Songs You May Have Missed #197

15 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Carmel: “It’s All in the Game” (1987)

After gold record certifications for the soundtracks he scored for John Hughes coming-of-age films The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, Stewart Copeland made the less-than-obvious choice of assembling music by such British acts as Kate Bush, Kirsty MacColl, Everything But the Girl and Manchester jazz-soul act Carmel for the soundtrack to She’s Having a Baby, a tale about a suburban Chicago couple.

And it came off spectacularly.

Carmel’s cover of the Tommy Edwards standard “It’s All in the Game” plays over the opening credits of this overlooked and underrated film.

The soundtrack is a classic. Copeland had a knack for choosing some of the best work these artists had to offer, as is certainly the case with Carmel’s contribution; the track is a standout in their catalogue.

Songs You May Have Missed #196

15 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

roux

Lady Danville: “Sophie Roux” (2012)

The Los Angeles indie pop band Lady Danville don’t usually sing in French. “Sophie Roux” is a nice little one-off.

Songs You May Have Missed #195

15 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

smith

The Smithereens: “Strangers When We Meet” (1986)

New Jersey’s Smithereens were on a short list of artists (Marshall Crenshaw, Dwight Twilley, Greg Kihn and a few others) who kept the power pop thread alive in pop music into the “skinny tie” 80’s. They never really saw much chart success. In fact, “Strangers When We Meet” never charted as a single. But it might be their best song.

Songs You May Have Missed #194

10 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

graffiti

Graffiti6: “Annie You Save Me” (2012)

British duo Graffiti6, comprised of singer/songwriter Jamie Scott and DJ/producer TommyD, make unclassifiable classic soul/rock/funk/folk inflected melodic pop that’s great in turns for dancing, romancing and unpantsing. Or to cook breakfast to. It’s uplifting stuff.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #675 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

Songs You May Have Missed #193

10 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

badfinger

Badfinger: “Meanwhile Back At the Ranch/Should I Smoke” (1974)

And speaking of Badfinger…

Sooo many stories associated with this song. First, it’s from an album, Wish You Were Here, from which promotion was withdrawn by Warner Bros. due to money that was stolen by Badfinger’s manager, Stan Polley. For years the album was unavailable, even into the CD era, and the music never got the recognition due it. It was just one more tough break for a band who had more than anyone, leading eventually to the suicides of two of its members. The story of this band is one of the most heartbreaking in all of pop music.

The song itself was created by stitching together parts of songs by Pete Ham (“Meanwhile…”) and Joey Molland (“Should I Smoke”), a tactic that had previously proven successful, to say the least, when Ham had written the verses and Molland the chorus of what would be a monster hit by Harry Nilsson, “Without You”.

Ham’s lyric was inspired by an affair he was having with the wife of a band roadie, and the condemnation he received for it.

Songs You May Have Missed #192

10 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

stories

Stories: “Love is in Motion” (1973)

Stories had a number one hit with “Brother Louie” in 1973, a song that you probably either remember or you don’t know.

You see, there are two kinds of 70’s songs: there’s the “Take it Easy” kind of song, which never left radio playlists and resultingly many are sick to death of. Then there’s the “Baby Blue” kind, which were on the radio airways then but faded from collective memory. (For more such examples, search “Forgotten Hits” on this site for dozens of memory triggers)

“Brother Louie” was a ubiquitous four-minute piece of the soundtrack of the Summer of ’73. Kind of surprising then that the band responsible for it didn’t issue a follow-up single from the album that spawned it. And in truth, there were no more “Brother Louies” on the record, but there was this gentle little ditty that wouldn’t sound out of place on one of McCartney’s first couple solo albums–or one of Badfinger’s from the same era.

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