This is the nineteenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series, which began in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! It has only been 3 weeks since the last entry, so how about another quick one? Once again it is back to the 70s, to 1974. So far, 14 of the 19 songs are from the 1970s. This time it is the turn of the Faces, (or in the case of this release Rod Stewart and the Faces), a seminal British band that influenced countless others. The shortened title of the track can be seen in the header above. But, the full title, including parentheses, is “You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings)”. Has there ever been a title quite like that before or since? The single still holds the record for the longest-titled song ever to chart in the UK.
It was the last official single from the band and was recorded with a mostly classic lineup of Kenney Jones (drums), Ian McLagan (piano, organ), Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals), and Rod Stewart on vocals. Ronnie Lane had previously left the band and was replaced on bass by Tetsu Yamauchi who plays on this track. The song was co-written by all five of them. It was recorded over a few sessions at Musicland Studios in Munich and Olympic Studios in London. It reached number 12 in the UK charts and scraped to number 100 in Australia, it failed to chart anywhere else, sadly. The song never appeared on a studio album but is on most of the greatest hits type packages from the band. It is my favourite Faces track and has been since I first heard it. It has a supremely happy and danceable vibe and I would love to have seen how this style might have developed had the band stayed together. So give it a spin and let me know what you think of it. Incidentally, fact fans, this is the second time Rod Stewart has featured on the Play It Again Mayhem playlist. He appeared back in May 2022 with a solo hit, “I Was Only Joking”.
I love the lyrics to the song, they really suggest someone very much in love with their partner, here they are.
“hey baby, I wanna say something to ya’, listen
sometimes when I get out of my head
and I say all the wrong things
sometimes I know I stay out late at night
and I get back fighting, hey babe
somehow all my plans keep slippin’ through my hands
and I end up crying, but listen
I can be a millionaire
honey when you’re standing there you’re so exciting
you can make me dance, you can make me sing
you can make me do just any old thing and I love it
sometimes I wanna get up so early
and get away from here girl
summer’s gone and before long
north winds blow, that bring the snow
I’ll keep us warm girl
my schemes it seems are merely dreams
fading with each morning, hey babe
but this old heart of mine
is far too proud not to keep on trying
you can make me dance, you can make me sing
you can make me do just any old thing, yeah baby
so little bird don’t fly away
want you here every day
don’t ever leave me
I’d rather lose both my eyes
than never see your smiling face again girl
you can make me dance, you can make me sing
you can make me do just any old thing
you can make me dance, you can make me sing
you can make me do just any old thing
hey babe, keep on loving me babe
yeah, keep on loving me babe
just keep on loving me babe …
just keep on loving me darling …
woww, alright, hey baby, oh darling
keep on loving me darling
just keep on loving me darling …”
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