The College Crowd Digs Me

"...Sometimes they call me  the great unwashed." ~  The Rutles  ~ The Rutles are actually The Beatles from the Bizarro World .  They simply share their love and respect for The Beatles with pinpoint, needle-nose apple-scruff precision . Each song is carefully crafted with various sounds, instruments, vocal mannerisms and tricks that have become synonymous with the Fab...BUT absolutely unique in that wickedly tongue-n-cheek Monty Python style.   Something completely different...but awesomely familiar. The Rutles Lost Gem:-->   "Joe Public" ...has a fantastic arrangement heavily influenced by... "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Rain" .  Don't think...just go with it.   Fab Four Perfection! Have you heard this gem? My name is Joe Public - I'm sure you all know me Sometimes they call me 'the man in the street' but I don't mind. I've got my place in society I've got my feet on the ground I've got my

"You give all you want,  but you take away what's mine." ~ Badfinger ~ An incredible Power-Pop group... Beatlesque in every way.   Badfinger were forerunners to later bands like...The Raspberries, The Records, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Foreigner...and the list goes on. They had incredible melodic vision all served with an undercurrent of shadows giving even the most simple songs fresh legs.   (In retrospect, many seemed to be an unconscious cry for help ). Mike Gibbins, Joey Molland, Pete Ham, Tom Evans Without opening up the public can of worms about lousy management that played no small part in two tragic suicides.   ( Peter Ham & Tom Evans ) ... Badfinger was a band much too talented...to be treated much too unfairly. Lost Gem:-->   "Better Days" ...has a funkified shuffle groove with excellent guitar fills from Pete Ham .  The message is clear, really.  Just give me my fair share. Have you heard this gem? I'm just a good boy,

"...and even Thomas Jefferson  is on the nickel over there." ~ Tom Waits ~ The theatrical singer-songwriter... Tom Waits ...was born in California...but his spirit walks the dark, dank backstreets of...Anywhere, USA. And his spirit haunts lonely dives and desperate times . And his spirit breaks your heart and his spirit mends your heart ...again and again like the constant give and take of the sea. Waits is a matchhead.  Waits is a featherball.  Waits is...Waits. Lost Gem:-->   "On The Nickel" ...rough vocals of Waits...wonderfully contradict this soft gentle ballad of kind warnings to messy haired young boys...&...and the nameless, faceless street rats who called heads instead of tails . The song (per Waits) is affectionately known as... "A Hobos Lullaby". Have you heard this gem? Sticks and stones will break my bones, But I always will be true, and when Your mama is dead and gone, I'll sing this lullaby just for you. And

"She thought she knew me... but she didn't know." ~ KISS ~ Everybody knows how successful the NYC band KISS became. Selling-out concerts. Making movies. TV appearances. Marketing KISS Bobbleheads to KISS Kaskets . They worked it good. These rich cats are set. And jokes can be made how they never met a marketing idea they didn't like. But one place where jokes have to be left to the wayside...is in their music. On stage or In studio... NO band worked harder to bleed their love for RnR. Criss, Simmons, Frehley, Stanley -1974 So jokes be damned... Kiss knew what audiences wanted and gave it to us. They made it fun. Lost Gem:-->   "Parasite" ...a standout written by Ace Frehley . The band was young, fearless & hungry . And you can hear it. It's loud...heavy...& riff-nasty .  Simply killer. Have you heard this gem? She'll always be there trying to grab a hold. She thought she knew me, but she didn't know. That I was

"The first time you deceive her... you've broken her spell." ~ Free ~ In 1973 , English rock band... Free ...released their last album... "Heartbreaker" ...before disbanding. Paul Kossoff - guitar... Simon Kirke - drums... John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyboards...and, of course, "The Voice" ...lead vocalist - Paul Rodgers . Free was a solid force that played punched up bluesy rock . Not always crackin' homers...but when the group connected...it was solid. "All Right Now" was Free's biggest song...making #1 almost everywhere. And one of Classic Rock's most requested songs. The same year Free broke up (1973) ...Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke went on to form Bad Company . So it's no wonder listener's can hear earlier glimpses of "BC" from Free's last offering. Lost Gem:--> "Muddy Water" ...Rodgers gives each word their due and it's vocal candy.   Does he mean what he s