In the Mist of a Memory

Sometimes you just want to tell yourself everything’s going to be OK after all at some unspecified time in the not too distant future. And when this song is playing you might just believe it, at least for a few minutes.

• Nino Tempo & April Stevens, “Deep Purple” (buy here)

It was a big hit in 1963, and they were a brother-sister act, which is maybe why it sounds so … sweet or something. (I mean, it’s an old song and there are probably other versions that sound … sexy or something.) The record is like someone who says sugar instead of shit and you realize they’re not bowing to anyone else’s sense of propriety but their own, and you find yourself staring at them & feeling this surge of affection and even a weird kind of admiration.

Yes, actually, this blog has become an experiment in “automatic writing.” Why do you ask?

Anyway, there’s a lot to like: the way the rhythm section keeps things gently rocking back & forth, the harmonica wheeze that moves things along like a train engine, the aforementioned sweet vocals, and the when-in-doubt spoken-word section that turns out to give the song a tiny bit of eccentric, exotica-style edge. And sounds darn pretty too.