Showing posts with label Pretty Things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pretty Things. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Letter (Pretty Things)










Elle m'a écrit une lettre,
Venue de la verte campagne.
Elle m'a écrit une lettre,
Pour essayer d'expliquer.
L'existence était facile à présent,
Dans les vallées veloutées du soleil,
Elle m'a écrit une lettre...

Elle m'a écrit une lettre,
M'a posé tant de questions,
Elle savait que je ne pouvais vraiment pas répondre
Car toutes provenaient du passé,
La vie urbaine était trop pesante
Alors elle avait fui vers les collines,
Elle m'a écrit une lettre, sous la pluie.







The Letter (May-Waller):  From Parachute (1970)

Video Link:  The Letter  (Pretty Things live performance, The Olympia, Paris, January 13, 1971)

Photographs:  Somerset, England -- Two Views 


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Walking Through My Dreams










When I'm Unhappy and in my eyes things are bad,
I just have to close them and suddenly I'm Glad.

Walking through my Dreams at Night,
You're walking through my Dreams at night,

And I'm Not Sleep.

I never worry Cos' I never get the time.
You sweep all thoughts Away when You cross my Mind.

Walking through my Dreams at night,
You're walking through my Dreams at night.









Click to listen to: Pretty Things, Walking Through My Dreams (1.1.68)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Bo Diddley (and his great Bo Diddley beat)



The other day Jane and I were driving near Shady Grove Lane in Westtown, PA and I decided to play her the recording of Shady Grove by Quicksilver Messenger Service, which I knew she had never heard, but I had been thinking about. 

Upon hearing Quicksilver's unusual, but highly exciting, version of this old folk song, I asked Jane what, if anything, came to her mind. 

She quickly said, "it's got the Bo Diddley beat".

I was extremely pleased and proud of her, almost as much as I was when I checked out her iTunes listing of her favorite songs and found it heavily weighted with Carl Perkins, Howlin' Wolf and Louvin Brothers numbers.  (I mean, she's only 13; the songs on the list were all her choices.)

I think only four "modern" rock bands have ever been able successfully to play the music of the great Bo Diddley:  The Pretty Things, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dr. Feelgood and the New York Dolls.

They're all favorites of mine. Some marvelous performances by each group are included below:




The Pretty Things





Quicksilver Messenger Service




Dr. Feelgood




New York Dolls