Saturday, January 27, 2007

The elusive tune - I'm a real music lover with hundreds of CDs overflowing my shelves. Since ITunes came around, it's been a vital tool to fill in the gaps in my music collection.

One song I can't seem to get my hands on is "Clair" by Gilbert O'Sullivan. It's not offered on ITunes, nor does it show up on any of those Seventies compilation CDs, unlike "Alone Again (Naturally)" and "Get Down." Normally, I would just purchase O'Sullivan's greatest hits but it appears that record is available only as an "import" and costs around $30 on Amazon. Even on EBay, O'Sullivan's CDs are available only from the UK with a delivery cost higher than the CD itself.

It's like there's a conspiracy to keep me from hearing O'Sullivan's creepy ode to his manager's daughter.
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:42 AM

    Gilbert O'Sullivan is one of those intractable, litigious guys like Dave Clark (of the DC5). They own their material but mostly keep it to themselves, long after the window of maximum nostalgia profitability has shut. Maybe they got burned by bad business deals in their heyday, I don't know.

    If I was equipped to turn vinyl into 0's and 1's, I'd send it to you. No guarantees, but here's some of what a "Gilbert O'Sullivan" + "Clair" + "mp3" search came up with:

    http://www.mp3.com/albums/11961/summary.html

    http://mp3.kovach.co.yu/g.html

    http://www.legalsounds.com/download-mp3/gilbert-o%27sullivan/artist_371

    http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3235969/Billboard_Top_100_Year_1973

    http://3mp3.ru/it/album/11403/Gilbert-O-Sullivan-Back-To-Front-Gilbert-O-Sullivan

    http://www.bitenova.nl/tt/j4jwl

    And keep away from my daughter, you Clair-hunting freak!

    (P.S. The great lost Gilbert O. hit is "Get Down," a song about a dog who won't. Very dumb and catchy.)

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  2. Eric10:23 AM

    Thanks Des!

    Actually, I have "Get Down" from Super Hits of the 70s Have a Nice Day, Vol. 11. Amazon allows you to search for individual songs but "Clair" presents a separate challenge due to the hundreds of versions of "Clair De Lune."

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  3. Anonymous7:59 AM

    "Clair" ... Wow, hadn't heard that song in about a million years!

    Hey, in a pinch, maybe you could substitute "Save Your Kisses For Me" (Brotherhood Of Man) for your fix?

    Dunno if that's available either (have it on an old Ktel album, heh)

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  4. Anonymous6:34 AM

    I have Clair on the harddrive. If you use AIM I can export it to your machine. I bought the cd the Best of Gilbert O' Sullivan, Rhino Records a few years ago.

    PS It really isn't creepy at all. Try to see it from what life was like 30+ years ago... he and the kid just got along and her mother suggested he write the song. From what I have read, the girl in question still has fond regard for the man...

    I'll check back later to see if you want it.....

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