Bricolage Does the Beyonce
Say My Name: Songs With Names in the Titles
1. Anandji Shaw/Kalyanji Shaw – “Theme From Don”
A great little slice of Bollywood funk. If you haven’t seen the movie, seek it out (the original, not the assumedly crappy recent remake). It manages to cram every 70s movie subgenre into a 3 hour block (musicals, identity switches, tough detectives, drug addicts, mafia-esque organized crime, ridiculously long car chases, old grizzled circus performers dusting off their declining skills to save a kid’s life, etc).
If you need proof of how great the movie is, listen to those great sound clips tossed into this song. “Some other time, baby!”
2. James Luther Dickinson – “Louise”
That Jim Dickinson – the one who was involved in basically everything ever recorded in Memphis (Big Star, Aretha, Rolling Stones, etc). He can’t really sing, but it sure sounds like he can drink. Great band behind him, too (featuring Dr. John!). Makes me wanna hit the bourbon and sing along.
3. The Clean – “Billy Two”
Likely my favorite band from the Southern Hemisphere. They must have been at least ten years ahead of their time (this is from ’82 or so). As you can hear, those kiwis have a funny way of saying the name “Billy.”
4. The Girls – “Chico’s Girl”
One of the first girl groups whose members actually played their own instruments. Dylan even hired them to play one of his birthday bashes in the early 60s. But what does that matter… I just wanna repeat that first line over and over – “CHEE-co wears a jack-ET… THAT says RE-bels on the BACK!” Glad that Chico’s got a tender side; he sounds pretty damn fierce.
5. James Booker – “Big Nick”
Not really a name song, so much as slang for a junkie. Kinda like James himself. As Dr. John (there he is again) once said, James Booker was the best black one-eyed gay junkie piano player from New Orleans. (Couldn’t he try to narrow it down a little further next time?). The best part is that even though he was openly a junkie (and openly gay in the 70s), he still landed a well-paid no-responsibility job at the New Orleans City Hall, just because folks knew he was such a badass on the piano.
Upon hearing Booker’s version of “Stag-o-Lee,” my friend Matt declared the piano playing as “some kinda Chopin shit,” which about hit the mark. He meant it as a complement, of course.
Booker recorded about 20 songs on organ in the early 60s. A French cat, Nino Ferrer, lifted this particular song note-for-note (but with poppier instrumentation) for his tune “Les Cornichons” a couple years later. How Ferrer even got a hold of this super-obscure tune, I haven’t a clue, but “Les Cornichons” certainly holds it own.
6. Neil Diamond – “Shilo”
I know, I know, Neil Diamond, right? After his first album, Diamond was kinda like lite rock meant to bridge the divide between people who were too scared to listen to anything with fuzz pedals and wah-wah, but fearful that listening to an aging Sinatra and his do-be-do-be-dos would make them square. But he did crank out some great stuff in the early 70s, and seriously, this song is fantastic. How could you not love the phrase “Young girl with fire!” Besides, everybody needs an imaginary friend, right?
7. Serge Gainsbourg – “Evelyne”
Speaking of French cats, here’s a tune from Gainsbourg’s best period, where he first started working with Jean-Claude Vannier. This is from one of his soundtracks, for the movie Slogan. Never seen the movie, but the tunes from it sound great. And this cut is vocal-free, so you don’t even need to know French to get into it.
8. The Bee Gees – “Gilbert Green”
Goddamn, the Bee Gees’ first four albums were fantastic; this track didn’t even make the cut, and finally saw the light of day a couple years ago when the first three albums had a 6-disc reissue. Beatles clones? Yes, but really, really good ones. The best part? They were freaking teenagers when they did this stuff. How the heck could teens create such great stuff? I’m an old failure…
Oh, and the lyrics are silly, and extremely dated, but who listens to lyrics anyway?
PS – Some future Bricolage disc will include my favorite of their Coca Cola commercials from this period, which might be the only advertising jingle ever sung in a minor key (!).
9. Buck Owens – “Sam’s Place”
Gotta love Buck Owens, even if you’ve never seen his totally pimped out convertible. California country at its best (and better than a heckuva lot of Nashville country).
Wouldn’t you love to go to this bar, by the way? I do suspect, though, that it might be a strip club. Shimmy-shakin’ Tina, Hoochie-Coochie Hattie… granted, the wife might not want me to go, but a feller can look so long as he don’t touch, right?
10. The Four Seasons – “C’mon Marianne”
One of my least favorite bands of all time. Frankie Valli and that whole Jersey Boys crap. But goddamn, this thing rocks. I even like the vocals; he’s so earnest!
I think one of those guitars might be slightly out of tune, but like I always say, add some distortion, and nobody will care.
Also, check out the subtle strings here and there, which at a few points make me think of Rocky. (Yeah, that’s insane and makes no sense. Hey – I could write for Pitchfork! Which is really funny to read when they call bands “pretentious.” Pot, kettle. Kettle, pot. But I digress…)
11. The Quik – “Bert’s Apple Crumble”
Somebody should make a whole compilation of songs with fake “party” noise thrown in – y’know, screams, claps, muffled conversation, maybe even clinking glasses. Which I suppose is the first Kingsmen album (one of those fake “live” albums that once got made). Alright, a whole album of it gets tedious, but one song thrown in here and there, and your spirits will undoubtedly perk up.
Um, here’s hoping your spirits are sufficiently perked, just in time for the next number, which might be a bit of a somber, downer-type tune.
12. Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man – “Drake”
The only surname-without-a-first-name track on the disc. I guess I bent the rules a bit, but it fit in better than their song “Tom the Model.”
Background: She’s the chick from Portishead, he’s the dude from Talk Talk, and this ranks among my five favorite discs of the oughts. Of course, I tend to focus more on older stuff (really shocking based on this playlist, right?), but their album really progresses nicely, has very good songs, and has stellar production. Not a lot out there that sounds like it.
13. Otis Rush – “Jump Sister Bessie”
Proof positive that you should own The Cobra Sessions. Chicago blues at its finest.
14. Karen Dalton – “Katie Cruel”
Not the best Karen Dalton song, but a good one. Most folks seem to prefer her second album, which has a home for this song, but it really doesn’t hold a candle to the first one.
Negatives aside, she can really wail on the banjo, and that strangely affected-but-not singing voice of hers fits right in. Oh, and for another Dylan mention (running neck and neck with Dr. John in these notes, apparently), he cited her as his favorite singer, for what that’s worth.
15. Ennio Morricone – “Belinda May”
From the pre-western, Italian “art” (read “soft-core porn”) films for which he cranked out soundtracks at the rate of about ten a week in the mid 60s. Morricone can write a catchy little melody in his sleep.
What happened to choral groups, anyway? Nobody makes pop music anymore featuring 20-30 people singing “las” and “dos” in unison. And no, the Polyphonic Spree don’t count, Jack. I mean, like, this smooth kind of thing.
16. The Jackson 5 – “Jamie”
Yeah, Motown, right, good stuff. But jeez-us christ, that label was good. This song, yeah, good melody, nice strings, fuzzed out guitar, Michael at his peak just wailing away… and it was a completely unissued thing that was dug out for some compilation long after the fact.
Most reissues have those long-lost tracks, which often get ignored after the first “oh, that’s interesting” moment, but holy crap, Motown’s unissued stuff consistently amazes. Sure, it’s not the gutbucket Southern soul raw thing, and yeah, it’s aimed at a pop audience, but wow…
17. The Ole Miss Down Beats – “Geraldine”
So what do the jungle sounds add to this song? Nothing to the content of the song (typical love song), but without ‘em, this song would just kinda suck.
I love the fact that a bunch of not-so-good garage bands in the late 50s spontaneously decided “Hey – let’s put on loincloths and animal skins, get folks in the band to make animal noises, combine that with some vaguely surfy/Bo Diddley sounds, and we’ll make a mint!”
By the way, wouldn’t they be much cooler if they switched the last two words in their name?
18. Mars – “Helen Forsdale”
The easy solution to not being able to come up with lyrics. Also the easy solution to when your bass player comes up with a riff and nobody else really wants to follow a set pattern. And, most importantly, this is balls-out, speaker-blasting, shit-yeah rock.
PS - I have no clue who Helen Forsdale was (and the name is so specific).
PPS – Do you think people really put their balls out for particularly rocking songs? Weird tradition, if so.
19. Elvis Presley – “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”
Most of the “Outlaws” recorded this tune – Waylon, Willie, Merle, and B.J. Thomas (!), to name a few, but Elvis’ version takes the cake for me.
I have a friend who recently professed his love of the 70’s denim lifestyle… y’know, epitomized by John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, and folks of their ilk. Kinda country, but not really. Always mellow, slightly sad, but not too depressing. This song fits right it. Before you think it’s a bad thing, though, hear me out. Picture yourself waking up around noon to a sunny day. You slip on some jeans, a faded button or snap shirt, some aviator shades. Pop open a Coors light, hop in your Jeep Wrangler, drive around in some vaguely rural area (but not forests or farmland), call every woman you meet “babe.” This type of stuff should make you wanna do that, even if you have no desire to otherwise.
This beats the shit outta most songs from the 70s denim lifestyle sub-genre, mostly because Elvis in this era had one of music’s greatest bands.
By the way, I love that he sings he’s not a kid at 33, even though he’s about 40 at this time. I think it’s actually just a subtle clue that he really was the second coming of Jesus, but with sideburns, and that Freemasons rule the world.
20. Earl Harrison – “Humphrey Stomp”
Harrison himself is kinda forgettable. The arranger, though, was Wardell Quezerque, known as “the Creole Beethoven.” He didn’t play anything himself, but really had a huge (and largely undocumented) role in creating funk. His two biggest songs were “Mr. Big Stuff” and “Groove Me,” but pretty much everything he touched was great.
This is actually one of Quezerque’s weaker tunes, but if you ever meet a guy named “Humphrey,” at least you’ll have a way to blow his mind.
21. Jelly Roll Morton – “Benny Frenchy’s Tune”
In 1940, Alan Lomax recorded 8 CDs worth of Morton getting drunk, playing piano, and telling stories. Morton could really tell a story (this track doesn’t even come close to giving a glimpse of how great the whole set is). He could also cuss like a sailor, and play piano like a motherfucker. Not exactly bashful about it, either…
22. Eldridge Holmes – “Beverly”
Allen Toussaint co-wrote and produced this little chestnut. Eldridge went on to drive a bus and be a mechanic after putting out a few more singles; he croaked about ten years ago.
It blows my mind that I mighta been a passenger on a bus without realizing that a guy who could totally sing his ass off was hauling me around…
23. Floyd Dakil Combo – “Dance, Franny, Dance”
Floyd Dakil – the most un-rockin’ name ever given to a truly rockin’ guy. Weirdly enough, he spent time in Louis Prima’s band before churning out this little West Texas surf tune.
Do you think he named this song for a girl named Franny because it took the heat off of him for being named “Floyd Dakil”? Franny might be even less rock-n-roll sounding than Floyd Dakil…
24. The Strangers – “My Suzanne”
A Joe Meek classic! True, you might want to ignore the vocals, but that music freaking rules. I love that huge (but weirdly muffled) rhythm sound, and those guitars fit right in.
A close second to my other favorite homicidal weirdo producer.
25. Elizabeth Cotton – “Delia”
I put a different tune of hers on the last Bricolage disc I made. Doesn’t get heard as often as she should…
26. The Ramones – “Danny Says”
Speaking of that other homicidal weirdo producer… I think Spector pulling a gun on Johnny Ramone had a positive effect on this tune.
One of those “on the road” songs that bands occasionally do, but one of the better ones you’ll find. And hey, the mention of “Get Smart” makes it relevant today, right?
Tom Waits released a cover of this on his recent three disc thing, which was a great cover, natch, but I’ve been really digging the original lately.
27. Lenny Kaye – “Outskirts of Beatrice”
A short and sweet instrumental. Sounds like it should be in a stark documentary about, I dunno, the struggles of catfish farming or something.
28. Bill Fay – “Pictures of Adolf”
Does Adolf even really count as a name anymore? It ain’t exactly popping up on those most popular name lists, outside of RaHoWa band members’ families.
Sure, it’s politically heavy-handed, but the instrumentation sure is nice, and he was certainly worthy of more than he got outta the music biz. Guy puts out a really great album, gets ignored, spends the next twenty-five years or so working in a factory. Christ or Hitler, indeed.
(yeah, that last bit doesn’t make sense, but hey, it’s topical, man).
29. Max Richter – “Vladimir’s Blues”
It’s really worth seeking out the album “The Blue Notebooks.” Neo-classical stuff, certainly a bit somber, but nice. This track only hints at what a wonderful whole the entire work can be.
30. T. Rex – “Left Hand Luke (Acoustic Demo)”
An early version of one of the tunes on the last decent T. Rex album, Tanx, the cover of which features a bloated Marc Bolan straddling a tank with a very long cannon. Hmmm, wonder what that’s meant to symbolize…
At any rate, even his demos have that great vocal sound (which helps hide the stupidest lyrics in rock history).
PS – Despite having the stupidest lyrics in rock history, he also wrote the truest and awesomest verse in rock history – “I drive a Rolls Royce, ‘cause its good for my voice.”
That's it. Hope y'all enjoyed some of the cuts.
