So, look, fellow RTHers — over the past week, I’ve scored a number of very interesting musical bits and pieces in the thrift store bins of Our Nation’s Capital. But today I want to focus on two or three in respectful tribute to our long-suffering Moderator.
Seriously, guys and gals — ol’ Jim really does put up with a lot from us, and he deserves at least a little bit of respeck every once in a while. So, I have decided to dedicate this third installment of my Thrifty Music series to our own Mr. Mod.
As always, I encourage newcomers to read Volume 1 in the series to fully acquaint themselves with the overarching philosophy behind this ongoing project.
Now — to the Modular tunes at hand!
Donnie Hathaway, “Love, Love, Love”
First up, a nicely scratchy 45 of Donny Hathaway singing “Love, Love, Love.” I submit this to Mr. Mod with the following question in mind: You’ve made it quite clear that you find the What’s Going On album to be bloated, self-indulgent and — seemingly most important — unfocused. Well, here’s an extremely talented singer clearly ripping a very focused page (if not an entire chapter) from that Album You Love To Be Iconoclastic About — and acquitting himself rather nicely, too, if you ask me. My question is: If this were a small part of an album that showed as much focus from start to finish, would you prefer it to the “classic” album it emulates?
Dee Dee Warwick, “I’m Glad I’m a Woman”
Second: You and I have gone toe-to-toe before on the topic of Dionne Warwick. I say she’s only as good as the songs she’s given, and that Burt Bacharach is the only reason she’s worth listening to; you continue to believe in some mush-mouthed notion that she and Burt Bacharach were joined together by God, and that each makes the other reach his/her highest conceivable artistic peak. Well, you and I can continue to disagree about all that. For now, check out this cool A-side I scored of Dionne’s baby sister, kicking major ass on a beautiful song entitled “I’m Glad I’m a Woman” (and I do mean song: this is one of those rare numbers where I find the lyric to be every bit as compelling as the music). Not as idiosyncratic as her older sister, but… wow!
James Darren, “Goodbye, Cruel World”
Finally, Mr. Mod, I offer you a surprisingly fun and catchy single entitled “Goodbye, Cruel World,” sung by teen heartthrob James Darren. Who’s James Darren, you ask? None other than the actor who went on to play Jim Corrigan on T.J. Hooker! By golly, I actually like this song – that pennywhistle figure is killer!
Anyhow, that’s all I got this time out. I’ve saved one or two more tunes from the last couple of weeks’ hunting that I hope to share with you all soon, ’cause they’re really strong. I just wanted to go on record first with this loving tribute to our very own Mr. Mod. Thanks, as always, for keepin’ it real.
Your pal,
Hrundi V. Bakshi
