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  What A Way to Die b/w Never Thought You’d Leave Me by The Pleasure Seekers


What A Way to Die b/w Never Thought You’d Leave Me cover art

Artist: The Pleasure Seekers
Title: What A Way to Die b/w Never Thought You’d Leave Me
Catalogue Number: Norton 45-095
Review Format: 45
Release Year: 1965



So what, you might say, is a record released in 1965 doing here on the super modern and trendy publication such as Bluesbunny? Firstly, it is on vinyl (and this is the Vinyl Vault after all) and secondly we only just bought this delightful reissue from our neighbourhood vinyl emporium. Oh, and it has a claim to fame in that said group featured Suzi Quatro (and her sister Patti for that matter) and if you don't like sassy women wearing black leather then maybe you should drink more beer.

The first thing that you notice about "What a Way to Die" is the number of references to beer in the lyrics. This is a good sign as alcohol is a subject close to the Bluesbunny heart. The raw sound is a delight - you just know that there will never be a plugin for ProTools that will recreate that! The lyrics do a nice line in nihilism as well "Well I may not live past twenty one … what a way to die" that you don't really expect from a song destined for the teen market of the day. No idea what they were putting in the water in Detroit in those days but it sure as hell seemed to work.

"Never Thought You'd Leave Me" is, by comparison, a more conventional example of the girl group genre. Mind you, it still grooves with some tasty harmonies and reverbed guitars. As was the custom in those days, it is short, sharp and to the point.

So put the needle in the groove one more time and dance to the sounds of The Pleasure Seekers. It's a gas!


www.nortonrecords.com
Reviewer:
Review Date: February 9 2008