Big City Cat - Steve Forbert

Big City Cat - Steve Forbert

2:51

Alive On Arrival, 1978

Written by Steve Forbert

I only know Forbert from the fantastic "Romeo's Tune."  When he arrived on the scene in 1978, his record company tried to market him as the new Dylan.  This was a common habit of PR guys at the time whenever a songwriter had literary lyrics and a slightly offbeat voice. The comparison never made much sense. Forbert has his own folk-rock style, and his observational songwriting has more in common with Randy Newman or Loudon Wainwright III than Dylan.  This jazzy number, featuring David Sanborn on some sweet sax breaks, describes the life of a hungry artist in the unpolished Big Apple.  Tongue firmly in cheek, Forbert describes being an anonymous cog amidst the grime and filth, the oddballs and criminals with a mix of journalist's eye and poet's dark humor: "There's some kinda lunatic followin' me / He's down by the john so I can't take a pee / I'm supposed to be happy, I'm here where it's at / I'm a face in the crowd; I'm a big city cat."

France - Grateful Dead

France - Grateful Dead

4:03

Shakedown Street, 1978W

Written by Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, and Robert Hunter

To commemorate, even if obliquely, Bastille Day, today we have this overlooked gem from the Dead.  Built around a steel drum line and handclaps and sung by Donna Jean Godchaux and Bob Weir, this is one of the few Grateful Dead songs the band never performed live. Fans have long regarded it as a low point, and apparently so did the band.  According to Robert Hunter, it started out as a Latin jam, but was changed and abbreviated for the album.  Mickey Hart later wrote of this song, "We were trying to sell out."  I get the objections, but I don't care for all this gatekeeping of the jam vibe, man.  It might be poppy, for a certain 1970s definition of "pop," but I dig it, myself.  

Here You Come Again - Millie Jackson

Here You Come Again - Millie Jackson

3:10

Get It Out'cha System, 1978

Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, 1975

Dolly Parton had a hit with this song in 1977, but I come to this one fresh.  This one, a rousing soul number with disco grooves and gospel-tinged backing vocals, showcases Jackson's vocals.  Her voice isn't a towering powerhouse like those of Aretha Franklin or Irma Thomas, but she can definitely belt it out, and delivers her lines with precision and confidence.  The song is directed at a sly lothario who returns whispering sweet nothings when the lady's defenses are down: "Here you come again, just when I'm about to make it work without you / You look into my eyes and lie those pretty lies."  Despite the lyric, Jackson sounds powerful and enthused; maybe she wants us to know that she's more in control than she lets on.

New York Groove - Ace Frehley

New York Groove - Ace Frehley
3:03

Ace Frehley, 1978

Written by Russ Ballard, 1975

Ace Frehley died today!  While Kiss cannot be said to be a good band, and Gene Simmons' philosophy of life ranges from insufferably smug to repellent, one can't deny their musical impact.  Still, they're not a band I care at all about, so I thought I'd pick this hit from Frehley's solo album (the only one of the four released that year that was commercially successful).  This song, which is pure glittery '70s glam rock in the vein of Sweet, was originally performed by a band called Hello.  It's a pleasant, catchy number, riding on a syncopated, almost Bo Diddley-style stomp beat, all handclaps and swagger, with chunky rhythm guitar and a dry, close-miked drum sound giving it that sheen glam feel.  It's fun, albeit slick and mechanical, a bit repetitive in its chorus, but that's to be expected from music that leans more toward product than art.

She - Starz

She - Starz

3:20

Attention Shoppers!, 1978

Written by Michael Lee Smith, Peter Sweval, and Richie Ranno

This isn't the type of music I'm usually drawn to, but it's a catchy, high-energy burst of power-pop.  Sonically, the band is usually thrown in with the likes of Kiss and Motley Crue, two bands I could not care less about.  But while there are some gunfire drum fills and anthemic guitar, this particular song is all polished pop and no real edge, so maybe that's why I don't mind it.  Lyrically, it's about this girl who brought joy into the narrator's weepy, drunken life.  "I never get that lonely / Ever since she first showed me how / My life is so much better / Nothing can take it from me now."

Part-Time Love - Elton John

Part-Time Love - Elton John

3:16

A Single Man, 1978

Written by Elton John and Gary Osborne

Working with the pen of his lesser-known writing partner, John made this bouncy little tune about what appears to be adultery.  "You've been seen running around... Don't tell me what to do / When you've been doing it too / Because you, me and everybody's got a part-time love."  Everybody does it, apparently.  "I've got someone at home / But she's got a love of her own."  It's a jaunty tune you can bob your head to, until perhaps the lyrics start sinking in.

Lay Your Love On Me - Racey

Lay Your Love On Me - Racey

3:18

Smash and Grab, 1978

Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman

I've never heard of this pop-rock group, although the song was a big hit in several countries.  It's buoyed along by handclaps, bouncy bass, high organ notes, and piano combining to an infectiously catchy beat. It's a song of love and lust.  As with so many songs of the era (and the current one, I guess), the narrator notes that when he met the girl she was just seventeen; this doesn't necessarily indicate creepiness, as he could have been the same age as well.  "Now I've tasted your sweet lips / Ooh darling I know what I miss / You gave me more than I could ever take / With every word and every move you make." It's not exactly original, but the lads certainly could craft a catchy hook.

All New Minglewood Blues - Grateful Dead

All New Minglewood Blues - The Grateful Dead

4:16

Shakedown Street, 1978

Written by Noah Lewis, 1930

The Dead initially claimed credit for this song, and while it is definitely fleshed out and expanded, it's clear that it's Lewis' creation, at least the blues structure and lyrics.  (The original, "Minglewood Blues," was written before 1930 and has different lyrics; Lewis' "New Minglewood Blues" from 1930 is the one this was based off.)  But they do transform it.  The acoustic shuffle becomes a thick, swaggering bar-band groove, anchored by Phil Lesh’s roaming bass rather than a traditional blues walk. Bob Weir's rhythm guitar is all clipped chords and percussive accents, leaving space for Jerry Garcia’s lead lines, which mix stinging blues bends with his distinctly conversational phrasing.  It's swampy, gritty, and tailor-made for extended jams.

Endless Wire - Gordon Lightfoot

Endless Wire - Gordon Lightfoot

4:05

Endless Wire, 1978

Written by Gordon Lightfoot

"I ain't got nothin' to hide / My mind is an endless wire," asserts Lightfoot in his pleasant, well-modulated baritone.  I'm not sure what this song is all about — a failed love or a pined-for lover? — but it builds tension over its runtime.  There's drama and imagery at least, if it is all a little rote, with a not-especially interesting guitar solo in the middle. The three verses are lyrically very similar, as well.

I've Always Been Crazy - Waylon Jennings

I've Always Been Crazy - Waylon Jennings

4:12

I've Always Been Crazy, 1978

Written by Waylon Jennings

A defiant cri de coeur.  "I've always been different with one foot over the line / Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind."  Sounds like an anthem of outlaw country, but apparently he was pretty sick of the label at the time he wrote this.  I like the sudden smoothness in his voice at the third verse, where he addresses a "beautiful lady," before going back to his typical smoky drawl.  The vaguely Latin-tinged horns at the end help spice up the extended fade-out.