Seven Songs for the Week #105 - 9th Apr 25

Since the clocks went forward 10 days ago it has been very sunny in Ireland, proper sunny. This is a good song fro driving on a sunny day.

Latest "single" from the upcoming Sparks album and it's a winner with a very good video. Three for three with the singles so far. I find I alternate on which Sparks albums I like, FFS amazing, Hippopotamus, not so much, ...Drip, Drip, Drip one of their best, ...Latté, didn't connect. High hopes for MAD! I got my tickets to see Sparks in Dublin on July and am looking forward to it.

The much heralded new album from Elton and Brandi, and they performed this track on SNL this week. There has been criticism of Andrew Watt's production over on the Hoffman Forum, and I tend to agree with them. Everything is fighting upfront in the mix to be heard, compressed into a wall of sound that's a bit overbearing, with a great drummer (Chad Smith) being forgotten about in all of this. Horns sound like synths, it's a bit odd. The song, the tune, the lyrics are all tops, and I preferred the Atmos mix on my laptop where you can enjoy Brandi's stacked b.vox. Still, the album is headed to number one in the UK, so what do I know?

I had thought that the Elton/Brandi track sounded a bit like this, which it does, a bit. I do like the mix of Rockestra, there’s space in it, even though it’s capturing a big dumb noise.

If you know, you know.

Since only a small number of people read this, and we are all friends here, let me say this: I do not understand the veneration of The Beach Boys. Most overrated band ever. Paul McCartney gets so much hate for songs a lot better than this one. The Love You era is apparently getting a reissue later this year, so hang tight for 4 CDs of Ding Dang sessions.

Listened to Seven Psalms again this week for the first time since it came out and it really clicked. It had only been available as one long 33 minute track, but is now available as seven tracks. This is how the album closes, kinda remarkable.