Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) - Billy Joel

Artist: Billy Joel
Song: Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Year: 1977
Album: The Stranger

This song is about every second generation immigrant who works endless hours to provide for a family, while sacrificing the family bonds. More hours turns into more money. More money turns into moving to the suburbs. Moving to the suburbs turns into working harder. Working harder turns into health problems. That all leads to the collapse of the "American Dream".

My impressions of this song when I was a kid, were the ack-ack-ack-ack-acks. I could always recognize the song, from an early age, by that and the upbeat tempo at the beginning. I've always been a fan of Billy Joel, even when it wasn't fashionable.

You have to admire a guy who quits while he is ahead. So far, he hasn't gone back on his word to make any new albums. He is touring quite a bit, but the new pop music hasn't hit him... yet. I'm sure that in time, it will hit again. You can't go for that long without enjoying what you do. Inspiration hits at inopportune times.

I do miss his songs. I can remember getting a little excited each time he would release an album of new material. The public would digest it and the critics would tear it apart. His songs were catchy and some still hold true today. The sounds may be a little dated, but there is something left in those songs. Why else would a musical be made from these songs?

Lyrics:
Anthony works in the grocery store,
Saving his pennies for Sunday.
Momma Leoni left a note on the door,
She said, "Sonny, move out to the country."
But working too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack!
You oughtta know by now...
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?
And it seems such a waste of time,
If that's what it's all about...
Momma, if that's moving up, then I'm moving out!

Sergeant O'Leary is walking the beat,
At night, he becomes a bartender;
He works at Mr. Cacciatorre's down on Sullivan Street,
Across from the medical center,
And he's trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack!
You oughtta know by now...
If he can't drive with a broken back,
At least he can polish the fenders.
And it seems such a waste of time,
If that's what it's all about...
Momma, if that's moving up, then I'm moving out!

You should never argue with a crazy my-my-my-my-my-mind!
You oughtta know by now...
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime;
Is that all you get for your money?
And if that's what you have in mind,
Yeah, if that's what you're all about...
Good luck moving up, cause I'm moving out!

Glad I Waited Just For You - Reba McEntire

Artist: Reba McEntire
Song: Glad I Waited Just For You
Year: 1977
Album: Reba McEntire

This always makes me stop whatever I'm doing and take a listen. I think it has to do with the wish-washy way that it's sung. It's pure cheese, but somehow it works. I always think that that is sung by someone else. I'm not sure who, but I can't picture Reba McEntire singing this for some reason.

Maybe it has to do with her later career. This song seems full of hope, sung by a woman looking to be a good wife and nothing else. There's no depth to the lyrics or the singing. When Reba truly found herself, her voice was a beacon of strength. This seems to be sung by a weak willed person. Someone just happy to be invited to the party.

I would say that this reason would be why this doesn't rate as something higher on my personal list. That being said, I think the song itself is an enjoyable piece of escapist fluff. Everyone has to have some songs like that in their playlist. This is one of mine.

I'm shocked at the transformation that Reba did between this first album and today. Somewhere in between her voice has found courage. I like this song, but Reba has done so much better since then. This was one of the first songs that she released, so I'll cut her some slack.

Lyrics:
Use to be (Use to be)
Love was mean to me
Every love I tried my heart cried that won't do
Now you see (Now you see)
Love's been good to me I guess my love was waiting just for you
You and me (You and me) (You and me)
Go so well as we
Fit right to a T
Can't you see we do

Gotta say (Gotta say) (Gotta say)
Your love's got a way
Of making me glad
I waited just for you
I should have known
That my heart could not be wrong

Gotta say (Gotta say) (Gotta say)
Your love's got a way
Of making me glad
I waited just for you
I should have known
That my heart could not be wrong

Gotta say (Gotta say) (Gotta say)
Your love's got a way
Of making me glad
I waited just for you
I should have known
That my heart could not be wrong

Gotta say (Gotta say) (Gotta say)
Your love's got a way
Of making me glad
I waited just for you
I should have known
That my heart could not be wrong

Moonlight Lovin' - Isaac Hayes

Artist: Isaac Hayes
Song: Moonlight Lovin' (Mènage á Trois)
Year: 1977
Album: New Horizons

In 1997, two things happened to bring this song to my collection. One event was finally getting on the Internet. I was able to find a wealth of information at my fingertips. I could stop my endless searching for obscure info and streamline my knowledge into handy little sections. Entire discographies could be found in mere seconds. It was amazing.

The second event was South Park. Isaac Hayes' portrayal of Chef was one of the top things I loved about the show. I still watch it to this day, even though Isaac has been off the show for a few years.

South Park made me look back into Isaac's past recordings. I found a bounty of great songs besides "Shaft". "Moonlight Lovin' (Mènage á Trois)" is probably my favorite Isaac Hayes song from the mid to late seventies. It's got a funky groove, a sensual feeling and the coolness of a mid seventies soul single.

Lyrics:
Open up your mind now
And let the restless winds blow
Now is the time man
Let your feelings show

Moonlight lovin'
The stars will never tell
Of the rendezvous of me and you and you
Moonlight lovin’
It’s not a wishing well
But all of your fantasies come true
Mènage á Trois, Mènage á Trois, Mènage á Trois

It’s time to discover
Love’s generosity
Uninhibited lover
Like one two three

Moonlight lovin’
Bringing fantasies
That were locked up in the closet of your mind
Moonlight lovin’
Mellow as a mountain stream
Exciting as a roller coaster ride

We’ll take a boat
To the isle of sensuality
We might get shipwrecked
That’s alright with me
I’ll sweat in the sea of love
Like a wave of desire
We won’t send an S.O.S.
We won’t even send a wire
We’ll be caught up in a whirlpool of ecstasy
Spinning on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on

Mènage á Trois

It’s a beautiful feeling
To be loved by two
The stars hit the ceiling
When it’s me and you and you

Moonlight lovin'
The stars will never tell
Of the rendezvous of me and you and you
Moonlight lovin’
It’s not a wishing well
But all of your fantasies come true
Mènage á Trois, Mènage á Trois, Mènage á Trois