CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Michael Bennett writes

Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Gene Pitney Edition

Gene Pitney is an overlooked figure in rock history, even though he had a slew of hits, primarily in the days before the British invaded and took rock ‘n’ roll to a new level. Pitney was an ace songwriter and fine singer, best known for his classic weeper, “Town Without Pity” (which, oddly enough, was only a number 13 hit, he had a number of records that charted higher). He also penned classics like “He’s A Rebel” for The Crystal and Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou”. And he was even bigger in England, where he had 22 Top 40 hits, as opposed to 16 Stateside. He left a fine catalog of songs, so let’s salute him by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. Madness — 4 a.m (Wonderful): The first of two comeback LPs by the legendary British band, this did not capture the public’s imagination the way the subsequent The Liberty Of Norton Folgate did. Granted, it’s not as good of an album, but that doesn’t mean that Wonderful isn’t pretty good in its own right. This is an album of lush pop, similar to the last couple albums before the band split. This is a sweetly melodic pop tune with a very light ska rhythm.
2. J. Geils Band — Make Up Your Mind (Bloodshot): The J. Geils Band were, in some ways, the original garage rock band, in the way we understand the term now, in that Geils, Peter Wolf and company specialized in finding lesser known R & B and rock songs to cover. This is just one of many examples, a nice mid-tempo soul ballad with a bit of a calypso vibe.
3. Pansy Division — Vicious Beauty (Absurd Pop Song Romance): A rugged mid-tempo rocker with some really stinging guitar. Jon Ginoli sings about seeing his old high school bully as the porn shop. This is an interesting song, as Ginoli deals with an inner conflict, as he hates the guy for what he did for him, but also is strongly attracted to him. Smart stuff.
4. Queen — Fat Bottomed Girls (Jazz): The b-side of “Bicycle Race” and thus, partial inspiration for the poster that came with Jazz, with a bunch of naked English women in a bicycle race. This is a basic Queen rock ‘n’ roll number with silly lyrics. It’s well rendered, but I think there are a number of better songs on the underrated Jazz LP.
5. Pulp — Feeling Called Love (Different Class): This track starts out slow and brooding, with Jarvis Cocker whispering, and then the temperature picks up as he coos, and then the band kicks in and the song into an urgent, melodic chorus. This flair for drama helped propel Pulp to superstar status in England. Well, that and the genius of “Common People”.
6. Interpreters — Ironic….Blowout (Back In The U.S.S.A.): Cheeky mod-pop punk from a band who delivered the goods on an album whose sleeve was made to look like a passport. Too gimmicky? Too bad. This song brims with the vibe of the early Who and Jam, with a specific (then) contemporary brattiness. The rhythm section is tight as hell and the guitarist is full of energy. Great track.
7. The Fall — Fit and Working Again (Palace Of Swords Reversed): A nifty construction from The Fall, moving away from the wobbly rockabilly of earlier singles and moving into something approximating R & B filtered through post-punk. The busy bass line and light, snappy drumming give this a distinct flavor. The tinny keyboards add to that effect, while Mark E. Smith dials down his usual ranting. Great track.
8. Office of Future Plans — Salamander (Office Of Future Plans): J. Robbins is always mixing angular guitars and discordant rhythms with more melodic elements. From the later days of Jawbox, through Burning Airlines and Channels, and now with his latest band, it seems that the melodies are coming more to the forefront. This is typically great work from Robbins and his new bandmates (which include a cellist), on a song that is less jagged then usual and has a nice floaty, almost psychedelic feel, which is offset by the sturdy bass line and decisive drumming.
9. Comsat Angels — Baby (Waiting For A Miracle): One of the best songs from one of the all-time great debut LPs, and a true post-punk classic. Comsat Angels were more low key than contemporaries like The Cure and Joy Division, as this song illustrates. The song is immediately inviting through the slinky rhythm, a combo of a light pulsing bass line and the strolling drum part. The song then slowly builds, with some sharp guitar and nifty twists and turns throughout (a tribute to strong arranging skills). A band who should have been much more famous than they were.
10. Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey — Lover’s Rock (Mavericks): The first collaboration between the two songwriters in the great power pop band The dB’s was a delight, as they clearly had a ball on these primarily acoustic songs. Stamey sings this number which really hits the intersection between his songwriting style and Holsapple’s. The main riff of the verse sure sounds like one of Pete’s, but there are all sorts of offbeat touches that are pure Stamey.