darkblue Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 That track does have a magical effect, TheGayDivorcee. It immediately makes me 19 again - as I was in 1969. I hadn't hought of it in years and then I heard Tom Petty's cover at the end of his greatest hits cd and was lifted all over again. Thunderclap Newman only made one album of music. It's astonishing - how could that be? This is what Dave Thompson said about that one album when it was finally released on cd with bonus tracks: All these years, and all these accolades later, it still seems incredible that Hollywood Dream meant nothing at the time of its release; that America let it drift no higher than Number 161; that the U.K. did not even give it a hearing. Less than a year before, after all, "Something in the Air" was topping charts and readers' polls alike, and Thunderclap Newman were as close as Christmas to becoming the new Beatles. Instead, they weren't even the new Badfinger and this exquisite LP withered on the vine. Reissued in 1991, Hollywood Dream had been utterly transformed by the admiration of so many subsequent listeners, to stand alongside any lost classic you could mention, among the finest albums of its psychedelic generation. "Something in the Air," of course, has never lost its hold on our hearts, but there was so much more to Thunderclap Newman and, across the 12-track original album, and half-a-dozen bonus tracks, the trio's genius is inescapable. For those "in the know," who had treasured their scratchy old Atlantic label vinyl, the real meat lay in the latter, as all three of Thunderclap Newman's original 45's joined their album brethren, together with their non-LP B-sides. "Something in the Air," fussed up for the LP, reverts to its original emphatic punch; "Accidents" is pruned from a shade under ten minutes to a little over three; and the piping "The Reason" (an odd choice for a single in the first place) sounds like a role model for every record Supertramp ever made. The real gem, however, is "Wilhemina," which sounds like a daft piece of rhyming doggerel set to a nursery tune, but also packs one of the most dramatic psych guitar solos this side of your favorite Who record. Producer Pete Townshend must have been astonished. As will you be, too, if all you've ever heard is the hit. So many bands have been hauled out of obscurity to be tagged the greatest secret you've never been told. Thunderclap Newman are one of the few who actually deserve that epithet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the name Dwight Frye, & hopefully you know is song dedicated to him called "Ballad Of Dwight Fry" - Alice Cooper http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXwCreA54Ac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 A few posts back -no, more like a few pages back - someone (darkblue?) posted an Everly Brothers song, "The Price of Love". Ever since, I've been meaning to post a cover version of this by Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame.) It's pretty darn good too: (How come the women in Bryan Ferry's videos and album covers always look kind of trashy?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 This song always reminds me of summer and the possibility of something magical about to happen.... GD, yes, yes, yes. You describe the feeling of that song perfectly. Darkblue, thanks for that quote about Thunderclap Newman. I never even knew of the existence of the record under discussion. aargh, this thread is a happenin' place lately. I'm still having trouble keeping up with all the great music posts here. (Have I exclaimed lately about how life is fraught with difficulties?) Alice Cooper. Did you guys know that he was big pals with Frank Zappa? Zappa really liked him, and sort of helped him in his early career. Summertime...life's good when you're eighteen and school's out for the summer. This should definitely be played at maximum volume. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jphs_I98cg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 And while the Everlys took it to the UK #1 position on the charts in 1965, Bryan again took it into the top 10 in the 1976 version that you've posted - I believe he hit #5 with it. I think the Brit and Canadian charts tend to reflect a more sophisticated palate than is reflected in the U.S. charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 And while the Everlys took it to the UK #1 position on the charts in 1965, Bryan again took it into the top 10 in the 1976 version that you've posted - I believe he hit #5 with it. I think the Brit and Canadian charts tend to reflect a more sophisticated palate than is reflected in the U.S. charts. The U.S.population is far more diverse than that of Canada or the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Oh yeah, & Groucho Marx, Keith Moon, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, met Mae West, & I'm sure a bunch of other classic movie stars. Here's an interview of Alice Cooper talking about meeting those celebs back in the day. \m/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AitMTZZpw64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkblue Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 The U.S.population is far more diverse than that of Canada or the UK. You'd never know it from its top-40 charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 A few posts back -no, more like a few pages back - someone (darkblue?) posted an Everly Brothers song, "The Price of Love". Ever since, I've been meaning to post a cover version of this by Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame.) It's pretty darn good too: (How come the women in Bryan Ferry's videos and album covers always look kind of trashy?) Not sure who the dark-haired girls are, but the blonde is that tall Texan, Jerry Hall, who jilted poor Mr. Ferry for the ever opportunistic (my jaded view) Mick Jagger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 It was a warm night, the sky a glorious pinkish blue, and this (my favorite song) came on the car radio, ending (in a rare case of good timing) just as we pulled in the driveway. Mr. GD is not (alas) a fan of rock, so I was amazed when he expressed interest because of the use of chaconne, apparently a "set of variations on a harmonic progression." Who knew?! (Well, possibly many, but not I.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 That track does have a magical effect, TheGayDivorcee. It immediately makes me 19 again - as I was in 1969. I hadn't hought of it in years and then I heard Tom Petty's cover at the end of his greatest hits cd and was lifted all over again. Thunderclap Newman only made one album of music. It's astonishing - how could that be? This is what Dave Thompson said about that one album when it was finally released on cd with bonus tracks: All these years, and all these accolades later, it still seems incredible that Hollywood Dream meant nothing at the time of its release; that America let it drift no higher than Number 161; that the U.K. did not even give it a hearing. Less than a year before, after all, "Something in the Air" was topping charts and readers' polls alike, and Thunderclap Newman were as close as Christmas to becoming the new Beatles. Instead, they weren't even the new Badfinger and this exquisite LP withered on the vine. Reissued in 1991, Hollywood Dream had been utterly transformed by the admiration of so many subsequent listeners, to stand alongside any lost classic you could mention, among the finest albums of its psychedelic generation. "Something in the Air," of course, has never lost its hold on our hearts, but there was so much more to Thunderclap Newman and, across the 12-track original album, and half-a-dozen bonus tracks, the trio's genius is inescapable. For those "in the know," who had treasured their scratchy old Atlantic label vinyl, the real meat lay in the latter, as all three of Thunderclap Newman's original 45's joined their album brethren, together with their non-LP B-sides. "Something in the Air," fussed up for the LP, reverts to its original emphatic punch; "Accidents" is pruned from a shade under ten minutes to a little over three; and the piping "The Reason" (an odd choice for a single in the first place) sounds like a role model for every record Supertramp ever made. The real gem, however, is "Wilhemina," which sounds like a daft piece of rhyming doggerel set to a nursery tune, but also packs one of the most dramatic psych guitar solos this side of your favorite Who record. Producer Pete Townshend must have been astonished. As will you be, too, if all you've ever heard is the hit. So many bands have been hauled out of obscurity to be tagged the greatest secret you've never been told. Thunderclap Newman are one of the few who actually deserve that epithet. Many thanks for posting this, darkblue. I hadn't realized they'd made only one album! I knew only this song, but now really look forward to hearing the rest. By the way, my sister was in England when this came out, and said it's almost painfully nostalgic for her to listen to, just very bittersweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 There's still half an hour left for July 1st, Canada Day. On the other hand, there's about 82 days left of summer. I love summer, which is odd, because I hate the sun. Well, that sounds ridiculous. Let's say, strong sunshine has an adverse effect on me, and I try to avoid it. This does not stop me from loving summertime. So with that in mind, I thought I'd combine celebrating Canada Day with summertime. Here be justly famous Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot with a sweet summer song: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 There's still half an hour left for July 1st, Canada Day. On the other hand, there's about 82 days left of summer. I love summer, which is odd, because I hate the sun. Well, that sounds ridiculous. Let's say, strong sunshine has an adverse effect on me, and I try to avoid it. This does not stop me from loving summertime. So with that in mind, I thought I'd combine celebrating Canada Day with summertime. Here be justly famous Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot with a sweet summer song: So you love cloudy or rainy, hot, humid days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 So you love cloudy or rainy, hot, humid days? I like cloudy days, I like it when it rains ( I love rain). Hot and humid, not so much. I don't mind "a mix of sun and cloud" as the weather guys put it, I just don't like a clear blue cloudless sky with the hot strong sun beating down on me. It's harsh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I had this simple, poignant, beautiful song in my head today. Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country". Everyone seems to know about the version with Bob and Johnny Cash, a version which I think is wretched. I love both these guys, don't get me wrong, But for some reason their voices don't meld at all on their duet of GFTNC, and in the final few bars, they both go wildly off-key. The earlier recording, by Dylan alone, from his album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" is so much better. It captures the wistfulness and delicacy of the emotion in the song. I don't think it's available on the internet, but this comes very close. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z34_girl-from-the-north-country-1962_news (It's not on youtube, so you have to "copy the link" or something like that. worth it.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultiEye Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntuFpVu5eZ0&feature=youtu.be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 An early Happy of 4th of July to all who celebrate, or not (in the case of the stubbornly British Mr. Gay D): . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I had this simple, poignant, beautiful song in my head today. Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country". Everyone seems to know about the version with Bob and Johnny Cash, a version which I think is wretched. I love both these guys, don't get me wrong, But for some reason their voices don't meld at all on their duet of GFTNC, and in the final few bars, they both go wildly off-key. The earlier recording, by Dylan alone, from his album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" is so much better. It captures the wistfulness and delicacy of the emotion in the song. I don't think it's available on the internet, but this comes very close. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z34_girl-from-the-north-country-1962_news (It's not on youtube, so you have to "copy the link" or something like that. worth it.) Thank you very much for posting this; it was one of my mother's favorite songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Thank you very much for posting this; it was one of my mother's favorite songs. I, too, know about all those early Dylan albums thanks to my parents, who loved Dylan until he "went electric". When I was a bit older, I picked up where they'd left off and discovered all the great music he made after his "folk" period (which I also love.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 HAPPY JULY 4th, my American friends. Here's a deeply American musician with a great song that somehow captures an American feeling (don't ask me to explain exactly what I mean by that...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Casablancalover, I've been meaning to tell you, ever since you posted it way back around the middle of June, that I love "In the Summertime". Damn, it always takes me right back to the summer of 1970, the year it came out. I wasn't even (not quite, almost,) a teenager yet, and I'd started listening all the time to this little transistor radio, carrying it around with me and turning up the volume whenever I heard something I liked on the local top 30 A.M station ("CHUM 1050 Toronto"!) Such a pleasing good-natured catchy pop confection. And thanks for the video, Ray Dorset's sideburns on steroids ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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