And it's the singer, the late Bill Burkette (1942-2018) of the Vogues. Burkette's recent death added another layer of melancholy to the group's 1966 hit, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who teamed for "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " (the Righteous Brothers), "Uptown" (the Crystals), "Kicks" and "Hungry" for Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." Compared to that brilliant resume, Weil's lyrics for "Magic Town" may not be quite that strong--at least, the words don't look like poetry on paper. That's where Bill Burkette's beautiful singing comes in.
The Vogues, from the Pittsburgh area, had a superb hit single, "Five O'Clock World" in 1965, and a perky cover of Petula Clark's "You're the One" (I would suggest avoiding the version with the awful orchestration dubbed over the guitar break that appeared on their greatest hits album). After that, the band seemed to go backwards with the pure mush of "Turn Around, Look at Me" and other atrocities, where the Ames Brothers seemed to provide the inspiration for their ever-growing stilted sound.
But "Magic Town" is a small masterpiece, a moody lament pushed across by terrific harmonies and minimal instrumentation, and with a feel somewhat akin to "Lovin' Feelin'."
They told me the streets were all paved with gold
But these dirty sidewalks are grey
and concrete cold
They said neon lights were a beautiful sight
But how 'bout the one blinking in my room all night?
Throughout the subdued agitation and disappointment in the verses and choruses, Burkette takes unusual vocal turns, crying out "where's the magic/in this magic town?" and then following the stately piano break with "I'm gonna find it girl/if it can be found"--the second half of that couplet is delivered with all the grace and skill of Smokey Robinson.
The record has a yearning quality of someone who is either shattering or pushing hard against cynicism--the second description characterizes the kind of realization that I've been having as I grow older and find my life to be less comfortable than ever before. It sounds like the Vogues tapped into that type of disillusionment fifty years before I did. I'm okay, if you're wondering; I'm just continuing to lower my expectations of what life holds lately. The song is not easy to sing yet it's been fun for me to have a go at it.
I was nearly eleven years old when "Magic Town" was a minor hit; I liked it, even though I didn't buy the single. This week, I am incessantly spinning my CD copy of a perfectly realized performance from the late Bill Burkette.