The dreary late 70's found the pop music scene in a real funk. Pre-punk, post-Beatles, and the very last days of the vanished 45rpm 7" single. From that bleak period there were a few real gems to be heard on top 40 radio. One of my favorites is the Electric Light Orchestra's Sweet Talking Woman. Jeff Lynne managed to combine the unusual chords and vocal harmonies of the Beatles with a Motown influence and his usual violin flourishes. I am not the world's biggest ELO fan but this song really floats my boat.
Seems that Mr. Costello / MacManus and I share some sentiments. As with the last posting there is a subtext here that will remain private, but the song title rings so true I could not resist. The Attractions have to be one of the tightest, most dexterous bands ever, and this live performance of I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea gives a glimpse at the mighty power they wielded in their heyday.
What do Iggy Pop, Artie - the strongest man in the world, and mutants have in common? Well someone has spliced together a set of clips from The Adventures of Pete and Pete and set it to the music of Devo. I was way past the age for the target audience of Pete and Pete, but regardless it was a guilty pleasure for me. I could not get enough of the surreal suburban adventures of the brothers who shared a first name. The show had a bevy of cool guest actors and often used music by a variety of great indy rock artists. When Nickelodeon pulled the plug on the show I felt like a part of my inner child had departed.
But my main point for posting this embedded video is that this seems to be the only available video which uses the original 1978 "Stiff Records" recording of Be Stiff, Devo's third single in the UK. I am unapologetic about my enthusiasm for Devo, at least up through the first four or five LPs. Musically this song stands apart from their more off-the-wall social sarcrasms and synth-driven songs. Underneath the nerdy veneer they were one hell of a rock'n'roll band. And this song has the goods. From the opening telegraphing guitar riff you know you are in for a roller coaster ride. The lyrics use the same sophmoric syntax of many of Devo's songs, obsessed with all things sexual.
Be stiff my b-abies be stiff Fruit ooze is wetly lewd Stay dry in rubber boots and cucumbers ripe and rude
I have always been fascinated that "babies" is plural, making me wonder exactly who they are singing to. The mid-song guitar solo is a miracle, so simple yet powerful. And like any great single, it says what it has to say and is over in less than three minutes.
The Kinks second LP release on Arista was Misfits, released in mid-1978. Cut from the same cloth as the previous year's Sleepwalker, the band takes a further step into the guitar rock of the pre-punk period. Of course the punk movement itself was already underway in the UK while in the USA the C.B.G.B.'s bands were beginning to make some noise. By this point the Kinks were a product of a different generation and yet somehow managed to tap into a market that had been so indifferent to them in their 60's heyday.
There are some good songs here, including Misfits, A Rock and Roll Fantasy, Black Messiah, Out of the Wardrobe, and Live Life. The band had developed into a very cohesive live unit at this point. I would rank it a few steps down from the previous effort but there is certainly nothing to be ashamed of here.
The Kinks pull out all the stops for the extremely Stones-ish Live Life. Ray takes a very pragmatic view about political causes and the extreme views of both ends of the social spectrum.
Trendy intellectuals always take action, For every cause that's ever been in fashion Weekend revolutionaries protest and sing Because they're dedicated followers of any old thing
With a hilarious two word fragment from his 1966 single he puts a whole movement in its place.
