– Cupid Spinners– Working My Way Back To You Gino Soccio– Dancer Sparks– Beat The Clock Carrie Lucas– Keep Smilin' Lipps, Inc.– Funkytown Heatwave– Boogie Nights GQ– Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) The S.O.S. Band– Take Your Time (Do It Right) Sparkle Tuhran* & Friends – Handsome Man The Buggles– Video KIlled The Radio Star Shocking Blue– Venus The Archies– Sugar Sugar The Beatles– No Reply The Beatles– I'll Be Back
The Beatles– Drive My Car The Beatles– Do You Want To Know A Secret The Beatles– You're Gonna Lose That Girl The Beatles– Nowhere Man The Four Seasons– Sherry Everly Brothers– Cathy's Clown Neil Sedaka– Breaking Up Is Hard To Do Roy Orbison– Only The Lonely Penny McLean– Lady Bump Wings – Silly Love Songs Martha Reeves & The Vandellas– Jimmy Mack The Fortunes– Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again Brian Hyland– Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini Electric Light Orchestra– Last Train To London Ringo Starr– The No-No Song Fred Wesley & The JB's– Doing It To Death The Edgar Winter Group– Frankenstein
*Youtube usually hits these videos with copyright claims but for some reason this particular upload of Let's Do It doesn't have The Beatles tunes edited out.
...but someone on the internet pointed out the obvious. The below tune's synth line was inspired by Eagle. How on earth did I not see this until now...
[1981]
A pinnacle of 20th century pop. Say no more.
...but someone on the internet pointed out the obvious. The above tune's synth line was inspired by Eagle. How on earth did I not see this until now...
Jaunty progressive pop from mid 70s England doesn't get much better. Are Kestral even a cult act? Who Knows. They had organs, synths and mellotrons along with their guitars for their epic and melodic tunes. This one's the least proggy track from their one and only LP Kestrel which is an unknown minor masterpiece. Take It Away's rockin' easy-listening quasi bossa-lite insistent pop that really could have been an influence on Stereolab's entire aesthetic.
Here's another one that sounds like absolute rubbish on first listen but hey you can't stop playing it then bam the genius hits you. Hideous vaudeville novelty with awesome honky tonk piano. Warning: Absolute toe-tapper will have doing what you believe to be The Charleston within seconds. Also It'll get stuck in your head for the rest of the day and maybe the rest of your life.
Now gimme dat gimme dat gimme gimme gimme dat ding!
The tune: Infectious singalong 70s pop, wee bit funky, genius words sung with folky lullaby melody and harmonies, crowd chorus and pre-glam take it down now hand clap delirium.
There's something about Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep that makes you not hate it for some reason and then it eventually it becomes embedded in your brain forever. I mean some have called it a moronic pop crime but they didn't mean it as THE compliment that it is, yet as an aesthetic value a moronic pop crime is highly appealing. As an achievement this is one of the great moronic pop crimes.
A pop masterpiece.
*And there's more than meets the eye. Emma points out there was something upsetting about this song when she was small. The thought of your momma or poppa mysteriously being "far far away" was horrifying for a child. The fact that these traumatic lyrics of neglect & abandonment were sung in a chirpy... er... sorry, upbeat manner adds to the sinister tone.
The first song I recall liking. I was just over 3 years old but fuck me it was number one here for eight weeks. So I guess I heard it a gazillion times and maybe it was an involuntary decision in music taste at the time but I gotta say as a cranky old fucker this is a top tune, a pop-rock banger baby! Not a bad choice for your first favourite song.
Also gotta love a jumper with your band name on it... just not enough jumpers in pop music anymore. The day jumpers stopped being worn in rock might be the day it all turned to shit.
[1974]
Possibly even better though was their number 12 hit from the previous year, (It's) Magic.
State of the art pop-rock finery.
The sound of the 70s.
Toppermost musos! Looking into my crystal ball I can see a future for them in a little up and coming group called The Alan Parsons Project.
All the melody, rockin' 70s gee-tars played with a sixpence man, strings, funky wah wahs and hand claps galore: All luscious!
