Everywhere at Once

Album: Everywhere At Once
Year: 1983

. . .

Of course when the Plimsouls put out their major-label debut — 1983’s Everywhere at Once, on the evil Geffen — I was kind of disappointed at the time because none of the other songs on the album were as great as “A Million Miles Away.”

Which is pretty much the stupidest fucking reason to be disappointed in an album, I know — pretty much every other album released in 1983 didn’t have a song that great, either — and so over time I came to love Everywhere at Once (and their self-titled indie debut, as well), because of Peter Case’s clear voice and even clearer melodies.

Album: Everywhere at Once
Year: 1982

. . .

“A Million Miles Away” is a perfect rock ‘n’ roll song.

From the opening snare drum whack to the final guitar fanfare, there is absolutely nothing about “A Million Miles Away” that isn’t utterly, totally and completely in my wheelhouse. Like its two obvious precursors, “Eight Miles High” and “I Can See For Miles,” it mixes soaring guitars, rumbling drums and glorious harmonies into a song that rewards repeated listens with new revelations.

And it was ever thus: I remember playing the original single — on Shaky City Records, prior to their Geffen deal — at a pre-on-air KFSR, and being utterly blown away from the start. (BTW, the Plimsouls wikipedia page states that it was re-recorded for Geffen, but the one version I found on YouTube the purported to be from the original single sounded basically the same; so maybe it was re-mixed. Why fuck with perfection?)

Certain Songs #1588: The Plimsouls – “Oldest Story in the World”

Certain Songs #1587: The Plimsouls – “A Million Miles Away”