Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The Stuarts: Just A Little Bit More/Bringing It Home (Ascot 2209)

Here we have an obscurity from the production-songwriting team of Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer. They're the same people who brought you The Strangeloves ("I Want Candy," "Night Time," "Cara Lin") and The Sheep ("Hide and Seek"). The Stuarts didn't quite go as far (in fact, they didn't go anywhere), but "Just A Little Bit More" is a great example of their bubblegum sound, always punctuated by loud, driving drums. The drums lead off here with the intensity of cannon fire, followed by shouts of "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" before going into a mix of pounding rhythm and stinging guitar as a call and response begins, sort of like this:

"Don't you know that I love you" "Just a little bit more"
"And don't you know that I need you" "Just a little bit more."

You get the idea. The beat here is so intense that it almost defies you not to get up and dance. And that stands as a testimonial to Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer....and Kasenetz-Katz who would follow a few years later. At a time when politics and pseudo-intellectualism were creeping into and infecting rock & roll, these guys made records that had good beats and you could dance to them. That's still one of the highest compliments you can make about great rock & roll.

Oh yeah, the b-side. It's not too bad, but in typical throwaway fashion, it doesn't has the same drive as "Just A Little Bit More." But they still manage enough energy to put it through.
And besides, as the lead singer says:

I can't buy you pretty clothes
But baby, don't be blue
'Cause I got something special
That I'm saving just for you

I can only guess what that is.

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