I’M A MAN ![]()
The only song on Magic Lantern not written by the bandmembers in Haymarket Square is one of my all-time favorite songs, “Train Kept A-Rollin’” – in a world filled with great train songs, this might the best of them all for my money. The first time I encountered “Train Kept A-Rollin’” was on the Pebbles, Volume 10 LP, one of the first Pebbles albums that I purchased. This rapid fire rendition by the Bold (also known as Steve Walker and the Bold) – which actually has some train sounds in the intro and at the end – is still the best I have heard; but like the Bo Diddley song “I’m a Man”, the Van Morrison song “Gloria”, and the timeless “Louie Louie” that was written by Richard Berry, I have never heard a version of “Train Kept A-Rollin’” that wasn’t great. (June 2015) * * * Some of the songs on Wild Love are familiar, such as the Skip James song “I’m So Glad” that Cream covered so memorably; and the Bo Diddley classic “I’m a Man” – both versions by the Stooges are terrific and unconventional, almost needless to say. As I have said before, I have never heard a performance of “I'm a Man” that I didn’t love. (December 2017) |