Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground (1969)

Our LCM Classic this week is a great song ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ by the Velvet Underground, taken from their 1969 self titled album. The song was written and sung by the late and great Lou Reed.

Despite the name, "Pale Blue Eyes" was actually written about someone whose eyes were hazel, as Reed notes in his book ‘Between Thought and Expression’. The song is said to have been inspired by Shelley Albin, Reed's first love, who at the time was married to another man.

The Things We Do For Love - 10CC (1976)

Our LCM Classic this week is ‘The Things We Do For Love’ a great track by 10CC which was first released as a single in 1976. It later featured on their album ‘Deceptive Bends’ released in 1977 and was the group's first release after the departure of band members Godley and Creme. The song was a hit in various countries worldwide, reaching number one in Canada, as well as peaking at number 6 in the UK, number 5 in the US and Australia.

Play with Fire - The Rolling Stones (1965)

Our LCM Classic this week is "Play with Fire" by The Rolling Stones, which was originally released as a B-side to the song "The Last Time". It was later included on the American release of their 1965 album 'Out of Our Heads'.

'Play with Fire' is credited to Nanker Phelge, a pseudonym used when tracks were composed by the entire band, even though lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards are the only Rolling Stones to appear on the track. The song was recorded late one night in January 1965 while the Stones were in Los Angeles recording with Phil Spector at the RCA Studios. Richards performed the song's acoustic guitar opening while Jagger handled vocals and tambourine (enhanced using an echo chamber). Spector played bass (actually a tuned-down electric guitar), and Jack Nitzsche provided the song's distinctive harpsichord arrangement and tamtams. The Stones left for a tour of Australia the following day.

The song's lyrics talk of the singer's relationship with a high society girl, disparaging the lifestyle much in the same way that "19th Nervous Breakdown" would in a more up-tempo feel. The title refers to the idiom "If you play with fire, you will get burned."

In a 1995 interview with Jann Wenner for Rolling Stone, entitled "Jagger Remembers," Mick Jagger said, "'Play with Fire' sounds amazing—when I heard it last. I mean, it's a very in-your-face kind of sound and very clearly done. You can hear all the vocal stuff on it. And I'm playing the tambourines, the vocal line. You know, it's very pretty." 

"Play with Fire" went to No. 96 on the U.S. chart. It was also featured on the U.S. version of Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966), Hot Rocks (1971) and Singles Collection: The London Years (1989).

The song was performed in concert during the Rolling Stones' tours of 1965 and 1966, and was revived on their 1989-90 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonful (1966)

Our LCM classic this week is "Daydream" which was written by John Sebastian and  first released in 1966. The song was originally recorded that year by Sebastian's group The Lovin' Spoonful and released on their album of the same title.

The song reached No. 2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In New Zealand, the song spent three weeks at No. 1. It also reached No. 1 in Canada, and No. 13 in Australia. "Daydream" originated with John Sebastian's attempt to rewrite The Supremes' "Baby Love".

The Lovin' Spoonful is a U.S. rock band, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and well known for a number of hit songs in the 1960s including "Summer in the City", "Do You Believe In Magic", "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", and "Daydream".

The band had its roots in the folk music scene based in the Greenwich Village section of lower Manhattan during the early 1960s. John B. Sebastian, the son of classical harmonicist John Sebastian, grew up in the Village in contact with music and musicians, including folk musicians who were involved with the American folk music revival of the 1950s through the early 1960s. Sebastian formed the Spoonful with guitarist Zal Yanovsky from a bohemian folk group called The Mugwumps (two other members, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, later formed half of the Mamas & the Papas), playing local coffee houses and small clubs. The formation of the Lovin' Spoonful during this period was later described in the lyrics of the Mamas & the Papas' 1967 top ten hit, "Creeque Alley".

You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield (1966)

We head back to 1966 for this week's LCM Classic. 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' was a UK No.1 hit for the great Dusty Springfield. The song also reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 making the song Dusty's most successful hit single. It was originally based on a 1965 Italian song by Pino Donaggio and lyricist Vito Pallavicini entitled 'Io che non vivo (senza te)" or 'I, who can't live (without you)'

Dusty Springfield, who participated at the 1965 Sanremo Festival, was in the audience when Donaggio and Miller performed "Io che non vivo (senza te)" and despite having no awareness of the lyrics' meaning the song moved Dustry to tears. She obtained an acetate recording of Donaggio's song, but allowed a year to go by before actively pursuing the idea of recording an English version.

On 9 March 1966, Dusty had an instrumental track of Donaggio's composition recorded at Philips Studio Marble Arch: the session personnel included guitarist Big Jim Sullivan and drummer Bobby Graham. Dusty still lacked an English lyric to record. Eventually Dusty's friend Vicki Wickham, the producer of Ready Steady Go!, would write the required English lyric with her own friend Simon Napier-Bell who was the manager of the Yardbirds. Neither Wickham nor Napier-Bell had any discernible experience as songwriters: according to Napier-Bell, he and Wickham were dining out when she mentioned to him that Dusty hoped to get an English lyric for Donaggio's song and the two lightheartedly took up the challenge of writing the lyric themselves: "We went back to [Wickham]'s flat and started working on it. We wanted to go to a trendy disco so we had about an hour to write it. We wrote the chorus and then we wrote the verse in a taxi to wherever we were going." Neither Wickham or Napier-Bell had any understanding of the Italian lyrics of the original song: according to Wickham they attempted to write their own lyric for an anti-love song to be called "I Don't Love You"; when that original idea proved unproductive it was adjusted first to "You Don't Love Me" and then "You Don't Have to Love Me" which was finalized as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" to fit the song's melody. Napier-Bell was later to title his first book (an autobiographical account of the British music scene of the 1960s) 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' after the song.

Dusty recorded her vocal the next day: unhappy with the acoustics in the recording booth she eventually moved into a stairwell to record. She was not satisfied with her vocal until she had recorded 47 takes.

Released on 25 March 1966 in the UK, the single release of her recording became a huge hit and remains one of the songs most identified with her. When Dusty died from breast cancer in March 1999, the song was featured on Now 42 as a tribute.

The song proved so popular in the US that Dusty's 1965 album 'Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty' was released there with a slightly different track listing, and titled after the hit single (the B side of the US single, "Little by Little" was issued in the UK as a separate A side and reached No.17 there). In 2004, the song made the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at No.491.

Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty

By Dusty Springfield

Buy on Amazon

Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer (2006)

We have a modern LCM classic for you this week. First released in 2006 'Waiting For The World To Change' was the first single from John Mayer's multi Grammy award winning album 'Continuum'. The song received a Grammy award as well. Other excellent songs on the album include 'Slow Dancing In a Burning Room' and 'Gravity', The music video for this song was directed by Philip Andelman and features John Mayer walking along the East River while  commissioned graffiti artists Futura, Tats Cru, and Daze spray paint messages relating to the song's content on New York City billboards.

The lyrics resonate the same ways some twelve years later.

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair

Lindsay Ell is currently working on a complete cover album of Continuum, so watch out for that one later in the year. 

You Learn - Alanis Morrissette (1996)

To commemorate Alanis heading to the UK on tour in July, our LCM Classic this week 'You Learn' one of lead singles from her third studio album 'Jagged Little Pill' released in 1996. It's one of the best selling albums of the 1990's and one of the best selling albums of all time. The album was released in June 1995, yes that's almost 23 years ago (no I can't believe it either). Jagged Little Pill was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning five, including Album of the Year, making Alanis the youngest artist in history to win the honor, a record she held until 2010, when Taylor Swift won this prize with Fearless (2008). 

"You Learn" is a mid-tempo self-help rock song, the song features Alanis giving out the very sage advice; "Ditch the fear, open your heart, speak your mind, and when the going gets tough, walk around the house naked."

Another question raised in the video would be 'Why would you take a horse to a basketball game......and why is nobody bothered when she does?' Just asking for a friend

The song was written by Alanis and Glen Ballard, who also produced the entire album. Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released the song as the album's fifth single. Musically, the song speaks of the importance of poor decision making in life by explaining that these decisions can teach valuable lessons. The album title is taken from the line "Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)". The song received generally positive reviews from most music critics, many highlighting the song as an album standout. The song was a commercial success globally, only charting in North America and the Oceanic regions. A music video was shot for the single, showing Alanis walking through the streets, which could picture daily things that Alanis regrets and makes up for it, similar to the theme of the song's lyrical content.

Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes + Brasil 66 (1966)

Our LCM Classic this week is the big smash hit "Mas, que Nada!" a song written and originally performed in 1963 by Jorge Ben Jor on his debut album, which also became the Sérgio Mendes' signature song in his 1966 cover version. It was voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the 5th greatest Brazilian song and it was inducted to the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013

Brazilians use 'Mas Que Nada' (or just que nada) colloquially to disagree with someone. A fitting English translation might be a sarcastic "Yeah, right!"

Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell (1975)

Our LCM Classic this week is our small and humble tribute to one of our favourite Country and Pop singer-songwriters Glen Campbell, who very sadly left us yesterday, Released as the title track of his 1975 album, 'Rhinestone Cowboy' was an iconic song forever to be associated with Glen. The song was written by Larry Weiss and most famously recorded by Glen with instrumental backing by Los Angeles session musicians, 'The Wrecking Crew'. The song enjoyed immense popularity with both country and pop audiences alike.

Glen very strongly identified with the subject matter of "Rhinestone Cowboy" — survival and making it, particularly when the chips are down.. As Steven Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic put it, the song is about a veteran artist "who's aware that he's more than paid his dues during his career ... but is still surviving, and someday, he'll shine just like a rhinestone cowboy."

The song became one of Glen's signature songs and won numerous awards from the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, and American Music Awards. It also obtained nominations for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song as well as for Record of the Year, but did not win.

I've been walkin' these streets so long
Singin' the same old song
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway
Where hustle's the name of the game
And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain
There's been a load of compromisin'
On the road to my horizon
But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
Like a rhinestone cowboy
Getting cards and letters from people I don't even know
And offers comin' over the phone

Well, I really don't mind the rain
And a smile can hide all the pain
But you're down when you're ridin' the train that's takin' the long way
And I dream of the things I'll do
With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe
There'll be a load of compromisin'
On the road to my horizon
But I'm gonna be where the lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
Rhinestone cowboy
Gettin' cards and letters from people I don't even know
And offers comin' over the phone

Like a rhinestone cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo

Captain Of Your Ship - Reparata & The Delrons (1968)

Our LCM Classic this week is a very catchy pop song first recorded by US girl group Reparata and the Delrons and released as a single in 1968 on the Bell record label. It was written by Kenny Young and Ben Yardley.

The song is unusual in its atmospheric use of sound effects (foghorn, ship's bell, Morse code) and features psychedelic instrumentation and treatments including electric sitar, backwards piano, filtered vocals and phasing. Lead singer Mary Aiese O'Leary told Mojo magazine in May 2008, "I thought it was horrible — the foghorn, the way they had changed my voice with effects. But I grew to like it, and it afforded the opportunity to go over to London ... In America, it fizzled. People in England liked quirkier stuff, and 'Captain of Your Ship' was quirky."

As O'Leary suggests, the song only made #127 in the U.S. national charts, but it became the group's biggest hit when it made #13 in the UK Singles Chart. Following the success of the single, the group toured the United Kingdom, with the backing group Clouds.

Young said of this period: "I accompanied them to Top of the Pops ...[and]...attended the reception for their hit single "Captain of Your Ship", along with John Lennon and Ringo at the Revolution Club in London. I met half the Beatles at our own reception..."

Some sources wrongly credit Lorraine Mazzola with the lead vocal on the recording of "Captain of Your Ship". However a filmed live performance from German television, widely available on video sharing websites, shows Mary Aiese singing lead. The confusion may have arisen because Mazzola did become lead singer of the live group the following year, when Mary Aiese took a break from performing live. The filmed performance, with an introduction in German by Dave Lee Travis, appears to be the only existing archive television footage of the group from their 1960s heyday.

The B-side "Toom-Toom is a Little Boy" appears on a rare EP released in pre-revolutionary Iran in 1968, alongside tracks by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, Otis Redding and Tommy James.

"Captain of Your Ship" remains a popular oldie in the UK, and it has been re-released there three times. It was first re-released on Bell Records in 1972 to coincide with the release of a new cover version by Reparata of "Octopus's Garden", then again as B-side in January 1985 on the Old Gold label as OG 9504, with the A-side, "Keep On", by Bruce Channel. Most recently, it was included as the B-side on a March 2016 UK re-release of Reparata and the Delrons' "Panic" on the Outta Sight label, which specialises in Northern Soul reissues.

Working My Way Back To You - The Spinners (1979)

Under The Boardwalk - The Drifters (1964)

Our LCM Friday Classic comes from one of my favourite 60's groups, The Drifters. 'Under The Boardwalk' is a timeless wonder and the title track of their 1964 album. This colour video with it's dapper dressing and smooth dance moves comes from the same year. https://youtu.be/VeXBGN0RmwM

"Under the Boardwalk" is a hit pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. It charted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts on August 22, 1964. The song has since been covered by many other artists, with versions by the Tom Tom Club, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis, and Lynn Anderson all charting in the United States or overseas. The song ranked #489 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a seaside town, who plan to privately meet "out of the sun" and out of sight from everyone else under a boardwalk. The instrumentation includes güiro, triangle and violins. The song's chorus is unusual in that it switches from a major to minor key. The opening line of the song references the Drifters' prior hit "Up on the Roof", showing the occasional thermal weakness of the rooftop getaway and setting the stage for an alternate meeting location, under the boardwalk.

The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a suspected heroin overdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on most of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including "Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session to find a new frontman, former Drifters lead vocalist Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording. The personnel on that recording included Ernie Hayes on piano, Everett Barksdale, Bill Suyker and Bob Bushnell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, Gary Chester on drums and George Devens on percussion. The last-minute move was a success, as the single, released on Atlantic Records, went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and number one for three non consecutive weeks on Cashbox Magazine's R&B chart.

There are two versions of the song. The mono 45 USA released version contains the line "We'll be falling in love". Beneath the line "We'll be falling in love" on the stereo album version, the line "We'll be making love" can be heard. These are two entirely different recordings, not edits of one another, as the line "on a blanket with my baby is where I'll be" is sung differently in each version. The version appearing on the Drifters' Golden Hits compilation is a composite of the two, using "making love" in the first two choruses and "falling in love" in the third. Because of the line "making love" several radio stations banned the song, or altered it with the line "we'll be falling in love" instead.

Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison (1972)

For our LCM Friday Classic we travel back to 1972 for the title track 'Tupelo Honey' of Van Morrison (Official) fifth studio album. The song derives its name from the expensive, mild-tasting tupelo honey produced in the southeastern United States.

Tears Dry On Their Own - Amy Winehouse (2006)

For our LCM Monday Modern Classic we travel back to 2006 and one of the lead tracks of the excellent and multi-award winning 'Back To Black' by Amy Winehouse. While the melody and lyrics are composed by Amy, the music behind her voice is a sample interpolation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 Motown classic hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", penned by the married duo of Ashford & Simpson.

The song's music video was shot in Los Angeles, and was directed by David LaChapelle on 22 May 2007. The clip features footage of Amy making her way through Echo Park and in a dim motel room. The hotel is the Grand Motel at 1479 S La Cienega Blvd, in Los Angeles. She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings (why people walk into her) as she goes through Echo Park, and in the hotel room there are empty bottles and cigarettes hinting at her real life. The video for this song was the second to last filmed prior to Amy's death on 23 July 2011.

One Fine Day - The Chiffons (1963)

To celebrate the coming weekend our LCM Friday Classic comes from an American all-girl group from the Bronx, New York. The Chiffons were one of the top girl groups of the early 1960s. With their trademark tight harmonies, high-stepping confidence and the hit machine of Gerry Goffin and Carole King writing songs such as today's "One Fine Day", the Chiffons made music that helped define the girl-group sound of the era.

Leather And Lace - Stevie Nicks and Don Henley (1981)

This LCM Friday classic comes from one of my favourite US female singer-songwriters. First released in October 1981 on her solo 'Bella Donna' album, this beauty 'Leather and Lace' by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley stands the test of time. 

Stevie orginally wrote the song for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter's duet album 'Leather and Lace', but the song was not included on that album. Her version, a duet with Eagles Don Henley, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks in January 1982

My Immortal - Evanescence (2003)

This great song was first released in December 2003 by an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. Evanescence released this great song as part of their debut album 'Fallen'.

An accompanying music video directed by David Mould was filmed entirely in black-and-white in Gothic Quarter, Barcelona on October 10, 2003. The video shows Lee sitting and singing on various locations, but never touching the ground. Shots of Moody are also shown but he is never together with his band or Lee. The video was nominated in the category for Best Rock Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.

After recording independent albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards and seven nominations, as well as scoring No. 6 in CBS's "Top Bestselling Albums of the Last 10 Years" (2008). A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which sold more than five million copies.

Meet Me On The Corner - Lindisfarne (1971)

Our LCM classic today comes from an English folk rock and progressive rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne formed in 1968, Lindisfarne. The original line-up comprised Alan Hull (vocals, guitar, piano), Ray Jackson (vocals, mandolin, harmonica), Simon Cowe (guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards), Rod Clements (bass guitar, violin) and Ray Laidlaw (drums). They are best known for the albums Nicely Out of Tune (1970), Fog on the Tyne (1971) which became the biggest selling UK album in 1972, Dingly Dell (1972) and Back and Fourth (1978), and also for the success of songs such as "Meet Me on the Corner", "Lady Eleanor", "Run For Home" and "We Can Swing Together". Our song today is 'Meet Me On Corner' taken from a 'Old Grey Whistle Test' session in 1971. Does the chorus in this song remind anyone else of an early ELO?

National Express - The Divine Comedy (1999)

First released in early 1999, I always thought this was a bit of a classic tune from The Divine Comedy taken from their 'Fin de Siècle' album. When you have clever lyrics such as "On the National Express there's a jolly hostess, Selling crisps and tea, She'll provide you with drinks and theatrical winks, For a sky-high fee" and "but it's hard to get by, when your arse is the size of a small countreeee" you know you are on to a winner.The song is based on Neil Hannon's observations of life from the window of a National Express coach....yes, I've been there too. This should resonate and is dedicated to all you coach-loving travelling musicians.

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon (1975)

his LCM Classic is a clever and beautifully written song from Paul Simon, it's a live version of '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), released on Columbia Records. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, and Phoebe Snow.The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd.

One of his most popular singles, "50 Ways" was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success within the new year. It became Simon's sole number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting sales of over one million copies.

It was written after Simon's divorce from first wife Peggy Harper, the song is a mistress's humorous advice to a husband on ways to end a relationship. The song was recorded in a small New York City studio on Broadway.