Miscellaneous and Unsorted, Part 3
Tommy James and the Shondells - Mirage / Run, Run, Baby, Run
A little too fuzzy, but that's how these discs are going to be a lot of the time. I don't know "Mirage" well, but it sounds pretty good in there, with lots of unconventional sounds. The B-Side is a little clearer, maybe? It seems like a song with a lot of ideas that don't add up to a great song, but it fills its role.
The Jamies - Summertime, Summertime / Searching for You
I am routinely amazed by the sorts of things that could get you on the radio in the 50s and 60s, that wouldn't even fly as novelty songs nowadays. "Summertime, Summertime" is charming and well-arranged, but the common denominator with "Searching for You" is a kind of manic glee club energy. People in 1958 were just more open minded about that sort of thing, I suppose. The surface of the disc is visibly ragged on both sides and it affects the sound, but they both play through alright.
The Marketts - Balboa Blue / Stompede
We have some pretty chill instrumentals here! "Balboa Blue" sits at that weird little intersection of light California jazz and LA pop that you don't hear about too often. "Stompede" is... well, it's basically more of the same. Mostly, it sounds like studio guys fuckin' around a little bit, which I understand to be pretty much the case.
Paul and Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey / Too Many People
The McCartneys sound in pretty good form on this disc, side A of which seems like the definitive example of Paul's famed ability to screw around with disparate musical ideas until they magically turn into a hit single. There is a slight skip in the "hands across the water" section, but mostly it plays great. On the other side, "Too Many People" sounds in fine form as well. The first volley in a famous war of lyrics between former Beatles, I think it stands as a pretty great song on its own. If it had been an A-Side, it might have justified John Lennon's scorched earth response.
Men at Work - Down Under / Crazy
Dusty, but it cleans up alright and sounds pretty clear. I find it amusing that an Australian band could achieve an enduring international hit by writing a song about being Australian on the go around the world. I'm not sure what to make of "Crazy."
Men Without Hats - Safety Dance / Living in China
Everybody look at your hands - yeah, we've heard this before. I don't know why there are two of this disc here, and my assessment remains unchanged. This disc maybe sounds a little worse, but I'm not digging it out again to compare.
Missing Persons - Mental Hopscotch / Walking in L.A.
"Walking in L.A." might actually be the A-Side here; it seems they were both released as singles in their own right, and I don't know what the B-Side of either was supposed to be. It looks like I listened to them backwards, but that's OK. "Walking" is the more interesting song, structurally and melodically, but "Mental Hopscotch" sounds very much like it.
The Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin / Cities
The Moody Blues is a band I strongly associate with my mother, who was a complicated individual (aren't we all) but definitely had a side of her with an abiding affection for progressive rock spookiness. I don't know that they're my favorite, but I am glad to hear a decently preserved version of "Nights" here, an undeniably beautiful composition. "Cities" sounds haunted, which is what you come to expect from listening to the Moody Blues long enough. Haunted, but lovely.
Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime
This is one of those songs that seems like it's always been there, such that judging it as a record seems redundant. "In the Summertime" has always been there and always will be, and this record is in good shape, so rejoice, dance a little! As for "Mighty Man," well... it's not nearly as immortal, and it's not really so much a "song" as it is an extended, demented country blues jam. But that's what the B-Side to "In the Summertime" should be.
Nazz - Open My Eyes / Hello, it's Me
Another duplicate disc. This one also has a bit of extra noise on the surface, but I think it sounds pretty good on the whole.
Nilsson - Jump into the Fire / Coconut
Interesting. Wikipedia tells me that both of these songs were issued separately as singles with the same B-Side, "The Moonbeam Song." How did they get like this? Mysterious. "Jump into the Fire" is a classic rave-up, the kind of thing that sounds just this side of totally out of control, and I dig it. "Coconut," well, if you know then you know. It's an excellent sounding record on both sides.
