Oh to be the bastard offspring of "When the Levee Breaks" and "Stranglehold" a real song credited to a fake band featured on a real record. Only recently even became aware of the existence of this 7" single from 20 years ago, as peculiar a promo item to support a movie from that time period as one could imagine.

I had no less than two co-workers pop their heads into my office while listening to this song, so clearly, this one elicits a reaction. As classic a song with this particular profile as one could ever intuit.

Weird to say I'm equally moved by the moody "Fever Dog" demo here? Jason Lee's vocals, slightly tweaked so that they're almost indistinguishable as being "his" are a delight. And "Piggyback Ride" is...holy shit it seems like even in the spirit of 1970's rock and roll hedonism that the lyrics here...well, let's just say it's clear to me why this song isn't prominently featured on the massive super-deluxe "Almost Famous" box set that was just released. There is an abbreviated version of the song, minus the offense, featured on the 7-inch included in the boxset, but really...listening on this promo single from the original timing of the film...it really seems like all parties involved would like to pretend that this doesn't exist and I don't blame them.

I can't seem to find a digitized version of "Piggyback Ride" or even a transcription of its lyrics anywhere. Thank goodness.