Wednesday 18 June 2008

The Night



"the night begins to turn your head around "- what like Linda Blair's head in The Exorcist ? Another Motown classic / curiosity, from Frankie Valli's sojourn at the label, and another flop in the States that did better business in the UK. I presume that the backing is provided by Motown house band The Funk Brothers, with James Jamerson on bass. Connection to the last track ( "I Gotta See Jane " by R. Dean Taylor ) ? Well he did " There's a Ghost In My House " whilst on Motown, which was covered by The Fall ( and their equally initial flaunting leader Mark E. Smith, ) who, legend has it, nearly signed a contract with Motown in the U.K. ... Which is another story.

4 comments:

David said...

Lindsay bloody Lohan is signed to Mowtown, so being on that label these days doesn't necessarily mean being able to sing innit?

Alastair said...

I agree. i don't think that the label has been home to anything worth listening to for decades,almost all the good stuff predates its leaving Detroit for Los Angeles. Even during its 'golden age' i'm sure there was a lot of tripe. However for a few years it employed several songwriters and musicians who had the knack of producing gems. In the end its ' Hit Factory ' model was probably as destructive for some of these people as not, and should be held up as a warning in so far as it provide the blueprint for the bland wallpaper pop of the three horsemen of the apocalypse- Stock Aitken and Waterman.

David said...

"the three horsemen of the apocalypse- Stock Aitken and Waterman."

Ha - I love it!

Do a 'Night' top ten Alastair - go on.

I'll suggest one or two: The Night Has a Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee, The Night of the Lotus Eaters - Nick Cave. And Did Lazarus Dig is my fave record this year (so far).

Alastair said...

Consider it done!
Yeah, the Nick Cave is brilliant.
Wassisname on distorted violin is good value. Luxuriant facial hair is making a come back.