Beckett Brown's "ONE WAY STREET ": vocal version

[remicks]

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.......Waaay back .... a hundred years ago , I used to DJ on the campus radio station at San Francisco State University . One of the greater joys I experienced while doing this , was being able to review the many promos that got sent to the station. One album that caught my interest was called DISCO EXPRESS , an RCA various artist compilation with Zulema , Faith , Hope & Charity, etc . It's one of the few albums I still own from the radio station , with the calll letters KSFS scrawled across the jacket in thick black felt pen ( the defacing from such IDing makes it seem worth more to me , not less) .

The one cut I really embraced and started playing a lot on my show was Beckett Brown's "ONE WAY STREET" , an instrumental version as this was the version this album contained ( although not identified as instrumental) . .... A peppy, light and springy romp, with spry guitars and some nice stick work keeping the beat along with a terrific busy bass line. A simple feel good tune.... with the flavor of the kung fu songs of the time ...

....Flash forward to summer 2005: I unexpectedly find the 45 single of this song mixed with others in a store. Something odd: the label shows the B side as instrumental .... but then incredibly it has the side A listed as ...... vocal !! !!!!! :D I had never even considered that "ONE WAY STREET " might even have a vocal version . All these years I'd never heard this song as anything but an instrumental ... and now suddenly , (((30 years later))) I find a single 7" that says "VOCAL" on it !!!! For a meager five dollar purchase I was going to be able to hear these , up until now, unknown secret lyrics ! Sound exciting ? ..... It was!! :D
I eagerly and without hesitation, bought the disk , and since I was out of town , waited the two days before getting it home to play it .

Finally listening to this vocal version has been most interesting .... Beckett's voice is terrific , kind of gravelly , and he's sort of doing a George McCrae stylizing with occasional high notes. . Good voice, and the arrangement fits the record fine . ............. But then there's the lyrics themselves ..... :o .... here's this uplifting little stroll of a song .. I can imagine bopping along this one way street with this untroubled song playing away and setting a good natured tone ...... but, wait ... now here are the actual words.... I'm listeningto their content ...... instead it turns out .... the lyrics tell a different story than this .... turns out the song is about walking down a one way street all right .... but ....heading down it in the wrong direction ! "Wasting my time ..... Trying to feel no pain , every time that I hear your name . Walking down a one way street, harder now for me , nothing is the same .... wasting my time " All those years ... listening to this cheerful tune .... and then , bam! ....with this one eye-opening play of its side A vocal version .... it becomes instead a disparaging lament ..... :o !!! :o !!! :o



:D I'm not sure what the moral is to this story .....

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[Mixmachine]

"One way Street" (Produced by Biddu) as well as many other tunes of the 70’s dealt with the “Lost Love" theme, In this one Beckett is yearning for his recent loss and is aimlessly walking down the wrong way of a "One way Street" whining about the “Pain”, :( Beckett should take the advice of the Originals' "Down to love town" and stop “Wasting His time”, this guys really had the solution to this problem, :lol:

This cut's Vocal version was very popular in the clubs at the time where it used to get 'worked ' with the Instrumental side, Don't think many people followed the lyrics to closely back then, especially in a Club setting where this song was mostly played, I remember "Nice and Slow" by Jesse Green was a perfect mix among many others of the day..

[remicks]

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Thanks for your response MIXMACHINE --- I should have known if anyone knew of this song it'd be you !..... I can't imagine your great collection ... 8) 8) 8)

of Marky's TOP 100 disco songs for 1975 .......how many do you own ???

I meant to mention that this was a BIDDU song ( gotta stop this BIDDU bashing now !!!)

I agree ... Beckett should've just taken his love "down to love town" !!! :D :D That's the kind of attitude I like ...

Another one of those whiney songs from those days is "LEAVING ME" by The Independents . I used to really love that song .. .but now when listening to this needy fellow who wants his woman around all the time .... I don't blame her for leaving him !! By the end of the song I want to leave him myself!! :lol:


Anyway "ONE WAY STREET " (the title even sounds like an instrumental cut, doesn't it?) is still one of those great secret records .... it barely makes the compilation charts back in 1975 .. a couple of weeks at the bottom somewhere .. ( too lazy to look it up right now ) ..... especially its instrumental version IMO .. although finding the vocal version recently was a lot of fun ... one of those special moments when record searching ... :D

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[Mixmachine]

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Thanks for your response MIXMACHINE --- I should have known if anyone knew of this song it'd be you !..... I can't imagine your great collection ... 8) 8) 8)

of Marky's TOP 100 disco songs for 1975 .......how many do you own ???

Actually I don't have them all, although some of them I may have but haven't really looked hard yet as the bulk of the 45s still are in a hard to get at spot for close to 20 years now. :o

38- I just can't say goodbuy= Philly Devotion(sounds familiar)
57-Love Corporation Hues Corp( I may have the LP)
64-Hollywood Hot- Eleventh Hour ( doesn't ring any bells)
68-Life is waht you make it- Tapestry :roll:
75 Love is everywhere- City Limits
77-Escape from Tomorrow- Lalo Schifrin
89- Overture-The Miracles( I may have )
93-It's in my Kiss -Linda Lewis (on an old 70's want list still)
94-Each Morining when..Major Harris
96- You've got to try harder-Ronnie Walker(Majic's in the air )
98-Rockin Soul Hues Corp-( May have LP)
100- Look on the good side- The Invitations

[remicks]

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Mixmachine - you surprise me !! Somehow I thought you'd have your own music room , with each record carefully bagged and catalogued in neat pull- out drawers ...in a room that is temperature controlled ! Anything close to that ??

Records you haven't seen in twenty years !!! Doesn't that drive you crazy ?

But then, I should talk. I've had my records in boxes for years too...still do ... just starting to get them out into the light of day again. So glad i got my turntables this winter .... it really sparked my interest again ..and I'm having a blast sorting through things .

Just last night I found a 45 promo by FINAL TOUCH called "I'M READY TO GIVE UP MY LOVE " ...can you tell me anything about it??

:D

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[Karlos]

I have this as a 12 inch single, running time around 8 minutes I think. Seem to recall vocals on this track but will have to hook it out and play it to be sure :D