Karen Mantler - 1.01 - You're no good

After my posts about the Stranglers in November, I've decided to write about two other albums that have given me great pleasure over the years. I'm referring to the first two albums made by Karen Mantler in 1989 and 1990. I bought them both when they were new. I lost them in 2000 when my complete CD collection was stolen by Thomas Kuzilla of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, so I bought them again as soon as possible. I've listened to them both hundreds of times over the last 30 years. That's not an exaggeration. They're two of my favourite albums ever, and they never fail to lift my mood.

First I need to explain how I came to discover them. I bought the album "Tropic Appetites" by her mother, Carla Bley, in 1974. Carla had her own record label, Watt, together with her husband Michael Mantler. In England Watt's albums were released on the newly founded label, Virgin Records. I was interested in all of Virgin Records' albums, so I listened to "Tropic Appetites", liked it and bought it. Over the next few years I bought several of the Watt/Virgin releases with music by Michael Mantler and Carla Bley. I continued to buy Watt albums in Germany, where there was no connection between Virgin and Watt.

A small note: in the 1980's there was no Internet. If I wanted to know what had been released I had to walk into a record store and flick through the albums. I used to visit the store Lerche on the main shopping street in Stuttgart at least once a week. First I bought vinyl albums. In 1987 I progressed to CDs, but it was the same procedure of flipping through the albums on display.

In 1989 I discovered this curious looking album in the M section. I remember that it made me laugh. Karen Mantler looked so similar to Carla Bley that you would think she was deliberately copying her. And an album named after a cat? I didn't bother listening to it first, I bought it straight away. I've never regretted this spontaneous buy.

What I loved about it was the whimsical nature of the songs, both in the lyrics and the musical style. The songs are lightweight, about trivial topics such as a cat, green beans or Christmas presents. The style is more difficult to describe. The seven-man supporting group is a typical jazz band, including  a saxophone and trumpet, but they play songs in a light pop style. Topping it off is Karen herself, playing a harmonica as the lead instrument whenever she isn't singing. She doesn't have a blues style, it's more of a pop style. You really have to hear it to believe it.

Many of the songs are duets, in which the two singers express different opinions. In the songs they hold a discussion, but they frequently break into an argument, no longer singing, while the backing band continues playing the song's melody. The male singer is Eric Mingus, but his identity is irrelevant, so I'll just call him The Man (with capital letters). It's obvious that Karen, only 23 at the time, was dealing with personal issues through her music.

In 1990 she made a second album in the same style. Wonderful! Then, a few years later, she made a third album called "Farewell". I didn't like it as much because it was darker, not as uplifting. The main reason was that she sang about her cat Arnold dying. She also sang about other crises in her life. It wasn't a bad album, but it wasn't an album I could listen to hundreds of times.

For the songs that I quote I'll use the following system:

Karen's vocals are in normal text.

The Man's vocals are in italics and indented.

Vocals by the group are in bold italics and indented.

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I wanna be good

    Don't waste time, face the facts, you're no good.

    How can you just sit there? You're no good.

If I only could

Do things that I know I should,

I just wanna be good.

    She wants to be good

    If only she could.

    Your mother might love you, don't be fooled.

    Unless you work harder, you're no good.

I really do try.

Please believe me, why would I lie?

I just wanna be good.

    She wants to be good

    If only she could.

    Can't you see you're lazy? Get to work.

    You can't stop till you drop. You're no good.

    You're no good.

I wanna be good.

    You're no good.

If only I could.

    You're no good.

I wanna be good.

    Yeah, but you're no good.

Really, I wanna be good.

    You're no good.

I really try.

    You're no good.

I work all the time, I never sleep.

    You're just no good.

I work, I work.

    What did I do to deserve you?

    You're no good.

    No, no, you're just no good.

I know, but...

    Try a little harder now.

    You're no good.

    No, no, no, no, no.

I'm trying to be good.

    You're no good.

I work on it.

    All these people, they're telling me that you're no good.

I... I just... I...

    Tell me, tell me they're lying. 

    Tell me it's not true

    All the things that they're saying about you.

    You've got to work a little harder now.

    You're no good.

    Oh you're no good, no good, no good.

    You're no good.