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This blog has moved to couldbemistaken.com

Jackson BrowneThe Pretender Jackson Browne from The...

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:06:00 -0500

Jackson Browne
The Pretender
Jackson Browne
from The Pretender
November, 1976

Anecdote: This song makes me cry. It’s the only song that makes me cry. It’s painful for me to listen to, but it makes me feel more alive and more sober than any other song I own. Seeing Jackson Browne perform this song live was like staring at who I’ll be in thirty years, and it put a feeling in my stomach that hasn’t gone away. Looking around at the crowd, the complacent baby boomers, & knowing that this was the generation that hoped & loved, & seeing that they all turned out to be pretenders… I guess we all turn out that way. And maybe I’m not ready to give up just yet, but I’m certainly aware of what’s forthcoming. I don’t know what that means for me yet. I don’t know how that affects all of my ideals, knowing that there really isn’t hope & that we’ve all got to compromise eventually. So I just listen to this song over & over hoping to figure it all out.

Background: Jackson Browne’s first five records offer a very poignant record of a generation coming down from Woodstock. Through the years we trace the idealism of the late 60’s to the despair of the early 70’s to the resignation of the mid 70’s. The Pretender is his statement of resignation. Produced by Jon Landau (fresh off of working on Bruce Springsteen’s break-through Born To Run), the record had a pop sheen that underscored his lyrical concessions to consumerism. The title track closes the record with a sarcastic but painfully telling call to pray for the Pretender, “who started out so young and strong only to surrender.” He paints a picture of suburban life; a 9 to 5 day job, children and ice cream trucks, Pretenders reminiscing about the fight for love that yielded none of the changes they expected it to. “I’m gonna be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender where the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender. And believe in whatever may lie in those things that money can buy… Thought true love could have been a contender.” Critically, the concession was considered a step down from his previous albums, but it clearly resonated with the public, marking his entrance into the mainstream.

The Year Through My Ears: 2008 Disc 2

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:25:00 -0500

This is disc 2 of my 4 disc retrospective on 2008. Again, if you find something you like, please support the artist.

Grab the full thing here (120mb).

Album Artwork: This is a Great Depression-era parody of Grant Wood’s American Gothic by Gordon Parks.

Discrepancies: The King Khan record is a retrospective put out by Vice Magazine. Torture originally appeared on Khan’s 1994 Smash Hits record. Also, I can’t find anything on the Heavy Trash song, it just showed up on their myspace one day. Odds are it won’t be officially released in 2008.

1. Shovels & Rope - Boxcar (4:36)
2. Ben Kweller - Sawdust Man (4:13)
3. Hayes Carll - She Left Me For Jesus (4:04)
4. The Black Keys - I Got Mine (3:59)
5. The Jim Jones Revue - Cement Mixer (4:11)
6. AC/DC - Big Jack (3:57)
7. Heavy Trash - Nervis (2:11)
8. King Khan & the Shrines - Torture (3:08)
9. Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop & Roll (2:25)
10. Be Your Own PET - Food Fight! (1:05)
11. Elvis Costello & the Impostors - No Hiding Place (4:00)
12. Rodney Crowell - Sex and Gasoline (4:29)
13. Jenny Lewis - Carpetbaggers (3:34)
14. The Raconteurs - Old Enough (3:57)
15. The Avett Brothers - Murder In the City (3:12)
16. Blitzen Trapper - Furr (4:08)
17. The Rosewood Thieves - Mad Man Blues (3:18)
18. Howlin’ Rain - Calling Lightning Pt. 2 (5:11)
19. Fleet Foxes - Winter Hymnal (2:27)
20. Inara George and Van Dyke Parks - Duet (2:37)
21. Pete Molinari - Sweet Louise (4:06)
22. Bon Iver - Skinny Love (3:46)

Total Runtime: 78:35

The Year Through My Ears: 2008 Disc 1

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:03:00 -0500

This is disc 1 of my 4 disc retrospective on 2008 (85 songs in all). When I think back on 2008, these will be the songs I remember. They’re in no particular order except what sounds good in sequence… I tried to spread things pretty evenly across the 4 discs.

There was a lot of good music this year, but way more shitty music. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for quality musicians to make a living in a day in age where they have to compete for attention with every heartbroken asshole with a guitar & a laptop. So if you find something new that you like, please buy the record. Or go see their show. Or order a t-shirt. Support them somehow. It goes a long way. It’s awesome to get really positive myspace messages, too, fyi.

Grab the full thing here (124mb).

Album Artwork: Adolf Eichmann on trial in Israel for war crimes committed during WW2, listening to the proceedings being translated in his native German. For some reason it semt appropriate.

Discrepancies: The Sharon Jones track was originally released as a 7” single in ‘05, but re-released as part of a singles collection in ‘08. And the Ponderosa track is a demo that was never officially released, only on myspace.

1. Noah And The Whale - Shape Of My Heart (2:54)
2. Phantom Planet - Do The Panic (3:33)
3. White Denim - Sitting (2:17)
4. Man Man - Top Drawer (3:26)
5. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (4:12)
6. Dr. Dog - The Old Days (3:42)
7. Passion Pit - Better Things (4:33)
8. Benji Hughes - You Stood Me Up (3:33)
9. The Felice Brothers - Love Me Tenderly (3:40)
10. Ponderosa - Pistolier (3:33)
11. Delta Spirit - People C’mon (3:26)
12. Kings of Leon - Crawl (4:09)
13. Darker My Love - Blue Day (4:11)
14. Black Mountain - Stormy High (4:34)
15. TV On The Radio - Halfway Home (5:32)
16. Gnarls Barkley - Whatever (2:18)
17. Johnson&Jonson - The Only Way (2:25)
18. Raphael Saadiq - Love That Girl (3:04)
19. Veronica Maggio - Gammal Sång (3:27)
20. Jazzanova - I Can See (feat. Ben Westbeech) (3:32)
21. Ray Lamontagne - You Are The Best Thing (3:57)
22. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) (3:34)

Total Runtime: 79:20

Mix: Jon Cole's Quality Christmas

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:03:00 -0500

Here’s my Christmas mix for this year. I tried not to be too obvious with my choices. But it leans pretty heavily towards my current interest in old r&b, soul, & jazz. But what are you gonna do? I might make a supplemental disc with stuff I couldn’t fit on here. Grab the full thing here.

1. The Ventures - Sleigh Ride (2:22)
2. James Brown - Soulful Christmas (3:10)
3. The Jackson 5 - Up On the House Top (3:14)
4. Otis Redding - Merry Christmas Baby (2:33)
5. Stevie Wonder - One Little Christmas Tree (2:45)
6. Sammy Davis Jr. - Jingle Bells (2:16)
7. Louis Armstrong - ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? (2:50)
8. Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby (3:28)
9. Aretha Franklin - Winter Wonderland (2:15)
10. Pearl Bailey - Five Pound Box Of Money (2:38)
11. Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (2:50)
12. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Christmas Everyday (2:39)
13. The Drifters - White Christmas (2:39)
14. The 4 Seasons - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (2:16)
15. Brian Wilson - What I Really Want For Christmas (3:52)
16. Ringo Starr - Christmas Time Is Here Again (4:06)
17. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Christmas All Over Again (4:15)
18. Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run (2:47)
19. The Sonics - Don’t Believe In Christmas (1:48)
20. The Crystals - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (3:28)
21. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock (2:12)
22. The Marques - Santa Done Got Hip (1:50)
23. The Supremes - My Favorite Things (2:51)
24. Andy Williams - It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (2:46)
25. Ella Fitzgerald & Frank Devol - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (2:54)
26. Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton - Baby It’s Cold Outside (4:57)

Cary Ann Hearst & Michael TrentHollowpoint Cary Ann...

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:23:00 -0500

Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent
Hollowpoint
Cary Ann Hearst/Michael Trent
from Shovels & Rope
October, 2008

Anecdote: This is my music. Not that I had a hand in it, it’s just the shit that I loooove.I really can’t say much except that it’s my favorite. It’s what music should sound like. It’s like the music that you knew was being played somewhere but you didn’t think that it was ever recorded. But it was recorded. And it will be the most underappreciated record of the year, hands down.

Background: Shovels & Rope is a dirty, fuzzy, drugged out Appalachian folk record. Hangings happen. Crops wilt. And bullets fly. It’s a story of hard times, a collection of heartwrenching tales, tragic accounts of the seedy south. The record was recorded between solo records by Cary Ann and The Films records by Michael Trent, and was produced by Trent. Hollowpoint Blues is the confession of a lover done wrong… “I’m’a drink me a bottle of Night Train… Told my secret to a junky whore… I won’t let nobody tell me what I do ‘cause I believe in my pistol more than I believe in you… You better find somebody that’ll take a little mercy on you, won’t be me.” It doesn’t get any better than that.

MelanieRing the Living Bell/Shine the Living Light Melanie...

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:15:00 -0500

Melanie
Ring the Living Bell/Shine the Living Light
Melanie Safka
from Gather Me
October, 1971

Anecdote: I got into Melanie through Brand New Key, which remains the only Melanie song I’ve ever heard played in public, so I had nearly written her off as a one hit wonder when I picked up some vinyl and discovered that the rest of her work, particularly the rest of the material on Gather Me, can be very mature and substantial (if at times melodramatic). So glad I took a chance on her.

Background: 1971 saw Melanie and husband/producer Peter Schekeryk leaving Buddah Records to form their own label, Neighborhood Records, and the immediate payoff was Gather Me, Melanie’s most celebrated album. Out of the gate the label had a hit record with a number one single in Brand New Key. The transition wasn’t without complications, however, as Buddah, attempting to cash in on the success of the new record, quickly released an older unreleased recording, the Nickel Song, as a single just as Neighborhood was releasing their follow up single, Ring the Living Bell. The competition kept either song from finding chart success, but Ring the Living Bell did find it’s place as a critical favorite. The track features an expand/contract arrangement that matches short, rollicking piano verses with epic choruses that expand each time through, eventually incorporating epic choir vocals, strings, brass, and the kitchen sink before collapsing into a breakdown refrain that fades out. Melanie’s vocals are particularly well done on the track, matching all the dynamics of song, and the epic arrangement suits all the idealistic, even triumphant, altruistic hippy exclamations. But as the 70’s went on and Woodstock-goes grew disillusioned, so did Melanie’s popularity fade, leaving Gather Me as one of the last relics of the movement.

Benji HughesNeighbor Down the Hall Benji Hughes/Keefus...

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:32:00 -0500

Benji Hughes
Neighbor Down the Hall
Benji Hughes/Keefus Ciancia
from A Love Extreme
July, 2008

Anecdote: Benji opened for Jenny Lewis earlier this year. And what immediately struck me was his drummer, who had this incredible feel. And when I realized the drummer was a babe (Barbara Gruska) I was even more impressed. I don’t know if that makes me sexist or not. And then I realized that Benji’s white t-shirt didn’t quite fit and that his belly hung out of the bottom. Apparently he used to be a housepainter. And he still looks like a housepainter. Then I realized that all of his songs were incredible. And so I bought the record. I listen to it more than anything else I’ve bought this year.

Background: A Love Extreme is the diary of a crooning houspainter who packs his bags and moves from Charlotte, NC to Silverlake, CA in order to make a record over a 40 month period. But this is no ordinary housepainter, for Benji Hughes rides a giant wave of spacey synths and buzzsaw guitars on a lazy baratone that will woo your pants to the ground. His husky exterior deceiving, Benji is actually a connoisseur of cool, magically transforming (with the help of producer Keefus Ciancia) dating mishaps, landlord disputes, and bogus parties into sonic dreamscapes dotted with cavity-inducing sugary sweet hooks. In You Stood Me Up, Benji recounts a failed date down to the Butterfinger Blizzard and fries he had while waiting for her to show up at Dairy Queen and lands on the maddeningly catchy refrain “I guess you got me, yeah, you really got me, hundred million ways to break a heart and that’s one you taught me,” but not before letting it fly that his new girl is a “10” with jet black hair who he might not have met if he hadn’t been stood up. Underneath the sensitivity lies a quilt of tonal goodness that spans the gauntlet from Dre-inspired funk to Flaming Lips-esque choirs, a sound that is nothing if not ambitious, inspiring comparisons to Beck. This is obviously a must listen.

Bob DylanI Want You Bob Dylan from Blonde On Blonde May,...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:28:00 -0500

Bob Dylan
I Want You
Bob Dylan
from Blonde On Blonde
May, 1966

Anecdote: I have a new favorite Bob Dylan record every two weeks. And a new favorite Bob Dylan song every week and a half. Right now my favorite record is Blonde On Blonde and my favorite song is I Want You. We all interpret Dylan through our own lense and here I see Dylan dissatisfied, reflecting on a love lost and lashing out at those who tore him and his love apart. This is becoming one of my favorite sides of Dylan, the spiteful allegories. But what makes I Want You a bit different is that, in the vain of most of the record, it’s posed as a vulnerable love song.

Background: Blonde On Blonde was released in the midst of an incredibly tumultuous ‘65/’66 tour. Dylan had recruited the Hawks (who would be subsequently redubbed The Band) as his backing band for a tour that saw such cold reaction in response to his move from folk to rock ‘n roll that Levon Helm quit the group. Out of this turmoil came a batch of absurd love songs, documenting a life on the road where Dylan would retreat to women and drugs. The backing bands, a mixture of session musicians and members of the Hawks, captured what Dylan would go on to call “(his) particular sound.” I Want You, which featured Al Kooper and a host of Nashville hired guns, hints at the “carnival” sound Dylan was aiming for, albeit in a much more upbeat manner than can be found elsewhere on the album. Though largely overlooked by critics, I Want You, lead by peppy lead guitar hooks, would go on to become one of the most commercially successful tracks from Blonde On Blonde, the last record Dylan recorded before his motorcycle accident, capping what many would call his finest era.

Blitzen TrapperFurr Eric Earley from Furr September,...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:14:00 -0500

Blitzen Trapper
Furr
Eric Earley
from Furr
September, 2008

Anecdote: I’m getting pretty used to being disappointed with new music these days, but this new Blitzen Trapper record not only lived up to my expectations, it completely shattered them. And then some. I’m going to go ahead & call it… this is the best record of the year.

Background: Stepping back from the fuzzed up grooves of their debut, Furr finds itself driven by mature folky sensibilities and rootsy subject matter, painting a much more vivid picture than before of six dudes perfecting their craft on some northeast American countryside. This is never truer than on the title track, a fable wherein the subject, after becoming lost in the woods, joins a pack of wolves and begins to conform to their ways and appearances. Ultimately he rejoins mankind, but taking with him the lessons learned about a simpler way of life. The story meanders to a stomp-clap rhythm among acoustic guitars and harmonica, occasionally accompanied by miscellaneous sounds of nature, before finally fading into what could be a passing swarm of bats and I honestly can’t think of a better way to end it. Such a charming and fresh take on folk music.

T. RexRide A White Swan Marc Bolan from Ride A White Swan...

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:25:00 -0400

T. Rex
Ride A White Swan
Marc Bolan
from Ride A White Swan single
October, 1970

Anecdote: The first time I saw Cary Ann Hearst play she covered Beltane Walk and I typed the lyrics into my cellular telephone and I looked it up when I got home and that’s when I fell in love with T. Rex.

Background: Ride A White Swan is as much the birth of glam as it is a cosmetic how-to for sorcerers. Wear your hair long, appropriate a tall hat and a tattooed gown, grab a bright star for your forehead and a black cat for your shoulder, ride a white swan and say a few spells. Apparently that’s all it takes. The song appeared in a shot of inspiration that yielded an impromptu recording session with longtime producer Toni Visconti and would go on to define the rest of Marc Bolan’s career, ushering in the circumcised T. Rex moniker and unleashing a new brand of rock upon Great Britain and indeed the world. After stalling at #2 on the British pop charts, the following single, Hot Love, would go on to spend six weeks at #1 and T. Rex would eventually become the most popular rock band in Britain. This fame and fortune came as a welcome change to Bolan, who was growing tired of being offered drugs instead of cash for performing his acoustic Tolkienian folklore to his devoted hippie cult following as Tyrannosaurus Rex.

PonderosaPennyless Kalen Nash/JT Hall from unreleased...

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:12:00 -0400

Ponderosa
Pennyless
Kalen Nash/JT Hall
from unreleased demo
September, 2008

Anecdote: This is my old band. They sent me their latest demos and I figuratively flipped my shit over this song. It might be my new favorite of all the songs they’ve written and it’s really just a timeless recording. I think they’re really finding a sound.

Background: Pennyless is a demo Ponderosa recently cut themselves when they got some free studio time. Kalen’s vocals are incredible, Kris Sampson (banjo, lead guitar) does an amazing job engineering this track and the band’s instincts are spot on. The way the track opens up at the chorus with the jingle bells and the background vocals makes me melt. The song was written in tribute to their home, the now closed Nickel & Dime Studios, which is not only where the band wrote, recorded, rehearsed, and hung out, but is where the band first met.

Tom PettyWaiting For Tonight Tom Petty from Full Moon Fever...

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:32:00 -0400

Tom Petty
Waiting For Tonight
Tom Petty
from Full Moon Fever (unreleased)
April, 1989

Anecdote: Waiting For Tonight was recorded in ‘88 but didn’t make Tom Petty’s first solo record. Instead, it surfaced on the 1995 Playback box set. I never heard the song until a year or two ago, and it’s since become one of my favorite Tom Petty tracks.

Background: Somehow Waiting For Tonight missed making it onto Full Moon Fever, the solo record Tom Petty recorded with Heartbreaker guitarist Mike Campbell and ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne. This is only somewhat understandable because of the undeniable quality of the dozen songs that made the record. Still, the song deserves much more than a spot on disc six of a box set, and the inclusion of the Bangles on backup vocals only further substantiates the song. What really makes the song, however, is the busy bass guitar work that flirts with disco just enough that it provides a perfect contrast to the jangly guitars, a truely thoughtful arrangement that’s got Jeff Lynne written all over it.

Billy JoelIt’s Still Rock And Roll To Me Billy Joel from...

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:15:00 -0400

Billy Joel
It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me
Billy Joel
from Glass Houses
March, 1980

Anecdote: I picked up Glass Houses on vinyl at Highland Row Antiques last weekend & I’ve spent the week falling in love with a large portion of it. Because of Alvin & the Chipmunks I always associated Billy Joel with Uptown Girl, but Billy Joel did more than cheesy pop… he stole his drummer’s wife before going solo and was a amateur boxer and in street gangs in Brooklyn when he was a kid. That’s more what Glass Houses sounds like. I was actually looking for The Stranger, but I picked up Glass Houses for You May Be Right and fell in love with Don’t Ask Me Why and reconnected with It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me.

Background: Glass Houses was Billy Joel’s third record with producer Phil Ramone, who won a Producer of the Year Grammy for his efforts, and, in defiance of critics, one of his most rock & roll focused records. The piano-free It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me actually ended up becoming one of his most successful and enduring singles. Billy modernizes 50’s rock & roll and exposes his working class Brooklyn roots on the track with call and response verses disecting the coming and going trends. The swing in the chorus is almost awkward until it drops back into the verse… the transition is pretty magical.

Laura NyroJimmy Mack Lamont Dozier/Holland, Brian/Edward...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:27:00 -0400

Laura Nyro
Jimmy Mack
Lamont Dozier/Holland, Brian/Edward Holland, Jr
from Gonna Take A Miracle
November, 1971

Anecdote: I got into Gonna Take A Miracle when I was told that it was a record that heavily influenced Jenny Lewis’ Rabbit Fur Coat. Which, evidently, is quite true. She enlisted the Watson Twins in much the same way that Laura enlisted LaBelle (the trio of Patty Labelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash) to sing backup vocals on the record. And Jenny opened her shows with the first track on the record, I Met Him On a Sunday.

Background: After the bulk of her early success came from her songs being covered by acts like the Fifth Dimension, Blood Sweat & Tears, & Three Dog Night, I imagine that Laura Nyro might have been trying to break the cycle by recording a record of other folks’ songs for a change. The resulting collaboration with soul trio LaBelle and Philly soul producers Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff (founders of Philadelphia International Records and the songwriting/production team behind Billy Paul’s Me & Mrs. Jones and the O’Jays’ Love Train who would go on to captain the Jackson 5’s years with Epic Records) is nothing short of extraordinary. The highlight of the collection of r&b covers is a polished Philly take on Martha & the Vandals’ Jimmy Mack, a 1966 Motown hit penned and produced by Holland, Dozier, & Holland. The recording, features some of the era’s best players & a surprisingly confident Nyro who does the track justice and then some.

David VanderveldeNothin’ No Jay Bennett/David...

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:50:00 -0400

David Vandervelde
Nothin’ No
Jay Bennett/David Vandervelde
from Moonstation House Band
January, 2007

Anecdote: I actually discovered David Vandervelde early last year through allmusic.com’s incredibly hit-or-miss editorial staff. But thank God for it, as it turned out to be, by a long shot, the album I listened to and enjoyed the most last year. In fact, it will probably be one of my most listened to records of 2008, also.

Background: David Vandervelde’s Secretly Canadian debut is nothing short of a modern glam rock masterpiece. The three year project began at former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett’s Chicago studio when Vandervelde was just 19 and is, aside from co-producer Bennett’s occasional assistance on bass guitar, the work of just two hands. Nothin’ No, the record’s opening track, is built like a tank around this plodding tempo that’s as relaxed as it could possibly be without getting sleepy. It could be the most perfect tempo of all-time.

Elton JohnCountry Comfort Elton John/Bernie Taupin from...

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:59:00 -0400

Elton John
Country Comfort
Elton John/Bernie Taupin
from Tumbleweed Connection
October, 1970

Anecdote: My pal Bubba turned me onto this song a while back. I had gotten stuck in my hometown and I was staying with some friends while my Jeep was in the shop & sometime during that week Bubba came home with this record and gave me a half-hour presentation on how come if no other record were ever made but this one the world would still be alright.

Background: Tumbleweed Connection was a concept record about the American West, but it drew largely on lyricist Bernie Taupin’s upbringing in rural England. It was an odd choice to follow up the breakthrough self-titled Elton John record, but even without a single the record sold pretty well. Melodically, Elton was really hitting his stride on this record and particularly on this track, a loose country number that hides flourishes of fiddle and harmonica underneath Elton’s gorgeous piano. There’s really too much that’s done right on this recording to point out any one thing, but I’ve always been in love with both of the acoustic guitar tracks.

The Chairmen of the BoardGive Me Just A Little More...

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:58:00 -0400

The Chairmen of the Board
Give Me Just A Little More Time
Ronald Dunbar/Edith Wayne
from Give Me Just A Little More Time
April, 1970

Anecdote: I came across this song during a routine probe of my hard drive. Every six months or so I totally lose control of everything I’ve acquired, & I have to make a conscious effort to figure out what the fuck is in all of these folders. So this was in a huge collection of 70’s singles & I said “holy shit, that’s the Jens Lekman sample lol” (from Opposite of Hallelujah).

Background: Give Me Just A Little More Time was the first single by the Detroit soul band fronted by General Johnson, former lead singer of 60’s R&B act the Showmen, and the first hit song on Invictious Records, started by the former Motown songwriting/producing team of Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, & Lamont Dozier (the team behind the Supremes’ Baby Love, Martha Reeves & the Vandals’ Nowhere To Run, the Four Tops’ Reach Out I’ll Be There, & Jr. Walker & the All-Stars’ I’m A Road Runner, among others). Upon leaving Motown, Holland, Dozier, & Holland got into it legally with Berry Gordy and so the song is credited to the pseudonym Ronald Dunbar & Edyth Wayne, though it was written and produced by the trio. The mix is really interesting… the bass, piano, and horns are panned left, the percussion and backing vocals are panned right, and the vocals and strings are center, giving the song an exceptionally wide sound (a hallmark of the trio’s production) until the breakdown where the song drops to just bass, drums, and vocals and everything’s centered. The effect is that the song shrinks up, and then expands again for the final chorus… brilliant execution.