Tune Tag #82 with Linda Brady of "Linda Brady's Revival": Shoes, Kate Bush, Jules & The Polar Bears, April Wine, Michael Penn, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, 'Til Tuesday

You'll see shovels in today's Tune Tag workspace. Y'see, we have groundbreakers afoot: Brash upstarts and creative rookies that grew into treasured influencers in their pop and rock lanes!

Hi, Linda! Welc……..hey, wait! Don’t run off! They be tunes that need taggin’!

Tune Tag happily welcomes

Linda Brady

, creator of Linda Brady’s Revival!

Linda is a singer-songwriter who released an album on a very cool indie label about 30 years ago. It took awhile, but she just released her second album. In the intervening years, she raised a family and worked as a teacher.

Her new album, Deep Brain Stimulator (shown above), is named after the medical device that was implanted in her brain to manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. This diagnosis gave her the impetus to start singing and writing again. “It’s a blessing in disguise…Or maybe just a blessing,” Linda says, smiling.

She enjoys writing her new Linda Brady’s Revival Substack about all things music. Her album can be found on Bandcamp, and at Kool Kat Music (CDs).

Last week, as you’ll recall, we enjoyed the Tune Tag artistry of

Jackie Ralston

of Music of the Day Substack:

Tune Tag #81 with Jackie Ralston of "Music of the Day": Rush, Billy Harvey, Toto, Eric Johnson, Liaison, Hall & Oates, System of a Down, Scritti Politti

Next week, we’ll validate the parking of

Marty Slagter

of RadioAmor for his first go-’round on the Tune Tag turntable!

Linda’s song #1 sent to Brad: Shoes, “Too Late,” 1979

The Misfits on a weekend bender? Alas, no. Their Shoeswire.com is going with this: “While trying to shoot a series of pics of a whipped-cream fight for an animated ‘flip book,’ the photographer stopped the motor-drive and got this still image, among others, in 1982.” That’s their story, and they’re sticking to it! Left to right: Gary Klebe, Jeff Murphy, Skip Meyer, John Murphy.

aka The Only Hall of Fame That Matters

From the Power Pop Hall of Fame site, as they cite Wiki: “Shoes is an American power pop band, formed in Zion, Illinois in 1974 by brothers, John and Jeff Murphy, and Gary Klebe, and incorporating several different drummers over the years, including Skip Meyer, Barry Shumaker, Ric Menck, John Richardson, and Jeff Hunter.

“Shoes also formed their own record label, Black Vinyl Records, and owned and operated their own commercial recording studio (Short Order Recorder) from 1983 to 2004. Many artists recorded at the studio and some went on to sign major-label contracts, including Shoes’ Zion homies, Local H, and Chicago’s Material Issue.”

Guitarist, Gary Klebe (l) and guitarist, Jeff Murphy. Gary wrote “Too Late,” while both wrote “Tomorrow Night.”

Linda’s rationale: I chose Shoes’ “Too Late” because it is a perfect pop song. The lead vocal by Gary Klebe is sufficiently sad and lonely (“don’t you even caaaare?”). The background vocals are layered beautifully, and the Beatlesque guitar part is like frosting on a perfect chocolate cake.

“Too Late” was one of the first played on MTV along with “Tomorrow Night” (see below), an equally great song written by Gary Klebe (who sang lead on it) and Jeff Murphy, who incidentally, is a fantastic person who co-produced my newest album. Shoes should be much more famous than they are!

“Tomorrow Night”: Evolution of a Shoulda-Been Hit

The 1978 BOMP! version, produced by Shoes and Steve Meyers:

Brad’s response: Released in 2007, this pre-Elektra 1979 demo of “Tomorrow Night” is below. The thicker harmonies on the chorus’s “tomorrow night” are noticeable, as is the slightly more sluggish tempo; the solo has a far different sound than the finished, true-fuzz version (which follows just below this demo):

The following year (1979), Shoes are signed to Elektra Records, and the band enjoy a co-producing credit with producer/engineer, Mike Stone; together, they accentuate the Byrdsian jangle (and the fuzz-tone solo), quicken the pace just a hair, and the underpinning lower harmony bed in the chorus is a wonder to behold…and, they introduce a modulation, post-solo (only hinted at in the demo), and at just under 3 minutes, bring it all in at a dozen seconds shorter than the BOMP version! Pop radio, 1979, what are you waiting for?!

Brad’s response: I was stunned when I saw this come through as your first song, Linda! I’ve been on Shoes since their 1977 Black Vinyl Shoes, on their own Black Vinyl Records (back cover):

Greg Shaw was an early fan, and it was his BOMP! Magazine (and Laurel Canyon record store) that was the only distributor (along with a handful of other record stores), and was my source for obtaining the album in ‘77. The band then entered a professional studio for the first time (home recording their previous output), and released “Tomorrow Night” on Greg’s BOMP! label in June 1978. The following November, Black Vinyl Shoes was licensed to PVC Records, which re-issued the album to national distribution in the U.S. It was also released in the UK by Sire Records.

Around 1978 (when I was working retail at Houston’s Cactus Records at 23), I must’ve gotten the band’s P.O. Box address from Greg (he and I had been communicating by mail by this time), and bassist John Murphy and I became pen-pals of a sort, hand-writing a few letters back and forth to each other (pre-internet/pre-cel phone) for several months!

Shoes, Fall 1979, none the worse for wear (l-r): Gary Klebe, Jeff Murphy (they’re gathered in his apartment), former pen-pal John Murphy, Skip Meyer.

Brad’s song #1 sent to Linda: April Wine, “Sign of the Gypsy Queen,” 1981

Linda’s response: I think you chose April WIne’s “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” because, like Shoes, April Wine were a band started by brothers (Jeff & John Murphy, David & Ritchie Henman, respectively). Also, this April Wine song was played on the first day of MTV just like Shoes. I remember April Wine on MTV. The video I remember was them singing a live version of “Just Between You and Me.” It was in heavy rotation for a while.

“Sign of the Gypsy Queen” was written by Canadian, Lorence Hud, who first recorded it at RCA’s Toronto Studios in 1971, with Bill Misener of The Paupers producing. It was not released until 1973, and ended up reaching #16 on the Canadian pop chart that year, with Hud playing all the instruments himself:

Brad’s rationale: Mike Stone co-produced (with the band) the Shoes’ Present Tense album (1979, Elektra Records). Stone also produced (with the band’s Myles Goodwyn) and engineered this April Wine album, 1981’s The Nature of the Beast, Capitol Records):

Linda’s song #2: Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, “I Don't Want to Know,” 1980

Brad’s response: No matching producers (Joe Wissert, here) and no matching labels. The year isn’t identical, but close….1980 here, a year before April Wine’s hit. Robin Lane and gang were a minor player for Warner Bros., in the new wave lane at the turn of the new decade.

They had keen competition with Capitol’s Motels and The Knack, and Warner label-mates Devo, The B-52s, and many others, vying for the punk’n’seeds of the new New Wave…the genre for which A&M Records once printed promo buttons alongside their 1978 No Wave compilation (below), that crowed, “Nothing clever to say, just some place to say it!”

Linda’s rationale: I chose “I Don’t Want to Know” by Robin Lane & the Chartbusters because I love that band, and this tune was also aired on MTV on its first day...I could have thought of something else, but I love Robin and will take any opportunity to brag on her and the Chartbusters’ magical two-album run.

They took punk, new wave, power pop, and gave it a sensitive woman singer-songwriter and they absolutely rocked. I really love that particular song because the message is incredibly gentle as the music just rocks. The juxtaposition is so cool!

🌟Tune Tag featured item! Small sticker only $2.42, large, just $2.68! Click here!

Brad’s song #2: Jules & The Polar Bears, “You Just Don’t Wanna Know,” 1978

Linda’s response: You might have chosen the Jules and the Polar Bears song, “You Just Don’t Wanna Know,” because the title was similar to the Robin Lane song, “I Don’t Want to Know.” The Jules version sounds like a breakup song.

Speaking of breakups, Jules Shear and Aimee Mann dated in the ‘80s, and had a very traumatic breakup, apparently. They somehow co-wrote a song about it that Aimee put on ‘Til Tuesday’s final album, Everything’s Different Now (a really good album, by the way, produced by Rhett Davies and Bruce Lampcov). It was a single from that album and it was a really expressive, sad, yet upbeat song called “(Believed You Were) Lucky.”

I chose that one (below) as a response to Jules & the Polar Bears because the lyrics were probably about Jules Shear. I really like this song. It sounds like a ‘60s pop song to me. I generally think swearing is overdone in music, but in this case, her use of the F-bomb at the very end is absolutely perfect for this particular moment in this particular song. She uses it once. And, that is enough to really add to the lyrics of the song. It’s a very rare thing that a “cuss” adds to the lyrics. Aimee Mann achieved this in “(Believed You Were) Lucky” (as you’ll hear in a minute).

Brad’s rationale: Jules and his collective common nouns vs. Robin and her collective common nouns in an answer song, “You just don’t wanna know?” Now, let’s see if Linda comes back with an answer to the answer song…something like, “Well, I’m not exactly a fan of bad news!”

Tune Tag Tagalong (kinda like a Bonus!)

Jules Shear hosted the first baker’s dozen Unplugged episodes on MTV, from 1989 into early 1990; in fact, it’s said (by more than just him) he actually created the concept, although show EPs, Jim Burns and Bob Small (listed at the video’s end), are now credited with the original idea.

This very first episode of MTV Unplugged (first run, 1989-1999) was taped on October 31, 1989, and aired about a month later on November 26; an incredible congregation, it features Jules, Syd Straw, Squeeze-ers Chris Difford & Glenn Tilbrook, and The Cars’ Elliot Easton, all harmonizing (and strumming) Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer”:

Linda’s song #3: ‘Til Tuesday, “(Believed You Were) Lucky,” 1988

Brad’s response: Never really impressed by or interested in ‘Til Tuesday. And, I probably won’t be…at least ‘til Thursday. So, in listening to this song for the first time ever, I got halfway through before I said to myself, “Y’know, I’m not hating this song!” I was enjoying the bouncy melodicism, and some chord changes and vocals seemed to echo the best of The Bangles (with whom Jules has worked).

Then, I checked the songwriting credits, and lo and behold, TT’s Aimee Mann co-wrote it with Jules Shear…this has to be butting up against the time MTV first whelped their Unplugged concept and series. So, depending on what few bars Aimee may have composed, she provided some of the music and all the lyrics, while Jules is credited with composing the music (perhaps the majority).

Brad’s song #3: Michael Penn, “No Myth,” 1989

Penn’n’tell her: Aimee and Michael….still married after all these years! No myth any longer…Mrs.!

Linda’s response: I think you sent Michael Penn’s “No Myth” because after Aimee got over Jules, she married Michael Penn. The song “No Myth,” which I have always loved, mentions the character Heathcliff from the book, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, a book I happen to love (So sue me…I used to be an English teacher)! I chose Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” as my next response, as it is a song directed to Heathcliff, by Cathy, his love in the book who is speaking from the dead. Creepy!

Brad’s rationale: Failing to land Mr. Shear, Ms. Mann found her man in one Michael Penn. They wed 4 days after Christmas, 1997, and I wonder if Jules wants to know.

Linda’s song #4: Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights,” 1978

Kate Bush, in photos spanning from 1978 to 2014.

Brad’s response: From Kate’s 1978 debut, The Kick Inside. Running an immediate blank as to a connection between ‘89’s Penn single and Bush’s ‘78. I’m not especially literate (😱), so was Emily Brontë’s novel a myth of some sort (or not), thus connecting us to Penn’s “No Myth”? Is Emily Brontë her Penn name, or is Michael Penn his Brontë name? Gonna need some help here, Linda! Meanwhile……

Brad’s song #4: Genesis, “All in a Mouse’s Night,” 1976

July 3, 1976: Genesis meets with fans before a show in West Germany, left foreground: Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford to his left; right, center, moving right: Tony Banks, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins. Meanwhile, back in London on this same July 3, 1976 night, The Ramones are playing The Roundhouse, essentially kicking off the UK punk scene. They play there the following night too, with members of The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Damned, and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders in attendance. If these bands weren’t, by then, in a full-blown process of rehearsing, gigging, and demo-romancing labels, they certainly were by noon on July 5th. Less than two years later, I was in The Ramones’ Houston hotel room, post-show. What Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Linda Stein and I were doing that night was remarkably “inner-circle,” and directly related to those two July 1976 UK shows! Read about that memorable night by clicking here.

Linda’s response: You sent the Genesis song, “All in a Mouse’s Night,” which I had never heard before. I really like early Genesis, but I completely missed this album. The title is Wind and Wuthering, and after doing some poking around, I see that it was named partially for the Brontë novel.

I also read a rumor that a song called “Afterglow” on that album is written from the point of view of our very own Heathcliff. Looking at the cover, the tree looks exactly like the trees in Yorkshire, where the story takes place. I have photos of trees just like that from my own wanderings in the Brontë universe.

Brad’s rationale: “Wuthering Heights” the single meets Wind & Wuthering the album. And, from it, “All in a Mouse’s Night,” written by Genesis keyboardist, Tony Banks.