Bideodromage
The Scottish band Pilot emerged in 1974 with {arguably…} the greatest pop single ever recorded. Written by lead vocalist David Paton, and produced by Alan Parsons {with whom Paton and two other members were to later join forces}, “Magic” became a monster hit for the group. The first and last videos are live; the 2nd is lip-synched, to the studio version of the song, on which Parsons allegedly speeded up David’s vocal track a tad.
Some high-water moments from Steely Dan, Albert Hammond, Sr., King Harvest, Hurricane Smith, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Brownsville Station, Sly Stone, Billy Paul, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Stealers Wheel, The Sweet, Edgar Winter, The Isley Brothers, Dobie Gray, Stories, and Skylark.
Immortal music from Delaney & Bonnie, Lee Michaels, The Carpenters, Daddy Dewdrop {Richard Monda}, Ocean, Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, Brewer and Shipley, Tommy James, Paul Revere and the Raiders {featuring Mark Lindsay}, and The Stampeders.
Featuring the remarkable voice of Marilyn McCoo.
Memorable moments from Melanie Safka, Don McLean, Argent, Todd Rundgren, Clint Holmes, The Stylistics, The Main Ingredient, The Hollies, a youthful Michael Jackson, Looking Glass, Gallery, and Climax, featuring Sonny Geraci. So there.
The great Gordon Lightfoot, who is not only a legend in the music world, but {arguably} rates as the highest-ranked Canadian of all time, has written some of the most iconic and memorable songs ever. A mere sampling is here presented, including some criminally neglected gems.
Let ∰ = “The High Priest of quasi-androgynous Synth-Pop/Electronica, the Impassive Alien Deity, The Gary Numan.” What heretofore had been used to calculate Flux Densities, and whatnot, now is more—much more—much, much more.
He created aural landscapes which allowed access to the unfathomable. His performances have been described in so many ways. Strikingly “robotic”. Otherworldly. Mesmerizing. And moreover, there’s an unease, a disquiet, accompanying his trenchant intelligence; a wariness. Aware of a certain danger we cannot grasp. The ritual held out in the open, hauntingly obvious, yet impenetrable. A language we’ve forgotten; mind-argot beyond our ken.
“Ol’ Drain”, as Mr. Nick Lowe is called in some circles {i.e.: The None}—it’s his middle name, and a fine one—wears more than a few musical hats, and pulls it all off in such fashion as would create, probably, a dither of aesthetic paroxysms in any milliner or hatter. Earlier on, (than…??) Lowe, often with mate Dave Edmunds, in Rockpile, showed an uncanny talent for creating clever, charming, quite diabolically catchy songs that perhaps represented the very embodiment , the K2-like apotheosis, of Pure Pop Wonderment. Really…well, it was not fair. One had little to no choice but to come ’round to the man’s idiosyncratic ways. No one, however, minded, it seemed; either that, or such monumental courtesy was shown to Nick {OK, I’ll love it…} that it exceeded the amount shown to any other mammalian, extant or extinct.
Addendum: The Lowe classic Cruel to be Kind, in its promo video, features footage from Nick’s wedding in 1979, with Carlene Carter. There’s a reason that video is so genuinely touching.
The Hollies, a superb three-part harmony group {primarily}, fronted by the amazing Allan Clarke, had many a monster hit, including the Albert Hammond-penned The Air That I Breathe; these are four of their finest.
The great vocalist/pianist/composer performs both solo and with his group Raspberries. The range and breadth of Mr. Carmen’s talent has really never been fully appreciated. And his voice is truly a thing of wonder.
Bideodromage 