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  Subway b/w Summer Love by Blonde on Blonde


Subway b/w Summer Love cover art

Artist: Blonde on Blonde
Title: Subway b/w Summer Love
Catalogue Number: Chrysalis CHS2158
Review Format: 45
Release Year: 1977



Perhaps you are familiar with Blonde on Blonde? Basically, they were two famous glamour models - Nina Carter and Jilly Johnson - who had a brief musical career doing cover versions in the then fashionable disco style. Being cynical (who, me?), these records probably only sold based on the truly immense sex appeal of those two ladies.

"Subway" was actually written by the Gibb Brothers but that didn't help much.
Disco is actually harder to do than you might think and God knows what happened here. The vocals seem at the odds with each other and the song. I got nightmares of early Sheila & B Devotion (pre Spacer, of course) as the weediest saxophone on the planet polluted the proceedings. Many a mirror ball must have heard this song (probably before the chicken in a basket got served). Simply horrendous.

As for the flipside, "Summer Love" is actually less offensive to these ears. It is better suited to their abilities but the vocals still sound like two schoolgirls and you have to wonder if the session musicians knew what a click track was. There's that feeling that everyone is doing their own version of the song. However, that does give it a bit of (scary) charm.

Anyway, I liked the cover and that's why it's here. That and the obscurity value of course. You should all thank the Lord for punk music which, temporarily, swept this stuff back into the cupboard where it belonged.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Carter
Reviewer:
Review Date: October 26 2008