“Oh, she can have you, I just want you one more time…”
Some of these songs require some explanation, a little analysis. And sometimes, it’s simple. This is a simple one.
Sweet Jesus, that voice.
Coming out of the Vancouver scene, the Headpins were a solid rock outfit, but there’s only one thing that made them exceptional. They basically had the female, Canadian equivalent to Sammy Hagar. Darby Mills manages vocals that have the scream of metal and the melodic gift of pop.
Their iconic song that gets played to this day is “Don’t It Make Ya Feel”. But I love, love, love the single from their follow up album, the breakup song “Just One More Time”. Mills shreds this from start to finish, pulling out one more impossible note after another. You think there’s a quieter bridge ahead and, no, it’s just more howling. That last bridge to the chorus, she wrings every bit of emotion out of a pretty basic rock lyric.
“Nooooo, I don’t care/if she’s there/she ain’t got nothin’ on me
Aaahh, she can have you, I just want ya/ one more time, baby, listen to me”
There’s a whole journey in two lines, defiance, strut, hurt and desperation all mixed in there. It’s just a great hard rock performance.
Plus the video, where she goes all “Fatal Attraction” on the yuppie douche, is a hoot. Fun fact — it was directed by Doug Bennett. Yup, the Doug with all the Slugs. Ladies and gentlemen, in care you forgot, the Headpins….
Slinky bass line in this one, it holds up the bottom and the rear of the song like it's saying, yeah man, this is cool, let's keep groovin' along. Just like Don't It Make Ya Feel and a Chilliwack hit or two.
Don't know this one! She looks a bit like Bonnie Tyler but has higher voice.