People Of Substance - Craig Finn

People Of Substance - Craig Finn

2:59

Always Been, 2025

Written by Craig Finn

The narrative here is well-trod ground by Finn, on solo records as well as with the Hold Steady: man with a shaky past and a few demons vows that this time things will be different.  But while he confesses his weaknesses and peccadillos, there's clearly something he isn't saying.  "You never really told me what it was / You cut me off for, and I'm still not sure / So I've decided that I'd call and just check in."  You get the feeling that if the narrator really engaged in some introspection it would be pretty clear what Dana cut him off for.  Backed by the War on Drugs, Finn sounds great.  The fast tempo belies the bleakness of the lyrics, and as with all of his best material, keeps you listening as the song reveals more every time with what it doesn't say. 

Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes

Beechwood 4-5789 - The Marvelettes

2:14

Playboy, 1962

Written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and George Gordy

There could be a whole album of songs whose titles are telephone numbers, but this one would be one of the top three, easily.  The narrator tells this guy not to be shy; she's waiting patiently to get to know him!  "And my number is Beechwood 4-5789 / You can call me up and have a date any old time."  Rather forward for 1962, eh what?  Fun fact: Marvin Gaye played drums on this track!  Terrific girl-group vocals and a powerhouse Funk Brothers band make this song a keeper.

Beauty Of the Pool Hall - Rancid

Beauty Of the Pool Hall - Rancid

2:16

Trouble Maker, 2017

Written by Tim Armstrong

A paean to a lady named Angel, a rough beauty whom the narrator pined for, or was involved with.  He would always see her around the workin-class gin joint, before she left abruptly one day.  "Kindness, a language that she always spoke / Lord, the way she could communicate."  It's got all of Rancid's trademark bits: breakneck solos, singalong choruses, Armstrong's mumbled raspy rap-singing, fragmented lyrics.  Not their greatest  song but a fair representative.

007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker & the Aces

007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker & the Aces

2:34

007 (Shanty Town), 1967

Written by Desmond Dekker

A now-typical rocksteady tale of rudeboys and their violent ways. "And rudeboy get a probation / A shanty town / And rudeboy bomb up the town / A shanty town."  Desmond wrote the song after watching news reports on a student demonstration that turned into a riot.  This song cemented Dekker's popularity among rude boys in Jamaica, apparently since his earlier music had preached parental respect and the importance of education.

The Fool On the Hill - Bobbie Gentry

The Fool On the Hill - Bobbie Gentry

3:49

Local Gentry, 1968

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

My first impression is this is not on the whole a successful cover.  At times, Gentry's voice seems over-taxed and rough, and the production overall is a thin tinny sound, with off-beat and distracting instrumentation (is that a mouth harp making that quacking sound?).  Luckily, it's such a great song that even this occasionally desultory performance still has something to offer.