Emitt Rhodes RIP...album by album, track by track appreciation, 'bout time!

Back tomorrow for more!

 

Mary Hopkin was obviously a fan, a nice cover of "Trust Once More":

 

Nice, never knew that she covered Emitt! And so well.

Now I gotta find this fine LP!

 

I said it earlier, but I had no idea so many people had covered his songs. Those Mary Hopkin covers are gorgeous.

 

Mary Hopkin has self issued several CDs but they're a bit hard to find in the US (though Valentine is available from Amazon). Valentine also has songs written by Bruce Cockburn & Sparks.
You can order directly from her website:
Mary Hopkin's Hopshop

 

Nice job!

Being the anal type, I edited the titled of the song "Listen, Listen!" in three places to add the exclamation point!

 

track 9) Bad Man

This and the previous track "Nights Are Lonely" are tracked on the album
in a way that makes them a medley, without a break between and they work great together.

A really great funky soul rocker. With a Memphis Horns vibe.
It amazes me that if Emitt wanted to introduce a new instrument to th e track, he taught himself how to play it! Hr
Horns, violin, harmonica (comes in the last track in a beautiful way).

This full LP amazes me...so many influences abound...
jazz, funk, soul, blues, rock, heartbreak ballads, power pop...and Emitt makes them sound sincere and all his own.
And he even plays a violin, that he makes sound like a string quartet in a soon to be shared track...really fantastic.



Felt unwanted and rejected as a child
Was always evil talkin', dirty and running wild
Caught red-handed thieving hubcaps as a teen
Judge was lenient when you told him you'd go clean
One year's probation just added to your frustration
But a bad man's gotta pay once in a while
Did your utmost to perfect the perfect crime
Was apprehended in the phone booth stealing dimes
Tried a thousand schemes and nothing made you rich
Well every endeavor never fails to have a hitch
Here's the place be quick it's time to face the music
Cause the bad man's gotta steal to stay alive
Now you're low and low is wearing mighty thin
Yes you're low, you're high and then you're low again
You have precisely half a dozen phony names
You've got no mercy and Lord knows you got no shame
There's no one home now can't you see the house is dark
Driveway's empty where a car is usually parked
Now's the time to go through any unlocked window
Cause a bad man's gotta earn a living too
Now you're down and down and down is where they have you pinned
Yes you're down, you're up and then you're down again

 

track 10) In Desperate Need

A rather dark but beautiful track...
rocks harder than most of Emitt's songs...
and digs deeper into the sometimes darker side of life on this tiny planet.

Emitt's state of mind and heart is clearly evident here.
Endless lawsuits by the suits at Dunhill, they kinda broke him.

Great instrumental backing, by Emitt himself of course.



Endless miles of concrete,
Infinite tons of asphalt
Lifeless pavement getting rougher lately
In the distance you can see so faintly

Empty towers of granite
Stretching up above the planet
Face it, all of us are here together,
Don't tell me that we're trapped forever

In desperate need of breath
With hope the weak may breathe
What makes you think you're free
when you're in desperate need?

Ill wind sounding thunder turbulent angry vapor
We are prisoners of our own behavior
Born of flesh through pain and labor

Now let it be understood,
Idols carved of wood offer convenient wings
Now let it be understood,
Idols carved of wood offer convenient wings

Crowds of lonely faces
Vanishing open spaces
We are threatened by those around us,
Sheltered by those who are closest

In desperate need of warmth,
With hope the cold will leave
What makes you think you're free
When you're in desperate need

 

track 11) Those That Die

This may be Emitt's most deeply personal and most achingly beautiful song he ever composed.
His deepest feelings on war, those that profit from it and those who are victims of it...of fear and hate and maybe hope...timeless.

"Let no one rest throughout the planet
Until the cannons sound no more..."

This track has everything, pathos, empathy, love, fear, hope...
brilliant lyrics, wonderful vocals, all backed with simply beautiful classical piano lines,
and those heart wrenching and lovely strings...all performed so adeptly by Mr. Rhodes.
Really quite surprising to me when I first heard this that Emitt did not enlist a local string section
to compliment this oh so lovely, bittersweet song.



Are those that died so soon forgotten
That we won't miss one more?
Are those who live the ones that profit
By fear and hate and war?

The sacred life this holy garden
This swirling mass we call our home
Let no one rest throughout the planet
Until the cannons sound their final tone.

 

track 12) Farewell To Paradise

Emitt's coda and last recorded track, in 1973... for over 40 years.

Such an unexpectedly island paradise beat and gently rolling number
that belies the theme....

To me this was an epitaph of sorts by Emitt
to his own career and his music,
a wave goodby to his dreams and hopes,
his final farewell to paradise...and perfect ending to this, such a fine LP.

All performed with a rather gentle and sweet intonation, with those lovely harmonica lines weaving
in and out of the lyrics. This could have been performed with bitter and biting overtones.
Instead there is an aching, a longing, a gentle tone that quietly waves goodby to paradise.



Rest your heart and free your soul,
Travel-worn at journey's end.
As you slowly sail away
Billowed clouds softly descend.

Midnight, moonlight, starbright,
wish me a warm sunrise
Farewell to Paradise.

Passing dreams too quickly fade
all are lost when we awake
Breathless wind blow me away,
bring me back before daybreak.

Midnight, moonlight, starbright,
wish me a warm sunrise
Farewell to Paradise.

With every newborn sun
I'm a child with eyes unkept
With every hour passed
I'm a lone with time well-spent.

Say so long to Shangri-La,
sad farewell to paradise
Sailing ships across the sea
shed a sea from sorrowed eyes.

Midnight, moonlight, starbright,
wish me a warm sunrise
Farewell to Paradise.

 

As an encore (before we get to his final album 40+ years on) here is his single, non-album track from 1972;
it was the last track on the Recordings 1967-1973 double CD set, now quite rare and sought after...
An unusual theme for Emitt up until his 1973 LP; a song of protest against the war in Asia, with a strong resounding beat.


Bonus track-Tame The Lion





Little children live in hanoi
Hoping that the bombs won't drop
They no longer cares who's master
Only let the bleeding stop

Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
It can be done with one great blow
Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
He's killing when we say no

Little children live in saigon
Kneeling down on severed limbs
They no longer care who's master
Only let the fighting end

Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
It can be done with one great blow
Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
He's killing when we say no

Are those that die
So soon forgotten
That we won't miss one more
This sacred life, this holy garden
This evil endless war

Frightened mother holds her children
Heaven knows it's not their fault
They no longer care who's master
Just the killing to a hault

Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
It can be done with one great blow
Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
He's killing when we say no

Are those that die
So soon forgotten
That we won't miss one more
This sacred life, this holy garden
This evil endless war

Little children live in hanoi
Hoping that the bombs won't drop
They no longer cares who's master
Only let the bleeding stop

Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
It can be done with one great blow
Tame the lion
Now he's tasted blood
He's killing when we say no.

 

A bit of a teaser until we get into Rainbow Ends....next week.
Completely unaware of this...the first time I've heard Emitt cover..anyone.

2014, To Love The Bee Gees-Deluxe Edition.
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

 

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (Acoustic Version)
I love this version... even better.

 

Emitt was obviously trying to expand his musical palette on "Farewell to Paradise", so not only does he play some sax(!) on the album, there is a lot of mellotron on there. I think the ballads and the poppier songs on this album are really strong, with excellent arrangements, but it's dragged down by the rockier songs, which are a bit tired and anonymous sounding, I have trouble telling them apart. Not only that but he seems to be playing a lot of the same licks throughout, the electric guitar playing just isn't very good on this album. I get the feeling that he spent a lot of time arranging and recording some of the more intricate tracks on the album and then bashed out some of the others a bit too quickly. This is definitely not as strong as the first two but is still a good album!

 

I listened to this in full yesterday and I gotta respectfully disagree. I played the second CD in the Recordings set (containing Mirror & Farewell To Paradise) and the mastering/audio is top notch.
A strong effort all round and the harder rockier/bluesier tunes add a new and varied dimension to the ever growing Emitt on this, his final LP; or least what he likely thought would be his last LP.

Lyrically, strong and mature. I love it much as I do all three albums wherein he does it all!

 

He did some recording, including 3 songs in 1980. One, Isn't It So, was released in 1995.

Emitt Rhodes - Listen, Listen: The Best Of Emitt Rhodes

 

Vic Damone-Farewell to Paradise

 

The 1980 recordings really suffer from the slick MOR production.
Compare this to the version on Rainbow Ends. Thank goodness for Chris Price.

 

Emitt Rhodes-Good Enough circa 1980
Another good song ruined by the production.

 

Emitt Rhodes-Making Love

 

Emitt Rhodes - No Time At All / Isn't It So / Good Enough [Acoustic Medley 2001]

 

Wow, this is quite something!

 

One more 1980 track More Than a Smile Will Do"

 

Interesting!

 

Thanks! I missed these...