Title Fight: "Hold On"

Woodblock print titled "The actor Ichikawa Sadanji II as the priest Narukami" by Natori Shunsen, 1926

I'd like to tell you that today's Title Fight is the epic showdown between John Lennon and Wilson Phillips that the world has been waiting for. Both those artists wrote good songs called "Hold On", but we all know that everything on this blog is a thinly-veiled excuse to talk about some lesser-known bands I've been listening to lately. And two of those bands had great songs called "Hold On".

One is a 1968 single by Sharon Tandy, the first white singer ever signed to Stax Records. The interesting thing about Tandy's singles from this period is that they were not the blue-eyed soul you'd expect from a South African singer signed to Stax. They were recorded with UK freakbeat band Les Fleur de Lys, and it's easy to see why the songs are now often credited to "Les Fleur de Lys with Sharon Tandy" - Tandy's voice matches the band's music well, but this is heavy, R&B-influenced psych-rock. It starts with a scorching riff and has an impressive solo in the middle section that effectively draws the spotlight entirely away from Tandy. It's a great song, and I like the spacey reverb on Tandy's voice, but the truth is that the b-side to Tandy's "Hold On" single is a superior track. "Daughter of the Sun" also features Les Fleur de Lys, and it has an even better psych sound that moves away from the primitive freakbeat approach.

My other preferred "Hold On" is by Dutch twee-noise band the Nightblooms, from their '93 album 24 Days at Catastrophe Cafe. I bought this album not long after it came out, expecting (for some reason) that it would sound like the Pooh Sticks. I was unpleasantly surprised to find the album smeared with huge, fuzzy guitar sounds and muted, baby-ish vocals - it was my first encounter with shoegaze rock. I've come to love this sound, but I was hoping for something a little more "pop" at the time. The one track that I loved from the start, though, was "Hold On", a brief, harmony-heavy number with the familiar Nightblooms handclaps and a nice vocal hook. And I have to admit that the solo in this song is more concise and melodic to my ears than the craziness by Les Fleur de Lys in their "Hold On", so I've got to give this one to the Dutch kids.

Winner: THE NIGHTBLOOMS

"Hold On" by Les Fleur de Lys with Sharon Tandy

"Hold On" by the Nightblooms