No Milk Today: Difference between revisions

"No Milk Today"
"No Milk Today"
Song
B-side	"My Reservation's Been Confirmed"

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Revision as of 22:56, 21 August 2008

No Milk Today is a song that was written by Graham Gouldman and originally recorded by British pop band Herman's Hermits. It was first released as a single by the Mancunian group in October 1966 and, with the b-side My Reservation's Been Confirmed, enjoyed moderate chart success, reaching #35 in the US and peaking at #7 in the UK.
The song, which is dominated by its downcast reflective verses and neatly complemented by its interjecting upbeat corus, was the second major song Gouldman wrote for Herman's Hermits (the previous being Listen People, a US #3) and had the difficult task of not only being a follow-up to his first Hermits single but also to the bands previous record Dandy, which was also big a success with the American market.
Despite its failure to maintain the standard of its predecessors, the single remains significant due to the fact that it was the first track for which the band employed an orchestra.
The band's lead singer Peter Noone also recalls the song with a particular fondness, saying (in an interview with the Forgotten Hits newsletter):

"Personally I think 'No Milk Today' is Herman's Hermits' best recording, and perfectly captures the moment and the feel of Manchester terraced houses and what was the end of a British era. I recall it was made at Lansdown Studios and that we recorded a few other songs that day, probably 'There's A Kind Of Hush,' 'Dandy' and 'No Milk Today.' This was in the period where we (Mick and I) had just stopped using The Hermits on the recordings and were using the best musicians available to us to try to keep up with what had suddenly become The British Invasion. We were supposed to deliver 48 tracks a year to MGM so we were always scrambling to catch up. I recall that John Paul Jones played bass guitars (an upright and a fender bass) on the tracks and was also responsible for the arrangements which I dare say are brilliant on all 3 tracks but I know he liked 'No Milk Today' and I would suggest that his arrangement turned this perfect Graham Gouldman song into a hit. I think that after we had the tracks down then I did the lead vocal and then Karl Green, Keith Hopwood and I did the backgrounds, the songs were mixed and that was it."

The track went on to be included on the band's 1967 studio album There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World and in the US, the song was also re-released as the b-side to the album's title-track There's a Kind of Hush, this time climbing all the way to #4.
Later the song was recorded by Gouldman himself as the sole single (released with The Impossible Years) from his 1968 debut album The Graham Gouldman Thing and, in 2006, it was included on the compilation album Greatest Hits... And More, released by Gouldman's own band 10cc.

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 <br />The band's lead singer Peter Noone also recalls the song with a particular fondness, saying (in an interview with the Forgotten Hits newsletter):
 <blockquote>
-Personally I think 'No Milk Today' is Herman's Hermits' best recording, and perfectly captures the moment and the feel of Manchester terraced houses and what was the end of a British era. I recall it was made at Lansdown Studios and that we recorded a few other songs that day, probably 'There's A Kind Of Hush,' 'Dandy' and 'No Milk Today.' This was in the period where we (Mick and I) had just stopped using The Hermits on the recordings and were using the best musicians available to us to try to keep up with what had suddenly become The British Invasion. We were supposed to deliver 48 tracks a year to MGM so we were always scrambling to catch up. I recall that John Paul Jones played bass guitars (an upright and a fender bass) on the tracks and was also responsible for the arrangements which I dare say are brilliant on all 3 tracks but I know he liked 'No Milk Today' and I would suggest that his arrangement turned this perfect Graham Gouldman song into a hit. I think that after we had the tracks down then I did the lead vocal and then Karl Green, Keith Hopwood and I did the backgrounds, the songs were mixed and that was it.
+"Personally I think 'No Milk Today' is Herman's Hermits' best recording, and perfectly captures the moment and the feel of Manchester terraced houses and what was the end of a British era. I recall it was made at Lansdown Studios and that we recorded a few other songs that day, probably 'There's A Kind Of Hush,' 'Dandy' and 'No Milk Today.' This was in the period where we (Mick and I) had just stopped using The Hermits on the recordings and were using the best musicians available to us to try to keep up with what had suddenly become The British Invasion. We were supposed to deliver 48 tracks a year to MGM so we were always scrambling to catch up. I recall that John Paul Jones played bass guitars (an upright and a fender bass) on the tracks and was also responsible for the arrangements which I dare say are brilliant on all 3 tracks but I know he liked 'No Milk Today' and I would suggest that his arrangement turned this perfect Graham Gouldman song into a hit. I think that after we had the tracks down then I did the lead vocal and then Karl Green, Keith Hopwood and I did the backgrounds, the songs were mixed and that was it."
 </blockquote>
 <br />The track went on to be included on the band's 1967 studio album [[There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World]] and in the US, the song was also re-released as the b-side to the album's title-track [[There's a Kind of Hush]], this time climbing all the way to #4.