Tag Archives: look

#765: The Band – Look Out Cleveland

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‘Look Out Cleveland’ by The Band is a very fine song. It was one of the first few that really grabbed my attention upon listening to the group’s 1969 album, even though I don’t think it’s one that people give much thought about when thinking about that record. It’s a track with a very simple structure, alternating between its chorus and verses before coming to a close after three minutes, but it’s the energy from all band members involved and the great harmonies between bassist Rick Danko and drummer Levon Helm that raise the performance to another level.

Bit by bit each band member is introduced in the beginning, starting off with Richard Manuel’s screaming boogie-woogie piano alongside Robbie Robertson’s guitar who are then joined by the stuttering rhythm section. The chorus then crashes in with strident chords where Danko and Helm send a warning to the people of Cleveland, Texas (not Ohio) to look out for the storm that’s coming their way. The verses are told from the perspective of a Cleveland citizen who relays to the listener when they found out the storm was on its way, how natural phonomenons like lightning and storm clouds shouldn’t be taken as a joke and if they are, the people will be running for shelter when things really start to go down.

Again, I’ll just say it’s a great performance by The Band. All members seemed to be locked in with one another, getting the right groove, coming in and dropping out at the right moments. Really fine rhythms on show here too. The whole album is anchored by the band’s ability to play with pinpoint precision. Although this won’t be the last song of theirs I’ll cover here, it will be the last from this album. I wasn’t able to write about album opener ‘Across the Great Divide’ and bonus track ‘Get Up Jake’, two songs which are well worth the time.

#764: Blur – Look Inside America

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Damon Albarn spent a good chunk of the 90s making music specially tailored to the British public. After having a not-so-great tour in the United States and seeing that the music from that country, especially grunge, dominated the UK charts he had a vision to remind people how great, and sometimes bad, it was to be from England with the ultimate aim of being part of the biggest band in their homeland. That vision came true to some degree, but the band found they had taken things too far with their 1995 album The Great Escape. They had also fallen hugely out of favour with the general British audience who had grown to prefer Oasis instead.

Their self-titled album that followed in 1997 was remarkably different, inspired by indie rock bands like Pavement and Sebadoh that guitarist Graham Coxon had been listening to. The music Blur was making in these sessions was a lot more aggresive and Albarn’s lyrics were more earnest and sincere. Noting the gratifying effect that this new American influence was having on the band, Albarn wrote ‘Look Inside America’ which is essentially an apology to the country and a song about learning not to care so much about things. In the track, Albarn sings about the better experiences he has while being in America. A good show was had the previous night, the band got an ad on the rock station KROQ, and he got a happier ending to Woody Allen’s Annie Hall by rewinding the videotape. He seems to have found pleasures in the smallest details and his lyrics, mixed with the uplifting music, result in what is probably the most optimistic track on the whole album.

Ironically, the song sounds the most similar to the material they were making on their Britpop trilogy. Only this time, the strings during the verses play more as a backdrop to Albarn’s vocal and Coxon’s guitar. The groove during the guitar solos nearing the end remind me to ‘Mr Robinson’s Quango’. I think it’s all in done in a tongue-in-cheek way though. Just a personal highlight for me is Alex James’ bass throughout the track, that’s very melodic in itself.

#763: John Lennon – Look at Me

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‘Look at Me’ comes at the perfect time in John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band album. The last minute of preceding track ‘Well Well Well’ is him screaming the word ‘well’ until he physically can’t anymore. So when the acoustic guitar and soft electric that play throughout on this one come in, you’ve just got to admire the dynamics.

Lennon does a lot of soul-searching on this album. There’s a lot of pointing out how shit the world actually is on his part too. It’s on ‘Look at Me’ that he brings it all to himself though, asking the listener what they see and what they think of him as if he was standing right in front of them. Though giving it another listen, I think he’s singing to Yoko Ono. She is the only other person he believed in after all.

This is probably the only song that sounds remotely like a Beatles track, and there is good reason. He wrote the song at the same time he wrote many others when he was in India for the group’s meditation retreat. The same guitar picking technique he employed on ‘Dear Prudence’ and ‘Julia’, he uses here. The three note introduction is identical to the beginning of ‘I’m So Tired’. These don’t necessarily make the song better. Just thought some people may want to know. It’s a very meditative track, serene, and very easy to listen to. The melodies from both guitar and Lennon’s vocal never really change and repeat themselves so they’re never very hard to forget. I’m not sure it’s considered a highlight by many from this album, but it is to me.

My iPod #294: Oasis – Don’t Look Back in Anger

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I don’t even like Oasis that much. I am, however, looking forward to the “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” reissue that should be coming out later this year. “Definitely Maybe” isn’t my thing. I’ve never listened to “Morning Glory” before; I’ve never been a great a fan of Oasis to actually buy it or even download it without paying, but I know that it contains some of Oasis’ best songs and the reissue will probably include the great B-Sides that were recorded during the making of the album. I’m sure it will be worth the wait.

“Don’t Look Back in Anger” is a song from “Morning Glory”. It was released as the album’s fifth single, the band’s first to have Noel Gallagher on lead vocals, and got to number one in the charts.

Nothing much else I can say. Well, there’s nothing much I can be bothered to say. Whatever I would say has most likely been said before. The song’s good. You’ve all heard it before. It’s only like…. one of the biggest anthems out of Britain from the nineties.

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