Everything about the song "Pictures of Matchstick Men": creation history, fame, covers
Psychedelia was a widespread phenomenon in the 60s and 70s, and was mainly connected with the popularization of altering one's consciousness with psychotropic substances. Just at this time many bands managed to saturate their discography with tracks filled with various sound effects. This did not bypass the band, either. Status Quo.
This article will talk about the single "Pictures of Matchstick MenThe song was a real hit for the little-known British band, as well as the history of the track's creation and famous covers.
The Story of One Brilliant Debut
The group's beginnings date back to 1962, when Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster As schoolchildren they gathered a band called The Scorpions. After a few more members joined the band, it began to gain popularity, performing at various events. By 1965 the band already had a contract with one label, but all the released singles did not give the band's popularity. By the end of the '60s the band managed to change the direction of their music, turning to the then fashionable psychedelia. The name has also changed: now the guys are officially called Status Quo.
"Pictures of Matchstick Men was. first single The song went up to the seventh place of the top singles chart in England. In England the song rose to the seventh position in the top singles chart, and in America it reached the twelfth place in the Billboard Hot-100. After such success, the band no longer did not reach such heights in the United States, despite the constant releases of their subsequent works in this country.
Rossi, then a songwriter for Status Quo, by his own admission, wrote the lyrics to this song while hiding from his annoying wife and mother-in-law. The musician said that big half of the text he wrote in restroom - the only place where he could take a quiet break from the domestic wars. The vocalist specified that his goal was to imitate Hendrix in the song «Hey Joe»and you can really hear a similar chord sequence in the music.
There is a total of two versions "Pictures of Matchstick Men," both in mono and stereo versions. They are strikingly different from each other: the first one uses the "wah-wah." on the guitar, which the stereo version does not. Also, mono has become the most common and known to the general listener.
Lyrical Meaning
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" has a very famous reference to the paintings of Lawrence Stephen Lowry, an English artist. The song was a kind of tribute to Lowry, but the musicians saw other meaning in his writings.
The composition is based on zealous of one girl's lover's feelings. Despite the fact that they have not been together for a long time, the young man is jealous of his former mistress of her by the current The hero is not only reminded of her every day, but also sees her image everywhere. The hero not only remembers and sees her image everywhere every day, but also imagines whole throngs of admirers beside her.
With its easy-to-understand lyrics and catchy motifs, this song is a prime example of easy bubblegum psychedelics.
Pictures of Matchstick Men falls into the hands of... Osborne!
There have been many covers of the famous song, including "Pictures of Matchstick Men" by the band Type Of Negative and Ozzy Osbourne. The reworked song was on the track list for a biographical comedy called Private Parts by Howard Stern. Thanks to the film's successful release, the album with the songs for it made its way to leading Billboard 200 positions. Almost all of the songs were hits.
"Prince of Darkness" worked on the track with the gothic metal band Type Od Negative, for whom playing with Osborne was Honor: their discography included many covers of his works. Together the musicians managed to rework the psychedelic hits of the 60s into powerful a metal song with Ozzy's expressive vocals. The lightweight Status Quo song became much more impressive in the hands of the metalists, and despite the change of style, it still had elements psychedelics of the original version.
The relevance of the song today
The success of Pictures of Matchstick Men was global. The uncomplicated song of jealousy became the starting point for the band's future success. Thanks to it the musicians not only gained fans, but also realized that psychedelic won't Their work is the leading genre: shortly after the successful Status Quo resin, they released a similar song, which turned out to be Failed. After that they immediately changed their musical style.
The track is still relevant today: in the U.S. it remains one of the big the band's early hits. Despite a bad experience with the record company, the musicians still get money from listening to the song because it is not only interesting committed to Status Quo fans, but also to people who have found in it Feedback their feelings.
