Who Did It Better? Games

Who Did It Better? 

Games

Sometimes a song has definite ear candy potential, but fails to land in a big way. Such is the case with today's Who Did It Better? selection. This is a song that has stayed on my mind from the first time I heard it, but I bet it is quite unfamiliar to most of the population.

Games is a song written by Vince Malamud and Andrea Farber.

Vincent Edward 'Vince' Melamed is a keyboardist/songwriter who now lives in Nashville. Born in New York, he moved to Los Angeles where he landed gigs with a host of artists, including: Bob Dylan, Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Dan Fogelberg, and Glenn Frey.  As a songwriter, he's co-written such songs as Walkaway Joe by Trisha Yearwood, What Mattered Most by Ty Herndon, Tell Me What You Dream by Restless Heart, I'll Take That as a Yes (The Hot Tub Song) by Phil Vassar, The Shake by Neal McCoy, and She'd Give Anything by Boy Howdy.

After the massive success of her 1974 debut album, featuring her signature song, Poetry Man, Phoebe Snow had experienced a bit of a let down. Her four subsequent albums, all for Columbia Records, had failed to match that initial zenith. In 1979, she still owed the label one more album. However, given their lackluster support for her last album, Against The Grain, Snow decided to leave the label. She asked to be released from her contract and she and the label parted ways.

She landed at Atlantic's fledgling subsidiary, Mirage, in October of 1980. There, they gave Snow full artistic control. She was looking for a harder sound - more rock, but with a gospel flavor - a new sound for a new decade.

Over the summer, she'd been in the studio. The majority of recording sessions for Rock Away, produced by Greg Ladanyi (Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne,) took place at Manhattan's Power Plant with members of Billy Joel's band backing her up. 

A track, Games, was released as an advance single in February of 1981. It had been recorded at Record One, in Los Angeles using players from Linda Ronstadt's typical band: Bill Payne, Russ Kunkel, Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel.

Games would become Snow's most successful Billboard Hot 100 entry since Poetry Man (not including her Top 30 duet with Paul Simon, Gone at Last,) peaking at #46.

Unfortunately, Snow had to abruptly stop promoting Rock Away in June of that year. During a concert in Denver, due to the altitude, she suffered a vocal injury resulting in a burst capillary. She ended up canceling the remaining 28 concerts and all other promotional activities. This soured her relationship with Mirage, who refused to release a follow-up album Snow had already recorded for the label. 

The year 1982 found Cher searching for a musical identity. Her disco, roller-skate queen persona had a bright but brief shelf life and the remainder of her time at Casablanca Records can only be termed as musically unfocused. 

For I Paralyze, her only album for Columbia Records, she turned to producer/writer John Farrar (Olivia Newton-John) and producer/songwriter/musician David Wolfert (Melissa Manchester, Dusty Springfield) in the hopes that they could reignite her musical career. Her seventeenth album was  released on May 28, 1982. The album featured her first collaboration with Desmond Child (who would prove invaluable during her time on Geffen Records) and was promoted on American Bandstand and Solid Gold, but failed commercially. 

Games was one of the songs featured on the album. A song that didn't make the cut? Her duet with Meat Loaf, Dead Ringer for Love, a song which reached #5 in the UK, and #2 in Ireland.

Following the record's relative failure, Cher took a five-year hiatus from music to focus on her film career.

Games resurfaced on July 27, 1982, as part of actress Lisa Hartman's album, Letterock, on RCA Records. At the time, Hartman was appearing on the Dallas spin-off, Knots Landing, playing a rock star. She performed the song during an episode of the popular nighttime soap. 

Letterock featured covers of Rick Springfield and Bryan Adams tunes, an original about gay boyfriends, Juice Newton-like ballads, and a Holly Knight song which had reached the Top 40 two years earlier for the band Spider.

At one point, Knots Landing tried to kill of her character, Ciji Dunne, but there was so much fan backlash that the producers decided to bring her back as a different character named Cathy Dunne. Given her popularity, RCA decided to reissue Letterock in 1984, retitled Lisa Hartman, with the back and front photos switched. Despite promoting the album on such shows as Solid Gold and The Merv Griffin Show, the album still failed to catch fire. 

And if you think the industry was done with Games, you'd be wrong. 

Rita Coolidge recorded a version as part of her 1984 album, Inside The Fire. It features Mitchell Froom, a well-known producer and member of Crowded House, playing electric flute. The album was Coolidge's final album for her longtime label, A&M, and as such, did not receive much in the way of label support or promotion. 

Sadly, Coolidge's version of the song is not available on YouTube, so I couldn't include it as part of this competition, but I felt it worthy of a mention.

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: Games

The Competitors: Snow vs. Cher vs. Hartman 

Games - Phoebe Snow

Games - Cher

Games - Lisa Hartman

Phoebe Snow

Big whiny guitar intro. Feels like it's starting in the middle of something.

Snow's voice is an acquired taste. When she's not pushing into her fuller gospel sound, she sounds fragile and tremolo-filled; like a less-than-confident bird. It's a very unique sound, one not necessarily suitable for straightforward pop, such as this song. To support her, the band has to be pulled way back, which mutes the aural hooks designed to capture a listener's attention.

The first verse is problematic because Snow moves into her head voice, which sounds weak. Yes, it is one of her signature vocal moves and has a beautiful break to it, but this is not a gentle folk song. And when trying to grab the ear of the casual radio listener there can be no signs or sounds of weakness.

Interesting (?) synth sound pad employed as we move into verse two. I guess it was there, running beneath that whiny guitar intro, too. Snow sounds a bit more at home, now, utilizing her full voice.

The chorus sounds great, all chunky guitars. These are ace players. I wish there was more space between instruments and vocalists in the mix, but I think the technology wasn't quite there at this juncture. That said, I've always admired producer Greg Ladanyi's work, especially with Jackson Browne.

I like the guitar break - much better than the intro.

By the third verse we're getting some wonderful play from Snow, who is pulling notes and playing it sly. I wish that confidence had been there in the first verse. She's an incredibly gifted vocalist and, here, she's just turned up the flame a bit.

I love her big, earth mama sound. She's mama bear when she goes big; its a broad, winning sound, full of warmth and confidence.

Still, on the chorus, I wish she'd dig in a bit more. The backing vocalists are definitely a huge help, but she needs to be more present, more front and center. The chorus typically contains the big hook and the one to guarantee that a listener remembers a song.

That's a righteous guitar solo! Springsteen worthy.

And it is so nice to hear Snow go full rocker chick at the end. Just letting loose. I think the whole song would have benefited had there been more of that. So, yeah... lady has the right tools to do the job.

As pop songs with rock trappings go, this version isn't without its charms; its simply not right for AM Radio, which was still the primary way to create a hit at that time.

Cher

An electronic keyboard driven intro. Nice and thick, like Cher's vocals. She comes on like latex paint, but quickly sounds a bit shrill - her vocals are so overtreated. There's that weird vibrato that crackles forth on the second phrase. Don't understand the weird breathy break either. This feels a bit leaden quite quickly. The arrangement and tempo are not playing up some of the fun stuff, like that tiny ping just before we move into the final phrase before the chorus. 

Second verse? It lacks punch. Lacks drive. A state of inertia moves in like a dark cloud. And I don't understand why Cher is ducking the end of phrases, going all breathy. It's not a good sound for her. Olivia Newton-John? Yes. Cher? No.

Wow, the backing vocals play second fiddle on that chorus. Cher's future rocker chick shows up just a tad at the very end of that first chorus, though its a bit undercooked.

I was hoping the arrangement might bring more to the table as we move into verse three. That is some very minimal work there. So they're going for a sly, slinky take on this song, and it could work, but the arrangement is not clever enough and, though Cher is capable, there's an edge missing to her work. That tempo could have worked, but the support needed is lacking.

The second chorus is better, as the backing vocals really kick in, but that leaden feeling clings to this; it simply lacks energy.

I like the instrumental break. Some interesting geometric shapes happening there; very 'of the time.'

Odd ending, but very Cher. I think I might have just let the guitar play me out. 

Lisa Hartman

Big backing vocals and chunky guitars for the intro; sounds a tad canned. 

But then in comes Hartman. I have to say, I remember when this came out and I did not understand why it was not more of a hit. I like her bright, pop tone and that slight ache she can bring at the end of a phrase. I found her bid to be a pop star totally credible. 

I have always like that keyboard sound. There's a bell-like tone to it which compliments Hartman quite nicely. 

As we move into the second verse, Hartman's acting chops come into play. There is something smoky and knowing about her sound. I also get a sense she's very in tune with the arrangement (a tad slight) and playing off it. 

Love the chunky guitars running beneath the chorus - very similar to Snow's take. The backing vocals are huge, but I'm okay with it. They let Hartman have the second half of the phrase. 

That instrumental fill? Meh. Unfocused.

The production work here, particularly the guitars, is a tad homogenized. That works against this; like glaze on a ham.

I find Ms. Hartman's rocker chick quite credible. Pat Benatar, of course had been on the scene for a couple of years, but the chops on display here belong to Hartman. There's a knowing and confidence there that can't be manufactured without some kind of tell giving away the secret.

The guitar solo lacks focus, but is fun. I like the sound and fury of it. Could use more fury.

A little disappointed that, as they go back into the chorus, they fail to up the ante, matching the fire brought by that guitar solo. A key change might have helped? Something bigger, at any rate. As is, it's just more of the same. To elevate this, they really needed to ask more of themselves.

Hartman let's loose, coming across a bit like Bette Midler doing Janis Joplin. I'll buy it. 

Yeah. This worked. 

Now, I want to hear 1982 Bette Midler take it on. 

The Verdict

It's just as well that Rita Coolidge's version was not available. I don't think her smooth, relaxed sound would vibe well with this slight pop/rock bit of ear candy.

I am a big fan of the song. There are a ton of hooks at play throughout and the lyrics, while a tad pedestrian, have just enough going on to hook a listener. 

Snow warms up and ends up bringing a solid performance. I wish she'd been there from note one. I like her arrangement and the production work is solid. 

Cher's version is a miss. It drags and fails to deliver on it's sexy, sly promise. She's not in her best voice, the arrangement feels lazy, and the tempo is deadly. 

Hartman is on point from the first note to the last, revealing three different grades of pop edginess. The overall sound is highly homogenized, which undercuts what Hartman has to bring to the table, but not to such a degree that sinks it.

I'm giving this to Hartman, with a nod to Snow for being there first. 

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn. Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I love to hear a differing opinion.

That's all for now. Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!