Tuesday, January 20, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

30. "MY GENERATION"-THE WHO

THE WHO'S FIRST TRIBUTE TO THIER FIRST FANS -A GROUP OF
YOUNG BRIT'S KNOWN AS MOD'S WHO RODE SCOOTERS,DRESSED
SHARP,KEPT THIER HAIR PRETTY SHORT, AND TOOK WEEKEND
TRIPS TO BRIGHTON EN MASSE.MOD'S WEREN'T THE WHO'S ONLY
FANS THOU-THEY HAD UNIVERSAL APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE
THE WORLD OVER.
"PEOPLE TRY TO PUT US DOWN"
"JUST BECAUSE WE GET AROUND"
OWE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF IT'S MESSAGE FROM THE BEACH BOY'S
SONG "I GET AROUND" LIKE THE RAMONES IN A LATER TIME-THE WHO
WERE BIG BEACH BOY FAN'S ESPECIALLY DRUMMER KEITH MOON.
"MY GENERATION" SPEAKS IN A UNIQUE WAYS TO THE NEW YOUTH POP
CULTURE THAT WAS QUICKLY GAINING NUMBERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
BEFORE THE 1960'S WERE OVER AT LEAST HALF THE PEOPLE IN THE FREE
WESTERN WORLD HAD BECOME AWARE THAT THEY WERE PART OF A
LARGER GROUP.ONE THAT WOULD COMPLETELY CHANGE THE WHOLE
WORLD OF POP CULTURE AND INDEED IT'S REVERBARATIONS CAN STILL
BE FELT TODAY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
.

Monday, January 12, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

29."WHAT'S GOIN' ON ? "-MARVIN GAYE

WHEN MARVIN GAYE FIRST PROPOSED HIS IDEA OF DOING A

SOCIAL-POLITICAL ALBUM HE DIDN'T GET MUCH SUPPORT.BUT GAYE WAS ON A MISSION AND HE COULD

NOT BE STOPPED."WHAT'S GOIN' ON", BOTH THE SONG AND THE

ALBUM,WERE BOTH LANDMARKS NOT JUST IN BLACK MUSIC BUT

IN ALL MUSIC.THE WHOLE ALBUM IS PURE GENUIS.IT'S LIKE A

SOUL-OPERA BUT BETTER.GAYE PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER

THAT WAS TOTALLY UNIQUE.THE MUSIC IS METICOUSLY BLENDED INTO A

SUITE OF SONGS THAT SPEAK TO THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE AS WELL AS TO
WHAT WAS GOIN' ON IN THE STREETS AT TIME HE RECORDED THE ALBUM.
IT'S A REVOLUTIONARY WORK OF ART THAT HAS IT'S OWN SPECIAL TIMELESS
BEAUTY AND "WHAT'S GOIN' ON" WAS JUST ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ALBUMS IN POP/SOUL HISTORY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Friday, January 9, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

28. STOP ! IN THE NAME OF LOVE-THE SUPREMES

THE BEATLES WERE THE BIGGEST MALE GROUP OF THE SIXTIES
AND THE SUPREMES WERE THE BIGGEST GIRL GROUP.THEY
CHALKED-UP MORE TOP TEN RECORDS THAN ANY OTHER
FEMALE ARTISTS OF THAT DECADE.
IF YOU COUNT THE GREAT MOTOWN HOUSE BAND AND THE
WRITING TEAM OF HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND THEN THE
SUPREMESWERE THE ONLY FEMALE GROUP WHO COULD
REALLY COMPETE WITH THE BEATLES.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN QUITE AS BIG AS THE BEATLES
BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT MOTOWN STARTED OUT AS
AN INDIE LABEL IN DETROIT-WHERE NEARLY EVERYTHING
WAS DONE IN A PRETTY LARGE HOUSE WITH A BIG BANNER
DRAPPED OUT FRONT THAT SAID "HITSVILLE U.S.A."-THE
SUCCESSION OF HITS THAT "THE SUPREMES" WERE ABLE TO
RACK-UP IS AN ASTOUNDING ACOMPLISHMENT.."STOP" WAS
THE PINACLE OF THE SUPREMES CAREER AND REMAINS ONE
OF THE GREATIST RECORDS EVER MADE.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Thursday, January 8, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

27."I'M YOUR CAPTAIN"-GRAND FUNK RAILROAD

THE CRITICS DIDN'T CARE FOR "GFR" IN 1970.THEY WERE TO RAW,STRAIGHT
FORWARD AND WAY TOO POSITIVE.
IN TRUTH "GFR'S" POSITIVE MESSAGES IN THIER SIMPLE BUT BEAUTIFUL
AND FUNKY SONGS WEREN'T MEANT TO PLEASE ANYONE BUT THE BAND
AND IT'S AUDIENCE-AND IN LEAD SINGER,SONGWRITER, & GUITARIST
MARK FARNER CASE-GOD.HE WAS A TRUE BELIEVER.
SO THE LITTLE THREE PIECE BAND FROM FLINT,MI TOOK THIER
ROUSING,RIP-ROARING AND EXUBERANT SHOW ON THE ROAD.
THEY WERE A SURPRISE HIT-THEY SOON BECAME THE #1 ROCK
BAND IN THE WORLD ! I GUESS THE OLD SAYING IS TRUE "FROM SMALL
THINGS MAMA,BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME"."GRAND FUNK RAILROAD"
CONQUERED THE WORLD.

NOTE:"GRAND FUNK" RECIEVED WHAT MUST BE ONE OF THE
LUCKYIST BREAK'S IN SHOW BUSINESS HISTORY WHEN A GIANT
BILLBOARD IN TIME'S SQUARE NEW YORK CITY WAS PURCHASED
TO RUN AN ADD FOR THE BAND FOR ONE MONTH-NEARLY A
FULL BLOCK LONG THE GIANT FACES OF THE BAND AND THIER
NAME AND NEW ALBUM TITLE "CLOSER TO HOME" ENDED UP
STAYING WHERE IT WAS FOR THREE FULL MONTHS BECAUSE THE
SIGN WORKERS WENT ON STRIKE !

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Friday, January 2, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

26."96 TEARS"-? AND THE MYSTERIANS



YOU'VE JUST ENTERED A WORLD OF TIME AND SPACE,OF IDEAS

AND PEOPLE,FARFISA ORGANS AND SUNGLASSES,LOOK UP

AHEAD ! THERE'S THE SIGNPOST ! YOU'VE JUST ENTERED

THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

IN 1965 ,? AND THE MYSTERIANS MIGHT AS WELL HAVE

STEPPED OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM

SEEMED MYSTERIOUS-THIER NAME-THE LEAD SINGER WHO ALLWAYS

WORE SUNGLASSES AND THE INFECTIOUS SOUND OF THAT FARFISA

ORGAN RIFF.WERE THEY FROM ANOTHER PLANET?

THERE WAS REASON TO BE SUSPECT.

FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL THE POWERFUL FORCES UNLEASHED
BY THIS ESTRANGED GARAGE BAND MASTERPIECE HAVE BEEN LOCKED AWAY
IN SOME SECRET AIR FORCE LOCATION.HIGHLY GUARDED:THE MASTER
HAS BEEN LOCKED AWAY-DEEP IN THE VAULTS OF SOME UNKNOWN POWER-
FOR UNKNOWN REASONS.RARE SIGHTINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BUT LIKE THE
UNIVERSE ITSELF-THE SECRET OF "96 TEARS" SEEMS TO BE LOCKED AWAY FOREVER-IN THE FAR CORNERS OF "THE TWILIGHT ZONE."

Thursday, January 1, 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

25."COME IN MY KITCHEN"-ROBERT JOHNSON

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ANY KIND OF HANDLE ON WHAT REAL
BLACK DELTA BLUES MAKES YOU FEEL WITHOUT HEARING THE
FEW RECORDINGS ROBERT JOHNSON MADE IN HIS VERY SHORT
LIFETIME.
WHILE ELVIS TOOK THE SOUND OF BLACK MUSIC AND EMULATED
A HYBRID SOUND THAT WAS TO BECOME THE BREAKTHROUGH OF
ROCK N' ROLL FOR WHITES-JOHNSONS AUDIENCE IN AN EARLIER
TIME WAS ALLWAYS BLACK.HE MADE NO CONCESSIONS WHATSO-
EVER.HE TRAVELED AND PLAYED ALL OVER THE DELTA AND OTHER
PARTS OF THE COUNTRY LEARNING ALL HE COULD FROM ALL THE
GREAT BLACK BLUESMEN OF HIS TIME.
SOME HOW AT A VERY YOUNG AGE JOHNSON WAS ABLE TO
FIND HIS OWN UNIQUE STYLE USING ALL THE LICKS,RIFF'S AND
PICKING STYLES HE HAD LEARNED IN ALL HIS TRAVELS.HE WROTE
AND RE-WROTE MANY SONGS OF WHICH "COME IN MY KITCHEN"
WAS ONE OF ONLY ABOUT 15 HE RECORDED IN TWO SESSIONS
DONE IN TEXAS OVER ABOUT 3 DAY'S.
THERE IS BIG DRIVING FORCE BEHIND AND AN EAR FOR SONG-
CRAFT IN JOHNSONS WORK THAT SEEMS TO LINK IT MORE DIRECTLY
TO ROCK N' ROLL.WAS ROBERT JOHNSON THE FIRST ROCKER?
HE CERTAINLY WAS EARLIEST REPRESENTATIVE OF AN EXCITING
FORM OF MUSIC THAT WOULD SHAKE THE WORLDAND CHANGE THE
MUSICAL LANDSCAPE FOREVER.


WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED