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#774: The Who – Love Ain’t for Keeping

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The Who’s 1971 album Who’s Next opens with two intense rockers. ‘Baba O’Riley’, one of the band’s most iconic songs, and then ‘Bargain’, a five and a half minute powerhouse of hard rock. So to slow the momentum down just a bit, ‘Love Ain’t for Keeping’ arrives as a bit of a country-folk acoustic number, steady to the ear and much easier to take in in comparison to its predecessors.

I’ve always been fond of this one. It’s only two minutes and ten seconds, probably gets a bit shafted because of all the other songs on the album too. But it shows that The Who were as great in their softer approach to their music rather than the usual balls to the wall performances. Keith Moon on the drums plays with just enough restraint and keeps control of the song’s rhythm alongside bassist John Entwistle, and Pete Townshend plays the acoustic guitar in both channels, covering the rhythmic role in the left and lead guitar lines on the right. I think the overall highlight of the song are its vocals. They’re a highlight on many a Who song but it’s a glorious feeling when Roger Daltrey comes in with the first ‘Layin’ on my back…’ line that opens this one, especially with the natural reverb that occurs when he drags out the long note. The three-part harmonies during the instrumental nearing the end are amazing too.

So what it’s about? Judging from the lyrics, I say it’s about a person living in the countryside feeling fine and wants to make use of the good times they have by making love. It’s not meant to be kept, after all. If you think this track is boring, there was another version of the song made with guitarist Leslie West during the sessions for Who’s Next. It’s a lot more like the Who performances you may know and prefer. Townshend also takes the lead vocal here. I think it’s okay. I’ll stick with the one that appeared on the album.

#753: The Hives – A Little More for Little You

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Hi there, followers. If you read this whole post until the end you will see a picture of the album that this track can be found on. That will then take you to an Amazon link where you will be able to buy that record, should you feel compelled to do so. I’m going to try and update every post on here so this can be done. I’m not sure whether I should direct them to vinyls, CDs, or MP3 downloads. I mean who listens to CDs nowadays? Please, to anyone reading who would be potentially interested, comment below and tell me which format you would prefer me to link to. Want to try and make this blog more interactive, you know? Thanks for your time. Now onto the song.*

In 2005, ‘A Little More for Little You’ was released as a single from The Hives’ third album Tyrannosaurus Hives. By that time the record had been out for more than a year, and I remember seeing the video for ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ when it was making its first wave on the television and not liking the song very much. So when ‘Little More’ arrived, I was surprised at how catchy and melodic the song was in comparison. (I do like ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ a lot now. A post on that will be done in the far future). The video for ‘Little More’, seen above, was shown quite regularly on MTV2. I wasn’t sure if it was a live performance or a studio recording; further ‘investigation’ showed that it was a mix of both, the banter and audience is live while the song is not.

I always liked ‘Howlin” Pelle Almqvist’s vocals on here. He’s always loose and wild in his delivery and it shows a lot throughout. What also got me into the track at that younger age was the dynamic between the busy verses and the strident choruses. In the verses, one guitar plays on the downbeat while the other plays on the upbeat which creates this jerky rhythm before coming together and playing the same chords in unison when the chorus comes in. I don’t know what it’s about. I’ve always like it sound and always sang along but never thought to look out for its meaning. That goes for a lot of songs that I first saw on TV fifteen years ago which I still listen to now. I don’t see any problem with it, though.

It turns out that The Hives filmed another video for the song. Whether it was before or after the one above, I’m not sure, but the big difference is the audio used was the track as it was first released on the album. I guess, at some point, the band members thought the track didn’t sound as good and could be made a lot better so they re-recorded it. I have to say I do prefer the single version a lot more, though you can hear it for yourself.

*25/08/2020 – I changed my mind about this quite quickly. You’ll find no album cover down here, but you can buy the song from Amazon via a click on the song’s title in the post.**

**15/06/2024 – Forget that footnote too.

#622: Supergrass – In It for the Money

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So after Supergrass gained a ton of praise from their debut album I Should Coco in 1995, helped tremendously by their most recognisable hit and youth anthem ‘Alright‘, Steven Spielberg approached the band in an effort to make a television series with them based on that of The Monkees. The group declined, instead choosing to record their second album. This was most definitely the better route to take. Coco was a burst of sharp wit and energy. Its production made all the instruments sound very tight, like they were playing together in a tiny, tiny room. In It for the Money took a totally different direction.

Instead of carrying on with the usual breakneck velocity, Money is made of songs that are allowed to breathe. Take a breeze and chill with some slower tempos. The tracks also sound expansive. There’s also a wider variety of instruments. But the group never lost their playfulness and knack for great tunes. The title track shows it all in the three minutes it lasts for and is a fantastic taster for what’s to come It opens the album with an creepy organ drone that transitions into a heavy Beatles-like arpeggiated riff and Gaz Coombes’ vocal.

“Here I see a time to go and leave it all behind/And you know it’s wrong to fall/We’re in it for the money” are three lyrics that when put read together like that don’t seem to make much sense, though Coombes and bassist Mick Quinn on higher harmony deliver them with a power and confidence that make them sound like a formal declaration. There’s a musical build as the last phrase is repeated before the song explodes into its main refrain. The track takes another turn as it leads into another verse of repeated lines, accompanied with a beautiful guitar line and descending bass groove. A glorious fanfare of horns appear. It’s beautiful stuff.

It comes to a very abrupt halt but you have to listen to the album from front to back to understand the effect of that production decision. Summing it up, this was the introduction to a new Supergrass back in ’97 – definitely not a case of the sophomore slump.

#603: The Beach Boys – I’m Waiting for the Day

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You ever come across an album where you feel that every song could be a single? The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds is the archetype of that kind of record. I’ve written about a few songs from the 1966 LP in the past, there will be more to come, and today’s post is about the album’s fifth track – ‘I’m Waiting for the Day’.

Brian Wilson had completed writing in the song in 1964 when The Beach Boys were still rooted in their ‘California, let’s go surfin” aesthetic. The track concerns a narrator who yearns to provide support for a girl who has had her heart broken by another person. It was clear that it did not fit The Beach Boys as they were in that year. However as the years went on the group turned toward more introspective and heartfelt lyricism which came to a head on Pet Sounds.

Placed right after the album’s slowest number, ‘I’m Waiting’ begins with booming timpanis and an overall uplifting introduction of flutes and a peeping organ before closing in on itself for the quieter verses where Wilson takes over with a beautiful lead vocal. The song’s quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic is a quality that was once noted by fellow band member Carl Wilson as a particular highlight and it’s hard to disagree with his sentiment. It’s very satisfying to hear that strike of the timpani after the first utterance of the song’s title followed by the addition of the Beach Boys’ glorious trademark harmonies take over the mix – and just as you think it could all burst at the seams the energy is sucked away and the focus is on Brian’s vocals again.

Talking about Brian Wilson’s vocals, he apparently wasn’t too happy with the way they turned out. He didn’t have a very strong feeling towards this song in general. The track doesn’t often get discussed to deeply. Perhaps Wilson’s attitude towards it is a reason. I still see it as a high point on a classic album.

#596: Blur – I’m Just a Killer for Your Love

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‘I’m Just a Killer for Your Love’ is the tenth track on Blur’s self-titled album, released in 1997. For anyone who owns that album and holds it in particular high regard, it’s not hard to notice the slight quality difference in terms of production between this track and all the other 13 songs it’s placed alongside. It has an almost monoaural mix compared to the somewhat expansive sounds in ‘Beetlebum‘ or ‘Death of a Party‘, it sounds like the recording was accidentally started after Dave Rowntree starts drumming, there’s a Beatles ‘Yer Blues‘ feel to it in that it sounds like the band are just in this one room close together busting this thing out.

Well, there’s a reason for this. It’s the only song on there not to be produced by Stephen Street. Apparently, it was the very last track that the band worked on for the album and something the four members knocked out whilst working in Damon Albarn’s then new ‘Studio 13’. The track is very loose, rough around the edges, very slack in its execution but oddly seductive too.

This song predates Gorillaz’s first album by a few years but there are a number of things about it that remind me of what would appear on that project’s 2001 debut. The lyrics are a number of surreal images that when put together appear to make a coherent story, Albarn’s played up (or toned down, however you see it) vocal delivery is something he would go on to develop and play with more with the project, and just in general it’s almost experimental in its weird way.

Pay attention to Alex James really forcing that wah-wah effect on his bass, that’s some good stuff.