My Top 1000 Songs #483: Save It For Later
I closely associate this song with the whole early 80s new wave vibe; but, to be honest, I didn't really develop an affection for the song until a few years later, through a cover version.
I was kinda lukewarm on the English Beat back in the day (or The Beat, as I guess they're called over there, but not for those of us familiar with the US power-poppers of the same name). "Mirror In The Bathroom" was pretty inescapable for awhile, as was their cover of "Tears Of A Clown," and the overplay at high school & college parties kinda kept me at arms' length.
But Pete Townshend did a live version of "Save It For Later" on his 1986 Deep End Live LP, and included a studio version as a bonus track on the CD reissue of 1985's (underrated) White City, and I totally fell in love with it. That sent me back to the Beat's third and final LP, 1982's Special Beat Service, and I kicked myself for not picking up on it sooner (probably because the song was overshadowed by the record's big single "I Confess," which I've never enjoyed).
It's a pretty straight pop track, less reliant on the party ska sound of the band's other work, and there's something about the guitar hook that just pulls me in. It apparently pulled Pete Townshend in, too. I heard him give an interview where he described noodling around with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (who played on White City), and they were trying to play "Save It For Later" but couldn't figure out the guitar tuning... so they called Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling, who was needlessly a little incredulous to get a phone call from two of the most famous rock guitarists on the planet asking him for his guitar tuning.
Live 1982:Pete Townshend live:
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