Swung by the local record joint after teaching the other afternoon. There are few activities I love more than digging through a box of gently-, sometimes passionately-, loved, cheapo 45s, my fingers holding vinyl the original owner held, way back whenever, what I find dependent on the day and the store's stock, a wholly random take on styles and eras and sounds and moods. Anyway, three dollars and seven cents later I walked out with a nice little stack. Here are a few from the haul:
This group's only hit was the goofy novelty song "Martian Dance," in1963. I much prefer the moody flip-side, although I'm not sure that the melodrama's any more convincing. It makes for riveting listening, though.
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A bit scratchy, yeah, but I love it, too. Anyway, I think if I let this scorcher rip a few more times it'll blast away the dust and grime, even the stuff deep in the grooves. What a rocker.
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I love the dramatic dynamics in the chorus, those plunging strings scoring the singer's heart-rending discovery. Few could deliver emotional shocks like Pitney. Cheers to the great Charlie Foxx and Teacho Wiltshire for the funky, four-on-the-floor arrangement.
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In '71 I was too young for these lyrics to mean anything to me, but it wouldn't have mattered with that melody and that arrangement. When I'm in the mood for that gentle, sunny, AM radio vibe—though there's some groovy gruffness here, too—the scent of Lemon Pledge in the air on a Saturday morning, the whole day ahead of me....
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