Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Summer Sun



“'Summer Sun'…I had written with Alex Chilton, oh, I guess in about 1978 or '77, in New York.”
Chris Stamey

In the second of a series of summer songs set to become so legendary that future historians are already sharpening their pencils to write the full story of how the series came to pass, comes The Summer Sun by Chris Stamey (with a little help from Alex Chilton).

Outside, this July day is grey and foreboding, but with The Summer Sun the weather is always bright, the time is always 1967 and the place Carnaby Street or Haight-Ashbury.

Kind of like The Kinks’ knack for strident power pop with a sunny theme (Love Me Till The Sun Shines, Waterloo Sunset, Sunny Afternoon…) only a little more upbeat, The Summer Sun is officially summer.

3 comments:

harveyw said...

As I might have mentioned before, this is my favourite record ever. Thanks for giving it that bit more exposure, mister!

Fire Escape said...

No problem! Maybe what I should have said originally is that you introduced me to this record. So thanks for that.
Have you got any Sneakers records by the way? I'm sure you do, so what are they like?

harveyw said...

There's a 6-song 33rpm EP, and a 7-song mini LP on Car/Carnivorous Records (Stamey's own label). Although there are a couple of gems on each record, they're a little too angular for my taste; almost post-punk in their spiky-ness, which, given that the EP was recorded in 1976, shows considerable foresight.
I was about to write that it's time this material was reissued, but a quick google reveals this:
http://www.ccmusic.com/item.cfm?itemid=CCM07332

I have no idea why that CD is filed in the "christian rock" section...