Why Do We Dislike Al Wilson's The Snake So Much?

[ulyssees]

The lyrics relate to the story of the garden of Eden. The pretty woman is Eve.

Dussapointed that this record has fallen out of favour as it is one of the most original sounds lyric wise as most of our music lyrically is pretty much moon and June. Some great Smokey Robinson lyric play notably Two Lovers with a killer last line...superb

Yule

[Guest Polyvelts]

Well I'm not ashamed to say I loved it as a teenager ! But there's no denying All Wilson had soul, earlier release on same label

[NEV]

On the plus side Al Wilson did make one of the greatest records ever made in Show and Tell.

Too true. Show and Tell is one of those 45s you hear and think, "Why is this only worth $5?" It's quality soul all the same.

I think " help me " on Wand is his best by far .

Now that is and always was a proper " northern soul " record !

[Godzilla]

The lyrics relate to the story of the garden of Eden. The pretty woman is Eve.

Yule

Nonsense. It's a penis. Besides, Eve didn't have a job

[Guest gordon russell]

top tune!!!.....always ask for this

Don,t think it,s the story of garden of eden......more like when you were young the really fit bird you fancied (along with everyone else lol) always went for the right bastard no matter how bad boy he was why do women do that when they're young?....then you always saw them crying their eyes out bemoaning this fella and how bad he is treating her....."you knew darn well l was a snake,before you let me in" says it all really

Edited January 12, 2013 by gordon russell

[Petedillon]

dont think it deserves to be hated..just needs to be retired..When I first heard it in 69-ish was it ? i liked it...just didnt need to hear it anymore times after about 72/3 or earlier maybe..along with loads of other tunes that have had the life wrung out of them...not the records fault but the people who killed them....

[Mark S]

I allways thought it was a native american fable ,

Any dj,s on here should embrace thier inner divvy and play it out and watch the floor fill

[spot]

yes two differant als !

Sorry Guy's never realised that but what a bummer for one of the Al's, you learn something everyday eh!!

Spot.

[Kev Cane]

Nonsense. It's a penis. Besides, Eve didn't have a job

:lol:

Snorter

Kev

[Ian Dewhirst]

Always hated it, never played it out anywhere in 40 years and don't own it. Nothing to do with elitism as I like lots of popular music but I've always hated this record with a vengeance for some reason.

Ian D

[Andreas B]

Btw Andreas, I realize you're the american chap from Copenhagen! I'm the guy from Gothenburg you met couple of months ago at your venue.

I strongly recomend you getting your fat ass here the weekend 22-23 of February as Static is having their anniv weekender then, Heard rumours of a No snakes policy, but still has to be confirmed..

Good to hear from you mate! Would love to make it up to Static but I have a dear friend from the states visiting me during that weekend (also my birthday weekend!), who happens to be heading up your way the next weekend. We were planning to have our Delegates Of Soul night that weekend but looks like we should be rescheduling, since I think most of the Scando crowd will want to be there that weekend, and rightly so.

Get your buns down here for the next Backstreet on March 16th! Always a blast.

And just to keep things on topic, "The Snake" is still corny garbage.

[KevH]

top tune!!!.....always ask for this

Don,t think it,s the story of garden of eden......more like when you were young the really fit bird you fancied (along with everyone else lol) always went for the right bastard no matter how bad boy he was why do women do that when they're young?....then you always saw them crying their eyes out bemoaning this fella and how bad he is treating her....."you knew darn well l was a snake,before you let me in" says it all really

Bloody hell,get you Marje Proops.!!

[Guest chrislokeh]

Because its corny as all get-out?

Cornyest song has to be House for sale ,hate the words but like the tune

[Spacehopper]

Snake....overplayed record by boring deejays....if you have just come back then it probably sounds great.SOUlJIHAD...theres a year in front of me and the AF250 will be getting pulled out....i cant face another year of ska coverbands...modspaulwellers tribute bands...and join the dots northern from.bootlegs.Isle Of Wight was the last straw and a lot of us are thinking of goung to brighton aug bank holiday and taking over a pub...where are the mystical rally places you speak of ?

camber sands in july...yep many weller haircuts and ska bands...but some good bands too and two nighters in the soul room cnt vouch for all but sarge,pete kelross,mischief,me and a few others play off originals...always a good laugh

as far as the snake goes...loved it when i was 17.....done to death and theres loads better to play now so dont wanna hear it out now but its no worse than a lot of 'poppy' soul played in northerns 'golden heyday'...think the lyrics are good though myself

[Andreas B]

"The Snake" is really a victim of it's own success and is probably disliked as it's been so overplayed. Personally I think it should never have been released as a single. If you listen to his "Searching for the dolphins" LP the track fits in well with the rest of the compositions. As for the track sounding weird, that's probably because it has it's origins in the church as a parable warning of the dangers of sin, and doesn't suit the contemporary arrangement given to it. The original version by Oscar Brown Jr is true to it's gospel roots.

Dave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP92tBs6cx8

I didn't think I could like any version less than Al Wilson's but on first listen this was abhorrant. To each his own though...

[Swifty]

Remind you of anything ????

Swifty

[Spacehopper]

shit loads better IMO but whenever i play this it reminds me of the snake...

https://youtu.be/4nauz2J90m4

[Amsterdam Russ]

Think Al Wilson is bad? Try this 'version' from Sheila, French chanteuse and part-time air raid siren!

[TOAD]

al "the snake, touch and go " wilson was live @ a cleethorpes weekender. He was asked to sing "help me" he said it wasnt him singing that, thou i do think he sang it that night? Ady c would confirm

[Back Street Blue]

Cornyest song has to be House for sale ,hate the words but like the tune

House for sale is an album track and the lyrics fit with the story running through the preceding songs on the album. First time I heard it played out was by RS at a Ritz dayer and its a been a favorite of mine ever since. Great moody dance track which still stands out and which thank god has not been lambrynied to death like the song that kicked off this thread.

[Sceneman]

trite as a hayley mills single ,even though its a black singer

[Back Street Blue]

.....its located at 1679 Getwell(?) Avenue......you can move in right away

[Wiggyflat]

Who else covered the Snake apart from Al...Oscars is the original i think.I have a version by Harvey Fuqua from the sixties.Kevin King Lear covered it in the sixties for Page One on in the UK which got a reissue on Route in the mid seventies which must have been to try and cash in on northern demand.I wonder of Kevins version got any plays.

[Back Street Blue]

our lass tried covering the snake but you could still see a bit near the bottom!!

[Guest Mart B]

I hate The Snake because Non northern folk i know say The snakes a Northern record isnt it which i reply YES but.

[Guest posstot]

One thing is though, we all know the words to it!! hahaaaa

[Premium Stuff]

I don't know the words - thank the lord

Cheers

Richard

[Geeselad]

its not about the tune itself, its a great jazzy/ pop tune, imho, but its what its come to represent for many, the overt commercialism of the scene in all its forms, for the lambrini gals, to plastic soulies in cheap and naff retro clobber. you could argue that its no longer a ns record at all, its become so much a part of general pop culture its now become just a pop oldie, regaurdless of its source.

[Hornet]

cheap n naff retro clobber !! i think the old wheel crowd look the bollox in there tassled loafers & tonic suits !!

[Marc Forrest]

German version done in 1969 by one jack white who went on to become a very sucessful and world-wide known producer..not to be confused with the american artist of the same name.

[Andy Rix]

[Marc Forrest]

"the snake" together with "right back" by maxine nightingale were the (first) two tunes that helped me get the first Berlin skinheads interested in Northern Soul back when there was still a wall and two german states. that was some hard work as most didnt even appreciate original ska or rocksteady back then..

[Guest Brooky]

It's not soul .....it's a musical fable about not getting 'up the stick'............half the people reading this have probably never cottoned on to the message......'Oh no you haven't'!!!!!

So....I have the guts to say I like it.......not enough to play it out though! Is there a documented occasion when this last appeared in a set? (or has DJ Iron Bollocks retired? :lol:

Edited January 13, 2013 by Brooky

[Marc Forrest]

.. Is there a documented occasion when this last appeared in a set? ( or has DJ Iron Bollocks retired?

at the big 900 people strong German Soul weekender in Nürnberg in december one DJ played it in his friday spot...much to the shock, awe, surprise and amusement of half the other djs and people in the hall. I was in London deejaying that night and only just appeared on the saturday so sadly I couldnt witness myself and had to be told the story the next day. as a nice side effect that will hold people back from thinking it could have been me ;)

[Northernjordan]

That was my point that not all soul rooms at scooter events play the snake, after you made the sweeping comment about fat scooterist .

I don't think ive ever heard the snake ever played at a scooter rally? And I spend most of the weekend in the soul rooms? To be fair I think the northern played is of hight standard at nearly all the ones ive been at. So ot frustrates me when people come out with statements slating scooter rallies...

Edited January 13, 2013 by NorthernJordan

[Northernjordan]

And I wonder how people would rate this record if there were only 20 known copies? I bet it would be the best piece of northern ever made...

Personally I like it, it's a good gate way track. But when out, I expect more from the DJs than to play it.

[Guest giant]

it did the trick all them years ago in mrm's . folks off their heads packed dance floor along with the atmosphere ,what was acceptable then is now seen as old this that n the other . but would some of todays stuff be acceptable back then .....not a chance ! peoples tastes change along with the music for me it was good at the time and i would never disrespect it , ive heard much worse on the present northern (scene) i meant lol

Hi Paul

your right in what you say 'there are things like popcorn and R&b shite you get to hear at lot of venues .

[Andyj]

Don't hate it but don't love it either. I think it's because it's associated with the scene by people outside the scene that make us think it's a div record but without it many of us would be rocking to Status Quo!!!!!

[Maxwell]

I don't know the words - thank the lord

Cheers

Richard

On her way to work one morning, down the path alongside the lake, a tender hearted woman saw a poor half frozen snake, his pretty coloured skin had been all frosted with the dew, oh well she cried I'll take you in and I'll take care of you,take me in oh tender woman take me in for heavens sake, take me in oh tender woman sighed the snake........

[NEV]

If I could invent a time machine ,I'd transport myself to the pressing plant and take a hammer with me

[Guest Matt Male]

And I wonder how people would rate this record if there were only 20 known copies? I bet it would be the best piece of northern ever made...

Personally I like it, it's a good gate way track. But when out, I expect more from the DJs than to play it.

Well there are only a handful of copies of Frank Wilson and most people are fed up to the back teeth of hearing that as well because it's played on boots everywhere.

I can see that if you're new to the scene it would be a great uptempo dancer with lots of life, but after hearing it a million times and with plenty of other records to play it just smacks of lazy DJing these days.

[Northernjordan]

Well there are only a handful of copies of Frank Wilson and most people are fed up to the back teeth of hearing that as well because it's played on boots everywhere.

_

I can see that if you're new to the scene it would be a great uptempo dancer with lots of life, but after hearing it a million times and with plenty of other records to play it just smacks of lazy DJing these days.

I was more meaning if it wasn't done to death like the Mellow Souls etc etc

I agree that its a lazy song to play out, hence the reason saying I expect more from djs

[barney]

its not a bad record and was part of what got me into northern soul in the first place , but its one of those sounds along with out on the floor and dozens of others that are trotted out at weddings birthdays and funerals by civilian dj,s who think that this is it as far as northern is concerned .

Edited January 13, 2013 by barney

[Marc Forrest]

German release on German Liberty Records

[Dysonsoul]

It's a fabulous northern dancer custom made,Al Wilson wipes the floor vocally with Smokey Robinson.....good job we all see different things in this great music !

[Guest]

That was my point that not all soul rooms at scooter events play the snake, after you made the sweeping comment about fat scooterist .

I'd say a large percentage of Scooter events do play the Snake. Soon as you see a beer towel just know it's on the cards.

[Guest]

Snake....overplayed record by boring deejays....if you have just come back then it probably sounds great.SOUlJIHAD...theres a year in front of me and the AF250 will be getting pulled out....i cant face another year of ska coverbands...modspaulwellers tribute bands...and join the dots northern from.bootlegs.Isle Of Wight was the last straw and a lot of us are thinking of goung to brighton aug bank holiday and taking over a pub...where are the mystical rally places you speak of ?

I really enjoyed last years IOW.. I didn't go to any of the main events apart from The Chords on the Saturday and that was the worse night of the weekend. But even then i had a good laugh with old mates and that's what i go for.. I did the Ham Yard on the Sunday night that was a cracking night and no Snake.

As for Brighton.. This always crops up from time to time.. The Uber Mods get all above themselves and start their own runs.. It soon dies back. You can't beat the Island for the sheer fun of it all and the choice of things to do.

Why not take over a Pub on the Island there's plenty too choose from.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Guest

[Guest Brooky]

My French 'Le Serpent'!!!

Foreign Label + Picure Sleeve = Total Cred'......

Edited January 13, 2013 by Brooky

[21 Again]

Because i fell in love with Joe 90

[barney]

I really enjoyed last years IOW.. I didn't go to any of the main events apart from The Chords on the Saturday and that was the worse night of the weekend. But even then i had a good laugh with old mates and that's what i go for.. I did the Ham Yard on the Sunday night that was a cracking night and no Snake.

As for Brighton.. This always crops up from time to time.. The Uber Mods get all above themselves and start their own runs.. It soon dies back. You can't beat the Island for the sheer fun of it all and the choice of things to do.

Why not take over a Pub on the Island there's plenty too choose from.

thats just what we do , the sands hotel on the front in Sandown , we first got the invite from some wolverhampton lads about 5 years ago and we have done it ever since , there are a number of people who dj and they just come and do a spot , on cds mindst but we have a cracking w/end .

we dont bother going into ryde of an evening now .