I remember playing the album with "Free Ride" in the record store where I worked. I thought it sounded deader than I remembered.
What stands out to me are the anti-love songs. "Maybe Your Baby," "Tuesday Heartbreak" and "Blame It On The Sun" are NOT songs you want to dedicate to your loved one on Valentine's Day. Even "I Believe When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever" sounds like the plea of a man who just got his heart broken.
It's more amazing that there were two heavy metal instrumentals in the Top 10 at the same time. Never before, never again (the other being "Hocus Pocus" by Focus).
Important to remember that Syreeta wrote the lyrics to four key songs on Talking Book, including Blame It On The Sun and I Believe.
I first heard "Frankenstein" by the pool in San Diego, and have never been able to shake the association. It's a fairly heavy song, but it makes me think of sunshine and suntan lotion. It's a great one and nice to see a real rock record getting all the way to the top.
I'm not saying this started the sexy song trend but that would certainly pick up steam as the 70s roll on, particularly with a soon to be #1 hit. Let's stop for a moment and savor this: Ai Yi Yi!
As I've said on the other thread, there were two variants of this. First, Specialty Records Corp. for the East Coast: Then, on the West Coast, Monarch Record Mfg., with label type by Stoughton Printing Co.: But there was one pressing entity that never pressed at all for the All Platinum labels at any time in its existence - I don't even think any albums they put out were available for Columbia House subscribers. In the past, RCA and Decca/MCA had spells pressing for All Platinum, Stang and Turbo. But one major that never did was Columbia. Below is a re-creation (with actual typesetting, painstakingly put together in digital graphics systems) of what Columbia pressings of this (at least, from Pitman, NJ) might have looked like: As for the song itself, Ms. Robinson intended this with Al Green in mind, but Mr. Green turned it down. One of many examples of how the Green/Willie Mitchell Memphis Sound and its influence reached long and wide.
That's the same Sylvia of Mickey and Sylvia ("Love Is Strange") and the same Sylvia who founded Sugar Hill Records a few years later, giving us the first rap hit in "Rapper's Delight". That's three data points on her resume that few musicians can match.
She also wrote "Shame Shame Shame", one of the very first disco songs, by Shirley & Co. Not too many acts can claim to have been instrumental in creating one of the first hits in two separate pop genres.
And Shirley herself was once one-half of Shirley & Lee who also hit in 1956 with "Let The Good Times Roll." That Sylvia named the pioneering rap label Sugar Hill Records and got away with it was amazing - given that the year before, in 1978, another Sugar Hill label - specializing in bluegrass and Americana music - was founded in Durham, NC by Barry Poss and David Freeman. The country/bluegrass Sugar Hill is still around, based out of Nashville (and, I.I.N.M., part of the Concord group); the rap label faded away after MCA acquired it in the mid-'80's.
I try to "follow" it, wherever it is! Aren't you supposed to see notifications in threads you've already participated in? If so,it's not popping up.
Sounds like you have a later pressing. First-pressings were powder blue background (the technical term used on such label sheets).
When you log on, just click the "Watched Threads" button at the top of the page. Then, you will see all of the threads you subscribed to when they have new posts. I'm always surprised at how many people don't know that. I do have to say that there are so few posts on the Billboard R&B thread that even I have to do a search if no one posts for a day or so. The membership is missing a lot of discussion by not reading that thread. Right now, it's on "Pillow Talk" by Sylvia, but i'm about to post a new #1 single.
The opening of Hot Child resembles the opening of Honky Tonk Woman. I was in a grocery store once & heard it over the PA system. I thought it was the other song. Much like the openings of Thunder Island (Jay Ferguson, 1977) & The Rolling Stone's Start Me Up (1981). It's easy to confuse the two songs, as their openings sound similar.
"My Love" is not a song that I go out of my way to listen to but the guitar solo is tasteful and it fits the music beautifully.
I liked it immediately. And, to the horror of Paul/Beatles fans everywhere, it really is the one song that made him a top 40 solo artist. Not to distract from the discussion of "My Love", but, he also had another hit single on the charts at this same time: "Live And Let Die".
I’m a huge McCartney fan, including his post-Beatle career, but I’ve never been a fan of “My Love.” IMO, the only thing that redeems it is the guitar solo.
“Live and Let Die” hit Number 1 on Cash Box & Record World, but stalled at Number 2 on Billboard. It was also one of the songs that Clear Channel tried to ban from their stations after 9-11. Fantastic song, 2nd greatest Bond song (after Goldfinger - sorry Paul but he’s the man with the Midas Touch...a spider’s touch)
I know I liked My Love a lot more in the 70s and it's not like I hate it or anything, it just doesn't seem as interesting these days. If not for the guitar solo I'd say it's downright plodding. But it did solidify Paul's MOR status despite several Beatles tunes already qualifying in that respect. Sure, he did let his rock freak fly with the next couple of albums but he was definitely challenging Elton for the title King Of Pop during the next 3 years.
I think “My Love” is great, one of McCartney’s best. Maybe that’s b/c I was too young to have have Beatles-level expectations. But I’ve always liked it. I’m a little surprised it only reached #9 on the U.K. charts.
My Love isn't bad. I sometimes get it running through my head even though I haven't listened to it in literally decades (I think).