Your thoughts on David Essex's Rock On

Before 'Rock On' became a hit, David Essex was on stage in London's west-end playing the part of JC in Godspell. David Puttnam saw the production and was convinced that he was perfect for the lead role in That’ll Be the Day.

 

Essex had hits (sporadically) all through this period and for some time afterwards. I think that appearing in Evita probably had little effect on his career, but his teen fans grew up and, to be honest, I just don't think he wanted/needed it enough. He had the acting to fall back on and always seemed to be fairly relaxed about the music career. He's worked pretty consistently up to the present, according to Wikipedia (and he has about thirty albums to his name, not counting several compilations), but I think that he's always done it on his own terms.

 

At the time "Rock On" was on the radio I did not know the record came from England. It sounded sorta like funk (the bass line especially) so I guessed it was an American record. It did not sound like anything I ever heard from The UK before.

BTW: Another thread here reminded me of another '73 record to add to the list of unique hits: "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.

 

That yodeling! Gotta love it!

 

I always liked this song

 

I agree with your assessment, I think he was more like Paul Nicholas (i.e., a pretty actor who can sing ) than an out and out pop star. I can remember Rock On appearing like it was yesterday. I've always liked the song, but everything else he did was more MOR. I'm not sure if he was pushed into becoming 'the new David Cassidy', but he was huge in the UK for several years. Yes, That'll Be The Day and Stardust were good, but they were no Slade In Flame!!!

As for cover versions, there is a 9 minute Rock On on Henry Kaiser's How Do You Like Our New Direction?

 

Do I remember a beer commercial from the 1990s that had this song? I think it was for Bud Light. I wish I could see that commercial again.

 

it was used on Australian made Mcdonalds ad in the 90's

 

It was a great launch for his hit-making record career. It sounded like nothing else in 1973. I liked the Slade/Sweet/Gary Glitter hits of this year, but Rock On stood out. The follow-up, Lamplight, was excellent too.

 

Absolutely. Really stuck out when it came on the radio. Very unusual and very cool.

 

Minimalist yes, but don't associate the two. Rock On just has a unique vibe to my ears.

I just listened to the Hotlegs one LP a few weeks ago and it is a powerpop classic, both in its US form (Think School Stinks) and a mid-70s UK (Philips IIRC) reissue with a few more tracks. Great melodic stuff.

 

Great song. What a stud!

 

+ Graham Bond, Adam Faith, Larry Hagman, Marty Wilde. Ringo is particularly awesome!!

 

I like this song. I used to go to sleep with the radio on when I was a kid, and one day I woke up early for school, and it was just before dawn, and just as i was waking up, this song faded in and scared the heck out of me! I remember listening to the radio for days after that, wondering what that song was. It took a while before I caught it again, and I was even beginning to wonder if I dreamed it. Needless to say when I finally found out what it was I begged my mom to get it for me. I miss those days.

P.S. If you have the capability on your system, just play the left side of this song to hear it "dry". It really changes the whole vibe of the song. I was going to post it, but I didn't want to get in hot water!

 

It is fantastic, over the years I got to like "Stardust" just as much.

 

Stardust is very much cut from the same cloth.

 

Blew me away when it came out I'd never heard ANYTHING like it and thought it just MIGHT be a new direction for music. Alas it was not.

 

Classic. Different but catchy. A second of it and you know what it is.

 

That kind of different weird song always gets my attention. Still like that one. Pressed Rat and Warthog anyone?

 

That's very true. Although only made a year later and it's the former's sequel (same writer - Ray Connolly), I think that Stardust is the better film of the two and has a slightly different 'feel' to it - even if That'll Be The Day IMO is more fun. They're very good to watch in the order they're made (without a gap of too many days, or one after another if you're up for that sort of thing) although it's not exactly difficult to pick up from what happens in the first one...

I have this... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thatll-The-Day-Stardust-DVD/dp/B00009P9MC/ref=pd_cp_d_h__0

Those 'new' prices are, well... But I paid a lot less for it than the used from prices, as well. I see there are also double disc sets of it and wouldn't be surprised to see it having been reissued numerous times, probably as a twofer.

At one time, they would show these two films back-to-back on tv here (late 80s - mid 90s) and then they went over to satellite tv, which is where I saw them again - after all that time. Then when I saw the DVD I though that I might as well... Got to say that I did appreciate the guest stars much more in recent years and that makes the films very watchable, for me.

I do like the song/recirding Rock On, very much BTW. I've most probably still got that single and a couple of others of his.

 

I wonder if the way we're accustomed to hearing this song, meant that some critics might think it is still a rough mix given the fact there are almost no instruments save for the string section after we hear a low tone voice saying "James Dean"?

Another case of a song that went to number 1 despite being a rough mix could be The Rolling Stones' 1965 hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Keith Richards, upon hearing this track on the radio, complained that that was just the rough mix. He wanted it to have a horn section. That distinctive guitar intro you hear was meant to be a brass section instead.

 

Any song that features Jack Bruce playing the folk tune 'Lovely Joan' at the end is great with me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5K5uUl2Tb8

That tune you mention is interpolated into Emerson, Lake & Powell's 1987 hit "Touch and Go."

 

Not nearly as popular as "Rock On" but I remembered this tune getting some moderate airplay on Northern California radio and I liked his singing more on this one. More forceful and energetic.

 

A bigger hit over here - his first #1 (the second was Hold Me Close) and Rock On got to #3. I always thought this was a fun song and used to play the single lots when I was little. And I think it's safe to say this is the more popular of the two in the UK, as it seems much better known today still and it's the one that gets played.