Tuesday Tunes 222: You Two

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I said last week that I had loads more you tunes to play for you, and looking at my list I could easily go for several weeks with this. I’m playing five more today and will probably do a third set next week, and we’ll see how it goes from there. This is another mixed bag, and includes the song I was listening to when the idea for the theme first came to me.

Let’s get going with an old favourite of mine, and by his standards a chirpy little tune:

As the clip shows, I Want You was a track on Bob Dylan’s seventh album, Blonde On Blonde, which was released on 20 June 1966. It was a double album, but that doesn’t appear to have harmed its chart chances, as it got to #9 in the US and #3 in the UK. This track was released as a single ten days ahead of the album, and made #20 in the US and #16 in the UK. Al Kooper, who later formed Blood, Sweat And Tears, played guitar and organ on the album and has been quoted as saying that of all the songs that Dylan outlined to him in his hotel ahead of the recording, this was his favourite, so Dylan delayed recording it to the very end of the Nashville sessions, “just to bug him”. A lovely story, which just adds to my enjoyment of one of my favourite Dylan songs.

From one big name to another. There is an earlier official video of this song but it is the cut down single version – it was the B-side to Honky Tonk Women. This more recent lyric video is the full song, which I think is the best way to hear it:

The Rolling Stones first released You Can’t Always Get What You Want as part of that single in July 1969, and it went to #1 in the UK, the US and several other countries, and made #2 in Canada and what was then West Germany. It has gone Gold in the US for 1m sales, and Silver in the UK for 200k. This track was then included on the band’s eighth album, Let It Bleed, which came out in November 1969, and got to #1 in the UK and #3 in the US, selling 2m copies in the US (2x Platinum) and 300k in the UK (Platinum). Honky Tonk Women remained as a non-album single, though: they did one of their country takes for the album, on which it became Country Honk – and it was fun! The ‘heavenly choir’ backing vocals are by The London Bach Choir, with a little help from Madeleine Bell, Doris Troy and Nanette Workman. And Al Kooper – him again – played piano, organ and French horn, though presumably not all at the same time.

Now for the one which prompted the theme. I’m guessing that this will be the least familiar one of this set:

The Pretty Reckless seem to veer between loud rock tunes and softer, more reflective songs such as this one. Like Taylor Momsen, their singer, You is gorgeous. The band were formed in New York in 2009, and consisted of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Jamie Perkins (drums), though they have since been joined by Mark Damon (bass). In August 2010, the band released their debut studio album, Light Me Up, on which You is the closing track. The album fared moderately in the US, only reaching #65, but did much better here in the UK where it peaked at #6: it has since sold more than 100k copies in both countries, though. They have so far released four albums, all of which have done well here and they have picked up in the US charts too. I’ve never seen them live but there are plenty of videos of them on YouTube: Taylor is quite the performer! Three singles were released from that debut record, none of which charted in the US but all did here. This wasn’t one of them, though the making of a video for it suggests to me that it had been considered. No matter, it is still a lovely song

Up next is one I’ve always liked, from one of those who was taken from us far too young:

Jim Croce’s  You Don’t Mess Around With Jim is actually a story song about someone he invented, a pool player named Big Jim Walker. A bit of a coincidence that it was his own name too, don’t you think? But maybe as ‘Jim’ met his comeuppance perhaps not! The song was the title track of his third album, which was released in April 1972 and spent a total of 93 weeks in the US Albums chart, eventually reaching #1 in 1974 after his death and the #1 US Singles chart success of the beautiful track Time In A Bottle. The album also reached #1 in Canada but sadly not here: his sole UK chart success was one week at #62 for Time In A Bottle – two months ago! As a single, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim got to #8 in the US and #4 in Canada. The recorded version had more instrumentation, but I rather like the intimate feel of this live performance. As you probably know, Jim was killed on 20 September 1973 in a plane crash that killed five others, including his bandmate Maury Muehleisen. He was only 30 but, like I’ve said before about others, we have his musical legacy as consolation.

I’m closing today with another fun song that has long been a favourite of mine, from a guy I think I should have played more often:

That was, of course, Billy Joel having a whale of a time with You May Be Right, which was released as a single in March 1980, and peaked at #7 in the US and #6 in Canada, though it wasn’t a hit in the UK for some strange reason. It might perhaps have been because this was the opening track on his seventh album, Glass Houses, which was released at the same time: that is certainly how I acquired it and the album went to #1 in both the US and Canada, and made #9 in the UK. On record, the song starts with the sound of breaking glass, meant to signify the album’s title, but on the official video that was replaced by a spoken countdown. Luckily someone has posted this full length version on YouTube, though. The single has sold more than 1m copies in the US, and the album 7m, with a further 740k in Canada and 100k in the UK. The album won the 1981 Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance – Male, and also picked up an American Music Award that year for Favourite Pop/Rock Album. And if you happen to be looking for a lunatic, you have a volunteer…

That’s all for today’s second set of you tunes. I think I’ll return with a third next week: far too many good ones that I haven’t yet played! Until then, stay well and have fun 🤩

 

39 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 222: You Two”

  1. Pingback: October | Take It Easy

    • Hi Maddie. I’m glad you liked them. I thought that one would be unfamiliar to many, but it is a lovely song. The Dylan one is great, isn’t it – always been a favourite of mine too 😊

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  3. Another excellent collection of great videos/songs today, Clive! I enjoyed them all but not really a fan of the feathery, breathless voice on “You” and too many other songs of this style. I’ll check out more vids on YT, hopefully some with Taylor Momsen using a bit more power behind her voice.
    Every other song and artist fell into my category of “favorites”; it was great to hear this version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” again.
    Billy Joel. What can I say? For me there will only be one “Boss” and it’s him.
    That was a funny anecdote behind “I Want You”. Al Kooper certainly knows the meaning of “delayed gratification”!
    Hilarious typo in the lyrics provided for Jim Croce’s song: “barry got his bums”. 😂 The correct line is “The Bowery got it’s bums“, referring to the oldest section of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Here’s a great link if you’re interested in learning more about my home town.
    Thanks for a fabulous read and listen, Clive. Very entertaining, as always! 😊

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    • Thank you, Nancy, I’m pleased you enjoyed the set. If you want Taylor with more power there are plenty of those- their latest is a live performance of Witches Burn which sees her at her best.

      That’s not the only weird typo in those CC lyrics – it’s why I prefer not to use them if I can. Artificial Intelligence isn’t all it likes to think it is!

      I liked that story too, and Al Kooper seemed to be a feature this week.

      Thanks for the link – so you come from the area of flop-houses, do you? Its ok, I won’t tell anyone 😉

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      • Thanks for suggesting Witches Burn; I’ll check it out now. When I was writing for The Rhythm Section, one of the hosts did a weekly acoustics blog and every video featured a woman singing in a fairy voice; it gets old fast.
        I didn’t read all the lyrics to Jim Croce’s song but I’m sure there were some AI doozies!
        Heehee! My childhood was not that lowdown! 😂 We were from upper Manhattan, just bordering the Cloisters and Riverdale with a great view of the Hudson River. 🌎 💙

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      • Female singer-songwriters make up a large part of my listening, though I wouldn’t count many of them as ‘fairy voices!’

        The Cloisters look fantastic. I’m a pushover for history like that. We had ‘cloisters’ at my school: in reality a walkway alongside the main hall with a glass side enabling a view of the quadrangle and beyond that the whole panorama of Dover – we were at the top of a hill. All now gone, sadly, as the building was found to be full of asbestos and has been replaced by a new build on the same site. Such are memories.

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      • You obviously pick the right female singers; some of the ones I was subjected to were dreadful, hitting notes only dogs can hear!
        In school I majored in Music Theory, then English Lit with a minor in History. I eat that stuff up! Imagine where I’d be if I graduated! 😂

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      • You’ll have seen the ones I favour, the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, and Elles Bailey. You won’t ever be seeing Ellie Goulding on my blog!

        Probably flipping burgers at McD 🤣

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  5. Classic early Dylan mixing up all sorts of political and social imagery with a basic yearning for a girl.
    Confused me as a lad but then I realised, quickly ‘that was Dylan’.

    Found this clip from a recent The Pretty Reckless concert…….I am now at the age where my abiding memories are ‘What a killer guitar opening’ and ‘Cool and mean trio those guys’ .

    Thanks for another trip in the wonderful Cosmos of Music.

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  7. I’m sure you have groups and performers that many others love, but you’re not necessarily a big fan of. Bob Dyan and The Rolling Stones are two of those performers for me. The funny thing about Jim Croce is I like most of his quieter songs (Time in a Bottle, Photographs, and Memories, Operator) but I’m less of a fan of this one and Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown. The two clear favorites for me this week are The Pretty Reckless and Billy Joel.

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  10. Terrific list! I have to share a video I got last spring at show #146 of Billy Joel’s 150 show “residency” at Madison Square Garden…he played a raucous version of “You May Be Right” and half way through let his band segue into “Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Led Zeppelin for two minutes before seamlessly going back to Joel…it was terrific!

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  12. You May Be Right by Billy Joel was sort of my special song as a young adult. I was happy to go my own way, lead my own parade, and genuinely stand out from the rest, Finally, I have to say way down the line I am proud to still be crazy after all these years.

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