Shangri-La's

Certain Songs #2194: The Shangri-La’s – “The Train From Kansas City”

October 6, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Shangri-La’s 65!
Year: 1965

. . .

But the Shangri-La’s greatest song wasn’t even an A-side. Because of how the alphabet works, I’ve only so far written about a single version of “The Train From Kansas City,” which would be Neko Case’s version from The Tigers Have Spoken.

And in the coming months, I’ll probably be writing about The Shop Assistants version, which was the first one I heard, as well as the Superchunk version. But this is the original, which I didn’t even hear until a few years ago, because it never struck me to actually check out the Shangri-La’s, despite their clear awesomeness.

Certain Songs #2193: The Shangri-La’s – “Give Him a Great Big Kiss”

October 5, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Leader of the Pack
Year: 1965

. . .

Unlike the big Spectoresque production and arrangement twists and turns of “Leader of The Pack,” the follow-up, 1965’s “Give Him A Great Big Kiss,” was a pretty bare bones production, incorporating Motown rhythms and an ebullient horn section. It also features an absolutely fantastic spoken word opening, with Mary Weiss proclaiming:

Certain Songs #2192: The Shangri-La’s – “Leader of The Pack”

October 4, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Leader of the Pack
Year: 1964

. . .

I don’t even know where to begin with this one, so I’ll begin with 50-year-old memory: the first that I can remember hearing any part of “Leader of The Pack” was during an early-70s TV commercial for 60s oldies. I specifically remember hearing the singing of “the leader of the pack” followed by the iconic motorcycle revving. I thought “what the fuck?” because I could hear the hook, but was bumped by the sound effect.