Thursday, January 23, 2014

Song of the Day # 6 - Ted Taylor - (Love is Like a) Rambling Rose

'Your love is like a ramblin' rose. The more you feed it the more it grows'
 
A very minor 1965 hit for this fairly obscure American R & B vocalist. Pretty much the lowest chart placing he every had (# 132 on Billboard). Almost no lyrics at all, its all feel, steaming musicianship and backing vocals and it's gone in two minutes eleven seconds. So play it again! Songs with brackets are great too! Famous of course as the opening song on The MC5's debut album where Wayne Kramer does his best falsetto to ignite the crowd after the legendary 'five seconds to realise your purpose on the planet' intro. I think Taylor's version shades it. This is not to denigrate the MC5 but it's perfect.
 

 
Taylor was a member of '50s doo wop band The Cadets famous for their version (though he didn't sing on it), of Stranded in the Jungle, later covered by The New York Dolls. I first heard his version of Ramblin' Rose on the radio chosen by Jason of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualised. I assumed it was a woman singing. Well was I wrong to do so? It took me a while to track it down. I'm very glad I did so. 
 
 
Ok so the MC5 version is pretty good too! Worth the wait after they warm up for Kramer's moves, singing and playing alone. The Great American Songbook.
 

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