Lucky

Trust Me #60
Lucky by Radiohead

Lucky is an incredibly important song in Radiohead's extensive back catalogue. Originally released in 1995 on the Help album for War Child, Lucky clearly stood out. It was, and is, utterly majestic.

Radiohead left their mark on 1995, releasing The Bends in March, while a string of singles from the album stretched from My Iron Lung in September 1994 through to Street Spirit (Fade Out) in January 1996. 

The band were in exceptional form, their development from debut Pablo Honey in 1993 was staggering and there was a lot more to come. 1995 was peak Britpop with landmark albums by Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Elastica, Black Grape and Supergrass. Radiohead were in a class of their own and they quickly cemented that with 1997's OK Computer album.

The concept for the Help album was simple and based around John Lennon's idea for his Instant Karma single; record one day, mix the following, release the next. Many bands opted for re-recordings or cover versions, which (sheer quality aside) is another reason why Lucky stood out a mile.

Help artwork by John Squire

Lucky is like a bridge between The Bends and OK Computer, the sound of a band believing that anything was possible. And even if it felt impossible, they'd give it a go anyway.

Thom Yorke begins quietly, but his voice threatens to explode any time ... and when it does ... it soars heavenly, but with gut wrenching emotion. Watching the video of children affected by war with Yorke singing it's gonna be a glorious day, I feel my luck could change is incredibly moving.

Just listen to the final minute of the song as the band really do soar heavenwards, Greenwood's guitar is beautifully piercing, it sounds like there is an orchestra somewhere in the background ending with Yorke singing when you're standing on the edge.

Radiohead recorded the song in just five hours with Nigel Godrich on production duties. Godrich had previously assisted John Leckie with his production of The Bends, the results on Lucky promoted him to the role of producer for OK Computer.

When asked about the Help Album session, Godrich said; "Those things are the most inspiring, when you do stuff really fast and there's nothing to lose. We left feeling fairly euphoric."

Yorke, speaking about the song and session, said; "Lucky shaped the nascent sound and mood of OK Computer. Lucky was indicative of what we wanted to do. It was like the first mark on the wall."

War Child UK 

Lucky - official video

Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series. For the playlist, search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify , or CLICK HERE

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

There She Goes

Trust me #41
There She Goes by The La's

The La's There She Goes is a bonafide classic. Heavenly chiming guitars, a song that is essentially a chorus repeated again and again, a steady (at times almost skiffle like) rhythm, vocals that are beautifully stretched in all the right ways, with singer Lee Mavers singing over and over about a girl he has fallen head over heels for ... guitar pop perfection. So simple, so beautiful, so pure.

There she goes

There she goes again

She calls my name

Pulls my train

No-one else can heal my pain

Or is There She Goes a love letter to heroin? The lyrics certainly fit the part; pulsing through my veins, no-one else can heal my pain, she calls my name ....

Regardless, There She Goes is as perfect a guitar pop song you'll hear. Personally, for me the song still has the same meaning I attached to it as a 15-year old - it's about a fantasy girl who is out of reach, but just the thought of her heals pain. 

FACT - the sublime opening guitar riff is one of the first things I asked my shortlived guitar tutor to teach me when I was 18. It's one of the few things I bothered to learn and I still know it!

Why did I ask to learn that riff (along with Stone Roses Mersey Paradise) more than any other? Both are based around the D chord, my favourite. I don't really know the answer. They both just chimed (pardon the pun) with me from the very first time I heard them.

There is a great deal of mystery surrounding The La's (band and album), much of it is attributed to singer-songwriter Lee Mavers. My favourite myth is that he abandoned recording their debut album at one stage because he wanted a mixing desk sprinkled with dust from the 60's.

Producers came and went, unable to capture the sounds in Mavers head that he was looking for. The songs on their eponymous album had been floating around in years. There are loads of bootlegs that have ended up being issued officially; Lost La's, De Freitas Sessions, Lost Tapes, radio session/live albums and there are loads of bonus tracks of various mixes with different producers on deluxe reissues of the album.

The La's actually signed with Go! Discs in 1987 and Mavers had all the songs, but the album wasn't released until 1990. 8 producers were involved, the band finally 'settled' with Steve Lillywhite. Even then, Mavers immediately disowned the album upon release!

Word of mouth grew during that time though. There She Goes was originally released as a single in 1988, a version produced by Bob Andrews, it failed to chart. The Lillywhite version was then issued in 1990 and hit number 13 in the charts.

And then ... Mavers disappeared. You can read more about that in this excellent article in The Guardian by Alexis Petridis. His bandmate John Power went on to form Cast and smash things out the park with guitar pop hits like Finetime, Alright, Flying and the beautiful ballad Walk Away.

Mavers talked of rerecording The La's album but there were also rumours that he was building a collection of unbelievable songs ... there has been little evidence of that, although new songs were played when the band briefly reformed around a decade ago.

You have to wonder what might be kicking around in Mavers attic, garage or on hard drives. Or what is in his head. 

In the meantime, There She Goes is an absolute gem of a song, it never fails to make me smile and the warm chords and chiming riff make me feel the same way I do when I hear fellow scousers Here Comes The Sun. Guitar pop perfection! Just a chorus repeated over and over. On repeated listens John Power's calls my name backing vocals are sublime, just keeping the urgency going, egging on Mavers lead vocals. A nugget! Delivered in under 3-minutes.

You can check a variety of versions below.

Live on Letterman

The Word

Top of the Pops

Official video

A list of all previous songs I've blogged about in my Trust Me feature are listed below, along with links to each blog.

I've also collated them all into a playlist on Spotify that you can find by searching for Everything Flows - Trust Me , or you can CLICK HERE

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective