October 5 – The Young Rascals – The Very Best of the Rascals

This was not what I had planned for this evening, but I was having a tough day of it yesterday. I was just damn testy. It was a grey day, I didn’t get out because I didn’t feel like it which only enhanced the testiness, and Max was being a pain in the butt. And there was nothing distracting on television… until, I settled on watching a PBS fundraising special that WLIW dragged out again about the rock ‘n roll acts that appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. You know, the one during which Paul Shaffer was promoting his book and did the worst impression of Ed Sullivan, repeatedly and without embarrassment. I learned that the Beatles #1 CD that I purchased recently is part of their bonus pack giveaway with a $250 donation, which if I had the extra bucks, I may just consider going for it. It’s got lots more than just the CD.

The special, which is a good teaser for what’s being offered in the package contains the first performance by the Young Rascals on the Sullivan show, in which they do “Good Lovin’”. I had to get closer to the TV and put my glasses on. I had forgotten about their drummer, Dino Danelli, who was not only the looker in the band, bearing a resemblance to Paul McCartney, but his performance was with a stone-faced almost Devo-like precision plus a touch of contained wildness, and perfectly effortless drumstick twirling. Picture perhaps a meeting between Charlie Watts and Keith Moon, in which they morph and wind up looking like McCartney. If he never did one other thing for the rest of his life, Danelli has this clip of just a couple of minutes of it, of this amazing kick-ass performance in which he totally stole the show, on Ed Sullivan no less. And so it was kismet that I went to the Barnes and Noble today and found this CD in the $5 rack, to which I had very lovely time exercising.

Btw – I have a new appreciation for the smoldering sexuality that oozed from Jim Morrison that added to his appeal. I was just too young back then, but I so get it now.

Once again, rock ‘n roll has lifted me from my doldrums.