Incidental music for a Saturday morning TV cartoon series. Beyond the hit singles (which were intended to compete with the Beatles and the 5th Dimension for space on Top 40 radio and for disposable income [or allowances] from young listeners), most of the music released under the Archies' brand name was pure pop, carefully crafted and exquisitely rendered. "Sugar, Sugar" was the biggest hit by far, "Jingle Jangle" my pick for a favorite, and the four Archies LPs contain a decent selection of lesser-known but worthy numbers.
The records were far, far better-made than they had to be, better than they had any right to be. Lead singer/de facto Archie Ron Dante was blessed with a voice made for radio, a masterful pure pop comfort with the subtlest hint of swoon-worthy soul. Pop veteran and celebrated songwriter Jeff Barry was at the helm, and he had world-class session musicians spinning the sugar he required. It was bubblegum, sure, much of it sweet enough (and then some) for the dessert menu at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, but some of it grounded in a real world, or at least a comic-strip reflection of the world. Even in cartoons, and even in cartoon tunes, you can only get so far without a little verisimilitude. If you're a fan of Superman, you have to believe a man can fly, and you have to accept the ideal of truth, justice, and the American way. With the Archies, you have to imagine cartoon teenagers singing and playing as they fall in and out of love within their animated escapades. The imaginary group's sound had better live up to the demands of your imagination.
The Archies' records did live up to those demands. The Archies didn't exist, but their music did.
From the Archies' third (and best) album Jingle Jangle, 1969's "Get On The Line" is my top pick among the Archies' album tracks, and it's second only to "Jingle Jangle" in my overall estimation of the output of Riverdale's Finest. It's infectious, and it implies a sense of greater purpose. It bears a superficial resemblance to Neil Diamond's "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" (also from '69), just in terms of a shared vibe and a shared call to faith in something larger and better.
We started something
Gonna get it together
Every man and woman, boy and girl
Lovin' one another
All the sisters and the brothers
Lovin' one another 'round the world
Get on the line!
Get on the line for love, hey!
Get on the line!
Get on the line for love, hey!
The sun is rising
On a brand new morning
Got to tell the people everywhere
Got to pass it on
Before all hope is gone
Let the light go by you if you dare
Get on the line...!
"Get on the line for love." Words to live by. Especially right now.
And if you think I mean something political when I say "especially right now," with the imminent, plausible concern that in two weeks American voters may choose to repat the grievous error of 2016, double down on the worst-ever self-inflicted wound in this nation's history....
...Yeah. You can bet your ass I mean something political. Harris/Walz 2024. Get on the line. We are NOT going back.
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| GET ON THE LINE...!! |
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