Songs You May Have Missed #527

27 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

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

eye

David Wilcox: “Eye of the Hurricane” (1989)

Never one to be content simply subsisting on what pop radio force-fed me, there was a time when I defiantly asserted my musical independence from lemminghood with statements like: “Steve Earle is MY Bruce Springsteen” and “The Jayhawks are MY Eagles”. Well, singer-songwriter David Wilcox seemed to fit the bill as MY James Taylor. Not meaning to say he’s a dead ringer in terms of singing voice, lyric content or any other particular characteristic. Wilcox just occupied the place for me that the better-known Taylor did for most.

The fact that the studio recording of “Eye of the Hurricane” and indeed the entire How Did You Find Me Here album sound like microphone and artist were placed into a giant tin can notwithstanding, Wilcox was known for thoughtful–at times even haunting–reflections crisply sung and smartly accompanied on acoustic guitar. Had Wilcox come on the scene about twenty years earlier, he might have competed for radio airplay with Taylor, Carly Simon and Cat Stevens. Instead he cultivates a small but loyal cult following and a rare spin on an NPR station.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/11/10/songs-you-may-have-missed-501/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/13/songs-you-may-have-missed-330/

Songs You May Have Missed #526

11 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

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

quo

Status Quo: “Fine Fine Fine” (1974)

One of those bands whose success never carried across the Atlantic, Status Quo were a one-hit wonder in America (“Pictures of Matchstick Men” in 1968) but have sold over 118 million records worldwide and have appeared on BBC-TV’s Top of the Pops 106 times–more than any other artist.

“Fine Fine Fine” isn’t among this band’s 100+ singles, but we’ve found it worthy of singling out.

It also makes for a rollicking boogie-woogie piano cover version:

Songs You May Have Missed #525

08 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

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

combo

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Brave Combo: “Spaghetti (Twist and Twirl)” (2001)

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer team with the world’s most versatile band (the fact that Brave Combo played at David Byrne’s wedding speaks to their credentials in that regard) on a most remarkable children’s song.

“Spaghetti (Twist and Twirl)” tells of a creatively frustrated chef whose young patrons are only interested in a single menu item. Fittingly, the song is arranged as a twist. And the lyric is an absolute hoot.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2022/07/10/recommended-albums-87-2/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/12/07/recommended-albums-32/

Songs You May Have Missed #524

27 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

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

lola

The Kinks: “Apeman” (1971)

It only peaked at #45 on the pop charts in 1971, but for my money this is one of the great rock songs of all time.

The desire to escape the everyday routine was a perennial theme in the songwriting of Ray Davies (see below).

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/08/26/songs-you-may-have-missed-469/

Songs You May Have Missed #523

17 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

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

moodies

The Moody Blues: “The Actor” (1968)

Outside the loyal circle of Moody Blues fanatics (the ones who’ve helped them remain an in-demand touring entity to this day despite the lack of a top 40 single since 1988) the band’s reputation is built on but a small handful of songs–songs such as “Tuesday Afternoon”, “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)”, “Your Wildest Dreams” and, most especially, “Night in White Satin”.

But the transcendent grandeur of 1968 album track “The Actor” is surpassed by nothing in their catalogue, not even the aforementioned “Nights”. This is the sound that won them such adulation that they felt the need to remind their legions of American fans that they were “just singers in a rock and roll band”.

If this whets your appetite, the seven albums this band’s classic lineup released between 1967-72 with mellotron ace Mike Pinder and flutist Ray Thomas still in the fold could not come more highly recommended.

Pure ecstasy.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/11/21/songs-you-may-have-missed-253/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/09/16/songs-you-may-have-missed-173/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/11/06/songs-you-may-have-missed-500/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/10/22/songs-you-may-have-missed-800/

Songs You May Have Missed #522

06 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

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

marm

Marmalade: “I See the Rain” (1967)

Some things just don’t travel across the pond well.

Dan Fogelberg never had a Top 40 single in the UK. John Denver was a one-hit wonder (with “Annie’s Song”) there.

And bands like Madness and Small Faces, who were significant hit makers in England, somehow missed the boat, as it were, when it came to success here.

Cliff Richard was a monster in England: fourteen #1 singles, his first in 1959. In America he was a virtual non-entity until “Devil Woman” went to #6 in 1976, and he never charted any higher here. ABBA had nine #1’s in England to only one in the US (sadly, “Dancing Queen”).

Remember Take That? I didn’t think so. While they topped the British singles chart eleven times, they were a one-hit wonder to us with “Back For Good” in 1995.

Scotland’s Marmalade (called The Marmalade on some record labels) only hit the American Top 40 one time, with their transcendent “Reflections of My Life” in 1970. But both before and after it they produced music that fans of the Kinks, the Zombies, Badfinger and similar bands will surely appreciate.

“I See the Rain” is a great lost psych nugget with some fine harmonies (Graham Nash guested on the session) that sounds like a standout Badfinger album track. Jimi Hendrix called this the best song of 1967–a year that didn’t lack for great songs.

Despite the fact that the single never charted in either the UK or the US, it’s attained a degree of cult status in recent years.

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