Yeah, a pleasant, well-written song with a sweet melody -- and yes, that chord change in the chorus very much sounds like another song I can't place, something from the seventies?. But the lyric doesn't stick too much with me. Ultimately it's better than average, almost effortlessly so....The 90s alterna-sound feels a bit tired, though. 4.1/5
Susan This is as close to a mediocre song as it gets on this album. Agree with @Patanoia that the lyrics generally aren’t great. Despite being mediocre among its peers, it’s still a fine and pleasant song I don’t skip. 3.6/5
Susan 3.5 As others have said, enjoyable to listen to, but not one that sticks in the mind much. I do love the goodbye/roman candle supply/vapour trail in the sky part, though.
Susan Well constructed, pleasant, but doesn't really stand out. Decent chorus. Back to unpleasant '90s drums and programming. 3/5
Am I the only one who finds Susan memorable? I can remember this track much better than some of the other ones we've discussed earlier, especially melodically - both verses and chorus. It's not one of my top favorites on the album but it's in the middle of the pack.
No, you're not. "Susan" is a total earworm. It gets stuck in my head and stays there for hours at a time. I like this song a lot. Nice, delicious pop, and an asset to the album.
I agree. It's certainly one of the most "pop" songs on the album though. Light, airy, no open wounds to see here. I have to say I have no problem with the production on this album at all. It often comes up. But I love 90s music...I have a much harder time with the production techniques of 2021.
Susan is a weird one. It's another one that always sounded quite B-sidey to me, and it never really engaged me. After about 15 years of listening, however, it clicked a bit more and I now think the chorus is weirdly catchy and the song is quite unusual. It used to be in my bottom 10 Aimee Mann songs, but I rather like it now! 3
Today's song is "It Takes All Kinds", written by Aimee Mann and Jon Brion. Produced by Aimee Mann and engineered by Brian Scheuble. Lyric. Aimee Mann: vocals, acoustic guitar, bass Michael Lockwood: electric guitar Patrick Warren: keyboards John Sands: drums Buddy Judge: backing vocals
It Takes All Kinds Another song that isn’t one of the stronger ones for me. Typically, songs are vague enough that you can project what is meaningful to you on them and make them fit into your perspectives and experiences - there’s typically some degree of universality. But the persistent use of Ron is what throws me a bit here and makes it too specific for me. Also, just reviewing each song one by one like this, it’s clear that a few have that Bacharach feel to them, which conjures some sameness to some of the songs that takes away a bit of the originality. So for me, 3.8/5
It Takes All Kinds. Definitely a Bacharach (he's even mentioned in the lyrics) or Harry Nilsson vibe. It never really lifts off, a bit meandering. Yes the references to listening to Bacharach and a guy names Ron makes it feel like a yellowed postcard from way back, or maybe it was written for a movie project? 3.2 from me
It Takes All Kinds Like I’ve mentioned before, so many of her songs have an old familiarity you can’t put your finger on.. but Bacharach became an influence and it’s nice to put the finger on some of it. I absolutely love it. 5/5
This is my favorite of the Bacharach-influenced songs, maybe because she namechecks him. (I presume the backing vocals after his mention are a reference to one of his songs. Anyone know for sure?) She rhymes his name with a lovely line: "And you loved the world you lived in, and it loved you back." Docking a tenth of a point for the phrase "our dear friend Ron". 4.9/5.
The RSD notes for "It Takes All Kinds", by the way: More Bacharach. The person I wrote this about knows it's about him, and I think he's maybe half proud and half offended. I wish the rhymes were better, but it's pretty good for back then. I always wish all the rhymes were better in all the songs. (Interesting point about rhymes. A few of us have said the opposite, I think, that she is a "prisoner of rhyme", but this is something that is clearly important to her.)
Oh, thanks, I forgot! As everyone, including Aimee herself has said, this one is another Bacharach thing, and it's an excellent one. This album is definitely too long but the songs are all great. 4.2/5
It Takes All Kinds is a bit derivative, but she really makes it her own and I like it a lot. To go from Deathly just a few songs ago to something as "Easy Listening" as this and have them both work on one album is pretty remarkable. 4.5/5
Hmmm... It Takes All Kinds doesn't really do anything for me. It's another song on this album that sounds like a demo. For a Bacharach-esque number, the arrangement is pretty half-hearted. I assume it was recorded on a tight budget, but it really sounds like it. Bacharach songs are traditionally quite rich and textured. At least Satellite had a rare appearance from Michael Hausman on some pretty fine timpani (I assume they're timpani, anyway!) It also plods, which is an accusation I have levelled at a lot of this album before. She's touched on this subject many times in previous songs, and where before we got the heart-breaking disillusionment of I've Had It, or the bitterly defiant xxxx-you of It's Not Safe, this song sort of sits there like a damp Tuesday afternoon. As always with her songs there are some killer lines, but not enough to lift this off the page for me. Definitely one of her less memorable efforts. 2
