Monday, January 12, 2009


Don Agrati - Hollywood Song

This is from Don's 1973 Elektra LP Homegrown, "recorded at home with Keith Olsen's homemade 8-track." A bit of "Mean Mr. Mustard" meets Countdown to Ecstasy-era Steely Dan, with a less competent rhythm section. Don played all the instruments himself. On a side note, Curt Boettcher apparently had some involvement.

8 comments:

Big B said...

The Lennon/Dan analogy is spot one. Great track.

Anonymous said...

Hey B, glad you found the analogy apt, because I "worked on it" for a long time - really.

Anonymous said...

So is this Don Grady?

ib said...

Nice. More Paul than John, in tonality maybe, but what's to dislike ?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous - yep, it's Don Grady, but he used his real name for this album. Good call.

IB - you're right, his voice is more McCartney- than Lennon-esque (and he's got a great voice, by the way). But the sort of sleepy way he enunciates the words on this reminds me of nothing so much as Mean Mr. Mustard. I read the lyrics, by the way, they're largely nonsense... the 3rd verse begins "glug, slug" or something like that. Anyway, glad you liked it.

Anonymous said...

Me again, thanx. Might've first read of Grady's music in Blitz! magazine in the late 70s. B! was a record-fanatic mag focusing on US garage bands, British Invasion stuff, surf-rock, rockabilly, etc. But it was often too pretetiously-phrased, and the editor had this bizarre belief that the Beatles were "overrated". However, it led me to all that music, as well as the Yellow Balloon, Tupper Saussy, etc.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jim, thanks for the comment. I don't think I'd heard of Blitz! magazine before... it sounds cool. Should I be checking out these bands you mentioned? Any particular albums that are must-hears, please let me know.

Oh, and I'm of the opinion that the Beatles are UNDERRATED. And I mean that!

Cheers, Emmett

ib said...

I second that opinion.