I almost put a question mark after this headline because this one is bound to divide the peanut gallery. Tracie Young was a protégé of Paul Weller's. He found her by placing an ad in Smash Hits when he was looking for talent to kickstart his own Respond label. Weller incorporated Young immediately, using her for backing vocals on the Jam's swansong, "Beat Surrender, as well as the Style Council's first single, "Speak Like a Child." Weller envisioned Tracie (as she would simply be called) as a solo artist, however, and her first single, "The House That Jack Built," went top 10 in the UK a few months later. There were a couple of other singles in 1983 and early 1984, but this proved to be Tracie's biggest hit.
Tracie's only officially released album during the Respond era, the Weller-produced 'Far from the Hurting Kind,' came out in 1984. The single "(I Love You) When You Sleep" was penned by Elvis Costello. From her liner notes on the 2010 album reissue, here is what Tracie had to say about the song:
I met Elvis on a plane on the way back from doing The Tube in Newcastle. We just got chatting. He was talking about other artists he'd written songs for and said that he'd really like to give me a song. It was a reworking of his song "Joe Porterhouse." He changed the lyrics and the tempo but we did struggle with it while rehearsing at Nomis Studios. I loved the lyrics but it was very slow and I found it hard to sing. We had a chat with him and he said, try using a bossa nova rhythm, so that was the starting point, although it became less rhythmic the more we worked on it. I was always very proud of it.
Tracie's version doesn't bear much resemblance to the "Joe Porterhouse" found on 'Goodbye Cruel World.' A few of you may like Tracie's version. Many will not. As for me, in the mid-'80s, I fell hard for sophisti-pop, and that's what this song sounded like to me. I bought the 12" as soon as I heard it. How could I possibly pass it up? The connections to Costello and Weller were there, and I liked her voice. This single is the only piece I would own by Tracie until the 2010 reissue of 'Far from the Hurting Kind.' Unlike Roy Orbison's take on "The Comedians," Tracie's version of "Joe Porterhouse" is of a time and place and doesn't quite hold up in 2017, but I found myself enjoying it today, anyway.
One last aspect of this song to ponder is the timeline. Tracie's single came out in May 1984. 'Goodbye Cruel World' was released in June 1984. In other words, Costello was already reworking "Joe Porterhouse" before the public even heard it. If I ever have a pint with Costello, I would love to hear about his motivation. I'll have one more post of a different ilk on 'Goodbye Cruel World' next time.
"(I Love You) When You Sleep"
11 comments:
I remember Tracie very well and I was selling records day in and day out in 1984, but I have absolutely zero recollection or knowledge of the song '(I Love You) When You Sleep', let alone the fact that it was written by EC - you learn something new every day. I reckon it's a very commendable effort by Ms Young and can quite understand why it caught your ear.
At the risk of repeating myself and re-starting the war, 'Joe Porterhouse' is yet another tune from GCW that I really like. The soft opening and dynamic chorus, the trademark wordplay, Nieve's playful runs, EC harmonizing with himself...I just don't get the antipathy for this LP.
Tracie's tune is nice too -- never heard it before. I used to consider myself something of an Anglophile but I'm like a schoolboy compared to Brian. Your collection must be housed in an airplane hangar!
Swede, Your mind is still sharp, my boy. This one only got to No. 59. The big hits were in the rear-view mirror by this point. The pop world is a fickle one... as you know.
JTFL, I'm going to be kinder to the songs of GCW in my next post. That's a promise. I knew you liked this song, and I cringed a bit while thinking of you reading another post. Tried to take the foot off the gas this time around, but I guess I failed. Stay tuned.
No worries. If I learned anything from my recent foray into the world of outlaw country music is that all music is valid and everyone gets to like what they want. Except Muse.
It is just a bit symbiotic that Tracie does The Tube, meets EC on the plane back from Newcastle to London, EC writes a song for Tracie and then she flies back to Newcastle to perform it on...The Tube...
Brian you are correct, this is certainly Sophisti-Pop! It's also my favorite song from Tracie. Never understand how she was talked into wearing so much male drag - lots of skinny suits - back in those days. I must say I would have loved to hear DC Lee sing House That Jack Built as a Style Council song back then.
One of the biggest mistakes Weller did with Respond is thinking he could package the Respond acts together and put them out on the road as a package like back in the 60's...it didn't do any of the acts any favors.
Finally, listening Tracey has made me want to pull out my The Questions music and enjoy that this evening. Price You Pay is toe tapping 80's Mod/Power Pop.
I've got a soft spot for Tracie and her records.
Echorich, That's a nice little summary of the Respond years, but this is what I found most intriguing: "I would have loved to hear DC Lee sing House That Jack Built as a Style Council song back then." Brilliant idea. I may have to join you with Price You Pay later today.
Adam, Your piece on Nick Cave at Glastonbury was terrific. Great storytelling. I had never seen that clip before, and the photo was perfect too. Tracie never had a moment here like she did in the UK, but that's a tale that has been told many times.
JTFL, Muse. That was good.
Yes -- JTFL get comment of the year in my book with that devastating mention of Muse.
I laughed out loud at JTFL's Muse quip.
I've got a Muse album
As someone who devoured everything Weller did up to he brought an end to TSC, I'm happy to admit a soft spot for Tracie but I never got round to buying all that much. This was a new one on me, as was the backstory of EC's involvement. It's rather lovely, so thank you.
The Muse quip from JTFL is harsh. But I suppose it is fair. I've their debut CD on the shelf and some of it works quite well, thanks in part the work of John Leckie in the producer's chair. Then again, that was 1999 and they've done nothing worth listening to since.
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