For the week ending December 11, 1971,
Man, I cannot tell you how much I love these early '70's countdowns! I always look forward to them and they never disappoint, especially in their representation of old school R&B. About 11 years ago, I made an internet purchase of a 6 CD box set called
Can You Dig It: The '70's Soul Experience. On these CD's are over 120 '70's soul classics, all original hit recordings. It is one of my most cherished entries in my CD collection; there are so many stellar songs included. Eight songs from this collection (all from disc 2) are in this week's countdown.
40. Your Move/Yes--This exquisite, enjoyable art-rock song is basically the classic rock mainstay "I've Seen All Good People" without the hard-rockin' segment at the end.
39. Hallelujah/Sweathog--It's a nicely upbeat, high-energy lost hit that doesn't deserve its obscurity.
38. Let's Stay Together/Al Green--Although I used to be indifferent to this soul classic (the 1st of the eight box set songs), in recent years I have grown to appreciate its funky groove, its military-style beat, and, of course, Al's soulful crooning.
37. Drowning In the Sea Of Love/Joe Simon--Although I had been vaguely familiar with this song for years, I can thank its inclusion in the above-mentioned box set for opening my eyes to the song's powerful drama and grandeur. All the elements, from the R&B guitar, to the smooth strings, to the punchy horns, to the backup singers, to Joe's ominous vocals, contribute to making this one dynamic soul gem.
36. Behind Blue Eyes/The Who--This fine entry from
Who's Next features both the elegance of a stripped down Roger Daltry vocal and the high energy of the rest of the band and transitions from one to the other nicely. (Oh, but how I would have loved to critique that indescribably stupendous rock epic "Won't Get Fooled Again" , their previous Top 40 entry.)
35.I'm A Greedy Man, Pt 1/James Brown--Another typical fun, but campy, release from The Godfather of Soul.
34. An American Trilogy/Mickey Newbury--A nicely dramatic, but not great, song.
33. Wild Night/Van Morrison--It has a somewhat catchy rhythm and some nice horn work, but is otherwise mediocre. And Van Morrison's annoying vocals don't help. Mellencamp did a much better vocal performance on his remake.
32. Clean-Up Woman/Betty Wright--Another old school gem that I grew to love due to its inclusion in that box set. I just love that tight, funky groove. It's funny that when I heard this song as a kid, I figured she was just singing about a maid or a female janitor.
31. I'd Like To Teach The World To Drink Coke (er, I mean Sing)/The Hillside Singers--Seriously, it's hard not to be drawn in by the sweet-as-cola harmonies of this group and the sweet sentiments of the song in general. I wish the New Seekers version would have been on the countdown so I could have compared the two versions.
30. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show/The Honeycone--Another magnificent song also featured on my soul box set, in fact the best of the six in this week's countdown. It opens with delicate, tinkling percussion, giving way to the group boldly proclaiming "The show must go oooooooon!"
What follows is about three minutes of dramatic, assertive, downright sassy harmonizing, with a band that gloriously yet subtly piles on the tension. This is probably Holland/Dozier/Holland's greatest post-Motown release.
29. Easy Lovin'/Freddie Hart--Sweet, positive love song with an irrestistible organ riff.
28. I Know I'm Losing You/Rod Stewart--Although not as good as the Temp's gloriously ominous original, this rockin' rendition is fun, nevertheless. (It's such a solid song in general, that almost anyone could do at least a passable cover version of it.)
27. Sunshine/Jonathan Edwards--A fun, catchy acoustic hit. I seem to remember it being the first hit song on radio that I recall having a swear word in the lyrics. (I'm sure it wasn't the first ever; just the first that I personally heard.)
26. Peace Train/Cat Steven (aka Yusuf Islam)--A pleasant, catchy song promoting brotherhood. I especially like the "da-da da da da da" parts which sound like his voice multi-tracked. (BTW, did any of you see him interviewed recently on "CBS News Sunday Morning". It was interesting.)
25. American Pie/Don McLean--One the most loved classic rock songs of all time and deservedly so. I mean, who doesn't love this piano-pounding, lyrically-intriguing masterpiece? Supposedly, I had heard once that, when asked what does "American Pie" mean to you, Mr McLean responded, "It means I'll never have to work again"
24. Two Divided By Love/The Grass Roots--Lightweight, but well-produced, pop hit, although "Temptation Eyes", from earlier in the year, is much better and rocks out harder.
23. Everybody's Everything/Santana--The song's frenetic, chaotic nature makes it their best and most fun hit of the early '70's. (But it's not as great as their gorgeous hit from '82, "Hold On")
22. Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)/The Temptations--A funky, if derivative, Norman Whitfield-produced Temps hit from the early '70's. This was that year's third "Superstar" Top 40 hit, following hits by Murray Head and the Carpenters.
21. Theme From "Summer Of 42"/Peter Nero--Somewhat pretty, but rather slow and boring.
20. Where Did Our Love Go/Donnie Elbert--Although not as good as the Supremes' great original, it does have that same great Motown beat.
19. Hey, Girl/Donny Osmond--Although I'm no fan of Donny's whiney way with cover version ballads, this recording is not so bad. The arrangement is nicely dramatic.
18. You Are Everything/The Stylistics--A typical exquisite song by this legendary R&B group, complete with shimmering arrangement and smooth vocals.
17. A Natural Man/Lou Rawls--A mostly so-so soul song made interesting only by Lou's fine spoken word intro. (BTW, another of the eight songs from my box set.)
16. Respect Yourself/The Staple Singers--Another fine, funky song represented in my box set, with a necessary message about being a true man and minding your manners, especially around the ladies. (A lot of gangsta rappers could benefit from the advice of this song, especially what it has to say about cussing around women)
15. Stones/Neil Diamond--A snoozer. It's obvious that Mr. Diamond is in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in spite of, not because of, songs like this.
14. Scorio/Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band--A gloriously intriguing psychedelic soul instrumental.
13. Imagine/John Lennon--In spite of the opening line (which gave my late father fits, as I said in the previous '71 critique), this is still a pleasant, well-meaning plea for peace.
12. Rock Steady/Aretha Franklin--I can take it or leave it.
11. Cherish/David Cassidy--This is one of the better teeny bopper love ballads of that era. The song itself is a solid love song, and David's fine, sincere vocal performance does it justice.
10. Desiderata/Les Crane--As I said a several weeks ago, this is a terrific period piece of a record. The poem is inspiring, the arrangement is pleasantly lush, the background singers are powerful, and Mr Crane's recitation is smooth and reassuring. I just wish that I could have heard all three verses this time around.
9. Brand New Key/Melanie--OK, can somebody remind me how such a silly, childish song got to be such a monster hit, even spending three weeks at #1? The only explanation plausible to me is the campy double entendre factor (y'know "key" and "lock"). I have actually read that Ms Safka did not mean the song to be naughty and was astonished that some radio stations banned it.
8. All I Ever Need Is You/Sonny & Cher--A smooth, pleasant, sincere love song that, along with their new hit variety show, launched this duo's comeback.
7. Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves/Cher--Oh, yeah, and this powerful story song, with its exotic, shimmering arrangement, didn't hurt their comeback, either.
6. Baby, I'm-A Want You/Bread--Another tender, touching love ballad by David Gates & Co. You're right, mga707, he definitely had a way with a love song.
5. An Old Fashioned Love Song/Three Dog Night--This wonderful, well-produced song is one of the definitive songs of my memories of late '71. The verses have a beautiful, exotic feel to them the the choruses are sung with authoritative harmony.
4. Got To Be There/Michael Jackson--This song features the future King of Pop at this soulful best. Long before the overdone hype, long before the eccentricities, long before the scandalous sexual abuse accusations, and 38 years before his tragic early death, we had an innocent pre-teen musical prodigy giving a gloriously sincere, gut-wrenching vocal performance for the ages.
3. Have You Seen Her/The Chi-Lites--From its beautiful, doo-wop opening, to the melancholy spoken word intro, to the glorious harmonies of the song's verses and bridges, to the even more melancholy spoken word outro ("I thought I had her in the palm of my hand") this is one fantastic soul ballad (yes, it's also on my box set).
2. Theme From "Shaft"/Isaac Hayes--I love both the menacing, urban feel of the first half of the song as well as the fun, campy vocals where he's "talkin' bout Shaft and we can dig it". (also on my box set)
1. Family Affair/Sly & The Family Stone--The last of the eight box set songs has a somewhat fun funk arrangement, but the real appeal is Larry Graham fine vocals and the intriguing lyrics, especially in the second verse, which seems to hint at marital infidelity. ("You can't leave cause your heart is there, but you can't stay cause you've been somewhere else.")
And my Favorite song of the Countdown (Drum roll)
Michael Jackson's career high point "Got To Be There" (Ironically, NOT featured on my soul box set. I had to purchase this on Napster. It was WELL worth the 99 cents.)
Thanks for reading. Have a nice day.