Sunday Music: The Best of Gene Pitney

Album Title: The Best of Gene Pitney, vols. 1-3

Why I Bought It: I grew up with three older sisters, all of whom liked Gene Pitney. Naturally, I grew attached to his music, and eventually began searching for the songs of my childhood. It took me a long time to get everything I was looking for; this set was the first step on that path.

What I Like (Movie Tie-in): "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance". Great movie. Great song, with a subtle nod to the twist ending. "Everyone heard two shots ring out / One shot made Liberty fall"....

What I Like (Stiff Upper Lip): "I'm Gonna Be Strong". This was one of the first rock songs whose lyrics I committed to memory.

What I Like (It's a Lie But I Love It): "Looking Through the Eyes of Love". I like the alternation of verses between the subdued ("in the eyes of the world") and the triumphant ("but in the eyes of my woman").

What I Like (Sure Sounds Good): "Town Without Pity". Probably his biggest hit; the specific line that sells me on it is "before this grand granite planet falls apart". Dunno why that appeals to me so.

What I Don't Like (Self-Pity): "Backstage". Grow a pair, willya? If you're that upset, cancel the tour, go home and apologize! Dishonorable Mention: "Billy You're My Friend" and "I Must Be Seeing Things". Basically the same song twice, about seeing "his girl" with "his best friend". There was a lot of that going around back then, I guess.

Overall: This is a fairly good collection; it also has several others of his classics, but it really doesn't show his range. I'll talk more about that when we hit some of the albums I collected later.

Right Arm!

There seem to be quite a few Sinfest fans who really dislike the kid on the trike and the whole feminism arc (or maybe they're just noisy), but I enjoy her. In today's strip, she brings the fight to the enemy stronghold, with amusing results. I love the last two panels in particular - the hair and the tail, respectively.

Music! Music! Music!

It occurred to me a little while ago that it had been a long time since I bought any new music. I checked my records; my last purchase of any CDs was in March of last year.

This had to be rectified.

I just placed an order for five CDs. It should come as no surprise that two of them are Seals & Crofts, "Summer Breeze", and Loggins & Messina, "On Stage". I did check Bette Midler, only to find that she's never released "The Rose" other than as a single. Perhaps I'll buy the single sometime, but not now. I went on to get Spandau Ballet's "True", Steeleye Span's "Please to See the King", and They Might Be Giants, "Flood". (At least I've heard one of the songs on "True"; I'm taking flyers on the other two, but they've been recommended repeatedly by people I respect, so....)

Should be fun.