Rhinofy-The Samples
So my friend Cathy says she’s going to go to work for Rob Gordon at W.A.R.?
Huh?
You mean the guy who used to work in A&R at EMI, who started his own label? Those never went anywhere, not twenty years ago.
But then she unfolded the story of the Samples, how they left Arista and put their next record out on W.A.R.? and she was doing radio promotion.
Cathy used to work at Atlantic. The big time. But now she was working for this pisher label and was getting adds on this act I’d never even heard of before.
Then she sent me the album, "No Room". It was good, it was professional, I really liked it.
Start with:
1. "When It’s Raining"
It sounds like Colorado crossed with the Police. How did an indie band do something so professional? I could break down every element, but just listen, you’ll be hooked, by the changes, the vocal, the texture. This has been labeled "white music", but last time I looked there were plenty of Caucasians in America. If you went to Hampshire College and didn’t get into Phish, you might just be into this. If you ever go to Colorado, fire this up when you put the top down, draw the sunroof open, it’s the perfect soundtrack, it’ll put a smile on your face.
It’s the little things that enrapture you, like the keyboard texture at 2:16.
2. "Summertime"
No, it’s not the classic song, but it’s classic in its own right. Very dreamy, great on a hot sticky night after you’ve pulled on the pipe, had a few gin and tonics.
A great band is not limited to only one sound, they’ve got a whole repertoire. "Summertime" sounds little like "When It’s Raining", but you certainly know it’s the same act.
3. "Did You Ever Look So Nice"
Sure, it’s white reggae. Pioneered by the Police and put out of business by the Outfield, but there was nothing wrong with that sound. This is minor, yet infectious.
4. "Nothing Lasts For Long"
Epic. The anti-Top Forty track. If you’re into album music, this is for you. Stuff made to sound right as opposed to what fits on the radio.
5. "Giants"
Hang in there until :53, when the acoustic guitar starts picking. This is so intimate, it feels like you’ve been awoken by someone singing right outside your window. Somehow music is now seen as for everybody, something to bump butts to in the club, but the best stuff is positively PERSONAL!
And if you liked the foregoing, be sure to play all of "No Room", it’s up there on Spotify for your perusal, but I want to pull out some other Samples gems, there are so many.
Now if "No Room" had been on a major, everybody would know the Samples, it’s just that good, there’s not a loser cut on it. And it’s beholden to no corporation, it contains an indie spirit. And "No Room" is the best, but the follow-up, "The Last Drag", although a bit of a disappointment at first…I’ve come to love it too.
6. "Carry On"
No, not the CSN&Y song, but it’s as intimate as anything Stephen Stills has ever sung. You want to go see the band live just so you can telepathically connect with the singer.
7. "The Streets In The Rain"
I’m looking for people
That I used to know
And I’m looking for places
We used to go
That’s how it was in the pre-Facebook era. You always wondered…WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? You remembered the good times, you wanted to reconnect. And the fact you rarely could allowed you to feel warm all over, especially when you heard music like this.
8. "Little Silver Ring"
It’s got a circular feeling, you start rotating your head in time, from the very beginning. How could someone this talented not be known by everybody?
9. "The Last Drag"
The title track. Listen to the dog bark, it sounds like it was cut on a porch in the middle of summer, you can see the moths flying around in the lamplight.
"Transmissions From The Sea Of Tranquility"
This mostly live album is now my favorite Samples work.
10. "Watching The Wheels"
Just as good, if not better, than the John Lennon original.
11. "Indiana"
Now after slogging it out on an indie, the Samples went back to a major, MCA, and messed up their moment, "Outpost" was not as good as the W.A.R.? albums.
The original "Indiana" is on this album, it’s ok. But listen to this live take from "Transmissions From The Sea Of Tranquility"…WHEW! It’s like you’re driving in a car cross-country and a buddy is singing his story, but you can’t be buddies with this guy, he’s just too TALENTED!
12. "Flying"
This is like listening to your favorite seventies album, and like so many classics, it never goes out of date. So heartfelt!
13. "Little Silver Ring"
The instruments TWINKLE! Like there’s pixie dust in the air!
This takes you away from the workaday world to the private space that only music inhabits…you’re thrilled to be able to go there!
14. "The Last Drag"
And this is why I’m writing this whole piece, I can never forget hearing this and continuing to play it. Life is so complicated, so often you feel alone. But this take on this song fills up the whole listening space, you feel okay, that you can make it through.
And you can’t find "Wild River (Colorado)" on Spotify. I think Sean controls that one, not W.A.R.? But it’s fascinating when someone can still hit the peak long after their moment is gone.
The Samples lived the life. They owned their own bus, twenty years ago, when that was unheard of. They lived the life of rock stars, going on the road, getting high, getting laid. But businessmen they were not.
The original band split up. But Sean carried on with new players. Didn’t seem to matter, he could still hit the high notes, literally and figuratively.
But then he burned out a few business partners. And ultimately it all came screeching to a halt. He left Colorado and wound up broke back in Vermont, where he started. He sold his equipment, he gave guitar lessons. You’ve got to get by.
And I haven’t heard from him in eons. It’s got to be so frustrating to put so much effort in and at the end all you’ve got is the good times.
But that’s not true. You’ve got the music too!
