After a nice long break (6-7 months), My Sunday Song is back!! No themes, no 10 song sets. Only songs I want to write about and for #421, we are going with a power ballad from 1991 by the band Tattoo Rodeo. The song is called “Been Your Fool” and is off their album ‘Rode Hard, Put Away Wet’. The album came out in 1991 and their timing could not have been worse. They get a song that starts to gain some traction and then Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” comes along and ruins everything for any band remotely connected to Hair Metal. But I still remember this one.
The song is credited to the whole band (as I don’t see anything in the liner notes that tells me otherwidse) and they are Dennis Churchill Dries on vocals & bass, Rick Chadock on guitar, Michael Lord on keyboards and Rich Wright on drums. The song is about a guy who thought he was finally over the breakup and had her out of his mind, but not so fast. He goes into a bar, hear’s a song on the jukebox and he can’t stop thinking about her now. He wants to get back with her, but it can’t be the same as he’s been her fool too many times. He fights and says if she reaches out her hand he won’t be her fool again…but we all know he would in a heartbeat. I love how the lyrics show how the power of music can bring back so many memories (good or bad).
The song is a power ballad, but this one is a swampy, bluesy bar song. With a slowed down tempo, a slide guitar and Dennis’ heartbroken vocals, you get dragged in to his misery. His vocals have a grit to them and when he hits those high notes, they are as smooth as silk. Such a great tone. The rhythm section keeps things moving, the drums are the pounding heart with every snare hit. We’ve been a fool to someone so this is all so relatable.
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