Tag Archives: the la’s album

#1384: The La’s – Timeless Melody

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When it comes to The La’s’ ‘Timeless Melody’, I don’t think it was a song I really appreciated until my fourth or fitth run-through of the band’s 1990 self-titled debut album, a record known for being their only album before they broke up, disappointed in the way it sounded upon its release. Knowing the track now, I don’t know what took so long because it’s certainly one of the most immediate and catchy tunes on the record. That fourth (or fifth) listen of the album, if I can recall, happened during a time in 2019 when I was more than unemployed and revisiting albums that were sitting dormant in my iTunes library on my previous laptop. The La’s had been in it since about 2014, and I thought I had my favourites from the album set in stone. ‘Son of a Gun’ rolled into ‘I Can’t Sleep’, they came under that favourite ‘category’. Back then I’d usually find myself cruising through, waiting for ‘There She Goes’ to come along. But something about ‘Timeless Melody’ struck me on that occasion, and it’s ranked as a highlight for me ever since.

Why did it happen that time? Well, I think I simply paid attention to the song, focused in on songwriter Lee Mavers’s vocal and realised that he was singing very nicely, indeed. The melodies he showcases throughout, particularly those in the choruses, aren’t anything complicated, but they’re definitely memorable. I’ll find myself spontaneously blurting the song out when I’m doing some idle activity, like washing the dishes or having a shower. Anyone could sing along to it, which I think was Mavers’s aim calling it ‘Timeless Melody’ and everything. It’s one for the ages. In the track, Mavers relays to you his songwriting process, the joy in it and his inhibitions. The melody always finds him first, breaking that initial lock when thinking of creating a composition, but it’s the words that come to him a little less successfully. As he states, he never says what he wants to say. But if the world’s willing to listen to him, he’ll say everything he’ll need to. He implores you to ‘open your mind’ because there’s probably a song in the recesses of it waiting to be written. But the message could be generally applied to any creative-type person out there. And I really like the song for that reason too.

I’m thinking with its title and the fact that it clocks in at almost three minutes on the dot, maybe just one second over, ‘Timeless Melody’ was written to be that archetypal single meant to raid the airwaves. It was a single, released a month before the album release, but it didn’t hit all that much. Then ‘There She Goes’ was reissued. That ended up being the one. But you can hear ‘Timeless Melody’ and recognise it has everything ‘single’ about it. Again, not that any of the commercial angles need to matter. Musically, the song’s got it all. What draws me into the track is how the drums kind of have this skipping pattern that stays the same all the way throughout, bar a few moments here and there, while the rhythm guitars maintain this sturdy stop-start motion underneath. Makes it sound like the song has a quick tempo while also dragging at the same time, weirdly groovy in a way. Lee Mavers’s voice, well, it doesn’t take long to figure out what’s good about it once you listen to it. But those who know realise that the real power of The La’s is the vocal dynamic between he and bass guitarist John Power, who joins in on harmonies and backing countermelodies from the first chorus onwards. So many layers in this relatively small track. It’s great, you gotta hear it, man.

#1350: The La’s – There She Goes

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Probably like a large majority of people in the world, I heard ‘There She Goes’ before actually learning about who made the tune. I can remember it being used in a TV advert that was repeated numerous times in the early ’00s. The company – I feel like it was a furniture one for some reason – only used the song’s main refrain, and if just that and a few guitar chords were able to stick in my head and get me singing randomly on some days then it must have been a good one. Just a little aside here, those first few lines I wrote in 2017 when I began what turned into the post for ‘I Can’t Sleep’. I’ve been waiting for this day to arrive for eight years, and now I can finally get this out of the ‘Drafts’ section. Anyway, yeah, ‘There She Goes’. It’s by The La’s. It’s their signature song, a jangle-pop masterpiece written by Lee Mavers. The released version on the band’s self-titled album is 35 years old. Its origins go further back to the tail-end of the ’80s. But it never gets old. Just sounds so fresh every time.

Where do I even start with this one? I feel like ‘There She Goes’ is a tune that everyone should know. But as the years go on, there’s gonna be this whole generation who come in and wouldn’t even know who the band is, let alone the song. If there’s anyone reading who weren’t aware of both, what do you think now? Sounds great, doesn’t it? What I’ve come to like about ‘There She Goes’ is that it’s essentially a chorus repeated nearly from start to finish, with I guess a bit of a bridge happening in the middle when the song goes into a minor key for a few moments. But even then, the lyrics remain on the same rhyme pattern/train of thought. It’s got a beautiful melody, sung by Mavers with the falsetto on the “There she goooes” and the raspier tone on the “can’t conta-e-ain” phrases. Bass guitarist John Power joins in with the countermelodies in the backing vocals. And it’s all united by that earworm of a guitar riff. Melodies galore, and good ones too. You really can’t go wrong.

And all of this comes to the main question set up by the lyrics. He is singing about a girl, or is he singing about heroin? The answer… is yes. I’m sure a lot of people just go with the latter because how many songs out there are about liking women? It’s the “cooler” interpretation. The whole thing’s for sure set up as as a two-and-a-half minute double entendre, though. Whatever the song’s about doesn’t affect how I feel when I listen through, which is usually a combination of happiness and satisfaction. How Lee Mavers felt about the song is another thing. I read he much preferred the single version, released a few years before in 1988. And while trying to find that perfect sound when recording the album, the band tried out versions with producers John Leckie and. Mike Hedges. And those are just the ones that have been officially released. There are probably other mixes floating out there somewhere. That album version’s always sounded fine to me.

#1245: The La’s – Son of a Gun

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The shimmering notes from an acoustic guitar are the first things you hear if you were to press play/lay the needle on the record after obtaining The La’s self-titled/debut/only album from 1990. First time I heard ‘Son of a Gun’ the opening reminded me of Rusted Root’s ‘Send Me on My Way’, even if though that song was released some years after. Maybe there’s some influence there, I don’t know. But it goes to show, if you can get the right tone on the strings of an acoustic guitar, people will start falling at your feet. Even before Lee Mavers started singing, I was really into the rhythm and the sound of that sole acoustic, so even when he did, I was already under its spell.

“If you want, I’ll sell you a life story” are the first words Mavers delivers on the microphone, and that’s what ‘Son of a Gun’ is. It’s a tale about a man who lives with his demons, but also recognises that he’s not like a lot of other people out there and takes great pride in that aspect. With Lee Mavers being the ever elusive, reclusive man he is, I think ‘Son of a Gun’ is the one song by him that provides an insight into how the guy felt about life. There might be another La’s tune that does it better, please direct me to it. But for me, it’s the clearest ‘song about myself under the guise of someone else’ that I can think of right now as I’m writing to you. Lifts the haze on that sense of mystique, which I think is quite cool.

Lee Mavers didn’t like the sound of The La’s when the album eventually came out in 1990. The band had spent a couple years trying to get the album down, but Mavers was never happy with any of the results. There are many different versions of the songs from the record that you’ll be able to find online. Personally, I think the final version we all know mixed and produced by Steve Lillywhite showcased the best treatment any of those tracks got as recordings. It is interesting to hear other producers’ takes though. ‘Son of a Gun’ by Mike Hedges is in a higher key, utlises more electric guitar and has a bounce to it via added bass drum. A John Porter version has a monoaural mix. I could go through them all. It’s a lot to explore.

#566: The La’s – I Can’t Sleep

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The self-titled debut album by The La’s remains to be the band’s sole release almost thirty years later. Having been recorded over and over again for over two years with about four/five different producers due to songwriter Lee Mavers’ relentless perfectionism, the final product produced by Steve Lillywhite arrived in 1990 and was immediately disowned by the band members before they parted ways in 1992. It has gone down as a fine album in history, a staple of the jangle pop genre. Mavers has gone to label it as a “piece of shit”. Make of it what you will.

‘I Can’t Sleep’ is the album’s second song and, after the light acoustic starter of ‘Son of a Gun’, provides the album’s first kick in the balls with its raw feel and punchy rhythm. The track has a prominent stop-starting groove that emphasises its downbeat with powerful chord blasts and an occasional strike on the floor drum that comes like an explosion. And with Mavers signature raspy vocal, it makes out for a very rough and rowdy affair.

When it comes to what it’s about, I can’t say anything for sure. I used to think it was about going out to parties due to mentions of big black cars (limos?) and the inability to sleep due to said party. Though I did see an interpretation involving being sad and taking drugs to get away from those feelings. It may be so. Let’s just enjoy the music, eh.

*You may have noticed that I’ve taken away the ‘My iPod’ from post titles.  I think you know what these posts are about by now. If you don’t…. I’m not sure I can help you.