GLORIA
“Gloria” is a rock song classic written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison’s band Them in 1964. It is particularly memorable for its “G–L–O–R–I–A” chorus. The Shadows of Knight single released in December 1965 (later included in the album Gloria) and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, topping the original in the U.S. only in areas where Them’s version could not be played, because it contained the words, “She comes to my room” (changed in this version to: “She calls out my name”). (More from Wikipedia)
Even before I played Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 the first time, I knew I would love it, because I was already familiar with a lot of these bands. In fact, I picked up the debut albums by Blues Magoos and the Electric Prunes in the same shipment from Columbia Record Club back when; and it wasn’t long before I also had the first album by the Shadows of Knight, with their killer cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria”. The Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” was another favorite, though it was awhile before I got an album.
(January 2011)
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Besides Mouse and the Traps (officially Mouse and Positively 13 O’Clock), the only other band to be featured on the original Nuggets album and also on Pebbles, Volume 1 is the Shadows of Knight. They are best known for their fantastic cover of “Gloria” that outsold the original “Gloria” by Van Morrison and Them in the United States.
(September 2013)
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The only song on Magic Lantern not written by the bandmembers in Haymarket Square is one of my all-time favorite songs, “Train Kept A-Rollin’” – in a world filled with great train songs, this might the best of them all for my money. The first time I encountered “Train Kept A-Rollin’” was on the Pebbles, Volume 10 LP, one of the first Pebbles albums that I purchased. This rapid fire rendition by the Bold (also known as Steve Walker and the Bold) – which actually has some train sounds in the intro and at the end – is still the best I have heard; but like the Bo Diddley song “I’m a Man”, the Van Morrison song “Gloria”, and the timeless “Louie Louie” that was written by Richard Berry, I have never heard a version of “Train Kept A-Rollin’” that wasn’t great.
(June 2015)
