Man With Money

Marshall Crenshaw with a version of his younger self

At a recent performance by singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw, he chose to open his show with a cover of a fairly obscure tune by The Everly Brothers called "Man With Money". This was a pleasant surprise, as Crenshaw is known for making interesting choices when it comes to cover songs. Those who heard Marshall announce the Everly name and were expecting "Bye Bye Love" or some other early classic may have been slightly disappointed or confused, but "Man With Money" was an excellent selection by Crenshaw, as he made the song sound like he could have written it himself. Although that's partly due to Crenshaw being the musical craftsman that he is, it is also clearly the hallmark of a well written song. Any song that is malleable enough to be interpreted by other performers that already have their own identifiable musical personality, and can be made to sound like it fits comfortably in their repertoire, while retaining its own identity as the song that it is... well... that, my friends, is a well written song.

"Man With Money" kicked off Side 2 of the Everly's 1965 album, "Beat & Soul", recorded during their tenure with Warner Brothers. The song is a classic 'wrong side of the tracks' tale of misguided affection, and I found it interesting that it's the only song on the album that was composed by Don and Phil Everly. The rest are all covers, but fitting ones, such as Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange", and Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready". The album also features backing performances by then-unknown and uncredited members of the famed Wrecking Crew, such as Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, drummer Jim Gordon, and pianist Larry Knechtel, along with guitarists Sonny Curtis and James Burton. (A bit of musical trivia: Knechtel was later a member of Bread, and composed the piano parts for "Bridge Over Troubled Water".) The album, however, was not a stateside hit by any stretch, peaking at #141 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.

The 1965 US single with picture sleeve

"Man With Money" had been relegated to the B-side of the US single, "Love Is Strange", even though it was one of the better original songs the Everlys recorded during the 1960's. Regarding its appearance on an album that's otherwise entirely made up of covers, there's the possibility of Don Everly's insistence, or more likely, a contractual stipulation. Perhaps Warner Brothers simply felt that an album featuring "Love Is Strange" as the opening track should include the B-side as well.

However, because "Love Is Strange" became more of a hit in England than America, "Man With Money" did not escape the notice of musicians in the UK, where it was recorded by the now obscure bands, The Eyes and A Wild Uncertainty, who styled themselves after The Who, as best they could.

"Man With Money" was also cut by The Who themselves in 1966, although it remained unreleased until its appearance as a bonus track on the 1995 expanded edition of "A Quick One". It may have been intended for a B-side of their own, as The Who was still recording covers for that sole purpose as of then. The Who did perform it once at a BBC session for the TV show, "Ready Steady Go". This is another fine example of how a good song can retain its own identity despite the fact that it fits perfectly with the thrashing sound and overall repertoire of The Who as they were at that time. It also manages to sound as if Pete Townshend could have written it; no small task for any song. It fits The Who like a well worn glove. It's also interesting that this version presciently foretells how Townshend's own songwriting would progress over a fairly brief time from then.

During the late 70's New Wave era, the song surfaced again on "Think Pink", the second album from The Fabulous Poodles, who had momentarily hit the big time with their FM radio hit "Mirror Star", a song about how posing leads to success in the music biz. Coming from a New Wave band, I can't decide whether that is ironic, sarcastic, or honest.

This version of "Man With Money" did manage to sound like the 'Fab Poos' alright, for what bit of musical individuality they had, but there's little trace of any lineage to the prior recordings. By lineage, I mean it lacks credibility. It's all about the fashionable production and pseudo-punk presentation of the day, and has little substance. Some things that seem right at the time do not age well, but you might enjoy a listen for yourself nonetheless.

Incidentally, it seems no one ever bothered to tell the poor boy of the song that if he is reduced to burglary to pay for some glittery trinkets so some materialistic chippie might think better of him, then she is obviously a bad influence on him, and he might be a tad delusional to boot. The money will run out, he'll soon enough get nicked for robbery, then she'll be off with some spoiled twit from a fraternity. Such is the sorry tale of the path of poor decisions.

The 'orrible 'Oo, as Roger Daltrey called them.

The entire catalog of The Who has been restored to like-new brilliance by some judicious remastering and in some cases, luxurious deluxe packaging. This is something of a minor miracle, considering the terribly poor care taken with many of their early master tapes (anything pre-"Tommy"). That said, if you're any sort of Who fan, there's no reason to short change yourself with any incarnation of a hits package or box set, as they all fall short. The individual albums stand best on their own, so I'd just pick a favorite, such as the masterwork that is "Who's Next", or the thunderous "Live At Leeds", and you can work your way forward or back from there. For all you turntable jockeys, you're in luck, as most of their best work is available on pristine 180 gram vinyl.

Everly Brothers fans have their work cut out for them, as any decent reissue of their work seems to go off the market soon after release, causing an unreasonable leap in its value. "Beat & Soul" is available on Amazon as an Mp3 download, but the CD is averaging about $55! There was an excellent boxed set issued in the 90's that I'm not even going to discuss, due to its now inflated value to collectors. So, the simplest, cheapest way to have some essential Everlys on your shelf is this fine 2 disc anthology from Rhino Records that assembles all their major recordings from the Cadence and Warner labels. New, for under $10.

All that ever was released by The Fabulous Poodles is now long out of print; a fact hardly worth getting upset over. However, if you must indulge, there is an Mp3 download of a 'best of' collection available online at A-Mart. I've never understood how or why 20 track anthologies are assembled for bands that had but one minor hit. Must be the money. It's always the money.

Speaking of money, Marshall Crenshaw's version of "Man With Money" has not yet been released, or perhaps not even recorded yet. If it shows up anywhere, it will be as a B-side in his ongoing series of 10" vinyl EP's that are available through Crenshaw's online store. Each one includes a digital download card as a bonus. The next EP, "Red Wine" will not include "Man With Money", but I'm sure it'll be fun anyway. It's out April 22nd. Note to collectors: the EP's that are sold thru indie record shops are pressed in colored vinyl! All the records sold online are in black only.