Search - Emitt Rhodes :: Daisy Fresh From Hawthorne

I hope I didn't go over 1000 words!!

03/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Emitt's earliest music endeavors include playing in the bands the Palace Guard and the Merry-Go-Round. We recorded some amazing tracks in these early days ("You're A Very Lovely Woman" and "Had To Run Around"). These groups broke up and Emitt began a solo career. His first solo album was more like the second Merry-Go-Round LP. It includes many great tracks, including the Beatle-esque/Nazz-esque "Pardon Me." Sadly, none of the tracks from American Dream appear here on the Dunhill Years CD. However, what this CD does include are many wonderful tracks from his last three albums. A very young Emitt recorded three wonderful solo albums for Dunhill on which he played guitars, drums, pianos, bass, percussion, saxophone and quite a few other instruments. He managed to record these songs all by himself, carefully overdubbing each part onto the next. The end result would fool anybody who didn't know otherwise that this was the work of a competent early 70's rock and roll group. Emitt also wrote his own songs and handled the production duties himself. Each album has great songs, and many of those are included on this CD.1. With My Face on the Floor Great vocals, incredible pitch and range. This is a piano based song, very cheerful and upbeat. Perhaps reminding the listener of the more creative Monkees recordings. Jingle jangle tambourine to boot!!2. Somebody Made for MeAsk and you'll receive. Emitt is desperate here to find the love of his life.

3. She's Such a Beauty This is a great McCartney-esque rocker. Emitt's melody on this song almost reminds me of the little medley on Paul McCartney's Red Rose Speedway album. Play this song back to back with "Hands of Love" and you'll be amazed. (And yes, Emitt wrote his song before Paul!!). 4. Long Time No See I don't know if this is the song, but I remember there is one where you hear Emitt's girlfriend say "Emitt?" softly at the very beginning of the song- right before the piano comes in. This might be my favorite Emitt Rhodes song. A pure knock-out that should have had radio play. Although it is a tad melancholy. 5. Lullabye Kind of a throwaway. Sort of like the little throwaway snipets on the White Album. 6. Fresh as a Daisy He's back to sounding like the Monkees, or the Byrds here. I think this actually was a single. Whether or not it got any airplay, who knows. The radio must have been strange in 1970. I mean, if Paul McCartney DIDN'T release "Maybe I'm Amazed" there must have been SOMETHING wrong. Terribly wrong.

7. Live Till You DieIs this just a continuation of the Merry-Go-Round's "Live?" You can get that song on the Nuggets boxed set.

8. Promises I've Made And then there were more...More great songs that is.

9. You Take the Dark Out of the Night Fuzzy weird guitar part on this song. We all know someone who takes the dark out of the night.
10. You Should Be Ashamed "You've left me down too many times, too many times to say, you've let me down." That is probably the most beautiful line ever sung in a song. This song rivals anything on the Beatles' Revolver. I am truly not kidding.

11. Ever Find Yourself Running Yes, you would find me running to the record store if Emitt came out of hibernation with a new CD.

12. You Must Have These songs get into Emitt's Mirror album. The original album has pictures in the gatefold of Emitt playing different instruments and standing around his living room. Just a down home kind of guy.13. Birthday Lady Sometimes Emitt's songs start to sound alike, but that's probably due more to his voice. It's a great voice, but he's locked into one vocal style pretty much on everything he does.

14. Better Side of Life You'll find the better side of life with Emitt's music.

15. Mirror From the Mirror album, of course. They should realease a domestic version of the Mirror album so that everybody can hear all of the tracks. Same with Farewell to Paradise.

16. Really Wanted You A blistering rock n' roll track. Rocks about as hard as something of the Rolling Stones' Hot Rocks CD.

17. Love Will Stone You This is another personal favorite of mine. Yup.

18. Golden Child of God The last Mirror song.

19. Warm Self Sacrifice Now we get into Farewell to Paradise, Emitt's entirely under-rated last solo album. 1973. Another gatefold album that you should track down just to have the album art. Emitt has a beard. He is seen in pictures with his girlfriend (wife?) staring at air pollution with a look on his face like the one we see Marvin Gaye giving on the back of What's Going On.

20. Blue Horizon He probably was referring to the Horizon early in the morning before the factories started churning pollution into the skies.

21. Shoot the MoonSadly, not enough music is included from Farewell to Paradise.

22. Only Lovers Decide This is the best song from Farewell to Paradise, so I am glad the compilers did their job and included it on this CD. Nice acoustic ballad. Emitt didn't do enough of these type songs. This is truly beautiful.

23. Tame the Lion A little bonus, as this was really just a single from long ago. Go out and get this CD if you're tired of listening to Revolver and Aftermath and Monkees CD's. As great as those CD's are, it's always fun to find something new. I truly think this is a great piece of work, a great collection. True Emitt fans know that this CD is not inclusive of his entire career. We would rather have a 2 CD set that included more from the Merry-Go-Round and American Dream. Stephanie P."

"I can't believe it's not Beatles!"

Clare Quilty | a little pad in hawaii | 11/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled onto Rhodes work by accident and I'm glad that I did. All the rumors are true: the songs on this collection sound spookily like late-period Beatles, Badfinger and Big Star. If you like any of those groups, you'll like this. And it was mostly recorded by a kid playing all the instruments in his parents' garage. But if you buy this compilation, be prepared to get [pulled] into a CD that, literally, won't let you go for quite some time. I bought it two months ago and haven't taken it out of my stereo since. My friends are so sick of hearing Emitt Rhodes it's not even funny... and yet I can't stop playing it. I won't! They can't make me!"

Amazing Gift for Melody and an Amazing Collection!

Kenneth R. Gullette Jr. | Moline, IL United States | 11/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first bought Emitt Rhodes albums in 1970. I was blown away by the catchy melodies, and the fact that he wrote all the songs, played the instruments and sang all the vocals. At first, he sounds like Paul McCartney, and his instrumentation and melodies are very McCartneyesque, but the songs on this collection blow away anything McCartney did in his first three or four solo albums. I found this CD in a Chicago record store 3 years ago and I still play it frequently. The majority of songs on the CD come from his first album, "Emitt Rhodes," and his second album "Mirror." If you like Beatlesque music, you will enjoy this and you'll find the melodies running through your head for years to come. I can't believe someone with this gift isn't still making music."