The Following Has Been Edited For Content

 

I have a friend who skips "Imagine" when listening to John Lennon's "Imagine" album. As far as he is concerned that album begins with the second track, "Crippled Inside."

Back when I was a Facebook member, I had a contentious discussion with a somewhat famous musician and singer, a real arrogant jerk we'll call Mike, about the Rolling Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request," which he thought was a hot mess, but which I thought and still think, is a fine record that just needed some tweaking. Imagine how much better it would be if we removed "Sing This All Together," "In Another Land" and "Gomper" and replaced them with "Dandelion," "Child Of The Moon" and "We Love You."

I make edits all the time. It makes for a better listening experience. I recently made a personal edit of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours." This is an album I thought I'd never need to hear again. I love it, but enough is enough. But then, I got rid of "Don't Stop," "Oh Daddy" and "Gold Dust Woman" and added the brilliant b-side "Silver Springs." "Rumours" sounded fresh again.

Do you know how much more manageable Springsteen's "The River" is without ""You Can Look," "Cadillac Ranch," I'm A Rocker" and "Ramrod," which are essentially the same song anyway? 

I think my "Quadrophenia" edit makes a better record.

The Real Me
Cut My Hair
The Punk & the Godfather
I'm One
The Dirty Jobs
Helpless Dancer
Is It In My Head
5:15
Sea & Sand
Drowned
Bell Boy
Love Reign O'er Me 

"Blood On The Tracks" is my favorite Dylan record, but I never want to hear "Lily, Rosemary & The Jack Of Hearts." We are all going to die soon. I need that 8:50. 

I listened to Elvis Costello's "Trust" yesterday and was having a blast until it was time for "Shot With His Own Gun" and "Big Sister's Clothes." I don't mind "Fish 'N' Chip Paper," but I sacrifice it not to hear the other two. My "Trust" edit closes out Side Two with "Clean Money" and "Hoover Factory."

Our friend Michael Giltz offered up replacing "Fixing A Hole" and "Good Morning, Good Morning" with "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." Yes, the latter two songs are better than the former. But I love "Fixing A Hole" and "Good Morning, Good Morning," so that wouldn't work for me. Maybe I'd remove "Within You, Without You" and "Lovely Rita" instead.

How about "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" on "Revolver" instead of "Yellow Submarine" and "Got To Get You Into My Life?" 

Is it blasphemy?

I may have done a similar post years ago, but I couldn't find it after a solid 14 second search.

So...what are your edits, if you have any?  

 

Songs Of The Week, 2025: 10/4-10/10

 

King's Call- Philip Lynott
Crippled Inside- John Lennon
A Whole New Thing- Big Star
Great Big Kiss- Johnny Thunders
Hot Biscuits & Sweet Marie- NRBQ
Consolation Prizes- Iggy Pop & James Williamson
Rollaroll- John Cale

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King's Call- Philip Lynott
(I love Phil's solo debut album more than a few Thin Lizzy albums and only recently discovered it received a stellar vinyl reissue on the Music On Vinyl label. That pressing is highly recommended. Here's the second single from it, featuring Mark Knopfler.)

Crippled Inside- John Lennon
(I have a friend who always plays the "Imagine" album by skipping "Imagine" and starting with this, track two. I think he is on to something. It's a better opener, I think.)

A Whole New Thing- Big Star
(This one's from the not bad reunion album with a few Posies in the band. I love the chorus and those harmonies. It's so silly, it's genius.)

Great Big Kiss- Johnny Thunders
("Gonna wawk right up tuh huh. Give huh a great big kiss. Wow!" Johnny Thunders, ladies and germs. And if you've never heard "So Alone," get on it. One of the 10 best punk records of all time;)

Hot Biscuits & Sweet Marie- NRBQ
(Try not to smile too hard.)

Consolation Prizes- Iggy Pop & James Williamson
(If "Kill City" was a six track E.P, people would be talking about it a lot more. Maybe not in the same conversation as "Fun House" and "Raw Power," but more than a blip in Ig's career.)

Rollaroll- John Cale 
("Paris 1919" is such a rich listen, every single time I play it, I forget just how great "Slow Dazzle" is. Actually, though Cale is not mainstream enough to be included in that "five great records in a row" game, an argument could be made for "The Academy In Peril," "Paris 1919," "Fear," "Slow Dazzle" and "Helen Of Troy.")

 

BW's Saturday #66

 

New from Neal Francis

 

The first time I heard Neal Francis was a one-off 2021 single called "Don't Call Me No More," a slick and funky groove that owed plenty to both Allen Toussaint and The Meters. But his 2019 debut failed to leave a mark, and I didn't bother to pay any more attention. I don't think I would have bothered with his new one either if our friend Kevin M hadn't mentioned that my new faves Say She She appeared on it.

"Return To Zero" caught me by surprise the same way Say She She's "Cut & Rewind" caught me by surprise. This is another organic record utitlizing many tricks of the past. This time the disco and funk is a bit more rock oriented- think your favorite rock band dabbling in disco on a single or two, for the sake of staying current in 1979.

The record is trippy and moves briskly, with a number of songs feeling like they could have existed somewhere between Bowie's "Young Americans" and "Low." 

If you haven't already done so, I suggest a nice double feature of Say She She's "Cut & Rewind" and Neal Francis' "Return To Zero." I am really digging both. 

 

Two From Joisey On Thoiseday

 

 

From their excellent 2019 covers collection, here are Plainfield, New Jersey's Doughboys and their take on "Everybody Knows My Name."

Who did this originally, you might ask?

Well, I hadn't a clue when I first heard it, but a quick search took me to some other Jersey Boys. Deep into Side Two of their 1966 album "Working My Way Back To You," the very last track actually, you will find Frankie Valli and the other three Seasons doing their best Bob Dylan on Bob Gaudio's original.

Nice pull, Doughboys. 

A Few Positive Words On "The Life Of A Showgirl"

 

Taylor Swift's lyrics, literal retellings of her everyday life both public and private, sabotage, what to my ears would otherwise be pleasant enough pop tunes that I might play a second and third time if they were recorded by anyone else. 

As I listened to "The Life Of A Showgirl," I found myself saying, "This is pretty good" or "Wow, I like this." 

The melodies don't veer too far off from the same sing-songy course, but her vocal inflections, the big choruses and overall vibe, didn't make me run away. I enjoyed this record more than I enjoyed any Taylor Swift records before it. I simply can't get beyond the words, which continue to feel like diary entries or tabloid items set to music. This clumsy storytelling has apparently been her selling point all these years, and therein lies my problem. Or, one of them, anyway. 

Hey Swifties, if you read about something or see something on social media or television about Miss Swift, do you think, "Oh that's gonna be Track Three, Side One?" 

"The last time I laughed this hard, I was on a trampoline in a backyard, I must've been eight or nine, and I fell off and broke my arm...."
...and then Uncle Vinny pulled up just in time for the barbecue, he brought the ribs I like from Faicco's Pork Store and he was wearing those black socks with the white boat shoes again...

Hey, I think my lyrics are just as relatable. 

I don't even want to hear my favorite artists drop singles months ahead of a new release. I want the experience of a new record to be, well, new. What if Dylan's new record was called "I'm Wearing A Hoodie Now." Track One, "Put Your iPhones Away." Track Two, "Not Doing 'Catfish' Tonight." Van Morrison tried that and got slammed. 

I've given up trying to understand the praise. The disparity between the reality of the music and the godlike status makes my pons melt. But, Tay is talking to a lot of people, young and old, and she is making them very happy, and if I hated this new record, I might be singing a different tune. It was only one full pass and a few spot checks, so far, but it was the first Taylor Swift record that I listened to from top to tail and I felt like I could do it again. "The Life Of A Showgirl" also made me realize how her brand of pop music is a hell of a lot better than most of her competition. "Opalite," "Father Figure," "Eldest Daughter" "Wi$h Li$T" are all catchy as hell. I might even play "The Life Of A Showgirl" a second and third time. I didn't only not hate it. I didn't mind it.

Quinn Martin Epilogue:

"Although Swift hasn’t explicitly said that “Opalite,” the third track on The Life of a Showgirl, is about her fiancé, all signs point to him. The song reflects her search for everlasting love after being hurt in past relationships. (She dated actor Joe Alwyn for six years before briefly being linked to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy at the start of the Eras Tour in early 2023.)

Another major hint that “Opalite” is about Kelce? The Kansas City Chiefs player’s birthday is Oct. 5, which makes his birthstone opal. Swifties also noticed that the Grammy winner wore opal earrings while cheering him on at the AFC Championship Game in January 2024."

In related news, Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song" is about fucking. 

 

 

"Cut & Rewind." Play & Repeat.

 

A quick search over at the Now Playing blog shows that I listened to Say She She's debut record "Prism" in October of 2022. This was before I started rating what I was listening to, so I don't know how I felt about it. It was never played again, and I totally missed out on their follow-up, so that might be an indication.

I listened to this new record, "Cut & Rewind," because it is getting some heavy hype and after two passes, I understand why. This album transported me back to 1980, Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, and the summertime battles between the rock heads and the disco gang. I loved both rock and disco then and still love both now, and the music on "Cut & Rewind" plays like the best of those disco/soul singles heard blasting over boom box radios on the streets and stoops, and on Blaupunkt car stereos as we cruised to Coney Island. "Cut & Rewind" calls to mind the S.O.S. Band, A Taste Of Honey, early Prince, Kool & The Gang and Chic.

This album is tight and hook-filled, and there were enough quotes, intentional or not, that evoked some of my favorite records of that time. The instrumental break in "Shop Boy" brings to mind Prince's "Head" 40 years later. The funky fun of "Chapters" and the breezy "Possibilities" make me think of Skyy's "Call Me" and the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good To Me,' respectively. Both would have been huge in 1980 and should, in a just world, be huge now.

The band shared the five albums that influenced them while working on "Cut & Rewind."
1. The Free Design- Kites Are Fun
2. ESG- Come Away
3. Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes- Visions Of A New World
4. Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson- The First Minute Of A New Day
5. The Sylvers- S/T 

If you were already turned off by the word "disco," I can't help you. Maybe you've enjoyed one or more of the five records listed above. But if the complaint remains "today's pop music is manufactured crap," consider listening to "Cut & Rewind." Say She She made a real record and it's damn good.