This opening track Central Park n' West stands up well despite a mixed response to this LP overall mostly as a result of Mick Jones' production. There were sound effects Jones added and different production techniques which didn't always serve the song but on this track the added elements work.
The song seems firmly ensconced in New York City and referring to the Central Park West Historic District between the 61st and 97th Streets of the title. Ian and Mick Ronson lived in the Mayflower Hotel for six month and its residents have included actors, athletes, CEOs, hedge fund managers, entrepreneurs, and musicians including Sting. The song is Ian's attempt to say something good about the City when it was slagged in the English press and the lyrics came to him one night when he was looking out a ninth floor window. It was originally a poem and Mick Jones liked the lyrics and wrote some chords for it including lots of little sounds that Ian says he never would have thought of.
The landmarks of Central Park and West include the Dakota gaining infamy when resident, John Lennon, was shot dead outside the building on December 8, 1980. Ian mentions listening to Frank Carillo who is an American rock musician, perhaps best known from a band called Doc Holliday. You have to be crazy to live in New York City but still it's the best which is probably Ian's own reflections on the city having been a resident himself. He really catches the vibe and energy of the city with its music, waitresses, and "soul woman."
1981 saw a live version of the tune released as well from the Dr. Pepper Music Festival, Pier 84, New York NY.
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15 Central Park West was built on the sites of the Mayflower Hotel, which dated from 1926, and a vacant lot. In May 2004, a joint venture composed of Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf, Whitehall Street International, and Global Holdings Inc. purchased the Mayflower and the adjacent vacant lot for $401 million. Robert A.M. Stern Architects was selected to design the building in August 2005, and construction began the next month, when the building's sales office opened. All apartments had been sold by early 2007, and the first tenants moved into the building in early 2008. Following 15 Central Park West's opening, many condominiums were sold at high prices. Its residents have included actors, athletes, CEOs, hedge fund managers, and entrepreneurs.
The Central Park West Historic District is located along Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982. The district encompasses a portion of the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District as designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and contains a number of prominent New York City designated landmarks, including the Dakota, a National Historic Landmark. The buildings date from the late 19th century to the early 1940s and exhibit a variety of architectural styles. The majority of the district's buildings are of neo-Italian Renaissance style, but Art Deco is a popular theme as well.
Frank Carillo (born July 14, 1950) is an American rock musician. In 1971, manager Phil Lorito formed a band around Frank Carillo called Doc Holliday, with Carillo, Bob Mayo, Tom Arlotta and Bob Liggio. In 1973 they released one album, Doc Holliday.
You have to be crazy to live in New York City but still it's the best which is probably Ian's own reflections on the city having been a resident himself. He really catches the vibe and energy of the city with its music, waitresses, and "soul woman."
(Ian Hunter)
The Gulf and Western Garbage
Just ain't the prettiest smell
When you're sleeping on the 4th floor up
It's like a living hell
New York's finest rounding up the bums
The firemen get no rest,
and ambulances signal death, on Central Park 'n' West.
Now there ain't no sheets upon my bed,
just a mattress and some wine.
The rain is pouring through the night
and I'm glad my life is mine.
When Frank Carillo plays guitar
trying to get it off his chest.
He gets the words he needs tonight
on Central Park 'n' West.
And I think, I think, I think, I think, I think it's the best,
when I'm locked in the middle of New York city on Central Park 'n' West
and I know, I know, I know, I know, I know it's a mess,
but you've got to be crazy to live in the city, and New York city's the best.
And we all want just someone just like me
in the city we call home.
She leaves me sometimes when I write,
'cause I write better on my own.
Bag ladies take my dollars)
put my conscience to the test.
But waitresses give me coffee free
on Central Park 'n' West.
So sing soul woman, sing the songs
it's time to sing them now.
I'm getting more than high from hearin' 'em
don't sing them quiet, sing them loud.
For you sang with the best of them
but now you're just a guest.
I tell you we'll get a hotel room
on Central Park 'n' West.
'Cause I think, I think, I think, I think, I think it's the best,
when I'm locked in the middle of New York city on Central Park 'n' West
and I know, I know, I know, I know, I know it's a mess,
but you've got to be crazy to live in the city, and New York city's the best.
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, oh yeah.
I think, I think, I think, I think, I think it's the best,
when I'm locked in the middle of New York city on Central Park 'n' West.
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know it's a mess,
but you've got to be crazy to live in the city, and New York city's the best.
Ian Hunter LP/CD: "Short Back 'n' Sides"
Sleeve and track listing
Chrysalis CDCHR 6074. 
Disc 1 (Short Back 'n' Sides)
- Central Park n' West (4:00)
- Lisa Likes Rock n' Roll (3:56)
- I Need Your Love (3:34)
- Old Records Never Die (4:18)
- Noises (5:51)
- Rain (5:54)
- Gun Control (3:12)
- Theatre of the Absurd (5:49)
- Leave Me Alone (3:29)
- Keep on Burning (4:46)
Running time: 44m 55s
Disc 2 (Long Odds And Out-takes)
- Detroit (rough mix - instrumental) (3:42)
- Na Na Na (4:13)
- I Need Your Love (rough mix) (3:46)
- Rain (alternate mix) (5:50)
- I Believe In You (4:15)
- Listen to the Eight Track (6:08)
- You Stepped Into My Dreams (4:41)
- Venus In The Bathtub (4:29)
- Theatre of the Absurd (6:08)
- Detroit (out take 5 - vocal) (4:00)
- Na Na Na (extended mix) (4:29)
- China (Ronson vocal) (4:36)
- Old Records Never Die (version 1) (4:18)
Running time: 60m 43s
Review
At the end of 1980 Ian returned to the studio to record the follow-up to Schizophrenic and Welcome To The Club. Mick had effectively stopped playing live earlier in the year, and Ian himself was unsure which (musical) direction to take. He got Mick Jones as producer, and on paper the fusion of Mott The Hoople with The Clash should have produced a phenomenal album.
I'll make no bones about it - I hate this album. The material is mixed, and the production (and all the sound effects Mick Jones added) IMO ruined the good songs on it. At the time Ian liked the album, with Mick using different production techniques in the studio. But today he hardly ever plays material from it, a sure sign that it ain't up there with the best.
The 2-CD set offers excellent packaging and excellent sound quality. The original album is on one CD, and a second CD ("Long Odds and Out-takes") containing alternate mixes and unreleased material from the Chrysalis era.
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