They met on Craigslist.

Simon Ward was already in his twenties and felt it was now or never, either he was a songwriter or he was not, you either start or you’re left behind, so far all he had was the name, which he’d posted on MySpace, that’s how far back the story goes.

And of the fifteen people who answered the ad three stuck. None of them professional musicians, all looking for a lark. Dave had been kicked out of his previous band. Isabel, the lone American, was attending college but ultimately heeded the call. And then, after fits and starts, the firing of a lame drummer, they ended up with this configuration of six nearly a decade ago, that’s right, it’s always a long term overnight success, you’re laboring in obscurity and then suddenly everybody knows your name and you’re flying all over the world and your dreams have come true and you can’t really believe it and you’re pinching yourself.

The band pestered publicist Joanne Setterington to take up their cause, she resisted, she’d never managed a band before, but ultimately she couldn’t resist.

And the second album was nominated for a Juno, that’s when they knew they were on the right track. But after recording the third LP Joanne contacted Daniel Glass who flew to T.O. and got it right away, he signed them. And no one works harder on his acts than Daniel Glass, after all, it’s HIS COMPANY!

And I know the single “Spirits,” who doesn’t? It’s got 50 million plays on Spotify, and 18 million views of the Vevo video and the song is on the radio but…

I wasn’t closed until today, when I saw them live.

First and foremost, they had no attitude, they introduced themselves in an earnest matter, and were forthcoming with their story. They’d come from Lindsay, a farm town, an hour and a half from Toronto, none had airs, they were your next door neighbors, the kids you played board games with in the basement during long winters.

But when they began to play and sing…

I was there for the soundcheck. And they were performing “We Don’t Know” which I suddenly did, that’s how you know something’s a winner, when you get it on the first listen, and I’d never listened to it before.

And when the show ultimately began…

I was stunned. Not only were they playing their own instruments and creating a cohesive sound, they all SANG! In this era of autotune we expect that everybody’s faking it, but when presented with authenticity, it resonates.

This show was fully acoustic. And therefore it reverberated in a way the recordings cannot. It was a quiet performance for a small audience, only a handful of songs, but I found my body swaying, I was grooving to the sounds, I could have listened all afternoon.

And sitting there, looking at the assembled multitude, I realized I was a good twenty years older than everybody in attendance. The music business has turned over, it’s a young person’s game now. Sure, the antiques are touring with their hits, but new music is owned by the youth, they know history but they want to make their own mark.

I wish you were there. They played “Spirits” and it was so intimate. But the winner was “We Don’t Know,” the one I’d seen them rehearse. Here’s a reasonable iteration:

The Strumbellas – We Don’t Know (Live) – YouTube

But the version I saw was even quieter, even more human, I was touched.

Credit the band for persevering.

Credit the manager for guiding them.

Credit the Canadian government for supporting them, how else can you keep a six person band on the road while they’re building their audience.

And credit Daniel Glass for finding excellence and bringing it to the world. Now, more than ever, you need a champion. Being good is not good enough. Being great is not good enough. You need a consigliere, who can navigate the waters, who can put you in front of the right people, who can leverage relationships so you get your best chance.

The Strumbellas have made it.

Let them be a beacon for you.

Revolver-Remastered – Spotify

I WANT TO TELL YOU

My favorite song on the album, didn’t used to be, but then…

My mother made me join the temple youth group, it was non-negotiable. And they sponsored an overnight to West Hartford where we’d hear Bo Diddley.

I’d skipped a grade, I looked young to begin with, I arrived at the house I was staying at and my host was visibly crestfallen, who was this shrimp? He wanted nothing to do with me and didn’t. And that left me flying solo at the gig, I knew no one, was younger than everyone and had no guide.

Bo Diddley played with his box guitar. But his music was just a bit too old for anybody to care. But the other band, a cover act, won the crowd, and the highlight was their cover of “I Want To Tell You.”

A minor cut I’d nearly ignored on the LP, I couldn’t wait to get home to play it over and over again.

The music saved me.

It still saves me today.

It’s all about the riff. I’d argue “I Want To Tell You” was the start of riff rock, then again, “You Really Got Me” and “Satisfaction” had come before. But the riff in “I Want To Tell You” was more lyrical and equally infectious. Riffs ruled for ten years thereafter, until disco came along and ultimately it became about beats. But the power of one guitar, plugged in and turned loud…you rule!

TAXMAN

Going from one George song to another…

George didn’t really get his due until “Something” on “Abbey Road.” Then “All Things Must Pass” was seen as the definitive solo package…and now he’s dead and his post-Beatles work has been forgotten, except, ironically, for the Traveling Wilburys.

The intro made it sound like the track was cut underwater. It was instantly accessible, but I was too young to pay taxes and couldn’t believe George was bitching about overpaying, everybody I knew was a liberal, taxes were good. But not in the U.K., not to George.

ELEANOR RIGBY

Ah, look at all the lonely people

It was as if Kanye cut “Respect” or “Sexual Healing.” “Eleanor Rigby” sounded nothing like what came before, from the Beatles or anybody else on the radio, and this was when Top Forty ruled, underground FM had not yet been hatched.

This was not only a revelation on the radio, you could sing along to it. What a concept.

YELLOW SUBMARINE

In the town where I was born lived a man who sailed to sea

I was at Boy Scout camp, on the Massachusetts/Connecticut border. In fact, when we went sailing, we crossed states. I spent four weeks there earning fifteen merit badges on my way to Eagle, something for my resume which didn’t pay any other dividends, today I see the Boy Scouts as a paramilitary organization, but back then…our troop met at the Rodeph Sholom, it was anything but edgy.

But Boy Scout camp could be.

I was in the provisional unit. That meant you came without your own troop. And we were completely unsupervised and some things happened there that scarred me forever. But “Yellow Submarine” was our anthem, we’d sing it as we marched from one location to another.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

It was so warm and beautiful, sung by Paul McCartney. You just wanted to climb inside the record player, the tubes and the music would keep you warm.

For some reason I align this with “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” even though “Here, There And Everywhere” is a Paul song and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” a John song, but…the Beatles broke through on poppiness, yet they cemented their place in the canon via meaning. They touched our hearts, made us feel human.

I’M ONLY SLEEPING

Speaking of John…

When I wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, I’m still yawning
When I’m in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream

UP STREAM! Get that? Because in “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which closes the album, he’s going DOWN stream.

Everybody seems to think I’m lazy
I don’t mind, I think they’re crazy

And there’s the sixties ethos right there. Everybody today is so busy getting somewhere they have no time to contemplate life, there’s no meaning, just a pursuit of cash. But in the sixties, human development was everything. And being self-realized was more important than being rich. And John was emphasizing he was DIFFERENT! We were all so different, our parents were not our best friends, the corporations were the enemy, and despite getting lip-service hatred today, everybody wants to tie up with the company to dig into its deep pockets.

LOVE YOU TO

The precursor of “Within You Without You” on the follow-up record, 1967’s “Sgt. Pepper.” It was George Harrison who popularized the sitar, who brought eastern music to the west.

And in retrospect, it was Harrison who was the most alienated. Sure, Lennon protested, yet he wanted acceptance, but living in the shadow of Lennon and McCartney George seemed to think he was never entitled to, would never get the spotlight, so he expressed all the angst… George was the art kid in the basement, the older brother the parents pooh-poohed, but the one you really wanted to hang with, he marched to the beat of his own drummer, it was he you looked to for insight, he was the one you wanted to follow.

SHE SAID SHE SAID

She said
I know what it’s like to be dead

We may not have understood the tax references, but we all caught this lyric. The oldsters freaked out, suicide was not a subject to be discussed, everybody was the best and the brightest with a yellow brick road in front of them to prosperity. But then there were drugs and alternative lifestyles and…

When I was a boy, everything was right

Not exactly, but much more right than today.

I’ve got my freedom, I’m in charge of my own actions, but with all the options I don’t know where I want to go. I’m searching for meaning in a meaningless society. I want someone to follow but everybody’s sold out. And the younger generation feels the same way as I do, which is why Bernie Sanders got so much traction. Denigrate his policies all you want, but he never lied, he never sold out to the man, despite the commercialization of our society, the arts, it’s these true believers we want to believe in.

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE

Talk about a side opener…

That’s right, cut one side one had to immediately grab you, just ask the Stones. Cut one side two was the same, but it could have a twist, could be just a little bit different.

The magic is in the piano break, and the way the vocals kind of fall off a cliff at the end of the chorus. Never mind starting with the chorus, the Beatles were always breaking convention.

And “Good Day Sunshine” is only two minutes and eight seconds long. The fourteen track English version of “Revolver” is only thirty four minutes and forty three seconds long. Half a CD was good enough for the Beatles, why do today’s acts need to stretch out so much more? The medium definitely affected the art.

AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING

I’ll be round, I’ll be round

That’s the part we sang along to.

FOR NO ONE

We learned about life from records. They were not four minute boasts made to browbeat the listener into submission, they were not ditties made solely for bumping asses in the club, there was wisdom contained in the tracks. Why these young artists had so much wisdom, I don’t know. Maybe it was all the dues paid, in Hamburg, living life off the radar, collecting experiences instead of credits.

At this point I’d had two summer camp girlfriends. I knew about crushes, I knew about the pitter-patter in one’s heart that signified love. But I didn’t know about commitment and loss.

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You’re cruising along and then it’s over, when you didn’t realize the end was coming.

She says that long ago she knew someone but now he’s gone
She doesn’t need him

Whew! She’s moved on, he didn’t see it coming.

The clavichord adds meaning.

As for the French horn… Unexpected, like the harp in the Beach Boys’ “Catch A Wave.” Limits were tested, constructed upon the building blocks of musical history.

DOCTOR ROBERT

Almost unheard back in ’66. It wasn’t on the Capitol release in the States. Whenever you went to someone’s house with the English album you spun it. It was a Dead Sea Scroll, so different from today when everything’s at our fingertips.

We knew it was about a doctor prescribing/injecting illicit stuff, we weren’t that out of it.

GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE

My warm feelings about this song were eviscerated when Capitol released it as a single ten years after the fact. Come on, the Beatles had been apart longer than they were together, at least in major recording terms. It was a complete dash for cash.

But when this was just an album track… It was a winner, because of George’s guitar, not so different from his playing as L’Angelo Misterioso on Cream’s “Badge,” and Paul’s over the top Little Richard vocalizations.

They could write, sing and play…and looked good to boot!

And you wonder why you can’t make it.

TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS

The piece de resistance.

Only three minutes long, but it plays like six, more like the Doors’ “The End” than “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

This is when the band took a left turn, not only used the studio as an instrument, but jetted into the stratosphere intellectually, they’d left the audience behind, they were on their own journey, there was no pandering involved, you were either on the bus or off.

And we were on.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream

Imagine you told your parents you were gonna drop out of college and hitchhike to San Francisco with twenty dollars in your pocket.

Unimaginable today.

Today you’d get in the car your parents bought you with a credit card they provided to strike it rich in the Bay Area, calling mommy and daddy every day for support.

But the apron strings were loose in the sixties.

And the Beatles helped cut them.

Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void

We’re not talking about laziness, we’re talking about embracing life, being about feeling first and foremost.

Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

What is life about? Look inside. You won’t find many answers, just an adventure.

Love is all and love is everyone

Don’t think about romantic love. This is about a cultural coming together. Being good, communicating with like-minded people, in this case everybody under thirty who was questioning society’s precepts. It was like today, but it was about expansion as opposed to contraction. Today people bitch about being left out, especially economically. Yesterday you bitched about the reins holding you back from being the real you, you rebelled against the shackles controlling your mind.

The sound of “Tomorrow Never Knows”… It was a veritable Coney Island of the mind. With everything including the kitchen sink thrown in, all held down by Ringo Starr’s rock solid drums.

We had few albums. Those we possessed were spun incessantly. I know every lick of “Revolver.” Whose reputation has gained in recent years, but back then was just seen as another step on the pathway to the breakthrough, “Sgt. Pepper,” which is belittled today.

“Revolver” was more aggressive, more in-your-face than its predecessor, “Rubber Soul.” It reflected the turbulent times. War and injustice run amok.

But what kept us together was our music.

We were addicted to the radio.

Some people bought singles.

Even fewer bought albums.

But it was “Revolver” even more than “Rubber Soul” that got the populace to purchase LPs. And when they heard “Tomorrow Never Knows” they were ready to pack their old kit bag, they were done with what they knew before, they wanted to run away and join the circus. Not the Grateful Dead, a sideshow far from the mainstream, but the biggest and baddest band in the land, which was completely uncompromised, which seemed to have unshackled itself from the system. And either you could be left behind or…

Get on board.

Tomorrow never knows.

Did you see Blake Krikorian died? He helped Jason Hirschhorn through his heart surgery and then died when his own heart failed.

John Lennon was coming back to the game after a half decade hejira and he was cut down at forty, an age in the distant rearview mirror of baby boomers.

Ringo’s still here. You can see him around town. He’s almost normal. But he’s seventy six.

Paul’s gone on a well-deserved victory lap. He went from inaccessible to available. He’s the world’s leading rock star, never forget it. And one day he and Ringo will be gone too and all we’ll be left with is the records.

They didn’t come out of thin air. They’d paid their dues. They were no one for years before they were someone. But how they rode the razor’s edge for an entire career, never faltering… It’s like winning the Super Bowl every damn year, to the point where you give up playing.

And the band did give up, playing that is. The public adulation was just too much, it was no longer living. Whereas being ensconced in the studio concocting gems was still a turn-on, the way out. And it was with “Revolver” that the band truly started testing limits. Helped, of course, by George Martin, but now he’s gone too.

It is believing
It is believing

We weren’t going anywhere fast. We were fumbling along, in school, with career dreams planted in our heads by our parents. And then along came four lads from Liverpool and our entire world was turned upside down, our consciousness was expanded, music became everything, not only a way to feel good, but a way out.

And in its wake came the major label infrastructure.

And the major touring infrastructure.

The Beatles were testing the limits and the business had to adjust.

And we were all along for the ride.

And what a ride it turned out to be. One that keeps going on. We just put on the music and relax and float down stream, we’re set free, we see the possibilities, we have hope, we soldier on.

Last Saturday night I went to the Levitt Pavilion to see Peter Asher, Billy J. Kramer and Denny Laine.

But Billy J. had an infection, he couldn’t travel, his place was taken by Terry Sylvester, of the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Hollies, and Sylvester was…

Awful.

I know, maybe there was no rehearsal, maybe he couldn’t hear himself in the monitors. It’s just that…you and me could do a better job. And it made me realize that not only is a whole generation of rockers fading away, those still here…so many are past their prime. As for Desert Trip… The truth is Paul McCartney, the tippermost of the toppermost, with the best band in the universe…can’t hit the notes anymore, he’s the same guy but his pipes…they’ve corroded and contracted and you can say otherwise, but you know it’s true. As for Dylan, he hasn’t been able to sing in decades, never mind rearranging his tunes, did you listen to his covers record? Nobody else did, you don’t have to, it’s execrable. Greatest lyricist of the rock generation, moved mountains with his songs, but if it’s a live performance you’re looking for, pass… As for Roger Waters, at least he doesn’t sing much. But Roger Daltrey does, and despite not booking shows every day, his voice is rough around the edges, which Neil Young’s voice has always been, but it’s not like Neil hasn’t been touring incessantly. You can go, but I’m worried you’re going to be disappointed, especially when you find out how far away from the stage you are, baby boomers are all about access.

Denny Laine was much better. I went because I needed to hear “Go Now,” the Moody Blues classic which in reality is a cover. But the highlight of his show for me was his rendition of “Time To Hide.” I’d given up on McCartney’s Wings LPs, remember “Wild Life”? But then the reviews were exquisite for “Band On The Run” and I bought it, it lived up to its rep, it was glorious listening to the title track before it hit the radio, it was a revelation. And I just heard “Let Me Roll It” on the satellite yesterday! And I spent the summer of ’75 listening to “Venus And Mars,” do you know “Letting Go”? You should. And then came “At The Speed Of Sound,” and the subsequent American tour, the biggest of the year, I didn’t go, I had the world’s worst case of mononucleosis, but I drove my car cross-country anyway, and bought six cassettes to ease the ride, one was “At The Speed Of Sound,” which was not as good as what had come before, but I know “Time To Hide” and to hear it live touched my heart and reminded me of those long highway stretches when music drove the culture and everybody knew it and now…will anybody remember “Time To Hide” who wasn’t there, never mind “Silly Love Songs.”

Peter Asher was the headliner. An unassuming bloke if there ever was one. He’s got a superstar CV, but Peter’s totally approachable. Unfortunately Gordon’s gone, so a band member does Gordo’s parts, but what makes the show work is Peter’s stories. Of being an A&R guy at Apple and signing James Taylor, producing and managing Linda Ronstadt, of being Jane Asher’s brother…

That’s right, even casual Beatle fans know that Jane dated Paul. And Paul used to hang at the house all the time, he and Peter became buds. Peter implored Paul to finish “World Without Love” which John hated so he could record it with Gordon during their tryout session.

You see the Ashers had a music room in the basement. And John and Paul used to go down there and write. All very reasonable until…

Peter is affably telling us about this one day he wandered down to the basement room and the two Beatles were by the piano and they asked him…DO YOU WANT TO HEAR OUR NEW SONG?

It was “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

You’ve got no idea of the mania. We were just back from Christmas vacation. It was cold and icy. The depths of winter. And my mother fired up her Falcon and out of the dash came…”I Want To Hold Your Hand.” And within twenty four hours it was all anybody could talk about, a month before “Ed Sullivan,” it was the talk of the school. Eventually we all picked up guitars, some got wigs, we all knew the songs by heart.

And it started with “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

I bolted upright in my seat. I couldn’t believe this. I’d never heard this story. Of the genesis of the song that changed everything.

Peter told them to play it again.

I told Peter to write a book.

He didn’t want to, everybody else had, and you’ve got to sling the dirt.

I told him that was unnecessary, he was a fly on the wall, he just had to tell the stories. How Oliver Sacks told him his doctor dad was the smartest physician he ever knew, how Peter’s father codified Munchausen Syndrome. As for Jane…she was only with Paul for a couple of years, but it’s all that anybody wants to talk about, despite being married to Gerald Scarfe for decades. You know, the Pink Floyd “The Wall” artist… I DIDN’T KNOW!

I’m still tingling. This story has stuck with me. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” changed my life.

Maybe it changed yours.

Btw – if you like “Rockin’ Vibes” which is actually quite good, make sure you check out “The NEW waltz” as well

(strange name - The NEW waltz – Spotify playlist).

Spotify re-named it from “What’s up” after your letter and request for an adult contemporary playlist. Look at the description text. Coincidence?

Best,
Songpickr

————————————–

Smith & Thell – Statue – YouTube

Smith & Thell – Statue – SoundCloud

Smith & Thell – Statue – Spotify

Statue – Spotify-Didrick Remix

I did, check it out, that is. And the very first cut was “Statue” by Smith & Thell. It’s a HIT!

Turns out they’re from Sweden, just like Spotify. And they won “Rookie Artist of the Year” at the Denniz Pop Awards last year. (Yes, the awards are named after Denniz Pop, the DJ/producer who gave Max Martin his start, read John Seabrook’s “The Song Machine” for a full explanation, really, you should, if you want to know how today’s sound got started and works and…isn’t it interesting that Katy Perry’s song with Max but not Dr. Luke has stalled in the marketplace, now that Kesha has dropped her suit in California can Luke’s rep be rehabilitated, sure there’s still a decision to be made in New York, but Kesha has moved on and is making new music and it’s a sad day when we judge anybody before a court decides, ruining their career in the process, and I wonder what Luke has to say about “Rise.”)

But Max Martin has nothing to do with “Statue,” I’ve got no idea who’s responsible, there’s very little online info, other than it came out on Playground Music.

I always wonder if I’m out of the loop, after all “Statue” was released in 2015, was it on the Sirius/XM Spectrum and I was too busy listening to Howard Stern or did the non-comm stations go on it or..?

But the official YouTube clip only has 64,000 odd views and there are no reviews of the single on iTunes and…

There are 1,406,663 plays on Spotify, but how many of those were in Scandinavia, and for those of you wondering why your five figure views/streams don’t pay off either monetarily or career-wise…”Statue” seems to have had no impact, but it’s a one listen get.

My world was going under
I needed love, but got a doctor

The guys sang they didn’t need no doctor, but the women treat their heartbreak, they just don’t stonewall.

I’m out of control, I’m out of control

This is the hook, the line that keeps going through your head after you’ve streamed the track a couple of times.

He gave me pills, to forget I missed ya
Ya take some more, and you’ll be better

The pills will knock you out, but they won’t get you over them, for that you’ve got to be wide awake, as Katy Perry sang.

There’s pills for heartache, there’s pills to fall in love too
Go ahead and take a picture, I might as well be a statue
A tourist attraction, I’ll just stand there and smile
Blank as a paper, there’ll be no ups and no downs

That’s right, the pills leave you blank, but this song does not.

The acoustic guitar gets you right into it, and this woman can SING, she’s not studied, holding back to ultimately wow you like a TV contestant, she’s singing straight from the heart, and it resonates.

And when the army of voices sings along with her the message is cemented, she’s out of control.

And then there’s that rhythmic march in between verses.

And the bridge makes you swoon…

They say I’ve got 123, some kind of ABC
But that’s all part of me
Hey, there’s pills for that too

Used to be you could have a viral hit, before there were so many messages that marketing became an integral element of success. If someone’s not working it, it’s not happening. Hell, John Oliver did that great video about candidates not using songs

Don’t Use Our Song – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

and…radio silence, it’s had no impact, there’s nobody behind it, so it’s failed in the marketplace.

But with a push “Statue” would be all over the radio, the band would have fans. I’m not sure it’s a number one, but it’s a great antidote to the studio concoctions with too many fake hooks. Sure, you can say “Statue” is derivative of the Lumineers and the neo-folkies, but somehow it’s different.

It’s a worldwide music business today. The younger generation has the tools and…

They’re wowing us.