Guest Howard
GuestForum Replies Created
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Certainly no one-hit-wonders, but what a version of Locomotion!
Grand Funk Railroad live 1974
Everybody’s doing a brand-new dance, now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
I know you’ll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with me
It’s easier than learning your A-B-C
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips, now -
Well, Jung, Soft Cell may have been a ‘one-hit-wonder’ in Canada, but hardly elsewhere!
In the United Kingdom, they had ten Top 40 hits including “Tainted Love” (#1 UK), “Torch” (#2 UK), “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” (#3 UK), “What!” (#3 UK), and “Bedsitter” (#4 UK), and also had four Top 20 albums between 1981 and 1984. In 1984, the duo split but reformed in 2001 to tour and record new material, releasing their fifth studio album, Cruelty Without Beauty in 2002.
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Well, there have been many candidates David, but I’d definitely have to start with this classic from an Aussie, Buddy England.
“Movin’ man”
There is actually a topic dealing with this subject back in the early days of the Club.
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A favourite comedy of mine from the seventies is “Porridge.”
Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series, and included two Christmas specials and a feature film of the same name (in the United States, the film was released under the title Doing Time).
The sitcom focuses on two prison inmates, Norman Fletcher (played by Barker) and Lennie Godber (played by Beckinsale), who are serving time at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. The show’s title is a reference to both the traditional breakfast that used to be served in British prisons, and the British slang for serving a prison sentence: “Doing porridge”.
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The following is extracted from the web and is intended for fanatics like me. If you are not into Neil Young’s music, you may prefer to ignore it as it is quite long!
“Cortez the Killer”
“This song is about Hernán Cortez, the Spanish conqueror of the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs lived in what is now considered Mexico, and Cortez had an army of 600 sail from what is now Cuba to the Aztec town of Tobasco (yes, where the hot peppers and the name of the sauce originally came from). The Aztecs thought Cortez was a god and bowed before him. They let his army roam free. Cortez, however, became wary of their good nature and took their leader hostage. He then captured and killed many of their people. He also unwittingly brought new diseases to the Americas, in which the natives had no immunities. On top of all this, he built what is now Mexico City with slave labor. He returned to Spain a hero.
Neil Young’s song brings an interesting alternative viewpoint to the history of Cortez’s invasion. While not a complete history of Cortez or the Aztecs, it’s title alone gives you a very good idea of how Young viewed the invasion. Young’s romantic imagery near the end of the track highlights the emotional toll (lost romance, etc.) of the invasion.
Peace is a theme of this song. From verse six: “But they built up with their bare hands, what we still can’t do today” indicates that even in the most barbarian times there was still peace, and in present-day, as sophisticated as it may be, there is anything but peace. The Aztecs were peaceful, representing sort of a utopian nonviolent society. Cortez and the Spanish brigade used trickery to beat the Aztecs, people who had never committed any offensive acts towards the Spanish. The Spanish could represent the status quo society, completely antonymic from the amicable Aztecs.
“Neil Young’s ex-wife Pegi is also a singer/songwriter. When we spoke with Pegi and asked how personal experiences inspired her songs, she told us: “I think there are little kernels of our lives in many of our songs, unless you’re writing ‘Cortez’ or something. It must have been in another life my husband was an Incan warrior.”
The last verse switches from a third to a first-person perspective, characterizing the faceless, historical figure of Cortez into someone romantically pining for an unnamed somebody: “And I know she’s living there, and she loves me to this day. I still can’t remember when or how I lost my way.” Since the song was written around the time of his split with wife Carrie Snodgress, there’s speculation that it’s at least partially autobiographical. However, when Jimmy McDonough, author of the young biography Shakey, questioned the singer about this, Neil simply said: “Its not about information. The song is not meant for them to think about me. The song is meant for people to think about themselves. The specifics about what songs are about are not necessarily constructive or relevant. A lot of stuff I make up because it came to me.”
The song fades out after around seven and a half minutes. According to Neil’s father in the book Neil and Me, this was because an electrical circuit had blown, halting the recording process. This caused a final verse to be lost; Neil, however, opined that he “never liked that verse anyway.” While an official recording of the lost verse was never released, the singer added the lines, “Ship is breaking up on the rocks. Sand beach… so close” to the end of the song while on his 2003 Greendale Tour.
This song has one of the longest intros in rock: Young’s vocals done come in until 3:22.
During a show in Manassas, Virginia on August 13, 1996, Young told the audience that he wrote this song after eating too many hamburgers in high school. “One night I stayed up too late when I was goin’ to high school. I ate like six hamburgers or something. I felt terrible… very bad… this is before McDonald’s. I was studying history, and in the morning I woke up I’d written this song.”
The song’s slow, rambling vibe was partly down to rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro’s drug use. Sampedro recalled to Uncut: “When we recorded ‘Cortez,’ I had just smoked some angel dust. The whole song I thought the second chord, D, was the first chord. So I emphasized that every time round, while Neil was leaning on the first chord, E minor. I think that helped keep a really slow tune moving along.”
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I totally agree with you, John. This would be an excellent option for the MLT to add to their fabulous acoustic “Duo Sessions”. Can’t you just see Mona on harmonica here! Yes, the seventies did happen and Neil Young was all over them. “Cortez The Killer” comes to mind for some reason.
“He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
And that palace in the sun”Album: Zuma (1975), Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
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Thanks for clarifying that Jung. I thought something wasn’t quite right and then thought I must be losing it, which was quite embarrassing! I’ll check the original overdubbed version to settle my mind. I’m glad you edited your post to include the truly live version.
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Very, very funny Jung. Never seen that one before. That dude definitely wouldn’t remember the seventies or much else for that. That could have been the seventies for many people!
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By the way, young people these days are lucky to work three years in the same job, let alone thirty. I’m glad The MLT seem to be the exception. I hope they spend a lifetime working in the same job at MLT Production, Video & Engineering, MLT Management & Booking and Woolgoose records!
As for that that Stones “The Last Time” Ed Sullivan performance in 1965, I must apologise. I was looking at the wrong video. The Ed Sullivan video IS live! I had to check as I was aware that Ed Sullivan shows were typically live.
Following is another Stones performance on the Ed Sullivan show the year before. Live!
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Look through any window, what do you see? Hopefully The MLT doing another Hollies cover!
Sorry folk, I can’t help myself as I don’t think you could ever get enough MLT Hollies covers. They are a perfect fit!
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Yes Jung, an awesome cover from the Twins of a great Stones song. The Stones version you have picked is a studio version dubbed over a live concert. Mona and Lisa absolutely smash it live! I also really like their minimalist interpretation of “Paint It Black”. I would also love to see them cover this once Lisa has mastered the sitar, and she will one day!
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When considering the Seventies, how could we not include the Boss, Bruce Springsteen!
On this day in 1949, the incomparable Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born in the beachside town of Long Branch, New Jersey.
That makes the singer, songwriter, musician – and seemingly immortal – 70 today.
Springsteen has sold more than 135 million records worldwide and more than 64 million records in the United States in a career spanning almost 50 years.
Inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley in the early and mid-1950s, Springsteen bought his first guitar at age 15 after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, and began playing local venues with a band called The Rogues.
His best-known songs include Born to Run (1975), Thunder Road (1975), Badlands (1978), Hungry Heart (1980), Dancing in the Dark (1984), Born in the USA (1984), Glory Days (1985), Brilliant Disguise (1987), Human Touch (1992) and Streets of Philadelphia (1994).
How about this gem from 1984!
“The Boss” has also won 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award for Springsteen on Broadway.
In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and in 2016, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
And at 70, Springsteen is still touring, with a tour of Australia planned in 2020. Yabba dabba do!
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Congratulations on the thirty years’ work anniversary Jung! In the same company? As for that new mechanical auto wind wristwatch with 80 hours power reserve of yours, sounds awesome. Knowing your taste, I bet it is a quality product. I have to put my Apple Watch on charge every night. At the moment they are sacrificing battery life for functionality and apps. They have some awesome upgrades though, including an excellent compass and location system, heart rate sensors and now a function that sends an alert to next of kin or emergency services, including your location, if the watch detects a fall. It can be easily canceled if assistance is not required.
This sort of function is going to become increasingly important as we age, especially for the increasing number of people who live alone. I’ve already had two incidences of where neighbours (in my block of flats), have fallen and not been able to get up again. In the first case, an elderly lady fell when getting up from her lounge and wasn’t discovered until three days later when the lady calling to take her to church saw her lying on the lounge room floor (through the kitchen window) and alerted emergency services. Unfortunately, she had passed away.
I don’t mean to promote Apple products, but I find that between my Iphone, Airpods, and watch, I have excellent connection with MLT music. I can listen to music at the gym, merely via my watch (including volume control and forward/reverse capability, and my Airpods via Bluetooth! The watch can also be used as pay wave for purchases and soon I will be able to use it to swipe on and off on all public transport. No more situations of getting to a bus and find I have left my card at home and the bus driver doesn’t take cash (which I never carry anymore anyway). And of course, I won’t even need my Iphone on hand to make and receive calls. This can all be done via the watch. Calling Dick Tracy!
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This is always a difficult one for me Jung as I usually listen to The MLT via their brilliant Jukebox. It’s always nice being surprised by what’s coming next and having those covers followed by originals and vice versa. My favourites can also change from day to day like many other MLT fans! However, I’ll have a stab!
Top three originals: Sweet Lorraine, Still a Friend of Mine, Count On Me.
Top three non-Beatles covers: Bus Stop, Catch The Wind, A World Without Love.
At the moment I haven’t been listening very much as one of my Airpods has stopped working and I have to decide whether to buy a single replacement for $90 odd, or upgrade to a completely new set (yes, Apple products, like everything else in my country are very expensive). I have the original Airpods and original Apple Watch and am about to upgrade to the latest Apple Watch (I like the idea of the waterproofing for swimming and counting laps), so probably time to upgrade my Airpods and take better advantage of MLT music while walking or riding my bicycle or at the gym!
I just love this cover. Simply sublime!
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Maybe for you Daniel, the seventies are like the sixties were for many people. If you can remember them, then you weren’t there!
