[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Who-Sell Out



Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 16:01:48 -0500
From: "Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Rooty-toot-tooty....
Need I say more?

You're right. That part's a bit daft. I like singing along with it, however. But it makes you think: Was Pete not able to come up with a final lyrical stanza?

It was a tip of the hat to Bob Pridden, who used to hum and sing a little tuneless tune with those "words" to himself while working. Could Pete have come up with something better? An open question, probably "yes". But that's where it came from.


Favorite SELL OUT song: Very tough. If I were going to have to pick just one, I'll go with I Can See for Miles. A fully-formed, ominous masterpiece. In a sense the whole album serves as a setting for this diamond. However, Pete is such a riffmeister on this album. So many tracks have bits I just love:
Mary Anne -- always liked the harmonies all through the song. Light, delicate, perfect.
Our Love Was -- the "love love love long" bit sounds just like the "cello cello cello" line in AQO. That's a good thing. Love the echoey guitar right before that, too.
Relax -- the resolve to the home chord on ..."over all your problems" after the two long suspended chords gets me every time
Jaguar -- love the Keith/John duet to open things up, not to mention that the "aaah-ahhs" in the intro sure sound like forerunners of the backing vocals on "Underture"; building up to the power chords and thunderous drumming at the end, and then the sublime harmonies on the "Jaguar, Jaguar" lyrics are layered on top to cap it off.
Armenia -- besides the catchiness of the melody, John's bass is fascinating


Least favorite:
I'll say "Rael 2", if a 50-second song can be counted in the competition. (Love "Top Gear" just following, though.) If "Rael 2" is discounted, I'll say "Hall of the Mountain King". Way too monotonous. Way too much time spent in the studio experimenting for too little result. If "Mountain King" is discounted for not being on the original album, I'll say "Tattoo". I've never thought that highly of it and the silly ending does nothing for me.


[later]
Obtuse - Slow in comprehension. Technically, my wording was incorrect. I didn't
mean the *songs* were slow in comprehending; I meant the *people* were slow in
comprehending the songs!

Perhaps calling the songs "obscure" would have worked as well?


Cheers,
Alan
"the average Texan...carries not just a gun but a SHOTGUN." --Pete Townshend, 1967