Taking Sides: Small Faces vs. the Byrds

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What I'm actually interested in here is what happens when cool poptastic songwriter bands (i.e. no qualms about using session players) devolve into loose gelatinous blobs - Humble Pie vs. CSNY, in other words. (David Crosby's 'If I Could Only Remember My Name' and HP's 'Rockin' the Fillmore' are both embarassing wastes of time that were obviously recorded on Thorazine, but sound kinda fun now if you're feeling tolerant)

― dave q, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Best moment of 'godawful hippie mindlessness' (how I love that phrase! Used affectionately of course) on Crosby's masterpiece - "What Are Their Names", a couple of minutes of what sounds like the Kids of Widney High playing "Eight Miles High", then the vocal coda - "The men who run this country/ What are their names/ Where do they live/ I'd like to ride over there/ Today/ And give them...(pause)...A PIECE OF MY MIND!" As long as you don't get pulled over en route with your blowtorch and Quaaludes, eh Dave? Besides, I thought you had your hands full impregnating lesbians.

― dave q, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Second-best g.h.m. moment by Crosby - a song called (yep) "Music is Love", which consists of those three words caterwauled by a bunch of different people at different times (over a one-chord drone familiar to persecuted music therapists), except for when it goes "Take your clothes off, music is free!" Unremarkable for the time, except for the fact that the songwriting (!) credits list THREE people. One of whom is Neil Young.

― dave q, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think the Small faces win because CSNY's on tour right now. Eeeww.

― Jay, Sunday, 6 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Did the Small Faces ever use session players? Surely no more than *anyone* used them - horns, extra percussion etc. Certainly not in- place of the real band like the Byrds did on 'Mr Tambourine Man'.

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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