Tune Tag #56 with Bryan Padrick of "The Bus": Frank Zappa, Diana Ross, Steely Dan, Tom Waits, Joe Cocker, Richard Thompson
I took a rather simple road in choosing my tagged songs. Bryan somehow managed to find links from one song to the next I'd not even considered! Standing O for Mr. Padrick even before we start!
Here ya go, Bryan! I’m blue; you be green!
Aw, nuts to him….we’ve got Tunes to Tag! Let’s do this!
Tune Tag proudly welcomes of The Bus on Substack!
Bryan: I’m an almost-55-year-old ex-pat who moved to England 22 years ago as part of a teacher exchange program and just never returned. I’m teaching English Literature, full time, for the first time since leaving the States, and thoroughly enjoying myself!
I’ve been a music fanatic since the mid/late ‘70s, and my memory is rich with music-related experiences. My uncle had an enormous album collection which my younger brother and I’d explore whenever we visited, the radio at home was always on, and the moment I was old enough to buy my own music, any money I had was spent on 45s, LPs and cassettes.
In 1984, not long after I turned 15, for some reason, I took a brief hiatus from pop music, and began to secretly listen to nothing (seriously - nothing) but Bach for about six months before returning to the real world!
And when that happened, I was a changed kid! I still love Bach, and credit my understanding of music to this immersion in his works. But, at the time, this newfound appreciation for Bach led me to an understanding of composition and performance (I played piano and trombone, so I understood the musical “language”), which enabled me to really get into all sorts of music: Beatles, Floyd, Hendrix, Stones, Zeppelin, Davis, Mingus, Coltrane (John and Alice), and others. Name it, and I’d, at least, give it a listen…and this interest has never let up!
Last week, we enjoyed the company of of Kiss Me, Son of Blog:
Next week, tune in to enjoy the Tune Tag skills of Ryan Stubbs aka of Washed Memoir in Real Time, for his Tune Tag, Part 2!
Bryan’s song #1 sent to Brad: Frank Zappa, “Camarillo Brillo,” 1973
Bryan’s rationale: Brad’s invitation to play Tune Tag arrived around the same time I was immersed in a third listening to Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy, an album (I’m embarrassed to say) I’d barely listened to before being directed to it via an article in
’s excellent Substack, EchoLocator. So, it was a head full of Zappa that inspired the choice of the brilliant “Camarillo Brillo” to start off this dive down the rabbit hole.Brad’s song #1 sent to Bryan: Tom Waits, “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night,” 1974
Bryan’s response: I wasn’t sure, at first, about the connection between the Waits and Zappa tracks. Thematically, they’re both about the bizarre side of L.A., with characters exploring and having adventures amongst the city’s stranger denizens.
Typically, Waits’ voice alone paints a seedy – whisky, cigarettes, rainy, dark, and noir-ish back alleys – image of the city, while in this instance Zappa’s tune, while more ‘psychedelic,’ seems to be emphasizing that that particular era has begun to wane (possibly why it’s time for the lady in the song to change her ‘rancid poncho’)!
But, reading Tune Tag has revealed that more than likely it’s a technical aspect which links the tunes, so this sent me looking at the personnel on each album. The only crossover I could find was that Cal Schenkel produced artwork for both albums, which, of course, is a decent connection, but I think the real link is that Waits toured with Zappa prior to writing and recording this album.
Brad’s rationale: The first Tune Tag connection of one art director! Cal Schenkel illustrated the inside cover of Over-Nite Sensation, and he was the art director for the cover of Waits’ The Heart of Saturday Night 1974 album (with cover art created by Lynn Lascaro). The title song was written as a tribute to Jack Kerouac, according to UK’s The Daily Telegraph’s Martin Chilton in 2017. The song itself is a melancholy reflection of exploring the city streets at night.
Another Zappa connection: After completing the 1973 album Closing Time (that preceded The Heart of Saturday Night), Waits toured with Frank Zappa.
The album cover is based on the artwork for the 1955 In the Wee Small Hours album jacket by Frank Sinatra, according to the album’s liner notes. It is an illustration featuring a tired Tom Waits being observed by a blonde woman as he exits a neon-lit cocktail lounge late at night, according to Jay Jacobs in his 2010 Wild Years: The Music and Myth of Tom Waits.
Please enjoy this personal look at the Waits album, The Heart of Saturday Night, from friend of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE (and Founding Member), of The Vinyl Room, and please consider subscribing!👇
Bryan’s song #2: Steely Dan, “Charlie Freak,” 1974
Brad’s response: Hmmm, this could be a call-back to Bryan’s Zappa song. I think Frank had an album called Freak-Out. Is there a character in the Waits song named Charlie? Is Waits singing about a burned-out druggie? A guy down on his luck?
I remember Pretzel Logic distinctly: Released in mid-February 1974, I was in my dorm, Kerr Hall at N. Texas State U. (now U of N. Texas) in my freshman year. Now without my usual haul of promo albums Dad used to bring home from the radio station he was an ad exec at (going back to the mid-’60s when I was 10), I was left to buy an occasional album I really wanted!😱And, this one I had heard good things about, so I bought it at a nearby downtown Denton record store.
Bryan’s rationale: One of the best things about Tune Tag is that tunes just pop into your head, as if your subconscious is saying “choose this one”! And, “Charlie Freak” was one that did just this. Thematically, it sticks with the previous tune’s portrayal of the seedier side of LA, a definitive aspect of Steely Dan in general, and this morality tale in particular.
But, the technical reason I chose this tune was because Steely Dan’s session drummer on this track, the late Jim Gordon, also played on the Waits album (Bones Howe produced).
As a side note, this is a beautifully constructed short song, and contains probably the best use of sleigh bells outside of a Christmas song [Brad: Or a Phil Spector or Brian Wilson late-’60s Gold Star session!]. There are so many classic tracks on 1974’s Pretzel Logic (the utter lecherousness of “Rikki,” anyone?), but this one always returns to that special, dark place in my heart.
Pretzel Logic was produced by Gary Katz, one of the more influential figures in the careers of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, starting at their very beginning as ABC Records staff songwriters. The duo’s incredible origin story is here:
Brad’s song #2: Charlie, “Johnny Hold Back,” 1977
Bryan’s response: I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Charlie, much less this song, so it was fun to do a bit of investigation into this one. Initially, my first thought was that Brad’s link was the obvious: “Charlie Freak”/Charlie, but where would the fun be in that?
A deeper dive revealed the titular Johnny is, like his Steely Dan counterpart, also an addict/alcoholic, and while he doesn’t die in the course of the song like Charlie Freak does, it’s pretty clear that if he doesn’t sort out his life, Johnny’s heading in the same direction.
Gadd Zooks! Looking further, I got a bit excited when I saw that Steve Gadd drummed for both Charlie and Steely Dan, but this excitement soon disappeared when I learned they were not the same person (look for recognition help in photo caption above)! Charlie’s Terry Thomas is quoted in an interview as saying he’d been influenced by Steely Dan, but that’s not really a surprise as finding pop/jazz bands who are influenced by Steely Dan is like shooting fish in a barrel.
In the end, though, I’m not really sure what Brad’s reasoning is, and I know when I find out, it’ll be one of those hand-in-the-face moments. I’m going to hazard a guess that it’s based around the band’s original name: Charlie Cuckoo. Named after a racehorse, the “Cuckoo” part was soon dropped, but both “cuckoo” and “freak” can be used to describe someone or something that is unusual, different, or abnormal.
Brad’s rationale: As Bryan so accurately realized above, sometimes, in Tune Tag, the labor of research is rendered completely unnecessary. Such was the case for linking to “Charlie Freak.” First of all, another song with a guy’s name: Johnny, who, for whatever reason is holding back (or being asked to). Second, the band’s name.
A favorite and little-heard late-’70s London-based band, Charlie! I only know about them from hearing (and getting) the promo while working at a record store at the time. In a matter of seconds, Charlie, and one of my favorites from their 1977 No Second Chance album, “Johnny Hold Back” came to mind.
These guys (Charlie….a British “Dan”?) were a tasty outfit (on the small Janus Records), churning out Steely Dan-ish (some would say) compositions and crafty playing, but with a little more playful and dynamic pop jubilation than our sometimes dour duo of Becker and Fagen.
Want more Charlie? Their “Turning to You” (from the same No Second Chance album) made our Summer Power Pop Playlist 2 years ago!👇
Bryan’s song #3: Diana Ross, “Pieces of Ice,” 1983
Click here for 12” Mix (7:14). Click here for live video performance in Central Park.
Brad’s response: An American Top 40 discrepancy between the Ross song and a Charlie song (As it happens, I found what Bryan found…take it away, Bryan)!👇
Bryan’s rationale: A controversy connects Diana Ross’s “Pieces of Ice” (written by Marc Jordan and John Capek) to this Charlie track, for in 1983, Casey Kasem explained on his August 20th edition of America’s Top 40 (U.S. radio syndication) that, though a week earlier, her tune had been played as the song at #38, in fact it was at #45 and the real #38 should have been Charlie’s “It’s Inevitable”:
The accompanying album, Charlie (on Mirage Records, produced by Terry Thomas and Kevin Beamish), was a flop, however, and the band soon folded.
I thought this was a good enough connection, until I realized Gary Katz had produced both Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic album and the Diana Ross album (titled Ross) that “Pieces of Ice” is from…9 years apart! And that, I thought, worked very well!
Brad’s song #3: Joe Cocker, “Tempted,” 1984
Katz’s studio recording of Cocker👆. TopPop, Dutch TV show circa 1984, with musicians present, and Joe, with a live mic!👇
Bryan’s response: The tangled web spun by Gary Katz includes production of the Joe Cocker album (Civilized Man) from which this cover of the Squeeze track comes; this alone is a great link. However, I think the better connection - and the one Brad’s looking for - is that super-session-musician and co-founder of Toto, Jeff Porcaro, was the session drummer on both the Ross and Cocker tracks!
Brad’s rationale: Steely Dan producer, Gary Katz (shown above circa 2017), produced the Ross album in 1983. The next year, he co-produced this Joe Cocker song and album, Civilized Man, with this cover of Difford & Tilbrook’s “Tempted.” Toto’s Jeff Porcaro plays drums on both songs.
Greg Phillinganes played keyboards on both tracks, as well. Toto’s David Paich plays Hammond organ, and Steve Lukather played guitar, here. Virtually all of Toto on this track! “With a Little Help From My Friends,” indeed!
A little bit o’ Toto, a whole lot of “Africa”:
Bryan’s song #4: Richard Thompson, “Kiss,” 2003
Brad’s response: Richard Thompson, on what is a live tribute album (1000 Years of Popular Music, released in 2003), covers this Prince song. On the album, Thompson also covers “Tempted,” appearing on the album and just before “Kiss”:
Bryan, what a stunning tag! In the liner notes of this album, Richard wrote this for “Tempted”: “Great blue-eyed soul from Tilbrook and Difford, heirs to The Beatles’ mantle of melodic pop.”
We recently dove deep into Difford & Tilbrook’s 1984 “solo” album, here:
Bryan’s rationale: “Tempted” was also covered by Richard Thompson, a version of which appears on the same album on which his cover of Prince’s “Kiss” is found, which is one reason why I chose the track. The other reason I chose this song is that Prince was originally signed to Warner Brothers by the very same Gary Katz from our previous Ross/Cocker/Steely Dan trifecta!
Brad adds: You’re right, Bryan. Katz had moved, by 1977, to Warner Bros. as vice-president. Prince’s well-known 1976 demo (pictured below, and recorded at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis with producer/engineer, David Z), along with custom press kit, was pitched to (with the help of Minneapolis businessman, Owen Husney, whom Prince had newly-retained as manager) and drew interest from, Columbia, A&M, and Warner Bros., with Warners veep, Russ Thyret, also being in on the decision to sign Prince to an unheard-of deal (presented, ultimately, by Warner Bros. Chairman, the late Mo Ostin) which included $1 million over seven albums, signed by Prince on June 25, 1977, nearly 3 weeks after his 19th birthday. Creative control over his first three albums, as well as retaining his publishing were also part of the deal!
Brad’s song #4: The Bird and the Bee, “Kiss on My List,” 2010
Bryan’s response: On first glance, the Kiss/kiss connection is obvious, but Brad doesn’t play that game. So, a little investigation later revealed the songs have a similar origin history in that both were demos written for other artists that were not accepted and ended up being stripped down to basics for their final productions!
This, I thought, was a pretty good link. But, then I discovered that The Bird and The Bee’s Greg Kurstin was once in a band called Geggy Tah (1994-2001), whose first two albums were produced by one Susan Rogers.
In a lovely twist of circumstance, it turns out that Susan Rogers, PhD in Psychology, is not only a professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music, where she is Director of the school’s Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory, but she was also an engineer on several Prince albums, including Parade, from which “Kiss” originates! And that, I think, is a pretty good tag!
Click here for ForKeepsPodcast, featuring Susan Rogers: “Archiving Prince, With Sound Engineer, Susan Rogers.” And, this brief video interview with Dr. Rogers:
Click here for a recent print interview of Susan Rogers by HeadlinerMagazine.net. She talks about working with Prince, and the future of music production.
This was fantastic. As for the tunes, I love that Tom Waits album, and I wrote about it here in case anyone is interested: https://vinylroom.substack.com/p/late-night-confessions
I love that Diana Ross track and I didn't know about that chart dispute!
And what can I say about Prince, one of my all-time faves... (and cool cover by Richard Thompson, as well!).
I love how interesting and multi-faceted the different tags between the two of you were, and the amount of fascinating stuff you guys have uncovered for us all!
Keep up the good work... and thanks for the continued education!
I love when Susan Rogers gets her flowers. Her stories about enginering for Prince are incredible. It was often just the two of them in a room together. I remember her telling the story of when she messed up the recording of "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker." The recording came out muted and warbled and she was mortified and sure that she'd see Prince's wrath. Instead, he loved it and that's the version you hear on the Sign o the Times record. It's one of my favorite Prince songs because it sounds like that.