"She's so hard to shake" is a song by Australian hard rock band Kahvas Jute. It was released in 1971 on their only album "Wide Open". It is one of the greatest songs of all time. Just because it rocks so hard. It also happened to be one of the unjustly forgotten gems of 1970s. Listen to the song and think about it. It is weird how they managed not to make a splash.
Kahvas Jute was ultra-tight, hyper-intense outfit with murderer's row of talent. For instance - it was an early showcase of guitar extraordinaire Tim Gaze (not that one) and bass magus Bob Daisley (who later made a man out of Ozzy Osbourne). And they were just a couple of guys who wanted to play some rock and roll.
"She's so hard to shake" is a song on the most rock'n'roll topic of all - "relationship with women (man, it is hard)". It is generic. Lyrics doesn't mean much beyond that. It is just a semi-coherent placeholder cannon fodder "to be sang".
From aesthetic standpoint the song sounds as if Led Zeppelin were possessed by ELP (basically Blue Oyster Cult before they happened. tee-hee). But it is so much more. "She's so hard to shake" is rolling and tumbling, roaring and soaring sonic sizzle reel. There are no boring parts. You got to hear it to believe it. It is pure perfection from a formal standpoint.
The structure is rock solid. It is a straightforward rock song with verses and choruses followed by showcase soloing. It is the performances that make it special. The arrangement is airtight monolithic - you can't really think about separate elements. "She's so hard to shake" is built around a simple unstoppable swinging drum beat which relentlessly propels the song forwards. It is imposing and menacing. Dannie Davidson is a juggernaut. He makes groove tornado with his sticks.
Main melody is a combination of entwined bass line and guitar riffs bursting with solo fills. There is solo at every turn and each time it gives a chance for everyone to shine. Guitar solos are followed by bass solos coupled with some elaborate drumming. This playful back and forth is sublime. Dual guitars of Dennis Wilson (not that one) and Tim Gaze (not that one) are pure bliss. They unleash onslaught of bristling fuzzy wah-wah blitz. Guitar sounds are cactus like, riddled with spikes raining with needles. They rumble along "with a purposeful grimace and terrible sound".
Bob Daisley's bass lines are very busy. He chugs through the song so intensely you might think that Bob might lose his arm in the end. Bass lines move like bloodstream throughout the song. You can compare his style to the way Jannick Top performed his parts on Magma's Mekanik Kommando.
"She's so hard to shake" is a master-class of making even the most generic song work. You just need try hard enough.
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