Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
John Gustafson, bass, Roxy Music, Ronno, started as Mott B side of Saturday Gigs, Ian"s between wives trysts
| Lounge Lizard | 4:31 | Originally issued on Ian Hunter, also on the compilations Gold, Once Bitten - the CBS Collection and The Journey. This track was also recorded by Mott The Hoople. |
| Lounge Lizard (live 18th March 2005) | 5:02 | This live version (recorded at the SxSW Festival Austin TX) was released on Bag Of Tricks (Vol 2) (box set only). |
This is one of those rarest tracks not heard until Experiments which are the previously unreleased recordings that saw the light of day on the Stranded In Reality box set.
| Coincidence | 4:37 | Originally released on Experiments - Previously Unreleased Recordings (box set only). |
If not the most representative of Ian's songs Cleveland Rocks certainly is one of the top three. From the memorable shout start of "Three! Four!" to the city of inspiration Cleveland Hunter has expressed his appreciation to those smaller town Americans who embraced Mott and the full-tilt rocker has remained a standard of his live act.
Instantly memorable from the unusual count in the song rejoices about the fervent fans living in middle America who support live acts in the smaller towns outside the big entertainment areas such as New York of LA. The references are to David Bowie's Jean genies and pop icon James Dean. It's a fun pop song with mama living in sin and grandpa as a rocker.
As performed live on Welcome to the Club the song means Disco Sucks and "may have been based on Studio 54" and Ian's one-time visit to the famous New York City club. The Studio was filled with sorry hopefuls outside. Inside, there was a half-empty room of stupid flashing lights, lawyers, accountants, hookers, weekenders, and lousy music.
The first version of the song as England Rocks was too regional and CBS thought it would not sell. As reconstituted the song honors the city of Cleveland and early rock 'n' roll DJ Alan Freed who popularized the city as it was considered by the music industry to be a "breakout" city, where national trends first appeared in a regional market. It has been Hunter's biggest earner. Freed's announcement fragment beginning the song was taken from an April 1953 archive tape of his Moondog's Rock 'n' Roll Party radio show aired on WJW Cleveland. Hunter advises he got the fragment idea from the Akron, OH band Devo. Ronson considerably improved the original version and the repeated "Ohio" effect on the coda made the track memorable.
Originally released on You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic there is a single and album version as well as 1979-1981 live performances, one with Ringo Starr in 2001, and another version from 2004.
Also recorded at the Park West, Chicago IL 22nd June 1979 on Collateral Damage.
Sign up now for the pre-release of Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing at TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me!
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
(Ian Hunter)
Three! Four!
Three! Four!
Three! Four!
(Bunch of Ah-ah-ah's here)
All this energy calling me
Back where it comes from
It's such a crude attitude
It's Back where it belongs
All the little kids growing up on the skids are goin'
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Jumpin' (Jean) Gene genies, moody James Deanies goin'
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Mama knows but she don't care
She's got her worries too
Seven kids and a phony affair
And the rent is due
All the little chicks with the crimson lips go
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
She's livin'in sin with a safety pin
She's goin' Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
I got some records from World War Two
I'll play 'em just like me Grand dad do
He was a rocker and I am too
Oh Cleveland Rocks, Yeah Cleveland Rocks
So find a place
Grab a space
and yell and scream for more
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks
(Bunch of Ah-ah-ah's here)
Three! Four!
Three! Four!
Three! Four!
Ohio
Don Tracy emailed me suggesting that maybe they are actually alternating England Rocks with Cleveland Rocks on the choruses. As Hope Campbell and others have pointed out, no they are not (at least, not here).
CHRX 1214 / 50999 698134 2 9.
Ian came back after a two-year absence in 1979 with this album. Mick Ronson was back on guitar, and Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band were the backing musicians (they had just worked on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album).
This is a brilliant album, and the yardstick by which all his other work is judged. From the opening beat of Just Another Night to the closing strains of The Outsider there isn't a bad track on here. Mixing full-tilt rockers (Cleveland Rocks, Life After Death) with sensitive ballads (Ships) the album is well-paced and leaves the listener wanting more.
This was issued on CD on Chrysalis in the UK in 1994, and on Razor & Tie in the USA in 1995. The UK release was a limited-edition "25th Anniversary" edition, in a long (blue) box, with a blue jewel-case and booklet (which was about Chrysalis generally, not Ian). Sound quality is very good. No bonus tracks.
1999 saw this CD reissued in the UK, this time on the EMI label as part of their "Classic Rock" series. It boasted new sleeve notes, and improved (remastered) sound quality.
2009 saw a 2-CD issue with a wealth of bonus tracks and a second disc of previously-unreleased live material. As a live document the second disc works very well, despite being recorded at a variety of venues.
Of the bonus material on the first disc perhaps the most interesting is the early version of Just Another Night which features radically different lyrics, showing how such a classic song can develop from the initial germ of an idea to the finished product.
| Cleveland Rocks | 3:48 | Originally issued on You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic and on the compilations The Best of Ian Hunter, From The Knees Of My Heart, The Golden Age 1969-1997, The Journey, Old Records Never Die, Shades of Ian Hunter and Once Bitten Twice Shy. |
| Cleveland Rocks (single version) | 3:39 | The single version is about ten seconds shorter than the album version, and can be found on The Singles Collection 1975-83 and on The Collection. |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 18th June 1979) | 6:53 | This live version (recorded at the Agora, Cleveland OH) is on the 30th Anniversary issue of You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic. Not on the box set. |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 22nd June 1979) | 6:15 | This live version (recorded at Park West, Chicago IL) was issued on Collateral Damage. Not on the box set. |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 5-11th November 1979) | 6:01 | This live version (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) was issued on Welcome to the Club, and on the compilation From The Knees Of My Heart. |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 5-11th November 1979, edit) | (6:10) | An edited version of this live track (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) was a single b-side and on the CD issue of Welcome to the Club. |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 22nd November 1979) | 8:41 | This live version (recorded Hammermith Odeon, London England) was originally issued on If You Wait Long Enough For Anything, You Can Get It On Sale (box set only). |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 19th April 1980) | 8:02 | This live version (recorded Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany) was originally issued on Live At Rockpalast (not on the box set). |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 11th September 1981) | 7:51 | This live version (recorded Dr. Pepper Music Festival, Pier 84, New York NY) was originally issued on the Ian Hunter Rocks video (VHS/Laserdisc only). The video (DVD) can also be found on It Never Happened (box set only); the audio can be found on From The Knees Of My Heart (not on the box set). |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 22nd August 2001) | This live version (recorded at the Rosemont Theater, Chicago IL) is on the Ringo And His New All-Starr Band DVD. | |
| Cleveland Rocks (live 28th May 2004) | 5:52 | This live version (recorded The Astoria, London England) was released on The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nuthin' But The Truth and on Behind The Shades and Greatest Hits Live In London. Not on the box set |
This is a rare Ian Hunter track with Mick Ronson on vocals released on Long Odds and Out-takes" containing alternate mixes and unreleased material from the Chrysalis era while a slightly different version is a "rough mix," and 13 seconds shorter, an earlier fade-out, is on the compilation From The Knees Of My Heart.
"China I can feel you by my side
Across the bay, across the Tyne
Can you hear me say"The River Tyne /ˈtaɪn/ (
listen) is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is 73 miles (118 km).[1] It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.
The Tyne Rivers Trust measure the whole Tyne catchment as 2,936 km2 (1,134 square miles), containing 4,399 km (2,733 miles) of waterways.[3]
The North Tyne rises on the Scottish border, north of Kielder Water. It flows through Kielder Forest, and in and out of the border. It then passes through the village of Bellingham before reaching Hexham.
(Ian Hunter)
China, China, the evening's moving in
See you, soon now, the boat moves with the wind
China, China, I can see the harbour lights
Light your, fire, we'll be warm tonight
China, China, the thoughts drift from the sea
I'm dreaming, of you, wear your dress for me
China, China, the oceans the rain shines on the wheel
The seagulls flying lower now
China I can feel you by my side
Across the bay, across the Tyne
Can you hear me say
China, China, wear your hair down low
Lady, Lady, you're frozen to the bone
China, China, the catch was good today
The oilskins clinging to my back
And the lantern gently sways
Oh don't you cry, the kids to bed
Didn't mean the things I said
China, China, the years go rolling by
Laughter, sorrow, I will not make you cry
China, China, think before you speak
Always remember the ocean hauls as deep
And if I'm tired of feeling low
Don't let me sleep, you know
China, China, the men are on the quay
Drinking, smoking, talking quietly
The water's calmer now
All my work is done
So China, see ya.
Chrysalis CDCHR 6074.
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.
| China (Ronson vocal) | 4:36 | This rare track was originally issued on the rarities compilation Long Odds and Outtakes. It can also be found on Tilting The Mirror - Rarities (box set only). |
| China (rough mix) | 4:23 | A slightly different version (a "rough mix", and 13s shorter - an earlier fade-out) is on the compilation From The Knees Of My Heart. |
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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Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
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.Chrysalis CDCHR 6074.
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.
| Central Park n' West | 4:00 | Originally issued on Short Back and Sides, also on the compilations The Collection, From The Knees Of My Heart, The Golden Age 1969-1997, Old Records Never Die and Shades of Ian Hunter. |
| Central Park 'n' West (live 11th September 1981) | 4:33 | This live version (recorded Dr. Pepper Music Festival, Pier 84, New York NY) was originally issued on the Ian Hunter Rocks video (VHS/Laserdisc only). The video (DVD) can also be found on It Never Happened (box set only); the audio can be found on From The Knees Of My Heart (not on the box set). |
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