2009年 01月 26日 月曜日 18:06
What happened to this band that it had too little commercial succes? The book explains: the record company brought out five singles at the same time (well, the guy who came up with that idea was either a bit too enthusiastic or either as dumb as a pig's arse), the band members were caught with hash AND minor girls and if that's not all: Stevenson showed his middle finger on the cover of the album, but the record company made it "disappear".
I really doubt that last incident is a real reason this album didn't sell as well as it should have (with a cost of 11000 dollars, yay!) but bringing out five singles at the same time is indeed a nasty move of the record company.
Of course I was a little curious what these five singles were. So I made a little game out of it. This is my selection of the five singles I would choose if I wanted to bring out five singles at the same time:
1. Mr. Blues, for the people who like a bit more blues in their bluesrock,
2. 8:05, for the people who like a softer slower song,
3. Omaha, for the people who dream of great guitar riffs,
4. Ain't No Use, for the people who like to sing along (and tap their feet on the ground),
5. Sitting By The Window, for the people who like melancholic songs.
Now, the comparison! What does Wikipedia say? I'll sum up the A sides:
1. Fall On You
2. Sitting By the Window
3. 8:05
4. Omaha
5. Hey Grandma
Hmm, 3 out of five, not bad :) What does this show? This album has a lot of variation, some great rock tunes (and yes, sometimes some annoying conversations in the beginning of songs, which is of course way cool) but above all: excellent songs that sometimes do not sound dated at all. The best: Ain't No Use, Sitting By The Window and Naked, If I Want To. A song I already knew from the Cat Power cover: yes, her version is more beautiful, but the original is shorter and way funnier. Too bad this band was hyped too much: with this quality of songs they deserved better.
(Middelvingergoed: Ain't No Use, Sitting By The Window, Naked, If I Want To, Omaha)
Would you let me walk down your street
Naked if I want to
Can I pop fireworks on the fourth of every single july
Can I buy an amplifier, oh, on time
(duh… Naked, If I Want To)