Three by Paul Carrack

As I continue our look at Paul Carrack, today I’m featuring three songs by our feature artist across his career.

Squeeze: Tempted

Paul Carrack joined Squeeze in 1981 replacing Jools Holland on keyboards. While the song failed to chart on any nation’s top 40 charts, it is regarded as one of the band’s best known recordings. It was the second single from their LP “East Side Story.” The song peaked at #41 in the U.K., at #45 in Canada, and at #49 in the U.S.

Despite the low chart success, “Tempted” was a frequent played video on MTV during 1981. Carrack handles lead vocals and can be seen in the video playing a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 polyphonic synthesizer. Carrack left the band after his only LP appearance on “East Side Story.”

Mike + the Mechanics: The Living Years

This is the highest charting song that features Paul Carrack’s vocals. It was a song written by Mike Rutherford and Scottish composer B.A. Robertson about the deaths of their respective fathers. Carrack, who lost his own father at age 11, was a natural to sing lead on this emotional song. Although Mike + the Mechanics was Genesis’ guitarist Mike Rutherford’s side project, the band achieved three top 10 U.S. singles: “Silent Running” at 6, “All I Need is a Miracle” at 5, and “The Living Years” at #1.

Don’t Shed A Tear

Carrack’s highest charting solo single in the U.S. was his 1987 release of “Don’t Shed a Tear.” While the song only peaked at #60 in the UK, it failed to deliver high chart numbers anywhere in the world with the exception of the States where it landed at the #9 position in February 1988.

Carlene Carter & Paul Carrack: Oh How Happy

Today’s selection is not really a traditional song or arrangement, but one of the vocalists, Carlene Carter, has traditional roots that extend three generations. Her grandmother, Mother Maybelle Carter, was one of the original Carter Family members that included her brother-in-law A.P. Carter and his wife Sara Carter. Sara and Maybelle were also first cousins. In the 50s and 60s, Maybelle and her daughters toured as Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. One the daughters, June Carter Cash, was Carlene’s mother.

Today’s song originally appeared on Carlene’s 1981 “Blue Nun” album and featured, as it does in this live recording, the vocals and keys of Paul Carrack. “Oh How Happy” was hit for the Shades of Blue in 1966. The song was penned by Edwin Starr. Starr would have a #1 record in 1970 with “War.”

Paul Young (with Paul Carrack): Don't Dream It's Over

A while back, I did a weekly feature on Ronnie Lane and got excellent reviews of the week from a number of folk whose opinions I value greatly. From time to time, I will do this with different individuals that have had varied careers in the field of music. This week I’ll feature the music of Paul Carrack. Paul who? I know that will be the reaction of some, but as the week continues – you’ll realize that you have heard his music. All five of the selections this week will feature Paul in some manner, shape, or form.

As I feature cover songs on Monday, this week is no exception. A couple weeks ago, I utilized a Paul Young song for the cover; and today, I’m returning to his 1991 recording of Crowded House’s smash hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” While Young’s recording didn’t chart in the US, it was a top twenty hit in the UK. I know, what does Paul Young have to do with Paul Carrack? The answer, Carrack sings the second lead and backup as well as playing the organ part that Mitchell Froom made famous in the original. For that original recording, see my post from April 29, 2010.

Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It

Today’s Spiritual Sunday song comes at the hands (voice and even feet) of one of the few individuals who were known as “the Fifth Beatle”: Billy Preston. Preston originally recorded the single and album “That’s the Way God Planned it” in 1969 for Apple Records.

The album was produced by George Harrison and included a star-studded cast of session musicians that included Preston on keyboards and vocals; Harrison and Eric Clapton on guitars; Keith Richards on bass; Ginger Baker on Drums; and Doris Troy on backing vocals. Today’s cut comes from another star-studded cast that includes Harrison and Clapton, 1971’s “Concert for Bangladesh.”

By the way, Preston’s moniker as the “Fifth Beatle” was afforded him as the credits on the “Get Back” single reads “The Beatles with Billy Preston.” And all of these years you thought Murray the K was the “Fifth Beatle.”

Pete Townshend: Who Came First

A while back a friend from my youth emailed and asked me who was my favorite group – my reply was – that’s absolutely correct. As with much of my humor, he didn’t get it. The Who probably is my all time favorite band; however, there are many bands that have filled that role over the years. Today’s Saturday LP feature of The Who’s guitarist Pete Townshed’s first solo LP: “Who Came First.”

Pure and Easy - the opening cut from the album

While much of the album is dedicated to his religious pursuits and his mentor Meher Baba. At the time of the album’s release and my purchase of it at the Eastland Shopping Center’s Gimbels, I didn’t know much about Pete’s and his friend Ronnie Lane’s religious leanings. What I learned from the album confused me even more. I bought the LP because it was by Pete and the primary purpose was to listen to his music. Religiously, I am vastly different than Pete and don’t follow his belief system.

The Who had recorded and released 

"Let's See Action" in 1971 - this is Pete's version

This becomes difficult in writing about an album that so embraced his mentor, but I’ll try. Although Baba is referenced in the liner notes, one could listen to the album and only pick up on Pete’s beliefs on the final cut – “Parvadigar” – one of Meher Baba’s prayer. Be that as it may, there are other songs on the album that come from the extinguished Who project “Lifeboat.”

I loved the lyrical content of this tune - 

"I'm sitting in the Sheraton-Gibson playing my Gibson."

While the album is good, it’s not great – but still worth mentioning for the few songs that make a difference. I remember playing this album to death – perhaps that’s why I can only become excited about some of the songs, but not all of them. In 2010, the album lacks a unifying sound and that may be due to its various influences. If you are a Who fan, you already have this album. If not, most of the cuts are available on YouTube for you to peruse and make a judgment. To its benefit, the album is well produced - a quality you would expect from Pete Townshend.

The Move: Do Ya

Sometimes artists fail to have a hit with a record under one band will later bring that song out of hibernation to become the hit version. This occurred with Jeff Lynne composition that was a smash hit for ELO in 1977. The Move, which was the precursor to the Electric Light Orchestra, recorded “Do Ya” for a British maxi-single that shared the flip side of “California Man” along with “Ella James.” In the US, The Move was a virtually unknown act that had floundered with one album on A&M and two on Capitol.

In 1972, Capitol released the band from their American contract and United Artists picked up the option to sign the band as they had signed their alter ego, the Electric Light Orchestra. United Artists had an impressive ad campaign which I remember seeing in Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy for their final American release while the band was together as The Move. I believe this was the first time I had ever heard of the group.

The album was called “Split Ends” and featured cuts from their final Capitol LP “Message from the County” and the three cuts from the maxi single. To promote the album, UA issued “California Man” backed with “Do Ya.” American radio, having more wisdom than United Artists A & R department, flipped the single and it received a modicum of airplay, but only charted at #93.

The following cut is the remastered original full length studio version that was released on the 2005 version of “Message from the Country.” The original single and LP mixes were faded and eliminated the foolishness at the end of this cut. A good version of the original single and album versions was not available on YouTube. The song was originally titled, “Look Out Baby, There’s a Plane Coming”; however, the band wisely used the hook “Do Ya” instead. Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood both take turns singing the lead on this release.

The Electric Light Orchestra

While ELO was originally construed as a orchestral/rock side project by the Move, the band made the final transition to its new identity in 1972 following the release of the maxi-single in the UK and “Split Ends” in the US.

Jeff Lynne, who is often credited as being the leader of the band, moved up from a co-leadership role with Roy Wood after Wood left the band during the recording of the second album. A concert favorite, ELO pulled “Do Ya” out of the mothballs for their smash 1976 LP “A New World Record.”

Released as the second of the album’s US three singles, “Do Ya” had the least amount of chart action with it peaking at #24 in 1977. It was sandwiched between the better performing “Living Thing” at #13 and “Telephone Line” at #7. In the UK, “Do Ya” was not released as a single with “Rockaria!” being the second single from the album in their homeland.

Live Version ELO Version

Blondie: One Way Or Another

Usually I have my week planned in advance, but I saw the latest promo for the new TNT show “Rizzoli & Isles” last night and I decided to feature the song utilized in the ad. Debbie Harry and Blondie's “One Way or Another” - the second single from their third LP, “Parallel Lines.”

As the follow-up to the #1 smash “Heart of Glass,” “One Way or Another” was only released as a single in North America. Elsewhere, the song “Sunday Girl” from the same album was its second single. “One Way or Another” peaked at 24 during early 1979.

I remember it well as I had only just started working at Ashland, Kentucky’s WAMX two months previous when this record was released. Ah yes, fond memories of the beginning of my top-40 career.

“Rizolli & Isles,” starring Angie Harmon (ex “Law & Order) and Sasha Alexander (ex “NCIS”), premiers this coming Monday on TNT.