The Beatles: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
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The Moody Blues: The Afternoon: a) Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) b) (Evening) Time To Get Away
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The Zombies: Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)
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Being the incurable anglophile that I am, I just had to squeeze in some old favorites of mine, by three bands all groundbreaking and trendsetting in their own way.
The Zombies: Conversation Off Floral Street
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I considered posting this one during Instrumentals Week but I never got around to it, so here it is now instead. Accompanied by a bit of text copied and pasted from Wikipedia:
Floral Street is a street located in the Covent Garden area of London. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street and contains a number of fashion stores, including Paul Smith.
Originally called Hart Street, it changed to the current name in 1895 to reflect the market trade. However the street itself was mainly used by tradesmen associated with the fruit market. Originally the street was a cul-de-sac and at its peak during the 18th century there were no fewer than eleven pubs on the road and many illegal brothels.
Floral Street was also the Old Compton Street of its time with a lage gay community, a pillory stood in the street which was mainly occupied by carousing homosexuals. Due to its narrowness, the street has never been a sought after residential address in comparison to its surroundings, though Joseph Haines lived and died here in 1701.
The Zombies: Care of Cell 44
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The title of this song stretches the theme just a little bit. But the lyrics are the contents of a letter a guy is writing to his significant other, who is locked up in jail. Although the gender of the jailbird is never mentioned, one assumes it's a woman, which makes this a fairly unique pop song, even for 1968. As a single, it bombed.
"Care of Cell 44" is the opening track on the Zombies' magnum opus, Odessey and Oracle. The band's two hits, "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" were several years old when the they recorded the album in 1967, and it was their final stab at making it big. Unfortunately, the album was pretty much ignored when it was released in the UK, and the band quickly broke up.
Then Al Kooper heard the album and convinced his label, Columbia, to release it stateside. "Time of the Season" was pulled from it as a single and became a huge hit in 1969.
The band (or 3/5 of it) cashed in on its surprise success by recording a follow-up album. In 1991.
Over the years, the rest of Odessey and Oracle has garnered a cult following, and now it's considered a masterpiece. With its sophisticated arrangements, beautiful melodies, and Beach Boys-like harmonies, I wholeheartedly agree.
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs: Care of Cell #44
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A few years ago, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs recorded an album of covers of some of their favorite songs from the '60s. Their version adds a number sign to the title and changes the gender of the narrator, with Susanna taking the lead.
