I have always liked Graham Gouldman's 1960s pop tunes - that's before he formed 10cc. The guy was a prolific writer, for sure: between 1965 and 1967 alone, he wrote "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul" and "Evil Hearted You" for the Yardbirds, "Look Through Any Window" (with Charles Silverman) and "Bus Stop" for the Hollies, "Listen People", "No Milk Today" and "East West" for Herman's Hermits, "Pamela, Pamela" and "The Impossible Years" for Wayne Fontana, "Behind the Door" for St. Louis Union (later covered by Cher), and "Tallyman" for Jeff Beck - and the latter is today's tune.
After he left the Yardbirds, Beck worked with pop producer Mickie Most, and by all accounts it was not a good match. But he got one semi-hit which went on to achieve cult status in the UK ("Hi-Ho Silver Lining", which Beck later characterized as "a toilet seat around my neck") and then there's this tune, which I have always liked. Non-English folks won't know what a tallyman was so a short explanation is in order. Basically, a tallyman was a door-to-door salesman who sold all sorts of stuff on time (or "on tick", as the Brits say - which will explain the last line of the song). Need a winter coat but can't afford one? No problem! Just go into debt to the tallyman! So this was a figure towards which people had ambivalent feelings, to say the least.
I used a fair amount of gear on this - a Jazzmaster for some background chords, a Dillion Mosrite clone for the solo, a Les Paul for the background solo fills, and I can't remember what else. I think it's a great pop tune - short, and to the point.
Song link:
https://hearthis.at/tyrannocaster/tallyman-2g-14/
Jazzmaster baritone, btw.
