iPod Archives: Random "R" songs

"Radar Love" by Golden Earring. Another great driving song, as it's literally about someone driving to see his sweetheart (I think). "Radar love" seems to be a term implying an almost supernatural connection with a lover, though I'm not sure I really know what's going on in the lyrics; does the cry "One more radar lover gone!!" mean that the one of them has died on the road? It's a good line to shout along with in the car, but kinda creepy, too. One of the few songs of which I still prefer the long version to the short one. I owned the album, Moontan, with the original naked lady cover that was quickly banned and replaced with a drab earring cover. The other great Golden Earring song, "Candy's Going Bad" is on the same album.

"River Deep, Moutain High," the legendary Tina Turner version, one of Phil Spector's last big productions, and a commercial bomb that helped hasten Spector to the crazy side. It's got the wall of sound and Turner wailing and big emotions, and should have been a hit. Oddly, Harry Nilsson's version, a kind of B-movie take on Spector's production, is better; clear and precise, not muddy and murky like Turner's. His vocals aren't as evocative as Turner's but he's still damned good. I like both versions, but heretically, if I could only pick one for my iPod, I'd pick Nilsson's.

"Rendezvous" by the Hudson Brothers, the Jonas Brothers or Hanson of their day, though they never really had a single hit as big as "Mmm-Bop." Bill, once Goldie Hawn's husband, is the father of Kate Hudson. This is a mid-70's version of 50's-60's doo-wop harmonies and, though the lyrics are totally high-school ("Your mom and dad think I'm bad/But that doesn't mean you have to be so sad"), the vocals, both falsetto and basso, are spot-on.

"Ride" by The Wondermints, a little-known power-pop/bubblegum band who fell in with Brian Wilson and wound up touring with him and were recruited to help him reconstruct and record the famous "lost" Beach Boys album Smile. And no wonder, as their sound is very much a 21st-century Beach Boys sound, with a chunkier rhythm section, though generally with much less memorable melodies and lyrics. Still, this song is chuggy and catchy with a nice sing-along line, "We're on a Technicolor motor ride," followed by low voices singing what is undoubtedly "Motor ride" but sounds like "Motorin'" from "Sister Christian." Despite the creepy Night Ranger flashback vibe, a nice driving song, though the real Wondermints glossy bubblegum gem is "Shine On Me"; both are from the solid album Mind If We Make Love to You.