Saturday, April 7, 2012

Songs Of The Week: 3//31- 4/6



I Never Dreamed- The Cookies
Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me- Justin Townes Earle
Until You Came Along- Golden Smog
Profoundly Blue- Edmond Hall Celeste Quartet, Featuring Charlie Christian
You Never Know- 7 Worlds Collide
China Doll- The Grateful Dead
Ballroom Dancing- Paul McCartney

Zip

5 comments:

Leon said...

You are on a ROLL lately Sal - rock on! Looking forward to D/L'ing these next.

cmealha said...

33 1/3 was one of my favorite Harrison albums and Beautiful Girl a highlight. Well done.

Anonymous said...

Just so you know This follower enjoys all that you post. It's like having a friend you trust filtering through his own tastes things you know you'll like.
-duncanmusic

mckee said...

Sal,

I delight in your mixes, almost always making sure your latest is on my ipod as soon as it's posted.

Shortly after getting a transistor radio for Christmas, I became another soul lost to rock and roll. I decided to spend my life playing the music that brought me so much joy as a radio dj.

Growing up listening to Murray the K, Scott Muni, Cousin Brucie, etc., in Jersey, I couldn't imagine earning a living doing anything else.

Damned if I didn't get to live out my dreams - my first on-air show was in Sept of 69. 4 decades later and radio changed dramatically - no fun for guys like me, and for listeners as well.

These days I teach rock and roll here in Virginia at a University in Richmond, and find kindred spirits in places such as Burning Wood with people like you.

That's my intro - nice to meet you. I'm writing specifically to thank you for the Cookies, "I Never Dreamed."

What a song. I love great songs/great music - doesn't matter
the genre - and I can't tell you what makes it great other than it if it, I hear it.

"I Never Dreamed " is great. Some say that that period in-between Buddy Holly's death and the arrival of the Beatles was rock and roll's wilderness years and had it not been for the Brits, rock and roll might have died.

We both know that's not true. Those Brill Building years (in addition to all of the other great people and places that made music) are among my favorite genres with girl groups leading the way.

"I Never Dreamed " is sort of an anomaly. Carole King and Gerry Goffin were rewarded for the riches they brought to Donnie K. with a label of their own, Dimension.

Goffin was out on the road with the label's hottest act, The Cookies while Carole stayed at home with the kids. Turns out Gerry knocked up Earl-Jean and yet the show must go on. Instead of dissolving their partnership, Carole simply gave Goffin the space he seemed to be searching for. One of the side effects of all this was when he teamed with Russ Titleman for a series of songs, the very best being, "I Never Dreamed."

The lyrics, written by Goffin, but reflecting the point of view of a teenage girl, are remarkable.

Then Titleman took over with a production that resulted in a perfect pop song. His guitar anticipated the sound of groups like The Raspberries years before power pop became a reality.

The moment when wonderful Margaret Ross's voice becomes the sound of Russ's guitar is simply gorgeous.

Russ, like Goffin, was romantically involved with a Cookie or two, and the passion of the moment comes across in "I Never Dreamed."

You should look into Titleman's career - it's overlooked and yet the guy was everywhere, from playing on early Phil Spector tracks like the Paris Sister's "I Love How You Love Me," to being the 3 musician on Mick Jagger's "Memo From Turner." Yeah, that's Ry Cooder on slide, but Russ is there taking the Keith role on rhythm guitar.

Has anyone ever made Randy Newman sound like a rocker more than Titleman did on his collaboration on "Gone Dead Train?"

And it goes on from there - Lowell George, Rickie Lee Jones, Eric Clapton, and an endless parade of other stellar accomplishments.

Okay, sorry to ramble... Thanks again for all the great music - you've earned my respect over and over again and my dog thanks you too. I'll usually take her for an extra long walk after you've posted a mix, just so I can listen to the whole thing.

Jeff McKee, Richmond, Virginia
jeffmckee102@hotmail.com

Mr Crosson said...

Until You Came Along is one of my favorites from Gary Louris and I'm a huge Jayhawks fan. The guy can toss that out for a side project? Plus, "Jane"? Why is he not a bigger name?