This week's tune came along at a time when I was still early in my musical journey, and it was the first single after this week's artist had released an album that was a bit of a disappointment after the classic album he'd released before that. I was still naive enough to believe that critical success would one day lead to glory...but for Graham Parker it never really did. No matter--he's provided me (and many others, I'm sure) with plenty of glorious listening....
I wrote about Graham Parker way back in Volume XXVI (that was 454 posts ago!), and while I wasn't writing bio paragraphs per se back then, I wrote enough of one for Parker to not write another. I would like to note that Parker released an album just last year (his twenty-fifth), and much like Squeeze that I wrote about a few posts back, feel like it's a damn shame that he hasn't been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A great--and underrated in my humble opinion--talent.
"Temporary Beauty" was the first single from an album that was not another grey area, Another Grey Area. The single did not chart in America but hit #50 on the U.K. Singles Chart. The album reached #42 in his native U.K., and #50 here in the United States.
Fun Fact: This week's album was the last of Parker's studio albums to chart in the U.K., but his next five would chart in America. A bit odd as smaller British acts (as in not the Beatles or the Stones) tend to be bigger in their homeland for longer periods than they are here.
"Temporary Beauty" is one of my favorite songs by Graham Parker, and it was one of those songs that I knew the first time I heard it that it would be a favorite for years to come. Very few people write put down songs better than Parker, though I think the lyrics in the chorus for this one takes a little of the edge off and shows Parker in a more empathetic light. Parker juxtaposes the catty commentary of the stanzas with a catchy chorus that is to die for. As always, his vocals carry the day, and like Mick Jagger, he is able to convey so much (especially anger and disgust) through them. There's nothing temporary about this one...and it's a beauty.
Lyric Sheet: "The world is full of little people like you/They have to read a book to learn what to do/They hang around in second hand stores for clothes/And every kind of pressure steps on their toes..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Nazis
Peace,
emaycee
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