One time Merry-Go-Round front man Rhodes hailed from The Beach Boys' hometown, was likened to a "one-man Beatles", and his four-album solo career has in some quarters enjoyed favorable comparisons to the contemporaneous solo efforts of Paul McCartney. Now, let's not get too carried away. Without discussing the quality of Paul McCartney's oeuvre (one word: "iffy!"), or pointing out that a real one-man Beatles would have had an easier time selling records, let's just explore this fellow on his merits. "Really Wanted You" demonstrates how badly Rhodes wants a particular girl, although the only person he mentions by name is a creep named Billy who goes around punching up Rhodes' face—and he's mentioned twice. In addition to this Billy fixation, the song shows off Rhodes' melodic croon, and his feel for multi-tracked harmonies. Propelled by a tight rhythm section and crunchy power pop guitar figure (with yes, a positively Harrisonian solo), the song comes to a false stop featuring just Rhodes' sweet vibrato and a pair of guitar strums before launching back into the main riff. Putting away the critical hyperbole, let's call Emitt Rhodes what he really is: the one-man Badfinger. Not too shabby for a guy who did it all out of a garage.Friday, October 9, 2009
999, 963: Emitt Rhodes — Really Wanted You
One time Merry-Go-Round front man Rhodes hailed from The Beach Boys' hometown, was likened to a "one-man Beatles", and his four-album solo career has in some quarters enjoyed favorable comparisons to the contemporaneous solo efforts of Paul McCartney. Now, let's not get too carried away. Without discussing the quality of Paul McCartney's oeuvre (one word: "iffy!"), or pointing out that a real one-man Beatles would have had an easier time selling records, let's just explore this fellow on his merits. "Really Wanted You" demonstrates how badly Rhodes wants a particular girl, although the only person he mentions by name is a creep named Billy who goes around punching up Rhodes' face—and he's mentioned twice. In addition to this Billy fixation, the song shows off Rhodes' melodic croon, and his feel for multi-tracked harmonies. Propelled by a tight rhythm section and crunchy power pop guitar figure (with yes, a positively Harrisonian solo), the song comes to a false stop featuring just Rhodes' sweet vibrato and a pair of guitar strums before launching back into the main riff. Putting away the critical hyperbole, let's call Emitt Rhodes what he really is: the one-man Badfinger. Not too shabby for a guy who did it all out of a garage.
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