I thought I had the album with his big hit: ‘Electric Avenue.’
But I don’t.
My album ‘Going For Broke’ is the album AFTER his big one. My album is pretty good, rock inflected reggae, which means it has rock guitar in it. It’s not what I’d call real roots reggae, more of a fusion pop reggae.
On this album, he has a song “Romancing the Stone’ which was commissioned for the hit movie starring Kathleen Turner, however it was not used in the movie (except for a short guitar solo). The song, a so-so piece of reggae pop, never succeeded at the level of ‘Electric Avenue.’
In Barbados, Grant operated a popular recording studio for years. He also wrote ‘Police on my Back’ recorded by the Clash, one of the better tracks on the Clash’s Sandinista album.
I have to say after a few listens, this album is nice. Good playing, happy reggae beat. I’ll play it again and keep my eye open in record stores for ‘Electric Avenue.’
Man, this music sounds like it came out of the same sessions as ‘Wish You Were Here.’ It was around that time period that the Pink Floyd guitarist put out this restrained but so so nice recording.
With it’s slow building solos and fluid note extensions, it sounds like it would fit right in on ”Wish You were Here’ next to ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond.’And ‘Wish’ is my favorite Pink Floyd record, so I love this, almost like a sequel.
Don’t think this record sold all that well despite its quality and Floyd’s soaring popularity at the time. It’s Gilmour without Floyd himself putting out some very pretty but powerful guitar meditations without the Big Theme histrionics of Floyd.
As one of the commenters on a YouTube video of this album said this shows how big a role Gilmour played in the sound the Pink Floyd. This is fantastic album for Floyd fans and even not-so-much fans.
I got this for $3 at my excellent downtown books/records/cultural curios store: Reed Books.
Here’s another bargain bin find. One takeaway I am having doing this blog and going one-by-one through my 678 albums is that I was not a bad ‘picker’ of records. I could find some good ones for a couple of bucks.
Lowell George, the lead singer of Little Feat, put this one out in 1979 just before he died of a drug overdose in a Virginia hotel room while on tour for this record.
I agree with AllMusic.com that at first this record seems slight, and it didn’t follow in the jazz-fusion direction that Little Feat was heading (part of the reason he did the solo thing.) But back to being ‘slight’ or not so slight. Some really good renditions of songs here. “What Do You Want that Girl to Do,’ an Allen Toussaint – penned song, is excellent. The Ann Peebles song ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain,’ though oft-covered, is done well by George.
“20 Million Things,’ a George original, is gorgeous and should be a classic. George was a multi-instrumentalist prodigy from childhood. Born in Hollywood, Calif., he was a binge eater, binge alcohol consumer and then, of course the drugs. He weighed more than 300 pounds when he died. Sad we only have this one solo album from him. But there’s a lot of good Little Feat music, which I’ll review when I get to the ‘L’s.”
If you do find this record you get the bonus of having a very cool cover by Neon Park that apparently has several pop culture references including Bob Dylan in there.
I’m including a live video of George with Little Feat backed by Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris to show you just how good that George and Little Feat were.
Now I’m not huge into jazz but I have some good jazz records.
I have this Dizzy; a Dexter Gordon Blue Note label album; a Harry James record; some Miles Davis; John Coltrane on CD);Teo Macero, another Blue Note special of Bud Powell, one of my favorite jazz pianists along with Errol Garner. I also have some rock/soul/jazz fusion, if that’s a thing, Steve Howe, Dixie Dregs, Sea Level, and Glenn Phillips.
And going A to Z, I also have some Chet Atkins and Frank Zappa that I would consider jazz or jazzy.
And I have Louis Armstrong, one of my favorite old schoolers, mainly because my father was a big fan of Satchmo, and I heard it at an earl age around the house.
The cool thing about this album is it brings in some newcomers — at least they were new in the 1980s when this was made, including Branford Marsalis, who went on to be the bandleader for Jay Leno for a couple of years and is one of the top saxophonists in the world.
So this has old man Dizzy, he of the bent trumpet and swollen cheeks, has rounded up some youth to make a contemporary jazz record with some old stuff mixed in.
The sound jumps out of the speakers, I must say, which I like on all vinyl productions but especially jazz. I like the trumpet player right in the room with me. I know this seems like my ongoing advice, but this is a good pick in a used record store, high high quality jazz in the ‘bop’ style with an old cheek-ballooning patriarch overseeing some top notch jazz youngsters.
This is one of those straight ahead rock and roll groups that through persistence, solid chops and staying together finally hit the big time.
This album was the precursor to their Top 40 sales of ‘Freeze – Frame’ and ‘Centerfold.’ MVC does’t care for these later ‘MTV’ hits so much. Monkey Island in 1977 was the album where they were straddling both worlds.
This album, Monkey Island, I bought as a cut-out in high school in Athens, Ga. Played it a fair amount actually. Some good old-timey songs like ‘I Do’ and the Louis Armstrong song, ‘I’m not Rough.’
‘So Good’ lives up to its title.
The title track is a little out of character. It’s a multi-part epic of a song with long (good) instrumental intro and oblique lyrics.
The album is a near-miss but the group’s following albums helped give the band — who never thought a harmonica shouldn’t be used — some retirement money. J. Geils, founder and guitarist, died in 2017.
The band caught my attention with an earlier single called ‘Must Have Got Lost’ in which singer Peter Wolf does a rap intro before rap was even a thing. See video below.
That’s not on Monkey Island. But I will include a Monkey Island video too.
Here’s the top of my column published in AL.com today. Hit this link to read whole column.
Let’s stroll down memory lane — even though my memory lane needs some pot holes fixed.
It’s time for another My Vinyl Countdown column where we say, ‘wow, I remember that song, what’s it called again?’
This is a countdown of the 678 vinyl records I collected in the 1970s and 1980s (for the most part). I also have albums from nearby decades like the 60s and 90s. Every week I give you five more from my blog www.myvinylcountdown.com where I am keeping a running tally. As you will see in my bio this is all about raising awareness of Lewy body disease, which I have.
I also give you each week a NP (Now Playing) which this week is Bobby Goldsboro, known for his tear-jerking song ‘Honey.’ Now the song Honey is sappy and the rest of his album is worse but he did sell millions and was a big star with a prime time TV show.
So in the spirit of fun and Honey dying, I propose a list of the top tear-jerkers of all time. Now not so fast sad sacks, the song must have a death in it — like Honey.
While it never explicitly says Honey dies or by what method it is a sure thing the writer was saying she died. I have read some theories that the fragile spirited Honey kills herself?! (My guess is terminal disease, like cancer.
So songs about break-ups, divorces, wasted time, sad as they may be, do not qualify. Leave your suggestions in comments or email at moliver@al.com
Quick catch-up here on some of the things happening in MyVinylCountdown – land.
I’m firing blogs off left and right lately so keep checking this site for updates.
You can get new post alerts via email by going to the comment section. Here’s how to do that: ‘click on the title of the post, for example, Bobby Goldsboro’.
Then scroll down to bottom of post and you’ll see an email box. Click inside the box and a check-box asking if you want notifications.
The Bobby Goldsboro post, where ‘Honey the’ song is deconstructed by me makes me think of putting together a Top 10 list of tear-jerking songs.
Honey by ‘Bobby Goldsboro’
There I started. Now go. to the comments and add your challenger song or songs to ‘Honey.’ Or, you can email me your selection at moliver@al.com
As many know I have dementia with Lewy bodies, a brain disease that has symptoms similar to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Another person with Lewy shared with me something I think that will be highly beneficial, not just for folks with Lewy but for those with other chronic diseases as well.
Let’s call it a “Report Card for your Doctor,’ or ‘Progress Report for Doctors and other caregivers.
This running document is something you update between doctor visits.
Thanks to a fellow ‘Lewy’ person and his wife, caregiver, I am able to share an example of how this works right here. It’s pretty self-explanatory. I have taken out the names for privacy’s sake.
I think this could be a life prolonger or at least a life comfortor, especially for those with memory issues as changes in symptoms are so important for the doctor to know about. Everyone in this situation has gone to those hard-to-get appointments with a neurologist only to remember that you forgot to say something about something. This puts it all in black and white and would serve as a patient-doctor conversation.
I think publishing this is helpful information on two levels: 1) For everyone with a chronic disease to use to improve diagnosis and treatment, and 2) More specifically for those living with Dementia with Lewy bodies to see the chronicling of the disease in a real person.
To see the full report (if you missed the link above clickhere.
The tears wrenched out of human beings by Bobby Goldsboro can be measured in gallons.
Hundreds, thousands of gallons.
‘Honey’ was a huge worldwide hit in 1968 for Goldsboro, born in Florida but who grew up in Dothan and attended Auburn University. Bobby Russell, who wrote ‘The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,’ was ‘Honey’s’ writer.
It was a sentimental tissue-thin manipulation of a song. It was the best of songwriting, and the worst of songwriting.
I’d admire the suspense and mystery built up around the singer’s descriptions of his wife/lover. The La-Tee-Da casual storytelling style draws you in as it drops foreboding hints all the way.
My critique is that the words are often silly, and combined with the syrupy strings, comes off as maudlin. And the casual storytelling style, once you get the whole picture, is kind of creepy.
That said, the songwriter used some deft devices to make this sad. For example never really telling us what happened requiring our brains to think harder to speculate what happened a la ‘Ode to Billie Joe.’
My mother, a longtime educator, gave me this album recently, but we used to cry in the car over it decades ago. It was a No. 1 hit in the U.S. and charted all over the world.
So again the overarching question here is what happened? She died, but what other clues are there.
Let’s react to the lyrics and find out.
Song lyrics italics, my comments bold.
Honey by Bobby Russell, performed by Bobby Goldsboro
See the tree, how big it’s grown
But friend it hasn’t been too long It wasn’t big (good open, foreshadowing) I laughed at her and she got mad, (what was so funny?)
The first day that she planted it Was just a twig Then the first snow came and she ran out To brush the snow away So it wouldn’t die (Foreshadowing, concisely paints picture of soft-hearted, sentimental person. Was the tree somehow going to be cause of death? Listeners are tuned in now) Came runnin’ in all excited, Slipped and almost hurt herself (So she’s becoming clumsy but husband thinks it’s hysterical) And I laughed till I cried (throwing the word cried in there is like a subliminal message readying the tear ducts.)
She was always young at heart, Kinda dumb and kinda smart (Well you are no rocket scientist either BoGo..) And I loved her so And I surprised her with a puppy (Uh oh gratuitous puppy introduction: he’s pulling out all stops in the manipulative attempt to make you cry). Kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago (aw he loves her so much, he not only gave her the puppy but lives with the dog causing sleep deprivation). And it would sure embarrass her When I came in from workin’ late (working late, huh?) ‘Cause I would know That she’d been sittin’ there and cryin’ Over some sad and silly late, late show (again showing how ‘endearing’ her sentimentality is.)
And honey, I miss you and I’m bein’ good (Working late, huh?) And I’d love to be with you if only I could (here we go again, hint hint: Where did she go?)
She wrecked the car and she was sad (Oh my gosh is she going to die of car wreck injuries?) And so afraid that I’d be mad But what the heck Though I pretended hard to be Guess you could say she saw through me And hugged my neck I came home unexpectedly And caught her cryin’ needlessly (Needlessly is certainly in the eye of the beholder. I mean, did she get bad news like perhaps she was DYING!) In the middle of a day And it was in the early spring When flowers bloom and robins sing She went away (Reach for tissue.)
And honey, I miss you and I’m bein’ good And I’d love to be with you if only I could (Sure about that?)
One day while I was not at home (Working late again?) While she was there and all alone The angels came (Good gosh, the Hell’s Angles took her out. What in the name of everything holy were you involved in, man?) Now all I have is memories of honey (tears) And I wake up nights and call her name (tears) Now my life’s an empty stage (tears) Where honey lived and honey played And love grew up And a small cloud passes overhead And cries down on the flower bed (more tears, some blubbering) That honey loved
And see the tree how big it’s grown But friend it hasn’t been too long It wasn’t big (good writing example, coming full circle) And I laughed at her and she got mad The first day that she planted it, Was just a twig (sob)
(One question: Can a twig grow into a tree?)
Other songs on his ‘Greatest Hits’ never approached the sales and popularity of ‘Honey.’ His first hit was “See the Funny Clown,” who happens to be crying on the inside. The song is way inferior to the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles hit “Tears of a Clown.’ He also had a hit called ‘Watching Scottie Grow,’ that for some reason isn’t on this album.
Goldsboro has another song on this disc called “The Straight Life” with lyrics that kind of blow my mind. Here’s the second verse of the song.:
Sometimes my thoughts may find me in Mexico, Drinking tequila going out of my mind Having a ball on a couple ‘a bob, Treating the ladies to corn on the cob, Leaving the straight life behind
Huh? First off, couple a’bob is an English term for money not Spanish. Tequila will make you nuts but not sure about the hi jinks behind a tequila and corn cob party.
This is where the children are given a kid-friendly explanation of the upcoming sermon.
It was a holiday weekend so not many children were in attendance, but one of the kids made up for it with a barrage of questions and stories.
The little girl had something to say about almost every sentence uttered by Director of Christian Education Patti Winter, a veteran children’s educator, who has mad skills at handling children eruptions diplomatically.
Patti waited patiently through each anecdote coming from the child before she gently steered the conversation back to her message.
The message on this day was the ‘salt of the earth’ passage, Matthew 5-13:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.’
Patti talked about how salt is helpful to make food taste better. She said salt is also used in dyes to make colors brighter and, if that wasn’t enough, she said salt goes into plastics to make the plastics better. She did a little more talking about the virtues of salt and the meaning behind the passage before getting ready to go. The children’s program had by now taken on a little extra length.
LBUM: Going for Broke
