"How About A little fanfare" - I just remember thinking...what the hell is this?
"I Think You Know"/"The Spark of Life" - the first time I heard it, I was sold on OH. There is so much heart, so much emotion in these two compositions. Then to find out that the guy did it all by himself. My god! Then to listen to it on headphones. My god!!!! genius. Pure genius.
"An Elpees Worth of Tunes" - I had never encountered such self- consciousness from a recording artist. Awareness AND humor. Totally endearing.
"A Dream Goes On Forever" - it's been analyzed. I appreciated the post last summer that this was supposed to be a single around the AWATS period, but Todd held it back....true? urban myth?
"Lord Chancellor's..." Gilbert & Sullivan take on a new partner... Spike Jones
"Drunken Blue Rooster" - What's the real meaning to this title?
"The Last Ride" - more heartfelt music. Who is Peter Ponzel (saxophone)? Where is he now?
"Everybody's Going to Heaven/King Kong Reggae" - I still crank this up to the very end (good to the last drop?) Everybody fall down on your knees & pray. I remember friends trying to pronounce "reggae" and doing a poor job of it. had no idea what it was in 1974.
"No. 1 Lowest Common Denominator" - usually got a message from downstairs, asking me to turn down the stereo...they knew if they didn't ask early, it was only going to get worse.
"Useless Begging" - sappy, heartbreak, angst-ridden, dejected love song. what teen couldn't relate?
"Sidewalk Cafe" - what was that song "Poor People In Paris?" Always had that feel.
"Izzat Love" - another (futile) request to my local FM station to play. Still a hit.
"Heavy Metal Kids" - I always felt the anger in this one. Perhaps OH was being tongue in cheek (But all you Pat Buchanan watchers know about the message being powerful...THERE! The obligatory political reference is out of the way).
The song formerly known as "Shaft Goes To Outer Space" - yeah it's weird, but I always liked it. Its diversity just made me appreciate the genius of this man the more.
"Don't You ever Learn" - I'm getting lectured and I'm not certain I've ever learned. Love the wailing ending on this one (little did I know when I first heard it that it's one of OH's trademarks/signature sounds).
"Sons of 1984" - they're 12 yrs old now.
from this initial exposure to the most progressive (and still appealing) album I had ever heard (it was more melodic than ELP, Zappa and anything else I'd encountered with advanced musical arrangements by then), from here I went backwards into Todd's catalogue...and then came Utopia.
