Tags
Bill Lloyd, Bobby Fuller, George Elliott, Joe Goldmark and Keta Bill, Let Her Dance, Los Super Seven, Marshall Crenshaw, Phil Seymour, Swampwater, Teenage Head, The Bobby Fuller Four, The Equals, The Incredible Casuals, The Spitballs, The Terrible Noises, The Very Most, The Vikings
Bobby Fuller’s untimely death in 1966, just as his career was taking off, deprived popular music of his unique Buddy Holly-meets-British Invasion sound and clear songwriting promise. Case in point: “Let Her Dance,” an ear-wormy, hook-rich masterpiece. The song contains a brilliant juxtaposition of musical tensions that pull between the beat, lead guitar line, vocal melody, and some inspired background- vocal counterpoint. No wonder it’s been covered by countless bands, each choosing to balance the competing elements in somewhat different and intriguing ways. Today’s post explores that variety with a “Let Her Dance”-a-thon. Get your dancing shoes ready!
Where to start? With The Bobby Fuller Four, of course. Though here fans may not know that “Let Her Dance” was actually a rewrite of an earlier Fuller release, “Keep On Dancing.” IMHO the rewrite improves things considerably but compare for yourself below. Now, confession time: the first version of LHD I heard was actually by Marshall Crenshaw from his 1989 Warner’s swan song album, Good Evening. Marshall is a huge Fuller fan, describing him as his “favourite rock star ever to be murdered by gangsters.” More seriously though, at a South by Southwest Bobby Fuller panel session, Crenshaw called the group “…one of the great rock ‘n’ roll bands,” insisting “[t]hey did what they did with so much conviction and energy. Those guys really knew what Fender guitars were for.” In addition to LHD, Crenshaw has covered Fuller’s “Julia,” “My True Love,” and “Never To Be Forgotten.” And Crenshaw’s LHD is a loving homage, fattening up the opening guitar, spacing out the vocal parts, and adding a nice echo-y bit to the bridge. Compared to the original, all that’s missing is Fuller’s heavenly wall-of-background-vocals.
Bobby Fuller Four – Let Her DanceBobby Fuller – Keep On DancingMarshall Crenshaw – Let Her Dance
Crenshaw’s wasn’t the first cover of LHD, not by a long shot. The first I could find was from Eddy Grant’s 1960s interracial British band, The Equals, from their 1967 album, Explosion. Grant changed lyrics and tempo, smoothing out Fuller’s frenetic pacing, giving the tune a more laid back vibe. The seventies would also put its stamp on LHD when The Spitballs, a Beserkley label house band consisting of various members of the Modern Lovers, Greg Kihn Band, Earth Quake and the Rubinoos, gave it a refreshing ‘spirit of 1978’ back-to-rock-and-roll-basics treatment. The eighties saw a host of LHD covers see the light of day, starting with Phil Seymour from his killer debut album, the self-titled Phil Seymour. Released as a follow up single to the poprock smash, “Precious to Me,” Seymour’s cover of LHD showcased his uncanny ability to add something new to other people’s songs. His version had jaunty guitar, pumping piano, handclaps and, of course, his own special vocal stylings in what amounted to a new wave, powerpop reinvention of the song. Taking things in a punkier direction, Teenage Head indie-fied LHD with their rockier take from their 1986 album Trouble in the Jungle. Linda Rondstad’s 1960s backing band, Swampwater, produced a cool southern fried rock cover of LHD in the late 1970s but the group’s Reunion album didn’t see release until 1987.
The EqualsThe SpitballsTeenage HeadSwampwater
The 1990s were a less fertile LHD-cover terrain – I couldn’t find a single version! But all that changed with the new millennium. Changes in recording technology and music delivery costs meant that artists could experiment a bit more, offering up more covers. The Incredible Casuals, Bill Lloyd and The Terrible Noises all offered up great poprock treatments of the song while others strayed into related genres, with Los Super Seven adding latin touches to Fuller’s texas rockabilly sound, Joe Goldmark and Keta Bill provided a straight up retro country treatment, and The Vikings barrelled through in classic Ramones-revivalist style. Meanwhile, others pushed the boundaries of LHD conventions. Musical iconoclast George Elliott took a very creative approach, almost sounding like The Folkmen from The Mighty Wind mockumentary while The Very Most messed with the traditional instrumentation and background vocals in a most enjoyable way.
The Incredible CasualsBill LloydThe Terrible NoisesLos Super SevenJoe Goldmark and Keta BillThe VikingsGeorge ElliottThe Very Most
Of course, why limit yourself to this one great song, albeit delivered in 17 fabulous flavours? There’s plenty more Bobby Fuller to go around. Keep the Fuller poprock legacy alive and check out his impressive back catalogue today.
I’m not really an album guy. Particularly now in our ‘download-any-song-you-want-era’. I grew up on compilation albums and AM radio. It was all singles, singles singles: a new sound every three minutes. A whole album is just a vinyl horizon for my needle dropping. But I have to say this year I got hooked on more than a few long players. What grabbed me? I could say it was the songwriting, a coherent sonic palette, the performative ingenuity, etc. But hey, who am I kidding? It was mostly the hooks. Fair warning: there is considerable overlap of artists here with my should-be hit singles list (duh) but not entirely. Bottom line: you won’t go wrong putting your cash down on these LPs in toto.
Edging out Daisy House’s fantastic Bon Voyage by a hair, my number one album for 2018 is Aaron Lee Tasjan’s Karma for Cheap. The more I listened to this record, the more I loved the songs and the performances. There is something extraordinary in just how Tasjan combines his elements. He’s got rumbly guitar, he’s got jangly guitar. His vocals run the gamut from Tom Petty-solid to Roy Orbison-aching tenderness. There’s not a weak cut here, but pay special attention to subtle hooky vocal interplay on “Heart Slows Down,” or the driving guitar hook behind “End of the Day,” or the touching “Dream Dreamer.” You won’t steer wrong with his back catalogue either, particularly 2016’s Silver Tears! There is so much I could say about all 20 albums but frankly the music speaks for itself. Click the links to go directly to the band’s bandcamp, Facebook or webpages.
One final word: I had to single out Super 8’s stupendous triple album accomplishment this year for special attention. After a two-decade career in rock and roll that can only be described as cinematic in its litany of seeming breakthroughs, bad luck, record company shenanigans and some bandmate’s bad faith, these albums are a vindication of his resolve to stick with music. Each record is finely crafted portrait of late 1960s summertime sunshine poprock. Your time machine back to 1968 is ready for boarding! Just hit play.
2018 was a freakin’ fantastic year for poprock! How do I know? Every year-end I put together a playlist of tunes released that year. In 2016 it consisted of 58 songs clocking in at just over 3 hours. By 2017 that list expanded to 98 songs running over 5 hours. This year the list exploded to 175 songs going on for over 9 hours! My list of should-be hit singles had to expand to a top 50 just to accommodate all this talent. Hit the links below to find each artist as featured in my original blog post this past year or to go to their bandcamp or Facebook page if I didn’t write them up.
It’s melody central today on Around the Dial. The station appears to be just stuck on hooks. But that’s OK.
Just getting around to raving about last spring’s hottest poprock release, Starbelly’s Four. I’ve raved about Starbelly member Cliff Hillis’ catalogue before but I have to say, there is nothing like putting a whole bunch of really talented guys together to get even more amazing results. As an album, Four is a strong hook-filled jaunt clearly influenced by the Beatles, solo McCartney, Squeeze and all those others great melodic groups, with a few surprises. I’m digging the low key melodic swing of “Lay Low” and the staccato groove of “Yes, I Love Her Again” with it’s great lead lines and background vocals. “Emily Says” sounds very mid-period Squeeze to me. “Jesus Freak” starts very pop psychedelic Beatles but then throws in a Billy Joel melodic twist in the verses while “Antidote” I swear is a great lost Aimee Mann deep cut.
Seems everybody is loving Bill Lloyd’s new record Working the Long Game and I am no exception. I’ve really liked the few songs I stumbled on from his past work and only just figured out he was one half of the amazing country pop duo Foster and Lloyd! But this new album is something else, solid all the way through. “Satellite” is the killer hit single material, at least on my poprock radio station. It’s got the chorus that hooks you in and keeps you waiting for it to come around again. “What Time Won’t Heal” has a very cool late 1960s folk pop vibe. The album also clearly channels some Elvis Costello-isms on “Til the Day that I Break Down” and “Interrupted” while “Miracle Mile” and “Shinning” had me feeling very Marshall Crenshaw. And then “Yesterday” is just brilliant rocked up pop in a Matthew Sweet sort of way. All this name-dropping is just my way of saying, this guy’s got the poprock goods.
Last up a band I discovered commuting between Toronto and Peterborough, Ontario in 2005, Van Go. “Dear You” (from that year’s Pop Your Heart Out LP) just grabbed me like a good ear worm should. But after that I lost track of the band. That is, until their record company alerted me to the release of their latest full length release, Everybody Loves You When You’re Gone. I’m happy to report they’ve still got it! Things kicked off well with “I Wish I Could Be Grateful,” the obvious single with a great melodic hook in the chorus. It’s also great news that the band’s distinctive and addictive vocal attack is still in evidence here, particularly on tracks like “Miles Away” and “Tell Us How You Really Feel.” Title track “Everybody Loves You When You’re Gone” is also a winner melodically, while still delivered with some rocking muscle.