Once compared with McCartney, Emitt Rhodes is now out there again for himself

June 22, 6:10 PMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci

Previous Next

15 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Beatles Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

The Emitt Rhodes Band. From left, Jim Rolfe of Cody Road, Joel Larson from the Merry-Go-Round
and the Grass Roots, Matt Malley from Counting Crows, Dan Mayer, (Cody Road), Emitt

The cover of Emitt Rhodes' self-titled first album.

 Over the years, many singers have been compared with Paul McCartney. One and perhaps the best of them all is Emitt Rhodes.

If the name doesn't sound that familiar, it's probably no surprise to learn that Rhodes hasn't released a new record since 1973.  His albums have been released on CD, but can be difficult to locate. (A limited box set of his past work is available from Hip-O Select.) And only scattered new tracks have been released since his last album.

His songs became staples of progressive radio back in the '70s and received raves from critics. "Live," a song he sang with the group the Merry-Go-Round before he went solo, was his first introduction to radio listeners because it received a lot of airplay.

After that group disbanded, he went solo and recorded his first solo album in his home studio. (Sound familiar, McCartney fans?) The album, simply titled "Emitt Rhodes," hit number 29 on the Billboard album charts. A single, "Fresh as a Daisy," hit number 54 on the singles chart.

There were many other memorable songs, as well. "Live 'Till You Die." "You're a Very Lovely Woman" with the Merry-Go-Round.

But it was the Paul McCartney comparison that attracted a lot of attention. Melissa Mills, in Rolling Stone 76, in reviewing his first album, said, "There is a more-than-fortuitous resemblance on some songs to Paul McCartney, whom it's always nice to have among your influences. Several songs demonstrate typical McCartney rhythms, singing tricks, and bass and piano playing; the opening bars of 'She's Such a Beauty' remind inescapably of 'Martha My Dear.' "

Rhodes, in a rare interview, says he doesn't have fond memories of those days. "It’s all a nightmare to me ... It’s just old and a nightmare. It’s a bunch of mixed emotion. ... I don’t know being as old as I am, having experienced the entire cycle I have to temper the good with the bad and I’m going, 'Wow, was that really worth a … ' (laughs). And I’m not real sure. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it differently."

Asked about the McCartney influence now, he doesn't turn away from it.

"Well, that’s a real compliment. What can you say? He’s a great singer, don’t you think?"

Have the two ever met? "No, I’ve never met him. I’d like to," he says. "I was on the lot at A&M when George Harrison was there. I didn’t get to meet him. I might have went past him in the hallway."

He says the Beatles influenced him in a way they influenced many -- their looks.

"I grew my hair long  ... My hair got grown out and changed my whole life. What can I tell you? Went to Hollywood and changed my whole life. All of a sudden I was a rock musician."

And he saw the Beatles in concert.

"Long ago at Hollywood Bowl or something like that," he says. "And the audience was louder than the band. Well, once they started playing it was AAAAAAAAGH! (sound of screams). And that’s about what you heard. That’s what I heard. You could hear them a little bit, but it was the audience that was really loud. So there you go. It was one of those experiences."

Rhodes acknowledge the Beatles' influence was huge on his career.

"I was in the Emeralds and I was the drummer. I was playing a lot of surf, Beach Boy tunes and stuff, and soul tunes and went to Beatle tunes. That was kind of the first thing that happened ... The suit thing. I saw the movie. The black and white movie. And all of a sudden, 'Hey, yes, they don’t look that bad.' They had an influence on the whole world, didn’t they?

 "They were really good," he continues. "I listen to those records now and I’m going, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s like really good. They knew how to put chords together. They used diminished chords. They were smart. That’s what I liked about them. I never thought that the Stones were smart."

Why? "I was never a Stones fan. You lick his lips and you stick ‘em to the wall. That’s Mick Jagger. I’ve heard that referred to as Angelina Jolie. I would actually enjoy that better. But again, I’m not actually much of a Stones fan. I’m not really much of a fan. The people I like are dead scientists."

When in the Palace Guard. Rhodes says he was featured each night singing a Beatle song. "I got to sing 'Michelle.' That was my thing. ... When I was in the Palace Guard, the band that evolved into the Merry-Go-Round. And we went to Hollywood. As the drummer, you’re in the back all the time. I got to walk up front and do the runway, because they had the runway at the Hullabaloo and do 'Michelle.' ... The band I was in did everything under the sun. 'Twist and Shout.' That was our favorite."

What were his favorite Beatle songs? "'I’m a Loser.' God, there’s so many of them ...  'No Reply.' I’m thinking back to the early songs that me and my friend got together and sang and learned how to play harmony and stuff. I loved all that early stuff. Then they got psychedelic and Indian and they went on then. And I went right along with them because they were still great. They were still doing wonderful stuff. And it’s real impressive and all that stuff. I liked that, “She’s got the devil in her heart,” which isn’t even a Beatle tune. But I remember the first stuff, which was real song-oriented. It was like two minutes and the song’s over? That’s it, you know?"

What musicians did he particularly respect in the ‘60s? "Dave Brubeck. Yeah, that’s it. There ya go. I respected him. The Beatles were great. They did a lot of wonderful stuff. It was probably that George Martin guy that did all that. He was the Fifth Beatle, after all." He says the Byrds "had a nice harmony kind of thing. They had some nice records. The Lovin’ Spoonful. I think they did some great stuff. ... They wrote some great songs. They had some classics. 'Daydream' and stuff like that. I love 'Daydream.'"

In the years since, he admits, he's shied away from the musical rat race.

"I went to work for record companies and I rented my studio and I’ve kind of been a recluse for some time now," he says. "Yeah, I haven’t done a whole bunch."

But Rhodes is doing something now. He's at work on a new record. And a documentary on him has been filmed and edited and may premiere soon at a music film festival.

While critical of his work in the past, Rhodes likes the new music he has so far. His band includes Joel Larson, the original drummer for The Merry-Go-Round,  also the Grass Roots and Lee Michaels, Matt Malley, co-founder and bassist for Counting Crows and Jim Rolfe and Dan Mayer.

 "I guess I’m doing the same thing now," he says. "I don’t know. Maybe it is. But anyway, this stuff is coming out good. I’ve incorporated the diminished chord in there and everything. All the minors, all the majors ... and all the 7ths. All those kind of things. Major 7ths. I got ‘em all in there. If every song doesn’t have at least 12 chords in it, I’m going, ‘That’s not enough chords.’ And they all make sense. And that’s the beauty of it. But if you can make them all make sense and it’s like …… you’ve done your job as a songwriter."

When will we see it? "When it’s done," Rhodes says. "It’s just gotta be right. I can’t wait forever. This time next year I should know.

"All I have now is I’ve written these songs and I’ve gone into the studio. ... Things are .. just getting things together. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take. But we’ll find out as it develops. You know, when it’s right, it’s right and that’s all there is to that."

"And I may get involved with producers and other people and all that kind of s--- in the process. Things change as they go along. But it’s just developing. It’s just that one … being the songwriter, I have to make sure that’s right and I’ve done my job and done my duty. And now it’s time to make the record. Pretty soon, I’ll put the producer hat on and see what happens."

• A YouTube clip featuring four Emitt Rhodes songs, including "Live 'Till You Die" and "Fresh As a Daisy."
• The official Emitt Rhodes and Emitt Rhodes Band MySpace Page