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Brian Wilson > Categories > Battle of the Bands > Battle of the Bands Season VIII (w 21): The Come-backs – Come back, come back, wherever you’ve been
 
 


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Al Forsyth

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
This happens.  Bands take time off, break-up/reform, or somehow go off in a different direction.  This week we’ll look at four songs from four different groups, who kind of either slipped off the RADAR, changed direction a bit and then, wham-mo, here they are again with something interesting to offer and you go, whoa, that’s a wow! Some of the songs have been used in previous battles, yes, but here they are matched against each other with a look into where they have gone and how this song brought them back into the pop/rock world.  This could get interesting with historical perspective as they are four bands who have done mighty, mighty things.

The songs and artists:

First up, the worlds greatest rock-and-roll band had been experimenting with glam and gotten into their blues roots as well, but what about chonka-chonk rock?
The Rolling Stones – It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)

Second, what happens when a Byrd, a Hollie and a Buffalo Springfield come together?  Second gig – Woodstock.
Crosby, Stills and Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

Next – Lub-dub, POP, Lub-dub Pop.  Yes folks, the mighty Beach Boys had traveled far and wide in the scope of music making, but for some reason, this throw-back revival of getting back to surf and dance caught the country up in the summer/fall of 68.  Of course it’s getting some new notice as of late but let's not go there.
The Beach Boys – Do It Again

Finally, Ray Davies and the Kinks had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth (here in the States at least) and then – this. 
The Kinks - Lola

The Come Back Kids are on display this week but did they ever really leave us?  Happy listening, voting and discussing.
For C and P purpose:
The Kinks - Lola
The Beach Boys - Do It Again
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)
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Cindy Hood

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Loving it, loving it, Al!

My votes:  

Gold:  Do It Again the Beach Boys.

Silver:  It's Only Rock and Roll, the Stones.

Bronze:  Lola, the Kinks.

Tin/Pewter:  Suite Judy Blue Eyes - CS&N.

My final answer.

They're all good and none of these deserves the bottom vote, but that's the way the game goes, I guess. 
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John B

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Love all 4 songs, but it's Cindy's order for me, exactly.
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Lee Marshall

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
You're a Mean, MEAN man Al.  Here are 4 songs of a high[er] caliber  My problem when trying to vote for songs I know through and through is that I can't [and won't] set aside what the songs meant to me and my personal vision of the 'music scene' when they were initially released.  So?  I can't just hear them circa July 2017.  The top 2, to me, are obvious.  The next 2 come with a ton of baggage which drags them out of their potential orbit.

That said then...and with that in mind...here we go.

This week's [week 21 with a pretty strong 4] GOLDEN musical moment goes decidedly to Ray Davies and the Kinks for their humorous story of Lola..."L - O - L - A  Lola."  Ray is a thinking man's [and woman's] kind of musician...not unlike our local hero at BW dot calm.  THIS song certainly caused me to buy the album which is also excellent...and golden. [Coca Cola rules.]  For something which might be accused of 'foggin'...really..."foggin" up your eyes...as opposed to your ears...check it out.

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One



For our silver song this specific week I'm going with another well performed, interesting and forward thinking introduction to something pleasently new.  It's a tribute to the one/the only Judy Collins from the law-firm of Crosby, Stills, Nash and [soon to be added in...] Young.  Tight.  Well played.  Well sung and these guys could also do this live.  Sweet 'Suite Judy Blue Eyes' takes SILVER.  And although David Crosby and Graham Nash are no longer speaking...Neil Young still believes [as he does with Brian] that Stephen Stills is a genius.  Why?  "cause he is.  [and an exceptionally great guitar player as well]

Barely Bronze [a tie]...only because this week's remaining tune is also rather hackneyed...as it was at the time.  DO IT AGAIN...the backtracking trail blazer for reliving the early 60s ad infinitum whenever that Love guy cried "don't eff with the formula" loud enough to garner a "shut up Mike!!!" reaction.  He would Do It Again and again and again...and not only with this specific song but with loads more 'loads'.  It's OK anyone?  We don't need no FM airplay...let's relive being square again.  Where's my striped shirt?

I mean really!!!  We went from Pet Sounds...[wa wa wa wa] to the failed Smile [wa] and Smiley Smile Wild Honey and Friends to Best of 3 and Stack O' Tracks to 20/20 an album which included SMiLE songs like Our Prayer and Cabinessence plus gems like I went to Sleep and Time to Get Alone and great covers like I Can Hear Music and Cotton Fields.  At the time Do It Again went directly against the grain and I wondered why.  What are they doing?!?!?  It turned out not to be a novelty but rather a mantra.  Summer in Paradise anyone?  On it's own Do It Again is a decent, fun song.  But for what it actually represented and especially given WHO it represents... ... ... That isn't ***MY*** Beach Boys.  As it all turned out?  Neither is this.  Do It Again is WAY over done.  Yank it out of the oven.

And tied for MORE bronzed baby shoes tied and hanging from the rear-view...The Rolling Stones...actually gathering MOSS and A LOT of it.  I found them increasing less interesting as the 70s really kicked into gear.  Without the Beatles to give them a musical sense of direction I basically heard them continually floundering from around the release of Goats Head Soup right up until their album A Bigger Bang.  Over 30 years of mailing it in before they ambled back into the studio with a sense of real purpose.  It sounded like it was truly just about the money.  Sound familiar?  It's Only Rock 'n' Roll...But I like? It?  They should have loved it.  The Beach Boys, in retrospect, shouldn't have 'Loved' it.
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Peter Simpson

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Gold - BB's - I distinctly remember this as being the point where I started to sit up and take notice of this band (aged about 12 or 13)
Silver - Stones
Bronze - Kinks
Tin  - CSN
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t bedford

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
GOLD to The Kinks - Lola. I had to explain to my big sister (in the late '70's or early '80's), what this song was about. Odd, since she had pointed out (in the late '60's) the first drag queens I'd ever seen.

SILVER for The Beach Boys - Do It Again. Is it cliched? Yes, but it still should have been a big hit in the USA.

BRONZE to The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It). These guys lost me in the late sixties. Only good 'bad boys' get knighted, apparently.

And the coveted TIN for Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. I enjoyed their respective previous bands more. The sum is less than the parts.

Just to confuse the voting covfefe:
The Kinks - Do It Again


[jpeg] 


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David W

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Tough choice for Gold , nothing really between the top two but today will go with The Kinks. Another day ????

Gold-The Kinks - Lola
Silver-The Beach Boys - Do It Again
Bronze-The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)
Tin-Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

You can wait years for an album or a live concert but Kate Bush can still deliver ,
Here's Hello Earth with Kate with something that segues into an eerie Georgian folk song



Sorry this ain't rockn roll but this is the stand alone Georgian piece featured in Kate Bush's song , this called Tsin Tskaro and I guess if you like BWs "Our Prayer" you should like this
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Larry Franz

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
I think all four of these songs were played on the radio more than they deserved to be. None were bad and none were great. Well, maybe "Lola" is kind of great. And "Do It Again" has a couple great moments.

Gold: The Kinks -- Creative.

Silver: The Beach Boys -- Hearing this on the radio in 1968 was nice in a way but also disappointing.

Bronze: The Rolling Stones -- It usually indicates a lack of inspiration when you write a song about songs.

Tin: Crosby, Stills & Nash -- Pretty good in its day. Tedious now.

CSN were better with Y:

Neil Young released nine studio albums in the 1970s. The last one was Rust Never Sleeps. According to Wikipedia, all have since gone Platinum, Gold or Silver in one country or another.

Then, between 1980 and 1988, he released eight studio albums. None of them have gone Platinum, Gold or Silver anywhere. Wikipedia refers to this as his "Experimental Years" (although he had other things on his mind besides experimentation.)

In 1989, he released another series of albums that sold well. Wikipedia calls it "Return to Prominence". The album he released that year was Freedom. It contained two versions of "Rockin' in the Free World". The electric version went to #2 in the US. Hearing it one night made me a fan.

Acoustic:


Electric:


Thank you, Al.
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bonnie bella

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Hi Al.

The Pixies disappeared in 1993 and reassembled some ten years later.  And that was a very good idea.


"Hang On To Your Ego" [smile]




"Here Comes Your Man"




"Where Is My Mind"
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Al Forsyth

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Wow - seven votes on the first day!  Thanks, battlers.  Cindy, is a rocker and John B echoed it.  Lee, always interesting from the DJ perspective and all of this is kind of in the "classic rock now".  Pete, David (new Kate Bush?) and of course we knew where t would go on this.  Larry brings it to four golden Kinks vs. three golden Beach Boys - tough battle is shaping. 

Bonnie brings back the Pixies (good first choice there, btw). 

Not a bad first day and it isn't over, somewhere. 
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Al Forsyth

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
So it's hangover Tuesday, a quiet day, and to follow up on my meanness to Lee, I'm doing a secondary vouch for all four of the songs as they are what there are and were what they were - four goodies.

There was some changeover in Stones world with Mick Taylor leaving and Ron Wood soon coming in (official Stones video):

Woodstock performance - just listen to the harmony but the guitars are doing it underneath

Original demo 68 (shows how much he needs Nash) - kind of the suite-ness of it

The Boys got back together, after 50 years, and didn't seem to miss a a beat (with Rhap In Blue ending) "we got it"

Ray, Dave (the great high harmony) putting it down live (it was a shocker in it's day):


Watch for enjoyment purposes (hoping that they don't influence).
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John B

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
An irony just occurred to me.  That is, no one is more effusively praising of Brian's 'Pet Sounds' and out there experimentation and genius and classical jazzy baroque what not originality, as Neil Young, yet, my fave Neil Young songs are almost entirely geezer rockers (such as 'Powder finger' and 'Like a Hurricane').   Wonder why that is.  Must be something about his voice, that it is rough and slightly unpretty like Dylan's, but not nearly as versatile to me as listening to Dylan (sing everything his heart desires), or Ray Davies.  Just rock out Neil.  
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GGH

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Wow Al! This is my toughest week yet! Four of my favorite bands and four of my favorite songs. Man, this is hard. Ok I'll give it a shot...

GOLD: Do It Again-The Beach Boys
Most of the time, I prefer The Beach Boys over everything else. This is the case in this instance. I'm very predictable that way. I guess I'm a little biased 😂 What a great song though. I like that chilled out but still rockin' vibe from Do It Again. Great backup vocals as always. We do get to hear Carl turn up the gain for a brief solo and that doesn't happen often, so that's a treat. However, I wasn't too crazy about them returning to their roots, but it's not like it was a whole album. Just one song. And it has a different sound than their early stuff anyway, only similar lyrics. This tune is not only good for summer, but it's awesome all year 'round!

SILVER: It's Only Rock And Roll-The Rolling Stones
Hell yeah! This one is fantastic, but kinda simple. I'd usually go with something more complex, but I love the Stones. Kieth achieves that great, nasty guitar tone once again. And Mick is hilarious. Pretty easy to imagine Mick doing the Rooster to this. And so what if it's only Rock And Roll? I don't just like it, I LIVE for it!

TIED SILVER: Suite Judy Blue Eyes-Crosby, Stills, and Nash
I can't put this in third place. I just can't. I like Buffalo Springfield, really like the Hollies, and love the Byrds, so there's really no way I can't like CSN. The harmonies are fantastic. The guitar intro is one of my favorite parts.Wonderful lyrics too.

TIN: Lola-The Kinks
Great song. I don't listen to the Kinks all the time but if I want some good rock they can certainly deliver. Funny and thought provoking lyrics as well.🤔😉
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Larry Franz

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Quote:
Originally Posted by John B
my fave Neil Young songs are almost entirely geezer rockers (such as 'Powderfinger' and 'Like a Hurricane').  

Those two are among my favorites too. Of course, he's also done some wonderful non-rockers, appreciated by geezers of all ages, although I wouldn't go as far as Carl: "Listen, nobody really complains when [Neil] sings those pretty ballads".

An obvious big comeback, after years of lackluster songs and movies, was when Elvis did his 1968 TV special. It was a major cultural event! Elvis was back!

The part of the show most people remember was when he sat down, as for "That's Alright Mama".


His next album, From Elvis In Memphis, included "In the Ghetto" (his first top 10 hit in four years).


Another track from that album: "Power of My Love"



PS: "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" from the TV show
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t bedford

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
After huge success in the UK (and much smaller success in their American homeland), The Walker Brothers broke up, but 8 years after their initial run ended, they reformed and had a #7 UK hit with this song written by Tom Rush:
The Walker Brothers: No Regrets
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