Yesterday I listened to a U.K. Ronnie Spector collection from 2015 called "The Very Best Of Ronnie Spector." The first half is all Ronettes, while the second half contains a few collaborations, one with Southside Johnny and two with the E Street Band, as well as some solo material. It was a pretty solid listen.
Two tracks stood out, mostly because I simply didn't remember them, something I imagine is going to happen more and more.
"Love On A Rooftop" is a Diane Warren/Desmond Child co-write, and while it was released as a single in 1987, it failed to crack the Billboard Top 100. The other is a cover of Marshall Crenshaw's "Something's Gonna Happen," which is one of five Crenshaw tunes Ronnie recorded in 1989 with Marshall and his band, but stayed unreleased in legal limbo until 2003. I don't remember this at all. The Spector/Crenshaw collab also includes "Whenever You're On My Mind," "For His Love,""Favorite Waste of Time" and "Communication."
"Love On A Rooftop" is a fantastic pastiche of 50's doo wop and 60's girl group, albeit with a bit of unfortunate 80's synth for good measure. Why it failed to crack the Top 100, I'll never know. The Crenshaw cover is pretty much the M.C. backing track with Ronnie singing. I believe the other four tracks are on YouTube.
I don't have any post-Grammy commentary. Sorry. I watched the Knicks and the Lakers. But hey, I learned something new about Ronnie Spector. There's that!
5 comments:
Is "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" on the album?
Yes
Love On A Rooftop originally appeared on Unfinished Business (1987). It and the Crenshaw covers ep, along with the “best of” are available streaming. Ronnie sounds great on both tracks.
- Paul in DK
"I simply didn't remember them, something I imagine is going to happen more and more." Hahahaha. I feel you. Future Burning Wood post: "Wow, this artist Todd Rundgren is really blowing my mind. So fantastic! Why have I never heard of him before?" And I will eagerly check him out. :)
I'm very happy about Bad Bunny winning. It's deserved I'd say (certainly he's been a significant artist for a while), a landmark (first album in Spanish to win Album of the Year) and an FU to the racists and fascists trying to dismantle our democracy.
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