The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 431

Number 431

Thunderclap Newman

"Something In The Air"

(1969)

................Genre: Psychedelic Rock...............

Roll out the instigator!

Rolling Stone are up to their old controversial tricks again. This time its called 100 Greatest Singers of all Time. ffs. Anyway here is their Top 10 and you know me .... i have to comment. 1:-Aretha Franklin [Here's a twist ... I cant argue on this one, trust me i want to but even i cannot disagree] 2:- Ray Charles [Hmmmm .. Ray Charles is a legendary artist BUT .... Number 2? With all respect to Mr Charles, I can think of 100 singers who are better] 3:- Elvis Presley [You would expect Elvis at #1 but then again ... what is Rolling Stones singing criteria on being the best?] 4:- Sam Cooke [Once again, I don't know if i can disagree. Sam Cooke invoked shivers in most peoples spines] 5:- John Lennon [This is fascinating for the reason John Lennon never felt he was a great singer but rather a great accomplice for Paul McCartney in harmonizing. As for being Rolling Stones #5 choice (and as much as this grates me to agree again) they got it right!] 6:- Marvin Gaye [As great as Marvin was, I would have liked to see Robert Plant here] 7:- Bob Dylan [Top 100 artist, debatable, Top 7th singer of all time?... NO!!!! please stop this insanity RS] 8:- Otis Redding [Held @ gunpoint ... sure ... but why not Freddy Mercury or Jim Morrison?] 9:- Stevie Wonder [I want to say no again ... but Stevie borders genius] 10:- James Brown [No, sorry and i mean sorry, but once again there are better technical singers .... like Amy Winehouse for starters]

Anyway, there is the gist of the content and as much as i would like to scathe Rolling Stone ... i will be the first to admit at least they are on the right track for a change.

reunion!

All these years, and all these accolades later, it still seems incredible that Hollywood Dream meant nothing at the time of its release; that America let it drift no higher than Number 161; that the U.K. did not even give it a hearing. Less than a year before, after all, "Something in the Air" was topping charts and readers' polls alike, and Thunderclap Newman were as close as Christmas to becoming the new Beatles. Instead, they weren't even the new Badfinger, and this exquisite LP withered on the vine. Reissued in 1991, Hollywood Dream had been utterly transformed by the admiration of so many subsequent listeners, to stand alongside any lost classic you could mention, among the finest albums of its psychedelic generation. "Something in the Air," of course, has never lost its hold on our hearts, but there was so much more to Thunderclap Newman and, across the 12-track original album, and half-a-dozen bonus tracks, the trio's genius is inescapable.

No ... not 10CC

For those "in the know," who had treasured their scratchy old Atlantic label vinyl, the real meat lay in the latter, as all three of Thunderclap Newman's original 45's joined their album brethren, together with their non-LP B-sides. "Something in the Air," fussed up for the LP, reverts to its original emphatic punch; "Accidents" is pruned from a shade under ten minutes to a little over three; and the piping "The Reason" (an odd choice for a single in the first place) sounds like a role model for every record Supertramp ever made. The real gem, however, is "Wilhemina," which sounds like a daft piece of rhyming doggerel set to a nursery tune, but also packs one of the most dramatic psych guitar solos this side of your favorite Who record. Producer Pete Townshend must have been astonished. As will you be, too, if all you've ever heard is the hit. So many bands have been hauled out of obscurity to be tagged the greatest secret you've never been told. Thunderclap Newman are one of the few who actually deserve that epithet. ~ [Dave Thompson, All Music Guide] well said

Well..... Tell me More!

the Who

In 1969, Pete Townshend, The Who's guitarist, created the band to play songs written by the former Who roadie, drummer / singer John 'Speedy' Keen (miscredited as "Keene" on the single's label). Keen wrote the opening track on The Who Sell Out album, "Armenia City In The Sky". Townshend produced the single, arranged its strings, played its bass guitar under the pseudonym Bijou Drains, and hired for it GPO engineer and jazz pianist Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (born Andrew Laurence Newman, 21 November 1942, Hounslow, Middlesex) and the fifteen year old Glaswegian, Jimmy McCulloch.

'ere, whos that over there

Originally titled "Revolution", but later renamed because the Beatles released a single of that name, "Something in the Air" captured post-flower power rebellion, marrying McCulloch's sweeping acoustic and glowing electric guitars; Keen's powerful drumming and falsetto, and Newman's piano solo. The single was Number One in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, holding off Elvis Presley in the process. The scale of the song's success surprised everyone, and there were no plans to promote Thunderclap Newman with live performances. Eventually a line-up, augmented by Jim Pitman-Avory (bassist) and McCulloch's elder brother Jack (drums), played a handful of gigs. Personal records say the band played live only five times, although Keen referred to a two-month tour, playing "everywhere".

Earl of Wussex

"Something in the Air" appeared on the soundtracks of the films The Magic Christian (1969), Kingpin (1996), Almost Famous (2000), The Dish (2000), The Girl Next Door (2004), and The Strawberry Statement (1970); the last having helped the single reach Number 25 in the United States. The song also appeared in the deluxe edition of the Easy Rider CD. In the UK, a follow-up single, "Accidents", came out only in May 1970, and charted at No. 44 for only a week. An album, Hollywood Dream, again produced by Townshend and released the previous year, peaked in Billboard 200 chart at No. 163. "Something In the Air" played at the end of the 26 March 2007 episode of The Riches on FX. An episode of the television sitcom, My Name is Earl also featured the song. The members of the band had little in common. Newman once commented, in a 1972 interview with the NME, that he got on with Keen's music but not with him personally, and it was a similar case with McCulloch. Two more singles followed before the band split. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

Roll Call ....

Aretha Franklin #563

Ray Charles #518

Elvis Presley #443, #501, #840

Sam Cooke #481

John Lennon #492, #639

Paul McCartney #583

Marvin Gaye #611

Robert Plant #845

10CC #375

Bob Dylan #491, #841, #929

Otis Redding #623

Freddy Mercury [Queen] #366, #539, #747, #799, #805 & [with Bowie] #513

Jim Morrison [Doors] #729, #746, #851

Stevie Wonder #419, #657

James Brown #741

Beatles #489, #587, #894, #947

the Who #429, #556

Rolling Stone has no view on Thunderclap Newman

Need more information on the song "Something In The Air"? Here are some SongFacts for you to ponder over! Click here > Fact Stuff

Official Website for Thunderclap Newman @ This addy & for other Information/Biography click this link > Here ~ crowbarred [because power is knowledge]

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '431st Song of all Time' was "Ain't That A Shame" by Fats Domino. Fats Domino has appeared in The Definitive 1000 @ #441

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We don't like 1 hit wonders) and the Album ranked at ('cept that Outkast) as said in #435

This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 77.6 out of 108

Thunderclap Newman-Something in the air
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