Robert Palmer's "Johnny & Mary": C or D?

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So, who was Johnny in the relationship, Matt?

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:48 (nineteen years ago) link

Is the album really that hard to find? Wow. I have it on vinyl, but I swear I see it in dollar bins fairly often. (In fact, I only bought my copy a couple years ago -- used to only own "Looking for Clues" on a 45, I think.) I had no idea the album was even rare....

xhuxk, Monday, 21 March 2005 21:49 (nineteen years ago) link

Well, this was 1984, so it wasn't all that common in cutout bins...but that's where she found it, alright!

Hey, Ken L and Alfred: ha ha to you both.

The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:55 (nineteen years ago) link

I never really paid much attention to the lyrics before, but now as I read it, it sounds like a story of sexual dysfunction. The continuing story from "Band of Gold," I'm thinking.

Anyway, I like "You Overwhelm Me" a whole lot better.

Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:57 (nineteen years ago) link

i have the 12"!

mullygrubbr (bulbs), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:58 (nineteen years ago) link

is it better than the 7" or worse?

:)

grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:58 (nineteen years ago) link

I remember this one as being quite good, yes. I always thought I should give some early Palmer records a listen sometime. Probably should get on this right away before it slips through the cracks completely.

Bimble... (Bimble...), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Sorry, Matt. I feel for you. Take out my lame attempt at teh funny and hopefully if you're charitable you'll find the underlying empathy.

Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 21 March 2005 22:06 (nineteen years ago) link

I wasn't bothered by it: "ha ha" was me laughing!

The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Monday, 21 March 2005 22:10 (nineteen years ago) link

And no one's mentioned how unbelievable the guitars sound; according to the "Addictions" credits, Palmer plays them!

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 21 March 2005 23:48 (nineteen years ago) link

classic.
his 'i dream of wires' is way better than numan's original too

frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 10:46 (nineteen years ago) link

YOU TAKE THAT BACK

moley, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 10:52 (nineteen years ago) link

How about the cover versions in multiple styles on the 'Papa?' 'Nicole?' Renault ads?

ledge (ledge), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 10:55 (nineteen years ago) link

i shall jolly well not take that back and stand by my initial statement

frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 12:12 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
It's worth noting that Palmer was spending a good amount of time recording with Gary Numan and Adrian Belew at the time, which had an obvious effect.

His version of Numan's "I Dream of Wires" has a similar detached feel.

Grey, Ian (IanBrooklyn), Thursday, 13 April 2006 05:13 (eighteen years ago) link

His best moment ever!

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 13 April 2006 10:28 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INPHeK05bDA

haha this video! makes it a sort of lost ghost b-side to 'addicted to love', which i suppose it is really.

r|t|c, Monday, 25 August 2008 04:49 (fifteen years ago) link

sounds like rod stewarts 'young turks' mixed with joe jackson's 'steppin out'. can't complain

jaxon, Monday, 25 August 2008 15:57 (fifteen years ago) link

speaking of Rod, his version of "Some Guys Have All The Luck," I've decided, is vastly inferior to Palmer's.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 25 August 2008 16:00 (fifteen years ago) link

Stone cold classic.

I borrowed this album from my father on a lark; he'd been trying to get me to listen to Power Station and I think I grabbed this instead. It blew me away, and I tracked down a copy online (which, unfortunately, has a lot of cold stops, so it's not great for mixes). My girlfriend fell in love with it, and on a trip to some library conference at Southern Illinois, ditched out on her boring crew and made it to some used record store where she found the album and bought it for a dollar. At the same time, I was buying it at Record Surplus here in LA for a dollar. It's by far my favorite track of his, and my favorite album of his (and I agree that the Numan cover is better than the original).

I eat cannibals, Monday, 25 August 2008 16:27 (fifteen years ago) link

I like the Palmer version, never heard another, only ever hear this on occasional radio really. But my favourite Palmer is still the untouchable 'She Makes My Day'.

the pinefox, Monday, 25 August 2008 16:39 (fifteen years ago) link

i've been on a Palmer kick lately. digging his cover of You Are In My System, but heard Woke Up Laughing at the end of Pineapple Express and man... i'd only ever heard it pitched up to 45 before (some weird beardo joke). it's so amazing at it's regular speed

jaxon, Monday, 25 August 2008 18:19 (fifteen years ago) link

Yeah, the "You Are In My System" cover surpasses the original, methinks.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 25 August 2008 18:38 (fifteen years ago) link

here's 'Woke Up Laughing' at 45 if you're curious
http://artdecade.blogspot.com/2008/06/robert-palmer-woke-up-laughing-at-45.html

jaxon, Monday, 25 August 2008 21:27 (fifteen years ago) link

Always loved Johnny and Mary. It's one of those songs where every instrument arrives quietly, in its own time, and slots into place perfectly. The little rock guitar riff that barely announces itself in the middle of the second verse, the shiny synth that comes in a few bars later, with that motorik-esque beat running underneath the whole time. Flawless.

ledge, Monday, 25 August 2008 21:35 (fifteen years ago) link

A friend made me a mix CD with the Tina Turner version. She gives it a little more urgency but not, perhaps, at the right moments.

Joseph McCombs, Monday, 25 August 2008 22:41 (fifteen years ago) link

I love this to bits, but my favourite Palmer track is the title track of Clues.

Daniel Giraffe, Tuesday, 26 August 2008 14:53 (fifteen years ago) link

five months pass...

he looks like ewan macgregor playing david bowie in that italian video.

(*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・)   °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 10 February 2009 21:24 (fifteen years ago) link

This is the soundtrack my current summer of complicated love, by the way.

The Loneliness of the Middle Order Batsman (King Boy Pato), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:16 (fifteen years ago) link

Anyone who hates this song, should be shot (with lots of super furry bunnies).

Nathalie (stevienixed), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:27 (fifteen years ago) link

eight months pass...

agreed

amateurist, Thursday, 15 October 2009 08:26 (fourteen years ago) link

six months pass...

Anyone who hates this song, should be shot (with lots of super furry bunnies).

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:27 (1 year ago) Bookmark

^this.

CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC, even after we in the UK had to suffer crappy french cafe style accordian versions soundtracking a bunch of Renault ads on TV during the early 90s

De que estas hablando? (Tannenbaum Schmidt), Tuesday, 4 May 2010 15:22 (fourteen years ago) link

Let's just shoot Placebo instead, for their cover versions in general.

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 15:37 (fourteen years ago) link

one year passes...

i swear i had this song somewhere lingering in the back of my head for about 20 years straight and had no idea it was Robert Palmer! was at a friend's place a few weeks back and it popped up on one of his mixes, giving me an immediate jolt of nostalgia unlike any i have experienced in a long time. have since dug out the album "Clues" and it's a fantastic listen.

charlie h, Friday, 24 February 2012 02:24 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

Noted elsewhere but for reference:

It's album time for Norwegian DJ/disco producer Todd Terje. He'll release his new long-player, titled, yes, It's Album Time, on April 8 via his own Olsen Records. It features some amazing artwork from illustrator Bendik Kaltenborn, and it's got a guest spot from Bryan Ferry, covering Robert Palmer's "Johnny and Mary".

Ned Raggett, Monday, 27 January 2014 15:24 (ten years ago) link

four years pass...

this has been in my head all day. didn't think much of the terje/ferry version

brand new universal harvester (dog latin), Monday, 23 April 2018 23:00 (six years ago) link

two years pass...

duet cover with the gal who covered it in French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGIQB8Wf0rE

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 15:30 (three years ago) link

oohlala... fr.wiki.org suggests they were dating around this time as well.

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 15:33 (three years ago) link

They must have been on a promo junket:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXkgOAD0z2s

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 15:44 (three years ago) link

very nice finds!

Joey Corona (Euler), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 15:49 (three years ago) link

His first greatest hits praises Leonor for being the first singer who got one of his songs right.

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 16:44 (three years ago) link

He looks so young then!

Dan Worsley, Tuesday, 25 August 2020 16:54 (three years ago) link

oohlala... fr.wiki.org suggests they were dating around this time as well.

Feel like early '80s Robert Palmer probably had a lot of dates.

and he was never young, just "less old."

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 17:36 (three years ago) link

one year passes...

Johnny says he’s willing to learn
Then he decides
He’s a fool

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 26 May 2022 22:46 (one year ago) link

Clueswas the soundtrack for a road trip across half of the U.S. I took with in the late 80s one of my best friends. This song is the highlight for me. Absolute classic.

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 26 May 2022 22:52 (one year ago) link

Clueswas the soundtrack for a road trip across half of the U.S. I took in the late 80s with one of my best friends. This song is the highlight for me. Absolute classic.

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 26 May 2022 22:52 (one year ago) link

So classic I posted twice!

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 26 May 2022 22:53 (one year ago) link

Classic

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 26 May 2022 23:03 (one year ago) link

Just heard this song in the wild the other week, I think on a restaurant patio, I was very pleased.

Maybe in fact the best song

a legible shriek (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 27 May 2022 02:58 (one year ago) link

Johnny says he’s willing to learn
Then he decides
He’s a fool

is this a gag or... (it's when not then)

buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Friday, 27 May 2022 07:53 (one year ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgBGDv

buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Friday, 27 May 2022 09:46 (one year ago) link

hmmm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W35Kjuspn4

buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Friday, 27 May 2022 09:47 (one year ago) link

is this that rarest thing: agreement across all ilxor?

mark s, Friday, 27 May 2022 10:27 (one year ago) link

“Ça plane pour moi” maybe?

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:37 (one year ago) link

_Johnny says he’s willing to learn
Then he decides
He’s a fool_

is this a gag or... (it's when not then)

I heard it as “then,” looked it up and saw “when.” Listened again a few more times, still leaned towards “then.” Probably it really is “when,” that makes more mundane logical sense. But to me “then” would make for a better lyric, packs more emotional punch, is almost a Dylanism.

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:41 (one year ago) link

Johnny says he'll live anywhere
Then he earns time to

Yay for Johnny and his exciting new life, wonder where he's gonna move to!

buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:46 (one year ago) link

Okay that one is obviously “when.”

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:49 (one year ago) link

On Spotify the lyrics thinking has moronic quotes around the second part of both those phrases, as if Johnny is referring to himself in the third person.

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:54 (one year ago) link

I’m not going to go to the matte on this, you and Spotify are no doubt right. And thanks for the tv spot.

20 Preflyte Rock (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 27 May 2022 10:56 (one year ago) link


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