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Last Man Standing: Songs in Which a Deliberate "Party" Vibe Plays as Prominent a Role in the Song as Almost Anything Else
05/20/08 | by Mr. Moderator
Surely you know of The Beach Boys' Party album, a studio release that was presented as an impromptu live performance during an intimate party. Fact of the matter is, it wasn't a live recording in the middle of an intimate party, but it's a pretty fun album and a great concept for sounding that way. "Barbara Ann" is the best-known track from this album. Those of you who know it well can probably anticipate certain "party" sounds as well as you can any vocal or instrumental lick in the song. Pretty cool - and not the only example of its kind. So as the title of this post suggests, we're seeking songs in which a deliberate "party" vibe plays as prominent a role in the song as almost anything else. Go for it!
79 comments
Comment from: general slocum [Member] 
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! The Adderly brothers' jazz/groove album, was a studio-with guests-and-open-bar-to-imitate-live project, is all that. They even claim it was recorded at "the Club" in Chicago. Lots of "testifying" with Orgasm Faking intensity.
05/18/08 @ 01:18
Another Mercy song - Mercy, Mercy Me (the ecology) - Marvin Gaye. It actually *was* a party in the studio with Mel Farr and Lem Barney of the Detroit Lions going one toke over the line between backup vocals.
05/18/08 @ 02:02
Whoops, I'd meant What's Going On.
05/18/08 @ 02:04
Comment from: homefrontradio [Member]
'Love Shack'? The backing 'party atmosphere' track was similar to another 60's song but the name escapes me.
05/18/08 @ 05:46
Too Rolling Stoned - Robin Trower offa Bridge of Sighs. Probably fueld by an overload of Dewar's...
05/18/08 @ 11:01
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
Farmer John is a god one. I could hear it in my head but I couldn't remember it. The girls are nuts in that club.
I was actually listening to Mercy Mercy Mercy as I read the question. Weird. It was on a podcast of my friend Chuck's radio show from a few weeks ago.
I'll suggest McCain's campaign theme song, the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann.
I was actually listening to Mercy Mercy Mercy as I read the question. Weird. It was on a podcast of my friend Chuck's radio show from a few weeks ago.
I'll suggest McCain's campaign theme song, the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann.
05/18/08 @ 11:59
Comment from: dr john [Member]
Neil Young, Tonight's the Night. Maybe not a party as much as a wake.
05/18/08 @ 15:23
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Good stuff, Townspeople, but there are plenty more where these came from! I'll claim Ben Vaughn Combo's "She's a Real Scream".
05/18/08 @ 21:18
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
It's funny, but at least three or four Parliament/Funkadelic tunes have gone through my mind, but I realize they have no overt sounds of, or references to, partying per se. They're just so much that kind of song. Like "Flashlight," for example, and "Tear the Roof Off..." does that one count? I forget.
05/18/08 @ 22:02
Comment from: chickenfrank [Member]
Cocktail party for The Beatles, You Know My Name, Look up the Number.
05/18/08 @ 22:45
Comment from: andyr [Member]
How about the intro to "I Just Can't Next To You" (or for that matter some versions of Psychedelic Shack"
05/19/08 @ 08:19
Comment from: cdm [Member]
Nighthawks at the diner - Tom Waits (although Big Steve really nailed it with Soul Finger)
05/19/08 @ 08:34
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" - or whatever that song is called.
05/19/08 @ 09:51
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
The Tremeloes' Here Come My Baby (written by Cat Stevens) has lots of whooping and hollering in the background.
05/19/08 @ 10:20
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Double Shot of My Baby's Love by the Swingin' Medallions, who amazingly enough still exist (http://www.medallions.com/).
05/19/08 @ 10:26
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Doesn't that Johnny Rivers song "Mountain of Love" fit this criterion? In fact, is there any Johnny Rivers song beside "Dark End of the Street" that doesn't have a canned party vibe?:)
05/19/08 @ 10:27
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
The Johnny Rivers stuff wasn't canned. His big album was Johnny Rivers Live At The Whiskey A Go Go, and when he had ah it with Memphis from that album he continued to record live and release those recordings as hit singles. But he did have non-live hits -- Baby I Need Your Lovin' and Poor Side of Town, for example. And I haven't heard it in a while but I don't think Secret Agent Man was live.
05/19/08 @ 10:42
Comment from: mockcarr [Member]
How about "Let's Dance On" by the Monkees. It's essentially "Good Lovin'" with extra hollering and a louder bass drum fer the dancin'.
05/19/08 @ 10:42
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
We All Had a Real Good Time - Edgar Winter Group
05/19/08 @ 12:49
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
I had considered mentioning Lou's Kicks, but the party that the dialog is recorded at sounds like the least fun party ever. Appropriate to the songs lyrics, but still....
05/19/08 @ 12:51
Comment from: andyr [Member]
You know what is interesting? With the exception of "You my Name...," all of the contenders have been American.
I guess the british studio were too stuffy to allow for a party vibe. I guess it took The Beatles to loosen them up.
I guess the british studio were too stuffy to allow for a party vibe. I guess it took The Beatles to loosen them up.
05/19/08 @ 12:56
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
I'm with Steve on Kicks. Creepy vibe. Also that one bootleg VU record had all kinds of conversation bits with slowed-down music or tapes going on, with Nico in conversation. Literally a party recorded, it would seem, but not at all applicable. It manages to *be* a party without having the slightest feel of a party *vibe.* If you want to expand on the definition of that vibe, you might end up including Alvin Lucier's "I'm Sitting In a Room." Now *that's* a party!
05/19/08 @ 13:05
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Partypoopers,
A party's a party, even a creepy one. Furthermore, the creepy party vibe plays as prominent a role in the song as almost anything else. "Kicks" stays!
A party's a party, even a creepy one. Furthermore, the creepy party vibe plays as prominent a role in the song as almost anything else. "Kicks" stays!
05/19/08 @ 13:22
You know what is interesting? With the exception of "You my Name...," all of the contenders have been American.
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble. A mid-60's mod instrumental with lots of whooping it up.
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble. A mid-60's mod instrumental with lots of whooping it up.
05/19/08 @ 14:56
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
I can't recall if there's a party going on or if it's just musical accompaniment fit for a party, but how about "Winchester Cathedral"? Feel free to shoot this one down if I'm, as Roger Clemens would put it, misremembering.
05/19/08 @ 15:14
Comment from: mockcarr [Member]
Most misleading party song is Instant Party by the Who. Don't eat the bad acid.
05/19/08 @ 15:39
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
There's that song on Satanic Majesties -- Why Don't We Sing This Song All Together?
05/19/08 @ 15:39
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
Winchester Cathedral is as dry as a saltine. Party-wise. Lyrically, it's sort of a love-lorn item. Almost a jaunty, bassoon-wielding blues, if you will.
05/19/08 @ 15:58
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
not so sure about "sing this song".
what about "do the ostrich"?
what about "do the ostrich"?
05/19/08 @ 18:00
Comment from: shawnkilroy [Member]
i second "sing this all together"
not real party sounds, but real massive gang vocal
it's a party in there!
not real party sounds, but real massive gang vocal
it's a party in there!
05/19/08 @ 19:37
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
I was also thinking of the bit at the beginning of the reprise Sing This All Together (See`What Happens), where there are some voices of men and women in random conversation, then Mick says "Where's that joint?" right before the music starts. Not a big, wild party, just a small gathering of the hipperati, like you'd have at Redlands.
05/19/08 @ 20:48
Comment from: geo [Member]
More Brits:
The Specials - Enjoy Yourself
and quite a few more, I believe.
The Specials - Enjoy Yourself
and quite a few more, I believe.
05/19/08 @ 23:00
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
re. "sing this song": forgot about that part, BigSteve! fair enough!
05/19/08 @ 23:19
Comment from: mac [Member]
The entire bonus album from Sloan's "One Chord To Another": "Live! At a Sloan Party"
Especially "I am the Cancer," and their covers of "Over You" and "On The Road/Transona Five"
Although I think it's not a fake party in the background so it could be considered more of just a live album. Although it seems a little more intimate.
Especially "I am the Cancer," and their covers of "Over You" and "On The Road/Transona Five"
Although I think it's not a fake party in the background so it could be considered more of just a live album. Although it seems a little more intimate.
05/20/08 @ 08:37
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Mac wrote:
DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!!! Good work, Mac. I was going to surprise Townspeople with the posting of tracks from this bonus album today. Hold tight. Once I've got The Man off my back this afternoon I'll post some tracks from this take on the Beach Boys' concept album.
The entire bonus album from Sloan's "One Chord To Another": "Live! At a Sloan Party"
DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!!! Good work, Mac. I was going to surprise Townspeople with the posting of tracks from this bonus album today. Hold tight. Once I've got The Man off my back this afternoon I'll post some tracks from this take on the Beach Boys' concept album.
05/20/08 @ 09:15
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
Jens Lekman: "Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill".
It's kind of gross, what an uppity, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", black-tie vibe this song evokes, but hey, it's a party nonetheless.
It's kind of gross, what an uppity, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", black-tie vibe this song evokes, but hey, it's a party nonetheless.
05/20/08 @ 09:19
Comment from: alexmagic [Member]
"All Night Long (All Night)" - Lionel Richie
This may an actual party caught on record, since in the '80s, where ever Lionel went, so went the party. Including the ceiling, if need be.
This may an actual party caught on record, since in the '80s, where ever Lionel went, so went the party. Including the ceiling, if need be.
05/20/08 @ 09:20
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
There's also that weird blues song that ends side one of Hendrix's Cry of Love, My Friend. Random chatter and glasses clinking at the beginning and throughout the song, and Jimi starts up with "Y'all pass me that bottle and I'll sing you a real song." The song's pretty sad though.
05/20/08 @ 09:31
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Although not intentionally overdubbed or otherwise staged as a key component in any of the songs, the audience at the VU's Live at Max's Kansas City album plays as prominent a role as the band. I don't know that we can count that album, but I feel like being a smartypants by pointing this out.
05/20/08 @ 09:53
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
has anybody mentioned "tighten up" by archie bell and the drells?
05/20/08 @ 16:54
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
"Tighten Up" is a great one, but is there a party beyond what the band members are cooking up among themselves? That's what I've always thought. Maybe it still counts. I don't know.
I'm sure we're still missing some other biggies. I know Sammy's sitting on a good, subtle one.
I'm sure we're still missing some other biggies. I know Sammy's sitting on a good, subtle one.
05/20/08 @ 17:04
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Wait a second, possibly one of the most obvious: doesn't "The In Crowd" (the instrumental hit version) feature key audience parts?
05/20/08 @ 17:05
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
OK, "The In Crowd" may not count - that's actually live, right? Same goes for "Fingertips, pt 2", I believe. I thought they both qualified in that "Soul Finger" way. I guess "Hanky Panky" is another song, like "Tighten Up", with intraband hoots and hollers. Back to the drawing board...
05/20/08 @ 17:11
Comment from: alexmagic [Member]
The intra-band shouting thing is a real gray area. I wouldn’t count, say, the Isleys doing “Shout” or most Sly & The Family Stone songs in here, since they aren’t actually faking a party atmosphere. Bungalow Bill seems to get really close to the edge, too…anybody want to make a judgment call on that one?
I would definitely count “Soul Finger” though, that’s a straight-up fake party going on. I’d go so far as saying that the Bar-Kays’ fake party is the best one on the table so far, too. Definitely the one I’d most want to be at.
Anyway, I’m still in this fight, but I’m not proud of this one – “All Over The World”, ELO. Yeah, I just played the Xanadu card.
I would definitely count “Soul Finger” though, that’s a straight-up fake party going on. I’d go so far as saying that the Bar-Kays’ fake party is the best one on the table so far, too. Definitely the one I’d most want to be at.
Anyway, I’m still in this fight, but I’m not proud of this one – “All Over The World”, ELO. Yeah, I just played the Xanadu card.
05/20/08 @ 19:42
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
alex, i thought of bungalow bill, too, only because it deteriorates into clapping at the end. it passes, i suppose.
I was also thinking of "that's cool, that's trash", an old pebbles comp tune where the singer describes a party, and receives responses from the backing vocalists. only problem is, it's a simulation of hanging out and talking about the party that will happen later. ah well....
I was also thinking of "that's cool, that's trash", an old pebbles comp tune where the singer describes a party, and receives responses from the backing vocalists. only problem is, it's a simulation of hanging out and talking about the party that will happen later. ah well....
05/20/08 @ 20:13
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
alex, what about the stuff happening in the fade of "everybody's got something to hide"? nah...we're definitely pushing it there....
05/20/08 @ 20:14
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
I agree, we're pushing it there, but "Bungalow Bill" is very close. That whole "daycare singalong" vibe that's behind that song and "Fingertips" may be a category unto itself.
Speaking of The Clash's Sandinista, as 2K did in the Mystery Date thread, how about the Latin-tinged party of "Let's Go Crazy"!
Speaking of The Clash's Sandinista, as 2K did in the Mystery Date thread, how about the Latin-tinged party of "Let's Go Crazy"!
05/21/08 @ 00:04
Comment from: alexmagic [Member]
sat: I love all the extraneous rave-up shouting in the background of Everybody’s Got Something To Hide. After the last guess-the-grunt sound clips quiz, I wanted to put together a “Guess The ‘HEY!’” clip quiz using Lennon’s in that one, but I lacked the technical proficiency and patience to actually put it together.
The more I think about it, the more Beatles songs stray close to this category – Bungalow Bill, Everybody’s Got Something To Hide, All Together Now…Yellow Submarine has party/band noises…the fake crowd noises for both ends of Sgt. Pepper and the nervous dinner party laughs at the end of Within You Without You, though those three are more fake concerts than fake parties. Chickenfrank’s choice of You Know My Name is definitely a fake party, though.
While it wouldn’t count since it doesn’t include any real party noises, John's Children's “A Midsummer Night’s Scene” does a great job of simulating actually being at a party when you’ve had too much booze or got a hold of some bad shit.
The more I think about it, the more Beatles songs stray close to this category – Bungalow Bill, Everybody’s Got Something To Hide, All Together Now…Yellow Submarine has party/band noises…the fake crowd noises for both ends of Sgt. Pepper and the nervous dinner party laughs at the end of Within You Without You, though those three are more fake concerts than fake parties. Chickenfrank’s choice of You Know My Name is definitely a fake party, though.
While it wouldn’t count since it doesn’t include any real party noises, John's Children's “A Midsummer Night’s Scene” does a great job of simulating actually being at a party when you’ve had too much booze or got a hold of some bad shit.
05/21/08 @ 09:29
Comment from: saturnismine [Member]
There's definitely supposed to be a party going on right after the last note of "Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)" by the Knack.
05/21/08 @ 13:54
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
"Bang Bang!" - Joe Cuba Sextet (I'm pretty sure there's more than six of them, but if you fudge the math, you get to have "sex" in your song listing.)
05/22/08 @ 20:52
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
And, actually, this is a phenomenon used by a lot of sixties Latin pop - the partying crowd, the guiro-playing revelers. There are several Ray Barretto songs that do it, and a few Willie Bobo tunes, and Mongo Santamaria, et al.
05/22/08 @ 20:54
Comment from: general slocum [Member]
This one isn't really a contender, but I was just realizing how much "In 'n Out of Grace" by Mudhoney manages to hold on to that party vibe established by that movie clip intro. All those fist-pumping extras are elicited throughout the song. But they in fat aren't there, so I think there's much more going on than that.
05/22/08 @ 20:57
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Roxy Music, the first part of "Mother of Pearl" - or is it all too orchestrated to count as a "party" vibe?
05/22/08 @ 23:23
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
Hey, Slokie -- are you into that 60s/70s bugalu stuff? I always knew you were an ass-kicker. That shit is *awesome*.
Your fan,
HVB
Your fan,
HVB
05/22/08 @ 23:35
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