BoDeans: Good Things (1991)

I was driving around last week listening to some old compilation CD's I had made in the 90's. I came upon several songs I had not heard in a decade and this one, "Good Things" by the Bodeans, had me listening to it over and over. The Bodeans always had great vocals and this song is no exception. The Bodeans had their day in the sun, but in my opinion, they deserved more fame than they received.

Fellow blogger Dr. Bristol put it this way:

"I remember seeing them play a local club just after the crest of an early hit, and I thought we must have just missed a fire drill. Surely a band who even got plaudits from Rolling Stone and MTV could draw a decent crowd, but this one was so tiny that my friends and I barely outnumbered the band. No matter – they played a great set. Great bands always do.

I’m not pretending they’re the second coming, but they are a good band that is well worth delving into if you’re looking for music that is atmospheric, straightforward, rocking, laid back, lyrical and guttural."

The band was formed by Kurt Neuman and Sam Llanas who met in high school in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The band would operate from Milwaukee and were perhaps the best example of a roots-rock band. Says Neuman on the band's website:
"I've always thought of the BoDeans as a truly American band," says the founder, primary writer and current frontman of the veteran Milwaukee-based group. "We were blue-collar kids straight out of the heartland-how could we be anything else? ‘Roots rock' was a label I fought when I was younger, but I came to realize that if by ‘roots' you meant blues, rock, country and soul all slammed together into one sound, then I'd say yes-that is the sound..."

Their first album, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (1986) was produced by T-Bone Burnett and good enough to earn the distinction of being voted "Best New American Band" in Rolling Stone's readers poll that year.  The song "Only Love", made #16 on the US Mainstream Rock charts.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Mainstream_Rock_Tracks They toured extensively with U2 on The Joshua Tree Tour, increasing their fanbase. That year, they also contributed to Robbie Robertson's debut solo album alongside U2 and Peter Gabriel.They would record two more albums before  recording with David Z. (producer and sideman of Prince) at Paisley Park Studios, and released their 4th studio album Black and White that year. The album's electronic-influenced sound was a sharp departure from most of their previous efforts, with more emphasis on synthesizers, drum machines, and processed guitar tones. The album also explored darker and grander lyrical themes. Though not a single, the album's first track "Good Things" achieved some success and became one of their best-known songs. The rebellious and political "Black, White, and Blood Red" was the only single released from the album, though it did not perform well in comparison to their previous songs that made the charts.

Says Neuman looking back: "we set out to build a loyal fan base by giving them everything we had as performers every night. And in time, our fans came to know that they could count on us for a great time, a great show. Well worth their hard-earned dollars. I think many of the younger acts found they could make great-sounding computer records, but they didn’t know how to really perform. Or they didn’t understand the importance of a great performance."

The band would also attract fans when their song "Closer to Free" became the theme song to the TV series "Party of Five."

In 2011, Sam Llanas left the band and is currently touring on his own. Kurt is still leading the BoDeans, and the band released it's 11th album in June of 2012 called American Made.

"Good Things" has an infectious bass and great drums accompanied by the well melded voices of Neuman and Llanas.

Sunlight fall down on the fields
Sunlight fall down over me
Work all day, be all that I can be yeah-heh
Say I can say words only simple
Say I can say words only clear
But, oh, I can feel your heart is beating near. Yeah-heh
Haunted love is all that I feel, when you're passing by
Haunted love is all that I see, it's there in your eyes
And I say
No, no, no, don't pass me over No, no, no, don't pass me by
See I can see good things for you and I

I offer you two versions. The first is a live recording and you will see how well their fans know their lyrics. The second is a stripped down version recorded at a radio station. Check out the drummer using brushes on a cardboard box!