We're bagging on The Beatles for a second week in a row! This time it's The Rutles who snatch the laurels off of the Fab Four's shaggy heads. Just like before, we pick SIX songs wherein to make our case, so just tune in and find out how amazing the song craft of Neil Innes (Ron Nasty) was, as well as the playing of Ricky Fataar (Stig O'Hara), Ollie Halsall (the voice of Dirk McQuickly) and John Halsey (Barry Wom). They're all better than a squadron of tanks!
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2:00:25
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2:00:25
Better Than The Beatles: The Mascots
This week we play and discuss six (6!) songs by The Mascots, also known as the Swedish Beatles! Before there was ABBA, there were The Mascots, whose songs had that early Lennon/McCartney fairy dust. Tune in and you'll find your new favourite song!!
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2:30:06
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2:30:06
I'm Free
Too much freedom can be a bad thing, but not when it's us giving you several versions of The Rolling Stones' "I'm Free" from 1965! The original is a carefree song that strolls along, with a moment where the tune gets tripped up but quickly recovers. Then we have All-American boys The Lovin' Kind, whose version is organ-soaked, with a chorus really explodes! Next up is an amazing soul interpretation by Wilmer & The Dukes. Just listen to it, it'll knock your socks off! We feel obliged to do The Soup Dragons hit version from 1990 but ain't no way it's getting the BDA ... We cleanse the palate with The Ar-Kaics, a retro version from 2014. No whammy in that one!
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1:55:00
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1:55:00
Outside Chance
Everyone's a winner in this episode, well, almost - only one will get the coveted Bo Diddley Award. At pole position is the original version by The Turtles, who could be tough when they wanted to be. And it's also the original cowbell clanger- take that, Blue Oyster Cult! The second horse in the race came out the same year as the original and it's by The Sounds Like Us. We waltz around this one a bit with a crucial digression about Motley Crue's original singer. The Bangles 1981 demo of the tune comes down the track and shows no signs of slowing down - they capture the rush to the finish line of the original. Also-rans include The Total Rejection and The Melvins - will they be first past the post?
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1:37:15
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1:37:15
Each Time
Each version of Jackie DeShannon's "Each Time" is a treasure! We start with Jackie's original 1964 demo, which swerves from the Spectorian template and adds Mexican mariachi horns ... with backing vocals by The Blossoms, it's a winner! The same year, The Bon Bon's made the song a proper Girl Group Great with some nice doo-wop touches and cash register percussion!(?)! The Searchers brought their 12-strings and harmonizing to the song and it's especially heartbreaking in the outro. Argentina's Grupo Uno translated the song into Spanish ("Vuelvete") and their intro really wows us - the whole song is velvety! In the early 80s, Seattle's new wave chick Leslee Swanson made a nice kitchen-sink version that follows the Searcher's recipe closely. Finally, in '88 Marti Jones came out with a rockin' version that cuts away a lot of the melancholy, to great effect! Always good, it's with us you belong!
The usual format is this: we pick a song from the 1950s or 1960s (genres range from garage, R&B, Girl Groups, Motown and Doo-Wop), and discuss three versions of that song, or sometimes we just play a song we haven’t heard before and react to it. We’ve covered classics like “Little Bit o’ Soul” and “Psychotic Reaction” to rarities like “Jump and Dance” by the Carnaby, and “Ringo I Love You” by Bonnie Jo Mason (aka Cher). Our aim is to discuss what makes these songs interesting, ineffable, or even intolerable. We place special emphasis on the “moments” in these songs where, perhaps, a new interpretation will emerge from. A close look at song structure is also present in our discussions. If that sounds academic, maybe it is a little bit, but we like to keep the analysis in the spirit of the songs we speak of – which means we drink some spirits (for Erik, it’s bourbon, for Weldon, it’s Stambecco) – and that means by the third song, things can get a little wild. Basically, we talk about rock!
Australia