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THE MERRY-GO-ROUND
LISTEN, LISTEN: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION
REV-OLA
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"Live," with its twangy guitars and soaring Beatle-esque melody, was the very first single I ever purchased (at my local Rexall for 69 cents, if I recall correctly). The man behind the song was Emitt Rhodes, who in 1970 scored a minor hit with "Fresh As a Daisy," from his McCartney-influenced homonymous solo debut. Rhodes’s career was cut short by music-business problems and personal demons — a shame, because to judge by Listen, Listen, a 29-track compilation that’s the entirety of his and the Merry-Go-Round’s output for A&M, he could’ve become a major talent. "Live," later covered by the Bangles, is only one of the many gems here — its flipside, "Time Will Show the Wiser," and "You’re a Very Lovely Woman," also a small hit, are equally enchanting. With not a duff cut in the batch, Listen, Listen is a treasure chest of late-’60s West Coast pop.
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