Wednesday, May 11, 2011

#465 - The Drifters - Golden Hits


Now here is an album! I know this album associates itself with one of my largest pet peeves, which is that greatest hits albums should not be allowed on any “Greatest of All Time” list. It really is a cop out. Of course, you can make a great album if you compile a collection of hits over an extended period of time, but it does not seem fair to put something like that up against, let’s say, Sgt. Pepper’s. Right? Right. But here’s my argument, at least in this case: I believe older albums might get a pass due to the fact that full albums were rarely released. Instead, music was, more often than not, distributed by singles.

That being said, what a great collection of songs. I am a little partial to Ben E. King, but it amazes me that even with all the changes that The Drifters saw over the course of their career that they were able to create such lasting and memorable tracks. I know the naysayer would argue that this feat is less spectacular, because The Drifters were a manufactured hit machine. To those people, I would say, “Kick dirt.” C’mon. “Under the Boardwalk?” “This Magic Moment?” “There Goes My Baby?” “Save the Last Dance For Me?” “On Broadway?” Get the point? Classics. Phenomenal classics that I would dare anyone, even if you are not a music buff, not to know the words to. I found myself belting them out in true Ben E. King fashion while driving around. I couldn’t stop. There is just something about the simple greatness of these tracks.


By the way, Rolling Stone also included three of these tracks in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: "Under the Boardwalk" (#487), "There Goes My Baby" (#193), and "Up On the Roof" (#116).

Unfortunately, there’s not much else I can say, because these songs are, in fact, simple. And once again, it is a greatest hits album, so one already knows what they are getting into before they start it up. Wonderful album.

James Taylor and Carole King giving it a go. And this guy...not sure who he is.


-d.


There is no group that represents early R&B as well as The Drifters. The arrangements, the phenomenal vocals, simple love songs, it’s all here. They benefited from having some excellent songwriters providing for them. From Carole King to Ben E. King, every name in 50’s and 60’s music had a hand in a Drifter’s hit. Since they were on top during the singles era I won’t complain about another greatest hits collection. Actually, I’d suggest skipping this one and going with the two disc Definitive Collection. There are just so many classics that deserve inclusion.

The best way to explain The Drifters is to say that after listening to this I want to go buy an old Impala or Skylark and drive about 12 miles an hour with this blasting. This is classic golden age pop, evoking the brylcreem coated days of bowling shirts and wingtips. A further reminder that I missed the greatest eras in music. How many girls were felt up for the first time at a "This Magic Moment" themed prom? I know I’ve been at several wedding receptions where "Some Kind of Wonderful" stole the night. Every note of these songs was written to last.

One thing that still amazes me is the sound. This was recorded between 1959 and 1964. If you listen to most recordings from the time, the instruments are a compressed mash up of indistinct reverb. But here, every player can be heard clearly. I can make out the bassline (unheard of on many older singles) and pick out the individual strings and horns. This is simply astounding. You can tell the vocals were generally one-offs, with the occasional singer overreaching or jumping his cue. But it just adds to the character. Some of these songs have 4 or 5 part harmonies, and they would have laughed you out the door if you showed them auto-tune.
I love Ben E. King, but Johnny Moore really dominates this collection. He runs over the better part of two octaves on "Under The Boardwalk," and floats some beautiful notes over it’s sister song, "I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes." It’s a shame that in the digital age we are losing the nuances of performances like these. It’s the inflection, the slight yodel between notes, the effortless jumps to falsetto and barreling drops to basso profundo. It’s all lost right now, and I hope with the growing scores of independent artists working from their homes that some of them turn off the computer and go back to singing it until its perfect.

I’m taking cheap shots at an unrelated technology, but it’s easy to do when you have music like this gearing you up. I really can’t stress how much you need this in your own collection. Whether to remember a bygone age, or to learn how an artist works, or just to enjoy some fantastic music. The Drifters may have been a revolving door of studio musicians simply doing a days work, but damn, they did it so good.

Watch this tv performance of Saturday Night At The Movies and wait for Johnny Moore to run out of fucks to give about lipsynching. Hint: it doesn’t take long.

-tfm

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