Peter Case documentary

[Carl Spackler 3486]

For those of you who, like me, love the music of the Plimsouls and Peter Case as a solo artist, this documentary is supposedly dropping tomorrow (5/23) on a bunch of different platforms, including AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, Dish Network, and Sling TV.  For me, the Plimsouls will always be one of those "bands that should have been huge."  And as a songwriter, I think Pete is an American treasure.  Really looking forward to seeing this documentary.

 

  

[G650 14263]

A Million Miles Away is one of my all time favorite songs

[hullabelew 3724]

Holy shit!  Thanks for letting me know about this @Carl Spackler  Square in the middle of my wheelhouse.  Peter's first solo record is a top 10 for me.  I LOVE most of his solo stuff but that record was influential to me.   First time I heard it, George Gimarc had Peter on the phone along with Mike Mills and Peter Buck.  He played the entire album with all 3 talking about the songs.  

Peter's autobiography is a very interesting read.  Dude has had a lot of mental problems and every time I've seen him, he has been in a different state of mind...but he is always very personable, if not a bit neurotic.  

Hard to pick one favorite from the 86 debut record.  Aside from the songwriting itself, Jim Keltner's drums are outstanding on this

 

And his story telling on "Walk In The Woods"

 

Oldest Story In the World is probably my favorite Plimsouls song.   "Well it makes perfect sense, seeing how the seeds are sown"......what a great opening line.  

 

[hullabelew 3724]

Maybe my favorite song of his.  Either first or second.    Once took a road trip to SF just to see the Entella Hotel. 

 

HIs book is "As Far As You Can Get Without a Passport"

https://www.amazon.com/Far-You-Can-Without-Passport/dp/097438772X

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by hullabelew

[hullabelew 3724]

Great live version of my other favorite song.  "Going out tonight going way downtown, where my friends who died still hang around".  Saw him do two shows one night in a 150 person listening room.  I stayed for both shows.  He played this one before it was recorded.  I talked to him about it between the shows.  It is the only song he repeated that night.  

 

[Chopper 17238]

Ha! Thanks for posting. I'll definitely check this out. I was a big Plimsouls fan and know Case mainly from there, and before that with The Nerves with Paul Collins. He was 20 when he co-wrote what later became one of Blondie's best songs and among their biggest hits. They (Plimsouls, Paul Collins) helped create the whole power pop scene that led to the breakout by the Knack and then got fucked by the blowback because radio stations completely overplayed the Knack, who were more of a novelty act anyway.

 

[Carl Spackler 3486]

Caught the documentary last night, and it's very good.  Would have liked to have heard a little more about his Buffalo days & his wanderings before he got to SF, but the filmmaker only had so much time.  PC's explanation for one of the reasons the Nerves didn't make it was interesting.  Said their music was too edgy for the older folks/hippies, but Collins wanted them to wear suits, which didn't go over well with the punks.  So they were basically shunned by everyone.  LOL

I also would have liked to have heard from his Plimsouls bandmates.  I have no idea what kind of relationship Pete has with the other guys these days.  At one point in the film, Jack Lee makes a crack about Pete probably being on the outs with Eddie Munoz.  I think he was joking, but I wonder if there's some truth to it.    

I thought it was interesting that they put Lee on the screen quite a bit, but Paul Collins is only on for about five seconds.  

And the footage from the studio of Lady Blackbird and Chris Pierce doing "Two Angels" is fantastic.

[hullabelew 3724]

Finally got to see it.  Man, I had forgotten how cute Victoria Williams was....what a smile in those early clips.    
That version of "Two Angels" was incredible, as was watching Peter's reaction.

I also wish they had spent more time on his getting to SF and his early time there.  Also, I wish they had talked to some of the people who helped him on those early records.  T-Bone Burnett, John Hiatt, Keltner, Scheff, Fromm, etc.  It was cool they talked with Marvin Etzione.  Always loved that dude. 

Jake Lee damn sure got his screen time.  I talked to Peter on the second solo album tour and he said that Eddie was going fine so I assume they still got along.  

It's depressing to me what GREAT music he put out and never really gets the recognition he deserves.  He is a FANTASTIC song writer.  

 

 

 

[Carl Spackler 3486]

This news probably deserves its own thread, IMO, but I'll put it here for now.  RIP Jack Lee.  And fuck cancer.

https://pitchfork.com/news/the-nerves-jack-lee-who-penned-hanging-on-the-telephone-dies-at-71/

 

[hullabelew 3724]

Paul Young had a kick ass version of Jack's song, "Come Back and Stay" (along with a typical 80s video with hot chicks) but Jack's version had a sense of urgency.  I need to dig out my vinyl copy.  I think I first heard this on some sampler.  

 

 

Paul Young's version so we can look at hot chicks.

 

[hullabelew 3724]

Forgot he did this on Live Aid.  And listen to what Pino does on the bass.  Kind of returns the urgency to the song.

 

[DougO 5250]

I really only discovered the Plimsouls and The Nerves in the last decade. And I didn't even know the same dude was leading both bands until a few weeks ago when Case appeared on the Otis Gibbs Youtube channel. I didn't know who he was at all until the second video he did with him. So his solo stuff is totally new to me. 

But I dig those early bands a lot and have had stuff of theirs in my random automobile tunes rotation. I would definitely like to check out the doc, but prefer to see it for free, because I'm a cheap bastard and not particularly fond of streaming services.

[Carl Spackler 3486]

3 hours ago, hullabelew said:

Paul Young had a kick ass version of Jack's song, "Come Back and Stay" (along with a typical 80s video with hot chicks) but Jack's version had a sense of urgency.  I need to dig out my vinyl copy.  I think I first heard this on some sampler.  

 

 

Paul Young's version so we can look at hot chicks.

 

I did not realize Jack Lee had written this song.  Thanks for dropping this knowledge on me.

[jimmyjazz 45978]

Paul Young is a helluva singer.  I need to check out anything he's done more recently.

[hullabelew 3724]

On 6/8/2023 at 2:59 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Paul Young is a helluva singer.  I need to check out anything he's done more recently.

I never really knew anything about him until he showed up in the "Do They Know It's Christmas" video.  Very unique voice that I couldn't describe.   

Edited June 13, 2023 by hullabelew

[Carl Spackler 3486]

Saw Pete play the Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA this past weekend.  Terrific show.  He did "A Million Miles Away" and told a story about how he and his band had snuck into a recording studio the first time it was recorded.  He even covered a Burt Bacharach tune as well as a John Coltrane (!) song -- PC was playing the piano with a bassist accompanying him on those two.  

[hullabelew 3724]

Never seen him play the piano...  Thanks for the info.  

[Carl Spackler 3486]

I wouldn't call him a great pianist by any stretch, but it brings a different feel to the show which I find enjoyable.