C/D: Head East - "Never Been Any Reason"

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I heard this yesterday, driving past Long Beach on the 405. Must have been the first time since, like, 1986. (It's not exactly a staple of SoCal radio).

I don't recall having any particular affection for this song when I was a lad, but this time around it made me really happy. So have I finally come around, or am I just now taking leave of my senses?

It sounded like 1975. It made me want to sing along - or better yet, find me a nice, midwestern girl to karaoke it with!

"Woman with the sweet lovin' better than a white line..."

Is there anything not to like about that?

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Lead singer of this band went on to front Christian Rock behemoth Petra from 1986 - Present.

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Thursday, 14 July 2005 18:47 (eighteen years ago) link

On this RAWK etc... I think this moves the needle toward classic.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 19:13 (eighteen years ago) link

The whole album is great. I'm dead serious. It's a solid record, it really is. Flat As A Pancake. pick it up.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 15 July 2005 04:16 (eighteen years ago) link

Most unexpected! I'll look for it on my next Amoeba run.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 15 July 2005 04:53 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm so looking forward to the return of these album covers!

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002GAP.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 15 July 2005 05:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Stormy, slightly different things, but better or worse than 'Bridge of Sighs'?

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 15 July 2005 05:13 (eighteen years ago) link

LOVE THIS SONG. OK, I heard it on the continuation 2nd edition of the Dazed and Confused soundtrack! (To be fair, I have them both on TAPE) but I really liked this song when that tape was often on my playlist, and remember it fondly enough that I'm going to cue it up and enjoy it with a fatty right now.

― scout (scout), Friday, 15 July 2005 06:20 (eighteen years ago) link

ok UPDATE: that was awesome. most fun harmonies ever.

― scout (scout), Friday, 15 July 2005 07:01 (eighteen years ago) link

And killer spacey proggy keyboards too!

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 15 July 2005 17:45 (eighteen years ago) link

Stormy's kinda right, although this song dominates the album like the American League dominates in the All-Star Game.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 15 July 2005 17:57 (eighteen years ago) link

for fun:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005O6JF.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000062IB.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Friday, 15 July 2005 19:37 (eighteen years ago) link

Head East's "Flat as a Pancake" not better than Trower's "Bridge of Sighs." But they're too really different things.

Head East was big and happy midwestern arena rock. Also covered Russ Ballard's "Since You Been Gone" to great effect. Earned substantial airplay on midwest and some eastern FM in its heyday.

Trower's "Bridge of Sighs" was brooding and heavy distorto-blues, also big on classic radio and in the arenas. But it wasn't hit or even semi-hit single fare.

― George Smith, Friday, 15 July 2005 19:43 (eighteen years ago) link

I have also discovered that this song features just sick, sick amounts of cowbell.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Saturday, 16 July 2005 02:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Hi Rickey! I am going to have to disagree with my brother-in-arms George and proclaim Flat As A Pancake the winner in this particular stand-off. I think I've played the Trower lp perhaps twice in my life. Bought it for .50 like a decade ago, played it, *enjoyed* it, filed it, never returned. It's a pretty cool record. I just never wanna play it. Meanwhile, I've pulled out Flat As a Pancake on numerous drunken late night occasions. The way things are going, this scenario just may play out tonight ... (Earl Hooker and his double-necked guitar are ruling the roost right now though)

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Saturday, 16 July 2005 04:38 (eighteen years ago) link

I fully admit for like the first ten years or so that I was aware of this song, before I bought the album, I thought the lead singer was a woman!

One of the best back covers in history, too.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Saturday, 16 July 2005 04:39 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

SAVE MY LIFE I'M GOING DOWN FOR THE LAST TIME

― Trip Maker, Friday, 11 April 2008 21:55 (sixteen years ago) link

Bump. Underappreciated happy midwest Seventies blue-collar & white trash big rock. Regionally great, along with Shooting Star who probably wish they'd had a song which fared as well as "Never Been Any Reason." "Jefftown Creek" from their second album also cool, rating some classic rock FM radio play.

Now the blue-collar sixpack midwest, along with the Rust Belt, is a lot less happy. And the bands doing the same thing as Head East, except for the cable video country channels, have thrown out their synthy keys for banjos and fiddles on the same style of songs. Are Rascal-Flatts-types are improvements on the original model?

― Gorge, Saturday, 12 April 2008 00:19 (sixteen years ago) link

The guitar-cowbell break in this always seemed like a natural loop. Has it been done yet?

― briania, Saturday, 12 April 2008 00:39 (sixteen years ago) link

six years pass...

Oh man where has this song been all my life? New York FM totally shit the musical bed by not having this on their playlists all those years ago. I feel cheated out of years of rocking goddamnit

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 17 October 2014 03:13 (nine years ago) link

SAVE MY LIFE I'M GOING DOWN FOR THE LAST TIME
― Trip Maker, Friday, April 11, 2008 4:55 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 17 October 2014 03:18 (nine years ago) link

Fuck yes.

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 17 October 2014 03:26 (nine years ago) link

one year passes...

I fuckin' love this song.

― dynamicinterface, Saturday, 24 October 2015 15:35 (eight years ago) link

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