D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities
Episodes
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
For my 200th Podcast, I wanted to thank you all. Greatest Hits, Part 1.
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
There are enough people out there who yearn for the arcane, the odd, the unsuccessful, the strange, and the historically overlooked to justify 200 podcast episodes of D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities.
This makes me happy, and the topics are inexhaustible. From the strange singles of Freddie Cannon and Lou Christie to the occasionally wonderful singles of Les Humphries Singers, Doris, Os Mutantes, to the strange paths to fame like The American Breed ("Bend Me Shape Me") evolving into Rufus, and then Chaka Kahn, and then "I Feel For You", her biggest hit, written by Prince, but the Kahn version was actually the 4th release and, had Patrice Rushen opted to try it (she turned it down), the 5th. A Prince song with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica over his own voice being sampled.
To me, pop music is styles and the biggest records tend to be styles smooshed together. People like dangerous white music and safe black music. People like rap, but with a melodic vocal hook. While the Bee Gees were not a disco group, the Saturday Night Fever movie was a perfect petri dish. Combine Travolta's white-hot star power with the zeitgeist of Disco and the very odd recordings the Bee Gees were doing at that time. It was the success and the playing it safe in the movie's wake that doomed them.
The Beatles were preternaturally gifted with a work ethic that would kill the musicians of today. But their fame was also born of withering luck. A producer and a manager (and record company) that didn't really know what they were supposed to do with these four tough guys. None of them tried to make The Beatles pick a lead singer, so, like their live act, all four would do it. Because they had the shocking temerity to say "Nope, we're not doing that song...", it was like saying to someone with a gun In your face, "Go ahead. We've come this far. You don't know WHAT we've seen. We see through you, over and over. In Germany. In Sweden. In Wales. We never said 'no' to a gig, no matter how much driving or begging or lack of sleep, and if the Reeperbahn couldn't stop us, what makes you think YOU will?" And their genuine love of Black music somehow broke the barriers for generations of singers, players, etc.
Imagine that moment. You're in The Beatles, you've struggled and burned the roads up and played innumerable gigs, and sat, nose to nose, creating songs in your room that people would be singing and playing for 60 years hence. But now, the sessions begin, and the man in the tie wants you to record a "ringer". And you try it, but it doesn't really do anything. It's ok. But you have to decide. Play the game? Or risk this dude's red pen.
Or show up with something better.
And the guy with the tie has been through some shit as well. And he's tired of being relegated to 2nd string and he resents being put in a place where these four punks dare question his choice. Do better. I'm tired of this shit.
And "Please Please Me" is as black a record as anything any band from England before them had tried. And that little phrase can be attributed to everything they tried after that. Because they proved it, in that ONE shot across the bow that would resonate for what will be eons, that your old choices for ringers, publishing company favors, Brill building production lines, plug-and-play Motown stuff, etc., were going to either fade or have to adapt.
I stop my show pretty much at 1980 because that's when drum machines and synths became songwriting devices. I never liked Joy Division. I just don't get it. At that point, and with exceptions, sure, drum programming and synth programming made songwriting easy. That didn't make the songs any better. Just easier to make. Someone else can do that show.
Anyhow, this is to say thank you to all the folks that have listened and downloaded.
THIS show is me delivering a preamble and then playing 4 hours of music from past shows that I really like. Let's call this "Part 1" because the show, as I originally tried to put it together, lasted 10+ hours. So consider this show when you're on a long drive, doing work, making love to your woman, or man, or both, or none.
So......
This is the setlist, but they’re not all ‘good songs’. Some are meant to show you the arcane nature of what I find most enjoyable. Song-poems (“The Beatle Boys”), artists coping with the end of their heyday (Gary Glitter) and ill-prepared for life after that, or artists way before they found their niche (The Gap Band). And, of course, groups I love like Rose Tattoo, The Free Design, and SAHB.
Leo’s Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978)
The Free Design - My Very Own Angel (1969)
GLS United - Rapper’s Deutsch (1980) Samples “Rapper’s Delight”, which samples “Good Times” by Chic, “Here Comes That Sound Again” by Love De-Luxe with Hawkin’s Discophonia (which i played on one of my previous shows), and a quote from the movie Five on the Black Hand Side, specifically, a scene in the barbershop that predated the advent of Rudy Ray Moore’ Dolemite character by 2 years.
Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan (1970) w/ Leon Thomas
Rick Wakeman - I’m So Straight, I’m a Weirdo (1980) I just like playing this awful oddity from the keyboard player from Yes. This record defies description. But if you see the video on Youtube, look for a young Boy George.
James Last - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) From the album Voodoo-Party.
Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (1970) One of two albums he released on Apple Records.
Rod Rogers (really, Rod Keith) and the Swinging Strings - The Beatle Boys (196?)
The Gap Band - Magician’s Holiday (1974)
Gary Glitter - A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind (1977)
The Free Design - There Is A Song (1972) I will never stop praising this wonderful group.
Stuart Damon - Eros (1970) Dr. Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital had a brief singing career.
The Millennium - There Is Nothing More To Say (1968) Lou Christie lifted this wonderful melody for his own “Canterbury Road" later that year. From the film “Till [sic] Kingtom Comes”.
XTC- Across This Antheap (1987) I never tire of this amazing track. It’s my show.
Aerosmith -Nobody’s Fault (1976) I like Aerosmith’s ’70s albums very much. They were all loaded with hidden gems, and to me, “Nobody’s Fault” was just the most succinct example of a band that made consistently good/great albums.
Frank Zappa - Andy (1980) A great, difficult tune (you try it with your band.) Recorded live in Buffalo.
Annette Peacock - The Succubus (1979)
The Red Shadow - Anything Good (1975)
Carpenters - B’wana She No Home (1977)
Bruford - Back To The Beginning (1978)
Frank Sinatra - Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (1974)
Barry McGuire & The Doctor - South Of The Border (1970) I love this song. We are on the eve of destruction indeed. Might as well…
Beach Boys - Rollin’ Up To Heaven (1972?) This is so insane, and especially from a major artist, that it defies categorization.
Rose Tattoo - We Can’t Be Beaten (1982) Ferocious.
Billy (Crash) Craddock - Knock Three Times (1971)
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1972) Unbelievable live version from “How The West Was Won”. Listen to those bass drum tricks. Especially during the coda. I wish Robert Plant never smoked. A normal drummer would go crazy with fills. Bonham put them where they belonged, no more. He showed amazing restraint at times. You wouldn’t think so, but he was a grooving monster above all else.
Black Oak Arkansas - Hot And Nasty (1971)
Michael (Mick) Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (1978)
Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (1969)
The Kids From The Brady Bunch - Candy (Sugar Shoppe) (1972) So inappropriate that I wonder what the record company/TV show producers were thinking. Good song and a nice performance by the studio band.
Bread - Everything I Own (1972)
Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1972)
Nick Mason - Do Ya? (1980)
Liberace - Say Ciao (1970) Liberace puts it into words and music..."Never Say Goodbye, Say Ciao"...capturing the mood of Ciao Liqueur...the imported new liqueur with the elusive new taste. I can’t find another song that Liberace wrote himself.
Crack The Sky - Surf City (Here Come The Sharks) (1975)
Les Humphries Singers - Dancing Queen (1976) You can still hear Jimmy Bilsbury’s straining, smoky tenor in the choruses. “Having the time of your life…” Poor guy.
Eddie Kendricks - Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay (1974)
Denny Greene - The Great Escape (1981) Ex-Sha Na Na member trying to break type like J Jocko tried a few years before. I love this. This is a dance mix of the original he did in 1977.
Dennis Wilson - River Song (1977)
Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (1970) No one knows who Doris is. I’d rather listen to her and this crazy Swedish band for a year before I ever give any time to Janis Joplin.
Rotary Connection - Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (1967)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This is a wonderful remix of the original fluke hit.
The Move - Do Ya (different version) (1971)
Jeff Lynne - Doin’ That Crazy Thing (1977)
Rick Nelson - Don’t Blame It On Your Wife (1968)
Sha Na Na Anti-Drug PSA (197?)
Doris - Beatmaker (1970)
Dschinghis Khan - Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Edith Head Fashion Prescription
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy (1973)
Utopia - Eternal Love (1976)
Alix Dobkin - View Form Gay Head (1973)
Fats Domino - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey (1968)
John Farrar - Falling (1980)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Feelin’ Blue (1969)
Laverne and Shirley - Five Years On (1976) Written by Michael McKean. His story is too long for me to get into. For POACA he was "Lenny" of Lenny and Squiggy. Or he was David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap. Or he was Saul Goodman's brother in Better Call Saul.
Genesis - Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 (1974)
Fonzie Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit On It) (1976) One of the weirdest things in my collection. Why does it exist? And then it repeats in reverse!!
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Some Great Songs From Past D-Sides Episodes!
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Stevie Wonder - Light My Fire (1970) Listen to that bass player.
Syreeta Wright - Spinnin' and Spinnin' (1974) No one was EVER as hot as Stevie in the '70s, and the album this came from proves that even occupied with his own music, he can lovingly produce one of the best female-sung records of the '70s. I love this factoid from Wikipedia:
Three artists who performed on this album (Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Michael Sembello) would all have Billboard number one songs ("I Just Called to Say I Love You", "Let's Hear It for the Boy", and "Maniac", respectively) within a year of each other, a decade after this album's release. Another artist on this album, Ollie Brown of Ollie & Jerry, would have a Billboard top ten single, "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us", in the same one-year period.
The song "Come And Get This Stuff" was originally intended for Rufus, but lead singer Chaka Khan refused to do the song. Instead, Stevie wrote "Tell Me Something Good" for them which appeared on their album Rags to Rufus.
There's no word to describe how good he was in this five-year period.
This song made it to #49 in the UK, and never a peep in the US, which is a shame.
Gentle Giant - Weekend Cowboy (1970) I love their sound on these early demos. Less prog than they would become, a sort of The Band meets Harry Chapin. Through the filter of England, of course.
Godley and Creme - Random Brainwaves/I Pity Inanimate Objects (1979) When Gary Storm played this on Buffalo's WIZR 107.7, I had never heard anything like it. I still love what they did with the backing vocals.
Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Dance Across The Floor (1978)
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs - Larry's Theme (1978) He was Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington on Welcome Back, Kotter and Michael Jackson's father Joe on The Jacksons: An American Dream ("Get the switch!") but I actually find his albums in the late '70s very listenable, especially this. So much shit came out from TV stars around that era. Scott Baio was the worst.
Les Humphries Singers - Mexico (1972) Included here because doing this show helped me discover them. My one-man raison d'être is to make you a believer! It's not that good. Just a strange pre-sampling curio.
Nino Tempo and April Stevens - Love Story (1972) From Buffalo, NY! Their biggest hit was "Deep Purple" from 1963. They were siblings. God, she was beautiful. Her first record came out in 1950 (!) but her biggest solo hit was "Teach Me, Tiger" from 1960. She reprised this in 1965, but this was virtually the same recording, with dialog implying that she had kidnapped one of The Beatles in order to seduce him. Just wow. I love it.
Men At Work - Down Under (original, non-hit version) (1980)
A brief retelling of The Greg Ham Story. Don't Do Drugs.
Mudcrutch - Don't Do Me Like That (original, non-hit version) (1974) The almost note-for-note prototype for the Tom Petty hit a few years later.
The Osmonds - War in Heaven (1973)
Sammy Davis Jr. - John Shaft (1972) Ok, ok. Shaft. Ok! Shut up and let me finish my dinner.
Sha Na Na PSA (1972)
Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (1967) I was surprised to learn that Nick Mason sang this.
Bee Gees - Lovers (1976) This is a very strange and wonderful album track from a band on its....third ascension?
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Dolphins (1979) I love this song as much as any I have ever played on D-Sides. I never would have heard it if not for this show.
The Langley Schools Music Project - The Long and Winding Road (1977) You should read about this. I think I read about this in RE/Search magazine.
The Residents - Give it To Someone Else (1980) Every song on The Commercial Album is about 60 seconds long. There are 20 per side.
Wild Cherry - Baby Don't You Know (1977) A wonderful, horrible attempt to recapture the lightning of the last single, "Play That Funky Music". THIS is how you follow up a fluke hit:
One more timeWell we play that funky musicAnd we were looking so good yeahElectrified funky feelingWas coming down like I thought it wouldSo we went out on the road yeahTry to get ourselves aheadAnd on the way I was surprised to discoverThat all those funky peopleHad been misled, they were shouting outBlack? NO! White? Right!, Oh what a sight!I really didn't know the suckers was whiteBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soulBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soul
Roger Nichols and Small Circle of Friends - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1968) So beautiful, especially the "Middle 8". Just amazing harmonies.
The Free Design - Day Breaks (2001) This will be my funeral song. I don't WANT a funeral. Just a little party for people to remember funny stories about me. In life, very few people are still in touch with me in an earnest sense. People have come and gone and sometimes I look around and wonder if someone should have bought me a ball gag long ago. Still, even after all the mistakes I have made in my life and my dealings with people I have lost, I know deep down that some people will be genuinely touched by the fact that we met and decided to be in each other's lives for as long as we had. If you listen to this song and put yourself in that place, celebrate the people who DID choose to be with you, no matter WHAT you said. Everyone is broken. Everyone. You're not alone.
Co-written by my friend Bruce Dedrick.
The Free Design - Friendly Man (1971)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This song is being used for a commercial in the US. I like to think it's because of me.
The Beatles - Revolution (Take...Your Knickers Off!) (1968)
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Barry Gibb - The Victim (unreleased) (1969)
Jimmy Ruffin & Marcy Levy - Where Do I Go? (1980) His big hit was "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" which was originally intended for The Spinners. He is the older brother of David Ruffin. Marcy Levy was a veteran of the studio by this time. In this show, I talk about her time with Shakespeare's Sister. To little effect.
Marcy Levy & Robin Gibb - Help Me! (1980)
From Wikipedia: After working on Jimmy Ruffin's Sunrise (including the track "Where Do I Go", a duet by Ruffin and Marcy Levy) Robin Gibb and Bee Gees keyboardist Blue Weaver work together again by supplying tracks for the soundtrack of the film Times Square. And the result was the song "Help Me!" sung by Levy and Gibb. The song was heard in the film's closing credits. I like the XTC song "Take This Town". I recommend this movie to both of you.
Lulu - Everybody Clap (1971) Trivia question to stump the room. Name a song that includes members of Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Bee Gees, and Stone The Crows.
It's this one.
Lulu — lead vocals
Maurice Gibb — guitar, background vocals
Leslie Harvey — guitar (Alex Harvey's brother. Look him up for the troubled tale of an ungrounded mic.)
Jack Bruce — bass
John Bonham — drums
How about that? Lulu was Maurice Gibbs' wife. She had a pretty good solo career in the '60s. Her biggest hit was "To Sir With Love". Yeah! That was the gal that let Maurice touch her all over.
Angela, Ken, and I - Jive Talkin'
Angela, Ken, and I - Run To Me
Angela's Utah Stories
The Osmonds - I, I, I (1979) Produced by Maurice Gibb.
Maurice Gibb - Modulating Maurice (1969) Gibb was a session musician in Australia for other artists including Bip Addison, Anne Shelton, April Bryon, Barrington Davis, and singer Jon. Around 1969, Gibb worked with his next-door neighbor, Beatle Ringo Starr, and the result was the track "Modulating Maurice" but it was not released. But here it is, for you.
The Bee Gees - Lovers (1976)
Angela, Ken, and I - Stayin' Alive
Angela, Ken, and I - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
Angela, Ken, and I - Centerpiece
Angela, Ken, and I - How Deep Is Your Love
Go to https://www.angelabinghamvoice.com/
Her album is here.
She probably doesn't recall doing this show, but I FINALLY got around to downloading it. WHAT FUN we had!
Robin Gibb - Trash (1979)
The Bee Gees - Claustrophobia (1965)
The Bee Gees - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (1976) Listen for the little piccolo phrase after "And so I quit the police department..." If that doesn't make your insides curl up in terror, I don't know what will. This little pop experiment inadvertently gave birth to the "Sgt. Pepper" movie.
The Fut - Have You Heard The Word? (1969) It's pronounced "foot".
"Have You Heard the Word" was recorded on 6 August 1969. That day, Maurice Gibb had broken his arm falling down a flight of stairs. He showed up wearing a cast and shot full of painkillers, and he proceeded to take advantage of the open bar in the studio. Kipner and Groves were not happy with this listless song to begin with, and as the session deteriorated, they left. Maurice put on tape his best John Lennon vocal impression and somehow played bass as well in his distinctive style. Lawrie recalls that he might have been there too, but admits his memory of the late 1960s is none too good.
This song was credited to The Fut. Years later, Gibb said that he had no idea how that happened. The record appeared in early 1970, with rumors that this song was one of The Beatles, perhaps a bootleg recording. The recording was so plausible as a Lennon song that Yoko Ono [Ed: Ever the pragmatist] and Lenono Music, cleaning house in 1985, registered a copyright on it as a song written by John Lennon, even though Lennon had earlier denied participation in this song.
Angela, Ken, and I - Massachusetts
Frank Lydon - Fonzie Meets Kotter's Sweathogs (At The School Dance) (1976)
Angela, Ken, and I - More Than a Woman
Angela, Ken, and I - Night Fever
Angela, Ken, and I - Tragedy
Angela, Ken, and I - Nights on Broadway