Saga of Second Bests #5

‘Where the Winds Blow’ – Frankie Laine, 02/10/1953

‘Where the Winds Blow’ starts off strong. The track builds with haunting choral vocals (there’s a sumptuous baritone in there somewhere) that hover over a standard Western instrumental, before descending like a taunting ghost in a haunted house. It reminds me of ‘Hit The Road Jack’, though that song’s intro starts by descending into something more energetic instead of rising into a morbid prowl. Laine plays the part of a resolute vagabond well, stoic and distant in equal measures, the threat of the ‘live oak’ lurking amongst the backing vocals. Or maybe I’m just gleaning ‘stoic and distant’ from a fairly boring lead vocal, trotting through the repetitive verses with just enough energy to not be blown away by the wind.

With a change of melody and a mention of a ‘darn old charley horse’, all atmosphere built in the first minute suddenly dissipates. It is as though the songwriters couldn’t stand being too menacing and had to pop in this middle section to reassure listeners. The song returns to grimness, but its impact is lessened. The humming after ‘where the wind blows’ starts to sound more like a ghost falling down the stairs. 

By the end, I had The Mothers of Invention’s ‘Anyway the Winds Blow’ stuck in my head.

Should it be silver?

Ah, back to the ol’ Laine vs Mitchell showdown. ‘Look at that Girl’ by Guy Mitchell is better than anything of his that we’ve looked at so far (maybe that’s why it actually got No1). It has more energy to it than Laine’s effort, with a guitar solo (the first for a UK No1!) and a brass accompaniment that I find quite pleasant. It’s catchy, if a bit hokey still. Also, Mitchell sounds a bit like Michael Bublé here, so take that as you will. I think I prefer it to ‘Where the Winds Blow’, though it still feels too long, perhaps due to the drawn-out female vocal repeating Mitchell’s sentiments on the later verse.

Rating

2 charley horses out of 5

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