IFLTS: 'It's My Time,' The Mynah Birds

Posted on May 9th 2007 2:00PM by Gaylord Fields
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'It's My Time,' The Mynah Birds
Recorded in 1966
Released in 2006 on 'The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 6: 1966' box set

In a recent installment of Twisted Tales, I recounted the saga of the unlikely union of rock godhead Neil Young and freaky funkster Rick James, who in 1966 shared time in a Toronto garage-rock band called the Mynah Birds and recorded several previously unreleased tracks for Motown. And now it's time to show you a portrait of the beautiful baby they made.

Now I had heard tell of this mythical group eons ago, and like most anyone else made aware of their coupling, I could only imagine what a song created by Neil Young and Rick James might possibly sound like. But thanks to the recent discovery of many of the group's tracks mislabeled in the Motown vault, I can report that the result is a true Reese's moment: Rick's chocolate smushes with Neil's peanut butter and adds up to a delicious taste sensation!

God-awful food metaphors aside, 'It's My Time' was recorded in early 1966 at Motown's Hitsville studio under the supervision of Smokey Robinson, so naturally the production values are stellar and demonstrate the label's facility with non-soul-oriented music. Young supplies the jingle-jangle-morning 12-string guitar and James snarls like a sepia simulation of the R&B singer Mick Jagger always aspired to be. Chiming percussion and sweetly harmonious backing vocals abound, and the song has the good sense to state its case in a hair over two minutes. If any comparison is needed, the result comes across as a Canadian cousin of L.A. interracial garage rockers Love.

The lesson that can be taken from this long-awaited (and more than worth the wait) recording is this: If someone says to you, for example, "I just discovered a song recorded by Dolly Parton with Funkadelic," unwrinkle your nose and open your ears. You might be pleasantly surprised.

What song do you freakin' love? Write our next IFLTS. Send it to us at spinnereditor@aim.com

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