Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Guilty Pleasure Minus Guilty

Against my better judgment I've always liked the song covered by the duo below from the first time I heard it beamed out of the radio as an unformed wad of pubescence.  The pseudo gospel bridge of the radio hit never did anything for me (either in the more than decent Three Dog Night or the better (by a nose) B.W. Stevenson versions), but the song itself composed for Stevenson by Daniel Moore circa 1973 had me at the vaguely yodeled refrain.  I suppose it was the bare guilelessness of the lyrics and the churchiness of the bridge that kept my cold, dark heart from feeling too attached to it over the years, though I would periodically be drawn to give it a listen every now and then anyway for the good parts.  I don't know how they did it but with their cover version immediately below, the Doubleclicks have found a way to imbue every phrase of it with unbridled  joy and in so doing to somehow inspire me to transcend my cynical impulses and (temporarily) embrace its simple message of belief in the possibility, with work, of achieving paradise on earth.  Sue me.


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