Jam of the day, vinyl you just have to buy, music inspired by history and literature, and a silly quote: The Byrds / "I Come And Stand At Every Door"

Artist: The Byrds
Album: Fifth Dimension
Song: "I Come And Stand At Every Door"
Released: July 18, 1966
Label: Columbia



I was really happy to score a near mint copy of this album at Jerry's Records this morning. The Byrds are one of my all-time favorite bands—if not the favorite—and this is one of their albums that I've never spotted at a store on vinyl. Sure, I could find a reissue online or whatever, but there's a certain thrill in having a few albums in the back of your mind all the time and knowing that you will, with absolute certainty, buy one whenever you see a copy for sale. Check this one off my list. I have a few others on mind. What albums are on YOUR list?

I also stopped in to Galaxie Electronics, which on the same floor as Jerry's on the right when you walk in, to buy a new belt for my turntable. I've had it about four years now and this is the first time I've had to fix anything, so I'm grateful for that. I've been putting that off for a couple of weeks, out of laziness and business, and between random shopping and Record Store Day last weekend, I've built up quite the backlog of albums I've been meaning to listen to. But screw all that, I had to but Fifth Dimension on as soon as I got home. I was planning on writing something about "Eight Miles High" (one of the most famous Byrds tunes and their first exploration into jazzy psych rock) or maybe the title track or maybe the silly little ditty "Mr. Spaceman", but then … I heard "I Come And Stand At Every Door".

I almost forgot this song was on this album. I almost forgot it even existed. It's kind of a throwaway, not really standing out as a stellar single or anything and, with its somber guitar line and rhythm and the deliberate vocal cadence, it's very much the least poppy track on an otherwise very upbeat and exciting record. Its the lyrical content, though, that really delivers the message. The words are an English translation of a poem by Turkish poet Nâzim Haket about the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings of WWII. It's written from the perspective of a seven year-old child (the poem says "girl" but the song's lyrics are slightly different and don't mention gender) who died in the bombings, and describes the child's death and how his/her spirit remains in this world and asks for nothing but peace. It's rather touching when you listen carefully and/or read along. Apparently Pete Seeger recorded a version of the poem in song form originally, in 1962, and The Byrds 1966 version added some somber electric guitars to the tune and really did it justice.

"I come and stand at every door
But no one hears my silent prayer
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, for I am dead"



Anyway, this song also got me thinking about other songs and albums that have been inspired (or are direct references to/usages of) historical events and/or literary pieces. We all know that Jeff Mangum says a fair amount of the content of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea was inspired by his recent reading of The Diary of Anne Frank. The only other really interesting example I can think of off the top of my head is If… which was apparently inspired by the Italo Calvino novel If on a winter's night a traveler. I haven't listened to that album, but I remember loving that novel when I read it in college. I still have a copy laying around here; I should pick it up again… Can you think of any other examples like this? I'll keep racking my brain and scouring the web. I'm sure there are some interesting ones!

One last thing: the remastered CD reissue of this album that came out on the album's 30th anniversary had a few bonus tracks: an alternate version of "Eight Miles High", two version of that single's B-side called "Why", a great David Crosby-penned tune called "Psychodrama City", and some others. The second version of "Why" is 17 minutes long, though, because after the tune ends and a radio promo interview with Roger McGuinn and David Crosby starts playing. It's kinda funny because you can only hear what those guys say, not the radio interviewer and not the songs they apparently play during the interview. But they say some pretty funny stuff as they talk about the album and the songs. It's worth tracking down and listening to if you're a big fan like me. I remember laughing so hard when they got to talking about the album name and the title track. Roger McGuinn says something silly like, "Well, the fifth dimension is a very philosophical place." Well said, dude.

Jam of the day, road trip radio, and the semantics of "classic rock": Bad Company / "Feel Like Makin' Love"

I made a six-hour drive from New Jersey to Pittsburgh last weekend with some college buddies who I hadn't seen in a while. In my friend's rental car, he had a couple of CDs that we played a few times through: Can's Delay 1968, which is great driving music; Devendra Banhart's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, only half of which we got through after playing the 8-minute, slow-burning jam "Seahorse" three times in a row; and the debut, Gros mammouth album, of Montreal's French-speaking indie pop-rock band Les Trois Accords (The Three Chords, which is an accurate description of their melodies). We chatted, we napped, we snacked, and we played a fizzling round of "more like a rock or a theory of justice", everyone's favorite, wacky binary search game.

Eventually, I suggested turning on the radio as we got closer to Pittsburgh, and we found a classic rock station. Within a few minutes, Bad Company's hit single "Feel Like Makin' Love" came on. We all groaned. We laughed. But I'll be god damned if the chorus didn't come around after a minute and find us all singing at the top of our lungs. Just try it:



This has to be the cheesiest fucking song known to man. (Watching it with the lyrics displayed makes it even more obvious. Who writes this stuff?!) After we caught ourselves singing along with gusto, we chuckled at the thought of some mustachioed dude in a leather jacket putting this song on the jukebox in some dive bar and strutting down the dance floor with his arm outstretched, pointing at some "hottie" at the other end of the room and singing along. What an image. Who else is this song for?

While we're on the topic of classic rock radio, I should mention an interesting debate I had on Twitter yesterday with some Pittsburgh folks. I tweeted a link to a Tumblr blog that compiles great 90s indie rock hits with the description "90s rule". The Post-Gazette's music critic Scott Mervis wrote back that the 90s were "Maybe the 4th best decade for rock". Yowza. I asked where the 50s were in his ranking? What followed was an interesting debate about what decades were best for "rock music", what "classic" actually means, and some good-natured ribbing. Here's my favorite exchange from the whole thing: Hugh says this, I say this. Check out the thread on Twitter and join the conversation, or leave your thoughts here. I'm listening.

Cover jam of the day, and a vinyl find at Jerry's Records: "Come On Down To My Boat"

Artist: Every Mother's Son / Meeting of Important People / The Rare Breed
Song: "Come On Down To My Boat"

Like many other vinyl fans in Pittsburgh, I trekked to Jerry's Records this past weekend after hearing he was planning to give away 33,000 records in boxes of LPs and 45s. (Why 33,000? He just likes the number, although I think 33,333 would have made more sense.) He's done giveaways like this before, and I've lucked into some good stuff (check out my "vinyl find" series for some of those). I was already needing to stop by the store and pick up some auction wins anyway (super clean copies of Fresh Cream and Bob Dylan and, as Jerry noted upon pickup, not quantity but definitely quality), so I looked around to see if anything caught my eye. While walking through the "rock" area, one album was sitting at the front of the "miscellaneous E" section and it grabbed my attention: the album Every Mothers' Son by the band Every Mother's Son (note the subtle apostrophic difference). The name was familiar, and in case I couldn't remember, a sticker on the album cover notes the inclusion of "Come On Down To My Boat". Aha! This song was covered by my fave local band, Meeting Of Important People, on last year's Quit Music EP! I don't think I knew for a couple of months after the release that it was even a cover song, but I learned the band's name at some point and it stuck in my head until now.

Based on the cover photo, this is a band of preppy dudes who write bubblegum pop songs, and some web research supports this hypothesis. Wikipedia notes the band's signing to MGM in 1967 was "supposedly because management saw the band's clean-cut image as an antidote to the hippie influx". Haha. But it's strange that the back cover of this album has silly band member bios, and one says "Lary can out-drink the toughest guy on the block" and Christopher is clearly reading an issue of Playboy in his photo. Maybe it's funny because Lary is chugging milk from the carton with a straw, and Christopher is grimacing at the magazine? I dunno. It's also strange that the song is really called "Come On Down To My Boat" yet the back of the album lists it as "Come And Take A Ride In My Boat". The album copy I grabbed is a little scratchy, but it just adds to the nostalgic feel, and the tunes are pretty solid for what they are: sweet and simple pop. ("For Brandy" is a particularly lovely little ditty.)

Enough chit-chat, here are two versions of this pretty and fun tune: Every Mother's Son's 1967 original version first (recorded live for some TV spot, in this particular video; here's a link to the album version), and then Meeting Of Important People's garage pop take on it 43 years later!
 

 

 
"Old garage song about a completely harmless man and his boat."
 
Hey now, hold on there! I just learned that Every Mother's Son aren't even the original recorders of this song! The Rare Breed (later known as The Ohio Express) hold that title, releasing a version entitled "Come And Take A Ride In My Boat" (aha, whence the confusion mentioned above) in 1966, but it never hit the charts. Somehow, Every Mother's Son's version did. There ya have it, folks, the fickleness of the listening public …
 

 

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Meeting of Important People on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp

Vinyl find: The Kingsmen / "Louie, Louie" b/w "Haunted Castle"

(Check out the first post in this series for the back story.)

Artist: The Kingsmen
Album: "Louie, Louie" b/w "Haunted Castle" 45 RPM 7" single
Label: Wand Records
Released: 1963

The concept of a B-side to a hit single no longer seems relevant in the digital era, does it? Remember when that shit mattered? I don't --- before my time, ya know? Do you think I can start this post with four questions in a row? Hell yes, I can, can't I? Oh shit, that's five, isn't it? Damn, I might as well go for six, eh? Is anyone still reading?

Anyhoozle, you absolutely know the A-side of this single by The Kingsmen. If you don't, you are not a human being who has ever owned a radio or seen a television program, so why the hell are you on the internet reading this? I don't think I have much to say about "Louie, Louie" except that it doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster as a straight-up rock 'n roll hit single. There's something about the way the singer yelps out those half-mumbled, fully-obscured lyrics and the keyboard chords chime with just the right amount of off-kilter melody and rhythm that sounds so perfect, and it probably will forever. Hearing it doesn't have quite the shock value as it must have back in 1963, and I don't think I will ever think of it as a covert "drug song" with "obscene lyrics" (although the singer may have been on some shit during recording, who's to say?), but it certainly endures as a classic garage rock single, worthy of its timelessness, for sure. Now, for five bonus points, can you name the original composer and performer of "Louie, Louie"? 30 second pause That's right, it was Richard Berry! You can collect your bonus trivia points if you buy me a beer at a show. In the meantime, relive the magic of The Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie" below (with all the lyrics!), and check out some famous and not so famous cover versions here: Richard Berry, Beach Boys, Paul Revere & The Raiders (my fave version of these, FWIW), Motorhead, Toots & the Maytals, Joan Jett, and finally Pittsburgh's very own 1960s scuzz punk band Swamp Rats (I got a compilation of their singles recently, been meaning to write something about them; keep your eyes peeled). Also, the crazy (and unverified) find of the day: this youtube user claims to have audio recording from the first ever Nirvana show, including some random bass riffs that sound like the intro to "Louie, Louie". Hmm, judges?



That song was pretty popular, staying at #2 on the charts for 6 weeks. (Seriously, it was never #1? My mind is blown.) The B-side to this song is a 2:45 instrumental entitled "Haunted Castle" and I wonder if anyone ever listened to it. I'd never heard nor heard of it, but I really like the sound. It has the same driving organ/guitar melody of the A-side, with a fun guitar solo right in the middle, and some punchy drum fills, and the dreamy organ chords that just seem to hang on the ends of the measures before picking up into the next beat are oh-so-catchy.

The weird thing is that I feel like I just keep waiting for the singer to chime in, like he keeps missing his cue verse after verse and then, after almost 3 minutes, the band just calls the whole thing off and calls it a day. Or a song, as it were.It's a catchy tune, for sure, but I can see why it's a B-side. Maybe I'm beginning to understand this whole B-side business after all... In any event, I'm glad to have randomly come across this record in a giant box of 45s, even if it does have big Xs draw in sharpie over the copyright info on both sides, and the letters "WAG" written on side B, too. Curses, past owner!

Vinyl find: Tommy James & The Shondells / "Crystal Blue Persuasion" b/w "I'm Alive"

(Check out the first post in this series for the back story.)

Artist: Tommy James & The Shondells
Album: "Crystal Blue Persuasion" b/w "I'm Alive" 45 RPM 7" single
Label: Roulette Records
Released: June 1969


I grew up on oldies radio. It's what I heard on the radio in the car and it's what I played at home, pretty much up to and through high school, even. My parents didn't have a turntable (but they did have a hidden record recollection, albeit a sparse one, that I only found out about and dug into in the last few years after buying a turntable myself) and the CD collection mostly consisted of greatest hits compilations of various Motown groups and oldies artists, which were actually pretty enjoyable (and soundtracks of films, musicals, etc. which were impressively unenjoyable). So between those compilations and the singles perenially chosen by oldies DJs, I essentially ingested nothing but regurgitated radio hits 30ish years after their release until I hit college. Considering my appetite for new and undiscovered music these days, I can't help but feel slightly bitter about the stunted growth of my musical appreciation that could have been flourishing for so many more years, but at the same time, I couldn't think of a better foundation (no matter how narrow it is) to build upon than oldies/classic rock hits.


Okay, enough personal-history rambling. The bottom line is this: I've heard songs by Tommy James & The Shondells more often than I could possibly count, and I'm a mathematician. Chances are you know "Crimson & Clover" (I remember my friend's P2P mp3 file labeled that one as a Simon & Garfunkel song haha) and "Mony Mony" (c'mon, you've been to a cheesy high school dance, haven't you?) and maybe even "Hanky Panky". But the reality is that TJ & The Ss had a bunch more hits (in the charts sense) and a handful of other great songs, too (in the sense of my opinion). I confess that I hadn't actively listened to them in a long time before stumbling across their Crimson & Clover LP at Jerry's for $3 a couple years ago, but the name caught my eye and brought back all those memories of hearing "Crimson & Clover" on the radio, and some other stuff. Buying that used record may be one of the best $3 purchases I've made, because I almost wore that record out in the first couple of months after buying it. It has so many fun (and funny, at that!) songs and builds beautifully on the psych-pop genre of that time. They aren't featured on the single I'm explicitly discussing here, but I have to point out the playful humor of "I Am A Tangerine" and the oh-so-sweet psychedelic love in "Kathleen McArthur" and the triumphant rock of "Breakway". All of them are on that LP. And then there are the popular hits!

The A-side on this one is "Crystal Blue Persuasion", one of the softer and slower songs that the group played, with carefully-picked guitar, bongos leading into the verses, and some overdubbed horn parts on the single version (absent on the LP version, for some reason, hmmm). It's one of the better uses of Tommy's surprisingly sweet vocals and, hell, it was featured in the pilot episode of The Wonder Years. What's not to love?



The B-side here is the deliciously upbeat and exultant rock 'n roll cut "I'm Alive". It builds and it retreats and builds again, playing off high-pitched organ chords, rollicking bass, and Tommy's shouting. It's mighty fun, with a guitar lick that makes you (or me, at least) wanna play air guitar along while shouting "I'm alive!"



Side note: one of the books I've been meaning to read since hearing about its existence is Me, the Mob, and the Music: One Helluva Ride with Tommy James & The Shondells, a biography of sorts by TJ about his time in the music industry and dealing with the shady behind-the-scense business work. Sounds interesting to me.

Vinyl find: The Rolling Stones / "Get Off of My Cloud" b/w "I'm Free"

(Check out the first post in this series for the back story.)


Artist: The Rolling Stones
Album: "Get Off of My Cloud" b/w "I'm Free" 45 RPM 7" single
Label: London Records
Released: September 25, 1965 (US) / October 22, 1965 (UK)

I've decided to go a bit more mainstream with this vinyl find series. You must know The Rolling Stones. If not, how have you ever settled a "Beatles or Stones" debate? Do you just choose the Fab Four by default? What if you don't know either of them? How are you human?

Anyway, you've likely even heard both of these songs before, or at least the A-side: it's a staple of classic rock stations and one of the band's more recognizable singles (of which there are many, of course). "Get Off Of My Cloud" has all of the deliciously rockadelic paranoia of "Sunday Morning" but with the added upbeat catchiness and rhythm of a radio single. I don't have much commentary to include about this song because you've probably formed your opinion of it already, but I will say that, no matter what your opinion is, discovering this 7" record amongst a shitbox of 45s is truly finding a diamond in the rough. You know it's a good song and you know it's great to have it on a vinyl copy, even if it's a little static-heavy on the A-side (likely due to overplay). "Hi! Hello! How are ya? Well, I guess I'm doing fine".



The B-side here is "I'm Free", a lyrically-simple declaration of desire for independence and artistic integrity and ... Well, maybe it's even simpler than that: it's a silly little pop-guitar song, and it's unfair to think of it as anything more grandiose than that. As the flip-song to a popular radio hit in its heydey, this is perfect. Is it a standalone work of art? Fuck, no, but that's not the point. Enjoy it for what it is. (I wish I could explain the bizarre Star Wars-style scrolling German text in the video below. Someone help, please? It was the only non-live version I could find on YouTube...)

Vinyl find: 1910 Fruitgum Company / "Indian Giver" b/w "Pow Wow"

(Check out the first post in this series for the back story.)

Artist: 1910 Fruitgum Company
Album: "Indian Giver" b/w "Pow Wow" 45 RPM 7" single
Label: Buddah Records
Released: January 1969


I'm still slowly combing through this massive box of 45s I got from Jerry's, trying to pick out the good stuff. It's tough to do, because I haven't heard of many of these bands and I'm somewhat afraid of passing on a hidden gem, like this one. I'd never heard the name 1910 Fruitgum Company before, but this bubblegum psych-pop band (how apt) was active and popular in the late 1960s, released three separate Top 5 Billboard singles that achieved gold status, and opened for the Beach Boys on a 10-day tour. Crazy. Not only that, the A-side of this single (one of those gold records), "Indian Giver", was covered by The Ramones and included on the compilation Ramones Mania. Finally, and strangely, two of the band's original members have reunited (along with ex-members of bands like The Lovin' Spoonful and The Buckinghams) and have been touring the US for the last four years or so, as well as selling rerecorded versions of past 1960s hits, such as their own originals. Still crazy.



Anyhow, let's examine the music here. I can completely see how "Indian Giver" was a successful single when it was put out in January of 1969. It's upbeat and poppy, channeling the deservedly-popular and enjoyable melodic guitar, keyboard and vocal elements of standard pop songs of the era and sprinkling a touch of psychedelia on top. Never mind the vaguely racist title and lyrics (see bottom of the page here) about a once smitten but now jilted lover, this is an immensely catchy pop song and clocking in at a mere 2:30 with a repeated-chorus fadeout, it was perfect for radio play.



What's crazy is that this record sold over 1 million copies, even with this wacky-as-fuck B-side. It's an "ode to Howdy Doody" recorded backwards!? The 45 itself doesn't even indicate which side is A/B so I actually put this side on first since "Pow Wow" sounds more like the title of a lead single and I was shocked to hear these alienating vocal sounds emanating from my headphones. Embedded above is the original recording and embedded below is the reversed, intelligible version. I don't know anything about Howdy Doody, nor can I vouch for the record-it-backwards technique, so I'll leave you with those and let you draw your own conclusions/confusions. Please comment with any insight you might have; I'm clueless here. (Although I did take the time to transcribe the reversed lyrics below. Maybe that will help.)




"Indian Giver" lyrics:

I can still remember, it wasn't long ago
Things you used to tell me, you said I had to know
You told me that you loved me and that you always would
Then I said "I love you", you said that that was good
Girl you made a promise, said you'd never want me to go
Ohhh no

Indian giver, Indian giver, you took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver, took back the love you gave to me

Baby I was feeling the way I wanna feel
You had me believing the love we had was real
Things we did together, you said they'd never end
Now until forever, oh yeah, that's what you said
Girl when I was down, I knew that you would always be there
Ohhh yeah

Indian giver, Indian giver, you took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver, took back the love you gave to me

*fadeout*


"Pow Wow" lyrics: (*** = I can't tell what the fuck they're saying)

There was a TV show, was on a while ago
I really loved it so, it was my favorite show
Each night at 5 o'clock, the TV set I'd watch
Then I would see the sign, it's Howdy Doody time

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

*** Flub-a-dub and Big Chief Thunderthud
And the Princess King, Summerfall Winterspring
Can't forget Dilly Dally or Mr. Bluster, too
The *** was swell and so was Carabell

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

The on one gloomy day, happiness went away
To everyone's despair, the show went off the air
The world is not the same and it will never be
Until someone will bring back Howdy Doody

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Yeah, bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time
Bring it back now
Bring back Howdy Doody, I would give my very last dime (I miss you Flubadub)
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

Vinyl find: The Knickerbockers, "Lies" b/w "The Coming Generation" 45 rpm

A few weeks ago I stopped by Jerry's Records in Squirrel Hill, as I like to do once or twice a month just to see what's new and peruse the endless racks of vinyl albums to see if anything catches my eyes or ears. On this particular Saturday, though, there were some younger folks on the sidewalk outside the entrance selling old DVDs, VHS, cassettes, video games, etc. I learned later that these were Jerry's kids/grandkids helping him to sell off some of the surplus stuff he's got laying around that massive attic-cum-warehouse of his. I also spotted a sign saying that they are giving away boxes of LPs and 45s for no charge, as long as you take the whole box sight unseen (maximum of 3 per person, per visit). That seemed pretty good to me! Granted, I had no idea if I would end up with a box of junk and nowhere to put it, but I had also somewhat recently purchased a standalone sliding-door shelving unit at the Used Furniture Warehouse that is perfect as both a record player table and record shelf, and I was itching to fill it with more vinyl goodies. My friend and I loaded up my girlfriend's trunk with a box of 45s and 2 boxes of LPs and went on our merry way.

When I opened my two boxes later, I found the 45 box to be stacked to the brim with 7" singles, no organization or protection whatsoever. It was just a pile of about 1000 records. Yikes! Over the last couple of weeks I have been sorting through them, cherry-picking the good stuff and sampling the sounds of some of the unknowns to see if it's keepable. I also bought a few cardboard boxes and a lot of record sleeves to keep these in decent condition. I ended up finding plenty of good stuff in the 45 box. The LP box . . . let's say it was hit/miss but mostly miss. For instance, it somehow contained a lot of Christmas albums, including 6 (!) separate copies of this one. It did have a mint condition copy of Bill Cosby's second comedy album, though, which was pretty sweet.



Anyway, over the next . . . indeterminate number of units of time, I'd like to mention a few of the hidden gems I found in this heaping pile of records. I'll probably go back there again and grab more boxes, too, so stay tuned for a bunch more in the future. And check it out yourself, too, if you find yourself in the area.

I'll start with The Knickerbockers, a pop/rock band from New Jersey in the mid-1960s. Their song "Lies" was their only truly popular hit, reaching the Billboard Top 20 in 1966. Like the rest of their songs, it sounds exactly like other popular musical trends at the time, namely the jangly surf rock of the Beach Boys and the young boy/girl-in-love drama of really early Beatles. It was featured in the retrospective psychedelic compilation Nuggets, which first came out in 1972. I happened to have found this compilation at the Carnegie library a while back and remember hearing this song and finding it super catchy, listening to it a few times in a row. Check out the video below to hear for yourself.



The B-side on this 45 is the slower and sweeter "The Coming Generation". Enjoy the songs!