dry

PJ Harvey thundered onto the music scene and shattered preconceptions with the dramatic post-punk blues and delicate soundscapes of this twisted and desiccated sonic catharsis.  Polly Jean Harvey remembers:  "'Dry' is the first chance I ever had to make a record and I thought it would be my last. So, I put everything I had into it. It was a very extreme record. It was a great joy for me to be able to make it. I never thought I'd have that opportunity, so I felt like I had to get everything on it as well as I possibly could, because it was probably my only chance. It felt very extreme for that reason.”


'Dry' was recorded at The Icehouse, a local studio in Yeovil, United Kingdom, with Harvey co-producing with Head, Mark Vernon, and Rob Ellis; the sessions included Harvey on vocals, guitar, and violin prod; Ellis on drums, harmonium, and backing vocals; Steve Vaughan and Ian Olliver on bass; Ben Groenevelt on double bass; Mike Paine on guitar; and Chas Dickie on cello.

'Dry' garnished rave reviews from music critics who touted Harvey as the best new female singer songwriter.  Harvey says:  "I wouldn't call myself a feminist because I don't understand the term or the baggage it takes along with it. I'd feel like I really have to go back and study its history to associate myself with it, and I don't feel the need to do that. I'd much rather just get on and do things the way I have been doing them.”


The album only charted at one hundred and forty nine in France and eleven in the UK.  It sold over one hundred and seventy six thousand copies in the US.  Harvey says of the acclaim:  "I couldn't believe it. It didn't make sense to me at all to start off with. I thought, ‘Why do people want to buy this nasty, bendy sounding music?’ It's touching some nerve somewhere. I like the rawness of it, and I think maybe that is what people are looking for now. They want a bit of rough around the edges.”

http://pjharvey.net/










The fertility freakout of "Sheela-Na-Gig"  went to sixty-nine in the UK and peaked at number nine on the US modern rock tracks chart.




"Dress"    




"O Stella"    

'Dry'
full album

"Oh My Lover" -- 00:00
"O Stella" -- 04:02
"Dress" -- 06:32
"Victory" -- 09:51
"Happy and Bleeding" -- 13:06
"Sheela-Na-Gig" -- 17:58
"Hair" -- 21:10
"Joe" -- 24:55
"Plants and Rags" -- 27:31
"Fountain" -- 31:40
"Water" -- 35:32

they can't take that away from me

 

George and Ira Gershwin made the move along the bumpy road to love and into movie soundtracks to come up with the bittersweet romantic declarations of this enduring foxtrot.  After the commercial failure of 'Porgy and Bess', the duo was commissioned to write the music for the film 'Shall We Dance', starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  George did the score and Ira wrote the lyrics. 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' drew inspiration from 'The Song is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On)' by Irving Berlin.  In the film, Astaire sings the song to Rogers as they take the ferry from New Jersey to Manhattan.  George felt the song appeared too briefly in the movie and was concerned that it wouldn't get enough exposure to be a hit.  'They Can't Take That Away from Me' actually charted four times that year alone, with Fred Astaire's version with Johnny Green and His Orchestra spending ten weeks at number one.  Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra took it to number six, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra had a version with Jack Leonard singing that hit number eleven, and Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra made it to number twelve with their rendition. George Gershwin died just two months after the release of 'Shall We Dance'; so he didn't live to see the success he so craved.   He was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 1937 Oscars; his only Oscar nomination.

Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note,
Though by tomorrow you're gone;
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,
The melody lingers on.
They may take you from me, I'll miss your fond caress.
But though they take you from me, I'll still possess.

The way you wear your hat
The way you sip your tea
The memory of all that
No, no, they can't take that away from me

The way your smile just beams
The way you sing off key
The way you haunt my dreams
No, no, they can't take that away from me

We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of

The way you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
The way you changed my life
No, no, they can't take that away from me
No, they can't take that away from me

We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of

The way you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
The way you changed my life
No, no, they can't take that away from me
No, they can't take that away
Can't take that away
Can't take that away from me

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in 'Shall We Dance'

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Frank Sinatra

Billie Holiday

Charlie Parker

got to give it up

Marvin Gaye originally wrote this funky groove as a parody of the disco scene. Executives at Motown Records had been trying to get him to record something in the disco style to capitalize on its huge popularity at the time; but Gaye was critical of the music. Eventually he decided to do a caricature of the style and began working on a song he called 'Dancing Lady' as a response to Johnnie Taylor's 'Disco Lady'. Art Stewart was brought in as producer and engineer for the sessions at Marvin's Room, Gaye's Los Angeles studio complex. The party atmosphere included Johnny McGhee on guitar; Fernando Harkness on saxophone; Bugsy Wilcox on drums; Jack Ashford on tambourine; with his brother Frankie Gaye, sister Zeola Gaye, and girlfriend Janis Hunter on background vocals. Gaye handled synthesizer, bass, keyboards, and percussion, as well as lead and background vocals. During the sessions, Gaye recorded an actual party and looped the chatter of the crowd on the track.

'Got to Give It Up' wound up being over eleven minutes long and had to be edited down to four minutes for single release, with the second half as the b-side. 'Got to Give It Up (Part 1)' hit twenty-four in the Netherlands; seven in the UK; five in Canada; and number one on the US Dance, Soul, and Hot 100 charts. The full version was included as the final side of his 'Live at the London Palladium' album.








http://www.marvingayepage.net/
















I used to go out to parties and stand around;
'Cause I was too nervous to really get down.
But my body yearned to be free.
I got up on the floor, boy,
So somebody could choose me.
No more standin' upside the wall.
I have got myself together, baby,
Now I'm havin' a ball.
Long as you're groovin' theres' always a chance
Somebody watchin' might wanna make romance.

Move your body, move baby, and dance all night,
To the groovin', I feel all right.
Havin' a party, ooh, invite all your friends;
But if you see me stop by, let me in.
Baby, just party all night long.
Let me slip into your erotic zone.

Move it up,
Turn it around, ooh, shake it down
Ooh, you can bump me when you want to, babe.
This is such a groovy party, baby.
Dancin' face to face and everybody's screamin'
This is such a groovy place.
All the young ladies are so fine.
You're movin' your body leaves me no doubt;
Know what you're thinkin', baby, you want to turn me out.
Think I'm gonna let you do it?

Keep on dancin' oh, Keep on dancin' oh.
Ooh, look so good, yeah, keep on dancin'
Oh, now sugar, got to give it up.
Keep on dancin', gotta give it up.
Keep on dancin' . . . . .




parts 1 & 2

i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me)

Whitney Houston continued her winning streak with this funky little pop song about a love that burns hot enough to last. After the massive success of their single 'How Will I Know' from her debut album, George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam were asked to write another song for Houston. Merrill recalls: "I think the biggest deal for Shannon and me was that we had had this meteoric success with 'How Will I Know,' that was the biggest thing that had ever happened for us in our career, and then to be asked to come up with another one, well, we just looked at each other. We thought, 'Well, that's kind of what this is about, it's not about the one song and goodbye. This is part of the fun of it, this is gonna be something that we want to continue'; so we just went to work." Rubicam says: "That song got written pretty quickly, as I recall. We had a funky little garage studio at the time, and we just hung out in there one afternoon and wrote the song, and I know we tweaked it the next day, and started recording it on our little TX 4-track deck that we were using...And then a friend of ours had a larger, more comprehensive studio, so we recorded the demo there and the demo we made of 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' was kind of a rock version."

Arista executive Clive Davis loved the demo; but producer Narada Michael Walden was less impressed: "Reminded me of a rodeo song...I felt the song needed a much more funkier feel. I slept, dreaming about it, woke up in the morning thinking about it, wondering what am I gonna do with this dance song. So, we just jumped in the water and lo and behold a magic record was born, Houston just knocked it out and then I knew we had a good record." 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)' became an international sensation, going to number fifteen in France; four in Spain; three in Austria; two in Ireland; and number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. It was the fourth of a record seven consecutive number one singles for Houston in the US. It also won on a Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as Favorite Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards. Rubicam explains the meaning behind the song: "I pictured somebody single wishing that they could find that special person for themselves. It wasn't, 'I wanna go down the disco and dance,' really. It was, 'I wanna do that dance of life with somebody'."











http://www.whitneyhouston.com/

Clock strikes upon the hour
And the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away
Ive done alright up till now
Its the light of day that shows me how
And when the night falls the loneliness calls

Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

Ive been in love and lost my senses
Spinning through the town
Sooner or later the fever ends
And I wind up feeling down
I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls

Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

Somebody who somebody who
Somebody who loves me
Somebody who somebody who
To hold me in his arms oh
I need a man who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls.

Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

Ohhhh,ohhhh
Come on baby, haha
Yea
Now get with this

Don't you wanna dance
with me baby?
Don't you wanna dance
with me boy?
Don't you wanna dance
with me baby?

With somebody who loves me.

Don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance
Don't you wanna dance?
Don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance
Don't you wanna dance?
Don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance?
Uh huh. With somebody who loves me.

ebony and ivory

Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder took this metaphorical ballad about racial harmony to the top of the charts. McCartney got the idea for the title from a television performance by Spike Milligan playing segregated black and white keyboards during which Milligan said: “Black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!” He wrote 'Ebony and Ivory' after an argument with his wife Linda: "It was like, 'Why can't we get it together - our piano can.'" Once finished, he knew it would make a great duet: "I wanted to sing it with a black guy. And my first thought was Stevie.” Wonder remembers: “I listened to the song, and I liked it very much. … I felt it was positive for everybody. I won’t say it demanded of people to reflect upon it, but it politely asks the people to reflect upon life in using the terms of music … this melting pot of many different people."

They recorded the song together on the West Indies island of Montserrat with McCartney on Bass, guitar, synthesizers, vocoder, percussion, piano and vocals; Wonder on electric piano, synthesizers, drums, percussion and vocals; and Isaac Hayes helping with Back up vocals. George Martin produced the sessions and the rest of McCartney's 'Tug of War' album, on which the song appeared. 'Ebony and Ivory' was released a month before the album and was a worldwide smash, going to number three in Austria; two in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland; and number one in Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, the US, and the UK. In the US, it spent seven weeks at the top, making it Wonder's biggest hit ever and McCartney's second biggest after 'Hey Jude'. The song was banned in Apartheid South Africa.







https://www.paulmccartney.com/

http://www.steviewonder.net/

















Ebony and ivory
Live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh Lord, why don't we?

We all know
That people are the same wherever you go
There is good and bad in everyone
When we learn to live, we learn to give each other
What we need to survive
Together alive

Ebony and ivory
Live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh Lord, why don't we?

(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)
(Ebony, ivory, ooh)

We all know
That people are the same wherever you go
There is good and bad, mmm, in everyone
We learn to live when we learn to give each other
What we need to survive
Together alive

Ebony and ivory
Live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh Lord, why don't we?

Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh Lord, why don't we?

(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)
(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)
(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)

(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)
(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)
(Ebony, ivory)
(Living in perfect harmony)







McCartney and Wonder performed the song live together for the first time at the White House after Sir Paul was presented with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by President Obama.












Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy parodied the song doing impressions of Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder.

Parodie Eddie Murphy & Joe Piscopo by PeteRock

murray street

Sonic Youth struck an artful balance between melody and experimentation with the chilled out noise rock of their twelfth album. 'Murray Street' was named for the location of their Echo Canyon studio in New York City. The sessions were interrupted by the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. Multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke had just become an official member of the band: “The studio was just two short blocks away. A jet engine fell from the sky, and landed on Murray Street within eyeshot of the studio’s front window.”

Drummer Steve Shelley recalls: "The record was pretty much on its way. We had even done some of the basics in August, it’s just that we basically got shut down for two months. We couldn’t get to the studio, and we had to deal with real life at that time. Being in a studio is like the most unreal way to spend your days and your weeks. You’re in this sterile environment and you’re listening to the same thing over and over again. You don’t see the news or your friends and people lives as they change. Every day you’re in this environment where you’re working on creating another false environment, a recording. It’s a really weird process. It’s took us out of that process and dropped us back into it a few months later."

Kim Gordon reflects: "It was strange to go down there to work and be huddled in that studio, and there was nothing, just these empty buildings all around. But it's comforting that when something like that happens, you can still feel good about your work."

Thurston Moore says: "Concurrent with us making this record, they would dig up the street, then they would patch it; then they would dig it up again and they would patch it. They kept changing and rearranging conduits of water and electricity. To me, it was like they were working on their own record."




It was the second album that included O’Rourke; but his involvement was more intensive this time around: "I played bass on two-thirds of the songs and guitar on almost all of them. Actually, Lee was laughing in rehearsal, because I’m often playing bass live, which means he sometimes has to play my guitar parts. It was the first time he has ever had to play parts that weren’t his own. And although I’m credited as the album’s producer, I actually acted more as an engineer. The album’s production was a truly democratic effort by the band."

Lee Ranaldo describes their method for acquiring noises: "Well, basically all sounds heard and felt are fair game to inspire new sounds in whatever form they may take — I love industrial factory smash mechanique, but also birdsong, the wind whipping through tall grasses, and tall trucks slamming across city blacktop streets...It’s just some subtle switch in the brain that trips when an interesting sonic event happens — a bird’s song, jet engine, etc. that spawns sounds in the studio. It’s mostly about being open to hearing things in the world to begin with; I find interesting sounds just about everywhere I turn — then it’s not a matter of imitating but transforming the emotions you feel when you react to such sounds into music."




'Murray Street' was hailed as a return to the melodic sound of their heyday in the 80's. Shelley says: "To us, all of the albums have melody and they have pop songs in them, it’s just that sometimes, they’re done in a different way. People say, 'Oh, you’re writing songs this time.' We consider the material the last couple records in the format of songs and pop music structure, but our definition of what a pop song could be is maybe wider than some people’s. Some people really compare it to DN, which is fine, but we don’t really think about that when we’re making the record. We’re just in the moment and doing what we’re doing."

The album features several extended instrumental sections that deconstruct into an electric cacophony that winds around the interplay of at least three guitarists. Ranaldo says: "We build them like sculptures—from the ground up. Everybody hacks away at it until it’s something. We’ll often just sit around in a room with a tape recorder as a sketching tool and start generating sounds. Ideas gradually expand and develop until we have a structure and a songscape." Moore adds: "It’s not noise improvisation, though it may have originated as such when we first created it. Each of us is playing a distinct musical part that intertwines with the others." O’Rourke considers: "The challenge is keeping it all together, and then, when it falls apart, making sure it’s a good falling apart."

'Murray Street' went to number one hundred and twenty-six in the US, seventy-seven in the UK, sixty-seven in Ireland, sixty-three in Germany, fifty-two in Austria, forty-eight in France, and sixteen in Norway. It was awarded 'Album of the Year' by The Wire.









http://www.sonicyouth.com/











"The Empty Page"






"Disconnection Notice"






"Rain on Tin"







"Karen Revisited"






"Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style"








"Plastic Sun" 

"Sympathy for the Strawberry"






"Street Sauce" was an import bonus track.











'Murray Street'
full album:

All music composed by Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Jim O'Rourke).

1. "The Empty Page"    Moore 4:20

2. "Disconnection Notice"   Moore 6:24

3. "Rain on Tin"   Moore 7:56

4. "Karen Revisited"   Ranaldo 11:10

5. "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style"   Moore 4:27

6. "Plastic Sun"   Gordon 2:14

7. "Sympathy for the Strawberry"   Gordon 9:06

i'll be there

 

Mariah Carey and the Jackson Five both took this plea for love and salvation to the top of the charts.  'I'll Be There' was written by Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, and Hal Davis.  The lyrics refer to one of the sayings of Jesus in Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  The song was a departure for the Jackson Five, who had up until then been very successful with crossover blend bubblegum pop and Motown soul.  The songwriters also produced the single.  Michael Jackson and his older brother Jermaine sang lead vocals. Michael was instructed by Gordy to sing "just look over your shoulder" as a reference to the song 'Reach Out I'll Be There' by the Four Tops; but Michael flubbed it.  The Jackson Five took 'I'll Be There' to number thirty-four in Australia, eighteen in the Netherlands, four in the UK, and to the top of the pop and R&B charts in the US where it spent five and six weeks respectively and became the biggest selling Motown single of its Detroit era.  It was the fourth consecutive number one hit on the Hot 100, making them the first black male group to achieve such a feat. 

http://www.michaeljackson.com/

http://www.jackson5abc.com/

Mariah Carey added 'I'll Be There' to her 'MTV Unplugged' setlist at the last minute, when the producers suggested she do a cover.  She sang it as a duet with Trey Lorenz taking over Jermaine's lines.  After many requests, Columbia Records released it as a single and it became an international smash, going to thirty-three in Germany, twenty-six in Sweden, twenty in Switzerland, sixteen in France, nine in Australia, two in the UK, and number one in Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the US, where it became her sixth number one pop single.  Her version was also nominated for Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song.

http://www.mariahcarey.com/

You and I must make a pact,
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love,
I'll be there (I'll be there...)

I'll reach out my hand to you,
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there
(I'll be there...)

And oh - I'll be there to comfort you,
Build my world of dreams around you,
I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on -
(Yes I will, yes I will)


Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well that's all I'm after
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be there to protect you,
With an unselfish love I respect you
Just call my name and I'll be there

And oh - I'll be there to comfort you,
Build my world of dreams around you,
I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on -
(Yes I will, yes I will)

If you should ever find someone new,
I know he'd better be good to you
'Cos if he doesn't, I'll be there
(I'll be there...)

Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there,
Just call my name, I'll be there
(I'll be there...)

(Just look over your shoulders, honey - ooh)

I'll be there, I'll be there,
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there,
Just call my name, I'll be there...

vincent (starry, starry night)

Don McLean painted a beautiful musical picture of pure admiration and empathy for Vincent van Gogh. He says he wrote 'Vincent' during a bleak time in his own life: "I was in a bad marriage that was torturing me. I was tortured. I wasn't as badly off as Vincent was, but I wasn't thrilled, let's put it that way...I had a job singing in the school system, playing my guitar in classrooms. I was sitting on the veranda one morning, reading a biography of Van Gogh, and suddenly I knew I had to write a song arguing that he wasn't crazy. He had an illness and so did his brother Theo. This makes it different, in my mind, to the garden variety of 'crazy' – because he was rejected by a woman. So I sat down with a print of Starry Night and wrote the lyrics out on a paper bag...But then I thought, well, how do you do this? Again, I wanted to have each thing be different. I'm looking through the book and fiddling around and I saw the painting. I said, Wow, just tell the story using the color, the imagery, the movement, everything that's in the painting. Because that's him more than he is him. One thing I want to say is that music is like poetry in so many ways. You have wit and drama and humor and pathos and anger and all of these things create the subtle tools that an artist, a stage artist, a good one, uses. Sadly, this has really gone out of music completely. So it makes someone like me a relic, because I am doing things and people like me are doing things that utilize all the classic means of emotional expression."

'Vincent' went to number twelve on the US pop chart, three in Canada, two on the US adult contemporary chart, and number one in the UK.










http://www.don-mclean.com/

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the
Darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land.

And now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night
Flaming flo'rs that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in
Vincent's eyes of China blue.
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's
Loving hand.

And now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night.
You took your life
As lovers often do;
But I could have told you
Vincent
This world was never
Meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes
That watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met

The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken
On the virgin snow.

And now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity

How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They're not list'ning still
Perhaps they never will.

dreams

Fleetwood Mac had their only number one hit with the maddening heartbeat of this song of loneliness.  Stevie Nicks wrote 'Dreams' at the Record Plant studio during the sessions for 'Rumours': "One day when I wasn't required in the main studio, I took a Fender Rhodes piano and went into another studio that was said to belong to Sly, of Sly & the Family Stone. It was a black-and-red room, with a sunken pit in the middle where there was a piano, and a big black-velvet bed with Victorian drapes. I sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me, I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote 'Dreams' in about ten minutes. Right away I liked the fact that I was doing something with a dance beat, because that made it a little unusual for me."  

 

 

The song spoke to the dissolution of the eight year relationship between Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.  Nicks admits:   "Dreams was uh about Lindsey and I - it was me trying to be philosophic once again, Whether or not I succeeded I don't know. I love the song 'Dreams'. I never get tired of singing 'Dreams'." 

It was the second single released from their album 'Rumours'.  'Dreams' went to thirty-three in Germany, twenty-four in the UK, nineteen in Australia, sixteen in New Zealand, eight in the Netherlands, and number one in Canada and the US.   Nicks says:  "I always put something at the end that says there's hope. You know, 'When the rain washes you clean you'll know.' And that's an old Indian  custom...that if it rains - something like that - when somebody dies, if it rains their spirit is set free."

http://www.fleetwoodmac.com/













Now here you go again, you say
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost

Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know, you'll know

Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself, it's only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and,
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness,
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering, what you had,
And what you lost and what you had and what you lost

Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know

Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
You'll know, you will know, you'll know

the candy man

Sammy Davis Jr. coined his nickname with his hit rendition of a song from 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'.   Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley wrote 'The Candy Man' for the film.  It was sung by Aubrey Woods who played the part of the candy store owner.  Newley was unhappy with Woods' performance and offered to do the part himself; but the producers declined. Later that year, the Mike Curb Congregation recorded an instrumental version of the song and approached Davis to sing it with them.  Davis didn't like the song; but agreed to record it.  'The Candy Man' became an international hit for him and his signature song.  It went to number two in Canada and number one on the US pop and adult contemporary charts.







http://www.sammydavis-jr.com/

Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew
Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good

The Candy Man
Makes everything he bakes
Satisfying and delicious
Now you talk about your childhood wishes,
You can even eat the dishes

Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good

The Candy Man
Makes everything he bakes
Satisfying and delicious
Talk about your childhood wishes,
You can even eat the dishes
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
Yes, the Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man

pleased to meet me

The Replacements went to Memphis as a trio to record this diverse collection of shiny, scrappy little numbers.  Guitarist Bob Stinson had left the band because of drug problems and creative differences during the tour for 'Tim', leaving Paul Westerberg on lead and background vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, piano, and six-string bass; Tommy Stinson on bass guitar, background vocals, upright bass, acoustic guitar, and guitar fills; and Chris Mars on Drums, cowbell, background vocals, and foot tapping.  The sessions took place at legendary Ardent Studios with Big Star producer Jim Dickinson providing a more glossy intonation than was comfortable for some members of the band.  The sound is dynamic and clean and shows them utilizing session musicians on new instrumentation such as horns, strings, and background singers.  Westerberg remembers: "Jim Dickinson did a great job producing. But, of course, he's a session player, too. We finished the record and thought we were done. And he ended up overdubbing all these instruments on them later. That he played! Producers are always frustrated musicians and songwriters." Dickinson is credited as East Memphis Slim and contributed organ, keyboards, background vocals, and vibes.   Alex Chilton even sat in on guitar.  'Pleased to Meet Me' only reached one hundred and thirty one on the album chart and, like all of their previous efforts, none of the singles charted at all.

Westerberg admits:  "They did give us a chance with 'Pleased To Meet Me'. But no one really spelled out what was required of us...We were still of an era where misbehaving was not something that the label could tolerate or promote. I think they thought we were just pretending to be what we were and what we really wanted to do was sell a million records and live the good life. I think they were kind of shocked when they realized that we were what we were...They wanted us to change and toe the line and that tore us apart. Each individual band member went through this trauma: 'Do we change what we do?' The problem deepened because we began to realize that our behavior had become old hat and we had to change, but we felt trapped that if we did change, it would look like we did it because the label told us to, and we’d lose credibility and everyone would say we sold out. We suffered a lot for that...You resent where you’re going because it means you have to leave where you came from behind. I’ve often wondered how our music would have been effected had we never signed to a major label, and I really think it would have gotten slicker quicker. I think if anything we tried to keep it as rough as possible for as long as possible because we felt somehow dishonored by being on a major label. I mean, we always loved pure pop music. We would have made that kind of music from day one, had we been capable of it."

http://thereplacementsofficial.com/

'Alex Chilton'

"If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from Mars, wouldn't that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hangin' down in Memphis all the while.
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton 
When he comes 'round
They sing 'I'm in love. 
What's that song?
I'm in love 
With that song.'"







'I Don't Know' 

"One foot in the door, the other one in the gutter
The sweet smell that they adore, I think I'd rather smother"







'Valentine'

"Well you wish upon a star that turns into a plane
And I guess that's right on par
Who's left to blame?
If you were a pill
I'd take a handful at my will
And I'd knock you back with something sweet and strong
Plenty of times you wake up in February make-up
Like the moon and the morning star you're gone
Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's makin' Valentines"






'Skyway'

"You take the skyway, high above the busy little one-way
In my stupid hat and gloves, at night I lie awake
Wonderin' if I'll sleep
Wonderin' if we'll meet out in the street
But you take the skyway
It don't move at all like a subway
It's got bums when it's cold like any other place
It's warm up inside
Sittin' down and waitin' for a ride
Beneath the skyway
Oh, then one day, I saw you walkin' down that little one-way
Where, the place I'd catch my ride most everyday
There wasn't a damn thing I could do or say
Up in the skyway"






'Can't Hardly Wait' features the Memphis Horns and Alex Chilton on guitar.  

"I'll write you a letter tomorrow
Tonight I can't hold a pen
Someone's got a stamp that I can borrow
I promise not to blow the address again
Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a crack in the drapes
Jesus rides beside me
He never buys any smokes
Hurry up, hurry up, ain't you had enough of this stuff
Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, and filthy jokes
See you're high and lonesome
Try and try and try
Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a hole in the drapes
I'll be home when I'm sleeping
I can't hardly wait
I can't wait. Hardly wait."

interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyNTxZ_gt10

'Pleased to Meet Me'
full album:



All songs written and composed by Paul Westerberg, except where noted. 

Side one

1. "I.O.U."   2:57
2. "Alex Chilton"   Westerberg Tommy Stinson Chris Mars  3:12
3. "I Don't Know"   Westerberg Stinson Mars  3:19
4. "Nightclub Jitters"   2:44
5. "The Ledge"   4:04
Side two
6. "Never Mind"   2:47
7. "Valentine"   Westerberg Stinson Mars  3:31
8. "Shooting Dirty Pool"   Westerberg Stinson Mars  2:20
9. "Red Red Wine"   2:59
10. "Skyway"   2:04
11. "Can't Hardly Wait"   3:02