Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXX--Bay City Rollers: Saturday Night

Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams, and...I'm (fifteen days--yikes!) late again.... 

[Blogger's Aside:  Imagine my chagrin when I realized yesterday that I'm not two Jukebox posts behind but actually three. Sheee-it!  Going to have to remedy that...

My introduction to this week's tune was when this week's artist debuted it on Saturday Night Live, with Howard Cosell (though I have to admit I did not remember that it was their American debut--just thought they happened to be the musical guest on that week's show).  Howard Cosell (known much more for sports announcing than emceeing entertainment) was attempting to mimic the success of the bygone Ed Sullivan Show (he failed miserably as the show only lasted eighteen episodes), and I can remember him hyping the band as the next Beatles (if you're of a certain age, there was about a twenty year period after the Beatles debuted in America in 1964 where every pop band out of the U.K. was "the next Beatles"--unsurprisingly, none were).  Oddly enough, though I remember liking the song immediately I didn't purchase a copy.  The only version I have is one I downloaded from iTunes many years after the fact--one supposes, though, that it's better late than never....

The Bay City Rollers began in 1964, and the history of their band members is so convoluted and numerous it would take the length of a post (already long enough) at the very least to sort it all out.  Suffice it to say that they're actually Scottish, their heyday was from the mid-seventies to the early eighties, and they sold a ton of records (estimated from 120 million to 300 million...which is quite the disparity).  For their career, the Rollers released thirteen studio albums (with two #1's and a #3 and #4 in the U.K)., two live albums, ten compilations, and thirty-one singles (with ten top ten singles in Great Britain including two #1's, and three top ten songs in the U.S. with one #1).  Sadly, two members of what is called the classic lineup (see heyday above) have passed away.  The band became the Rollers for a spell after petering out and then joined the oldies circuit in numerous incarnations with one of them still touring today.

Fun Fact: The Bay City Rollers were originally the Saxons but wanted a name that sounded more Americanized as they crawled their way up the ladder of success.  The band settled on Rollers but wanted an American name in front of it.  They tossed a dart at a map of the U.S., and it originally landed on Arkansas.  Not fond of that one (and what a wise choice that was--The Arkansas Rollers sounds like a half-assed country and western band), they threw the dart again and it landed near Bay City, Michigan--and a band name was born.

"Saturday Night" was the fourth single from the Rollers 1974 debut album, the rather citcularly entitled Rollin'.  The song did not chart in the U.K., but nearly a year later was released as their first single in America and promptly climbed to #1 (with a bullet!).  It also hit #1 in Canada--so many cools kids in the Great White North!  The album reached #1 in the U.K. but was not released here.  An album called Bay City Rollers (a mishmash of their first three albums) was released in the U.S. to capitalize on the success of the single, and it peaked at #20.

The one trait of this song that I would like to call out is the complete and utter genius of spelling out "Saturday" and following it with a rousing, crowd screaming "night," and then using it several times throughout the song.  Rhythmic, rollicking, catchy as all hell, and easy to remember--the perfect pop music moment.  The rest of the song is a delightful paean to dancing with your baby on a Saturday night (which, truth be told, I know nothing about, but it sounds fun).  Sometimes a great pop song is just a great pop song and "Saturday Night" is every bit a great pop song.  

Lyric Sheet:  "Gonna rock it up, roll it up/Do it all, have a ball/Saturday night, Saturday night..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

What a complete and total piece of shit

Trump’s Caddie magically drops a ball for him not in the deep stuff ⛳️

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) July 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXL--Del Amitri: Always the Last to Know

 But I can't be late, 'cause then I guess I just won't get paid [as if!]....

My introduction to this week's tune was one late, lonely night while watching MTV shortly after the song was released.  I was still with Camelot Music and, as always, was listening for anything that might be the next big hit.  While this song wasn't it, it certainly had a nice little run for a nice little band....

Before I did my half-assed research this week, I had absolutely no idea that Del Amitri hailed from Scotland (Glasgow to be exact), thinking that they were an American band, as we egotistical Yanks are wont to do.  They got their start in 1980 and paid their dues for a few years before releasing their debut album in 1985.  The band would go on to a modicum of success in the U.K., selling over six million records and having four of their albums hit the top six on the U.K. charts by 2002.  The band went on a lengthy hiatus after that, before reuniting in 2013.  They've remained together in a few different incarnations ever since.  For their career, Del Amitri has released seven studio albums (five of which hit the top ten in the U.K.), and twenty-one singles (fifteen of which landed in the top forty in England, with three of those cracking the top forty here in the U.S.).  The band recorded their latest studio album in 2021 and toured the U.K. just last year.

Fun Fact:  The band's name came from lead singer Justin Currie, who'd seen a movie directed by a man named Dmitri and suggested that for its name.  Over time it was either misheard or bastardized into Del Amitri, which has no meaning.

"Always the Last to Know" was the first single from their rather transformationally named 1992 album, Change Everything.  The single would reach #30 (with a bullet!) in the U.S., and #13 in the U.K., while the album would soar to #2 in Great Britain, and peak at a whopping #178 in America (which is one more #178 charted album than I have, by the way).

Like many people, I like a good story about vengeance...and "Always the Last to Know" is a good story about vengeance.  Our hero starts out bemoaning that he's always the last to know that his ex-girlfriend is happy, sad, was cheating on him, etc., etc., until the very end when he wonders if she's happy now or if her new boyfriend is cheating on her just like...our hero did.  Man, talk about twisting that knife a bit after having stuck it in--boom, boom, pow (to steal a phrase).  Lead singer Currie delivers an impassioned vocal without getting whiny--he presents our hero as just a guy looking for a trustworthy soul mate.  The band is solid behind him, with some driving drums and some keyed-up guitars bouncing their wall of sound around.  Look, this one isn't going to make anyone forget "Let It Be," but it's a nice little single from a nice little band out of Glasgow, and sometimes that's more than enough for rock and roll.

Lyric Sheet:  "But now you're living up behind the hill/And though we share the same city and feel the same sun/When your winter comes/I'll be the last to know..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXXV--Gerry Rafferty: Baker Street

So far behind now I might never get caught up....

My introduction to this week's tune was WLS-89 out of Chicago in 1978, the year it became a big hit for this week's featured artist.  Oddly enough, I didn't care for it in its original run, and it was only years later that I began to appreciate its greatness.  Better late than never....

I briefly touched on Gerry Rafferty when I wrote about his original band Stealer's Wheel in Vol. CCCLXXII, but as his career stretched out for many more years I'll do a proper bio paragraph.  After his time in Stealer's Wheel, Rafferty hit mega stardom in the late seventies, and sadly his career never recovered from it.  Over the course of the next three decades Rafferty would continue to record, but his discomfort with the trappings of fame would only fuel his alcoholism and his withdrawal from society.  For his career, Rafferty released eleven studio albums (one #1 in the U.S. and two top fives in the U.K.), and twenty singles with a top five in America and two more top fives in Great Britain.  Rafferty's behavior veered erratic as his alcoholism worsened in his last years, and he succumbed to liver failure in 2011.

"Baker Street" was the second single from Rafferty's 1978 album, the rather urbanly named City to City.  The song would reach #2 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in his native U.K.  The album would be the only #1 of his career here in the States and would peak at #6 on U.K. Album Chart.

Fun Fact:  While doing my half-assed research, I came across this line in Wikipedia:  "[The sax solo] is said to have been responsible for a resurgence in the sales of saxophones and their use in mainstream pop music and television advertising."  Ahem.  Nothing against the brilliant sax solo, but it seems to me there was this kid Springsteen with a sax player something something Clemons that lit the saxophone scene just a few years before....

"Baker Street" opens with an eerie, smoky sax solo and you immediately know you're headed into territories unknown.  While largely autobiographical, the song has echoes of feelings so many of us know:  waiting for the one lucky break, the chance that there's a start for something new.  Rafferty nails just about every aspect of this one--the lyrics are damn near literary, his vocals capture the joy and pain of his protagonists, the killer sax solo, a killer guitar solo, and a man making the most of his abilities.  In the end, it's a song about hope, even if in all likelihood it's a false hope.  For even a false hope is better than no hope.  Thus endeth the lesson....

Lyric Sheet: "Windin' your way down on Baker Street/Light in your head and dead on your feet/Well another crazy day, you'll drink the night away/And forget about everything..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Fucking fruit loops

Trump: Some people don't eat bacon anymore. This was caused by their horrible energy. Wind. They want wind all over the place. When it doesn't blow, we have a problem. pic.twitter.com/z9FnkHnYOU

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 30, 2024

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXCVIII--Donovan: Sunshine Superman

 At least I'm keeping it to three or four four or five days late and not a week....

Much like last week's tune, this week's featured song brings no recollection of when I first became aware of it or heard it.  Due to its unique sound, it's possible I could have heard it on a top forty station or an AOR station--but with its release date of 1966, the one thing I can guarantee you is that I wasn't on the Donovan bandwagon at age seven....

Donovan Phillips Leitch (hereafter Donovan) was born in Scotland in 1946.  He began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, and by the time he was nineteen he'd had a top five hit in his native U.K.  After another year he had a #1 hit single in America, and his success would continue into the early seventies before petering out.  Donovan is considered one of the progenitors of psychedelic rock, and in 2012 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  For his career, he has released twenty-nine studio albums, eight live albums, sixty-two (!) compilations, and thirty-three singles.  Donovan released his latest album in 2022 and is taking this year off to prepare for a sixtieth anniversary tour next year.  Donovan dabbled in acting in his heyday, appearing in three films, and his two oldest children, Donovan Leitch and Ione Skye are both actors.

"Sunshine Superman" was originally released as a single before being added to a cash grab album, the not so originally named Sunshine Superman.  The single would become the highest charting of his career in both the U.S. (#1--with a bullet!) and the U.K. (#2).  The album would be his highest charting album in America, peaking at #11.

Fun Fact:  Two of the studio musicians on "Sunshine Superman' were bassist John Paul Jones and guitarist Jimmy Page, who went on to form a somewhat successful band you may have heard of:  Led Zeppelin.

You can tell the special quality of a song when you listen to it, and think, "That's from the sixties"...and yet it still sounds as fresh as if it had been released this year.  It's equal parts Donovan's vocals (love the way he adds an extra syllable here and there throughout the song--like "a-thinkin'"), Page's otherworldly guitar, and the overarching sparseness of the music.  Donovan was twenty when "Sunshine Superman" was released, and his musical and lyrical intuition shows an acumen well beyond his years.  As a side note:  Donovan wrote the song for a woman he was attracted to, who initially did not share his interest in pursuing a relationship.  They had a chance meeting in the early seventies, were married shortly thereafter, and are still together to this day.  True love wins in the end....

Lyric Sheet:  "I'll pick up your hand and slowly/Blow your little mind/'Cause I made my mind up/You're going to be mine..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXIX--Travis: Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

This week's featured tune is another in a long list of artists/songs introduced to me by my lovely daughter.  At one time, she was quite the aficionado of Brit Pop, and her sharing of her love of the genre led me to many a good tune and many a good band....

Travis had its beginnings in 1990 in Glasgow, Scotland, and by 1991 had all of the members who would form the core of the band.  They had their first taste of success with their debut album, Good Feeling, in 1997, and with their second album (featuring this week's tune) in 1999 were well on their way to critical and commercial success. While the bulk of their success has been in their native U.K., they have had a modicum of success here in the States.  Travis has won two Brit Awards and are considered by some as having set the stage for Keane and Coldplay (both of whom have also been blessed enough to be featured on Friday Night Jukebox).  For their career, Travis have released nine studio albums (with two #1's on the U.K. Albums Chart and seven of the nine reaching the top five), and 24 singles (six of which have hit the top ten on the U.K. Singles Chart).  They released their latest LP in 2020 and continue to tour and record.  For those wondering, the band's name came from the character of Travis Henderson (portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton) in the critically acclaimed film, Paris, Texas.

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" was the third single released from Travis' career making second album, The Man Who.  The song would hit #10 (with a bullet, or whatever the British equivalent of Billboard's bullet is) on the U.K. Singles Chart, while the album was their first #1 on the U.K. Albums Chart.  Neither entered the top 100 in America.

Fun Fact:  This is probably the coolest Fun Fact yet...When Travis played the Glastonbury Festival in support of the recently released The Man Who album, the album had already peaked on the album chart and was beginning to look like a sales disappointment.  However, as the band broke into "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" it began to rain (after several hours of sunshine) and stopped raining when the band finished the song.  Word of mouth about the incident caused people to flood radio stations with requests and the band's album as well as the single became a hit, very likely rescuing the band's career.

Every now and again while preparing Friday Night Jukebox, I come across a song that I had forgotten how wonderful it truly was, and "Why Does It Always Rain on Me" was such a song this week.  From Fran Healy's understated but heartfelt vocals to the melancholy--yet still hopeful--lyrics, this tune is about as good as a pop song can get.  The melody is like a dream, and the band hits all the right notes, highlighting Healy's vocals while adding their own signature to the song.  Bonus points because my Mom liked this one a lot, too.

Lyric Sheet:  "Sunny days/Where have you gone?/I get the strangest feeling you belong/Why does it always rain on me..."

Enjoy (props to Fran Healy for wearing a kilt in the video):

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXII--Stealers Wheel: Stuck in the Middle with You

 My introduction to this week's tune came with me searching for it (actually several years after it was a hit) on all of my Bob Dylan albums, as well as the ones I didn't own at the local record shop (remember Google was just a distant dream in the seventies), only to eventually learn that it wasn't Dylan after all but a couple of blokes in a band from Scotland....

Stealers Wheel were formed in 1972 by teenage friends Gerry Rafferty (who went on to some solo success) and Joe Egan.  By the time their first album had been released, Rafferty had already left the band (while Rafferty was a talented musician, he was never comfortable with the fame that came from being such), but when the album became a modest hit and their first single a huge hit, he was persuaded to rejoin the band.  They would go on to release two more albums but had disbanded for good in 1975 before their third album was even released.  For their all too short career, Stealers Wheel released three studio albums, three compilation albums (oh, the power and glory of having a hit record), and five singles.  The members of the band not including Rafferty and Egan reformed in 2008, but the ills that plagued them the first time around were still present, and the reunited band did not even last the year.

Fun Fact:  The name Stealers Wheel is a play on words of a sort.  The band hails from Sheffield, at one time a city noted for its steelmaking (especially for cutlery) plants, and a steelers wheel is an abrasive tool used for polishing steel.

"Stuck in the Middle with You" was released in 1973 from their debut album, the ingeniously named Stealers Wheel.  The single would reach #6 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the U.K. Singles Chart, and #2 in Canada (so many cool kids in the Great White North!).  The album peaked at #50 on the Billboard 200, and I have no idea what it did in the U.K. or Canada because the Wikipedia entry did a shit job of telling me. So there.

"Stuck in the Middle with You" deals with Rafferty's aforementioned aversion to fame and its trappings, as it describes his discomfort (the lyrics make me think alcohol and/or drugs may have been involved as well) at being at a record label function and the attendant bullshit that comes with it.  The band has said it was going for a paranoid Dylanesque sound...and as I noted above, they most certainly nailed it, especially with Rafferty's vocals.  The song features a nice acoustic guitar opening, followed by a funky bass line leading up to the vocals, and spread throughout is a slithering electric guitar that mimics the nausea Rafferty very likely felt.  The band makes liberal use of an emaycee fave, handclaps, and as I listened throughout this past week, I was surprised by how big of a role the rhythm section--bass, drums, handclaps--played in making this tune a lot funkier than one would expect from a Scottish folk band.  You probably had to be there, but this is another fine example of all the excellent pop tunes the 1970's offered to those of us who were lucky enough to live and listen through that wonderful decade.

[Props to me for getting this far without the obligatory mention that "Stuck in the Middle with You" was the song Michael Madsen--Mr. Blonde--danced to in the cop torture scene in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.]

Lyric Sheet:  "Trying to make some sense of it all/But I can see it makes no sense at all/Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor?/Well, I don't think I can take anymore..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Racist

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXIII--Paolo Nutini: New Shoes

In which we touch upon emaycee's love for blue-eyed soul and good old fashioned top forty pop....

Paolo Nutini hails from Paisley, Scotland and released his debut album at the ripe old age of 19 in 2006.  Over the last fifteen years Nutini has carved out quite a career for himself, especially in his native U.K.  He has had two #1 LPs on the U.K. Album Chart, as well as a #3.  He's also had four top twenty singles on the U.K. Singles Chart.  He's been nominated for three Brit Awards.  For his career, Nutini has released three studio albums, one live album, and twelve singles.  While the bulk of his success has been on the British Isles, all three of Nutini's albums have charted here in America.  While Nutini has not spoken of it, he has been on hiatus since 2017, but one supposes with his track record of success it's only a matter of time before he's recording and touring again.

"New Shoes" was released on his debut album in 2006, These Streets.  The single reached #21 in the U.K., but did not chart here in the States.  The album was #3 in his home county, and reached #48 on the Billboard 200.

The first time I heard "New Shoes" (either MTV or VH-1, can't remember which), it reminded me of the top forty singles I heard in the early to middle 70's that were the genesis of my love for rock and roll.  This one is just plain fun--a ditty about a guy who makes his day better by putting on some new shoes (oh, if only it was that easy).  The stanzas are a cool warm up to the chorus, which is to catchy what sugar is to sweet.  But Nutini's vocals are what turn the song into a pure pop dream--his voice is smooth and silky with the same swagger that propelled Van Morrison and Rod Stewart to long careers.  It's not going to end up on any all-time top ten lists, but it's a shot of musical joy, a jolt of blue-eyed soul that I can guarantee you I'll be bopping along to it until it's time for me to start preparing next week's Jukebox post....

Lyric Sheet:  "Oh, short on money but long on time/Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine..."

Enjoy:

Daily Reminder:  Zero Republicans Voted for the COVID-19 Relief Package

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXV--Taxxi: Cocktail Queen

A couple of years back I wrote about a tune by Dwight Twilley called "Somebody to Love" that I thought should still be being played in all its anthemic glory on FM station after FM station...but alas, it isn't.  This week's tune is much the same, though it should be as fondly remembered of a one hit wonder as Looking Glass' "Brandy" or Blues Image's "Ride Captain Ride..."

Amazingly enough, Taxxi did have a Wikipedia entry (a whole couple of paragraphs) because I could find absolutely nothing else about the band--the only album mention I found just stated the album and its songs without any review, and for the first time in the history of Friday Night Jukebox there was no lyric sheet to be found (gasp!).  For the record, Taxxi formed in London (surprise to me as I thought they were an American band) in 1979 and lasted until 1987 despite an utter dearth of commercial success.  They released four studio LPs, one compilation, one unreleased tracks album (?!!!), and had a song on two separate soundtracks (Weird Science and The Secret of My Success).  The band did get its start with help from the Who's manager Kit Lambert, so there's that.  Otherwise, singer/guitarist David Cumming, keyboardist Colin Payne, and drummer Jeffrey Nead's only claim to fame is making a song I deemed worthy of inclusion on FNJ (which I hope doesn't give them pause as to the breadth of their career)...

Fun Fact:  Randy Jackson of American Idol fame played bass as a session musician for the band on its first three albums.  Fascinating, my God....

"Cocktail Queen" was released in 1982 on Taxxi's second album, States of Emergency.  Neither the single nor the album so much as sniffed the charts, though the song did receive some steady MTV airplay (and is where I became familiar with it).

Regular readers (both of you) know of my love for power pop, and "Cocktail Queen" has the commanding guitar chords and driving drums that make my heart sing (to coin a phrase).  There's also plenty of hand claps, great backing vocals, and a story about a cocktail waitress who may (or may not) be everybody's angel (and what man among us hasn't fallen in love with a waitress at least once?).  But if you really want to know how I feel about the song, check out keyboardist Colin Payne in the video below--I may not be as graceful as he as he bop, bop, bops along, but my heart dances exactly as he every time I hear "Cocktail Queen."  Don't she love to rock and roll (rock and roll!), indeed.

Lyric Sheet: [Blogger's Note:  I actually own the LP of States of Emergency and these lyrics are verbatim from its...uh...lyric sheet]  "Cocktail queen, like a fire in the night/Burns with a flame that will set you alight/And she can keep on burning, all night long..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCV--The Bluebells: Cath

Outside of themselves, their family members, a handful of Scots, and myself, I'm not sure too many folks remember this week's tune.  I first heard it when MTV was still in its infancy (and still playing music full time) in 1983, and it's one of those gems that make me miss MTV as it once was, when one could find a small gem that otherwise would be lost amidst the thousands of songs released each year. 

The Bluebells originated in Scotland in 1981 (and until I did my half-assed research this week I had no idea they were Scottish--always thought they were an American band) and stayed together until 1986.  In that time they released an EP and one full length album, and had a modicum of commercial success in their native UK (though none here in the States).  Their debut LP hit #22 on the UK charts, and they had five singles hit the top 100 in the UK.  Their biggest hit was "Young at Heart" which hit #8 in 1984, and thanks to a Volkswagen commercial, became an even bigger hit in 1993, hitting #1 and staying there for four weeks.  The band has reunited a time or two--1993 thanks to Volkswagen, and briefly in 2008-2009 and 2011.  Most of its members have stayed in the music business in one form or another, though one does make a living now writing about golf.  I've always thought they were like the Ramones, if the Ramones had been a pop band instead of a punk band, but this could also be because one of their members (watch the video below) bears a passing resemblance to Joey
Ramone....

"Cath" was originally released in 1983 on their debut EP entitled, appropriately enough, The Bluebells, and was also included on their debut LP, Sisters, in 1984.  It was also released twice as a single, reaching #62 (with a bullet!) on the UK charts in 1983, and #38 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on the same charts in 1984.

Fun Fact:  Though the Bluebells only released one EP and one LP (though they did have a Japan only release, as well), they still managed to release a greatest hits package in 1993.  Oh, the wonders of a hit single....

If the gods of music got together and said to themselves, "What we really need to do is create a pop single that emaycee really loves..." (as if) they would have been hard pressed to make one that has more of my faves than "Cath."  From the ever present harmonica, to the catchy chorus, to the "woa, woa"s, to the crescendo ending, to the guitar leading into the crescendo (shamelessly stolen from Rod Stewart's "Maggie May"), this one pretty much nails it.  It's a pop fan's pop tune, a one off single that shows the glory of the pop single.  It's the kind of song that I started Friday Night Jukebox for--I am music fan, hear me roar, this one you cannot ignore...and it's  fine addition to the genre that is known as Scottish pop.
\
Lyric Sheet:  "I'm shaking with fright/And nothing's going right/You've spoilt my day for the rest of the night..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXIII--The Waterboys: A Man Is in Love

I have heard "Big Music" and I will never be the same.

Such are the The Waterboys, one of the best bands that most folks have never heard of.  Formed by Mike Scott (and he is the only constant in the band) in 1983 in Scotland, The Waterboys are a big picture band in the same sense as U2, though they haven't had nearly the commercial success. Marked by literary references (in 2010 The Waterboys put 20 W.B. Yeats poems to music and debuted a show called An Appointment with Mr. Yeats--the resulting album reached #30 in the U.K.), strong lyrics, and varying music styles (Rock, Celtic, Irish, Folk), The Waterboys had a modicum of success in the U.K., but have never had an album reach higher than #76 on the Billboard charts.  Still, they've been recording and touring (they've had over 70 musicians tour with them at one time or another, which, unsurprisingly is a record) for thirty-five years, having released 11 studio albums, numerous compilations, and a number of live recordings.

I came to them quite by accident--I enjoyed the debut album of Karl Wallinger's World Party and had read he had been a member of The Waterboys, and decided to take a chance on a greatest hits package.  It was love at first listen--had there been but world enough and time (literary reference!) I am sure I would have devoured their entire catalog.  Alas, there was not (and a decided lack of cash for frivolities, too), and I had to settle for being an admirer of the small body of their work that I knew.

Fun Fact:  The Waterboys are named for a lyric in Lou Reed's song, "The Kids"--"I am the Water Boy, the real game's not over here...."  However, some folks speculate that The Waterboys name (the W and the B) is actually a nod to one of Mike Scott's literary heroes, the aforementioned W.B. Yeats.

Released in 1990 on Room to Roam, "A Man Is in Love" tells the story, surprisingly enough. of a man who's discovering that he's in love.  The song was released during The Waterboy's/Scott's Irish music period, and very much reflects that influence.  The instrumental breaks feature some whimsical flute playing (you could imagine a leprechaun dancing a jig to it).  While the lyrics are light-hearted, Scott has a way with turning a phrase and sings with an earnestness that keeps the song from becoming just another sappy pop ballad.  It's an adult look at the glory that is falling in love and Scott adroitly ties in the joy, the wonder, and the awe that march hand in hand with discovering that special someone.  There's a nice twist at the end (a la Rickie Lee Jones "Chuck E.'s in Love) that'll leave you with a smile on your face and humming the tune for days to come.

Lyric Sheet:  "A man is in love, how did I hear?/I heard him talk too much whenever you're near..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. V--Big Country: In a Big Country

Every now and again I'll hear a song for the first time and realize instantly that I am listening to a song that I'm going to love for the forseeable future.  This week's tune is one of those songs, only it's thirty-two years later and it still sounds every bit as good as it did the first several hundred times I heard it.

Released in 1983, Big Country's "In a Big Country" was the only hit the band had here in the States (they did quite well in the U.K. for a number of years) but--recurring theme--what an only hit to have had.  The band's (unfortunately) late lead vocalist and guitarist Stuart Adamson said himself that if "In a Big Country" was the only song the band was remembered for he would be "quite happy with that."

The song is the opening cut on the band's album The Crossing and is a mix of impassioned wailing vocals,  heart pounding drums, and whirling guitars that often mimic bagpipes on speed (somewhat to my chagrin, I found out while researching the song that the guitar sound was studio enhanced--as if guitar players were wizards who could make unimaginable sounds merely by circling a finger).  The most amazing thing about the song is every time I hear it, I feel like I'm swirling, in of all things, a big wide open country (like their native Scotland).

Come up screaming, indeed.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee