"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" - the perfect song for us to discuss as we go into Daylight Saving Time this weekend.
If you think about it, half of Talking Book probably discussed Stevie's love life as well. (I think he was getting divorced from the singer Syreeta around that time.)
I always thought it was a combination of a phaser set to stun with the added effect of a gentle wah pedal sweep. Then I found this little tidbit: When “If” was recorded, the track was enhanced by a mysteriously quavering sound that gave the song a distinctive sheen. “That was created by two Moog synthesizers,” Gates reports. “Paul Beaver came in and set them up – I played a plain old Fender Telecaster guitar through a voltage-controlled amplifier, and he put that into these two oscillators that triggered each other in random fashion. When we were all done he said, ‘I hope you liked that and got it on tape, ‘cause I could never do that the same way again.’” So, there you have it.
I know, right? It sounds like it was only possible for the one time they got it down on tape. Old Moog's were super temper-mental. One of the reasons many a Moog owner would end up selling them to another player with more patience. Tangerine Dream got theirs from Mick Jagger after his attempted uses of his Moog for "Performance." Those big Model 55's had all kinds of filters and oscillators that could be triggered by all kinds of stuff. David Gates used the Moog on "London Bridge" from their first album. It's a pretty cool track with an awesome Moog synth part. Not what you would expect from the kings of AM Gold. And since this is an audio forum, just listen to how rich, smooth and BIG David Gates' voice sounds on this...and all in the left channel.
Yep, the divorce was happening round about then (the legal divorce at least, they kept up a good creative relationship after). Keeping that in mind sheds a different light on these songs, for sure. I used to think "Maybe Your Baby" went on for too damn long, but now it's like yeah, that's what your mind does when your baby done made some other plans ... it dwells.
Far out! Thanks, Chris. I had to bust out the ol' Bread anthology and focus in on the sproinging. Just reminds me in those days an artist had to put some work into coming up with a unique sound.
I don't really recall hearing the song when it was on the radio. (I was 11 in 1973). When I heard it later, I assumed it was one of his late 1960s greats. Was surprised to learn it was from the mid-70s.
I think their relationship and breakup permeates every album he did for the next decade. "Maybe Your Baby" was a major one, but there are things on side two of "Songs In The Key Of Life" that hit just as hard.
Crickets overnight? Alrighty then, while we await the next song up, here's yet another one I liked from this year that went absolutely nowhere. Just an uplifting, jaunty little number that must be a blast to sing !
Promote the thread on threads about '70s acts and their singles and albums as they crop up. That'll get people to come over. Many probably don't realize what era the thread is covering and so skip it. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to have separate, connected threads for each year, or at least each decade.
I don't know about the year-by-year angle. It would certainly clutter up the forum. I do try to promote the Billboard #1 R&B singles thread on this thread, but there have been no takers as far as I can see. I'm guessing that the majority of this forum just wants to talk about obscure album rock.
There are 2 competing versions of "Shambala" on the charts - by Three Dog Night and by B.W. Stephenson. Predictably Buck Wheat (that's legit what B.W. stands for) was buried by the Dogs, but he does have a Top 10 hit about his Mar-i-i-i-aaa coming in the near future.
I always thought 'Talking Book' contained some of Stevie's best love songs. Had no idea he was going through a divorce during it's recording lol. Maybe he was hopeful?
I think it's different with songs that people like. The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia was a lot of discussion, one because few understood it, and almost everyone hated it. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life' is very simple and people actually seemed to like it here. Not much discussion about it though, because it's very surface level.
Re: YATSOML = It's been pointed out before, but I always thought that when Prince used two other singers before he chimed in on 1999 was paying tribute to Stevie Wonder. It's a bold and original move but then Stevie was in a bold and original phase of his career.
The meathead braincrushing anthem of the Dazed And Confused generation! There need be no words to this song because that riff doth transcend mere verbiage! From the excellent album They Only Come Out At Night featuring that great band with Ronnie Montrose and Dan Hartman. Truth be told, Free Ride probably shoulda been the chart topper songwise, but Frankenstein is somehow more crucial. One of the heaviest and most noxious blasts to ever pollute the usually mild pole position.
This is definitely one I heard at the time, because my uncle was a fan of Edgar Winter and had several albums. He also liked Yes and had quite a few records. I guess this hit sorta announced the arrival of hard rock and prog rock in the mainstream, since with its synth solo it has elements of both. Correct me if I'm wrong but this was also the first instrumental hit we'd had in quite awhile. Honestly, was never a favorite of mine. For proggy stuff I vastly prefer Yes and ELP, and when it comes to hard rock nothing tops Zep. I just find "Frankenstein" sort of a rambling mess, and I'm stunned it made it all the way to the top of the charts. Some neat hooks but doesn't hold together as a song. The prototype for future guitar masturbation music, I suppose. Meh.