This could be a short one. But I was listening to some Mott the Hoople and one of Mick Ralph‘s few contributions came on “Ready For Love“.
Mick took this song with him to Bad Co. and it became a big hit. Can you name other times this happened? (Solo suitcasing doesn’t count.)
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Here’s that Jock Rock you ordered, dillweed.
Here’s Screamin’ Jay Hawkins answering Mod’s probing question about uncharted waters with alarming specificity.
Screamin’ Jay Tackles Moddie’s Question Head-on
Even more alarming is the fact that I recently witnessed a burlesque stripper who choreographed an entire routine to this tune. Yes, it was all that and a bag of chips.
Every once in a while, when we discuss the merits of a particular song or album on a deeper level, I’m reminded of the fact that the range of emotions covered in rock songs typically covers only so many emotional dynamics: new love, heartbreak, friendship, humor, sexuality, religion, burnout, politics, and mortality. We’ve discussed the fact that some of these dynamics, such as humor and politics, can be more challenging to write about successfully in the rock song medium than others. However, this morning, as my heart beats faster with the approaching fall soccer season (I’m a coach of a boy’s team), I’m wondering if there are uncharted rock terrains? For instance, I often think there are too few, if any, songs that capture the spirit of competition (not necessarily athletic).
So, there are at least two questions I hope to answer today: 1) Am I wrong? (not about everything, wiseacre!), and 2) What uncharted rock terrains would you like to see explored more deeply?
It goes without saying that I look forward to your responses.
Let’s put an end to the nonsense over whether the last half-decent “Mick Taylor-era” Stones album, Goats Head Soup, or the first solid “return to form” Stones album, Some Girls, is better. The former couldn’t be more boiled down from the picked over bones of the Exile on Main Street era; the latter, upon its release, was of the here and now. Sure there was a good deal of 2-chord filler, but it reeked of late nights at Studio 54 and Truman Capote’s locomotive breath. The band sounded refreshed and committed to its mostly humble tunes. To boot, the album included the band’s best-crafted, Brazillian model pick-up single of the ’70s, one that actually managed to sound worth jumping into the sack over. We’ll get into the particulars of Some Girls in a bit. Let’s start with an initial shot at Goats Head Soup.
I’m not going to waste time. What’s Goats Head Soup‘s catchiest song, the horribly named “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”, but the 6th or 7th dip into the well that initially flowed from Let It Bleed‘s “Monkey Man” and “Live With Me”. Hell, it’s even got the brief Carlos Santana guitar interlude first used in “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”! This song, possibly the best of the best-known songs from Goats Head Soup, is representative of the album’s self-satisfied, burned-out, proto-Classic Rock approach. This song was made for parking your Camaro near Pennypack Park to meet up with some buds for a kegger in the woods. This song is the rock equivalent of going home with the “other” girl you met in the bar, not the one you wanted to get to know better. Cheap! Wake up with her in the morning and all you’re left with is “Can You Hear the Music”.
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My wife and I were asked this question tonight. He did not want to hear about “Yesterday” or “Something” being the most covered song (whatever that may have meant to him). He wanted to know what their most famous song was, what we would call a “signature” song, such as The Who’s “My Generation” or Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”.
Perhaps we can help answer this boy’s question as follows: Had The Beatles continued playing live through their recording career and maybe even another 10 years of possibly declining releases, what would be the one song the fans had to hear in the encore?
Anybody out there ever consider a lawsuit? Like maybe… ART WOODSTONE!
