Brilliant debut singles part 3

 Welcome to part 3 of my new regular feature on brilliant debut singles. When bands/artists appear with a song that is absolutely perfect.

Part 3 features 2 of my favourite bands - Teenage Fanclub and LCD Soundsystem, along with Boston, The Box Tops and Depeche Mode.

I've started a Spotify playlist HERE

Part 1 featured; The Doors, The Undertones, Pet Shop Boys, Stardust and Tracy Chapman

Part 2 featured; Booker T & The MG's, The Jackson 5, Kate Bush, Radiohead and The Sex Pistols

Part 3 features 2 of my favourite bands - Teenage Fanclub and LCD Soundsystem, along with Boston, The Box Tops and Depeche Mode.

11. Everything Flows by Teenage Fanclub

Released in 1990 by Dave Barker's Paperhouse Records, Everything Flows lay down a marker and set a high bar for Teenage Fanclub. 

Everything Flows kicks in like it has already been going for a while, like we have burst in on a Fanclub jam. Norman Blake sounds wise beyond his tender years as he sings with poignancy about the passing of time; contemplative and reflective, with honesty and soul.

You get older every year

But you don't change

Or I don't notice you changing

I discovered Everything Flows the following year, just before the band released Bandwagonesque. The chorus still rings so true all these years down the line. I didn't have a plan at 15, I don't really have a plan at 48!

I'll never know which way to flow

Set a course that I don't know

Everything Flows is only 2 verses and choruses (with the second repeated a few time) and then, from 3-minutes 25 seconds, things kick into overdrive with the glorious sound of Norman and Raymond's dueling guitars for almost 2-minutes. They could go on for 2-days and I don't think I'd tire of it. 

Teenage Fanclub close their live shows with Everything Flows. It's a chance fof fans to attempt to pogo like days gone by, for the band to jam on (their 2014 Bandstand version seemed to go on for 10-minutes) and for both to unite in the the sublime sound of raw melodic guitars.

Bonus - reminiscing about the Bandstand show caused me to search YouTube and look what I found!

Live on The Beat Room

Live at Kelvingrove Bandstand 2014

12. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

Everything about this song is cool, clever and funny. Murphy's spoken word, the vast variety of synth sounds, the beats and the way it somehow all hangs together and sounds brilliant.

Over 8-minutes Murphy tells a tale of paranoia - is he losing his edge? 

Murphy highlights what his paranoia is based on - hip young kids from France, London, Tokyo, Berlin and Brooklyn coming through in the music scene, but he then balances that by repeatedly coming back to reflect how hip he was/is. 

I was there in 1968

I was there at the first Can show in Cologne

Is Murphy losing his edge? How can he be? He was there at the first Suicide practices in a loft in New York City, working on the organ sounds. He was the first guy to play Daft Punk to the rock kids at CBGB's and everyone thought he was crazy.

The squelchy synth bass is slightly distorted, sounding super cool as Murphy yells I was there! 

Murphy goes on, trying to convince himself as well as those listening. He's never been wrong, he heard everything first, he was in the DJ booth at Paradise with Larry Levan.

Yet then there are better-looking people with better ideas and more talent. Paranoia that we all face as we get older! 

As the song develops, through Murphy's inspired rant, the music builds in tandem, that squelchy distorted bass continues though, underpinning everything.

I heard that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables

I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars

Murphy asks, have you seen my records? Then listing a number of bands and artists ending with The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics before the song veers off into a glorious hook you don't know what you really want that is repeated time and time again.

Official video / Full length version / Live at Madison Square Garden

13. More Than A Feeling by Boston

Riding in on a sublime chiming guitar riff, More Than A Feeling is quickly into the bridge to the chorus, with the bridge being an incredible guitar riff following the line;

I close my eyes and it slips away

The chorus is sky scraping with backing vocals repeating lead line and song title.

It's more than a feeling (more than a feelin)

When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)

I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)

'Til I see Marianne walk away

The chorus slows for a final line - I see my Marianne walking away

A fizzing guitar solo kicks in after the second chorus. The guitar playing really is sensational throughout - intro, bridge riff, solo ... it all sounds utterly incredible.

The third verse really hammers home how much the singer/author regret letting Marianne slip away. This was more than a feeling. It was the real deal. What a song!

A little known fact is that this massive HIT was a DIY home production. Songwriter Tom Schulz had a home studio. The production is first class and Schulz also creates a spine tingling feel (pardon the pun).

Official video

Remastered audio

14. The Letter by The Box Tops

Alex Chilton was only 16-years old when he delivered this astonishing vocal performance for The Box Tops debut single. Coming in under 2-minutes, The Letter flows superbly. Chilton sounds like a veteran soul singer, hurting bad as he comes in after a mere 4 second intro.

The structure of the record is incredible. I can't decide what is the chorus. It's like there are two choruses, then a bridge. Chilton and The Box Tops don't pause for breath, it's straight back to the opening chorus, bridge and then the first chorus again. There is a simple and effective introduction of strings over a keyboard riff for a lovely 20-second outro. And that's it, 1-minute and 52 seconds of brilliance. BOOM!

The Box Tops - The Letter (Upbeat TV 1967)

15. Dreaming Of Me by Depeche Mode

Released in February 1981 on Mute Records (Mute 13), Dreaming Of Me starts off quite spacey, as if an astronaut is trying to tune into a frequency (over beats) to speak to colleagues back on earth. Then, 11-seconds in, Vince Clarke starts to play a super catchy synth riff that plays throughout the song after each verse and chorus. 

Dave Gahan's vocals sound just nicely detached, the lyrics to the verses are a little abstract, yet everything comes together as a pop song with the melody, synth riff and the dreaming of me hook in the chorus.

The production (by the band with Daniel Miller) is absolutely exquisite. There is a freshness to everything. This is pure Pop (with a capital P) with Vince Clarke as the conductor. Clarke is an absolute pop genius and he left Depeche Mode by the end of the year, after the release of debut album Speak & Sell to go on and form Yazoo and then Erasure. 

Depeche Mode went down a very different path following Clarke's departure. I guess it is safe to say that it worked out well for both parties. Martin Gore took over the responsibility of songwriting and whereas Clarke's songs were very thought out and structured, Gore would only enter the studio with the words and melody, leaning more into the producer, his band mates and the studio as a tool to create and experiment.

However, as debut singles go, the fact that this still sounds so fresh and interesting over 40-years down the line speaks for the quality of the song and production. Outstanding left field pop music.

Dreaming Of Me (remastered video)

Brilliant debut singles part 2

Hello

Welcome to part 2 of my new series where I look at brilliant debut singles by artists and bands. Songs that left a mark, established identities and inspired people to become fans or start creating music themselves.

Sometimes, bands/artists seem to appear perfectly formed.

I've started a Spotify playlist HERE

Part 1 featured; The Doors, The Undertones, Pet Shop Boys, Stardust and Tracy Chapman

Part 2 (below) features; Booker T & The MG's, The Jackson 5, Kate Bush, Radiohead and The Sex Pistols.

6. Green Onions by Booker T & The MG's

Talk about capturing your signature sound on a debut! Green Onions is a song that seemed to always be on in cool places like McChuills or the Friday Street soul night that I used to attend in Blackfriars basement. Bands like The Charlatans would reference the song and it appeared on several soul compilations I bought. I eventually tracked down the record on 7-inch vinyl in a long gone record shop in St Andrews.

An instrumental, Green Onions has a dirty groove with bass, guitar, beats and Hammond all riding it. The Hammond is at the centre of everything though. What a delightful sound! 

Released on Stax Records, way back in 1962, Green Onions still sounds remarkably fresh. An energy leaps out of the grooves. Perhaps this is because the song developed from a jam while the band were in the recording studio and it was captured live. There are audible yelps of excitement at times from the band.

Live in 1967

7. I Want You Back by The Jackson 5

Exhilarating soulful pop music that will always sound super fresh, fun and exciting. Timeless! The bass line, the backing vocals and a young Michael Jackson singing his heart out with pure joy. The energy leaping out of this record is breathtaking. 

Michael Jackson was just 11 years old when he sang this song, released by Motown in 1969. Yet his youthful voice contains so much emotion as he sings of a lost love that he wants back.

The bass riff is absolutely sensational, it must be one of the best of all time. And Michael's brothers backing vocals are an integral part of the song, almost like a second lead. 

Pure Pop perfection. An absolute 10/10 record.

Live - Ed Sullivan Show

8. Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

Kate Bush was still a teenager when she introduced herself to the world with the impeccable Wuthering Heights . Remarkably, Bush was the first female artist to reach the top of the UK charts with a self-written song! I find this quite staggering.

Inspired by the film and book, Wuthering Heights begins with a short, beautiful piano intro, but it's when Bush starts singing at 9-seconds in that you sit up, listen more closely and think, what is this?! Who is this?!

Out on the wily, windy moors, we'd roll and fall in green

You had a temper like my jealousy, too hot, too greedy

How could you leave me when I needed to possess you?

I hated you, I loved you, too

Wow! This still sounds fresh, urgent and vital almost 50-years later. What must it have sounded and felt like in 1978?! No wonder Bush captivated so many.

Bush' lyrics are, on the most part, relatively simple. Words like; jealousy, leave, hated, loved, bad dreams, fight, home, cold, dark, lonely and the hook on the chorus let me in your window.

Combined with her voice and the way she stretches her melodies, it is incredibly moving, exceptionally powerful, utterly captivating. Bush recorded the vocals in one take!

Official video

9. Creep by Radiohead

Thom Yorke boldly and openly declared I wish I was special, so f**king special on Radiohead's debut single and teenagers across the world found a song, singer and band they could relate to.

Creep sold only 6,000 copies when it was originally released in September 1992, but upon re-release a year later, the song took Radiohead into the top 10 and gave them national exposure that they built on with their stunning second album The Bends. It's safe to say, Radiohead have never looked back and they have always looked to push boundaries, explore sounds and textures to keep stretching themselves as musicians and artists.

Greenwood's crunches into gear after the aforementioned I wish I was special, so f**king special line, as Yorke goes on to sing but I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.

Perhaps it's the second verse that was most (and remains) most relatable.

I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control

I wanna perfect body, I wanna perfect soul

I want you to notice, when I'm not around

So f**king special, I wish I was special

After the second chorus Yorke goes full on falsetto, building to a huge raaaaaiiiiinnnnn, raiiiiiiiiinnnnn where he holds the notes in a way no-one else was doing, or could even dream of doing.

Official video

10. Anarchy In The UK by Sex Pistols

A band that conquered against all the odds. They somehow managed to unite and divide. They inspired love and hate. That's precisely why they are still talked about today, The Sex Pistols stood out a mile. Jonny Rotten was like no-one before him and God knows how many people have tried to imitate him since.

Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook backed Rotten with a punk update on Spector's Wall of Sound, creating a glorious racket that energized teenagers across the country and appalled parents. Just read and listen to the opening lines, spat out with total commitment and glee by Rotten. 

I am an antichrist

And I am an anarchist 

Don't know what I want

But I know how to get it

I wanna destroy

Raw, pure, defiant and original, the song was banned by several radio stations. No-one knew how to take The Sex Pistols, no-one (not even their celebrated manager Malcolm McLaren) really knew what to do with them. But they demanded attention. And they got it!

Watch the official video to see why.