in brief : joe tex amends the book of love on this elvis costello favorite.
joe tex is all things to all people: disco fans remember "ain't gonna bump no more (with no big fat woman)"; tarantino cultists know "i gotcha"; beat junkies are well aware of the opening to "papa was too"; golden age soul lovers doubtlessly know all the words to "hold what you've got." he remains, alas, a minor figure--indeed, despite casting such a wide net, how many people even recognize the name? even amongst the soul lovers, how many remember "the love you save (may be your own)"--not the jackson 5 song, though it would've been a hoot to hear a young michael tackle this--a number two r&b hit from 1966?
elvis costello does; in fact, he put the song on his artist's choice mix, a compilation of tracks that inspired and influenced him. i haven't seen the liners, so i don't know what he says about it, but i bet he wishes he wrote the lyric (written by tex, as almost all of his records were, "fat woman" notwithstanding). for what it's worth, it contains one of my favorite verses in pop music : "i've been pushed around / i've been lost and found / i've been given 'til sundown to get out of town." love is imagined as an ungrateful town; one begins to picture tex as gary cooper in high noon.
it's much more than the lyric, though, and i bet e.c. acknowledges it too. i know the words are joe's, but i don't know who's responsible for the arrangement. before the first chorus, the track features a wobbly trombone; in tandem w/ the 12/8 piano, it gives the impression that joe's been kicked out a bar after last call--the trombone could be the footsteps of the pink elephant, the xylophone chiming after "stop!" could be the church bells in the square marking four a.m. after the chorus, though, it changes: the trombone is accompanied by its fellows in the horn section and together they keen quietly behind the vocal. suddenly, joe doesn't sound like the town drunk; instead, his words resound like those of a prophet : he is the man, he suffered, he was there. typically, joe's vocals are hardly less thunderous than those of moses on sinai, but here he's restrained, content to test his lower range. it too wobbles, like the trombone, but it's a heartening sound : a prophet he may be, but he also has feet of clay. joe tex is looking out for you, if you would but listen.
3 comments:
this is v. good
' elvis costello does; in fact, he put the song on his artist's choice mix, a compilation of tracks that inspired and influenced him. i haven't seen the liners, so i don't know what he says about it,.....'
Elvis commented -
17. Joe Tex - The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)
My friend Bill Bentley turned me on to this one in the 1980s. I knew Joe Tex more for his dance and novelty records. I couldn’t believe the tenderness in the vocal performance of this stoic and dignified ballad.
ah, i thank you!
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