Greetings,
Remember yesterday when I said there was quite a bit of good in 1973 when it came to music? Well, in order to keep the balance, we had a boatload of bad. And some of it comes from artists that I otherwise like a lot. Go figure. Let's just get this over with.
#10. "My Love" Paul McCartney & Wings - Odd. Normally, I'd be putting Paul on a 'best of' list. Sorry. I can't this time. Look, we all know what Paul McCartney can do, especially with a love song. So why is this thing so boring? I'm sure it's got sentimentality to someone, but I just can't with this.
#9. "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose?" Tony Orlando and Dawn - It's just "Tie a Yellow Ribbon". It's just a rehash of that song. Which I'm not a huge fan of. And which came out the same year, for crying out loud. I love Tony and the girls normally, but not this time.
#8. "Hocus Pocus" Focus - Okay, I like me some weird music. I do. But even I have lines that cannot be crossed. This song crossed it. Maybe it's because I'm such a lyric snob and there are no lyrics. Oh, there's singing, but no lyrics. To be fair, though, this didn't rank as high as it might have had the musicians not been so good. Yeah, credit where it's due, when it comes to pure musicianship, these guys were pretty good. The song as a whole, however...Not for me.
#7. "Wildflower" Skylark - I don't like the idea of thinking a woman is weak and needs to always be taken care of and is basically an object. I mean, if you wanna be that way, God bless and do your thing, but I just don't know.I'm sure whoever wrote this song had good intentions in mind. Well, I hope. But look, buddy, I'm not your delicate little flower. Now back off before I get mad. I think I've made my point.
#6. "Playground in My Mind" Clint Holmes - That title. I just don't know. Anyway, I have no idea what this song is supposed to be about. All I do know is that, at some point, child singers enter the picture. Get it? Playground? Kids? But WHY? I just don't really like kid singers all that much. Sorry.
#5. "Funny Face" Donna Fargo - You know, I can defend the Easy Listening genre on several occasions, but not all of them. This is NOT one of those occasions. Just...what is this? This is WEAK! I need something of a level of sophistication and it just does not have it. At all.
#4. "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?" Hurricane Smith - I heard somewhere that this was meant to be an album filler song, but it somehow made it to the charts. Why? I'm sorry. I just don't get how that happened. This is not a good song, at least, according to me. Maybe it's because the guy's voice is not exactly my cup of tea. But I think there's a reason why this has not seemed to endure as well as other One Hit Wonders. Did I mention that this made it to Number ONE?!
#3. "Funky Worm" Ohio Players - Let me make this clear. I really like the Ohio Players. They were fantastic. Usually. Again, my weirdness tolerance levels only go so high, and this thing's cup runneth over. It's called "Funky Worm"! That just feels wrong.
#2. "The Morning After" Maureen McGovern - I had intended this to be at the top of the list, with good reason. It's awful. It's another song that is evidence in the case against Easy Listening. It's getting a pass, though, because it is associated with the awesome Poseidon Adventure. And because...well, stayed tuned for what DID make it to Number One.
#1. "Daddy's Home" Jermaine Jackson & the Jackson Five - This...is...creepy! I have never NEVER liked the idea of someone calling their significant other..."Daddy"! It's just not right. It's disturbing, in fact. So, why in the world do some people feel the need to immortalize said fetish in song? Just...WHY? Look, I can enjoy some Jackson Five, but, in this case, NO!
Well, there are the songs of 1973 that I wasn't so crazy about. You can go check them out for a listen, if you must, as I bet you guys may never even heard of some of them. Heck, I had never even heard of some of them. But do so at your own risk. As always, these are just my opinions. You can disagree. I'm fine with that. But, wow, some of these songs make me really happy I missed being born in this decade.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
