Wednesday 12 March 2014

THEM - 'Don't Look Back' / 'Hey Girl'

OLD PA'S WEDNESDAY CLUB

ANGRY YOUNG VAN

Here it comes!

 
THEM - Don't Look Back (1965)


All Van Morrision fans out there will of course  know Van started of  as part of  the magnificent Them. They recorded two albums in the mid sixties and they are a great indication of where Van was heading. They are both nothing short of brilliant. Van's voice is raw and gives you goose bumps with its' sheer power.and quality.

Both these tracks are personal favourites, but the albums are filled with high quality tracks. Check out Them's cover of  Dylan's I'ts all Over Now Baby Blue and you will see where Beck got his sample for Jack-Ass.

Listen also to Here Comes The Night probably one of the most perfect pop/rock singles ever.  Not far behind is Gloria, another stormer. 

There is a compilation album of both Them albums containing extra tracks and it is a must have in any collection.  It is called  The Story of Them (1997)
 
THEM - Hey Girl (1966)

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THEM - 'Don't Look Back' / 'Hey Girl'
4/ 5
Oleh

5 comments

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Anonymous
12 March 2014 at 07:22

Completely agree with you. Them were incredible and even as a very young man Van was a superb singer. Still is, of course. You just couldn't find someone like him today.

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21 March 2014 at 08:29

I remember checking out the Them stuff soon after I got into Van in the late 1970s (my first album was 'A Period of Transition') and their rawness caught me off guard, but immediately blew me away. Marvelous stuff.

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21 March 2014 at 08:35

TS - remember POT so well it was his first album for some time and so disapointing. He returned to form pretty quickly after that.

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21 March 2014 at 08:45

As 'A Period of Transition' was my first album, I had nothing to compare it to and enjoyed it, but imagine how great all his other albums sounded when I started to explore!

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21 March 2014 at 08:50

TS - you had found the Holy Grail

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