the osmonds hard rock phase: classic or dud?

http://merrillosmond.com/forumimagetalk.jpg

Stops short of classic, but far from dud - and a pity that they subsequently got artistic cold feet and returned to hokey showbiz safety with Love Me For A Reason.

Rest of the album's cack mind, but for 'Hold Her Tight' & 'Crazy Horses' who cares?

A mate of mine was a manic Os fan back in 1974 or thereabouts, so I got to hear a lot of this. A lot was drosso,and it was terrible when they (re)discovered 'showbiz', but during their "Motown meets Led Zep" phase, they hit on summat.

They were perceived as a 'white Jackson Five' but mostof that stuff was pre- their first hit in the UK, "Down by the lazy river" is very 3 dog night.

"Don't Panic" indeed.

Like I say, the real "white jacksons" thing passed the UK by.

Glad you guys are digging some GOOD 70s rock. I have a few you might be interested in hearing on my web site. Try Donny's original "Space Boogie." http://www.cathynel.com/space.mp3

I asked Donny about this last week:

Speaking as a boy of eleven, twelve years old: boys weren’t really supposed to like the Osmonds. We were supposed to be getting into Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, and we were supposed to sneer. Nevertheless, there was a time in your brothers’ career where you showed signs of becoming something of a credible rock band. I’m thinking of The Plan, which was a kind of “concept album” that some of us boys used to listen to on the quiet, without telling anybody; it was a sort of guilty pleasure. It strikes me that you must have been proud of that album; your brothers still perform large chunks of it on stage.

But then you went from that back into showbiz, with the Love Me For A Reason album. You could have gone into being a more credible rock act at that moment, but you stepped away. Why did you change direction?

I don’t know. It’s a good question. I have no idea, but it’s quite interesting to note that here again, I was playing two sides of the coin: I was a teenybopper artist, and I was part of a rock and roll band. You used the phrase “guilty pleasure”. It’s so true, and over the years, I’ve had a lot of conversations about this – with “Crazy Horses” when that came out, and with “Down By The Lazy River” particularly.

Our favourite album is The Plan. It was really a progressive rock and roll album, and that was the direction that we were headed in as a band. But my career kind of superseded everything, you know?

yeah, went where the money was.

You know how their 'record label' (i.e. logo on their records next to the MGM lion) was Kolob? I always thought it was some sort of mystical orb to do with their mormon faith. Until one day, one of the osmond bros said "hey, spell it backwards!"

Oh, my...!

London, Wednesday, 10th October ; Following the sell out success of shows in Las Vegas, legendary music family THE OSMONDS will celebrate their historic 50th anniversary in entertainment with a fabulous reunion tour of the UK.

These landmark performances will feature all seven performing Osmonds - Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie, and Jimmy - the first chance fans will have to see all the family together on stage in the UK for 27 years.

The Osmonds are unique in their success as a band and as solo performers. The tour will take fans on a journey through their many unforgettable hits - from classics such as "One Bad Apple" and "Down By The Lazy River" to "Love Me For A Reason" and "Crazy Horses".

"This tour is a great opportunity for all of us to get back together and celebrate our incredible 50 year history. We truly want this tour to be a great big thank you to all our fans for their love and support through the years. We've all performed in the UK many times, but to be back performing together, for the first time in 27 years, is going to be a special thing for all of us!" said JAY OSMOND.

and they're going to recreate "Phase 3" at the next bowlie weekender.

You know, "The Plan" is available for download on Amazon, and I bit, and it's pretty good. Not weird enough to please people looking for something strange. It actually puts me in mind of something Paul McCartney might have come up with (concept aside).

Bought a vinyl copy of 'Crazy Horses' a few years back for the title track but fuckme have you heard 'Hold Her Tight'? Jeezus . . . smokin' 'ImmigrantSong'-rippin' pop-metal with the finest harp/vocoder action on earth!

Donny O was performing it on his last UK tour, introducing it as his favourite Os Bros track and promising that he would try and persuade da bruvs to perform it on the impending 50th anniversary reunion tour.

Although he will probably be overruled by the "Little Bit Country/Little Bit Rock And Roll" block vote.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crazy-Horses-Plan-Osmonds/dp/B0015YI304/ref=pd_sim_m_h_?ie=UTF8&qid=1210275984&sr=1-15

No longer any excuse, y'all

by the way I dumped my old girlfriend for her best mate, his name was paul. !!!

He even included the information about the song "Crazy Horses" being banned in South Africa because they thought it was a reference to heroin.

Just got that CD and it fuckin' rules. Osmonds = hard rock!

In partic, Traffic in my Mind is an amazing heavy psych-rock trip.

I sat behind the white haired dude in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2! I live in Branson so it's not that exciting.

what about their rockin Italo disco phase? i've only heard "I, I, I" from Steppin' Out, but i've listened to it like 4 times in a row. anyone heard the rest of the album?

― flëétwøöd måçk (jaxon), Thursday, July 6, 2006 5:37 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark

I just realized that allmusic is missing ANY mention of this album. For shame!

I remember "Steppin' Out" as being, basically, "Brick House" with different lyrics, but I could be awa'...

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST PHASE OF ANY BAND EVER

same keyboard trick as crazy horses. tis a good trick though.

Not entirely the same trick -- vibrato is not quite as broad, so that the sound may signify "crying baby" rather than "neighing horse."

So, what did make that crucial noise on Crazy Horses?

On TOTP, they would always show Donny 'sliding some sort of slider' on his keyboard.

The teeny mag of the time asked where he got the keyboard from, "On tour in Japan" he answered.

Later, it seemed it was Merrill's lead guitar.

John Otway uses a theremin to make the noise.

Hmm, what does Wiki say?

it doesn't.

He's using the ribbon controller on his synth.

Ribbon controller.

They use it on the solo in "Life is Hard Enought Without Goodbyes" too.

However they did it, that synth noise is fucking mega classic.

<3 <3 <3

Currently showing some great TOTP footage of "Crazy Horses" on BBC4. The song is a monster, and the drumming is Keith Moon-level crazy!

HOLD HER TIGHT
BUT HOLD HER LIKE A LADY

Gonna go write a sci-fi alternate universe novel where the Osmonds escaped the Mormon overmind and led the resistance while recording awesome hard rock albums for another three or four years after The Plan.

Do they leave the church before or after The Plan? This is important!

After, but there are threads woven throughout The Plan pointing in that direction.

And wot direction is that, prey? A 'general direction away from the church', eh?

this was my jam last year. played it so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1bE6JG1ltU

Donny starring in a production of "Dreamcoat" is almost tantamount to your fiction (not divinely inspired as it's surely not based on Joesph Smith Translation/KJV The Bible).

I know almost everyone here has seen this, but this might be the best video ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiNnDpIW918

Some covers of differing quality to consider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDgPRXl5DP0&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfYMiRwClQg&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIWWEk8DVKo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZ_5_UMxJo
(begins at 4:45)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW0j7S6yFVQ&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wFpc50h6UY&feature=related

i wish crazy horses was literally about horses that were crazy

why wish that on horses?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lDr0q74GmMU

My version is doomier.

CRAZY

HORSES

(WEEEEEEEEEEEEE WREEEEEEEEEE)

i wish crazy horses was literally about horses that were crazy

― three megabytes of hot RAM (abanana), Saturday, 2 April 2011 21:09 (9 months ago) Permalink

everything old is new again on facebook.

Rocket From The Crypt covering "Crazy Horses" would probably have been too on-the-nose.

I have that "Plan" somewhere...I'm terrified to listen to it. The planet Kolub scares me!

Sorry, I spelled it wrong. "Kolob". Anyway, have a look at the weird graphic.

http://s.dsimg.com/image/L-150-159367-1264375238.jpeg

Imagine listening to a concept album and looking at that spinning round and round.

As I say upthread: Read the name backwards!

Tank covered "Crazy Horses", and I'm like No. 1 Tank Fan in USA but it's nowhere near as awesome as the original.

Love that these boys took one of the more confusing & arcane parts of one of the weirdest/least known LDS scriptures and named their record label off of it.

I also read that Elvis recommended his suit designer to them, which explains this totally fabulous look:

http://www.hollywoodshow.com/images/osmonds.jpg

just found the crazy horses/the plan cd in a local charity shop.
its fucking brilliant.
'hold her tight' is insanely good.
didn't think anything could top the title track, but damn, this does.

ok .. this is probably the best charity shop purchase ever ..

Hell yeah. Now crank TRAFFIC IN MY MIND.

you know what? fuck the osmonds

Hell yeah. Now crank TRAFFIC IN MY MIND.

oh yes ..

great live crazy horses on here with brit teens going nuts and fainting all over the place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9K60vxXOyE

starts around 18:30.

I kind of wonder if the Osmonds were an influence on this guy (including the way the band presents on stage). I see a lot of overlap. BTW, drummer is Jack White, ha ha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlnVZjzeNg

Yes, "The Plan" is surprisingly good! Believe me, there was a lot of crap music back then. Some people couldn't get past the Mormon thing, but I never disrespected them. Do you need to smoke cigarettes and drink caffeine to make good music?

Unmarried Osmonds had a lot of pent-up horniness fuelling them instead.

Do you need to smoke cigarettes and drink caffeine to make good music?

Hell yeah.

(actually, I dinnae smoke tabs, but..)

so great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73HX3kTmJPo

I have never heard "Hold Her Tight" before now, which is weird because it charted highly (#14 US) and I remember "Lazy River" and "Crazy Horses" from top 40 radio of my youth.

I didn't realize how good they were until recently! When I was a kid, I thought they were pretty good, but they weren't respected. This stuff was published - like, "how can you have credibility as a Mormon?" Whereas these days I suppose you could be a Mormon DJ / producer & no one would care.

I'm sure there have been Mormons in indie bands, too.

http://wp-images.emusic.com/assets/2011/04/low.jpg

http://famousmormons.info/category/musicians/

I wasn't sure if Kaskade was a Mormon, but he's listed here. I know Gladys Knight is.

Brandon Flowers is, to - not that I'm a fan, but in't the name a little negative for the Church?

holy shit that "Gotta Get Love" is a genuinely killer track

dud

I see there are mentions of "I,I,I" upthread, but I've only just heard this for the first time and now I can't stop listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwBK1B1HpPs

color me infected, just restarted it for the 4th time

Never heard this before, excellent!

someone needs to re-edit this into a 14 minute odyssey.
― jed_ (jed), Saturday, July 8, 2006 11:39 AM (ten years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Only 5 minutes but...voila anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9cYVVT46w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RiQiQsOtk&ab_channel=Top2000agogo

that YT link didn't come through on two of my three available ILX formats. I assume others might have the same problem. this is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RiQiQsOtk

smokin up the sky