Nah--that couldn't be...

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Thought I'd throw a couple of "Huh?" posts out this week.  Let's listen to some songs that just COULDN'T be from the artist in question.  Like, say, today's entry.  A country song from a British singer/songwriter and his lyricist.

When Elton John was at the peak of his popularity (in the mid-'70s), I read a piece in People magazine about him and his songwriting process.  Bernie Taupin wrote lyrics, and Elton would look at them, figure out the rhythm, then either write a song or not within FIVE MINUTES.  He would noodle it for a time, so it wasn't like it only took five minutes to write it, but to know where a given lyric was going, with zero direction about the music was incredible.

That brings me to today's song.  A social commentary about Texas Rednecks taking umbrage at the perceived negative influence of Rock and Roll types.  This song might have been right at home in late '70s and early '80s country radio.

Unfortunately, the lyrical content, although over 40 years old, just about fits today's alt-right movement.  Back then it was "long hairs" and "hippies", today it's anybody who's "different".  But in the end, the sentiment ("Godammit, you're all gonna die") remains.  I guess everything old is indeed new again.

Back tomorrow...


Pete

It's soulful, part 3

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Decided to abbreviate my "blue-eyed soul" examination and only show three of them.  I'll have plenty of time to go back and collect the two I missed due to an overabundance of doctor appointments.  No matter.  Today's artist is more than sufficient.

The story goes that Daryl Hall and John Oates grew up in Philadelphia, and were devotees of doo-wop and Motown music.  It was helpful that Hall's voice was inherently soulful, and that he was able to write songs that showcased that talent.  They had some hits ("Sara Smile", "Rich Girl") but didn't really blow up until the early '80s, when "Private Eyes" was all over MTV and the radio.

I saw ELO in 1981 at IU's Assembly Hall and H&O was the opening act.  At that time they had the #1 single in the USA ("Private Eyes") but they were the warmup act.  That was probably the last time they were the opening act for anybody.  they stayed red-hot for another 3-4 years and then separated for a spell (Hall for a solo career, Oates to race cars).

They eventually reunited because, well, everybody (except Supertramp) reunited.  There was way too much money out there to not do it.  Now, Hall hosts a podcast and series TV show from his upstate NY farm where he brings in world-class musicians to do old R&B standards and the guest's own hits.  It's pretty good stuff, and Hall sounds as good as he ever did.

I'll pick an old song, the leadoff track from Along the Red Ledge (1978), one of their works between the first and second waves of popularity.  Hall's voice permeates the track and his plaintive tale of love lost is worth the listen.  It's a good kickoff to the weekend...

See you next week...


Pete

It's soulful, Part. 2

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Today's trip into the Time Machine brings us another voice who jumped bands and made each one better (well, almost, but more on that later).  And like Paul Carrack, this voice has been making impact on popular music for four decades.  I will always listen to a song that Paul Rodgers sings.

It started (at least in the US) with a band called Free and their epic song "All Right Now".  It's still on classic rock radio.  The voice was a bit rougher, and more testosterone-filled, but it was also very soulful.  A great song that has aged well.

From there, it was on to his own band, the second act signed to Swan Song Records.  Of course, the first band signed was Led Zeppelin.  Bad Company was, like Zep, a bluesy band with an edge.  Rodgers' voice flavored a number of hits, specifically "Feel Like Making Love", "Can't Get Enough", and "Bad Company", a tune that warns everyone about how "bad" this band could be.

From Bad Company, he and his friend Jimmy Page (a guitarist of some note) created The Firm, and two albums did reasonably well.  Following that, he created a "project" using a drummer as the only permanent member, and using guest musicians depending on what direction Rodgers wanted to go.  The Law released one album but it didn't sell very well.  But there was that one song...

Paul Rodgers continues to entertain us--he's planning a tour in Europe where he will only sing songs from his Free days.  He's got a lot of options if that doesn't pan out.  But let's go back to 1991, and "that one song" that reveals the power and soul of his voice.  Enjoy...

More doctors tomorrow.  See you Thursday...


Pete

It's soulful, Part 1

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Sometime in the early '70s the term "blue-eyed soul" was invented to categorize singers (usually white) who sang with a more soulful manner, and without connections to Motown.  These vocalists brought an easily-identifiable sound to their records and were unmistakable.  I'm gonna spotlight five of those singers this week.

I start with a singer whose career spanned 3 decades, and at least three iterations.  Back in the '70s, his band Ace released "How Long".  It was 3 minutes and 21 seconds of pure radio perfection--an infectious chorus with a single verse that was repeated twice.  This song is 43 years old, and you can still hear it on "classic rock" stations.

Once Ace broke up, he went under the radar, then re-emerged as the lead singer of Mike + the Mechanics, a side project started by Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford.  Mike needed something to do while Phil Collins was selling billions of records as a solo artist.  M+TM had a couple of hits, then Rutherford went back to Genesis.

Then it was on to Squeeze, a UK critics' darling band that did so-so over here.  But his vocal on "Tempted" was unmistakable and drove the song into the top 10.  Our singer moved on to a solo career, the highlight of which was "Don't Shed a Tear", a mid-tempo song that showcased his voice even though it was almost 20 years after Ace.  He also did some work with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd amongst others.

Paul Carrack was labeled "The man with the golden voice" by the BBC, and even today his music is everywhere (even WalMart, a certain indicator of cultural significance).  So let's go back to the beginning, to the album Five a Side, and Ace's one hit (#3).  How long, indeed.

Tomorrow, another long-tenured voice with lots of soul.  See you tomorrow...


Pete

Voices Without Peer, Vol. 5

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

We conclude this week's review of Voices Without Peer with a man simply known as The Voice.  He was a struggling artist in the late '70s, trying to get a record deal but having no success.  Perhaps the time wasn't right, or The Voice was ahead of his time.

His record label (Columbia) decided what The Voice needed was a band.  And so they forced The Voice on a Bay-area jam band that was trying to make a name for themselves.  The story goes that the band members weren't too keen on having a lead singer foisted on them with little or no input.  They liked their 8-minute guitar solos (the guitarist being something of a prima donna himself) and didn't see how a new voice would help all that much.

But record contracts being what they were, they had no choice.  At first, they limited The Voice to joint duty with their original lead singer.  But when concert goers insisted on hearing more of The Voice and less of the other guy, the die was cast.  And off they went on a 20-year rocket ride that saw multiplatinum album after multiplatinum album, sold-out tours, and a worldwide following.

Training for another tour, The Voice hurt his hips, and had to cancel.  The rest of the band was not very happy about it, and acrimony ensued.  VH-1 immortalized the conflict in an episode of Behind the Music that laid out all the bad blood for everyone to see.  There was a brief reconciliation, but it didn't last.  Eventually the band found a Filipino singer on YouTube who sounded exactly like The Voice.  A new lead singer was found.

They tour to this day, playing the old hits originally sung by The Voice and now done by the sound-alike.  But nothing diminishes the power, the emotion, and the soaring tenor that made the band who they are today.  I'm choosing a solo song done by The Voice after he left his band, Journey.  It's a bit raspier than it was 15 years earlier, but it's still got "it".  My Voice Without Peer to end the week, Steve Perry...

Yep, THAT'S a Voice Without Peer...

See you next week...


Pete

Voices Without Peer, Vol. 4

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Sometimes a Voice Without Peer is just an amazing Voice (see:  Dion, Celine), or an amazing interpreter of songs (see:  Sinatra, Frank).  There are times, however, when a Voice stuns you not specifically for its range, or its power, or even its quality.  Sometimes you just ask yourself "How is THAT voice coming out of THAT head?".

And that, my friends, brings me to today's Voice Without Peer.  I have asked myself the above question countless times and I cannot answer it.  It still just boggles my mind.  This one is a Brit, and a sorta doofus-y looking one at that.  But when he opens his mouth, Great Googly Moogly.  He had a run of hits in the late '80s, dance tunes and ballads, and had the good fortune to hook up with producers Stock/Aitken/Waterman, who also produced hits for Bananarama amongst others.

He became an Internet celebrity when a meme was created that posed as a normal YouTube video, then suddenly transferred the viewer to his first hit, a catchy dance tune that showcased the Voice but also exposed his lack of dancing skills.  He's got one move, and repeats it constantly.

The meme was called "Rick Rolling".  It became so popular that one year he actually recreated the experience during the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, where a float pulled up and these characters were singing some song, then things got surreal as the Voice stepped out.  It was a 3-D Rick Roll.

Rick Astley still has command of that Voice, although he's not actively engaged in the business.  He took his second shot at fame with tongue-in-cheek and was a great sport about it.  But whether you laugh with him or at him, don't deny that you're amazed that someone who looks like that can sing like that.  So, let's enjoy one of his later hits, an energetic dance tune that showcases the Voice Without Peer.

I'm always up for some Rick Astley.  See you tomorrow...


Pete

Voices Without Peer, Vol. 3

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Today's trip in the Time Machine lands on another Canadian voice that is without peer.  And I mean, without anything CLOSE to a peer.  It's one of the few voices that elicit an emotional response from me every time I hear it, regardless of the song.

This is the first time I ever heard The Voice.  I'm guessing The Voice was still in its teens when this video was shot, the uneasiness shown during the performance betrays the age of the singer.  But when it's time for the chorus, The Voice unleashes a power that would come to be considered one of the strongest Voices in popular music.

The Voice won an Oscar for a song that was refused at first, and then only sang it one time for the recording.  ONE TIME.  And by the way, The Voice is singing in a language that is not native.  French is the preferred tongue of this artist.

Guessed it yet?  Didn't think so.  It's Celine Dion, whose voice raises the little hairs on the back of my neck every time I hear her voice.  She's in complete command of her instrument, and can do whatever she wants with whatever material she's given.  Want proof?  Check out her cover of Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night" and wait for the last minute or so--she takes a relatively high note and blasts it away with a higher third.  I get chills thinking about it.

She gets all sort of flak but that's what Divas get.  Aretha.  Mariah (who has more range but significantly less power).  But that is all jealousy from my chair.  Sit back and listen to a 19-year-old Celine Dion just kill a slow ballad that became her first US hit.  It's worth it...

Ooooh.  See you tomorrow...


Pete

Voices Without Peer, Vol. 2

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Our friends from the Great White North have been great trading partners over the years.  They send us timber, maple syrup, hockey, curling (ESPECIALLY curling), and a variant on our football that still jars me every time I see it.

One of the other great Canadian exports is music, and that brings me to the second name on my Voices Without Peer list.  No, it's not Gordon Lightfoot or Geddy Lee, although both of them certainly qualify as distinctive voices unheard on today's radio or streaming services.  No, I'm talking about a short, average-looking guy with pipes that go on for miles, and a great knack of interpreting songs as much as he sings them.

Frank Sinatra was like that-he would take an average song and make it great by his ability to inflect tones and set the mood.  I first heard him doing a commercial for Foxwoods Casino way back when, and I had no idea who it was and whether he was just doing a one-off.  Turns out he was already popular, just not as much so as he would become.

He was asked to contribute a track to a Spiderman movie sountrack a few years back.  He took the theme from the show, backed it with a big band, and created my favorite version of the song ever.

No import duties on this talent.  No tariffs or quotas.  We'll take as much of Michael Buble as we can get.  And go see the most recent Spiderman movie--even though the title character is a Brit.  We do indeed import a lot...

Truly a Voice Without Peer.  Another Canadian tomorrow...


Pete