Tune Tag #44 with Matt Fish of Best Music of All Time: LaBelle, Ronettes, O'Jays, Ray Barretto, Dwight Twilley, Allen Toussaint, Pointer Sisters
Today's menu: A Filet of Soul, finished with a delicious, but no less funky Creole sauce, paired with a glass of our sparkling Voulez-Vouz Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir Chardonnay. ¡Celebremos con yos!💃🕺
Howdy, Matt!
You’re IT!
Tune Tag welcomes of Best Music of All Time!
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“My name’s Matt, and I write the Best Music of All Time newsletter! The newsletter’s goal is simple: to provide quality, algorithm-agnostic music recommendations to internet users. I cover classics, new releases, you name it. I’m a total music obsessive.
“I was that kid who stayed up late listening to my record collection on a semi-busted CD player or deeper, weirder cuts on after-hours radio shows. I became a DJ in my teens, and a full-time radio host before I was 25.
“I’m that guy whose idea of time well-spent on a weekend afternoon is thumbing through used album bins for eclectic finds to add to my enormous record collection (at last count, totaling over 150,000 songs across physical media and digital files).
“I’m also Canadian, a professional marketing moron by trade, and currently standing while I write this to try and burn some phantom calories!”
Last week, we tagged tunes with of CERNIG:
And, next week, we’ll enjoy the musical Tune Tag stylings of singer/songwriter,
of Organizing an Accident!Matt’s song #1 sent to Brad: The O’Jays, “I Love Music,” 1975
The of-the-era studio version: The 10-minute 12-inch disco single Tom Moulton Mix! Time to hit the floor!
Don Cornelius’s Soul Train: O’Jays performing to studio recording…with live mics!
Matt’s rationale: My undying love for the O’Jays and the Philly Soul sound in general: The mission statement embedded in its title—I mean, how more on-point can you get?
Perhaps most importantly, the video itself is a window into some of my most cherished memories as a music fan: Sitting at home, watching hour upon hour (sometimes in a row without breaks) of old Soul Train and other retro-TV music performances from that golden period for the R&B genre.
An insane amount of good music came out and charted during that time, much of it enduring to the present day, which is striking in its own right. How much of today’s “top of the pops” will still be around in 50 years? 60 years? That number’s not zero, but it won’t be as high as ‘70s music I don’t think: From the outfits to the dance choreography and beyond, I can’t explain it in words other than there’s something really magical about having this window into a moment in time where music was so uplifting and, in a way, fueled the innocence of the era.
Less jaded, less cynical. It’s the only environment where a song like “I Love Music” could exist. [Brad emerges: Unless it appears at Daryl’s House!]👇
More Philly soul’n’disco with a custom 10-song playlist:
Brad’s song #1 sent to Matt: The Ronettes, “I Can Hear Music,” 1966
Matt’s response: So, some obvious connections off the top of my head: staying in the vintage soul lane, similarly themed song titles, and another group who could create effortless-sounding harmonies. I have to say, even with all the love they get in music nerd circles, part of me still thinks The Ronettes are underrated as hell.
You have the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” that props some of their songs up, no doubt, but the vocals at the center of their hits are among the very best girl group efforts, regardless of the era. Talk about a group that can make me swoon!
Brad’s rationale: It took a lot of strength and fortitude to turn Matt’s first song away from Philadelphia! I could’ve gone (and really wanted) to “Soul City Walk” by fellow Houstonians, Archie Bell & The Drells, to keep it in Philly and with Gamble & Huff:
I could’ve gone with the Beach Boys’ well-known cover or Ellie Greenwich’s 1973 arrangement, but decided to go with this rare Jeff Barry production on a Philles label release! Frankly, by 1966, I was wondering if Spector “had the time” to tend to label stalwarts like The Ronettes, busy as he had become with The Righteous Brothers and their massive “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and his next hoped-for masterpiece, “River Deep, Mountain High”!
We actually picked up that very time frame, recently, as we drilled down on the hit-song bridge that spanned all the way from The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” to The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” with Tina Turner’s “River Deep-Mountain High” in the middle, and creating an historically viable creative girder:
Matt’s song #2: Ray Barretto y Su Charanga Moderna, “Ritmo Sabroso,” 1963
Brad’s response: “Charanga Moderna” means “Modern Brass Band” in Spanish, and tagging a song about music with a group mentioning a particular kind of music (in its name) is Tune Tag brilliance! “Ritmo Fabroso” means “fabulous rhythm”! The double Tune Tag whammy! “What have we got for him, Johnny Jacobs?”
Matt’s rationale: These three degrees of separation come courtesy of the Ronettes’ biggest hit, “Be My Baby” (another Spector/Greenwich/Barry masterpiece), which soundtracks one of the most memorable jump cut sequences in film history in Scorsese’s Mean Streets from 1973. Naturally, my mind drifted to the rest of that incredible soundtrack, which features cuts from the Rolling Stones and Derek and the Dominos, among many others.
However, instead of picking some of that low-hanging fruit, I opted for another under-discussed legend from the ‘60s and ‘70s music scenes: Brooklyn native, Ray Barretto (pictured above in different decades). Any time I can put the salsa legend on a list like this one, I’m more than happy to do so! If you’re not familiar with his body of work, or, more broadly, the Fania Records música tropical from the early-’70s, do yourself a favor and stream those records for a little while, then come back with your life enriched and enlivened considerably.
Brad’s song #2: Kool & the Gang, “Celebremos,” 1981
Matt’s response: First off, I love me some Kool and the Gang. “Get Down On It,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Jungle Boogie”…all of it! Well, maybe except for “Celebration,” which my wedding DJ brain is still partially-wired to interpret as a cheesy hack song selection. It’s a groove though, I’ll give it that. Great bass line. The connection? Spanish-language music you can dance to, of course!
Maybe it goes deeper than that, but I’ll leave my interpretation at that very high level. I had never seen this Spanish version of the song, but it was a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll have to stop being a “Celebration”-hater now.
Brad’s rationale: Spanish little-known to Spanish well-known (well, the English version, anyway). I had this 12” disco single back in the day. A&M Records even released a Spanish-language Love Will Keep Us Together album (Por Amor Viviremos) several months after the original….Capitan Y Tennille actually went in and re-recorded all the vocals, in Spanish, over the original instrumental tracks, so, I’m guessing this is how Kool’s Gang did it for this! For 5 minutes (kinda like the “Stars on 45” scare of 1981), this hits-in-Spanish trend was a musical thing…uh, una cosa musica!
Matt’s song #3: Labelle, “Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vouz Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir),” 1974
Brad’s response: Matt’s joining the multi-lingual lyric club! Lots of places to go with this one: Patti’s lengthy and impressive career, the gals’ Epic Records stable of artists (and session cats on this song, including The Meters, backing), and the plethora of “naughty” songs in the pop/rock pantheon (including, but not limited to, “Bark At, and On, the Trees” by Knotty By Nature).
Matt’s rationale: Well, this one’s somewhat on the nose as a selection, but it’s such an incredible song, can you really go wrong? In addition to staying on the classic funk/soul train with this one, an interesting fact that connects these two directly: Both this song and “Celebration” (the English version, at least) were both selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally historically or aesthetically significant.” Duh.
Brad’s song #3: Allen Toussaint (feat. John Boutté), “All These Things” (live), 2014
Matt’s response: So, unlike the others on this list, I didn’t have to think too much about an obvious connection here. Toussaint, at or near the peak of his producing popularity, was one of the creative forces behind “Lady Marmalade” (written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan), in addition to several other hit soul singles.
One of those other successes influenced my next pick but, before I get there, can I say how much I enjoyed this performance? I was not familiar with John Boutté’s work and, my goodness, the man has impeccable tone and vocal control, not to mention tenderness; adding to my queue for the coming weeks.
Brad’s rationale: This one’s all about Labelle’s producer/arranger on “Lady Marmalade,” the New Orleans master, the Count Basie of Creole, the late Allen Toussaint (1938-2015)! He wrote “All These Things” in 1962 under the pseudonym, Naomi Neville, and it was first recorded that same year by Meters founder, Art Neville. Elvis Costello recorded the song with Toussaint in 2006 on the album, The River in Reverse. Hear their arrangement on YouTube by clicking here.
Matt’s song #4: The Pointer Sisters, “Fire,” 1978
Brad’s response: John Boutté is singing about enjoying her kisses, and the touch of her hand, and “the fire inside me when you hold me close.” Hence, Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire,” a hit by The Pointer Sisters in 1978! Here’s a quick and entertaining live compilation of their hits, all from concerts in the past decade:
Matt’s rationale: About one of those other hit singles by way of Mr. Toussaint: He wrote “Yes We Can Can,” which became the first really big song for the Pointer Sisters (hitting #11 on the Billboard Hot 100). That track is great and could’ve very easily been my pick, but then, of course, I went down a greatest hits of them and emerged with this cut instead.
It’s not necessarily the first single that will come to mind when you think of the Pointers at their peak, but, for me, it’s among the best the trio ever sounded together. It proves they had a sultry, sexier side, too, that they don’t get nearly as much credit for as they should.
Brad’s song #4: Dwight Twilley Band, “I’m On Fire,” 1975 (Dwight’s Special Mix, 2013)
Matt’s response: Ah, from the infinitive to the first person: I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The obvious connection here is the use of “fire” in the title (not in the sky, because, you know, I haven’t seen any smoke on the water yet)! I do love the warm guitar tone in this track. It reminded me of old-school classics from The Raspberries, The Knack, and several other pop-rock luminaries from the ‘70s who, while their entire discography may not have a ton of staying power, contributed at least one or two standout singles to the culture.🤔[Is that Brad looking quizzical? “Just one or two?”] Terrific stuff!
Brad’s rationale: Matt’s got the “fire” connection right, of course, and he’s got the “old-school classics” sound squarely in the ballpark (we can comfortably and tunefully place Twilley in the “power pop” bag with The Knack and Raspberries).
Seven Years Later, in Concert with Susan Cowsill
The late Dwight Twilley (who passed away, at 72, in October 2023) live at Rockabillys, with Bill Pitcock IV on guitar and Susan Cowsill (now 65) on backing vocals. Check out the bass player’s unusual over-hand fingering (live, 1982):
This was a funky, good post. Kicking it off with the O'jays, definitely gets the blood pumping and the feet moving, and following with Ray Barretto was brilliant. I think Barretto is finally getting the recognition he deserves as his albums are being rediscovered ('Acid' was recently reissued by Vinyl Me, Please, which will have introduced the album to a wider audience).
I have the first eight albums by Kool & The Gang and their two early live albums, and they always deliver the goods. I often tell people to ignore everything they think they know about Kool & The Gang (or Earth, Wind & Fire & The Commodores) and listen to their jazzy, funky, soulful, early records. Most people, however, only know them for 'Jungle Boogie' and 'Celebration.'
Wine not… sorry, no dad jokes from now on… Issariya and I would be delighted to partake in a little TT - feel free to DM me whenever and we can get this show on the road! Excited to see the brief