Author: Kim Simpson

“Naomi No Yume” (1970) – Hedva and David

“Naomi No Yume” (1970) – Hedva and David * Written by David Krivoshe, Tirza Atar, and Kazuko Katagiri * Japan 45: “Naomi No Yume” / “Ani Holem Al Naomi” * Label: RCA Victor

In 1970 Israeli duo Hedva Amrani and David Rosenthal entered their single “Ani Cholem Al Naomi” (“I Dream of Naomi”) in Tokyo’s Yamaha Song Festival and won first prize. They entered with a Japanese version, though, which subsequently sold close to a million copies. If you let this sticky song run through your mind long enough, it might morph into the Association’s “Along Comes Mary” or the Zombies’ “She’s Not There.”

“La Marche de Iroquois” (2015) – Le Vent du Nord

“La Marche de Iroquois” (2015) – La Vent du Nord * Written by Nicolas Boulerice * LP: Têtu * Label: Borealis Records

Le Vent du Nord (the north wind), is a Quebecois group who’s been releasing albums since 2003. On their 2015 Têtu album, they do a standout “turlutte” that’s traditional-sounding in that it features percussive “mouth music,” but it reimagines the genre in a minor-key regional Native American context. The track’s called “La Marche de Iroquoius” (the march of the Iroquois), and it hints at the richness of possibility in an old musical form.

“Dear Prudence” (1970) – The 5 Stairsteps and Cubie

“Dear Prudence” (1970) – The 5 Stairsteps and Cubie * Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney * 45: “O-o-h Child” / “Dear Prudence” * LP: Stairsteps * Produced by Stan Vincent * Label: Buddah

This rendition of the whimisical Beatles song appears as the B-side to the Chicago family group’s now classic “O-o-h Child.” With their spiraling chord patterns and lyrics evoking childhood, both sides of the 45 can still reach into hearts and minds with rare potency. “Dear Prudence,” which reached #66 in Billboard while the A-side reached #8, also hearkens back to its era’s “soul rock” genre experiments. The single credits the group as “The 5 Stairsteps & Cubie,” even though their album, released later in 1970, presented them as “Stairsteps.”

“Welcome Back” (1971) – Love Song

 
“Welcome Back” (1971) – Love Song * Written by Chuck Girard * LP: Love Song * Label: Good News Records
 
Love Song were one of the best-loved “Jesus People” groups within that seventies movement. The song “Welcome Back” is special because it’s loaded with so much emotion: lead singer Chuck Girard’s soaring lead; the repentant backup singers’ heartbroken harmonies; and the melancholy melodica suggesting regret + relief. As a whole, the Love Song album is the ultimate aural signifier of the movement’s California roots. By the time the final track plays (“Feel the Love”) you can hear and feel the sun-streaked waves of baptism washing over grateful heads of long hair. Girard, by the way, is the man who did the Mike Love sendup on the Hondell’s 1964 “Little Honda” recording, although a stand-in mimed it for the group’s TV appearances. A clip is available of Love Song performing the song live on a local program that also featured other So Cal Jesus scene notables: Pastor Chuck Smith of the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Duane Peterson, publisher of the movement’s Hollywood Free Paper, and Lonnie Frisbee, the popular young evangelist who appeared to be the Son of God’s double.

 

“Arrebol” (1972) – Congregación

“Arrebol” (1972) – Congregación * Written by Antonio Smith * Chile LP: Congregación Viene… * Label: IRT

Congregación recorded their lone Chilean folk rock one year before the 1973 coup that placed the murderous dictator Augusto Pinochet in power. When you listen to this song in particular, you’re hearing the sunset of a lost era. The word “arrebol” is one of those beautiful words with no precise translation, referring to the glow of clouds at dusk. “What is the arrebol’s color?” asks the singer, a philosophical innocent surrounded by chirping birds. “Is the color even a color, or is it something else? Something from inside of you?” In retrospect, his arrebol’s reddish hue had more ominous implications. Antonio Smith was the name of Congregación’s driving force, and he escaped to Argentina in 1973, after which he apparently kept musically active. The Congregación viene (Congregation comes) album, though, is the only one he left behind for future treasure seekers.

“La Hija de la Viuda” – Conjunto Michoacán (1980)

Conjunto Michoacán – “La Hija de la Viuda” (1981) * Written by Hermenegildo Garcia Flores * 45: “Piquetes de Hormiga” / “La Hija de la Viuda” * LP: La Hija de la Viuda/Piquetes de Hormiga * Produced by Magdaleno Oliva M. * Label: Odeon

The conjunto music of Michoacán in western Mexico features the violin instead of the accordion, and the early eighties lineup of the aptly named Conjunto Michoacán is a good place to get familiar with that sound. Hermenegildo Garcia was the violinist, vocalist, and most active song contributor, which is why some of their albums are billed to “Conjunto Michoacán de Hermenegildo Garcia.” This was the incarnation that appeared in a peculiar 1981 film called La Jorobada (“the hunchback”), in which they performed “Piquetes de Horniga,” a song still familiar to many conjuntos today. This album’s lineup is perhaps the classic one (Garcia had left the still active group by 1990), although some would probably argue in favor of the pre-Garcia incarnation with Camerino Martinez. The link takes you to Garcia’s “La Hija de la Viuda” (“the daughter of the widow”) from 1981.

“After the Gold Rush” (1974) – Prelude


“After the Gold Rush” (1974) – Prelude * Written by Neil Young* Produced by Fritz Fryor * 45: “After the Gold Rush” / “Johnson Boy” * LP: After the Gold Rush * Label: Dawn (UK) / Island (US) * Charts: Billboard Hot 100 (#22); UK #21

British a cappella trio version of Neil Young’s curiously titled visionary song from 1970, which taps into the sparseness of the original, with its “Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s” refrain, along with the marketable declaration that “I felt like getting high,” to memorable effect. (But wait a minute – they’re actually saying “in the 1917,” aren’t they?) Young’s song already rang with end-of-an-era poignancy, but Prelude, at a point in time when the dust had truly settled, transformed it into a proper postlude, regardless of their weird year switch. 

“After the Gold Rush” (1970) – Neil Young

“After the Gold Rush” (1970) – Neil Young * Written by Neil Young * LP: After the Gold Rush * Produced by David Briggs, Kendall Pacios, and Neil Young * Label: Reprise

Accompanying himself on lone piano, Young sings like a cartoon character on this LP title track, but the weirdness gives way to weightiness when the line “look at Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s” takes root and the “silver spaceships” he sings about later glow with symbolic meaning of the listener’s own choosing. The flugelhorn solo provides a knowing funereal effect similar to that of the french horn on the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” One of the ultimate “looking inward” tracks of its era.

“About the Weather” (1981) – Magazine

“About the Weather” (1981) – Magazine * Written by Howard DeVoto and Dave Formula * LP: Magic, Murder and the Weather * 45: “About the Weather”/”In the Dark” * Label: I.R.S. Records.

“About the Weather” was the British post-punk outfit Magazine’s final single (until a 2011 reunion), and it appeared a few months after band leader Howard DeVoto, along with his trademark near-sneer lyrics and delivery, departed. Although “About the Weather” missed the charts in the UK and US, it’s remembered increasingly as though it didn’t. When the song begins, it sounds like something from Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, and actually does continue as such, but the thumping Motown-revival drums and bass do a cover-up.

“Hello Train” (1968) – John Martyn

“Hello Train” (1968) – John Martyn * Written by John Martyn * LP: The Tumbler * Produced by Al Stewart * Label: Island

The John Martyn from his first two albums (London Conversation and The Tumbler) is a different John from his legend. On these, his percussive trademark guitar had already begun emerging, but their pastoral tweeness would begin wilting away by album three (Stormbringer) onward. One could likely construct a full children’s album out of certain selections from his 1967-1970 output. After hearing the kid-friendly “Hello Train,” with its “April Fool” refrain and backwards tape loops, you may never let an April 1st go by without the song clickety-clacking through your head.