Violet and Blue

[DashingDan]

I have always enjoyed this song--I bought the AAO LP when it came out--with a lead vocal on the chorus that is preacher-like in delivery, AND those lovely low F#s "hard on my heart", AND the dreamy choir of Stevie's in the background, and the murmur at the start, and the ad libs at the end. All great stuff.
What I've always not liked about the recording: the thuddy sounding drums and sluggish performance of them. It's at odds (no pun intended) with the driving nature of the song. It's as if someone told the recording studio's drum tech, "just keep the time, and we'll get someone else to come in and overdub."