Above: Vampire Weekend perform at Liberty Hall in Lawrence on Sept. 11, 2008. (photo by Melissa Meyer) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star While the official weekend doesn’t start until 5 p.m. Friday, the Vampire Weekend kicked off about 9:30 Thursday night. The Brooklyn-based quartet breezed through their repertoire for a sold-out Liberty Hall [...]
Posts Tagged ‘music’
Review: Vampire Weekend
Posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star, review, tagged Back To Rockville, indie rock, music, Vampire Weekend on September 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Four Tops – “Baby I Need Your Loving”
Posted in Motown, tagged Eric Carmen, Four Tops, Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, music, Phil Spector, soul music on September 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Four Tops – “Baby I Need Your Loving,” Pop #11 Few had heard of the Four Tops before this song was released in the summer of 1964, but the public quickly became acquainted. The quartet’s debut single sold over a million copies – a feat equally impressive in today’s iTunes era – and landed just [...]
PE Still in Full Effect
Posted in review, tagged hip hop, music, Public Enemy on September 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The squeak on the front door to our office sounds strangely like Terminator X’s scratches on “Rebel Without A Pause.” Every time I’ve opened the door this week my mind has jumped to “the rhythm, the rebel.” Unfortunately, maintenance oiled the hinges last night. On the bright side, my friend Lindsay said his office fax [...]
Brenda Holloway – “Every Little Bit Hurts”
Posted in Motown, tagged Alicia Keys, Brenda Holloway, George Clinton, Hitsville U.S.A., music, Parliament/Funkadelic, soul music, Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood, The Clash, The Jam on September 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Brenda Holloway – “Every Little Bit Hurts,” Pop #11 Motown may have been “the sound of young America,” but this song was clearly aiming for an older audience. Lee Cobb’s writing is obviously influenced by the Burt Bacharach/Hal David team, but Brenda Holloway’s pristine, nuanced delivery elevates the song above imitator status. Her restraint is [...]
Shorty Long – “Devil with the Blue Dress”
Posted in Motown, tagged Bruce Springsteen, Hitsville U.S.A., Joel Francis, Motown, music, Shorty Long, soul music on September 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Shorty Long – “Devil with the Blue Dress,” did not chart Mitch Ryder and Bruce Springsteen fans will be taken aback by Shorty Long’s half-speed tempo on his original recording of “Devil with the Blue Dress.” Long’s bluesy shuffle is closer to Chicago blues than Detroit soul. It’s a far cry from the frenetic, late-set [...]
Stax vs. Motown (part three)
Posted in Motown, Stax, tagged Hitsville U.S.A., Joel Francis, Motown, music, soul music, Stax on September 3, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The final installment of my conversation with soul music fan Brad S. includes how to build a solid, affordable soul music libarty. Here is part one and part two. Brad S.: Okay, list time: What are your Top 10 Motown albums? You mentioned ”What’s Going On,” “Songs in the Key of Life,” “Talking Book” and “Cloud Nine.” What other [...]
Eddie Holland – “Leaving Here”
Posted in Motown, tagged Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joel Francis, Motown, music, soul music on September 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Eddie Holland – “Leaving Here,” Pop #76 A lot changed for Eddie Holland in the two years between “Jamie” and “Leaving Here.” Holland went from reluctant (and struggling) Motown vocalist to key member of soul’s hottest songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. After “Leaving Here” failed to find major chart success, Holland released just two more singles before [...]
The Miracles – “Mickey’s Monkey”
Posted in Motown, tagged Hitsville U.S.A., Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joel Francis, Motown, music, Smokey Robinson, soul music, The Miracles on September 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Miracles – “Mickey’s Monkey,” Pop #8, R&B #3 One of the most infectious and upbeat singles in the Motown catalog is unique in two ways. First, it was not written by main Miracle Smokey Robinson, but by the hot house songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. Second, it is one of few Motown songs to appropriate [...]
Springsteen in the waiting room: Drop the needle and pray
Posted in Grandma, tagged Bruce Springsteen, Joel Francis, music on August 26, 2008 | 12 Comments »
“This too shall pass, I’m gonna pray Right now all I got’s this lonesome day” By Joel Francis I didn’t make it to Bruce Springsteen’s concert at the Sprint Center Sunday night. Around the time he was going onstage – about 8:50 – most of my extended family was leaving the hospital. It had been [...]
The Temptations – “The Way You Do The Things You Do”
Posted in Motown, tagged Hitsville U.S.A., music, Smokey Robinson, soul music, The Temptations on August 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Temptations – “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” Pop #11 Several Motown songwriters had tried to write a hit for The Temptations before Smokey Robinson teamed with fellow Miracle Bobby Rogers to pen this gem. Sung by high tenor Eddie Kendricks, the lyrics are equal parts pick-up lines and nursery rhyme. Few could [...]
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