johnnywest
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Post by johnnywest on Apr 20, 2005 10:52:16 GMT -5
A great over-the-top song from 1968. I thought about it last night when I heard one of them perform it on "American Idol."
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Luckie Starchild
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Post by Luckie Starchild on Apr 20, 2005 15:46:37 GMT -5
Great song written by Jimmy Webb. A lot of people don't know this version.
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Post by Pink Champagne Ricochet on Apr 21, 2005 14:55:59 GMT -5
Wasn't Richard Harris Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies until he died?
I've heard this. Jimmy Webb must have been on hallcinogens when he wrote it. The cake in the rain and the old men playing checkers...ok it's an analogy for a bad relationship, but it's still dumb.
This song is so extremely mocked, I can't even believe the lyrics are real, and I can't believe Carrie chose to sing it on American Idol....
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Post by kellydicted on Apr 21, 2005 14:56:45 GMT -5
What a strange song.
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ClassicCase
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Post by ClassicCase on Apr 21, 2005 15:08:37 GMT -5
At least for him it's a one-hit wonder. And a very long one at that (the song, that is). I remember also during the disco era that Donna Summer did a cover of it around late 70s. The lyrics, to me, don't make a DAMN bit of sense. That writer must really had it hard when he wrote it. I think that he wrote it so "beautifully" that he wanted an actor to sing it. At first, he wanted Wayne Newton to sing it, but turned it down. So out of desparation, he begged Richard Harris to record the song. I wonder what the executives at ABC/Dunhill Records were thinking at the time? Just a thought.
And I cannot believe it myself for Carrie to do that! Talk about a remake that REALLY needs artistic repair!
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Disco🌶️📖
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Post by Disco🌶️📖 on Apr 21, 2005 16:39:36 GMT -5
I became familiar with this song through Donna Summer's cover in the "MacArthur Park Suite."
What is this song really about?
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irock
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Post by irock on Apr 21, 2005 17:32:47 GMT -5
I absolutely hate this song but I must admit to a certain fascination given its completely bizarre genesis.
If memory serves, this song was written and - for the most part - produced before Richard Harris had ever heard of it. The producers shopped the tune to a number of artists and had already hired an orchestra and recorded the music. The only thing they needed was a vocal track, but they couldn't find a singer. I can't remember how they eventually settled on Harris, but I think he was very much a last resort choice.
Harris (who is indeed an actor) recorded the vocals, the release tune was mixed and the rest is history. I hated the song the very first time I heard it. It seems to drone on forever, like Hey Jude but without the classic scat vocals of someone actually capable of carrying a tune.
The lyrics are not difficult to decipher. The cake is a metaphor for the love the singer feels in his heart for someone he's lost.
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mst3k
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Post by mst3k on Apr 21, 2005 19:55:44 GMT -5
Fred Bronson's Billboard Book Of Number One Hits has a nice little history of the song. Before he was even finished writing it, songwriter Jimmy Webb's first choice to record the song (the full 22 minute version) was The Association, but they turned it down (apparently, very nastily).
As for my opinion, Richard Harris's version is, to say the least, strange. But I love Donna Summer's disco cover.
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Post by automyskin89 on Apr 21, 2005 20:49:45 GMT -5
Carrie's version only sounded good when she hit that long note at the end, and the short notes in the begining, middle, wherever...in the song.
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stevie nice
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Post by stevie nice on Apr 21, 2005 21:08:09 GMT -5
My daddy for some inexplicable reason was a fan of Harris. He even had (well i have it now at my moms house) a reading he did of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (not sure of spelling)
I like the strings in this version; this is horribly fascinating to listen to for me, kinda like "In The Year 2525" by Zager & Evans, "We Love You, Call Collect," by Art Linkletter, and "DOA" By Bloodrock.
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BillboardBoy
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Post by BillboardBoy on Apr 22, 2005 0:24:18 GMT -5
Did anyone here see "Airplane 2"? We hear a piece of it. It's the blaring "elevator music" in the airport when everyone is holding their ears. (Then it's followed by "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" when the elevator opens on a different floor.)
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jdcfan
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Post by jdcfan on Apr 22, 2005 23:16:11 GMT -5
I prefer Weird Al's Jurassic Park. :)
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Post by soulster on Apr 23, 2005 10:14:20 GMT -5
I prefer Weird Al's Jurassic Park. :) LOL, where did Weird Al suddenly pop from in this discussion? But anyhow, the video for this song is hilarious!
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Post by Walking Contradiction on Apr 23, 2005 15:01:11 GMT -5
My first exposure to this song was with Weird Al's parody (which is based on the Richard Harris version).
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jdcfan
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Post by jdcfan on Apr 23, 2005 17:59:29 GMT -5
My first exposure to this song was with Weird Al's parody (which is based on the Richard Harris version). Me too actually. I think I heard the original for the first time a few years ago. The original is very bizarre to say the least. The Weird Al arrangement of the song really is quite good. Great lyrics too.
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BillboardBoy
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Post by BillboardBoy on Apr 24, 2005 2:11:27 GMT -5
Did anyone see the episode of "The Simpsons" (Season 4) when Lisa is trying out for "Little Miss Springfield"? An Indian girl (apparently Apu's daughter) is singing "MacArthur Park" as her talent. When it's over, Krusty's response is, "That one just kept on goin'." ;)
"And I'll never have that recipe again..."
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cartman2002
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Post by cartman2002 on Dec 30, 2006 22:24:40 GMT -5
MacArthut Park reached #2 in 1968 for Mr. Harris
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Pet Shop Boy
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Post by Pet Shop Boy on Dec 31, 2006 7:47:05 GMT -5
Donna Summer's version is FANTASTIC!
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top40dj
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Post by top40dj on Jan 1, 2007 6:09:57 GMT -5
Can someone please explain what this song really means??n I have never figured it out
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irock
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Post by irock on Jan 1, 2007 9:20:08 GMT -5
Can someone please explain what this song really means?? I have never figured it out It's metaphorical. The park is really a cake which is really a lost love. The fact that the only way to make sense of this mess is to stack metaphor on top of metaphor is probably the reason it was never taken seriously by critics, despite its popular success. There really is a MacArthur Park. It's in Los Angeles, and although I've forgotten who wrote this drivel I do remember that he once said that the reference to that park was intentional. My own reaction to the words is that the writer had arranged a meeting with someone he loved deeply but with whom he'd had a failed relationship. Perhaps this person was about to leave town permanently. The meeting was rained out and he was never able to make contact again.
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BillboardBoy
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Post by BillboardBoy on Jan 2, 2007 14:32:21 GMT -5
Thanks for clearing that up!
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johnnywest
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Post by johnnywest on Feb 18, 2015 9:34:17 GMT -5
I prefer this over Donna Summer's version.
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Arnold
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Post by Arnold on May 30, 2015 18:57:40 GMT -5
The first time I heard this record, in April, 1968, it sounded strange to me, like nothing I ever heard before. After hearing it a few times, I started liking it. Also, this record is unusually long, over 7 minutes long. It was by far the longest 45 rpm record I had ever heard up to that date. In those days, most records were under 3 minutes long. So now, when I hear it, it gives me memory feelings of April to June, 1968. I'm still not sure what he's singing about, as the story sounds all mixed up to me. I now enjoy listening to it. Here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6a_KFJ5Ksc
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richie
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Post by richie on Jun 22, 2015 17:57:36 GMT -5
I hated this song at first when it came out, but after awhile I started to like it. Donna Summer changed the lyrics a little to the old men playing Chinese checkers instead of chess. This thread sure has longevity!
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jdanton2
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Post by jdanton2 on May 30, 2023 3:36:40 GMT -5
the Donna Summer 70's version is much better but the original is a good example of a song before it's time . in 1968 this was released a few months before The Beatles released Hey Jude which was over 7 minutes as well. in a way it is kind of a forrunner to songs like Stairway To Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody with its ballad /rock/ballad transition which were also very long songs.
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