Perfect Day (Lou Reed song)
 | It has been suggested that Perfect Day (Duran Duran song) be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2009. |
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"Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972, originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting, and after its release as a star-studded charity single in 1997. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.
A cover recorded by Duran Duran reached #28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.
About the song
The original recording, like the rest of the Transformer album, was produced by David Bowie, with guitarist Mick Ronson providing the arrangement.
The song has a somber vocal delivery and slow, piano-based instrumental backing balancing tones of sweet nostalgia ("it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you") with an undercurrent of menace ("you're gonna reap just what you sow"),[1]. The line alludes to Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The song's lyrics are often considered to suggest simple, conventional romantic devotion, possibly alluding to Reed’s relationship with Bettye Kronstadt (soon to become his first wife) and Reed’s own conflicts with his sexuality, drug use and ego.[2]
However, on a deeper reading of the song's lyrics, amongst the idealised description of a "perfect day", interposed lines such as "You just keep me hanging on", and "I thought I was someone else, someone good" suggest a far deeper yearning than just the superficial romantic clichés, and allude to the underlying and painful bitterness of nostalgia often felt even as an event is lived - an event one knows or fears to be a mere distraction or illusion.
Some commentators have further seen the lyrical subtext as displaying Reed's romanticised attitude towards a period of his own addiction to heroin; this popular understanding of the song as an ode to addiction led to its inclusion in the soundtrack for Trainspotting, a film about the lives of heroin users.[3]
Reed's original recording was featured on an AT&T commercial featuring snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler that ran during the 2010 Olympics.
Harmonic analysis
The song is in a minor key and fluctuates between notes from its melodic and harmonic chord notes. The first five bars form two apparent ii-V-I jazz turnarounds, each landing a tone lower so the old I is the new ii. (However the second turnaround uses II instead of ii). The pattern finishes with a iv-V-i turnaround landing on the tonic. The ii-V-I sequences may initially sound like the same pattern played in endlessly descending keys (a common jazz motif), but due to the II-V-I alteration the whole song in fact remains firmly in the home key, though with chords (such as iv and IV) drawn from varying melodic and harmonic minor forms.
Notated in the home key, the progression is thus: i IV VII III VIb iv V
Duran Duran version
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A cover version of "Perfect Day" was the first single from the Duran Duran covers album Thank You. It reached #28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.
Lou Reed has been cited as an inspiration by several members of Duran Duran, and the album Thank You was intended to be a tribute to the band's influences, in the style of David Bowie's Pin Ups.
The song featured a rare appearance by the Duran Duran's first drummer Roger Taylor, who left the band at the height of their fame in 1986, and had had little contact with them in the ten years afterward. He joined Duran Duran in the studio to record "Perfect Day", "Watching the Detectives" and "Jeepster" for the covers album. Taylor also appeared in the video and in a promotional appearance on Top of the Pops.
Backing vocals were provided by longtime Duran Duran collaborator Tessa Niles. The recording was produced by John Jones and David Richards, with additional programming by Mark Tinley.
The music video was filmed in February 1995 by director Nick Egan, and first aired in March. It featured the band with their instruments inside the box of a sound stage lined with vivid red walls, and the video is intensely saturated, even overexposed at times. Clips of a melancholy Simon Le Bon singing, and other band members performing or reacting to the lyrics, are interspersed with snippets of surreal images. The camera occasionally pulls back to show the entire stage structure and its supports, increasing the sense of unreality.
The single was released in several versions, including numerous different remixes of the title track and other Duran Duran songs.[4] Among the bonus tracks on the double CD set issued in the US and the UK were two covers which were not included on the album: "The Needle and the Damage Done", originally by Neil Young, and "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" originally by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. A limited edition release featured a scratch and sniff ice cream cone cover.
In addition to the single and the Thank You album, the song also appeared in Duran Duran's Singles Box Set 1986-1995, released in 2004.
Other versions
Several other cover versions of "Perfect Day" have been recorded by various artists.
- Glenn Gregory, vocalist of Heaven 17, covered the song on the 1982 British Electric Foundation album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume 1.
- Helen Hoffner recorded her version on her 1993 album Wild About Nothing.
- Kirsty MacColl recorded her version as a duet with Evan Dando on her 1995 album Galore.
- Chris Whitley used it as the title and covered the song for his 2000 album, Perfect Day.
- Antony Hegarty recorded his version on his 2003 album Raven, by Reed's request.
- California punk band T.S.O.L. recorded a cover for their 4 Songs - 2005 EP.
- Leningrad Cowboys, a Finnish Hard Rock band, covered it on their 2006 album, Zombie's Paradise.
- Patti Smith recorded a cover for her 2007 Two More EP.
- Taiwanese singer Faith Yang collaborated with Hong Kong singer Eason Chan to record a cover for Yang's 2009 album Self-Selected.
- Dionysis Savvopoulos set his own lyrics to the song's melody for Μέρα Όμορφη (Mera Omorfi, "Beautiful Day")
- Tzimis Panousis recorded a parody of Savvopoulos's Greek song, called Πρέζα Όμορφη (Preza Omorfi, "Beautiful Heroin").
Live covers:
- Coldplay played an acoustic version at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2006 after Reed had asked them to backstage after he had finished his set but forgot to perform it himself (as Martin explained beforehand).
- Amanda Palmer during her 2006 "Fuck the Back Row" tour.
- Zemfira during her 2006 "Vendetta" tour.
- Wolfmother played it at the "Andy Warhol Up Late" gig in 2008.
- The village of Blagdon performed a version in 2007.[5]
BBC corporate film and charity release
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In 1997 the track was showcased by the BBC in a lengthy corporate promotion of its diverse music coverage which was broadcast on BBC channels and in cinemas. It featured Lou Reed himself and other major artists in what the Financial Times described as "an astonishing line-up of world class performers".[6] In reference to the licence fee, the film ends with the message "Whatever your musical taste, it is catered for by BBC Radio and Television. This is only possible thanks to the unique way the BBC is paid for by you. BBC. You make it what it is." This message appears over the repeated words "You're going to reap just what you sow" which The Guardian described as "a none too subtle message: keep writing the cheque."[7] In response to accusations from commercial competitors that the corporation had wasted vast sums on the film it was revealed that each artist received a "token" £250 because of their belief in the BBC.[6]
Prompted by a huge public demand the track was released in October as a charity single for Children in Need, and Lou Reed said "I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs."[8] It was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells. Selling over a million copies, the record contributed £2,125,000 to the charity's highest fundraising total in six years.[9] The release featured two additional versions of the song: one entirely sung by female performers, one by male performers. The BBC also produced a Christmas version of the accompanying music video.
Performers
Performers in order of appearance (italics indicate mute appearance). Dividers indicate verses/sections.
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Sequels
Following the success of the "Perfect Day" music video, the BBC produced two further similar campaigns. The first, Future Generations, in December 1998, did a similar multi-celebrity montage with favourite BBC children's programmes. The second, called Shaggy Dog Story, featured various comedians and comic actors telling a long-winded shaggy dog story, with each one sharing a line or phrase. A second, shorter shaggy dog story, entitled Mammals vs. Insects, was also broadcast on 4 January, 2000.
Music Live 2000
A BBC live television event in 2000, which consisted of music programs around the clock, ended in another round-robin performance of "Perfect Day". Although watched by millions, the recording of the show that was released as a single was not a chart success, reaching only #69 in mid-June 2000.
This line-up included Rolf Harris and a beginning and ending performance from Lou Reed himself.
References
Notes
- ^ Janovitz, Bill. Song review of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day", Allmusic.com
- ^ Bockris, Victor. Transformer: The Lou Reed Story. Simon & Schuster, August 1, 1995. (ISBN 978-0684803661)
- ^ Walker, Nick. "Blurred vision at the Beeb", The Independent, 13 October 1997.
- ^ Duran Duran "Perfect Day" discography
- ^ Perfect Day in Blagdon video
- ^ a b Dunkley, Christopher. "Hard sell of the fast cut", Financial Times, 10 October 1997
- ^ Mulholland, John. "Such a perfect way to sing the praises of a licence fee; John Mulholland on how Lou Reed's anthem for doomed youth became the ultimate sales gimmick", The Guardian, 27 September 1997
- ^ "Children to reap what Perfect Day sows", BBC News, 21 November 1997.
- ^ "Perfect Day for children", BBC News, 12 October 1998
Sources
- Original Seeds Vol. 2, liner notes by Kim Beissel