Nostalgic Dip Rejects, 1977, Part TWO

In this post I will be sharing my reasons for omitting eighteen (18) of the ‘second’ fifty songs (51-100) on the 1977 Billboard Top 100 list; i.e., I chose not to share them on my Facebook timeline.

[[The following paragraph is repeated from previous posts for context.]]

[[ I choose songs for Nostalgic Dip from annual Top 100 Billboard charts to share on my Facebook timeline.  I could share every song on every list, but for various reasons I choose not to share some of them. (‘various reasons’ are described in the ‘opening post’ of this series)   This series of posts is my way of giving at least a modicum of recognition to the songs that I have rejected for my Facebook routine.  They were legitimate “hits,” after all.  The recognition I proffer here is somewhat back-handed, though, because I am telling you why I snubbed these songs.  You may or may not agree with my reasons, but no worries, they are MY reasons.  Nobody has to agree with them.  >> smiley face << ]]

 

Here we go!!

 

“Strawberry Letter 23,” Brothers Johnson ~  OK. Musically this is not such a bad track; catchy ‘bell’ riff. The lyrics are a little weird.  Sort of… psychedelic.  I think I just found this one kind of boring.  That’s all.  Sorry, guys.  I promise not to skip this song if it comes up in a retro playlist.

 

“Night Moves,” Bob Seger ~  Fine. This is a charming coming-of-age ballad, and Bob’s voice is sort of intoxicating actually.  This is another of those songs I don’t skip past and always sing along with.  But there is no escaping the subject matter, so it is ruled out for my FB timeline.

 

“You’re My World,” Helen Reddy ~  It’s like a roomful of producers agreed to put every possible musical and lyrical cliché into one song.  It doesn’t get more vanilla than this.  I don’t know what else to say.

 

“My Heart Belongs to Me,” Barbra Streisand ~  Babs sings this song beautifully. Does she ever not?  But it is just too predictable, sad, morose.  Nobody really wants to see this deep inside someone else’s mind.

 

“After the Lovin’,” Engelbert Humperdinck ~  Well, I guess there was a serious raft of sappy tunes in 1978.  Was it a reaction against the disco insanity?  Whatever.  The sappiness factor is in overdrive on this one.  Besides the fact that the scene being described here is a couple naked in bed, she falls asleep while he is singing his new song to her.  That is either hopelessly sweet or devastatingly tragic.  Either way, I wish I was asleep myself.

 

“Stand Tall,” Burton Cummings ~  And… the sappiness continues.  Burton Cummings was a favorite of mine, going back to his Guess Who days.  He shows off his voice well in this song.  But… the strings, the background vocals oohing and aahing, and that phrase “silly human pride.”  You’re killin’ me, Burt.  I need to listen to “American Woman” to flush out the sap.

 

“Weekend in New England,” Barry Manilow ~  I’m beginning to think all of the sap on the entire planet was gathered up by the recording studios in 1977-78 and ruthlessly poured out on the singers, songwriters, session players, and producers; and apparently the public’s appetite for sap was insatiable.  Goodness, gracious. So sweet, so tender, so yearning, so sad, lonely, bereft.  Please pass the Dramamine.

 

“Float On,” Floaters ~  Just when I thought the flood of sap could not get any sappier,  The Floaters add that cheese-soaked spoken word; and they invent this catch phrase – Float On.  What IS that?  And the name of the group brings unwanted images of – stuff – floating – somewhere… and then the dreamy dreamlike dream sequence at the end.   On top of all that, the chord progressions had me thinking they were going to break into “That’s how much I feel, I feel for ya, Baby…”

 

“Jeans On,” David Dundas ~  For me there is this fine line between a fun, silly song and a song that seems like it is trying to tell me something important but the song itself is just too simplistic and goofy.  Songs like “Disco Duck” and “Kung Fu Fighting” are in the latter category for me.  In the case of this song, it seems like David Dundas (who?) is trying to make a serious point but whatever that point is it gets lost in the too-playful musical context of the song.  Meh.

 

“Keep It Comin’ Love,” K. C. and the Sunshine Band ~  This track is perfect!  It is perfect for practicing your favorite disco steps. It is also perfect for hypnotizing an entire dance hall full of unsuspecting party people. Perfect for a conga-line.  Perfect for audience sing-along.  It is perfect. So perfect. Stunningly perfect. Don’t blink. Perfect. Disco rules, Baby. This is perfect.

 

“You Made Me Believe in Magic,” Bay City Rollers ~  And here it is.  Sap meets disco.  I had forgotten how much orchestral accompaniment there was for disco tracks in those days.  Thank you, Barry White and Love Unlimited.  I have a feeling if this song were re-interpreted in an acoustic, guitar-backed ballad sort of style it might almost be palatable.  It would still be sappy, though.

 

“Livin’ Thing,” Electric Light Orchestra ~  I know, I get it.  This was a huge hit for ELO. And, to tell the truth, I will still gladly listen to it and sing along when it comes up. Nevertheless, I have always – always – from the first time I heard it – thought it was more than a little “overdone.”  I mean, the lyrics are poetic, I guess, taken by themselves.  Like, if James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman or John Gielgud recited the lyrics as a poem, the message would be great.  I guess.  Well it might sound rather silly, actually.  But the musical wrapper around it is, like, just… way over the top; like so, so dramatic. Too. Dramatic. In my humble opinion.

 

“I Never Cry,” Alice Cooper ~  What can I say?  This song belongs with the likes of Shaun Cassidy or Eric Carmen.  Not what we want to hear from Alice Cooper.  It’s too maudlin and sad, anyway; but especially from Alice Cooper – but maybe that was his point, eh?  Or he was just overcome by the tsunami of sap.

 

“Love’s Grown Deep,” Kenny Nolan ~  The case of the never-ending sap-fest. What was going on with us in 1977-78?  There is always some sap on the hit charts, but this is ridiculous. Sap is Kenny Nolan’s genre, but still. Ugh. Too much.

 

“Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman),” Joe Tex ~ This is a classic, yes. And funny, too.  I am not generally too concerned with so-called “political correctness,” but this one seems to me to be crossing the line. At least it is not sappy.

 

“I Wanna Get Next to You,” Rose Royce ~ Was there a special category for the Grammys back then?  For sap?  This track might have won for “Best Sap.”  I guess the disco dancers had to take a break and do a slow dance occasionally.

 

“Walk This Way,” Aerosmith ~ This is a pretty great antidote to the sap saturation. It is a great song!  I have this and the Run-DMC cover on some of my playlists, and I rock out to both of them when they come on. A guilty pleasure?  Sure. The content keeps it off my FB timeline. So, sue me.

 

“Whispering-Cherchez La Femme-C’est Si Bon,” Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band ~.Another one of the many (many!) orchestral disco extravaganzas that include a retro tip of the hat to the Roaring ‘20s (that would be the 1920s, y’all).  This one also stretches its wings a bit further to include French phrases, and background vocals that sound like the producers might have brought in random street people (or family members). This is boring, repetitively repetitive repetition, which I guess was kind of a trademark of disco in general. Sigh.

 

 

That’s it for now.

 

Sayonara et shalom!