18
Sep 03
GUY MITCHELL – “Look At That Girl”
Guy goes goggle-eyed over some broad (the swaggering horns seem to demand she’s called a broad) and when he thinks he’s got your tongue wagging in time he hits you with the punchline – he’s screwing her already! You dog, Guy! “Last night I held her tight, HA HA” (in truth maybe not quite that emphatically). The song then repeats with a lady-chorus singing about how fine Guy’s girl is and the main man Mitchell doing spoken-word interjects about how he can’t believe it either. It’s not even as if the tune’s a good one: it’s a galumphing brass-led lumber which is only slightly enlivened by the first guitar solo on a No.1 hit.
3
Guy is a bit full of himself on this one but I’m actually more drawn to the backing, which, if you can eradicate the horn section, shuffles along on a very bluesy beat & walking bassline – an early precursor to the rock n roll era.
In my mind, I long ago confused Tom’s reading of this song (which I have yet to hear) with his reading of “Hey Joe,” which I think works very well, insofar as “I’m screwing her already!” would be a great twist ending to the latter song…
3 seems low – sorry Guy, you most unjustly treated pop star.
I think Guy Mitchell is the handsomest of the early crop of pop stars – Croatian-American, apparently. I think this song’s twist/punchline is quite a good one really, and come on, it’s a lot more fun than another week of miserabilism from that Goth Eddie Fisher, right?
More of a saunter than a lumber, I’d say. Guy always sings as if he’s wearing his hat a rakish angle, but never moreso than on Look At That Girl. He can’t believe his good fortune, and I’m happy for the chap.
Really enjoyable stuff from Guy again. Unlike the daft novelty exotica of ‘She Wears Red Feathers’, this sounds far more ‘everyday’, and to my ears, borders on Sinatra-style swing…
That guitar solo is indeed startlingly modern, isn’t it? That line “llok at that girl, she’s walking straight to me…” – surely at least a subconscious influence on Roy Orbison a decade later?
Multiple Popular links ahoy… Apparently Guy made a cameo appearance in a 1990 BBC Scotland TV series called Your Cheatin’ Heart, singing with Eddi Reader. The series was written by John ‘Patrick’ Byrne, and starred his wife Tilda Swinton. Byrne had been an artist, responsible for Humblebums and Gerry Rafferty album covers. His most famous artwork was for the Beatles’ A Dolls House album in 1968, rejected when they changed the title to The Beatles and plumped for Richard Hamilton’s white cover.
I really hope this is all true.
…which in turn was these guys’ fault. So Guy Mitchell was three degrees from Family (sort of), & hence four from Winwood, Clapton, Fripp et al.
John Byrne’s artwork was later used as the cover for The Beatle’s ‘Ballads’ compilation – see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles'_Ballads.
I was forgetting the Humblebums were another Popular link – not Gerry Rafferty but the other one, Billy Connolly.
Ah yes, Family. Tony Blackburn’s last favourite band, I’d guess, from his sarcy POTP comments. I’m sure there must be a “burlesque” link between Guy Mitchell and Family as well.
Re 10: I never knew that. How did I not know that? Thanks!
I find this song from Guy to be rather pleasant. 7/10.