You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'showtune' category.
Plumm
jsREVIEW:
Somehow, somehow, the a-side became a fairly huge hit in 1970 for this Detroit-by-way-of-Oklahoma funk/rock duo. It’s big and goofy, anchored by organ and drums, and sounds more like a showtune than anything coming out of Motown. I suppose, on some level, that the affirmative message resonated in the culture of the time, or something, but I just don’t get it (aside from casting this as the coda in my Godspell-meets-Hair musical to be fleshed out later). The false ending doesn’t help either, as one more spot of bombast on an already wadded track. The real reason to have it is the fantastic breaks— this was, essentially, an organ and drums duo, and when they strip away everything for the drum solo, you can hear hip hop right there.
The b-side is more subdued and fun, without the overproduction of the hit, a mournful lament with a shuffling beat under churchy hymnal organ. The chorus snaps with the irritability of an overtaxed working man who can’t take any more, whether it be love or employment. While the a-side may be better used for plunderphonics, the b-side is pure soul delight.
