Band of Gold - Freda Payne
- Album: Band of Gold
- Information: Although notable for all of their hit records when working for Motown, the trio of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr. chose to break free to form their own Invictus Records in 1969 and had their friend Freda Payne (who was looking for a break) be one of their first major signings. Releasing this song with the writer as "Edythe Wayne", Payne had a major smash that reached #3 in the US and #1 in the UK.
- Personal Thoughts: I hear this song all the time on the local oldies station...and while it's a cool, moving song, it's sort of one that I get a tad sick of whenever I hear it...because I hear it all the time. It's not the song's fault though: it is a well written, simple song with a powerful beat and a powerful bass...and Payne's voice really conveys the heartbreak she feels regarding the jerk whom abandoned her and just left her with...well, a band of gold on her finger that means nothing. If I were her, I'd dump the jerk, but the lyrics makes her more hopeful. But hey...at least it's a really neat beat and song no matter how overplayed it gets.
Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image
- Album: Open
- Information: Originally notable as the house band at the "Three Images", an innovative South Florida club, they eventually moved west, signed with Atco Records and released this single which became their biggest hit, written by singer-guitarist Mike Pinera and keyboardist Frank "Skip" Konte. The song became inspired by Pinera when the very first word to come into his head when writing the song: "73".
- Personal Thoughts: The song is one of those you can tell from the intro, which in this case was the unique keyboarding flowing out like ripples of a wave. It leads out into a mellow, cool song...with disturbing images now that I think about it. I mean think about it: 73 men randomly showing up in San Fransisco, then leaving to go into history...I don't even want to know what or why 73 men would show up and what they would want in San Fransisco circa 1970. The more I think about that, the more disturbed I become...not that there's anything wrong with those who realize something similar. But aside from the lyrics...it is a cool song with great keyboarding, a cool guitar solo...the hummable chorus...and did I mention the keyboarding? (yeah, I really like that keyboarding)
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) - Temptations
- Album: Greatest Hits, Volume #2
- Information: Having moved away from their former Motown image with their previous single, "Psychadelic Shack", the Temptations move further into speaking about social problems and the chaos of the world in their anchor of their latest greatest hits compilation. Though the Temps planned on releasing another single, the more socially active "War", Motown's continued concern for it's listeners and the image of one of their most notable bands prevented it from being released by them and lead to it being reworked for another artist...
- Personal Thoughts: Let me just state this: the Temptations are a band who split me. Their early 60s stuff gets too mushy and standard, but the later Temptations (well, for the most part)...rock. It's like once they started to break out of the Motown model (well while in Motown) did they finally awaken into an incredible soul band that they didn't realize they were. From the beginning of this song, where the voices move into that iconic, almost frightening beat with this rapping out on the chaos and confusion the world is in just brings it into the now complete with that strange woodpecker beat in the deep background of the foreground music and the lyrics about everything and anything in this world of this era: the ghetto, the war, political insanity...heck even the Beatles get a reference in this! And the music...it sounds so chaotic but at the same time it just fits. With as much music claims to show relevance today in an era where everyone just samples and makes random and stupid shout outs, this is how it should be done...then again that's how my ears make it out to be.
The Love You Save - Jackson Five
- Album: ABC
- Information: The third of four consecutive #1 songs during their breakout year of 1970, all of which were written by a group known only as "The Corporation" (lead by Motown lead Barry Gordy), it is notable as the most musically complex of the early songs by the five Jackson brothers and for the shared responsibility of the song between Michael and Jermaine, both of whom tell a girl to slow down as opposed to rushing into love. The definitive "Stop!" from the start of the song is an echo back to another Motown classic: Diana Ross & The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love".
- Personal Thoughts: It feels weird that we go from one of the former major names of Motown to the company's wunderkind of the period (then again when you have Michael Jackson, you know you have something special...even if it will sort of ruin him down the line), showing the company's obsession in moving into this new era for the record label. Anyway, the song is a nice funky movement from the Jacksons, slightly poppish but does have enough of a funk to allow for breathing room and more respectability. You can tell from a lot of the early singles (some of which we won't get until later) the potential Michael had as a singer, showing a lot of power for just a kid, and the way Jermaine responds is a nice "affirmation" of what the kid's talking about. Oh, and if you listen to the second stanza...is it just me or is the usage of historical figures in the song...well it should be cute but somehow it sort of comes off creepy.
Mama Told Me Not to Come - Three Dog Night
- Album: It Ain't Easy
- Information: As a band notable for covering and popularizing the songs of other singer-songwriters, Three Dog Night took their latest success from the pen of the sarcastic and sardonic Randy Newman, who wrote the song about the LA music scene of the late 60s and originally had it recorded by Eric Burden and the Animals as well as on his own. But it was the presentation by Three Dog Night, including speech-like lyrics by Cory Wells and definitive playing of the electric piano by Jimmy Greenspoon that vaulted the song into prominence on the music chart
- Personal Thoughts: I love this song...from the eerie and bizarre introduction to that weird and intentional conclusion of the badly-played final note. Newman may have written the sardonic lyrics, but it is the presentation by Three Dog Night that defines the song, just the way the words are said and spoken with this eerie, strange piano in the background and the backup guitars and drumming later on...even a slide whistle at one point. Some songs you just never get tired of...and for me, this is just one of those songs just due to...well, how bizarre and beautiful it is.
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