When you think of cool kids in the 1960s, The Turtles aren't the first band to come to mind, or the 6th or even the 18th. In fact, if VH1 did a count down for "cool" 1960s artists, I doubt The Turtles would crack the top 50. BUT they hung out with the cool kids and at the end of the day isn't that what counts? During the golden age of Laurel Canyon, The Turtles partied right along side all the important players. I have no doubt Howard Kaylan was licking the same LSD sugar cube as David Crosby. I'm sure that when Jim Morrison was wobbling over the toilet puking pure whiskey, Mark Volman was the one to hold back his precious locks.So who really cares if The Turtles turned their backs on psychedelia and folk rock to create deliciously catchy pop? OK, full disclosure: this author has a strong dislike for most of Bob Dylan's recordings. I know, I know, he's a great American poet yada yada.... but those vocal tones aren't dulcet. I like my Bob Dylan like my vodka: mixed with something... anything... to dilute the bite. The Turtles' break out hit cover of "It ain't me babe" gets that job done. In an Alternate universe where Oceanic Flight 815 does land in Los Angeles, I like to imagine what it would be like if Bob Dylan was born without a tongue so only others were able to record his music. In that Alterna-verse, The Turtles original version of the song "it ain't me babe" would hit the spot that much more because you wouldn't realize what a passive aggressive number they were about to lay down. The song starts all sickly sweet. Mark is crooning in his teenie bopper voice to that be-bopping girl in the front row, and then he smacks the chorus on her like the big ol' truth bomb that it is: "IT AIN'T ME BABE." While Dylan sounds like he is about to jump off a bridge as soon as he completes performing the song, The Turtles sound like they are about to leave for spring break in Cancun! And that, my friends, is actually quite cool.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment