Hot Chocolate, a mixed-race British sort of soul group I guess you'd call them. A bunch of hits in England; I only recall two in America. The MONSTER hit You Sexy Thing which I hope to never hear again (not that I think it's good bad or otherwise, it's just that it was SO overplayed on L.A. radio when I was a kid I'm good to go). What was NOT overplayed on L.A. radio was Emma, the (minor) hit right before YST. Maybe I was 13, 14 tops, and this was one of those songs that made me feel a certain way, and though I might not have been able to describe it then, the feeling would have been in essence "this is something I'm not normally hearing on 93 KHJ, Los Angeles" (perhaps why it was a minor hit). First, it told a story; not all pop songs were doing that. Second, it was SAD. That was also different.
And, so, the mournful backing vocal breaths, and THEN at 3:12 or so until 3:32 we get what he does with his voice and how the guitar goes along with that pain (which I realize means I've given something away story-wise; I'll try and be more careful in the future). I was sold at 13 or 14, and i remain sold at 47. And here it is...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I do enjoy a slow burn. I don't recall ever hearing this tune. In 1976-77 I was listening to no radio whatsoever. I was hanging out with audiophiles and listening to a lot of Zappa; ECM record label and CTI Label Jazz.
ReplyDeletePerhaps one reason you were taken by this is the payoff. Patience with the slow, determined pace, is rewarded by the climax of guitar and vocal additions at the end. Subtle and all the more effective for it.
It's a Bolero sort of deal. An over-played piece, Sade/ No Ordinary Love. Slow burn. There's others I'll eventually recall.
As creative as they can be, I really prefer music without a video accompaniment. My thoughts have WAY more freedom and what's better than that? I was quite removed from the pop music scene when MTV got going. At the time, I dissed it saying the music wasn't strong enough on it's own. It had to have video to give it sufficient substance. The niches of my taste were already filled, so I suffered from lack of openness. I've come around to a lot of stuff I at first didn't care for, but the videos were never crucial.
Bryan - I love the comment about your thoughts having more freedom without the video accompaniment; also, i agree with the slow determined pace and then the payoff at the end. Actually, you mention bolero, too, and I was kind of thinking of that with the Lobo song i posted right after this. Something about the drum addition in the background. But I might not completely understand bolero and its parameters, so you might take a listen to that and let me know what you think. Thanks, IBL:mm
ReplyDeleteThis got past me too. I think it's my first hearing. Beautiful contained vocal explosions after the suicide. What is known as giving it up.
ReplyDelete