“Little Boy Soldiers” / The Jam. Love The Jam, but hadn’t heard this one before. The title suggests a twist on the phrase “little soldier boy,” from that Shirelles tune; it’s not about actual child soldiers but rather, legally sanctioned conscription of young men for dubious purposes. Has that typical Jam bounce and concision, but the oddly long middle part (perhaps intentionally) bogs down the momentum. Also, this mix is odd, almost like a live mix with the vocals buried a bit.
“War Pigs” / Black Sab. Man, Iommi’s guitar tone just grabs me right away. So thick. Not all that unusual for early Sabbath, the structure is rather proggy, with the dirgey intro abruptly snapping to attention, followed by a fairly quiet singing part, then a new riff, etc. In their basic message, the blunt lyrics don’t differ much from other songs condemning warmakers (see, for example, “Little Soldier Boys”) … except in the rather gleeful added promise of well-deserved satanic comeuppance. Whether you like it or not, it’s a classic, and despite the lead-footed lyrics, on this close listen I dug the track more than I recall doing in the past. The outro jam is especially nice.
The Jam – Little Boy Soldiers
Sounds like a demo. Solid Jam. Military snare might be a little too on-the-nose, but I like the “timpanic” drum and then the sing-sony, children’s rhyme-ish bit.
“God’s on our side and so is Washington.”
Black Sabbath – War Pigs
Haven’t heard this one in a good while. Once it kicks in after the intro, I was right back in it. Almost a call and response between guitar and drums. Perhaps wears out its welcome, but another enjoyable jam.
The Jam- Paul Weller has that little lilt in his melodies that rubs me the right way. Never heard this one before. The different modes of the song are reminiscent of The Who (wow- what a connection!). The instrumentation also reminds me of early Cure. Not the best of The Jam, but interesting enough.
Black Sabbath- I’m not a Sabbath-head (or whatever their followers call themselves) but this song is brilliant. As is often said in M5, I don’t think I really listened to this song…maybe never. Ozzy’s voice is sweet here in both its tunefulness and its strain when he needs it. Very tasteful drumming here (Bill Ward?) in both his gentle hi-hat work and solid fills. It is interesting to me that the power of the music comes from just a couple of instruments (though in the middle there is clearly a gaggle of guitars behind the lead). Fun fact– Tony Iommi, the guitarist, lost the tips of his fingers on 1 hand. And he’s a lefty!
“Little Boy Soldiers” by The Jam: This particular version of the song had a noticeable volume drop soon after the intro and/or inconsistent volume. I found this a bit distracting. Over-compression or someone riding the fader in a live and/or full band playing studio setting perhaps. The whole garage band vibe does work. The bass becomes over prominent vs the chorus vocal but it is well played. Enjoyed song on the whole and deserves more listens.
“War Pigs” by Black Sabbath: why do I feel like this was a MyFive offering already? A classic rock staple to my ears. Fun one to just play some air guitar and/or air drum to. You need to listen to this next to some big sub woofers and just let go. This, unlike the other song’s mix, seems to land in that perfect chest thump sweet spot.
TJ – Before my Five, I never really heard this genre/style of music. Since than it has started to grow on me.
BS – This song is so good in so many ways.
“Little Boy Soldiers” / The Jam. Love The Jam, but hadn’t heard this one before. The title suggests a twist on the phrase “little soldier boy,” from that Shirelles tune; it’s not about actual child soldiers but rather, legally sanctioned conscription of young men for dubious purposes. Has that typical Jam bounce and concision, but the oddly long middle part (perhaps intentionally) bogs down the momentum. Also, this mix is odd, almost like a live mix with the vocals buried a bit.
“War Pigs” / Black Sab. Man, Iommi’s guitar tone just grabs me right away. So thick. Not all that unusual for early Sabbath, the structure is rather proggy, with the dirgey intro abruptly snapping to attention, followed by a fairly quiet singing part, then a new riff, etc. In their basic message, the blunt lyrics don’t differ much from other songs condemning warmakers (see, for example, “Little Soldier Boys”) … except in the rather gleeful added promise of well-deserved satanic comeuppance. Whether you like it or not, it’s a classic, and despite the lead-footed lyrics, on this close listen I dug the track more than I recall doing in the past. The outro jam is especially nice.
The Jam – Little Boy Soldiers
Sounds like a demo. Solid Jam. Military snare might be a little too on-the-nose, but I like the “timpanic” drum and then the sing-sony, children’s rhyme-ish bit.
“God’s on our side and so is Washington.”
Black Sabbath – War Pigs
Haven’t heard this one in a good while. Once it kicks in after the intro, I was right back in it. Almost a call and response between guitar and drums. Perhaps wears out its welcome, but another enjoyable jam.
The Jam- Paul Weller has that little lilt in his melodies that rubs me the right way. Never heard this one before. The different modes of the song are reminiscent of The Who (wow- what a connection!). The instrumentation also reminds me of early Cure. Not the best of The Jam, but interesting enough.
Black Sabbath- I’m not a Sabbath-head (or whatever their followers call themselves) but this song is brilliant. As is often said in M5, I don’t think I really listened to this song…maybe never. Ozzy’s voice is sweet here in both its tunefulness and its strain when he needs it. Very tasteful drumming here (Bill Ward?) in both his gentle hi-hat work and solid fills. It is interesting to me that the power of the music comes from just a couple of instruments (though in the middle there is clearly a gaggle of guitars behind the lead). Fun fact– Tony Iommi, the guitarist, lost the tips of his fingers on 1 hand. And he’s a lefty!
“Little Boy Soldiers” by The Jam: This particular version of the song had a noticeable volume drop soon after the intro and/or inconsistent volume. I found this a bit distracting. Over-compression or someone riding the fader in a live and/or full band playing studio setting perhaps. The whole garage band vibe does work. The bass becomes over prominent vs the chorus vocal but it is well played. Enjoyed song on the whole and deserves more listens.
“War Pigs” by Black Sabbath: why do I feel like this was a MyFive offering already? A classic rock staple to my ears. Fun one to just play some air guitar and/or air drum to. You need to listen to this next to some big sub woofers and just let go. This, unlike the other song’s mix, seems to land in that perfect chest thump sweet spot.
Good memory Dave. A cover by Faith No More was presented during that round:
https://www.edbejzak.com/my-five-songs/round-2-got-your-covers/cover-four/volume-2-4-1/