Follow these three steps if you would like to guarantee yourself a truly beautiful Sunday:
1. Play the song below.
2. Play it again.
3. Try to be in a bad mood at any point the rest of the day. Go ahead– I dare you. You will fail.
Daniel Boone: “Beautiful Sunday” (Daniel Boone/Rod McQueen)
From the album Beautiful Sunday
Mercury Records, 1972
If it was 10:15 on a Saturday night in 1978, I know what I was doing:
“Theme From Fantasy Island” (Lawrence Rosenthal)
Yes, there’s a reason you don’t see Fantasy Island and The Love Boat reruns in syndication today: they’re terrible. Borderline unwatchable, in fact– unless you’re an eleven-year-old boy. Eleven-year-old boys like Barbi Benton.
Eleven-year-old boys even tolerate Bert Convy, as long as he is on-screen with Barbi Benton.
_____________________________________________________________
Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Jack Jones: “Love Boat Theme” (Charles Fox/Paul Williams)
MGM Records, 1979
Barbi Benton: “Brass Buckles” (Bobby Borchers/Mack Vickery)
From the album Barbi Benton
Playboy Records, 1975
Welcome to what I hope will become a regular feature here on the Analog Kid blog. We’ll take two (or perhaps even more) versions of the same song and attempt to decide, once and for all, WHO WORE IT BEST?
TODAY’S SONG: “I Can’t Explain”
“I Can’t Explain” was The Who’s debut single, and it has remained a staple of their live set to this day. In the United States, “I Can’t Explain” only reached #93 on the Billboard Hot 100. No wonder the rest of the world hates us.
Let’s take a listen to a few different cover versions of “I Can’t Explain,” and attempt to decide who did The Who best…
David Bowie: “I Can’t Explain” (Pete Townshend)
From the album Pin Ups
RCA Records, 1973
David Bowie’s version of “I Can’t Explain” comes from Pin Ups, his 1973 album of cover songs from the London music scene of the mid-’60s. Bowie slows it down and adds his unmistakable sax, and does quite a decent job of making the song his own. Still, it seems to lack the urgency that made The Who’s version crackle like a mouth full of Pop Rocks.
Yvonne Elliman: “I Can’t Explain” (Pete Townshend)
From the album Food Of Love
MCA Records, 1973
Pardon my French, but HOLY SHIT. I just found this version earlier this week while browsing through the $1 CD bin at Half Price Books. Yvonne Elliman is best remembered for the Saturday Night Fever smash “If I Can’t Have You,” but she earned her street cred via her performance as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar in the early ’70s. Until this week, I wasn’t even aware that she recorded any solo work before 1976– but here’s the proof, and it smokes. Of course, it helps a bit when you have Pete Townshend himself playing guitar on your Who cover. Again, I ask: how the hell did I not know about this?
Scorpions: “Can’t Explain” (Pete Townshend)
From the album Best Of Rockers N’ Ballads
Mercury Records, 1989
The Scorpions recorded “I Can’t Explain” as the one new track on their 1989 greatest hits CD Best Of Rockers N’ Ballads. I will always have a soft spot for Klaus and the rest of the Scorpions, but they seem to be going through the motions a bit on this cut. They definitely make it sound like the Scorpions, and that is never a bad thing.
THE VERDICT: Yvonne Elliman may be considered a one-hit wonder in most circles, but her version of “I Can’t Explain” squashes Bowie’s and the Scorps like a grape. With a voice like Yvonne’s, I really have no plausible explanation as to why her career was such a short one.
Which version do you like better? Am I right, or am I crazy insane? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
____________________________________________________________
Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
![Who's Last [Disc 1]](https://theanalogkidblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/whos-last-disc-1.jpg)
The Who: “I Can’t Explain” (Pete Townshend)
From the album Who’s Last
MCA Records, 1984
This live version of “I Can’t Explain” comes from The Who’s 1982 farewell (ha ha) tour. Who’s Last has been out of print for years, so I thought I’d share this one in place of the original.
Yvonne Elliman: “If I Can’t Have You” (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb/Maurice Gibb)
From the album Saturday Night Fever
RSO Records, 1977
The Clash: “Clash City Rockers” (Strummer/Jones)
CBS Records, 1978
OK, so technically this isn’t a cover version. But who are we kidding?
Big Audio Dynamite: “Contact” [Single Version] (Jones/Donovan)
Original version from the album Megatop Phoenix
Columbia Records, 1989
Mick Jones obviously has an awesome sense of humor…
In this continuing series, the Analog Kid blog takes a look at songs that should have (in my humble opinion) been much bigger on the charts than they actually were. Maybe they were released as singles and never quite caught on, or perhaps they were buried on side four of a double album and left to obscurity. Maybe the bands’ record labels were simply run by cocaine-fueled monkeys. Whatever the reasons, it’s time to give these great tunes their just due. One thing’s for sure: they were all hits in my house…
Glass Tiger: “Thin Red Line” (Glass Tiger)
From the album The Thin Red Line
Capitol Records, 1986
Glass Tiger’s debut album featured two Top 10 singles: “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” made it all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the follow-up “Someday” went as high as #7. The whole album is a solid slice of mid-’80s pop rock, but its best song wasn’t even released as a single in the United States: the title track “Thin Red Line.”
Listen to this song a couple times. Listen to the way it builds. Dig that huge instrumental riff– it sounds like Big Country and Bryan Adams had a baby, and I mean that in a very good way. This is a damn fine arena rock song that is just asking for the Jerry Maguire “Free Fallin'” treatment. I know, because I’ve done it. In fact, I did it yesterday.
Back in 1986, I was a sophomore in college in Austin, Texas. My musical tastes were rapidly turning towards R.E.M. and the Replacements, but my roommate Chester still loved his AOR. He must have played the Glass Tiger album at least five times a week, so I became intimately familiar with it even if my hipster self pretended that I didn’t like it. We even saw Glass Tiger open up for Journey in December of ’86 at the Frank Erwin Center, and “Thin Red Line” was so good that it probably made Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain jealous.
Glass Tiger made two more solid albums before breaking up, but they never again reached the U.S. Top 20. They reformed in 2003 and continue to play live, mostly in their native Canada.
When he’s not blogging or fighting with Google over indexing issues, the Analog Kid sings for a Neil Diamond cover band that is slowly metamorphosing into an ’80s cover band. At some point in the near future, we are going to play “Thin Red Line.” No one in the audience is going to know the song, but it’s going to make me happy. I am convinced that it’s going to make the crowd happy as well.
_____________________________________________________
Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Glass Tiger: “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” (Glass Tiger)
Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)
Glass Tiger: “Someday” (Glass Tiger)
Both taken from the album The Thin Red Line
Capitol Records, 1986
Tom Petty: “Free Fallin'” (Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne)
From the album Full Moon Fever
Warner Brothers Records, 1989
Stewart Copeland and Sting formed The Police with guitarist Henry Padovani in early 1977. This 3-piece lineup recorded the band’s debut single “Fall Out” before they had even played a gig. It cost them £150.
The Police: “Fall Out” (Stewart Copeland)
Illegal Records, 1977
“Fall Out” was written by drummer Stewart Copeland, and he also played most of the guitar as Padovani was apparently very nervous about being in a recording studio. Henry did add the solo though– notice Sting’s encouraging “Henry!” yell right before the break.
The Police: “Nothing Achieving” (Stewart Copeland/Miles Copeland)
B-side of the 7″ single Fall Out
Illegal Records, 1977
“Nothing Achieving” was the b-side to “Fall Out,” and again it was written by Copeland with assistance from his brother Miles. Miles was also the Police’s manager (and eventually the head of IRS Records), and was notorious for his hatred of bland white clothing (check out Sting’s concert film Bring On The Night for further information on this odd quirk).
The single failed to chart in the UK upon its original release in the spring of 1977, but it did eventually hit #47 after it was re-released in 1979 following the success of “Message In A Bottle.”
Of course, Padovani’s stay with The Police was a short one. Andy Summers was soon brought in as a fourth member, and after a few gigs Padovani was asked to leave the band. Don’t feel too bad for Henry, though– he immediately joined Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, and eventually became a vice president at IRS Records.
As for the rest of The Police, the classic three-piece lineup was now in place. It would take a few years and a lot of tours in small vans, but The Police would eventually conquer the free world and all of those living upon it. Just ask Sting…
_______________________________________________________________
Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
The Police: “Message In A Bottle” (Sting)
From the album Regatta de Blanc
A&M Records, 1979
 | Gary on One Is The Loneliest Number: G… |
 | Miranda on Five Rush Songs That Have Neve… |
 | Joseph Janick on One Is The Loneliest Number: G… |
 | Lincoln on EP-iphanies: “Wide Boy… |
 | Brad Gude on The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find… |
The Analog Kid 