WWTBAM Bored

Three more songs for the list...


299. TEMPTED-SQUEEZE (1981)
ALBUM: East Side Story

Paul Carrack has sung on some great songs, hits by Ace, Mike + The Mechanics, as
well as under his own name...and this one, recorded during his brief tenure as
keyboardist with Squeeze. Although Glenn Tilbrook usually handled lead vocals,
Carrack was in the driver's seat on this one, and a fine performance it is, against
an easy soulful musical groove. It has become fairly well known, partly due to its
frequent use in commercials, but you do hear it on the radio quite a bit. Which is a
little strange, since it never hit the Top 40 in any country (peaking at #49 in the US
and #41 in their native UK)




298. BYE BYE LOVE-THE CARS (1978)
ALBUM: The Cars

The second half of the one-two punch that opens Side 2 of their first album (the songs are
separated by half a breath). The first one came in at #324 on this list. Like that one, this
was a blast to sing and I don't recall ever getting tired of doing so, although I must have at
some point, as we had both songs in our set (usually played back to back, natch!) for a long time.
Whenever I hear it, I immediately think of those days.




297. JOLIE-AL KOOPER (1973)
ALBUM: NAKED SONGS

Kooper has been on the fringe of stardom for a very long time. In 1958 he played guitar on the
hit "Short Shorts". He co-wrote "This Diamond Ring". He played with Bob Dylan (that's his
Hammond Organ on the iconic "Like A Rolling Stone") and was part of The Blues Project with Mike
Bloomfield. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears but left before the group hit it big with its second
album. He discovered and produced Lynyrd Skynyrd. That's just the tip of his resume. Yet he's
largely unknown. Anyway, I've always liked this song, mostly because of the irresistable hook
provided by the organ part. It's a soulful pop tune.

I hear "Tempted" often enough still on my local classic rock station that doesn't participate in Arbitron ratings - they are more likely to play something acoustic and the other, more well-known, classic station is more likely to play AC/DC. Between them we have a decent selection.

I just listened to this Al Kooper song - he was not on my radar. I love the instrumentation but am not so fond of his voice. At least in this song, it has no, um, variation, I guess. Not sure how to say this - it just has this exact same loopy, goofy tone throughout. Maybe it is a Dylan influence - I never cared for his singing either.

That was a nice treat!

I first heard "Tempted" on the college radio station sometime during my freshman year (either late 1993 or early 1994), and it just seemed to fit in with the other weird alternative songs they were playing at the time. I was surprised when VH-1 played the video during a Big 80's block a couple years later and I found out it was over a decade old...

It gets enough airplay on the classic/variety stations I listen to to be considered mainstream in my mind...

lb13

Ritterskoop wrote:I hear "Tempted" often enough still on my local classic rock station that doesn't participate in Arbitron ratings - they are more likely to play something acoustic and the other, more well-known, classic station is more likely to play AC/DC. Between them we have a decent selection.

I just listened to this Al Kooper song - he was not on my radar. I love the instrumentation but am not so fond of his voice. At least in this song, it has no, um, variation, I guess. Not sure how to say this - it just has this exact same loopy, goofy tone throughout. Maybe it is a Dylan influence - I never cared for his singing either.

That was a nice treat!

No doubt about it, he is not gifted with anything approaching a good voice. Sometimes, though, I can get past it if the rest of the elements of the record grab me strongly enough. Such is the case here. That keyboard hook is massive.