from NIGEL OLSSON
Music by David Foster Lyrics by Nigel Olsson & Jozy Pollock
This week, let’s go back to the mid-seventies when David Foster was a young, A-list session player, but already developing other impressive skills as an arranger and songwriter. One of Foster’s main connections of those years was with Sir Elton John’s legendary drummer, Nigel Olsson. Foster co-wrote, arranged and played on several tracks of Olsson’s 1975 self-titled album.
One of those collaborations was entitled “Something’s Lacking In Me.” That irresistible, up-tempo jam was inspired by the finest Philadelphia soul that can be found in the archives. Another Foster/Olsson co-write on Nigel Olsson was “Girl We’ve Got To Keep On,” a romantic ballad that’s this Song of the Week.
“Girl We’ve Got To Keep On” shows the impressive melodic appeal of those early Foster instrumental tracks. It had an acoustic piano-based arrangement, harmonic progression with sweeping strings and evocative vocal harmonies which foreshadow those successful things that will come to Foster in the next few years. Vocally, Olsson handled the material well. Olsson’s tenor often went into a delicate falsetto and flowed rather nicely with the song’s melody. “Girl We’ve Got To Keep On” was one of the singles released from Nigel Olsson, but, like its parent album and despite its evident radio-friendly appeal, it didn’t chart.
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Nigel-Olsson-Nigel-Olsson-1975-LP-RIP-08-Girl-We´ve-Got-To-Keep-On.mp3|titles=Girl We’Ve Got To Keep On|artists=Nigel Olsson]
- Lead Vocals & Drums: Nigel Olsson
- Keyboards: David Foster
- Guitar: Steve Cropper, Richie Zito, Dean Parks
- Bass: Dee Murray
- Backing Vocals: Carmen Twillie, Venette Gloud & Kathy Collieren Twillie, Venette Gloud & Kathy Collier
- Strings Arrangement by Gene Page
- Produced by Robert Appere
Lyrics
No Lyrics