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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | <nonstoppop@cox.net> |
| Subject | Re: 1st album syndrome (previously Costello) |
| Date | Fri, 19 Dec 2003 13:37:18 -0500 |
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> The most controversial such artist, of course, is McCartney. I can understand
> that for someone who has been following his career in real time, the older stuff
> starts to seem legendary. But for someone who came in late, the years that
> separate "Ram" and "Flaming Pie" don't much matter. I maintain that if "Calico
> Skies" were revealed to be an outtake from the White Album, people would hail it
> as a lost masterpiece.
I certainly agree with that...particularly given my earlier admission about my love for "Press to Play." I don't know that there's anything on there that would give the Fab Four a run for their money, but co-writing with Eric Stewart from 10CC certainly led to some interesting experiments like "Pretty Little Head," "However Absurd" (though it borrows from the general feel of "I Am The Walrus"-era Beatles) considerably) and B-side (now bonus track) "Write Away." Another B-side, "It's Not True," is really strong as well, though it's a McCartney solo composition; so is album tracks "Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun." I'm even quite fond of "Press," despite the odd line, "Oklahoma was never like this."
> Another example for me is Squeeze. The first Squeeze album I ever bought was
> "Some Fantastic Place," and I was absolutely blown away by it. Really a terrific
> album, and the title track is one of my favorite songs of all time. I have
> bought a few other Squeeze albums and haven't found any others that I like as
> much. It baffles me why I almost never hear anyone mention that album at all.
I'm extremely sympathetic to this one; my first album from Squeeze was "Frank," and if there's any Squeeze album that floats under the radar any more than "Some Fantastic Place," it might be "Frank," which had nothing even resembling a hit, as far as I know; I think "Loving You Tonight" scored at least a little bit of airplay from "Some Fantastic Place," due to Paul Carrack being back in the group...
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