how many people love *hollywood dream* by thunderclap newman?

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i do. can i get a show of hands. i might not like it as much as my beloved ray davies-produced turtles album, but for pastoral mod rock you could do a lot worse. pete townshend finds a rival nose in speedy keen, wes anderson finds a ready-made soundtrack for a future movie, and it is all quite lovely. one-hit-wonder my butt. not a bad track on the thing.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:14 (twenty years ago)

I like it, not totally classic, but hardly deserving its obscurity

― Dominique (dleone), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:20 (twenty years ago)

I like it but find the saloon-style piano breakdown in damn near every song pretty annoying.
which turtles album was produced by ray davies?

― canthepiano, Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:37 (twenty years ago)

turtle soup:

The Turtles Thread (Cuz I Couldn't Find One) A.K.A. I Finally Heard Turtle Soup.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:38 (twenty years ago)

listen again though! not every song has the musichall piano, it just seems like they should.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:41 (twenty years ago)

"can i get a show of hands"

(raises hand)

of course I was looking for "Something in the Air" when I bought the album, but yeah, there are a lot of great moments on this. right now the vocals on "The Old Sawmill" are jumping to mind ...

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 22:29 (twenty years ago)

"not every song has the musichall piano"

actually, what i should have said was: while there is piano on many of the tracks, they aren't all piano-driven, if you know what i mean.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 22:42 (twenty years ago)

I like it, especially the really great instrumental title track near the end of side two.

― Jimmy M, Tuesday, 14 March 2006 23:48 (twenty years ago)

I like this a lot, too. Found it in the stacks at the community radio station. Wayne Rogers cover of "Something in the Air" (from his Drag City solo album Constant Displacement) is badass.

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:09 (twenty years ago)

totally love this record.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:17 (twenty years ago)

Best. Dylan. Cover. Ever.

― Dave Depper, Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:19 (twenty years ago)

It was nice to see Jim O'Rourke covering "Something In The Air" about 7 years ago on the Bad Timing/Eureka tour.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:29 (twenty years ago)

I like it too. It holds up well I think. the Hollywood song always made me a little sad, but other than that... Thanks to this thread for making me dig it out for a couple listens.

― nicky lo-fi (nicky lo-fi), Thursday, 16 March 2006 08:02 (twenty years ago)

Ha! I thought my dad had started this thread. He loves Thunderclap Newman and I give 'im shit about it, mostly more because they're an also-ran that he devoted too much admiration to before finally buying the reissues of the albums, which weren't worth the love, but also because of some of the most undeniably hassle-worthy names of pop music. It's an easy card to trot out when he gives me crap about liking, say, Paul Revere and the Raiders.

― js (honestengine), Thursday, 16 March 2006 09:38 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

something in the air sounds, esp. in its opening and the vocal, like a creation band from 1986 or something. at times it sounds like really early primal scream, but there's also a evocation of 4AD in there too, no? like maybe a hint of cocteau twins at the beginning? am i crazy?

― amateurist, Friday, 23 October 2009 08:30 (sixteen years ago)

actually the lead singer kinda sounds like OMC of "how bizarre" fame. and maybe a bit like wayne coyne?

― amateurist, Friday, 23 October 2009 08:32 (sixteen years ago)

i guess what i'm saying is, the guitar sound is distinctive. do we have pete townshend to thank?

― amateurist, Friday, 23 October 2009 08:34 (sixteen years ago)

three years pass...

I've had the album forever--think I bought it in high school. Always loved "Something in the Air"; rah-rah revolution stuff notwithstanding, such a perfect '60s-winding-down sigh. Anyway, I'm listening to Speedy Keen's Previous Convictions right now, which I bought at a record show a few weeks ago. Not bad--good cover of "Positively 4th Street," a nice song called "Forever After," ends with a pretty instrumental that runs just over a minute.

― clemenza, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:37 (thirteen years ago)

Loved "Something In The Air" before I knew of Townshend's involvement, and the rest of the record is pretty amazing too. "Accidents" is just insane.

xp Townshend doesn't play guitar on it, but he played bass, and produced. Pete definitely had a distinctive sound as a producer/engineer; compare this record to Who Came First, recorded around the same time, also in Pete's home studio.

― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:47 (thirteen years ago)

Something I never noticed till a few tears ago--Speedy co-produced the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F.. (Hard to imagine one person produced that album, much less two.)

― clemenza, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:55 (thirteen years ago)

three years pass...

from the Who's fb page:

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman, who passed away yesterday age 73. Rest in peace.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 31 March 2016 12:08 (ten years ago)

The title track on this is so great.

― jmm, Thursday, 31 March 2016 14:37 (ten years ago)

Man, so now everyone who played on "Something in the Air" is deceased except Townshend.

― Retro novelty punk (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 31 March 2016 16:56 (ten years ago)

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