THEM Again

The next installment in the Van Morrison album by album series...

It just occurred to me, about 2 minutes ago, that THEM is a actually a great 1960’s “pop art” name – right up there with THE WHO – I hadn’t thought about that before.  Ok, so let’s sink our teeth and ears into THEM AGAIN – the band’s second album (and a sporting album title for 1966). We’ll address the UK album first. It kicks off with Van’s “Could You, Would You.” It’s a moody and brutal beginning. Love that Van vocal growl and the band sounds inspired behind him. Sure the lyrics (and music) are basic (a pop/love song), but the performance (from the entire ensemble) overcomes that. “Call My Name” (not a Van song) sounds so remarkably like The Animals, I almost had to double check that I was playing the right record. “Turn On Your Love Light” is majestic. I’m probably most familiar with the Grateful Dead’s version (and of course, the sublime Bobby “Blue” Bland – one of Van’s strongest influences).Van’s vocal sitting on top of an equally zealous keyboard makes for a real one/two punch, you can imagine that just like it was for the Dead, it was probably a real tour de force in a live setting for THEM. My only complaint, it’s far too short in length – at just over 2 minutes, when it needs to be at least 6.  Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” gets a very mellow (even sultry) understated reading here. Certainly the most laid-back version I’ve ever heard and yet, that is what makes it unique. Nice saxophone flourishes.

“I Can Only Give You Everything” – damn. Wicked guitar tone from either heaven or hell or both. Van sings it like he means it. Really means it. This song is right up there for me, along with The Kinks “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” as a bad-ass garage band anthem. If THEM had only recorded this song and never did another thing, original ‘45’s would trade hands for flesh and blood. Maybe they already do. “My Lonely Sad Eyes” is a Van original (song title a bit on the nose for the young lad, but later on, he’d be more subtle). This reminds me of the BANG Records era material. It could have been on T.B.Sheets or Blowin’ Your Mind. But not as strong as most of those songs. Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman” (another heavy, heavy Van influence) gets a rollicking work out here. Authentic piano and rhythm section, all we’re missing is The Realettes’ backing vocals. James Brown’s “Out of Sight” opens up Side Two. I dunno. Van can usually sing African-American soul / R&B songs with ease – but this time, he falls short. But what comes next. My god.

One of the best Bob Dylan covers ever. I’m 99% sure that Van was invited to that giant Madison Square Garden Dylan tribute show decades ago and I’m 99% sure he declined (he hates crowds). But when I saw Van live just a few months later, he said “I do a tribute to Bob Dylan, three hundred and sixty five days a year, here it is” and launched into “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” That repetitive bass riff is meditative and pulsing at the same time, (and the repeating guitar riff is wonderful, the sound actually shimmers) while Van’s vocal floats over the top of it all - the emotion coming from the entire ensemble is perfect. Perfect in the same way that the entire Moondance LP is perfect; it’s that level of perfection. Oh my, is it perfect. This could be a good time to dive into the mutual admiration between Van and Dylan – two guys who generally have little respect for other singer/songwriters that share their general background, but they sure do dig each other. I’ll leave that alone for now.

Van’s own “Bad or Good” follows. Ah, it’s alright. This time the band plays the role of The Realettes’ with some call and response vocals and there’s some decent boogie-woogie piano. On a similar note musically, is Fats Domino’ (“roll me over”) “Hello Josephine” — but this time, the band and Van more or less nail it. Not great, but pretty decent.

Van’s own “Hey Girl” is one of my personal favorites, the flute is plaintive and you can feel, not just hear, but feel that seaside air in the song. Van sounds genuinely mournful. He’s pleading for love (while lusting); the backing band (THEM or whomever) has never sounded more empathetic, especially on a ballad.

Another Van original “Bring ‘Em On In” closes side two of the original UK vinyl.  This a mediocre throwaway, a Ray Charles rewrite with some twanging guitar (good performance, though).  Sadly, the American version of the LP does not offer any different riches or surprises; in fact, it has less songs (like the US version of a Beatles record from the same era).  It does have a slightly more “pop art” cover design, which I have posted. Overall, THEM AGAIN is a much weaker LP than their debut. The two strongest numbers are cover songs and they are scorchers, but one is left craving for at least one “classic” Van composition and I’m only half-way convinced that “Hey Girl” is it. Maybe if I was lusting after teen-age girls, I might think better of it. But I don’t like girls, I like women.