#701: Back to CD's!

Restocked with CD's for what turned out to be the easiest Friday night at work in months. Also got started early with the music after calling a moratorium on News Radio -- because it just gets weirder & scarier & more twisted.
Here's some of what I've been listening to at work this week:

Brotherhood of Man -- United We Stand.
Box Tops -- Soul Deep, The Happy Song.
Bobby Darin -- If a Man Answers, Sermon of Sampson, All by Myself.
Brothers Johnson -- I'll Be Good to You.
Go-Go's -- Head Over Heels, You Thought, Forget That Day, Capture the Light, I'm With You, Can't Stop the World, Vacation.
Bangles -- Let it Go, September Gurls, Not Like You, Manic Monday, Dover Beach, Going Down to Liverpool, Be With You.
Rascals -- See, Carry Me Back.
Bob Dylan -- Like a Rolling Stone, Tangled Up in Blue.
Lovin' Spoonful -- Summer in the City, Darling Be Home Soon, Six O'Clock.
Doobie Brothers -- Neal's Fandango, I Cheat the Hangman.
Boston -- Used to Bad News.
Stevie Wonder -- I Was Made to Love Her, Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Dah-Day, For Once in My Life, My Cherie Amour.
Rolling Stones -- Happy, Tumbling Dice, Street Fighting Man, Gimme Shelter.
Rush -- Time Stand Still, Force Ten.
Cars -- Bye Bye Love, All Mixed Up, Dangerous Type.
Deep Purple -- Highway Star.
Steely Dan -- My Old School.
Journey -- Feeling That Way/Anytime.
Simon and Garfunkel -- Fakin' It, The Only Living Boy in New York, A Hazy Shade of Winter, At the Zoo.
Ronettes -- Be My Baby, Baby I Love You, The Best Part of Breakin' Up, I Wonder, Do I Love You?
Pam Tillis -- Homeward Looking Angel.

As you can see, this is basically The Same Old Stuff with a few new additions -- which I usually tripped over by accident....
Have already mentioned that the Box Tops' "Happy Song" sounds like something Dave Mason or Traffic might have done on an upbeat day. I don't think it's a Lost Classic or anything, but it is catchy & it does grow on you, & it definitely sounds different than "Soul Deep" or "The Letter" or the Box Tops' other hits....
The Bobby Darin songs are from an early-'60s EP my Cousin Carol let me have 45 years ago -- also not classics, but they're OK pop for the period, with some nice twangy guitar here & there. "If a Man Answers" is kind of funny. "All By Myself" is NOT the Eric Carmen #1 hit of 15 years later -- more sort of a light-hearted look at being lonely(?).
The Doobies' "Neal's Fandango" continues to get comments when I play it in the store. Think they really missed out on a hit with this one. From STAMPEDE.
Stevie's "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Dah-Day" is as light & bouncy & charming as any forgotten Motown Top 10 hit, though I only heard it by accident between "I Was Made to Love Her" & "For Once in My Life." Why hadn't I ever heard it before? I'll have to go back & play it again, though it's obviously not a timeless work of art for the ages -- interesting that even Stevie's filler is almost as good as his classic hits.... From 20TH CENTURY MASTERS/BEST OF.
Why wasn't the Stones' "Street Fighting Man" a hit? Had to be the lyrics about revolution in the streets. If they couldn't get that played on the radio in '68/'69 it was probably never going to happen. Still haven't heard any "album rock" station play it, even though it (wisely) led-off their FORTY LICKS best-of....
Continue to be a sucker for the Ronettes, even though I don't think EVERYTHING they did was great, or sometimes even very inspired. But as soon as those gorgeous vocal harmonies kick in, I'm a goner. Ronnie's solo tracks "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love?" & "So Young" are iffy. But the rest are freakin' knockouts.
I still think "Best Part of Breakin' Up" (apart from Ronnie's sultry vocal) sounds like the Beach Boys snuck into the studio -- there's a real palm-trees-swaying-in-the-ocean-breeze vibe on this one; easy to see where Brian Wilson learned some of his production touches. "I Wonder" is still amazing, should've been a hit. & "Do I Love You?" is sweet & bouncy & bound to gain charm on repeated listenings.
I sat through practically all of the Ronettes' BE MY BABY best-of a year or two ago, but now I'm starting to wonder how much of it I actually HEARD. Will be investigating further....
More soon....