Do I Want to Hear More? – The Proclaimers

This month on The Guitar Train, Quirky T stops to ask the musical question, “Do I Want to Hear More?” There are several musicians who have made one song I have really liked. Now I’m wondering why I never took the time to listen to more of their songs to find out if I would like more of their music. Or are they just one hit wonders on my favorites playlist?

 

For this first stop, I listened to The Proclaimers. The only song by the Scottish twins, Charlie and Craig Reid, I had heard was “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”. I first heard it over 20 years ago in 1993 when it was part of the soundtrack of one of my all time favorite films, “Benny and Joon”. I wrote about this great movie starring Aidan Quinn (one of my favorite actors) and Johnny Depp in The Guitar Train stop, “The Guitar Train Looks at the 20^th Anniversary of Benny and Joon”. https://guitartrain.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/the-guitar-train-looks-at-the-20th-anniversary-of-benny-and-joon/

So to further my musical knowledge of The Proclaimers, I went to my local library’s website to find more albums by this band. (I’m not going to pay money to buy a CD that I will possibly not like and not listen to enough to justify the money spent on it). Interestingly, the only item available for check out was a cassette tape of their first release, “This is the Story”, from 1987. The fact that in a large library system, this was the only item available from this group who has released nine albums from 1987 to 2012 says something about their popularity in the United States. They are more popular in the United Kingdom where they still perform.

 

Benny and Joon CD

My first reaction when listening to this tape was “Are they singing in English?” I had trouble understanding the lyrics because of their Scottish accents. I don’t know how the actress Mary Stuart Masterson who played Joon in “Benny and Joon” understood them enough to recommend using their song in the movie. The songs are short and vary between slow and fast. I found the songs interesting. So yes, I do want to hear more. I also want to understand more.

In researching this stop, I discovered that The Proclaimers’ song, “I’m On My Way” was included in the 2001 movie, “Shrek”. I had seen the movie years ago but I didn’t remember the song so I watched the video on You Tube. And a revolutionary event occurred on The Guitar Train – I liked a song the moment I listened to it! It’s a catchy, fun tune with a cute dismembered video.

 

So not only have I listened to one complete cassette tape and another hit single from The Proclaimers, I want to hear even more. So I will actually be buying their 1988 CD “Sunshine on Leith” which includes “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”. I’ll provide an update in a future Guitar Train stop as to whether I liked (and understood) that CD or not. For any Guitar Train passengers who want more information on this band, check out their website http://www.TheProclaimers.co.uk

 

At The Guitar Train’s next stop, Quirky T asks “Do I Want to Hear More?” about another group who also had a hit song which deals with walking and romance. Hop aboard The Guitar Train to find out who this group is and if I want to hear more.

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