Songs You May Have Missed #168

08 Sep 2012 2 Comments

by Ed Cyphers in Best of the Blog, Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

train

Big Big Train: “Judas Unrepentant” (2012)

Songs like “Judas Unrepentant” are why I hang in there with prog rock. Despite the fact that 95% of what I sift through disappoints, and notwithstanding the genre’s current overall metal leanings, there are occasions when an ambitious practitioner of the long-form rock song produces pure gold. Songs like this one, and bands like Big Big Train, reward repeated listenings and have greater shelf life than more ephemeral pop music.

The fascinating true story behind “Judas Unrepentant”, the story of art forger and restorer Tom Keating, is explained by lyricist David Longdon here.

I also found Keating’s Wikipedia page to be among the most astonishing I’ve ever read.

The song does a remarkable job telling a story that requires quite a bit of detail, as well as the language of the art world–without sacrificing listenability. Let’s face it, if your story is “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, it isn’t difficult to keep it catchy. But weaving a tale with the complexity required here, well–that’s what we still have progressive rock for. That’s why it’s still essential, despite the multitude of claims that the only era of prog that mattered was the Yes/Genesis/Floyd heyday 1970’s.

Judas Unrepentant:

Venetian expertise
Inspired by Titian
Which he modified
Fine tuned along dutch lines

He’s painting revenge
Embittered by lack of success

With signature techniques
Attention to details
And fine tell tale brushstrokes
Of badger and sable

Expressing contempt
For greedy dealers
Getting rich
At the artist’s expense

Infamous forger and restorer
Judas Unrepentant
Branded a charming old lovable rogue
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas!

His time bombs are in place
And anachronisms
Clues pointing to the truth
If ever they are X-rayed

Wrote legends in lead white
To trick the experts
And hoodwink
Hoodwink the trained eye

Infamous forger and restorer
Judas Unrepentant
Branded a charming old lovable rogue
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas Unrepentant

Establishing provenance
Acquiring old frames with Christie’s numbers
Then paints a picture in the same style
Specialising in minor works by major artists

All rise
Thirteen watercolours by Samuel Palmer
Have proven to be his undoing
And so he confesses then he is arrested
Charged him with conspiracy to defraud

Years of chain smoking and breathing in fumes from restorations
The stress of the court case had taken its toll
His trial was halted due to ill health

So now we can all buy
Real genuine fakes
That’s posthumous fame
It’s always the same

Infamous forger and restorer
Judas Unrepentant
Branded a charming old lovable rogue
Judas Unrepentant
Feeling like Robin Hood
Just as good
As Rembrandt or Titian
Hey
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas Unrepentant
Hey
Judas Unrepentant

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/05/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-420/

Songs You May Have Missed #167

17 Aug 2012 3 Comments

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

lily

Lily Allen: “Not Fair” (2009)

 

Lily Allen’s “Not Fair” is a genre-bender, as is its source album, 2009’s It’s Not Me It’s You. While the song and the album touch on country (nice Porter Wagoner bookend, by the way) it’s better described, I think, as “adult bubble gum”–definitely teeth-rottingly sweet, but pretty saucy on the lyrical side. So funny to be so taken by a song’s catchiness, then have that “wait–what did she just say?” moment. Good stuff.

 

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2019/07/04/songs-you-may-have-missed-641/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/11/28/songs-you-may-have-missed-505/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2026/03/15/recommended-albums-111/

Songs You May Have Missed #166

17 Aug 2012 1 Comment

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

mystery

Mystery: “Between Love and Hate” (2010)

Mystery feature the vocals of Benoit David, who until recently was Jon Anderson’s replacement in Yes after Anderson experienced voice problems, until David’s own vocal difficulties forced the band to replace him in turn. Benoit, by the way, was discovered by Yes while singing in a Yes tribute band.

“Between Love and Hate” typifies the regal brand of prog rock that Mystery deliver on their excellent 2010 offering One Among the Living. For fans of long-form rock played with taste and relative restraint–without the metal overtones present in so much of today’s prog–this is a band to look into.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/06/20/songs-you-may-have-missed-429/

Songs You May Have Missed #165

17 Aug 2012 2 Comments

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

skeeter

Skeeter Davis: “I Can’t Stay Mad at You” (1963)

A mostly forgotten trinket from the pop music moment just before the Beatles.

If we rightly think of the Mick Jaggers and Paul McCartneys as rock and roll royalty, what ought we say about Carole King, who was crafting perfect pop songs like this one several years before even they came onto the scene?

King’s often-covered “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, as recorded by the Shirelles, became pop’s first number one hit by a girl group–in 1960. If you want a short clinic on great pop songwriting just listen to any version of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and King’s own recording of “It’s Too Late” (with its jazzy sax solo). It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Granted, the sentiments of “I Can’t Stay Mad at You” are passe, but it’s charm is undying, like the innocence of a love story in an old black and white movie.

Songs You May Have Missed #164

13 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

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

kelis

Kelis: “Lil Star” (2006)

The R&B singer and rapper best known for “Milkshake” (search “Spock” on this site for a unique take) released Kelis Was Here in 2006, an album that debuted at #10 but sold relatively disappointingly. However, the album contained a Cee Lo Green-produced gem called “Lil Star”, which never charted as a single in the U.S. although it did peak at #3 in the UK.

Refreshingly not the usual subject matter of R&B diva fare (man-does-diva-wrong, diva-wants-ranchy-sex-as-much-as-man, diva-is-too-good-for-underachieving-man, etc. etc.) “Lil Star” finds the typically brash Kelis putting the sauciness (and vulgarity) aside in favor of actual humility. As she sings about her own imperfections and being a small part of a bigger picture in the verses, Cee Lo takes over in the chorus with almost-fatherly exhortations to “keep tryin’ and tryin'”.

Like I said, refreshing. And the fact that a song like this can’t be a hit in the U.S. is part of what’s wrong with R&B in the Nicki Minaj era.

Songs You May Have Missed #163

13 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

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

low

Low Stars: “Child” (2007)

Low Stars are, or were, sort of an “Eagles Lite” who released a self-titled debut album in 2007 containing the same breezy harmonies as the country rock heavyweights but with a third fewer calories on the lyrical side.

A highlight is the low-key acoustic “Child”, a reflection on the circle of life at the approach of middle age.

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