Ain’t Love Strange is short, punchy, and has a really catchy, hummable chorus. I adore Benmont’s piano tone in this one and I think it’s one of those really lean, enjoyable pop songs that doesn’t ask a lot of you in the way of listening and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Check out the song here: https://youtu.be/NXysGNwC0w4
(* Note - the transcript is as-written before recording. I usually change a few sentences or words here and there on the hoof as I'm speaking.)
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, my fine friends. Welcome to the ninth episode of season seven of the Tom Petty Project Podcast! I am your host, Kevin Brown. This is the weekly podcast that digs into the entire Tom Petty catalog song by song, album by album and includes conversations with musicians, fans, and people connected with Tom along the way.
A few social media shoutouts. Firstly, Lisa Kelly Pennington, who likes to try to guess what my ratings are going to be and keeps me up to date on Instagram! She’s currently 2-4 on Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough), which is her weakest hit rate so far for an album! I love that she gets into the weeds about where we differed though and I always look forward to seeing how many she guesses! Mark Lindsey on Facebook said “Your comments matched mine even before I heard the podcast. The opening "Spike" like vocals, Southern Accents theme etc. Also, reminded me of the compliments I always hear from other professional guitarists about Mike C. He always does the least with the most impact. He could kill with a huge solo if he chose to do so, but always does a tasteful solo that is simply perfection. Same with Benmont and his additions on the keys.” JP Koffman and my pal Pete Nestor from the Honest and Merciful podcast also made similar comments about it being a bridge between Southern Accents and Full Moon Fever, so if other people also hear this throughline, it makes me think that maybe I’m not reading too much into some of these things! Pete called A Self-Made Man “A perfect little jammy album track, and the perfect link between southern accents and full moon fever. This song is every bit as good as most anything on side 2 of FMF. And without the stuffy Jeff Lynne production.” So when I get to Full Moon Fever, I think I may have to have Pete on the podcast to explain himself! Stuffy indeed!
Today’s episode covers the fourth track from the second of Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough), Ain’t Love Strange. If you’re new to the podcast, I don’t actually play the song in the episode itself, to stay on the right side of copyright law and to be respectful to Tom’s music and legacy.
The song was written on electric piano and Tom tells Paul Zollo, in Conversations with Tom Petty that, “That was all in that rocky romance period I was in. It was like a “Where did I wake up today” period. One of those times in life.”
Ain’t Love Strange is another track from side two of Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) that was never played live. Out of all the songs that were never aired from this side of the LP, I think this one is possibly the most surprising as you could easily see Listen to Her Heart going straight into this song. In fact, I’ve always felt that this one could fit thematically on You’re Gonna Get It, though again, you could almost hear this one on Full Moon Fever, with the big jangle it has going on.
This one starts on the four count with a single snare hit. As I’ve dug into this record in far more depth than I ever have before, I think I’ve figured out part of the production issue that I have with it. Being a big old drum nerd, I think that it’s the inconsistent tone and mixing of the kit. On this one, Stan’s snare sounds epic - like it did on Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises, and Long After Dark. But it definitely doesn’t sound this crisp on other tracks on this record. There’s a decent amount of reverb on that snare and it gives it a booming snap to it that really kicks this song off.
So, it’s time for a confession. After listening to the intro to this song at least two dozen times, I just can’t quite tell what instrument that repetitive G note is being played on. It sounds like a guitar with the treble jacked way up and the bass way down sometimes and other times I think it’s definitely a synth. Either way, it’s that note which really pins the song in the same way that Keep a Little Soul is grounded by a similar single note. With that drum pattern thudding along and this repetitive note, we also then get some deep bass piano notes mixed really low, playing that G, F, C downward progression. We then hear a great acoustic guitar trill followed by a really nice electric lick. It’s a tight opening eight bars which has multiple layers of guitar. This could explain why it wasn’t played live but once Scott Thurston was added to the lineup, they could have probably given this one a go.
Once the first verse kicks, so does Howie Epstein’s rumbly bass. The repeated note then becomes Benmont playing a repeated G chord on every beat. Tom comes in with a simple melody through a rapid fire verse. It kinda reminds me a little of I Need to Know. There’s very little preamble and the song careers through the verses and choruses very quickly. 45 seconds into the song we’ve already had the intro, a verse, and a chorus. The chorus is again a very simple repeated refrain Ain’t Love Strange through first, second, and fourth bars, and “Boy talk about changes” on the third. This B section has a beautiful piano tone running through it as Benmont lays down a very percussive, rhythmic chord pattern, playing that G chord for all he’s worth and letting the the bassline move down that G, F, C pattern underneath. Most chord charts I’ve seen online state that this song is in G, but it’s definitely in C, it just starts, and sits mainly on the fifth rather than the root, but it always resolves back down to that root C. It also doesn’t have a D or an A anywhere near it, but does have an Am and an F, so I’m called hooey on the online chord charts! Hooey I say! The chorus features some gloriously layered vocals and if I had to guess, I’d bet that both Tom and Howie are singing both the lead melody and the harmony part and then blending those together with Tom’s lead being brought forward in the mix.
The end of the chorus hangs on the F chord, with Mike Campbell playing a really cool suspended lick to lead us back into verse two. This second verse is where we get the fantastic lines “'Cause it can make you string barb-wire around your little piece of ground, for emotional protection, oh, but it's too late now“ I’m sure we’ve all had moments in relationships where we’ve felt it necessary to build emotional barriers to feel like we’re safe, even if we love the other person. But after the first beautiful lyrical three lines, it’s the last line that packs the punch; but it’s too late now. Often times, we put up barriers as a response to already having been hurt and as the line says, by that time, the damage is done and it’s too late to protect yourself.
In this second verse, we also get a little build from the first, as the lines “Around your little piece of ground” and “but it’s too late now” are harmonized by Howie. Other than that, it’s melodically the same as the first verse and the guitars aren’t adding in anything extra and really letting the vocal carry the day. We head then into the second chorus which repeats with no variation. Coming out of this second chorus and heading into the bridge, Stan Lynch really pounds the kick drum rather than filling across the toms or on the snare.
Alright folks, It’s time for some Petty Trivia!
Your question from last week was this: In which Traveling Wilburys song, on which Tom sings lead vocal, does he talk about DX7s and old athletic shoes? Is it a) You took my breath away, b) Cool Dry Place, c) Last Night, or d) Margarita? The answer is, Cool Dry Place. The DX7 refers to the 61 note Yamaha DX7 keyboard, which was the first hugely popular synthesizer to become a cornerstone of so many songs of the 80s and 90s. Not just used by trendy pop bands, the DX7 found its way into the hands or artists like Chicago, Phil Collins, and Brian Eno. The DX7 was later supplanted in the market by the Korg M1, but remains a favourite instrument of synth collectors and retro musicians to this day, though nowadays, all the sounds are available through computer patches which can be triggered by any old synth you have laying around!
Your question for this week is this: In the same song, which instrument does not Tom sing about having? Is it a) harmonicas, b) trombones, c) trumpets, or d) mandolins.
OK, back to the song. The bridge in this one changes to the minor key, alternating between Am and Em with F added in as the third chord. The cadence of the vocal really changes here too, with Tom punching out the syllables in a much more staccato delivery and landing his emphasis away from the one in places and playing with the bars in which he sings. In the first four bars, he sings lines during the first and second bars. In the second four, he sings on the first, second, and third. The bridge then has that trademark Heartbreakers additional hanging two bars before heading back into the last verse. The middle eight (or ten as it ends up being) also features some really tasty bass work from Howie, as he moves around the octave quite actively.
This verse has a little more space in it, with the guitars dialled back a little. Because of this you can also hear the shakers a little more clearly. This verse also has that repetitive G note from the intro rather than Benmont’s piano, and in the push to the final chorus, Tom drops his vocal down the scale rather than pushing up into it. The first, second, and fourth lines are also harmonized here, so there’s a good change up happening though it doesn’t necessarily sound like they’re doing too much different. Just one of those cool little songwriting and arrangement tricks that can give a simple track some movement.
The last chorus brings us back to familiar territory with Benmont’s piano being the lead instrument and adding more little fills in the higher register. The chorus is repeated and as another slight rope a dope moment, you don’t get the expected fill between the first and second chorus from Stan, nor any lead face melting from Mike. The guitars are left deep back in the pocket and Benmont’s piano is allowed to ring through and take us into the outro. We do finally get a big Torpdoes-esque fill from Stan just at the end of the fade out as the song drifts off into the sunset.
Even though the song is melodically so bright and breezy, it obviously tackles the issue of love and heartache and pain. The refrain “Ain’t Love Strange, is almost a wry ‘man, whaddya gonna do’ type sentiment that is, as always, perfectly relatable.
OK PettyHeads, that’s it for this week! Ain’t Love Strange is short, punchy, and has a really catchy, hummable chorus. I adore Benmont’s piano tone in this one and I think it’s one of those really lean, enjoyable pop songs that doesn’t ask a lot of you in the way of listening and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It has a decent bridge and you can tell that care and attention has been taken over the small changes in the arrangement, to keep it moving along briskly. I don’t love the mix on this one though and think that Howie’s bass could definitely have popped more than it does, but that’s a minor quibble I suppose. This is a really nice, bouncy album track and one that I would never skip, but wouldn’t hold up as a shining example of Tom’s songwriting either, so I’ll give it a solid 6 out of 10.
QUESTION: In Cool, Dry Place, which instrument does not Tom sing about having? Is it a) harmonicas, b) trombones, c) trumpets, or d) mandolins.
ANSWER: Well, in the song, Tom inventories guitars, basses, drums, accordions, mandolins, cymbals, harmonicas, organs, trombones, and of course, Yamaha DX sevens. What he doesn’t sing about is trumpets. I’m always torn between Cool Dry Place and End of the Line when trying to decide what my favourite Wilbury’s song is. Incredibly, at 3 minutes and 37 seconds, this is the longest track on Volume 3 and the joint third longest song in the Wilbury’s catalogue. Get in and get out, don’t waste a single note. Tom was in pretty great company when it came to economy in that group and brought his distinctive drawl to a brilliantly jocular song about having masses and masses of musical equipment!
Well, it can get you in the back, boy
Or you can lie around in roses
Or maybe walk around wondering
You know, going through the motions
Hey, ain't love strange?
Oh, ain't love strange?
Boy, talk about changes
Oh, ain't love strange?
Well, it can make you string barbed-wire
Around your little piece of ground
Yeah, for emotional protection
Oh, but it's too late now
Hey, ain't love strange?
Oh, ain't love strange?
Boy, talk about changes
Oh, ain't love strange?
Some keep trying it
Giving and denying it
And I don't know why it is
I guess you never quit
Trying to make sense of it
Oh, because it can feel like perfection
But never all the time
But you don't want to be alone again
Oh, my, my
Hey, ain't love strange?
Oh, ain't love strange?
Boy, talk about changes
Oh, ain't love strange?
Ain't love strange?
Oh, ain't love strange?
Boy, talk about lonely
Hey, ain't love strange?
