Who Did It Better? Say Goodbye To Hollywood

Who Did It Better? 

Say Goodbye To Hollywood

 Today's Who Did It Better? selection is an example of a boomerang! 

A little retro homage that, when first tossed out? Hard to say if it was actually going anywhere. 

It even managed to bounce off of three other major talents before returning home to roost. And when it did? It was to its original artist, going to prove, that you simply never know how a song is going to find its way into the popular lexicon until it finally lands

Say Goodbye To Hollywood is a song written by Billy Joel. He wrote the song after moving back to New York City  from L.A. in 1975. The reason he moved to L.A.? He was trying to extradite himself from a record deal with a label that had screwed up the release of his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor by mastering it at too high a speed. 

Joel has stated in his university lectures that he wrote the song with Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes' classic song Be My Baby in mind. In kind, the song was also produced using aspects of Phil Spector's 'Wall Of Sound' production technique.

It was first released in 1976 on his fourth studio album, Turnstiles. Originally delegated in the US as the B-side to his I've Loved These Days single, the powers that be at Columbia thought better of it and a month later re-released as an A-side single with Stop in Nevada on the flip side. It failed to chart in the states, but did nab the #45 spot in Australia. 

Things worked out better five years later, when a live version of the song was included on his compilation album, Songs In The Attic. Released as a single with Summer, Highland Falls as the B-side, Say Goodbye To Hollywood peaked at #17 on Billboard's Hot 100, #35 on the AC chart and #27 in Canada.

In the meantime, the song was not idle.

In 1976, Ronnie Spector sang a duet with Southside Johnny on a track for an Asbury Duke's album, You Mean So Much To Me, penned by Bruce Springsteen. So taken with her contribution, Springsteen's E Street Band decided to record a one-off with Spector singing lead. Recognizing that distinctive opening beat, Spector decided that Say Goodbye To Hollywood was to be the song and it was released as a single. Sadly, and somewhat surprisingly, given the popularity of anything associated with Springsteen at the time, it failed to chart.

Spector wasn't the only songstress to appreciate the retro vibe of the song.

 

Bette Midler, who was cobbling together her fourth studio album, thought the vintage flavor of the song was a perfect fit for her and decided to include it on her 1977 Broken Blossom album. 

In addition... Elton John's longtime drummer, Nigel Olsson had been toying with a solo career for some time. He'd released four solo albums - two on UNI, and two on Rocket Records; both  labels associated with John. For 1978's self-titled effort, he jumped ship and signed on with Columbia Records. For that album, he recorded a version of Say Goodbye To Hollywood and it was released as the album's second single. However, it failed to chart. 

And that's just as well. For that meant that the song remained unassociated with any other artist and, when Joel revisited the song as a part of Songs In The Attic, given his increased popularity, it was deemed a perfect single to be released from that collection. 

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition.

The Song: Say Goodbye To Hollywood

The Competition: Joel vs. Spector vs. Midler vs. Olsson

Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Billy Joel

Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Bette Midler

Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Ronnie Spector

Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Nigel Olsson

Billy Joel

Love that big beat. Ronnie and The Ronettes, indeed.

Joel sounds like he's being recorded in another room, but that is the effect when trying duplicate Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. His voice has always been piercing and lacks color, but it is an effective pop means of breaking through on AM Radio. 

His band is in good form, they have always offered him the best support. I like the harmonies. This is straight ahead, meat and potatoes pop. 

Here, Joel seems to be more interested in shout/singing than actually singing. It's a tad off-putting. 

Adore the story lyrics. This is a well-crafted tune. 

Dislike the strings on the bridge. And the whole thing suffers from a somewhat awkward time signature change. It's like the record skips. 

And really hate the strings after the 'oh's.' 

Wow, as Joel goes on he becomes less and less tuneful. I dare say, there are pitch issues.

Oh, and the strings carry on into the final verse. Too bad. It's too much frosting for this cake. 

Obligatory sax and not as soulful as one would wish. Clarence Clemons would have done this right.

As this goes on, seems less polished and more amateurish. Like any bar band in any small town could knock this out. You know, except for those hideous Neil Diamond strings.

I know the play-off is meant to make us feel a big swell of emotion... and maybe it would have worked if they'd saved the strings for then and only then. As is? Feels like padding. Not interested. 

Well, this didn't go as I remembered. 

And I can't blame the producer... Joel produced this album himself.

Bette Midler

That intro is disco dreck. Very messy.

Oh, dear... that tempo misses the point of the song.

And the backing vocals. Sort of a yelp there. Midler sounds like she's on helium or mastered at the wrong speed.

Everything feels awfully rushed.

Now, I like the 'doot do-its' on the second verse.

You know, if I remember correctly, this was a lot more fun live than it is on record. But then, that was the case with a lot of Bette's material back in the day. She'd work it out live, finding things in a song that escaped her in the studio.

Always enjoy the weird little breaks in her voice that occurred when she sings. You never knew what or when. But it was always very human and interesting.

Ick. That little guitar bit into the bridge. Hope that goes away and stays away.

The strings are annoying. Love the backing vocals. Midler sounds so tiny, I wish they'd slowed this down an allowed her to sit in the song a bit more. She's hitting all the notes, but it feels like a very surface reading, very rushed. 

The string stings suck ass. 

Is that a male vocalist doing a bullfrog beneath the second half of verse three? 

Interesting vocal arrangement at the end of that chorus. Does it work? And it continues into the play off. Odd choice, but it does add a certain element. I would have killed this at the 2:30 mark.

Maybe this hasn't aged well?

Ronnie Spector

Speaking of the late Clarence Clemons.

Messy intro, but very E Street. Jury is out on the strings. Really? Strings that early.

Ronnie sounds right at home. Huh. Who would have guessed. 

Okay, the sax is a little in the way, but Ronnie is still holding her own. It's a definite Springsteen-sounding arrangement. Huh, I like the interplay between the piano and the strings. It works.

During the second verse, the arrangement is overwhelming the singer a bit too much. Too bad. 

Okay... the strings are going way overboard on the bridge. I wish they'd trusted Ronnie more. 

Damn. What a missed opportunity. Those strings are just awful. They're destroying the beat and washing out the entire song. 

Still, this is a great moment for Ronnie. She sounds right at home. 

Damn.

Nigel Olsson

He's a drummer, so he gets the intro right. I even rather like that programmed sequencer bit. 

I'll be damned. He's getting this right. It's very clean, and I like that. It's that space between the big beats - it needs to be respected. 

I even like his voice. Though it's a little like Shaun Cassidy.

The backing vocal arrangement is interesting. A bit heavy-handed. 

He sort of misses the vocal fun inherent in the melody of the bridge. Rhythmically, he's smoothed away all the edges. Oh, don't know what he's doing with that second half, though. Shrill. 

Weird little vocal flourish with that programmed sequencer to take us into the third verse. It's all a bit much? This started out so well.

He gets back on track only to allow that hoary organ to well up out of nowhere. This is truly overproduced. So many elements thrown in, none of it consistently so or in focus. 

I do love the Ronnie Spector like 'Oh-oh-oh-oh's.'  Nice touch. 

Boy, too bad. It sure got messy at times. 

The Verdict

Wow. Some 'almosts' in the lot, but no real winner.

I like Joel's arrangement and production the best. I rather loath his vocals though. They are frequently tuneless, bringing none of the fun of the era he's evoking. He's just shouting in a rather unmusical manner.

Midler misses the point of the song. Her arrangement washes out all the fun of the era it evokes, leaving us with a glossy, polished nothing burger. It's that tempo, too. She could have had a lot of fun with this had she done with this what she did with Leader Of The Pack.

Ronnie is in great voice, and sounds perfectly at home. But between those strings and the sax player, she tends to get drowned out. It's a wasted opportunity.

And Olsson starts out on the right foot, but quickly loses his way in a very unfocused arrangement. They simply kept throwing in too many differing elements. None of it stayed long enough to make an impression nor did half of it work. 

So... I'm going with Ronnie, despite the lousy arrangement. She still taps what's important here, evoking an era that begs to be romanticized. I wish Billy Joel had produced her version... his arrangement and production with her vocals? That would have been perfection.

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And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn. You know what to do. Leave your thoughts and choice in the comments section. I love to hear what you're hearing!

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

Thanks for reading... and listening!

Say Good-Bye To Hollywood - Billy Joel

Say Good-Bye To Hollywood - Ronnie Spector