Lady Be Good- Forgotten Souls Brass Band
Temptation- New Order
Mrs. Richie- Harmony Grass
I Don't Wanna Say Goodnite- The Forte Four
Cupid's Toy- Squeeze
I Take What I Want- Ann Peebles
The Nightwatchman- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Lady Be Good- Forgotten Souls Brass Band
I had an employee who was a smug little weasel, a music and film snob, and a world class jerk of all trades. He hated most pop, rock, punk and country and listened almost exclusively to acoustic jazz and Simon & Garfunkel. One afternoon, I had put a New Orleans compilation I made into the CD player and I was very obviously enjoying it, especially when this track, "Lady Be Good" came on. He directed a mocking laugh my way, his boss, and said, "So you enjoy dancing to high school marching bands?"
He was eventually fired for a more serious offense. That said, if you don't fall into the pocket of the groove on this track, or if you hear this and think "high school marching band," well, you're fired, too!
Temptation- New Order
I was sorry to miss the New Order/Pet Shop Boys show at MSG last week, but a few people I know got to see it and loved it. One mentioned in an Instagram post that Bob Dylan's "Idiot Wind" had been his favorite song for years until he heard "Temptation."
Mrs. Richie- Harmony Grass
The "Come Join My Orchestra" boxed set continues to give. This one is a current favorite. Absolutely lovely Brit pop.
I Don't Wanna Say Goodnite- The Forte Four
A new collection of Gary Usher productions, "Happy In Hollywood," came out in June. It's filled with mellifluous pop, including this track, which I had never heard prior.
Cupid's Toy- Squeeze
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Squeeze "Play" is a masterpiece.
I Take What I Want- Ann Peebles
From Ann Peebles' classic "Straight From The Heart," which does not have one weak track.
The Nightwatchman- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I started a job in summer of 1981 and like a good little record fiend, made a beeline to the record store once I cashed my first check. The purchases that day were Van Halen "Fair Warning," Elton John "The Fox," (talk about being crushed) and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "Hard Promises." As much as I love Petty, I never loved "Hard Promises" until recently, when it suddenly hit me in all the right ways.
7 comments:
I was at the New Order/Pet Shop Boys show at MSG a few weeks ago and it was a blast. I'd never see PSB before and really enjoyed their performance.
As for Petty's Hard Promises, if memory serves me correctly, his label wanted to price the album at $9.98 instead of the then standard $8.98 and that set Petty off. And The Night Watchman is the only song off of that album that I name w/o looking at the tracklist.
So, 'fess up, Sal - how did the smug little weasel get hired in the first place and why did he end up getting canned?
Squeeze Play is about to get played here... again!
Randy
Randy,
He was hired because we wanted our jazz section to really expand and he knew his stuff. Plus, he had a good sense of humor, until it all fell apart and he started to take advantage.
He was fired because instead of closing the shop on his night shift, he shut most of the lights, pulled the front gate down a little more than halfway, and had a little tete-a-tete with another employee, which consisted of wine, cheese, music, culminating with some oral pleasure while he smoked a cigar. He got so caught up in the deed, he dropped the cigar on the counter and burned a CD size hole in it. That's not the worst part. The next morning when I saw the wine bottle and burn hole in the counter, I called to ask what happened. He shared the story like a bro, like I was going to pat him on the back and say, "Great dude!" He was wrong. She was fired, too.
Thanks for this Sal!
Small world, maybe. I made the exact same purchase on the other side of the country that summer. While the other two remain favorites in the rotation, I’m not sure I’ve ever finished the Elton. Is it worth trying again?
Thanks for all you do, Sal!
Thanks for the zip & the funny, serves 'em right weasel tale (do weasels have tails?). Been listening to some live New Order so that track fits in nicely. Can I use my line again about how it's good you can squeeze in a Squeeze tune? (No - Ed). Cheers!
I'd bailed on Squeeze after "Sweets from a Stranger". At your insistence I gave "Play" a try and they got back in my good graces. Absolutely great record.
Post a Comment