Saturday, August 31, 2013

The Rubinoos: Must Be A Word

Funny how some band members will always be known as the "new guy." One example would be the Doobie Brothers. There's a guy that's been with them for over 30 years, John McFee, who took over for Jeff "Skunk" Baxter back in 1979. 

Likewise, Al Chan (no relation) assumed bass playing for the Rubinoos way back in 1980. That's him playing bass in my post for "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and he's also in this next clip singing lead. 



As best as I can recall, Al has also sung one of my favorite songs by the Grass Roots "Temptation Eyes" in concert. I was unable to find a performance of that on YouTube however. 

Geez, you spend over 30 years playing with a band (not that said band has been continuously performing that entire time, but still...) and at least one person out there still thinks of you as the "new guy." 

Friday, August 30, 2013

The Rubinoos: Peek-A-Boo

Another find from YouTube: 



Featuring Donn Spindt, the drummer, singing lead (although I'm sure it's being lip-synced) - from Dutch TV, 1978. Lots of fun for Rubinoos fans! 

Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Rubinoos: Hold Me (live)

Here's one I discovered tonight! 



The description for the video says:
The Rubinoos playing Hold Me live in England in the late '70s.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Rubinoos: Leave My Heart Alone

I chose this song because it's one of the ones on YouTube that was posted with a picture of the Rubinoos' first album cover. 



Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Rubinoos: I Think We're Alone Now

After our brief detour, back to the Rubinoos. I really did play a cassette of this band over and over again my year in the dorms. 

I never was familiar of this song by Tommy James and the Shondells when they recorded it; I thought it might as well have been written by the Rubinoos themselves. Then there was a version by Tiffany, but we won't get into that. 



Thanks to YouTube again - I am quite surprised to have found this video of an early, early concert performance of this song. It's the original lineup, bass player and all. 

How do you think they have aged? (earlier post of the Rubinoos) 

Monday, August 26, 2013

The Left Banke: Walk Away Renee

Okay, here is The Left Banke's other big hit - probably a bit more familiar to folks of that time period. This is the only version I ever knew, but many, many other artists did covers of this song, including the Four Tops. 

The story behind the song I found very interesting to read. Believe it or not, this song was written by a teenager! Songwriter and keyboard player Michael Brown became infatuated by a striking woman who was the girlfriend of his bandmate, bassist Tom Finn, and wrote several songs about her, including Pretty Ballerina...

and this song. 



This style of music was known as "baroque-rock."

Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Left Banke: Pretty Ballerina

My memory is going; I don't remember if I've posted about The Left Banke already. But hey, why not write about them again; that is, if I've already written about them, maybe some of you are new to this blog and so this is new to you.

I knew of one of their hits from the late '60s, Walk Away Renee, and was barely familiar with today's song, which caught my ear one day (last year, I'm guessing) on the Music Choice channel on television. 

So I researched and read about them and found things on YouTube, I was so impressed. There are only the two bigger hit songs that I care to listen to, this one and Renee, though I really, really like them. 

One interesting tidbit I found out during my research was how a singer named Steven Tallarico contributed backing vocals to some later tracks recorded by The Left Banke. This singer eventually became better known under a different name, as the lead singer for some band named Aerosmith. You may know him as Steven Tyler! 





The Left Banke held so much promise, but fell victim to problems and "creative differences." 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys; Michael Nesmith: Different Drum

Today I learned the horrible news that the wonderful singer Linda Ronstadt is suffering from Parkinson's Disease and is therefore unable to sing. 

I wanted to feature a video of a favorite song from my childhood, Different Drum. The lyrics for this song are so sweet, and the arrangement and vocals are exceptional. 



It wasn't until much later that I found out that it was composed my Mike Nesmith of Monkees fame. This is his performance of the song. 



I discovered this video not too long ago. It really gets me wondering about song demos and what artists hear before they bring their own touches and arrangements to songs. 

Friday, August 23, 2013

The Rubinoos: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend; Avril Lavigne: Girlfriend

Keeping on with artists from the Beserkley record label, today I present the Rubinoos, so named after lead singer Jon Rubin (the guy standing in the middle of the stage in the clip). This clip is a very recent concert by The Rubinoos who still perform together occasionally after all these years.

I used to play my cassette tape of the Rubinoos so much in my dorm room that it drove my roommate crazy! Sorry, Mike. 

Who could ever have foreseen that a certain Canadian rocker grrrl (and I believe I spelled "grrrl" correctly) would years later be sued by the songwriters of the Rubinoos' popular song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" for her song "Girlfriend" because they claimed it sounded too similar?





I'll let you decide. 



Apparently, in defense, the claim was made that the Rubinoos song itself sounded a bit too much like "Get Off of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. Or that both songs sounded like the Stones' song. 

The case was settled. 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Greg Kihn Band: The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)

It was only after this first big hit of the Greg Kihn Band's that I really came to start liking them, and then seeing them in concert. And of course, by then, so did everybody else it seemed. The line to get into the venue was around the block, and I was hearing from my brother and his friends how different it was for one of their concerts to be that crowded. That's what a hit song will do for a band. 



I remember going back through their older albums and listening to them before seeing them perform live, the ones that my brother had. And I had had it set in mind that there were four of them. Well, the flyers that were posted on telephone poles and the like showed five of them. 

With that and the line around the block, I felt like a latecomer. 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Greg Kihn Band: Roadrunner

Even when the original band was still together, I hardly ever saw the Greg Kihn Band play live. My very first concert of theirs was after they had added a fifth member to the group - I think it was at the Keystone Berkeley. 

Here's a clip of what they were like around then: 



The lineup as I knew them then was: Greg Kihn (guitar and lead vocals); Dave Carpender (lead guitar and vocals); Steve Wright (bass guitar and vocals); Larry Lynch (drums and vocals); and Gary Phillips (keyboards, guitar, and vocals). 

Another concert I saw of them was in college when they played at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Opening for them? A band called Great Buildings, significant in that a couple of them went on to form the Rembrandts, known for playing the theme song "I'll Be There For You" for the sitcom "Friends."

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Greg Kihn Band: Remember

Okay, all I had to do last night was turn off my computer. So far, YouTube is working again. 

I think I've solved the embedding problem: I'm going to see if I can write some sentences after the embedded code and see if that makes it work. Even so, the last time I did it, it took a couple of tries. 



This is one of my favorite songs from the Greg Kihn catalog. Love the guitar! 

Monday, August 19, 2013

YouTube isn't working....

Don't know why but YouTube isn't working for me right now. I'll start posting again when it is, or maybe when I think of writing about different subjects again.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Greg Kihn Band: Madison Avenue

I think my age group just missed the 8-track tape craze; I never got a player or anything. Probably didn't miss much there... however, Tower Records had a blow-out sale of 8-track tapes one day, and I couldn't resist getting my one and only tape from that music technology: Greg Kihn's first album. 

Here is a photo of that album which I just now found online: 



Here is a song from his 2nd album, Greg Kihn Again: 



I remember how I tried buy this 2nd album expressly to get this one song, and it wasn't on it! So I never did buy it. 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Greg Kihn Band: For You

Going back to when I was still in high school, I was pretty much convinced that the best music always rose to the top a la the cream. Yet what made music enjoyable wasn't necessarily because it was Top 40. 

My brother and his friends were into the local Bay Area groups, and just before I went off to college, I had just started listening to the bands they were listening to that were local: The Greg Kihn Band, The Rubinoos, and the Tazmanian Devils being the main three that come to mind. 

Here starts a set of my favorite songs by The Greg Kihn Band: 



P.S. - If the embedded link takes, hooray! I'm going to start trying it again. 

Friday, August 16, 2013

10cc: The Worst Band In The World and Donna

Seems like I have a new favorite band, and they existed over 35 years ago or so. In case you haven't been clicking on the suggested clips on YouTube, here are a couple of songs that are new to me, both with Lol Creme singing lead. 

Up until these past few days, I had thought that Eric Stewart was the main lead singer, but I'm finding that that's not the case. I've been reading that they all shared lead vocal duties, and were all multi-instrumentalists too. One of these days, I'm going to have to start getting their albums!

The Worst Band In The World 

Donna 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

10cc: early televised performance

If I were still able to effortlessly embed the code to these YouTube videos, I would, but as I've explained before, they were becoming more hit and miss. Darn computers! 

So whereas I would have otherwise split the following clips into three consecutive posts, I'm just going to include all of the links here. 

After seeing this performance, I really came to appreciate the talent of this group. Prior to that, all I really was familiar with were their hits "I'm Not In Love" and "The Things We Do For Love." 

Here you'll see both Kevin Godley and Lol Creme sing lead vocals, as well as see all of them in much younger days. This concert was before either of the two hits mentioned above. 

part 1 

part 2 

part 3 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Godley and Creme: Cry

I wonder how many of you are familiar with this song. It may well be a blast from the past. Kevin Godley and Lol Creme are formerly of 10cc, the group I've been posting about (or different members) for awhile now. 

Cry by Godley and Creme 
 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Mindbenders: A Groovy Kind of Love

Now for a switch to a similar subject I actually wrote about near the beginning of this blog: post from July 22, 2009 

Here's a song by The Mindbenders that I mention in the above post: 

A Groovy Kind of Love by the Mindbenders (live)

And since I noticed the second link to my post above from July 22 isn't good anymore, here's a new link to that song: 

I'm Not In Love by 10cc 

and their other famous song: 

The Things We Do For Love by 10cc (live) 


There's that word again... Love 

Monday, August 12, 2013

Herman's Hermits: No Milk Today

One more written by the incomparable Graham Gouldman. This isn't one of Herman's Hermits most well-known songs, but I grew up with it nonethelss. I suspect it was one of our collection of 45s - I'm the youngest of 5 children and my siblings had plenty of records around for me to listen to growing up! 

I found somewhere that Mr. Gouldman said that it was his father who came up with the metaphor for this song. 

No Milk Today by Herman's Hermits 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

The Hollies: Bus Stop

Here's a hit by The Hollies, written by... Graham Gouldman (of course). 

So happy The Hollies finally got their deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. I really began to become familiar with their music when my brother bought their Greatest Hits album way back when. 


Bus Stop by The Hollies 

Saturday, August 10, 2013

The Yardbirds: Heart Full of Soul

Continuing on with songs written by Graham Gouldman is this other hit by The Yardbirds. This clip I just found opens with Casey Casem of Top 40 Countdown fame giving a brief description of the band. 

Ironically (or maybe I should say interestingly), Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds because he didn't like the pop direction the band was going in with the song in my last post, "For Your Love." Eric preferred the blues. 

Besides the famous guitar players that came out of this band, I should also mention late singer Keith Relf, who does not nearly get his due. 


The Yardbirds: Heart Full of Soul

Note: For awhile now, I've been frustrated over and over again because the embedding of videos that I have been using in previous posts took what seemed like forever getting the code to "take" so I am going back to providing a simple link. Not as fun nor appealing, is it?

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Yardbirds: For Your Love

Of course, Graham Gouldman's song, For Your Love, was made famous by The Yardbirds. And just how did this one band manage to include guitar gods Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page at one time or another? 



Thursday, August 8, 2013

Graham Gouldman: For Your Love

You may have asked yourself "Who's that third guy on the far right?" in the previous couple of videos. 

If you're of a certain age, you'll surely know some of the songs he's written. He was also part of a rather successful band, which I'll get to in a future post. 

Today's video shows him performing one of the more popular songs he wrote.


 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Roddy Frame: Oblivious

Continuing on from the same performance of songwriters in yesterday's post, here is Roddy Frame performing "Oblivious." You may remember Aztec Camera from my series of songs from "Survival Sampler" where I included the video for "Pillar to Post."



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Neil Finn: Throw Your Arms Around Me

Here is a performance from a gathering of prominent songwriters and performers, this one including Neil Finn, Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera), and Graham Gouldman (10cc). 

This song, as Neil explains, was written by Mark Seymour, the brother of Crowded House bassist Nick Seymour. Mark fronted the Australian band, Hunters and Collectors. 

It wasn't until recently that I realized this song was also performed in that same MTV beach concert from yesterday's post. 


Monday, August 5, 2013

Crowded House: Recurring Dream

Here is another recent discovery on YouTube. I'm so glad that someone posted this concert - I too videotaped it over 25 years ago, but I don't know where it is anymore. It's been years since I've seen it but now I can! 

Each song is individually posted and today's video is of a song that I like in particular. I never knew where to find a recorded version, and I didn't even know the name of it. Looking around online, I found that it is called "Recurring Dream" which is the name of one of their compilation albums. This song was originally recorded when Crowded House called themselves "The Mullanes" - after Neil's middle name. 

Looking on Wikipedia just now, I just learned something new, that as The Mullanes, there was a fourth member of the band named Craig Hooper, who co-wrote this song. 

By the way, the fourth member on stage here is Eddie Rayner helping out on keyboards.

This is from the MTV concert: Spring Break from Daytona Beach - 1987 



Sunday, August 4, 2013

Crowded House: Don't Dream It's Over

After Split Enz, Neil Finn formed Crowded House along with Nick Seymour and Paul Hester. 

I have a clear memory of when I first became aware of Crowded House. It was back in college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I was arriving at the University Union building (Cal Poly's name for the student union) to study, and saw my friend Jeff sitting at a table. He was surrounded by his books and was listening to his portable cassette player. How's that for dating how old I am? 

Jeff was already into Split Enz, and he told me that Neil had formed a new band and they had released an album, which is what he was listening to. So he handed me his headphones and I listened to at least a few songs. And the song that appealed to me the most was "Don't Dream It's Over." 



Saturday, August 3, 2013

Split Enz: I Walk Away

After Tim Finn left Split Enz, that left the small lineup of Neil Finn, Eddie Rayner, Nigel Griggs, Noel Crombie, and Paul Hester. Their final album was called See Ya 'Round. 

Here is a song that was later re-recorded for Crowded House's debut album. 



Friday, August 2, 2013

Tim Finn: How'm I Gonna Sleep

Eventually, Tim did leave Split Enz. Over the years, he's released several solo albums, as well as joined Crowded House for their album "Woodface." 

I bought one of his earlier solo albums, simply titled "Tim Finn." It's been quite awhile since I've listened to it and now looking over the liner notes, I see that it was produced by Mitchell Froom, producer extraordinaire who also produced Crowded House's first three albums, amongst many, many other bands and performers. 

According to Wikipedia, where I'm getting much of this information, Mitchell Froom was once married to Suzanne Vega and is currently married to Vonda Shepard. A lot of music in his life. 

And playing bass on Tim's album here? None other than Tony Levin, whom I mentioned in an earlier post about King Crimson. 



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Split Enz: Message to My Girl

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Split Enz went through several lineup changes. If you've read at all about Neil's later band, Crowded House, you'll have seen that among their members were bassist Nick Seymour, and ex-Split Enz members Neil Finn and drummer Paul Hester. The band started with the three, but changed a little bit too as time went on. 

Split Enz itself went through four drummers that I know of: Emlyn Crowther, Malcolm Green, Noel Crombie, and finally, Paul Hester. 

The video included in this post shows a glimpse of Paul playing drums, as Noel Crombie went back to playing his preferred percussion. This is one of my favorite Split Enz songs and one I wasn't even aware of until I bought their compilation CD, History Never Repeats: the Best of Split Enz.

Although I am mentioning Paul as if he was still alive, tragically he committed suicide back in 2005.