In Which Doctor Casino Listens to Classic Rock Classics for the First Time

"one bourbon, one scotch, one beer" is actually a medley of two songs, john lee hooker's 1951 "house rent boogie" and amos milburn's 1953 "one scotch, one bourbon, one beer" (which hooker later rewrote as "one bourbon, one scotch, one beer"; that's the version thorogood was apparently most familiar with).

― fact checking cuz, Friday, July 4, 2014 2:16 AM (12 hours ago)]

No discussion of George T should be without a link to this thread: GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DELAWARE DESTROYERS CERTIFIED HOOD CLASSICS. Watch for Tracer Hand's appearance.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer: Oh god, well right off the bat, I just don't know how much more blueshammer boogie I can take. This one is giving me seeeeerious deja vu, but that doesn't really mean much - I feel like there are 80,000 songs that sound exactly like this one, and I hate most of them. This is better-recorded than the Animals but the blues cosplay feels just as forced and pointless to me: does George Thorogood actually talk like this? Why the put-on? Also his character is just lame, he sounds whiny, I'm tiiired! - ahh, shut up. Just not at all invested in his quest to make rent money. Not sure how eight minutes of this is going to play out - this better be leading into one interesting drunken adventure.

Actually, this would be totally fine without the vocals - another steady toe-tapper, love the dust that gets kicked up around 2:50 - at least the band convey the sense that this story is inching towards something. Reminds me of "Institutionalized," a much better song: "All I wanted was a bourbon, just one scotch, and one beer - and she wouldn't give it to me!"

Annnnnd we've arrived at the bar, and the title. Still not much fun being had, he just kinda marches in there and drinks these three things all at once? In order? Seems kinda robotic. Is anybody else even in this bar? "Well, maybe something happens to you on the way to work?" "NO! Nothing happens!" I do like the particular delivery of the title at 4:00, locking in with the band, gets closer to some kind of intensity, and to the extent that this guy's scary he's at least interesting. Would much rather have a beer with the Breeze though, or even the guy who's bad to the bone, since he at least seems to be laughing at himself. Wait, did he just say he can't drink any more because he'll get gas?! Oh man, if this was more of a "Too Pooped To Pop" or "Can't Do Sixty No More" kinda song, we'd be onto something.

Is it just me or did half the band leave when the solo started? Again has this kinda demo-ish quality. Was this just a three-piece band the whole time and the rhythm guy is having to try and fill all the space with these random little flourishes? Trying a bit of this, a bit of that - I like it when it's a little chuggier (6:45), picking up speed, picking up energy, okay... and now the story starts again, dammit. ....and, after a couple more minutes, it's over.

Big thumbs down for me. Just not my kinda thing at all, and way too long to have so few ideas. Really makes me miss your Brill Building types, people actually working on lyrics for a while and actively fighting to keep something short and sweet. I get the idea of having space to spread out into a bar-room anthem or whatever but there's just nothing to pay off the length, no memorable episodes in the story, no climax, nothing. Actually makes all of the title drinks seem less appealing.

Lol @ "blues cosplay"

He's not Hooker or Milburn, but that don't confront me.

Blues cosplay

http://youtu.be/N9TvsURM75U

i had forgotten how long this song was. but that might be because back when i used to hear it more on the radio, i rarely made it to the end because, yeah, there's absolutely no payoff. it's almost an anti-payoff, really, 'cause i like the "rent" part of the song more than the "bourbon" part.

the amos milburn original is a great urbane jump blues number that doesn't have much in common with the thorogood version. in george's hands, it sounds like a title dreamed up by the delaware destroyers' SEO department, tailor-made for classic rock clicks. "you won't believe which THREE DRINKS this impoverished rock musician ordered in one trip to the bar."

So it's like The Beatles cover of Little RIchard's version of "Kansas City," which was a medley of the original Wilbert Harrison song with Richard's own "Hey Hey Hey Hey."

different, though, in that the beatles called it "kansas city/hey hey hey hey" and credited all the writers. thorogood left out the title of one song and the writer of the other.

Just listened to the Milburn - now that's got something to it. Slow night at the bar, smoke drifting through the room, a guy unloading his troubles to his bartender in a way I can relate to: little small-talk bursts in and around his drink orders. And, crucially, the over-ordering of three drinks at once is a quietly undersold punchline of sorts. I only want one little thing: too much to drink.

The Thorogood approach could work if they'd sat down and worked on it a little bit - I think it would require the larger narrative to be really over the top and comical - the mob is after him, disco dancers set his roof on fire, he just won a vacation to Love Canal, that kind of thing, so his only refuge is this oddly silent, empty bar: gimme three drinks, and fast!

IRL LOL at "blues cosplay" and "delaware destroyers' SEO department"

"blues cosplay" is so golden

classic

dr c your review almost made this track's existence worth it

otm

"All I wanted was a bourbon, just one scotch, and one beer - and she wouldn't give it to me!"

!

The Thorogood approach could work if they'd sat down and worked on it a little bit - I think it would require the larger narrative to be really over the top and comical - the mob is after him, disco dancers set his roof on fire, he just won a vacation to Love Canal, that kind of thing, so his only refuge is this oddly silent, empty bar: gimme three drinks, and fast!

^^^^^

awww, thanks y'all, you'll stop me though if it becomes some terrible indulgent bloggy thing though, right?

just for the record, for the duration of some dude's poll it would be pretty cool to hit me with some, y'know, good songs - not that my ballot needs any more material! I am going to try my best to keep "Flirtin' With Disaster" in there even if it's at #100, just on principle.

just for the record, for the duration of some dude's poll it would be pretty cool to hit me with some, y'know, good songs

noted!

Damn, there goes the Eagles...

my review, in advance:

http://dudespaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/dudehatestheeagles.jpg

(exceptions: "Life in the Fast Lane," which may make my ballot, and "Already Gone," which at this point probably will not)

Okay, I thought there was more than "Heartache Tonight" on the thread list. You probably have heard it before, but didn't cop it as the Eagles. It's a good 'in, Walsh goes to town on slide.

in the hope of un-ruining an independence day that has been ruined by eight minutes of blues cosplay, let's listen to four minutes of electric-piano-fueled pop-rock that has been the subject of more than a little lobbying on some dude's poll. this is the lone hit from jefferson starship's freedom at point zero, the first album made by a band called jefferson anything without either grace slick or marty balin, and it will be on my ballot.

SONG #11: JEFFERSON STARSHIP "JANE"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXmrMMYpQL4

FUCK YES

Somewhere on YouTube there's a live on TV take of "Jane" from when Grace reupped that's all kinds of silly fun.

if you vote for this you also have to vote for "fantasy" right?

i listened to some other songs from that album to see if they rocked as hard as "Jane" & was very disappointed

possibly ruined by how much it reminded me of the band "fun." though fun. are obv way more awful.

if you vote for this you also have to vote for "fantasy" right?

it's hard to argue with that. this fantastic spotify playlist called URGENT (not by me) consists entirely of songs you should probably vote for if you're voting for "jane."

"Jane" fucking rules.

ok that's going on my ballot.

It's my Platonic ideal for Classic Rock Cheese.

whoa, I had no idea that "Jane" was a Jefferson Starship song.

i had to go to the store this afternoon - blasted "Jane" both ways. AWESOME

xposts to Grisso Mccain upthread:

is this the live tv version? grace is tweaaaaked it's so hilar

http://youtu.be/zPRN89El7DQ

Sad that Find Your Way Back isn't getting as much love, but if I'm being honest with myself Jane will go top 10 on my ballot and FYWB probably won't.

can't access that URGENT playlist for whatever reason :(

XP To Veg

YES! I hadn't seen it w/the introductions by Father Guido Sarducci, but that's it. Had thought it was from some European TV show, but no, it was "Fridays".

While verifying that clip, I found this one: http://youtu.be/0PwG69620WA JS (w/Grace) in full Arena Rock Pomp. "From drug songs to love songs" Kantner says.

i listened to some other songs from that album to see if they rocked as hard as "Jane" & was very disappointed

True, but at least it has "Rock Music," sampled by both Public Enemy and De La Soul.

Jane: Well, this is a nice change of pace after all the bloozey breezes. The EIGHTIES loom, with clean, spacious production values and super-wailing vocals of the post-Boston, post-Heart school. The urgent ding-ding-ding-ding piano is very "Hold the Line" but the first thing in this that actually gets my attention is the "cat and a mouse" backing vocals, similar to the later "Jane, Jane, Jay-ane!" Also enjoying the little organ flair in the new section around 1:45 - just for a moment it's 1969 and this is a rock band as they were once understood.

I'm finding this whole procession oddly mechanical though - maybe it's the plodding forward momentum of the drum-and-piano combo, since there are a lot of different sections and some nice surprises (like: the doodle-oo-DOW, doodle-oo-DOW guitar punch combo at 2:22). But really it feels like me trying to write songs in ACID - paint in this same beat loop for the whole length of the song and try to paste variety on top of it. There's maybe also something slightly exhausting about the emotional intensity always being turned up so high... this vocalist doesn't really sell any kind of highs and lows in this story, it's always JAAANE!!!!! JAAAANE!! no matter what he's actually saying - with the noted exception of the 'retro' bridge as I saw it above.

Overall, okay. I can see if I'd heard this a bunch of times I would have more of a relationship with it and it could be some kind of fist-pumping intensity anthem but I've already got my share of those.

I have to say, I know "Jane" exclusively from Wet Hot American Summer and have never heard it on the radio.

i listened to some other songs from that album to see if they rocked as hard as "Jane" & was very disappointed

Ha, I don't mind Freedom at Point Zero. (It's no Red Octopus, of course, but what is?)

Jane has that great 70s vibe, where it still has all the ambitious arrangements and extended structures of primo psychedelia but all the edges and every surface has been buffed for maximum rollerrink enjoyment. This will prob get placed on my ballot right alongside Never Been Any Reason and Magic Man and Fox on the Run (I know...). There's a whole subgenre of European post-Kyuss stoner bands that cop this stuff on the reg.

There's a whole subgenre of European post-Kyuss stoner bands that cop this stuff on the reg.

― noir-ish need apply (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, July 5, 2014

wait what? talk to me here... does this need a thread?

I might be overstating a little bit but I wd follow Fastnbulbous' s blog and maybe the Obelisk. Colour Haze is prob the big one. I think some of the Sungrazer stuff mined this vibe too

The urgent ding-ding-ding-ding piano is very "Hold the Line"

it's also, as noted above, very aldo nova "fantasy." and it reminds me in a way of billy joel's "all for leyna." if you were a pianist in the late '70s or early '80s, you apparently were required to do this at least once.

and i'm a sucker for all of those songs. i see your points, dr. c, on the mechanical nature of "jane," and on mickey thomas' pedal-always-to-the-metal vocal approach (you're not the first to accuse him of this). but the electric charge from the piano and the rhythm guitar made me hair stand on end the first time i heard it, and it still does all these years later.

thankin u DAM. colour haze is pushing my buttons good.

here's a longtime ILM fave from a british invasion band, improbably recorded a few years after what should have been their expiration date. it was the who's last charting single in the u.s., and it wasn't much of a charter at that (#68). it doesn't sound much like any other who single. but it's been a staple of their live sets ever since, and classic rock radio has latched onto it, with good reason, as the go-to 1980s who track.

SONG #12: THE WHO "EMINENCE FRONT"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yuOw5k5_OMY

hmm. can't see the video. trying again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yuOw5k5_OM

why the hell did I cut that from my ballot? was probably in my top 130 or so.

I dig it, but I am kinda mildly uncomfortable with it, prob just because I like the sound of the orig band with Ox & Moonie and this just sounds so far from them somehow? idk. I do like the groove though!

Sounds more like 80's eric clapton than the Who though, to my ears.