THE PLATTERS – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
The combination here of opulent arrangement and howling vocal is effectively uncomfortable ‘ like a magnificent old gin palace full of ragged, embittered drunks. The lead singer sticks to a polite, precise croon and then suddenly lunges at you, deliberately and aggressively – it’s nasty. We’ve all tried to play good listener to someone who’s grieving and had them suddenly crack and turn on us. The only thing you can do is squirm and take it, and that’s what ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ makes you do too: I find it quite a cold, gruelling song to listen to. A marvellous and original reading, to be sure, digging something out of the song that a host of band singers hadn’t spotted. But they were team players, and loneliness this stark needs something more selfish.
7
On a personal, historical note, the very last vinyl album I ever bought was a Platters best-of.
Light Entertainment Watch: Not much in the way of appearances by The Platters on UK TV (only the 1983 programme survives);
CARROTT’S LIB: with The Platters (1983)
SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM (VAL PARNELL’S …..): with Bruce Forsyth, The Platters, Les de Lyon (1957)
Absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking. And I do find the “lunging vocal” effective despite some odd phrasing. This song always makes me think of Catcher in the Rye so it feels appropriate to get to this point in my chronological listen-a-thon so soon after Salinger’s death.
DESERT ISLAND DISCS WATCH:
Dennis Taylor, Snooker Player, (1986).
Something poignant about that choice.
(great work crag btw)