Seven Songs for the Week #64

Last week, when adding Noel to the list, I came across this list of top synth pop albums from Paste magazine. [ https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-albums/50-greatest-synth-pop-albums-of-all-time ] Nestled near the top was Solid State Survivor by Yellow Magic Orchestra. Now, this is a band whose name I am familiar with, but I’d never (knowingly) heard a note, and to be honest because Ryuichi Sakamoto was involved I’d erroneously thought they were a serious, maybe even austere, proposition. But synth pop? OK. So I had a listen and was immediately smitten. This track, Behind The Mask, seemed naggingly familiar, and a minimal amount of research led me to Eric Clapton’s version from 1986. In classic Eric C style he managed to suck all the fun and funk from the track. In fact, Eric’s version was a cover of Greg Phillanges version which in turn was a cover of a song Michael Jackson had written for Thriller using the original YMO track as a backing. Sakamoto couldn’t agree to what MJ’s cut of the publishing should be so it remained on the shelf - who knows how much money that cost him. Eventually it was reworked posthumously as an MJ single in 2010 for the Michael album and the original demo finally saw an official release in 2022 on the Thriller 40 reissue.

Anyways, this original version is a total vibe. I don’t have to spell out the Daft Punk and Gorillas influence, do I?

This chorus just zooms out of the verses and is a thrilling bit of pop. The melody reminded me of something but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I thought it was Little Palaces by Elvis Costello.

…but it’s not, is it?

I spent Saturday night in Newcastle going to see Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. In case you don’t know, Nick Mason was/is the drummer of Pink Floyd, and is the only member of Pink Floyd to appear on every PF album. In 2018 he started Saucerful of Secrets to play the Pink Floyd music that’s been ignored, I.e. stuff taken from the seven (seven!) albums Pink Floyd released before becoming megastars with Dark Side of the Moon.

It was a fantastic show, aided by being in the fourth row, but the setlist was a delight, playing this track and three others from Obscured by Clouds which is the Floyd album I listen to most these days. And they didn’t do Wot’s...Uh The Deal or Free Four, that’s my only complaint.

The John Lennon Mind Games boxset is nearly upon us (out July 12th) and they have been pre-releasing tasty morsels like this one. Uncut magazine has a fantastic nine track sampler from the box in its current issue which is well worth picking up - maybe it’s all the Mind Games you need, that’s up to you. You Are Here was the name of an art exhibition John did with Yoko in 1968 - their first big public project together. John made a deal with Harry Nilsson that they should both write songs called You Are Here and see who’s is best. It would be 5 years later before John got around to writing this, and it’s a beautifully melodic song which sounds exactly like the kind of thing Nilsson would write. It’s very Nilsson.

Whether or not John Lennon knew about Harry’s You Are Here track is unknown. By the time the John&Yoko exhibition opened on July 1st 1968, Harry was back in LA recording this demo which was unknown until it turned up when Harry's family were assembling 2013's The Complete RCA Albums boxset. This 17 CD set can still be picked up for about £40 and is well worth every penny.

On Friday night with an evening to kill in the north east of England, I went to Sunderland to see the comedian Rhod Gilbert. It was fine. The music played beforehand was straightforward stuff but this Hot Chip cover of Dancing IN The Dark was thrown in. This is mighty with a bit of LCD Soundsystem thrown in at the end.