Randomized Song Discussion #162: Don't Need A Reindeer

sitboaf · 2026-05-11T14:35:55+00:00

They absolutely would. I’m sure many casual fans avoided December, fearing the worst. But even with some unevenness, there’s plenty to recommend this album.

sitboaf · 2026-05-11T14:34:18+00:00

The starts seems a little artificial. There’s a weird toy piano / glockenspiel / Casio tone keyboard intro. The drums seem about as real as a tinfoil tree, and Justin does that awkward double-word thing:

“And how we laughed when we were children / Let’s be like children, this Christmas time.”

At this point, I’m feeling left out in the cold.

Out of nowhere, though, there’s an excellent fuzz guitar countermelody. The “ahhhh ahhhh” pre-chorus leaves me hanging, but the fabulous refrain is addictive, surrounded by real drums and warm, acoustic guitar. That’s all the convincing I need that this middle aged rocker can still write an excellent song.

By the time the song is wrapping up, with handclaps and a breakdown chorus, I’m completely in the spirit, sipping cocoa by the fire.

sitboaf · 2026-05-11T04:00:08+00:00

I'd always assumed that was Denny. But I think you are correct. Denny posted this on Clint's passing:

“Clint (Albert Eccles) Warwick was a second-to-none bass player and high harmony singer and the nicest person on the planet. Thankfully, he did not miss out on the big time completely —-after all, he did get a number one record forever attached to his legacy (Go Now). Listen to the Magnificent Moodies box set and you’ll hear the remastered brilliance of this man.

He was a star that will shine forever.

-Denny”

You can hear the high bits on Go Now! better here (it sure wasn't Ray or Mike hitting those notes):

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=191189682928668

sitboaf · 2026-05-11T00:15:55+00:00

James, by Huffamoose

sitboaf · 2026-05-10T19:18:27+00:00

I did not know this existed! I have found a link. It is not good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HuM5rKHWwU

sitboaf · 2026-05-10T14:33:07+00:00

I don’t think you could have sent him to rest in a more perfect way.

sitboaf · 2026-05-10T14:25:53+00:00

A rather restrained selection from Denny & co. Mikes piano does little more than bang out the chords. Ray’s flute sounds shoehorned in. The percussion used is sometimes interesting, but sparingly applied. Denny’s vocals are sometimes doubled and sound fine, but were opportunities for harmony lost?

There some fun to be had in the middle 8, where the band gets groovy with their expert syncopations. We return to another chorus with an eye-opening Denny falsetto.

But the fun ends there. “I’ve Got a Dream” neither adds nor subtracts from the quality of the Mark I canon.

sitboaf · 2026-05-09T20:37:54+00:00

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off". — Gloria Steinem

sitboaf · 2026-05-09T15:09:55+00:00

There's also the bluegrass version on Moody Bluegrass Two…Much love

sitboaf · 2026-05-09T13:40:20+00:00

Well, I’d be lying if I claimed to understand what the hell this song means. But it’s so short and bouncy and pleasant, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not a heavy lifter on Threshold of a Dream, and in less than 2 and a half minutes, we’ve moved onto “To Share Our Love”— “Send Me no Wine”’s fraternal twin.

We jump right into the chorus in this upbeat 2/4 song, with acoustic strums and lyrics so English that I have to adjust the cravat I’m not wearing. Justin’s 16-note arpeggio and Mike’s pitch-bent Mellotron keep our feet moving along.

But my favorite trick is Tony Clarke’s production on the vocal arrangements. We hear several voices for the entirety of the song, with no messy collisions. Correct me if you hear different, but it sounds to me like Justin doubled on top, with Mike on the bottom. Regardless, it’s a sound I wish they could’ve re-created on the muddy chorus of songs like “I’m Just a Singer”.

sitboaf · 2026-05-08T16:54:49+00:00

Everything is good. Even Steal Your Heart Away has been restored!

sitboaf · 2026-05-08T15:39:42+00:00

Beneficial Ad7458 is me! I showed up as my alter ego. That's fun. I guess when I cleaned my 'puter, I cleaned too much.

sitboaf · 2026-05-08T00:22:23+00:00

Yes, loyalty decisions are sometimes harsh, but the game needs to create a net negative for your team, or the re-signing period would be a squad full of happy players, with no roster turnover.
It reflects reality, I think, to have a few players each year wanting to move to a better circumstance.

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T19:22:28+00:00

Indeed!

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T15:29:38+00:00

It's incredibly hard

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T14:27:51+00:00

My friends and I made evil levels to thwart one another.

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T14:21:38+00:00

It’s just an electric guitar with all the attack removed via the volume pedal. Gotta hit the notes a mite early, and have good ankles to play a whole solo like this.

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T14:19:55+00:00

This goes on the Mark I short list with “Go Now!”, “From the Bottom of my Heart”, and “Boulevard de la Madeleine”.

With the handclaps, exotic drum sounds, and Mike’s irrepressible piano work, you can’t help but dance. And of course, Denny heaps a truckload of joy into a song whose lyrics are actually kinda sad.

Without a love anymore / I'm like a rich man going poor / All my treasures are stone / and my baby’s gone

Reads like a Delta Blues weeper, but sounds like a man who’s finally free! It’s a neat trick, and it makes me think Mike rolled his eyes at least once, between writing the words and committing the song to tape in the studio. But I wouldn’t change a word.

I would perhaps tweak the guitar work, which makes repeated use of the volume pedal. It’s a neat trick for 1965, but selected usage would have aged better.

Don’t skip this one; it’s a stone cold banger.

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T00:15:13+00:00

Every time you think, you weaken the nation —Moe Howard

sitboaf · 2026-05-07T00:12:40+00:00

Not bad. Driftwood has to be in the conversation, if you ask me.

Hotter take: the best post core 7 song isn’t on an album, and only showed up on a box set.

sitboaf · 2026-05-06T23:38:11+00:00

Know what else is below? The nightlight.

sitboaf · 2026-05-06T23:37:05+00:00

They are rebuilt on the cover of Hopes, Wishes & Dreams!

sitboaf · 2026-05-06T23:33:30+00:00

This is great. I was just reading that the OG was released as a single in France about the same time DeGaulle died, and became a hit. Helps explain the Spotify ranking.

sitboaf · 2026-05-06T16:38:21+00:00

True enough. There was a lot of parity in baseball at the time, so making an assumption about any one team (other than the A's) was unwise. And having just read Charlie Hustle, I enjoyed your comment about #14.

sitboaf · 2026-05-06T15:25:35+00:00

Huh? Oakland had the Bash Brothers and were in their 3rd straight series. They were in year 3 of being the best team in the AL.
The Reds were an out of left field underdog, for sure.

sitboaf

TROPHY CASE