Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Right! Its nearly bed time (I stayed up for this). This is gonna be a very hard survivor to do because of the consistently high standard of all the songs Glenn :heart: has presented in After Hours. I have spent the day listing, and then relisting the songs from 1 to 14. And also listening to the CD. My top 4 will not change but there are quite a few that I just cannot separate.
Anyway by a whisker the first song that I would vote off is 'Worried Mind'. Its not that I don't like it, but I just don't feel it sends off the same vibe as the other songs and doesn't fit as well into the 'After Hours' theme. Its a brilliant song, and I loved watching Glenn :heart: sing it in LA, but IMHO it just doesn't evoke the husky sultry 'After Hours' nostalgia and romance that the other songs do.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Of course, Glenn sounds magnificent on all of these songs. In these early rounds, I'm voting on the strength of the song, and not his vocal delivery.
With that disclaimer, my vote for this first round goes to I'm Getting Old Before My Time.
The tune is pleasant and I like the instrumentation, especially the horns. Glenn sounds great.
However, as I mentioned in another thread, I tend to analyze those lyrics and it affects whether or not I like the song. In this case, the protagonist of the song comes off really poorly! He sticks around for 10 years getting played and obviously intends to hang around as long as it takes, which is not all that great in itself, but then he's begging a girl to buy him a cheap engagement ring!
While I appreciate that Glenn should be commended for being unafraid to toy with the stereotypical male/female roles by singing such lyrics, the concept takes some getting used to. Truth be told, I wouldn't be in a hurry to marry a guy who was too cheap to buy me an engagement ring either! You've had 10 years, man, put aside a little a month and spring for it.
I'm not saying I dislike the song - for instance, I really like how he sings "You wouldn't say 'yes' and you wouldn't say 'no'" as well as the way he ties it up. As he does elsewhere, he really brings this one home at the end when he sings in that clear, emotive voice "And I'll... belong.... to... you!"
Still, it's my least fave of the bunch.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
I completely agree with you that WM doesn't fit into the vibe of the album, though as you say it was great to see him sing it. It was going to be the song I voted off second, but at the moment I have to stick with what is still my least favourite track - My Buddy - although I like it more & more. I just don't like the way he repeats the words 'my buddy' at the end.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Yeah, I agree, FP. I almost voted for that one myself.
But Worried Mind - I love that one! It's so catchy! I'm glad he does it live, although I understand why it was a bonus track because it is a big out of alignment with the other songs.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sodascouts
Of course, Glenn sounds magnificent on all of these songs. In these early rounds, I'm voting on the strength of the song, and not his vocal delivery.
With that disclaimer, my vote for this first round goes to I'm Getting Old Before My Time.
The tune is pleasant and I like the instrumentation, especially the horns. Glenn sounds great.
However, as I mentioned in another thread, I tend to analyze those lyrics and it affects whether or not I like the song. In this case, the protagonist of the song comes off really poorly! He sticks around for 10 years getting played and obviously intends to hang around as long as it takes, which is not all that great in itself, but then he's begging a girl to buy him a cheap engagement ring!
While I appreciate that Glenn should be commended for being unafraid to toy with the stereotypical male/female roles by singing such lyrics, the concept takes some getting used to. Truth be told, I wouldn't be in a hurry to marry a guy who was too cheap to buy me an engagement ring either! You've had 10 years, man, put aside a little a month and spring for it.
I'm not saying I dislike the song - for instance, I really like how he sings "You wouldn't say 'yes' and you wouldn't say 'no'" as well as the way he ties it up. As he does elsewhere, he really brings this one home at the end when he sings in that clear, emotive voice "And I'll... belong.... to... you!"
Still, it's my least fave of the bunch.
What you say here is how I thought about it when I first heard it but it has grown on me to a spectacular extent. It will still be near the first I wish voted off, though.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
Oh no.....I adore Same Girl. It is in my top 3 or 4. It will remain my guilty pleasure, I suppose.
Re: "After Hours" Survivor
"Same Girl" is my third-to-least favorite because the concept is so messed up.
I know there is a lot of love for Randy Newman as a songwriter and Glenn believes him to be one of the finest songwriters of his generation. I, however, am less impressed. The only song I knew by him for a long time was "I Love LA", which was fun but not exactly epic. I heard "Have Pity on the Working Man" after buying the Forrest Gump soundtrack and I liked it a lot, but it didn't blow me away with its brilliance or anything. I bought Good Old Boys and Little Criminals back in 2005 just because Glenn was on them and I liked them alright, but again, I wasn't blown away - for every terrific piece like "Baltimore," there was a stinker like "Rednecks." Then I bought Faust to hear Don Henley's part, and I found it horrific. Goethe, Marlowe and Milton must have been turning over in their graves at that overwrought, offensive, self-indulgent mess. Faust was so bad that it completely ruined Newman for me. :(
I hate to criticize anyone Glenn thinks so highly of, but I'm being frank.
Still, "Same Girl" has a wonderfully aching vocal by Glenn that actually makes you feel for a pimp. That's an achievement.