Adventures Through The Mines Of Mellow Gold 14
Happy New Year, everybody! And what a special year 2007’s going to be. I can feel it in my heart, my bones, the place where my cojones used to be – 2007 will be, indeed, the Year Of The Wuss. I hope you had a happy holiday with at least a touch of relaxation. Me? After stuffing myself on Coley, Dupree, Fogelberg, Bishop and all four members of Starland Vocal Band (they were delicious), I needed a chance to digest. I swore off Mellow Gold for at least a week – enough time for my wife to forget I ever started listening to it in the first place. But sucks for her, ’cause we’re back with another week of Adventures Through The Mines Of Mellow Gold!
Ambrosia – Biggest Part Of Me (download)
Snarking this one’s going to be hard, because I think “Biggest Part Of Me” is a perfect song. Seriously. I’m hard-pressed to find a damn thing wrong with it. Actually, that’s not completely true; I can find one thing wrong with it, which I’ll get to eventually, but I maintain that the song is just awesome. I’m in pretty good company on this one, too – Quincy Jones has declared it to be one of his favorite songs.
Ambrosia was formed in 1971 in Hermosa Beach, California, and although it took a number of years, wound up with a record contract through a number of fortunate circumstances. Y’see, the band had a friend who was a sound engineer, and needed a music group to help test the sound system at the Hollywood Bowl. Ambrosia showed up, played a blistering set, and caught the attention of famous classical engineer Gordon Perry. Perry invited Los Angeles Philharmonic director Zubin Mehta to see the band, who agreed with Perry’s assessment of the band. Mehta took the band under his wing, hired them to perform at the Bowl as part of a “Great American Songbook” concert, and helped them record their first full demo. Surprisingly, Herb Alpert wasn’t interested over at A&M (a sure sign that this band knew how to rock), but newly-formed label 20th Century Fox finally signed the group, giving Ambrosia their first record deal four years after their formation.
Ambrosia has a few Mellow Gold classics, including “You’re The Only Woman” and “How Much I Feel,” which we’ll cover in time. However, this band wasn’t always a fount of wuss music. As I’m sure many of you know, their roots were in progressive rock, reflected in their first two albums. Their eponymous debut – engineered and mixed by Alan Parsons – featured two charting singles, including the awesomely-titled “Nice, Nice, Very Nice,” sung as a duet between members David Pack and Joe Puerta. (I’ve never heard this song, yet I already know I want to play it during sex.) However, their biggest hit arrived with their third album, Life Beyond L.A. “How Much I Feel” was a departure for the band: instead of prog-rock, it was a gentle pop ballad with smooth backing vocals. It was almost left off the album for this very reason, as the band didn’t want to alienate their rock fans. (Think of it as their version of Styx’s “Babe.”)
The success of “How Much I Feel” caused Pack and Ambrosia to re-think their artistic direction, and their pop sensibilities were thus reflected in their next album, One Eighty. This brings us to “Biggest Part Of Me,” which matched their previous wussy hit by reaching #3.
Do you want to know why “Biggest Part Of Me” is such a Mellow Gold classic? Firstly, instrumentation. The keyboard is the primary instrument. There’s a little bit of guitar, but not much. In fact, the guitar gets completely pimp-slapped by both the keyboard and the saxophone. We already know that no Mellow Gold song is truly complete without a sax solo. There are two in “Biggest Part Of Me.” In fact, the guitar gets just a teeny chance to solo (and even then, the keyboard’s wailing in the background), and then the sax comes back with a big ol’ “I don’t think so, bitch!” Two sax solos in one song: that’s Mellow Gold.
Let’s talk about vocals. This song wouldn’t be memorable at all if not for the soaring vocal by David Pack. A strong, soulful voice with an unbelievable range and a clear-as-day falsetto, his performance makes the song what it is. And you’ve got some unbelievable backing vocals. I mean, seriously: unbelievable. I’m clearly not motivated enough to analyze the structure, but we’re not talking your usual third-and-fifth-above harmonies here. These are jazzy, open harmonies. And listen to the backing vocal in the chorus: “Wishing it will cooooome…true!” Right there is everything you could ever want from a backing vocal.
Wait a minute, I take it back. It’s missing one thing:
Think about it: “Biggest Part Of Me” sounds like a McD song that’s missing the McD, and this is partially what gives it the MG quality. I don’t think a McD vocal would have the same effect as Pack’s, but I could definitely hear him singing lead. (I could listen to McD singing anything from “Biggest Part Of Me” to “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.”) And can’t you just hear him in the backing vocal? It hurts me to know that he eventually became a close friend of Pack’s, but obviously not in time to contribute to this song. In fact, here’s a fucking awesome picture of McD, Amy Holland, Pack and James Ingram. They should have created their own SuperWussyGroup.
Choose your own caption:
David Pack during his “lost Miami Vice weekend”
Michael McDonald during his “failed hair bleach experiment”
James Ingram during his “dressing like a cracker” phase
Amy Holland thinking “I hope this leads to me getting a song on the St. Elmo’s Fire soundtrack”
I mean, yeah, it sounds like McD’s singing anyway, but I’d just feel better knowing he was actually there, y’know? Oh well.
I did mention that there is just one small thing wrong with “Biggest Part Of Me.” Nobody – including David Pack himself – knows how to leave well enough alone. This song has been covered numerous times, and suffice to say that nothing even comes close to the original. Artists like Take 6 and John Tesh have watered it down until it becomes a mushy mess of smooth jazz (and you and I both know that there is nothing that comes close to the hell reserved for creators and lovers of smooth fucking jazz). Pack pulled a Mardones and re-recorded it for his 2005 album The Secret Of Movin’ On, and even his result is smooth jazz dreck. I don’t even want to talk about what Livingston Taylor (an artist I genuinely like) did to “Biggest Part Of Me.” Listen to a 30-second sample yourself, if you dare. I won’t dignify his cover with a comment. Okay, just one: it makes me want to jump off a bridge. (“bay-beeeee?” WTF?)
I’ll give Pack credit for one thing, however: he still sings “Biggest Part Of Me” in the original key, and his vocal still packs a mighty wallop. He doesn’t tour much with Ambrosia anymore; in fact, he seems to be quite chummy with Steve Perry. (Maybe the two of them get together with Dennis DeYoung and collectively curse their former bands.) If you do hear of Pack touring with Ambrosia again, though, it might be worth checking out. Take advantage of a wussy opportunity and see if they live up to their performance on Merv Griffin:
[youtube]pcrzfNrneXw[/youtube]
And hey, is it just me, or does Pack look just a little like Will Ferrell?
Man, now I have a hankering for some McD.
Christopher Cross – All Right (download)
Our second pilgrimage to The Cross, “All Right” was the first single released from his second album, Another Page. As you’ll know if you’ve read Jefito’s definitive Idiot’s Guide To Christopher Cross, the album wasn’t very good. Sure, it had a hit one year after its release – “Think Of Laura,” which was undoubtedly helped by exposure on General Hospital – but the album, as a whole, was a disappointment to those who were expecting greatness from the man who won five Grammy Awards 2 years’ prior. “All Right” never made it past #12.
If you want more information as to where Cross went wrong with his career, Jeff’s guide is for you. I’m just here to talk about the anthem of flaccid men everywhere.
Firstly, the music. I can’t say for sure, but I’d bet that Cross was a bit jealous of Joey Scarbury’s hit theme from Greatest American Hero. That, and clearly he was having sex with a synthesizer at the time. There’s your standard synthesized piano sound, but then you’ve got this arpeggiated, swirling keyboard sound that I would swear was lifted straight out of “Flashdance…What A Feeling.” It’s WIMPY, people! It doesn’t lend itself to the triumphant feeling this song is trying to put forth. For a few fleeting moments, Cross does rise (musically) above these deficits to give the song at least a little bit of a kick in the ‘nads, thanks to a pretty strong electric guitar and an impressive guitar solo – one that, Jefito assures me, is courtesy of Cross himself. However, just when you think it’s all right, you think we’re gonna make it, he wusses out again! Skip to around 2:05, when he’s coming out of the chorus with a building guitar stab – and then a pause – and then that awful piano riff. Oh, Christopher. You thought we were going to make it. We didn’t.
Speaking of, there are some classic Mellow Gold lines in here. Take the chorus: “All right, think we’re gonna make it.” Uh, you sure about that, Chris? ‘Cause you don’t sound sure. I don’t know how much more tentative this hook could be. “All right, think it’s possible we could come maybe a little close to actually making it…possibly” is a bit better, but it just doesn’t scan. And how about “think it might just work out this time.” You THINK it MIGHT JUST work out THIS TIME? Dude! She’s not going to stick around if you don’t act like you’re sure! Be a man! If I were the girl, I’d slap you in the face with a flamingo and start searching for a real man, like Andrew Gold.
The biggest problem of “All Right,” however, isn’t the music or the lyrics. The problem is that Christopher Cross’s voice just doesn’t lend itself to this kind of song. I have no problems with the others in terms of vocal quality: “Sailing?” Take me away! “Arthur’s Theme?” I’m caught between the moon and blah blah blah! “Think of Laura?” Dude, I’m thinking – and I’m in tears! (I know, she wouldn’t want me to, shut up.) And I know the man can spit out an edgy vocal, evidenced by “Ride Like The Wind.” (And by “edgy,” I mean “edgy if you consider Emo Phillips edgy.”) He makes the absolute wrong decision here. He toes the line between whining and wailing, and it’s his fault the song – intended to be one of those kick-ass, we did it, you guys! songs – completely misses the mark. And because it misses the mark…it’s Mellow Gold. Q.E.D.
But you know what? Somehow, this song works. Example: yesterday, as I finished a really good workout and was stretching, guess what chorus entered into my head? That’s right. I smiled before I even realized what I was singing. Clearly, it’s the anthem for pussies. Oh, and whenever I’m around Mike and he sings the chorus (the only part any of us know), he pumps his fist in the air. You don’t just go pumping your fist in the air for no reason at all, unless you’re clinically insane or Benny Mardones. And I’d argue Mike doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. The Cross just takes over. And you know damn well this fucking chorus is going to be in your head all day. (You’re welcome.) So the song has redeeming qualities. And I can only come up with one good reason why:
He rocked the shit out of “Ride Like The Wind,” so thankfully Cross was smart enough to call McD back for the sophomore album and this song. Granted, his presence isn’t as obvious as “Ride.” In fact, I’ll be honest: until I really started listening to “All Right” for this entry, I didn’t know he was on the track. You think I’d be ashamed of such a thing, loving McD the way that I do. I’m not ashamed. Know why? Because I’m convinced that his presence subconsciously entered my brain, and that’s why I wound up feeling good about the song. Thank you again, McD, for being you. You are my hero.
Jefito, clearly being the only person ambitious enough to write an Idiot’s Guide to Christopher Cross, sent me a remix of “All Right” that I must share with you. It’s from an import version of The Definitive Collection. Is it good? No, not necessarily. But when has that stopped me from passing it on?
Christopher Cross – All Right (Remix) (download)
Download, and get your wussy groove on! And don’t forget to stop by next week for more Adventures Through The Mines Of Mellow Gold!
January 3rd, 2007 at 9:36 am
There’s a pretty sweet "modern" remix of Biggest Part Of Me on the What Is Hip? compilation (from 2005 I think).
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:04 am
"Can’t you just hear McD sing the backing vocal?" is a foolish and rhetorical question.
Michael McDonald is the god of backing vocals. Every backing vocal that has ever been, or ever will be, would be improved immeasurably if McD sang it.
You really have to do Ride Like Wind on here at some point. In addition to featuring the best McD backing vocal of all time, there is just just nothing funnier than Christopher Cross singing about what a gun toting bad ass he is.
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:19 am
The worst thing about "All Right" is that it’s the rockingest song on that album. By far. I’m not sure if it’s actually possible for an album to literally sound pink, but if it is, "Another Page" fits the bill.
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I like that David Pack’s 2005 album is called "The Secret of Movin’ On." And what is the secret of movin’ on, David? Going back to your more popular past, apparently. "Biggest Part of Me" really is a soft-rock classic.
May I take credit once again for inspiring Jefito to write that Complete Idiot’s Guide to Christopher Cross? You’re welcome, world. And thank YOU once again, Jefito, for turning me on to Cross’s "Love Is Love in Any Language," a song in which Chris Cross discusses his passion for Tijuana hookers.
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:16 pm
The radio stations I work for play so much Ambrosia that I can’t find anything worth praising on this song — except when it completely fades out. Christopher Cross…I believe this song was playing in my local Safeway grocery store during the holiday season. I’m not sure if it was to keep the manic throng of people a bit calmer, or if it was a cruel joke played by a Safeway to see if anyone would go postal. Happy New Year!
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Ahh… Ambrosia melts this wuss heart..It’s hard to put Ambrosia in this category for the reasons mentioned before. Their first album is teriffic (especially Nice Nice, Very Nice) – and all of their albums are at least very good (yes, How Much I Feel is quite out of place on "Life Beyond LA"). Nice memory of Ambrosia live in ’80 at the Miami Marine Stadium, which was basically a fronton on the water where the band played about 50 feet out on a stage. They were a lot more rockin than the mellow fans were expecting, I’m sure. Plus, at this venue, there were always a few idiots who would get the idea to hop in the water between the seats and the stage, so we got to hear David Pack do his best bad cop.. "look, get out of the water now, or they’re gonna make us shut down the show". Jason, that is a great shot of mellow royalty with Pack and McD – and they did form the Cream of wuss with Ingram for one track "I Just Can’t Let Go" from Pack’s 1985 solo album – it was unfortunately past mellow prime time, so it was only a minor AC hit – although, maybe a future gold contender, as would be the uber-rare song by Ambrosia called "Outside" from a soundtrack to the film "Inside Moves" – it’s basically a slowed down "What A Fool" keyboard riff with Pack and McD duetting..
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I loves me the mellow! I’m that guy that bought the whole Time Life mellow gold series in college, when everyone else needed No Doubt, or Sugar Ray. Fools! Sugar Ray?! The crazy part is, I own all these songs but I’m still compelled to grab them from your site. That’s the undeniable power of the mellow….
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Woofpop, as always, you impress and scare me. But you’ve said the magic words ("What A Fool," "Pack and McD duetting,") so off I go to track THIS one down…
Tres – glad you’re enjoying! You and I are probably close in age, as those bands were popular when I was in college (I saw Sugar Ray play one of our campus events for about 10 minutes, then I went rollerblading)…and I made my first Mellow Gold collection in college after seeing either a Time-Life commercial.
Of course, I did it by writing down all the songs and heading over to Napster, but whatever…
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I have that affect on a lot of people, I guess!! I can send it; if you need..
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Well, now that you’ve admitted that you have it…shit, yes! Please!
January 3rd, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Wow, that remix really is crap-tastic. I think even the boys from Night at the Roxbury would refuse to shake their heads.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Robert,
Speaking for the world, thank you. At least we don’t have to worry about Cross now – we know where he is and what he’s been up to..
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
"Snarking this one’s going to be hard, because I think "Biggest Part Of Me" is a perfect song." It makes me happy to see that a fellow 30-something with a seemingly sound and well-developed critical sense can say such things with a straight face. I agree with you perfectly, and I admire the way you keep the balance between the stuff you genuinely like and the more flawed material (probably because I agree with you most of the time, but anyway…)
January 4th, 2007 at 9:25 am
J, I never told you the story about the debate that took place at the Fort Myers Steak and Ale last summer – involving me, my folks, and all of the restaurant and bar staff. The T-baum trio was trying to figure out who sang the song, "Biggest Part of Me," which was playing on the satellite radio at the time. While I sang along to the awesome song (yes, openly in the restaurant – low, low voice though) Papa T said, "Steely Dan." I gasped. Momma T nearly fell over. The bartender said, "McD. For sure." I said, no way. Momma T agreed. In the end, it was Momma T – the music maven – who, in a moment of triumph, exclaimed, "Ambrosia!" Being me, I instantly thought of desert. :-);-) Happy Thursday.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:55 am
There are still Steak and Ales in this world? That’s good to know. I thought the franchise died long ago.
January 4th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Ambrosia. This band is like the nectar of the gods to me. And “How Much I Feel” will be the basis of any new religions I start after World War Three clears the slate.
Speaking of David Pack star turns (will you pass along “Outside” when you get it, pretty please?), the man does a fantastic guest shot on Alan Parson’s “Try Anything Once,” in a song he wrote titled “Oh Life (There Must Be More).”
He also does a decent (though awfully overproduced in that shiny contemporary Christian sound of the Eighties) take on Mastedon’s “Shine On.”
January 4th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Wanted to add this one little thing: Since I couldn’t help myself, I was humming around the office the melody to "Biggest part of me." No joke – somebody said, "Wasn’t that the Little River Band?" Surprising, and interesting guess. I of course took the opportunity to set the record straight and to be informative; I said it was Steely Dan. ;-) Oh, and Robert, yes, Steak and Ales exist. In FL anyway. Always a good time at that colorful salad bar…:-)
January 4th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Great story, JT. You’re spreading the Mellow Gold gospel to Fort Myers. It’s better than that Kip Winger crap they listen to down there!
January 4th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Wow, Jason, it looks like you got a bit “backed up” over the holidays with no outlet for your Mellow Gold meanderings. Glad you’re back — this is stellar stuff!
I’m happy you are such a big fan of “Biggest Part of Me.” That song is pretty much flawless as far as pop music goes. And I agree about the surprisingly good guitar solo on “All Right.” I like that tune in general, mostly for it’s Moroder-sounding synths, but I realize I’m in the minority on that count.
And, undoubtedly, a wuss. But I think I’m gonna make it!
January 4th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Hey Steak and Ale – went there about two months ago here in Ft Lauderdale. It’s totally fitting that Ambrosia was playing in there – it’s kind of the mellow gold of restaurants – with the big salad bar (no green goddess dressing anymore, though – bummer), the dark wood, plants and stained glass. Be sure to have extra bac-o’s on that baked potato..
Pack turns up quite a bit, especially if you listen to ‘smooth jazz’ – He did a vocal turn on David Benoit’s "The Key To You" which sounds very Ambrosia-y…
January 4th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
We used to have a Steak and Ale in Macon, GA, where I grew up, but it went away, maybe when I was still in high school in the early ’90s or maybe once I was in college. It seems like most of the steakhouse chains in Macon are all located within a half-mile radius of each other.
We also used to have a Shakey’s Pizza or two in Macon, but they closed in the late ’80s. I remember my family going there on my brother’s 15th birthday in 1985, and we seemed to be the only ones in the place. Three years earlier that place was packed. What happened? A few years ago a friend of mine who had moved to L.A. told me Shakey’s was still doing well out there. For some reason it makes me happy when I find out chain restaurants from my youth haven’t been put out to pasture just yet.
And now to get back on topic, I think Bob Welch’s “Sentimental Lady” might make for a good Mellow Gold essay. The guy left Fleetwood Mac right before Buckingham and Nicks joined. Timing was not on his side.
January 4th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
(Sugar Ray. If a better, more worthy, in-the-flesh example, no, definition of sell-out exists than Mark McGrath, I don’t think I want to know who it is. But he does have that certain something in common with mellow gold, now that you mention it. Can’t put my finger on it.)
January 4th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
"Sentimental Lady" has been mentioned here before, Robert, so you’re not alone on that one. Consider it added to the list. (if I had a list.)
Mark McGrath has only done one thing that I consider admirable: in 2000, he was on WHTZ (Z100) here in NYC, and called them out on the fact that they upped the pitch on Sugar Ray’s latest single on-air. The DJ stammered and changed the subject. That was supposed to be a secret.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Stop making fun!
January 5th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Sugar Ray had at least three hits that were also good, solid pop songs: “Every Morning,” “Someday,” and “When It’s Over,” which I think is a classic. Maybe if they’d taken themselves a little more seriously they’d still be around, but McGrath apparently had bigger dreams, like hosting “Extra.” No, Mark, no! But McGrath does come across as a decent guy in interviews. It just seems like he woke up one day, looked in the mirror, and said, “Damn, I really AM good-looking. Fuck this recording-in-the-studio shit — I should be in front of a camera 24 hours a day!”
January 6th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I was also going to boast David Pack’s turns on Alan Parsons’ "Try Anything Once", a great album with some awful lyrics. Let me add that Pack turns in an epic vocal on "Ground Zero", the concluding track from Kansas’ Kerry Livgren’s solo album "Seeds Of Change".
As for that early Ambrosia stuff, look. I tried to listen to it. Honest and for true. But I just could not get a grip on it. Certainly not "Nice, Nice, Very Nice". I kept waiting for the punchline that never came. (Kinda like Saga’s "Ice Nice". Come to think of it, I don’t like ANY song with the word "nice" in it! Man! I DO SUCK!)
As for the mighty McD, he should be on his knees thanking God almighty on an hourly basis for that voice, ’cause that lame "What A Fool Believes" keys lick he recycles in almost EVERY track he plays on is tired.
Sincerely,
Lord Smoked Meats And Fishes
January 8th, 2007 at 7:40 am
Blaspheme!
January 8th, 2007 at 8:27 am
(I’m just pretending he didn’t say what I think he said.)
January 9th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I’m still digging the shot of McD in the tux. From now on, all refernces to him should include "three time Grammy Award winner" as his salutation. I’m trying to figure out how to make the registered trademark symbol for the Grammy word. That should be on there, too!
January 9th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Yeah, that’s my favorite McD pic as well. I plan on using it as much as possible.
April 12th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
[…] There are many fine tributes to Vonnegut on the web today—my favorite ones are by Andrew Leonard at Salon and Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon—so I needn’t pay much tribute myself. Instead, I’d like to write about Vonnegut’s intersections with popular music. First, the one that he’s got nothing to do with: Baz Luhrmann’s 1999 hit “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen,” purportedly taken from a commencement address Vonnegut gave at MIT in 1997. It isn’t, and the legend is debunked by the inestimable crew at Snopes here. Second, his actual songwriting credit: Ambrosia’s “Nice, Nice, Very Nice,” featuring a lyric reworked from Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle. It appeared on the band’s 1975 debut album, and got a good deal of FM airplay at the time. And it stands today as evidence that Ambrosia had one of the more eclectic careers you could name. Can you name anybody else who’s recorded both a forgotten prog-rock classic and some Mellow Gold? […]