The Nails “Mood Swing”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#408 in the Series) is The Nails, Mood Swing.
One of the niceties of getting up “early” on Saturday is listening to WXRT here in Chicago and listening to four hours of their long running segment called “Saturday Morning Flashback.” Each Saturday they pick a year and play nothing but great music released during that time. They also give a little rundown of top movies, TV shows, who left us etc., etc. It really is a fun way to kill a morning.
Today was 1984. What tunes we were treated too. “Working With Fire & Steel” –China Crisis; “Whisper to a Scream” – Icicle Works; “This is the Day” – The The; “A Spy in the House of Love” – dB’s; “Happy Ending” – Joe Jackson; etc. etc. Tons of fun.
But one song really brought back the memories of that year for me. That was “Home of the Brave” by The Nails. What a great band. It was so great to hear that song again. It was a staple on the station in the good old days.
Yes, “Home of the Brave” was and is a great song, but it’s not the one that made the album for most people. The song that made this album was The Nails classic, “88 Lines about 44 women.” Have you heard this song? I’m not exaggerating by saying that this is one of the most unique and clever tunes ever written. It is exactly what the title says. Its 88 lines long with a different woman discussed in every two lines. It’s in the playlist below. It’s a must listen.
“Let it All Hang Out” was another track that had some traction, at least in these parts.
The Nails were led by Marc Campbell. They’re still around. I’ve added a link to their website below.
Track Listing
- Every Time I Touch You (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 3:53
- Dark Brown (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 5:21
- 88 Lines About 44 Women (Campbell, Guthrie, Kaufman, Kaufman) 4:56
- Home of the Brave (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 5:06
- Let It All Hang Out (Cunningham, Cunningham) 3:03
- Mood Swing (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 2:52
- Phantom Heart (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 4:26
- Juanita Juanita (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 3:16
- She Is Everything to Me (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 3:11
- White Wall (Campbell, Campbell, Nails) 5:12
Personnel
The Nails
- Marc Campbell Vocals
- Dennis McDermott Drums
- Steve O’rourke Guitar
- George Kaufman Bass, Keyboards, Trombone
- Douglas Guthrie Saxophone
Additional Musicians
- Jimmy Bralower Drums
- David Campbell Vocals
- Connie Garcia Vocals (Background)
- David Kaufman Keyboards
- Boris Kinberg Percussion
- Arooj Lazewal Tabla, Tamboura, Tambourine
- Khari Paige Vocals (Background)
- Badal Roy Tabla, Tamboura
- Rocky Savino, Jr. Harmonica
- Ellen Warshaw Vocals (Background)
- Greg Winter Drums, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background)
Links
Back to the Cool album Home Page
As soon as I heard the opening drum beat of the opening track, the door opened to a time machine and I was back at Columbia, turning people on to this great stuff. I have muttered a line from that song a thousand times in my life, “I’ll murder you with love”