Tune Tag #64 with Steve Goldberg of "Earworms & Song Loops," Pt. 3: Hall & Oates, Tina Turner, Heaven 17, Blue Öyster Cult, Glen Campbell, Divinyls, Billy Lyall
Tune Tag #64 with Steve Goldberg of "Earworms & Song Loops," Pt. 3: Hall & Oates, Tina Turner, Heaven 17, Blue Öyster Cult, Glen Campbell, Divinyls, Billy Lyall
After some vino and a game of UNO, good friend of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, Steve, and I do the Tune Tag tussle, mixing'n'matching tunes 'til the cows come home!🐄
BTW, Before there was the Blue Öyster Cult, there was the Stalk-Forrest Group. The band was signed by Electra and actually recorded an album's worth of material in 1969/1970, but it was never released. However, the tapes remained and were once the stuff of legend for psych collectors. I somehow got my hands on a cassette tape of the tracks in the 90s from a collector I was trading with, and then pirated/bootlegged LPs started to show up (of which I still have one). It was officially released in the early 2000s by Rhino Records. Musically, S-FG features crisp, West Coast psych rock with fluid, dueling, acidic guitars somewhat remindful of Quicksilver Messenger Service but less blues-based than QMS. However, some songs that would later show up on BÖC albums are here under different names. Personally, I love the record, and I also dig the first couple of BÖC albums.
Thanks, Michael! That's some pretty heavy, deep stuff! I've only ever heard of Soft White Underbelly as their pre-BOC nom-de-tune! They seemed to go through band names like most bands rifled through underwear! A bizarre tic for a band, over time, especially when most burgeoning bands wanted so desperately to "make a name for themselves," and consistency was key! But, through it all, they got the attention of two majors! Cool stuff!
I was so excited when the Rhino release came out as my Nth generation cassette I had traded for years before was really wearing out. I love the record as well. It's amazing how proficient, unique, and musical Donald Roeser already was at guitar at the time.
From where I sit (and, decidedly clueless in pre-fame BOC-land!), their situation sounds so deliciously rare! So many "unofficial"/bootlegs were either live recordings, or found demos released post-fame. But, to have studio recordings either produced to land a deal, or recorded for a label's prospective release date, is amazing! I can, now, understand all the hub-bub around the pre-BOC CBS output! And, good on ya (and other fans of the group, in all their names!) for actually (and ultimately) being given a "proper" release by Rhino!
I completely agree, Matt. It's such a strong album. The only thing I can think of that stopped it's original release was the buyout of Elektra and the label eventually falling under the Warner label. The S-FG LP (and no doubt others) probably simply got lost in the muddle.
I can't believe I've never heard that one! I have to get it pronto! It's funny that you describe SFG as West Coast psych, as I think of BOC as having such a strong east coast sound. Was it the same original BOC band members for this earlier incarnation?
Buck loved the west coast guitarists and a lot of those bands played NYC and Stony Brook. Soft White Underbelly got to open shows for the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish.
And, speaking of the West Coast sound and CJ&The Fish in particular, even Boston bands who had their own unique sound were definitely picking up on the West Coast vibe and sound. The Ultimate Spinach immediately comes to mind. Their first album sounds very similar to the first couple of CJ&The Fish records (to my ears).
Fellow Texans, Billy Gibbons (Houston, and his Moving Sidewalks) and the late Roky Erickson (Dallas, from his 13th Floor Elevators) became enamored of the psychedelic sound/movement on the Coast (both in SF and L.A.)! Even Roky's 1966 album, "The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators" reflects that, quite early.
Essentially the same band. They also had an earlier singer but re-recorded the songs when Bloom arrived. Despite being from the East Coast, it was hard not to be inspired by the SF and LA scene of the 60s (and I'm sure the album was recorded in California).
Just from a non-BOC/label POV, Michael, that sounds so on-point! Elektra, around the turn of that '60s/'70s decade, was SO involved in corporate re-structuring (joining the Kinney Group, merging with Asylum, then WEA), more artists than we may ever know, were profoundly affected, in ways we, also, may never know!
Elektra signed the band as the Soft White Underbelly and they began recording an album that was not finished as singer Les Braunstein became "non-functional" musically in the studio. This was the label's first point of frustration with the band. After recording the California album as SFG, the band didn't know why the label didn't release it. They just did a small pressing of a 45 for What Is Quicksand/Arthur Comics. Elektra later sent Don Gallucci to produce a single for them. He visits them at their band house, but bassist Andy Winters bails for another job and then Gallucci doesn't show up the next day. Buck said in retrospect that Gallucci probably didn't think the band was for real (the band house had no heat) and drove back to NYC to tell Jac Holzman to drop the band.
Crazy to think they are still going (I want to add the word strong, but I saw them last year and....that's not the adjective I'd use) 55 years later! And with not much down time along the way. Eric's voice is shot now, but Buck is sounding fantastic and the young backup guys (forgetting their names) filled in admirably. I still remember seeing them in '82 at an all-day rock fest at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. It was Aldo Nova, Triumph, BOC and headlining....Journey. Needless to say, BOC ruled the day. Bloom riding out on his Harley is still embedded in my memory banks.
I don't think I ever saw BOC (maybe they opened for somebody?), but I did see Triumph around the same time as your Pasadena show. It was their 'Allied Forces' tour, and I was 12 or 13. They blew my tween/early teen mind away. They had a Pink Floyd-style laser light show that was super rad. And I always thought Rik Emmett was a great guitarist. Nothing overly flashy, but very skilled and with quite a lot of emotion.
Good Tune Tag, but the deep-dive into Blue Oyster Cult in the comments is really my favorite part!
BOC were always 'hometown heroes' to me growing up in the NYC area, & I saw them play a great Schaefer Fest show in Central Park in 1973.
I agree with Steve that they are somewhat over-looked (if not under-rated) - some people regard them as run-of-mill '70s stadium rock but they were so much more than that (even though they did kinda tap into that zeitgeist at the time.) Imo their first album is a near-perfect LP, and "Agents" ain't far behind it. And really, who can resist "Godzilla"? Might be the most intelligent Big Dumb Rock ever!
All the BOC love and deep knowledge from the TT readership is so wonderful and shows how beloved if misunderstood the legendary band was. I pulled out my LP copy of Buck Dharma’s 1982 solo album Flat Out in honor of this post and loved it all over again. I need to write a post about his twisted and brilliant song “Your Loving Heart .”
I thank all our readers whose comments make each Tune Tag's comment section the show's after-party! That goes for many of our articles, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE!
This was fantastic. I laughed, I learned, I enjoyed, and was thoroughly entertained! You can really feel the chemistry and mutual respect between you two.
Tina covering Al Green? Yes, please! Hall & Oates? Absolutely. And how not to dig that Divinyls track, but above all, Steve’s hilarious reconstruction of his line of thought! 😂😂
On a more serious note, I love how you guys went for some really deep/obscure tags whilst keeping it light-hearted in other sections. Fab job!
Thanks so much, Andy! Between Steve and I, it's definitely a mutual admonition society.....oh, no.......wait.....that was me and my ex-wife! Mutual admiration society....yeah, that's it! I've gotten myself into a similar note-pickle that Steve worked himself out of, but I gave up in frustration!
That's why, now, I really make sure I'm logging my moves as I make them! Sometimes I feel like I need a white board and some graphs and timelines....something like mapping out the storming of Normandy!! Steve did well to hang in there for his!
This was the first time that I didn't take notes after each song I suggested. I was able to remember my first three song connections relatively quickly, but The Divinyls took me at least two hours of sleuthing. I was trying to be so tricky that I tricked myself! Brad edited my lengthy recap of reremembering, as I rambled on and on like I do for the Earworm posts....I wanted to make Brad work for his peanuts!
Exactly! I go from one hunch to another rather quickly…sometimes so quickly, I lose track of this hunch or that tiny factoid that leads to another hunch! Sometimes, I can backtrack, but that tends to mix up the names that got you started on that hunt to begin with!
Through it all, it’s nothing short of a stone-cold gas all the way!
That was a wild ride! I particularly enjoyed reading how Steve had to reverse engineer his way back to his Divinyls choice. This tune tag business is always fun to follow!
Great point, Michael…..thanks! Steve even reminds me to always write notes in real time, struggles’n’all! I always strive to write my notes at the moment, but when I don’t, or I forget, Steve proves to be a great role model in detailing his “reverse-engineering”!
WOAH. I haven't thought about Heavy Metal in DECADES. My dad had a VHS copy of this hidden in the back of our VHS storage case. I remember watching it pieces when I got home from school before anyone else as a kid. I need to revisit this.
Summer/fall '81 was in my next-to-last year in retail records, and I distinctly remember that double-LP, and impressed by that artist and song list! And, it all but flew out the door (we sold a lot, too)!😁🎵
Well, I've never seen it, Chase! But, then again, I was old enough at the time to have hidden it, myself, in the back of the case, had I had a kid in the house! Enjoy your revisit! And, hide it from the kids!😁
Tina Turner's cover of "Let's Stay Together" is an 80's classic. I like how she just made it her own and it of course paved the way for her comeback. Grandaddy is a band I always wanted to get into more since hearing them as a teenager.
Thanks, Mark! And, thanks for the point-of-reference for the Tina cover! When it comes to '80s, I need all the help I can get! As mentioned elsewhere, I was in the process of returning to college in the mid-'80s nearing 30, and pretty much "suffered" a pop culture "black out" while I focused on a radical career change away from radio and retail records!
Tina, Madonna, Michael, et al....their hit MTV videos I'm hip to, of course, but beyond that, those were fallow years, musically and generally speaking! The fact that favorite acts like ABC, Spandau Ballet, and Scritti Politti broke through to find my ears I'm really grateful for!
Well played fellas! Some great tracks and connections. I gotta a do a deep dive on Blue Oyster Cult, which I never have- I guess I'm dumb and out of touch but at least I can remember to touch myself.
We celebrate even the small victories, Ryan! As for a BOC deep-dive, if you're serious, that would be a welcome addition to the #MusicStack! And, the info here, by Michael, Matt (and maybe others) would give you a great head-start, if needed!
Yeah - I'm a big fan but hardly a superfan as that goes against my innate jack of all trades master of none (but master of my own domain!😁) personality. I could compile a fanatastic playlist, but I couldn't tell you which band members switched from bass to piano on a specific track or if a member of the band didn't play on a song. I do think you should do a deep dive though -- even their less successful albums (creatively, not commercially) have gems worth discovering. They even put out a new album, Ghost Stories, in 2024! It's not great, but better than it has a right to be. It's not really "new" in that the songs were from past eras, but they've been updated and one cover song was recorded in the past 10 years. As I like to say, It's new to me!
Another fantastic Tune Tag, guys, and I love that Steve started off with "Joan Crawford." One minor clarification, the music was written by BOC's drummer Albert Bouchard with his frequent collaborator Jack Rigg. Believe it or not, the signature opening piano piece that Allen Lanier plays was actually written by bassist Joe Bouchard! You can hear David Roter's version of the song on his album Bambo that Albert produced and Jack Rigg played on.
Thanks for the correction, Matt! I probably should have researched that one more, but I remembered seeing a short piece on Night Flight (remember that show?) on BOC and specifically that song back in '81 and I'm pretty sure they mentioned Lanier as the brains of the piece, but memories are like fairy dust and birthday cake wishes now!:) That's awesome that Joe wrote the piano part and his brother Albert wrote the song! Truly a collaboration.
Most, even you, Matt, had to know my first move was to look to see if Ms. Crawford had ever recorded! I can't remember what I found, but finding no big-band treatment of a song called "Blue Oyster Cult," I obviously moved on!
How you and Steve bounce off each other in Tune Tag is a true testament to your shared love of music. Your description of “Out of Touch” as a “gorgeous earworm track” made me appreciate it in a new light. This instalment feels like eavesdropping on a lively chat between old friends, and it’s captivating from start to finish.
Thanks so much, Jon! It's fun and challenging Tune Tag-ging with Steve! And, your comment about a "lively chat between old friends," is not only how I feel (and, what I certainly aim for), but I'd LOVE to play Tune Tag at somebody's home, where our only source of music is the host's record collection!
We could all use our phones or laptops for research, but you'd only be limited to the records at hand! If anyone wants to hold a home Tune Tag, they should take notes (who, what, how, etc), and, it'd be a gas to publish that here! Think about it, readers!😁👍
Great song choices guys! Although I'm a little shock to hear that Brad never heard Tina Turner's version of "Let's Stay Together!" It is one of the great remakes of all time from one of the greatest albums of all time: "Private Dancer." Brad, we need to do a back and forth write up of that album!
Bring it on, oh Pal o' mine! I was all over, in real '70s time, Lou's original. As for the '80s, I was out of the biz around '83, and quickly began a return to college at 28 to radically change careers. That leaves most of the '80s as my quite the striking "pop cultural black hole"!
So much I missed, and have had to go back to find out the pop cultural touchstones that have become so much a part of others' (mostly younger) lives!
Shouldn't say "Divinyls" and "My pleasure" in the same newsletter. But, another good one. You guys (Steve and Brad) are very simpatico and it always makes it fun! I hesitate to say another "banger", guys!
Nicely done, gents.
BTW, Before there was the Blue Öyster Cult, there was the Stalk-Forrest Group. The band was signed by Electra and actually recorded an album's worth of material in 1969/1970, but it was never released. However, the tapes remained and were once the stuff of legend for psych collectors. I somehow got my hands on a cassette tape of the tracks in the 90s from a collector I was trading with, and then pirated/bootlegged LPs started to show up (of which I still have one). It was officially released in the early 2000s by Rhino Records. Musically, S-FG features crisp, West Coast psych rock with fluid, dueling, acidic guitars somewhat remindful of Quicksilver Messenger Service but less blues-based than QMS. However, some songs that would later show up on BÖC albums are here under different names. Personally, I love the record, and I also dig the first couple of BÖC albums.
I love BÖC (my network connection at home for years was "Mistress of the Salmon Salt", and I never knew about SFG until 2 minutes ago.
Me neither! I’m going to seek out their album later today.
Thanks, Michael! That's some pretty heavy, deep stuff! I've only ever heard of Soft White Underbelly as their pre-BOC nom-de-tune! They seemed to go through band names like most bands rifled through underwear! A bizarre tic for a band, over time, especially when most burgeoning bands wanted so desperately to "make a name for themselves," and consistency was key! But, through it all, they got the attention of two majors! Cool stuff!
I was so excited when the Rhino release came out as my Nth generation cassette I had traded for years before was really wearing out. I love the record as well. It's amazing how proficient, unique, and musical Donald Roeser already was at guitar at the time.
From where I sit (and, decidedly clueless in pre-fame BOC-land!), their situation sounds so deliciously rare! So many "unofficial"/bootlegs were either live recordings, or found demos released post-fame. But, to have studio recordings either produced to land a deal, or recorded for a label's prospective release date, is amazing! I can, now, understand all the hub-bub around the pre-BOC CBS output! And, good on ya (and other fans of the group, in all their names!) for actually (and ultimately) being given a "proper" release by Rhino!
I completely agree, Matt. It's such a strong album. The only thing I can think of that stopped it's original release was the buyout of Elektra and the label eventually falling under the Warner label. The S-FG LP (and no doubt others) probably simply got lost in the muddle.
I can't believe I've never heard that one! I have to get it pronto! It's funny that you describe SFG as West Coast psych, as I think of BOC as having such a strong east coast sound. Was it the same original BOC band members for this earlier incarnation?
Buck loved the west coast guitarists and a lot of those bands played NYC and Stony Brook. Soft White Underbelly got to open shows for the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish.
And, speaking of the West Coast sound and CJ&The Fish in particular, even Boston bands who had their own unique sound were definitely picking up on the West Coast vibe and sound. The Ultimate Spinach immediately comes to mind. Their first album sounds very similar to the first couple of CJ&The Fish records (to my ears).
Fellow Texans, Billy Gibbons (Houston, and his Moving Sidewalks) and the late Roky Erickson (Dallas, from his 13th Floor Elevators) became enamored of the psychedelic sound/movement on the Coast (both in SF and L.A.)! Even Roky's 1966 album, "The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators" reflects that, quite early.
Essentially the same band. They also had an earlier singer but re-recorded the songs when Bloom arrived. Despite being from the East Coast, it was hard not to be inspired by the SF and LA scene of the 60s (and I'm sure the album was recorded in California).
That's right - the only difference is that Andy Winters is on bass. Joe would replace him soon after.
Just from a non-BOC/label POV, Michael, that sounds so on-point! Elektra, around the turn of that '60s/'70s decade, was SO involved in corporate re-structuring (joining the Kinney Group, merging with Asylum, then WEA), more artists than we may ever know, were profoundly affected, in ways we, also, may never know!
Elektra signed the band as the Soft White Underbelly and they began recording an album that was not finished as singer Les Braunstein became "non-functional" musically in the studio. This was the label's first point of frustration with the band. After recording the California album as SFG, the band didn't know why the label didn't release it. They just did a small pressing of a 45 for What Is Quicksand/Arthur Comics. Elektra later sent Don Gallucci to produce a single for them. He visits them at their band house, but bassist Andy Winters bails for another job and then Gallucci doesn't show up the next day. Buck said in retrospect that Gallucci probably didn't think the band was for real (the band house had no heat) and drove back to NYC to tell Jac Holzman to drop the band.
Crazy to think they are still going (I want to add the word strong, but I saw them last year and....that's not the adjective I'd use) 55 years later! And with not much down time along the way. Eric's voice is shot now, but Buck is sounding fantastic and the young backup guys (forgetting their names) filled in admirably. I still remember seeing them in '82 at an all-day rock fest at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. It was Aldo Nova, Triumph, BOC and headlining....Journey. Needless to say, BOC ruled the day. Bloom riding out on his Harley is still embedded in my memory banks.
I don't think I ever saw BOC (maybe they opened for somebody?), but I did see Triumph around the same time as your Pasadena show. It was their 'Allied Forces' tour, and I was 12 or 13. They blew my tween/early teen mind away. They had a Pink Floyd-style laser light show that was super rad. And I always thought Rik Emmett was a great guitarist. Nothing overly flashy, but very skilled and with quite a lot of emotion.
Good Tune Tag, but the deep-dive into Blue Oyster Cult in the comments is really my favorite part!
BOC were always 'hometown heroes' to me growing up in the NYC area, & I saw them play a great Schaefer Fest show in Central Park in 1973.
I agree with Steve that they are somewhat over-looked (if not under-rated) - some people regard them as run-of-mill '70s stadium rock but they were so much more than that (even though they did kinda tap into that zeitgeist at the time.) Imo their first album is a near-perfect LP, and "Agents" ain't far behind it. And really, who can resist "Godzilla"? Might be the most intelligent Big Dumb Rock ever!
All the BOC love and deep knowledge from the TT readership is so wonderful and shows how beloved if misunderstood the legendary band was. I pulled out my LP copy of Buck Dharma’s 1982 solo album Flat Out in honor of this post and loved it all over again. I need to write a post about his twisted and brilliant song “Your Loving Heart .”
I thank all our readers whose comments make each Tune Tag's comment section the show's after-party! That goes for many of our articles, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE!
Welcome, all, behind the velvet rope line!😁🎵
This was fantastic. I laughed, I learned, I enjoyed, and was thoroughly entertained! You can really feel the chemistry and mutual respect between you two.
Tina covering Al Green? Yes, please! Hall & Oates? Absolutely. And how not to dig that Divinyls track, but above all, Steve’s hilarious reconstruction of his line of thought! 😂😂
On a more serious note, I love how you guys went for some really deep/obscure tags whilst keeping it light-hearted in other sections. Fab job!
Thanks so much, Andy! Between Steve and I, it's definitely a mutual admonition society.....oh, no.......wait.....that was me and my ex-wife! Mutual admiration society....yeah, that's it! I've gotten myself into a similar note-pickle that Steve worked himself out of, but I gave up in frustration!
That's why, now, I really make sure I'm logging my moves as I make them! Sometimes I feel like I need a white board and some graphs and timelines....something like mapping out the storming of Normandy!! Steve did well to hang in there for his!
Mutual admonition 😅😅🤣🤣
Yes, the note-taking can be tricky, especially as one goes into these rabbit holes so typical of TT!
This was the first time that I didn't take notes after each song I suggested. I was able to remember my first three song connections relatively quickly, but The Divinyls took me at least two hours of sleuthing. I was trying to be so tricky that I tricked myself! Brad edited my lengthy recap of reremembering, as I rambled on and on like I do for the Earworm posts....I wanted to make Brad work for his peanuts!
(Homer-like): "Mmmmmm......peanuts!"🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜😋
Exactly! I go from one hunch to another rather quickly…sometimes so quickly, I lose track of this hunch or that tiny factoid that leads to another hunch! Sometimes, I can backtrack, but that tends to mix up the names that got you started on that hunt to begin with!
Through it all, it’s nothing short of a stone-cold gas all the way!
That was a wild ride! I particularly enjoyed reading how Steve had to reverse engineer his way back to his Divinyls choice. This tune tag business is always fun to follow!
Great point, Michael…..thanks! Steve even reminds me to always write notes in real time, struggles’n’all! I always strive to write my notes at the moment, but when I don’t, or I forget, Steve proves to be a great role model in detailing his “reverse-engineering”!
I definitely need to do the same - these days more than ever!
WOAH. I haven't thought about Heavy Metal in DECADES. My dad had a VHS copy of this hidden in the back of our VHS storage case. I remember watching it pieces when I got home from school before anyone else as a kid. I need to revisit this.
I have a feeling that it isn’t going to hold up today other than the nostalgia factor. But the soundtrack is amazing!
Summer/fall '81 was in my next-to-last year in retail records, and I distinctly remember that double-LP, and impressed by that artist and song list! And, it all but flew out the door (we sold a lot, too)!😁🎵
Well, I've never seen it, Chase! But, then again, I was old enough at the time to have hidden it, myself, in the back of the case, had I had a kid in the house! Enjoy your revisit! And, hide it from the kids!😁
Tina Turner's cover of "Let's Stay Together" is an 80's classic. I like how she just made it her own and it of course paved the way for her comeback. Grandaddy is a band I always wanted to get into more since hearing them as a teenager.
Great pucks guys!
Thanks, Mark! And, thanks for the point-of-reference for the Tina cover! When it comes to '80s, I need all the help I can get! As mentioned elsewhere, I was in the process of returning to college in the mid-'80s nearing 30, and pretty much "suffered" a pop culture "black out" while I focused on a radical career change away from radio and retail records!
Tina, Madonna, Michael, et al....their hit MTV videos I'm hip to, of course, but beyond that, those were fallow years, musically and generally speaking! The fact that favorite acts like ABC, Spandau Ballet, and Scritti Politti broke through to find my ears I'm really grateful for!
I think the original could have used more cowbell.
Me too!
Well played fellas! Some great tracks and connections. I gotta a do a deep dive on Blue Oyster Cult, which I never have- I guess I'm dumb and out of touch but at least I can remember to touch myself.
We celebrate even the small victories, Ryan! As for a BOC deep-dive, if you're serious, that would be a welcome addition to the #MusicStack! And, the info here, by Michael, Matt (and maybe others) would give you a great head-start, if needed!
Yeah - I'm a big fan but hardly a superfan as that goes against my innate jack of all trades master of none (but master of my own domain!😁) personality. I could compile a fanatastic playlist, but I couldn't tell you which band members switched from bass to piano on a specific track or if a member of the band didn't play on a song. I do think you should do a deep dive though -- even their less successful albums (creatively, not commercially) have gems worth discovering. They even put out a new album, Ghost Stories, in 2024! It's not great, but better than it has a right to be. It's not really "new" in that the songs were from past eras, but they've been updated and one cover song was recorded in the past 10 years. As I like to say, It's new to me!
Another fantastic Tune Tag, guys, and I love that Steve started off with "Joan Crawford." One minor clarification, the music was written by BOC's drummer Albert Bouchard with his frequent collaborator Jack Rigg. Believe it or not, the signature opening piano piece that Allen Lanier plays was actually written by bassist Joe Bouchard! You can hear David Roter's version of the song on his album Bambo that Albert produced and Jack Rigg played on.
Thanks for the correction, Matt! I probably should have researched that one more, but I remembered seeing a short piece on Night Flight (remember that show?) on BOC and specifically that song back in '81 and I'm pretty sure they mentioned Lanier as the brains of the piece, but memories are like fairy dust and birthday cake wishes now!:) That's awesome that Joe wrote the piano part and his brother Albert wrote the song! Truly a collaboration.
Most, even you, Matt, had to know my first move was to look to see if Ms. Crawford had ever recorded! I can't remember what I found, but finding no big-band treatment of a song called "Blue Oyster Cult," I obviously moved on!
How you and Steve bounce off each other in Tune Tag is a true testament to your shared love of music. Your description of “Out of Touch” as a “gorgeous earworm track” made me appreciate it in a new light. This instalment feels like eavesdropping on a lively chat between old friends, and it’s captivating from start to finish.
Thanks so much, Jon! It's fun and challenging Tune Tag-ging with Steve! And, your comment about a "lively chat between old friends," is not only how I feel (and, what I certainly aim for), but I'd LOVE to play Tune Tag at somebody's home, where our only source of music is the host's record collection!
We could all use our phones or laptops for research, but you'd only be limited to the records at hand! If anyone wants to hold a home Tune Tag, they should take notes (who, what, how, etc), and, it'd be a gas to publish that here! Think about it, readers!😁👍
Great song choices guys! Although I'm a little shock to hear that Brad never heard Tina Turner's version of "Let's Stay Together!" It is one of the great remakes of all time from one of the greatest albums of all time: "Private Dancer." Brad, we need to do a back and forth write up of that album!
Bring it on, oh Pal o' mine! I was all over, in real '70s time, Lou's original. As for the '80s, I was out of the biz around '83, and quickly began a return to college at 28 to radically change careers. That leaves most of the '80s as my quite the striking "pop cultural black hole"!
So much I missed, and have had to go back to find out the pop cultural touchstones that have become so much a part of others' (mostly younger) lives!
As for the Tina/"Private Dancer" collab, check out this "first impressions" piece I did with Michael K. Fell on Pretty Things (about whom I knew little, at least as far as their recorded output): https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/the-pretty-things-in-5-songs-brad?utm_source=publication-search
We could maybe take this approach! DM me, and we'll continue the discussion! Thanks!
Will do!
Thanks for the gig promo, Brad!
Certainly my pleasure, Pete! We offer you a hearty and happy Tune Tag “break a leg”!!😁👍🎵🎸
Shouldn't say "Divinyls" and "My pleasure" in the same newsletter. But, another good one. You guys (Steve and Brad) are very simpatico and it always makes it fun! I hesitate to say another "banger", guys!
Thanks, Paul! This was a fun one, from all the known favorites to all the new discoveries! The joys of Tune Tag!