Miscellaneous and Unsorted, Part 5
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - Li'l Red Riding Hood / Love Me Like Before
"Riding Hood" is playful enough that it comes across less creepy than a literal reading of the text would suggest. "What a big heart I have!" It's basically a novelty song, while "Love Me Like Before" is a straight retro-rocker, saxophones and all. Seems this band has a secret normie streak underneath all the "woolly bully." The disc is in pretty decent shape.
Bobby Sherman - Little Woman / One Too Many Mornings
The song is alright ("Little Woman," that is), and the performance and production are similarly adequate to the purpose. It was apparently a big hit, but it doesn't sound like this disc was worn into the dust like some other big favorites were. The B-Side is a mellow Dylan cover (those seem to pop up a lot, for whatever reason) that is again, perfectly adequate.
Simon and Garfunkel - Fakin' It / You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies
It's a little noisy at first, but the signature delicate harmonies come through quite well on "Fakin' It." I think this should be a better known S&G single, but I am a fan after all, and I think I can relate to Paul's impostor syndrome. I'm also pretty into "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies," a song you don't hear very often but which has a melody that's very easy to remember. A good single indeed.
Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet - Everlasting Love / Still Thinking of You / Billy and the Gun
Oh yeah, this "Everlasting Love!" You never know with some of these titles. This is a pretty solid song, and the duet concept works pretty well for it. It sounds a little worn down, but it still retains its essential energy. On the flip side, we have a truly egalitarian approach to a duet's B-Side: two songs on one side, one by Smith and one by Sweet. "Still Thinking of You" is a pretty little ballad, not quite powerful enough to warrant the "power ballad" label. "Billy and the Gun," on the other hand, has a story to tell, and I found it quite affecting. Rachel Sweet is definitely carrying this team.
Ringo Starr - You're Sixteen / Devil Woman
There are two good defenses for "You're Sixteen:" musically it's spot on, and it's a rock n' roll oldies cover (written by the Sherman Brothers, of Disney "Small World" fame), so the lyrics have nothing to do with Ringo in particular dating high school girls. How far that takes you I guess is a matter of taste, but for the record the disc is in great shape. The rock n' roll gets turned up on Side B with a Ringo original, "Devil Woman." It's the real naughty song on this disc, so maybe we cut "You're Sixteen" a break.
Ringo Starr - No No Song / Snookeroo
Now that's just goofy. "No no," don't offer Ringo drugs, he's not into that stuff anymore, wink wink. "Snookeroo" is a song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and it sounds like it; in this song, Ringo plays a version of himself who hangs out and hustles in pool halls. Both of these tracks are absolutely insane and justify Ringo's whole solo career.
Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild / Everybody's Next One
Guitar! So much guitar. Obviously, "Born to Be Wild" and its heavy metal thunder are impossible to deny, so nobody better try. It doesn't sound "pristine," but it's really not supposed to, right? "Everybody's Next One" is similarly guitar-heavy, but more midtempo, and certainly less epoch-defining, with a more conventional psychedelia/hard rock sound.
Steppenwolf - Rock Me / Jupiter Child
"Rock Me" is a solid rock and roll tune that doesn't come close to rising to the level of "Born to Be Wild" or "Magic Carpet Ride," but lightning seldom strikes thrice. The percussion bit in the bridge is pretty rad, though. It was apparently the original B-Side to "Jupiter Child," but the sides were flipped at some point. It may have been the right choice commercially, but I'm not sure I would have done that! "Jupiter Child" has much more of an individual identity, and could easily be mentioned in the same breath as "Born to Be Wild" if fate had been kinder.
Rod Stewart - You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim) / You Got a Nerve
A very clean sound, this record remains very listenable. I'm not exactly crazy about "You're in My Heart," but I think the songwriting and arrangement are pretty good on the whole. "You Got a Nerve" started out pretty well, but then it started doing the literal "broken record" thing, which is suboptimal. Once I got it back on track, I found a cool, folky-type ballad that I would have enjoyed pretty well on its own. Sometimes, a B-Side.
Barbra Streisand - My Man / Don't Rain on My Parade
This one has certainly been listened to a lot, but that's definitely Streisand in there. "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a show tune among show tunes, and still comes through with its big brassy vibe. "My Man" is perhaps a shade less worn down, and complements its companion very well. This is a record with personality. Fun fact - when I played this disc, I initially assumed the sides were the reverse of what they apparently are. Imagine that!
Donna Summer - Last Dance / With Your Love
Pretty good condition, I must say - Summer's big high note on "Last Dance" sounds beautiful. It's surprisingly short, but somehow they still fit in a slow prologue to go with the disco bumpin' section. "With Your Love" is a more thoroughly disco-style track, which has some nice sounds but doesn't really hang together as a "song" should, at least for me. I have that issue with disco a lot, I suppose.
Diana Ross and the Supremes - Love Child / Will This Be the Day
Oh that sounds excellent. I think they just made these records sturdier in Detroit. "Love Child" has all that Funk Brothers drive, and Ross is in fine form on a truly classic song. "Will This Be the Day" is a real charmer too, but for all its little melodic twists and turns it is very much the B-Side in this pair. I do like it a lot, but some songs just demand the spotlight.