#van duren

[serpentinesheldonserpentine]

Almost.

Van Duren’s debut is a darn good record. So good, he almost joined Big Star.

@golftangohotel

[guessimdumb]

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Van Duren - Andy, Please (197?)

Memphis power pop contemporary of Big Star, and subject of 2019 documentary Waiting: The Van Duren Story.  More to the McCartney side things, it kinda reminds me of Emitt Rhodes.

His hopes were too high from the start

[bandcampsnoop]

9/15/19.

Those Pretty Wrongs is Jody Stephens (Big Star) and Luther Russell (The Freewheelers).  I love that they were friends long before they ever made music together.  But listen to this music.

Fans of any Americana/indie pop take notice.  This band sounds like The Jayhawks minus harmonies.  There are songs that would belong on a Matthew Sweet, Dukes of Stratosphear, The Lemon Twigs, Teenage Fanclub, or The Chills album.  Those bands do have a lot in common, but rarely does one band capture all these sounds.

When one mentions anything involving Alex Chilton, Game Theory should be mentioned.

This album/cd/cassette is being released by Burger Records/Ardent.  I love that Jody Stephens has stayed active musically - playing or producing for Van Duren or The Lemon Twigs.

[rolloroberson]

Lyrics which seemed to be written for Tumblrs, the Beatles’ Hey Bulldog excellently covered by Van Duren.

“Some kind of solitude is

Measured out in you

You think you know me, but you haven't got a clue

You can talk to me

You can talk to me

You can talk to me

If you're lonely, you can talk to me”

Lennon and McCartney

[whatsthesound]

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Van Duren, “For You“

This is said to have been from a set of demos recorded with the track’s writer, Jody Stephens, and, more unexpectedly, Andrew Loog Oldham. But some doubt this is really Van Duren. One track from the session is getting an official release.

And while I’m not generally a huge fan of Jody’s turns at the mike, I do prefer his original of this.

[guessimdumb]

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Van Duren - New Year’s Eve (1978)

From the same Memphis scene as Big Star - here’s some fine power pop for New Year’s Eve.

[thefriscalatingdusklight]

Van Duren - Stupid Enough

[whatsthesound]

Van Duren, “Make A Scene”

The edges are a bit smoother and funkier here than on Chris Bell’s original version. Bell, alas, never got to hear it, Duren says :

[It] is the only cover song I’ve ever cut — ever. And the reason I did it is because I’d played with Chris and loved the song, and it was a really cool tune that I could put just a slight twist on.

We cut the basic tracks — this was in the fall of ‘78 — and I got a rough mix, and I came back to Memphis for the holidays, and my intention was to call Chris up and say, “Guess what. I’ve got a surprise for you.” But I thought, "Well, it’s Christmas, so I’ll wait until a couple of days after Christmas." And before I could call him, he died in a car wreck, on Dec. 27.

It was completely devastating. I really wish I’d called him when I hit town, and shared that with him.

- from Nashville Scene