You ain’t going nowhere, put those shoes back under the bed.
October 26, 2007 at 9:27 am
Photo credit: Miss Anniela.
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Sand
(How does that grab you / 1966)
Sand is one of the sexiest songs that Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood ever penned together. It tells the story of a woman whose flames of love are small until she meets this cold man called Sand, that sets her on fire. It’s a well known fact that nothing fuels a good flirtation like need and desperation. The rhythm section is particulary interesting, a cross of guitars and what sounds like harps which give the song a certain vibe that I can’t stop relating to beach boys’ “pet sounds” and also a sitar kind of solo in the middle that draws an instant comparison to what would eventually become the most important rock record of the 60’s:
The Beatles - tomorrow never knows
(Revolver / 1966)
This song popped on my car on Wednesday and I was telling my lover how mind boggling it might have been for the Beatles audience (which pretty much means everyone who had ears in the 60’s) to hear Revolver for the first time. I know it’s a trite example but imagine the odds of a pop-icon such as Justin Timberlake to suddenly move to northern Europe, become a heroine drug-addict (which he probably is already) and to come out of the studio one year later with the most influential rock record of the decade under his sleeve. It’s not as if they did a huge step from Rubber Soul to Revolver but every single song on Revolver is a marvellous collage of innovation with restraint. And yet when they lose it, it gets even better, the only time they do it on full scale in here, is on the album closer “tomorrow never knows”, an acid-drenched pleasure trip driven by Ringo’s hypnotizing drumming, a droning sea of backward guitars and sped-up cellos revolving around one single note and John blurting something about taoist lisergic meditation, giving a glimpse on the brilliant career that was just in front of them.
Santana - soul sacrifice
(Santana / 1969)
The 60’s was an exciting time for debuts and Santana’s was amongst the best of them all. The percussion solo on Soul Sacrifice and the vast amount afrocuban percussive elements on his debut turned many of the listeners on to Latin music for the first time, and given thw sheer amount of boasting energy that the album gave to the rock scene, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.
Nina Simone - funkier than a mosquito’s tweeter
(It Is Finished / 1974)
Nina Simone doing funk! But this is not just your average funk workout, but one that pulls from African soul like Ali Farka Toure, Fela Kuti and Nina’s own high jazz standards to create a 5 minute smoldering groove punctuated intermittently by a soft upright bass and amazing drums. It is subtle nuanced yet undeniably funky with a sophistication and rawness you rarely find in this type of music.
Bo Diddley - elephant man
(The black gladiator / 1970)
The Black Gladiator comes on strong with the opening cut, “Elephant Man,” which rides a primitive three-note riff into gale-force funk as Diddley proceeds to explain how he invented the elephant—that’s right, invented the elephant—constructing the animal piece by piece. After that, Diddley throws up his fist for black power, contemplates the word of God, brags about his sexual prowess, and lays down the law for his wife, telling her “you ain’t going nowhere, put those shoes back under the bed.” (Fred Beldin on “I’d love to turn yo on to Bo Diddley”)
I was joking. ha. (well, somebody finally posts a rock list.)
Rock And Roll - The Early Days - Chuck Berry…Bo Diddley
(short historical note)
Bo Diddley - Hey Bo Diddley / Bo Diddley
oh…you’re just so hard to please sq. When will you finally show me whereyou hid the sugar?
Can i just say that in my books these are classics.
Being 13 years of age when the Beatles’ “Revolver” came out, I can now neither remember a mind boggling sensation listening to it, nor recall it being in any other way not easy to digest.
What I remember is the feeling of listening to music, as if it were recorded for my ears only. Of course it wasn’t - all of my peers did share exactly that same feeling with me.
In regard to popular music, those times have been quite unique, nevertheless. With only 12 to 20 relevant artist or bands around, but means of mass production and mass distribution of recorded music available to a hitherto unknown extent, the Beatles in 1966 could have come up with anything. Historically, the sheer enormity of the impact of “the fab four” from 1964 to 1967 was suffice for making appear any piece of their music just utterly authentic.
I’m afraid, that this is not to be reproduced. History will not repeat itself. That is why a Justin Timberlake coming out of the studio with the most influential rock record of the decade under his sleeve would be mind boggling, indeed.
I enjoy following your blog. Keep it up and take care all of you.
Of the half dozen or so musicians indispensable to the birth of what we know as rock’n'roll, (Chuck, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard, Fats), Bo Diddley seems the most underrated today, so it’s good to see him getting a mention.
A quick check on Amazon shows that “Black Gladiator” has been reissued on CD, but only in Japan. It’s strange that (judging from CD releases of obscure classics) so much good music is more appreciated in Japan than in America and Europe where it was created.
thank you for sharing that story thagor22, I suppose the audience back then was more receptive to different kinds of music and experiences and less spoon-fed than most people is nowadays. I can tell it was a great time to be raised up and I sincerely envy you for that.
Private Beach: I must confess I was amongst the people who underestimated Bo Diddley’s music until I heard “elephant man” in a bar some weeks ago. I was mind-blowed by it and I’ve been doing some deep research on him now, first thing I want to do is purchase “Black Gladiator”, I’ve downloaded the whole thing already but I want it on my collection and as you’ve noticed it’s really hard to find a copy anywhere around here. Let me know if you find a reliable place where to buy from ;)
Hiya
It’s been a while since I listened to a Motel de Moka posting and boy was this one good fun to listen to. Nina Simone especially :)
All the best
Arrial
About Revolver: I was 14. My friends and I first heard it via the singles. Yellow and Eleanor. It was the days of AM radio. Then came the summer part: Here there and everywhere. And then the mind-blowers. An album of the decade? Yes, but try THE album of the genre: it’s the best rock album of all time. It’s the best rock album of every decade.
I really don’t get all this effusive veneration of the Beatles, they were just a mirror to one of the most brilliant and creative period in pop music. They rode the wave and packaged it into accessible works.
Same phenomenon today with Radiohead.
Amazing post. This is my favorite blog (although I am behind) and this was one of the BEST posts. My thoughts were the same for Bo Diddley (guess I don’t know Bo). Santana was great, I have a lot of Santana on wax but haven’t had a turntable for years.
NINA SIMONE - I feel in love with her voice when I heard it in the movie POINT OF NO RETURN and have snatched up a few discs. I have heard this track remixed a few times and thought it was strong, but this original recording has blown me away all over again.
BEATLES - Alright, people are going to think I live under a rock, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard this track. I’ve got a dozen LPs and several CDs long buried in a box somewhere, and of course I’ve heard songs off of this record, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song. I’ve got to get this record and listen to the whole thing (if only I could download it right now)…
This is one of the few blogs I enjoy reading while listening, and I like the viarity of the posts. This one was a true gem.