Wait, this isn't about Joy Division? Yawn.
― Alex in NYC, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:48 (3 years ago) Permalink
wow, that version is great.
― dan selzer, Friday, 31 July 2009 18:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
Great song, suprised it never made it onto a This Mortal Coil album
― DJ Angoreinhardt (Billy Dods), Friday, 31 July 2009 20:12 (3 years ago) Permalink
One of the earlier versions (1970) is by Johnny Darrell, a country singer who had alienated everyone in Nashville and whose record label (UA) sent him out to L.A. to record. He picked up on some of the younger singer-songwriters there, and did versions of songs by Browne, Lowell George, etc. for a pretty great LP called "California Stop-Over." "These Days" is the opening track. If you want it, here it is: http://rapidshare.com/files/190570635/Darrell.zip
Still and all, Nico's version is hands down the best I've heard, thanks to her vocal and the John Cale (?) arrangement.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Thursday, 31 December 2009 18:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
still prefer the JB version to the Nico version
― Herodcare for the Unborn (J0hn D.), Thursday, 31 December 2009 18:34 (3 years ago) Permalink
damn, this song was ubiquitous in the early 70s. there are also versions on albums by tom rush, jennifer warnes, new grass revival....
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Thursday, 31 December 2009 21:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
the terry melcher version is really over the top
― velko, Thursday, 31 December 2009 21:08 (3 years ago) Permalink
Ian Matthews version still my fave.
― ian, Friday, 1 January 2010 19:43 (3 years ago) Permalink
that terry melcher LP sort of sucks.
ian matthews's version, like all his records, is pretty.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Friday, 1 January 2010 21:55 (3 years ago) Permalink
yes, that terry melcher lp DOES kinda suck. glad i'm not alone in thinking that.
― ian, Saturday, 2 January 2010 05:59 (3 years ago) Permalink
The Rentals version is good.
― billstevejim, Saturday, 2 January 2010 06:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
Another person duped into thinking this was going to be about Joy Division.
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 2 January 2010 06:11 (3 years ago) Permalink
mates of state version sucks.
this one, however...
― by another name (amateurist), Thursday, 22 April 2010 07:27 (3 years ago) Permalink
Wow, this thread opens up a door to a parallel universe that turns out to be the real one.
― Blecch Generation (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 22 April 2010 10:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
could it be that jackson browne wrote his best songs before he had a record contract?
probably not, but still, i like this song a lot. the baroque-pop arrangement does it nice favors.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 25 October 2011 00:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
in general those early NGDB records are kind of great, but nobody seems to care. :(
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Friday, 4 May 2012 23:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
yeah they kind of get forgotten for everything except Circle
― Jamie_ATP, Friday, 4 May 2012 23:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
karmic payback for naming themselves "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" I'm pretty sure
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Saturday, 5 May 2012 00:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
i wonder if The Beatles would have been as successful as they were if they were named "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band."
― Pat Finn, Saturday, 5 May 2012 02:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
A couple of people mentioned the Tom Rush version, which I just bought last week:
Never knew about the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band--pleasingly different from all the others.
― clemenza, Saturday, 5 May 2012 04:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Pat Finn, Friday, May 4, 2012 9:08 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
well, the flying burrito band is pretty well-loved even now and they have a really shitty name so
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 5 May 2012 05:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
the flying burrito brothers is a great name!! it's got the word 'burritos' in it!!!
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 5 May 2012 05:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
^^It's a Mexican Sandwich!
― Leslie Mann: Boner Machine (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 5 May 2012 05:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
good point about the flying burrito brothers. they're an interesting case because while their name is ridiculous and juvenile, their music is not, and that discrepancy isn't a big deal. and also when i think about it, the beatles isn't such a great name either. maybe what borges said of the titles of novels holds true for bands -- none of the great ones have good names.
― Pat Finn, Saturday, 5 May 2012 13:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
Joy Division
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Saturday, 5 May 2012 15:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
I agree that Joy Division is a great band with a good name. Borges's rule doesn't hold true for novels either. Nabokov's books always had great titles.
― Pat Finn, Sunday, 6 May 2012 00:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
"She's a Lady," a '68 solo John Sebastian single on Kama Sutra, kind of has the Orange County vibe of this early Jackson stuff or Steve Noonan.
― timellison, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:21 (5 months ago) Permalink
Wikipedia article says Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (when Jackson was a member) opened for the Spoonful once.
― timellison, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:24 (5 months ago) Permalink
Also, I think Bridget St. John had this quality! "The Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity" on the first album is a good example.
― timellison, Tuesday, 18 December 2012 02:28 (5 months ago) Permalink