Archive for the ‘Deram’ Category
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Listen: Dance Round The Maypole / Acid Gallery
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It was December 2000, and I was stranded in England for a few days. Actually, I was jamming to get home on the Friday, when early that morning I got a call from Will Botwin, then president at Columbia, asking very nicely if I could stay through Monday night for an Emiliana Torrini showcase. Will was always the greatest guy, awesome boss – how do you say no? I mean, he could have just told me I needed to do it. Period. But it was never his way.
So I suddenly found myself with three full days/nights on my hands. Reading the latest Mojo on the flight over, I was annoyed to be missing The Roy Wood Christmas Extravaganza Tour. I should have juggled the trip to take it in – by then it was too late. But hey, now that I’m here for a few days extra – let me check this out again.
Sure enough, that evening Roy Wood was a couple hours away, in Wolverhampton I seem to recall. Jackie Hyde in the touring/artist relations department at Sony got me tickets and passes God love her. And I was on the 6 pm train heading north I think – alone. No one was interested in joining me. Grass is always greener.
I get there around 8, and decided to try speaking with Roy Wood, why waste this backstage pass? The band/crew etc are all around and tell me Roy has gone down the road to the pub. Ok. I wander off down the wet, deserted street and find said establishment. Walk in, there propped up against the bar is a lone Roy Wood, nursing a pint. I proceed over, and no problem, he’s as friendly as I’d hoped. All talk about the past welcomed. Really fun guy.
I was always curious about the Acid Gallery single. He wrote and produced it, but it sure did sound like The Move to me. Was it? He confirmed his participation but no, it wasn’t The Move. Instead it was “some guys who were on Deram back then, name escapes me”.
Well was it The Syn, or The Eyes Of Blue, um, Tintern Abbey?
“No, these guys had a hit a few years later with ‘Yellow River’ “.
Bingo: The Outer Limits.
“That’s them” he confirms. “Nice piece of trainspotting”.
Listen: Just One More Chance / The Outer Limits
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Actually The Outer Limits changed their name to Christie and had that smash. Main writer in both bands was Jeff Christie and he’d originally written ‘Yellow River’ for The Tremeloes but decided to record it himself after they dragged their feet. The rest is history, I guess. I loved that Outer Limits single, ‘Just One More Chance’ at the time, summer ‘67.
Listen: Great Train Robbery / The Outer Limits
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But the follow up, ‘Great Train Robbery’, holy whatever…talk about British sounding. And on Immediate’s subsidiary imprint, Instant. Even better. Now why Immediate needed another in house label is pretty funny actually. Still very nice label and stock sleeve. Well done Andrew Loog Oldham.
The Roy Wood Christmas Extravaganza was a total treat that night. 12 piece, all female band. Sounding full scale, Phil Spector live. Reproducing all those Wizzard hits flawlessly. Roy kitted out in black teddy-boy jacket, purple lapels, purple streaks in the infamous do and a lavender Strat. Once a star, always a star.
The finale, ‘Blackberry Way’ and ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ being sung along loudly by a full theater audience with fake snow falling on the stage. Doesn’t get much better.
One last closing bit to the Roy Wood pub conversation:
Will you fill out my juke box tab?
“No problem”.
Above: Jukebox tab filled out by Roy Wood
Tags: Acid Gallery, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jukebox Tab, Roy Wood, The Eyes Of Blue, The Move, The Outer Limits, The Syn, The Tremeloes
Posted in Acid Gallery, Andrew Loog Oldham, CBS, Deram, Emiliana Torrini, Immediate, Instant, Jackie Hyde, Jukebox Tab, Roy Wood, The Eyes Of Blue, The Move, The Outer Limits, The Syn, Tintern Abbey, Will Botwin | No Comments »
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Listen: The Sounds / Ten Years After
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Abrupt false ending followed by slight reprise, non-musical sound effects, over echoed background vocals: all quickly becoming standard psychedelic production ideas by ‘67/’68. Simple to observe now, but then…it was ‘pass the headphones’ stuff.
Mike Vernon, I believe signed Ten Years After to Deram prior to starting probably the best UK blues label in terms of both quality and success, Blue Horizon. I’m guessing it was this band’s original musical style that most likely drew them together.
‘The Sounds’, although recorded as a single during that short period between album one and two, and released spring ‘68 (UK B side / US A side), actually marked the beginning of a unique songwriting style that blossomed fully on STONEHENGE, their third full length and first of a flawless trilogy (SSSSH and CRICKLEWOOD GREEN).
Ten Years After were about to be on a roll, due to a wildly blistering performance at Woodstock of ‘I’m Going Home’. It’s original recording was released as a followup 7″ to ‘The Sounds’. Coupled with ‘Hear Me Calling’ meant it became a classic double sider. The Woodstock version made both the film and soundtrack album, hence Ten Years After enjoyed the perfect artist development curve making those (and other albums) deservedly successful and their live draw solid for years.
‘The Sounds’, at time of release, could be found nowhere, and surprise surprise, heard nowhere in the US – certainly not upstate. It took me years to snag a copy, around ‘74 I would guess, when then MCA salesman Ed Terracino (former London Records employee) gave me a stack of singles from his basement stash. I am forever grateful Ed if you’re reading.
Never did see them play this one, and maybe they never did. It must have been around SSSSH when they made their way to Syracuse, with Humble Pie supporting. It’s was Humble Pie’s first US tour, and although nowhere near as interested in their boogie rock as the music of the member’s previous bands (The Small Faces and The Herd), I went along, being a huge Ten Years After, but also with the possibility of meeting Humble Pie as a bonus.
I’ll admit, Humble Pie were surprisingly great live, still bean pole skinny, clad in lime, purple and pink velvet pants/suits and little girl blouses, America hadn’t influenced their wardrobe or haircuts yet, so it was well enjoyable.
Ten Years After, on the other hand, appeared bored and sullen. No biggie – it happens. Playing Syracuse understandably nothing to look forward to I guess.
Afterwards, I made my way backstage, really in search of Humble Pie to stalk them for Small Faces and Herd details, when I came across Chick Churchill moping dismissively against a wall. Probably an unpleasant day for the fellow, and I suppose me excitedly getting to the real point of our conversation: where are Humble Pie, didn’t help. Although I loved those Ten Years After albums mentioned above, he did throw a temporary wet blanket on my mission to covert any and all to his band.
Tags: Blue Horizon, Chick Churchill, Deram, Ed Terracino, Gus Dudgeon, Humble Pie, Mike Vernon, Ten Years After, The Herd, The Small Faces
Posted in Blue Horizon, Chick Churchill, Deram, Ed Terracino, Gus Dudgeon, Humble Pie, Mike Vernon, Ten Years After, The Herd, The Small Faces | No Comments »
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Listen: Heart Trouble / The Eyes Of Blue
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THE ESSENTIAL NORTHERN SOUL PRICE GUIDE describes this one as ‘Pop Northern Soul’, proceeding to, well, split hairs, describing it and them as ‘pop records by pop artists (usually white) that have the necessary beat and are recognisable as being non-soul singers’. Huh? One of the things I loved about this single was Gary Pickford-Hopkins’ soulful voice, sounding not unlike Darrell Banks to me. But no worries, I live by that price guide and I recommend it highly. It’s the good book you curl up with in front of the fireplace during a blizzard, but then that’s me.
I got this one when released, specifically because it was on Deram. It was very English, due to the backup vocals particularly – and was produced by Deram in house guy, Noel Walker. He had a sound that I liked.
In ‘72 I got to meet Gary and talk to him about The Eyes Of Blue. By then he was the vocalist for Wild Turkey, Glenn Cornick’s band after leaving Jethro Tull. Regrettably named, they were pretty hot live and I liked their first album – I think I may have been the only person on earth who did – or at least admitted it. That night, Wild Turkey were supporting Black Sabbath and not unusually, I was more into the opening obscure UK group. Nowadays, both Eyes Of Blue Deram singles are Northern Soul collectables, listing for $40-60 each. I bought many copies, all for less than a dollar each – in fact one for a mere penny – in the prior 25 year stretch. I just couldn’t pass them up. The lesson here is, you can never have enough spares, plus one day…they may be worth something.
Posted in Darrell Banks, Deram, Gary Pickford-Hopkins, Glenn Cornick, Jethro Tull, Northern Soul, Northern Soul Price Guide, The Eyes Of Blue, Wild Turkey | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Listen: Find My Way Back Home / The Nashville Teens
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Last night’s season premier of MAD MEN ended with The Nashville Teens’ ‘Tobacco Road’, their one decent sized US hit. It reminded me I should share this story.
Back in the late 80’s when I worked A&R for Elektra, a guy came to play me his demo. Nice kid, worked at Colony Records a few blocks away on Broadway. In the 60’s, it was a haven for every release available, and the whole back wall was a 45 only counter manned by several employees – and open until 2AM. Always a hubbub of activity, the clerks were constantly juggling customers and going into the back, searching for whatever single you desired, and usually returning with it in hand.
Problem was they sold everything at list price – then 99¢. Seemed a fortune at the time, so you had to have unsuccessfully scoured all other shops before taking that plunge. I used to coax my Aunt Carm into the shop every summer when she’d take me on my yearly pilgrimage to the city.
Anyways this fellow and I get to talking, and I ask if they still have all those 7′ singles in the back sorted by label (which is how they did in the 60’s – you needed to know which label and preferably it’s catalog # as well). “Yes, they’re still set up that way”. So I tell him some of my favorite ones: Deram, London, Sue, Fontana.
A few days later, he comes back to Elektra. I get a call from the front desk informing me he’s upfront. What the fuck does he want – the demo wasn’t great and I told him so already. Turns out he thought I was a nice guy, and wanted to encourage me to let him return with new songs – so he just grabbed all the old stock on those labels and brought them over as a present. A heart stopper of a moment.
‘Find My Way Back Home’ (on the short lived blue swirl label with the WHITE instead of BLACK London logo) was one of many, many jems.
True story.
Tags: Colony Records, Deram, Elektra, Fontana, London, Mad Men, Sue, The Nashville Teens
Posted in Colony Records, Deram, Elektra, Fontana, London, Mad Men, Sue, The Nashville Teens | No Comments »
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Listen: Gonna Fix You Good / The Alan Bown Set
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What a great idea. Take the band’s leader, put ‘The’ in front of his name – and an exclamation point at the end. Need for band name: solved.
Previously monikered The Alan Bown Set, and then leaning more toward a sometimes noisy soul sound, the band covered Little Anthony & The Imperials’ ‘Gonna Fix You Good (Every Time You’re Bad)’ and proceeded to get Northern Soul love years later. At the time though, ‘65 – ‘66, they struggled.
Listen: Toyland / The Alan Bown!
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Switching labels, name and genre in ‘67, and jumping on board the psychedelic train that seemingly overnight had a lot of passengers, they hooked up with the Mike Hurst who did their future productions.
The Alan Bown! recorded a pop-psych classic OUTWARD BOWN (simply titled THE ALAN BOWN! in the US), from which ‘Toyland’ was the second single. Until recently, I had no idea it charted on the Cashbox Top 100, peaking at #96. Usually when a single would get into the 90’s on Cashbox, Billboard or Record World, it would at least ‘bubble under’ the other two publication’s charts. Not the case with ‘Toyland’ in Billboard’s ‘Bubbling Under The Hot 100′ section – hence I missed out on the single’s activity, not having regular access to Cashbox. ‘Toyland’ really did deserve to be heard and become a hit.
In the UK, the week the band got their Top Of The Pops appearance, their current UK label, MGM, had a pressing plant strike – so with no copies in the stores, their single fell out of the NME chart (where it was #26) and that was that.
Listen: Gypsy Girl / The Alan Bown!
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Treading water through ‘68 – ‘69, they signed with Deram releasing my other favourite 7″ from them, ‘Gypsy Girl’. Singer Jess Roden up and split to go solo, with Robert Palmer replacing him, and re-recording many of the vocals on the new album.
Next stop for The Alan Bown! was Island in ‘70, where Robert Palmer’s vocals on the upcoming album, LISTEN were re-recorded by new vocalist Gordon Neville once he chose to leave for a solo career.
This pattern must have gotten pretty boring for Alan Bown himself. An even odder coincidence being that by then, The Alan Bown!, Robert Palmer and Jess Roden were all signed to Island and no doubt seeing each other regularly in the label’s infamous canteen. Can you imagine the unspoken competition?
Tags: Billboard, Bubbling Under The Hot 100, Cashbox, Deram, Gordon Neville, Island, Jess Roden, Little Anthony & The Imperials, MGM, Mike Hurst, NME, Record World, Robert Palmer, The Alan Bown!, Top Of The Pops
Posted in Billboard, Bubbling Under The Hot 100, Cashbox, Deram, Gordon Neville, Island, Jess Roden, Little Anthony & The Imperials, MGM, Mike Hurst, NME, Record World, Robert Palmer, The Alan Bown!, Top Of The Pops | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Listen: I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman / Whistling Jack Smith
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I know exactly what you’re thinking. Why in the hell is he writing about Whistling Jack Smith? Do I really need to bother visiting this blog again?
Well Billy Moeller aka Whistling Jack Smith (brother of Tommy Moeller who’s band, Unit 4 +2, Billy sometimes roadied for) was on Deram. All things cool in ‘67 were on Deram, even The Les Reed Orchestra and Chim Kothari were hip by association – not to mention of course The Syn, The Move, Timebox, The Eyes Of Blue, The Crocheted Doughnut Ring, Tintern Abbey, Warm Sounds, The 23rd Turnoff…you get the point. And I was only too pleased that it had become a hit (#20 Billboard) in the States. I wanted Deram to stay in business, so to me this was good. Plus it was downright fun to hear it on the radio. Harmless, laugh along, don’t be so fucking serious music – nothing like droning funeral parlour label mates Procol Harum.
So yes, I liked Whistling Jack Smith.
And they released an album as well. This was crazy fun now.
Listen: Hey There Little Miss Mary / Whistling Jack Smith
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Next, the followup. Well a growth in sound was clearly in line if the career was to build the way Decca chairman, and apparently iron clad ruler, Sir Edward Lewis must have decided it should, given an LP was approved in short order, when hitmakers The Move or hipsters The Syn were not so fortunate. Within months of the ‘I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman’s spring/summer UK/US run, seems the public was inexplicably not following WJS’s musical moves and ‘Hey There Little Miss Mary’ was ignored by radio, press as well as said consumers – this despite regrouping the original hit making team, writers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway with arranger Ivor Raymonde and producer extraordinaire (and he seriously did a LOT of great records) Noel Walker (not to be confused with Scott Walker of course).
Uh oh.
Listen: Ja-Da / Whistling Jack Smith
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No worries. There is proven truth to the ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’ theory- hence back to a hysterically fun, basic re-write of ‘I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman’. ‘Ja-Da’ so ridiculously similar, I’m surprised Cook/Greenaway didn’t chase the publishing. I’m glad I own it though, cause it is both fun and funny to play on occasion.
Again, not a blip, bubble or hint toward potential success. Sir Edward was not about to let this talent just wither on the branch.
Listen: Only When I Larf / Whistling Jack Smith
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Then along comes a big break, just what the label needed and was hoping for, a 60’s version of an iPod commercial: the theme to a movie. The potential box office melter ,’Only When I Larf’.
‘Goldfinger’, ‘To Sir With Love’ and ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ move aside.
Instead trip, stumble, fall. A flop.
The writing was on the wall. Poor Billy should have never left the steady work of moving Unit 4 +2’s gear around. Now not only was he finished, they were between third base and home too, so no going back.
Can you imagine how awesome it would be if Whistling Jack Smith’s career had been allowed grow as it deserved to. He would have been at Live Aid, whistled on ‘We Are The World’, been remixed by Moby, collaborated with super talent MIA, not to mention help global leaders talk through their issues, met the Pope and gotten to put on well deserved weight. Yes he could have been Bono, and I don’t mean Sonny.
Except for one other small detail, he never whistled once on his records, instead The Mike Sammes Singers were brought in for the recordings.
Tags: Billboard, Billy Moeller, Bono, Chim Kothari, Deram, Ivor Raymonde, MIA, Moby, Noel Walker, Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Sir Edward Lewis, Sonny Bono, The 23rd Turnoff, The Crocheted Doughnut Ring, The Eyes Of Blue, The Les Reed Orchestra, The Mike Sammes Singers, The Move, The Syn, Timebox, Tintern Abbey, Tommy Moeller, Unit 4 + 2, Warm Sounds, Whistling Jack Smith
Posted in Billboard, Billy Moeller, Bono, Chim Kothari, Deram, Ivor Raymonde, MIA, Noel Walker, Procol Harum, Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Scott Walker, Sir Edward Lewis, Sonny Bono, The 23rd Turnoff, The Crocheted Doughnut Ring, The Eyes Of Blue, The Les Reed Orchestra, The Mike Sammes Singers, The Move, The Syn, Timebox, Tintern Abbey, Tommy Moeller, Unit 4 + 2, Warm Sounds, Whistling Jack Smith | No Comments »
Friday, April 30th, 2010
Listen: Dan The Wing / Mellow Candle
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Howard, Chris and I went to see the Ian Dury movie the other day. It was pretty great – the end bit got a touch depressing but the film certainly brought me right back to how absolutely stunning he and The Blockheads were on stage during their moments in the sun. Never realized Chaz Jankel was such a vital part of the band and songwriting until the credits rolled.
We had Indian lunch prior, and as usual, started digging into a whole lotta obscure record trivia. I was always a fan of UK Decca’s various production deals. One such was with Gruggy Woof. The company included both Neil Slaven and David Hitchcock. Slaven’s production’s seemed to lean more towards the bluesy side (Savoy Brown, Miller Anderson, The Keef Hartley Band, Chicken Shack) whereas Hitchcock tipped more progressive (Caravan, Camel, Cured Air, Genesis). By the way, I don’t have a clue where that rather bad name originated from, but I liked most of the records these guys/their production company were involed with.
For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what single I had in my hands literally earlier that very day, with it’s unlikely David Hitchcock production credit. Given that Howard mastered a slew of these during his apprentice years at Trident, we racked our collective brains to no result.
Well tonight I suddenly remembered: Mellow Candle. Their sole album is insanely valuable, and this single is not far behind. Quite why I’m not sure. I always thought ‘Dan The Wing’ was rather watered down Steeleye Span, sonically more in line with what B & C were releasing: folky prog stuff.
Look deeply into the Decca/Deram release history and you will find many an obscure, highly collectable and hence, steeply priced prog rock array of every flavor. I picked this up for pennies in the dj copy heavy outdoor vendor racks at Cheap Cheap on Soho’s Rupert Street during that summer ‘73 spent in London. In fact, this copy sat there unsold for literally months until finally having been humiliatingly relegated to the 5p row – I just couldn’t pass up the Deram A label – I mean seriously, 5p?
At first it indeed sounded lightweight and weedy, but I eventually got addicted to it’s weaknesses. They are charmingly innocent, now I play it often.
Tags: B & C, Camel, Caravan, Chaz Jankel, Cheapo Cheapo, Chicken Shack, Chris Hall, Curved Air, David Hitchcock, Decca, Deram, Genesis, Gruggy Woof, Howard Thompson, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Mellow Candle, Miller Anderson, Neil Slaven, Savoy Brown, Steeleye Span, The Keef Hartley Band, Trident
Posted in B & C, Camel, Caravan, Chaz Jankel, Cheapo Cheapo, Chicken Shack, Chris Hall, Curved Air, David Hitchcock, Decca, Deram, Genesis, Gruggy Woof, Howard Thompson, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Mellow Candle, Miller Anderson, Neil Slaven, Savoy Brown, Steeleye Span, The Keef Hartley Band, Trident | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Listen: Love / The Virgin Sleep
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For a UK summer ‘67 psychedelic snapshot, Deram were a pretty dependable label. Extending Decca, their parent company’s policy of the previous four years (basically grabbing up as many blossoming bands as possible and awarding them a single or two to see if they had something) gave The Virgin Sleep their 15 minutes. ‘Love’ has ranked respectfully among the most sought after period singles, and obviously for good reason. Sounding not unlike The Troggs’ more druggy tunes, the band modelled this after the Buddhist chant ‘Om Mane Padme Hum’ and logically threw in a sitar. ‘Paint It, Black’ beware.
Listen: Halliford House / The Virgin Sleep
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Produced by in-house Decca staffer, Noel Walker, both ‘Love’ and it’s B side, ‘Halliford House’ left no psychedelic studio trick untried. The crack ending here being solid proof.
Listen: Secret / The Virgin Sleep
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Things went a bit more commercial for their second and last swing at the hit parade. Keith Mansfield was brought in to ‘arrange’. His history was incidental music for TV and film. Nice choice. Didn’t work though, as far as chart success went. Sounding not unlike the future classical ideas The Move would explore makes me wonder if Roy Wood was a fan. Still the psychedelic accolades remained intact, as ‘Secret’ has turned up on a few hardcore comps of the genre.
Listen: Comes A Time / The Virgin Sleep
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As with ‘Secret’, ‘Comes A Time’ was produced by Rod Buckle. He must not have enjoyed the experience given his name never surfaced again, to my knowledge. Despite some nice Honeybus moments, it’s always ignored. This B side really grew on me, by accident if truth be known. The turntable was on repeat.
Tags: Deram, Keith Mansfield, Noel Walker, Rod Buckle, Roy Wood, The Move, The Troggs, The Virgin Sleep
Posted in Deram, Keith Mansfield, Noel Walker, Rod Buckle, Roy Wood, The Honeybus, The Move, The Troggs, The Virgin Sleep | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Listen: Daylight / Georgie Fame
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I think this song may qualify as a bit of a guilty pleasure, as it is a touch schmaltzy, although my pal Phil, who has super taste in music, loves it – then again, it was written by Bobby Womack and now a sought after hit on the Northern Soul circuit. Plus Georgie has such a great voice, and the whole idea that he perfected his sound doing all-nighters at the Flamingo Club on Wardour Street in London during the swinging 60’s alongside Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, is, well, all I really need. Basically he always emulated Mose Allison and conventiently helped invent mod-jazz in the process.
As with some of his early hits like ‘Get Away’, this was produced by the late, great Denny Cordell. When I worked at Island in the early 90’s, Chris Blackwell brought Denny in to oversee A&R. Most everybody got their noses out of joint by his arrival but not me – I mean this was the guy who had produced The Move (He did the whistle sound, fingers to mouth, on ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’), and help start Deram and Regal Zonophone, and then Shelter. So we hit it off immediately, and I often think of the many great times (and meals – he was a serious cook) I had with Denny. Plus he introduced me to so many people from the UK, all of whom would stop by to see him when passing through town. I remember when he brought Tony Colton into my office. He was the vocalist for Heads Hands & Feet (who I became an instant fan of when seeing them open for Humble Pie). Tony had also produced a then obscure, now kind of appreciated gem: ON THE BOARDS by Taste. So this was a big deal to me.
Yeah, Denny was a great great pal….he produced this track as part of the 2nd album Georgie made for Island that the company then proceeded not to issue – still! I mean what hasn’t been released at this point? Island was a great place in many ways, but they had a very bad habit of making albums and not releasing them. I know of a few still in the vaults from Marianne Faithfull, and unfortunately countless others from The Smoke to Don Covay.
So this track, ‘Daylight’, and it’s B side, ‘Three Legged Mule’ came out in ‘77 as a 7″ & 12″ single, and has finally been reissued as part of the ISLAND YEARS ‘74 – ‘76 anthology.
Posted in Bobby Womack, Chris Blackwell, Chris Farlowe, Denny Cordell, Deram, Don Covay, Georgie Fame, Island, John Mayall, Marianne Faithfull, Regal Zonophone, Taste, The Move, The Smoke, Tony Colton | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Listen: Love To Love You / Caravan
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Talk about being smitten after one play. I had seen a few Caravan albums in the stores, but never managed to own one, not until IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK that is. I’d already decided to spring for a UK copy via mail order that coming April, based entirely on it’s title. Without warning, this US single, coupling ‘Love To Love You’ and ‘Golf Girl’, landed in my weekly stack from WMCR, the local adult radio station that miraculously gave me their ‘unplayable’ rock singles all through my high school years. My eyes bugged out seemingly an inch. I couldn’t get home fast enough, tearing through the traffic and risking my life on a bike (red not white) one very slippery, slushy, cold Friday in February ‘71.
Once home, I must have played ‘Love To Love You’ a dozen times, completely anxious for it to end so I could play it all over again. Why had I kept myself in the dark about this band, sounding more British than the British themselves might tolerate. Nothing like that excited high from realizing there’s a whole new back catalog to acquire – something I began plotting on the spot.
In the days before THE RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE and Wikipedia, research needed to be done by hand. Consequently, homework was put aside and out came the back issues of MELODY MAKER and DISC & MUSIC ECHO. I needed every Caravan record – now.
Listen: Golf Girl / Caravan
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Seriously, this next bit is still vivid, like waking up in the middle of the night remembering you forgot to do something and jumping straight out of bed. I’m digging through the magazines looking for Caravan titles and catalog numbers, with the single on repeat. My Dual 1229 turntable came complete with a 45 stacking spindle and was repeat-play capable. A beauty.
Suddenly, boing, it hits me. In all my glee, I haven’t even noticed – was the single a double A promo, or one with a B side. So midway through, off comes the tonearm and…yes! There’s a B side!
‘Golf Girl’ was just as fantastic, beginning with the “selling cups of tea” lyric. It was almost too good to be true. Another song to check off the Caravan catalog completion list.
Saturday morning, straight to the post office, buy the international money order and airmail my advance payment for the full album that day. Come early April, I owned a first pressing of IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK. Everything about that album was magical: the laminated cover, beautiful artwork, pristine deep groove vinyl, inner sleeve, lyrics, production. It even smelled good.
Adding to the magic, Decca moved the band to it’s progressive subsidiary, Deram and deemed the album an initial release in a new deluxe series, assigning the catalog number SDL – R1 as a reward.
Instantly official, Caravan was now my new favorite band. Next, I had to see them live…
Jukebox Tab filled out by Pye Hastings
Tags: Caravan, Decca, Deram, Disc & Music Echo, Dual Turntable, Jukebox Tab, Melody Maker, Pye Hastings, Record Collector Price Guide, WMCR
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Listen: Say You Don’t Mind / Denny Laine
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In 67, when The Moody Blues ditched the blues, they ditched Denny Laine with it. Lead singer extraordinaire, his voice is the one we heard on ‘Go Now’, ‘Everyday’ and ‘Stop’, three super favorites. Their version of ‘Go Now’ still holds it own against the Bessie Banks original. What were these guys thinking?
To this day, current members refuse to acknowledge that first lineup, excluding any of their tracks from Greatest Hits and anthology packages. Lighten up guys.
Still apparently signed to Decca, Denny resurfaced on their newly formed subsidiary Deram, this being the first of two singles and getting a US release. Denny Cordell, The Moody Blues original producer, went in the layoffs too – so decided to stick with the other Denny. Their work together was terrific. Just listen for yourself.
Listen: Fight For My Country / Trevor Burton
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Within a year or so, Trevor Burton left The Move, teaming up with Denny to form Balls. Their lone single, ‘Fight For My Country’, was released in the US under his name, as a one-off for Epic. Unlike the UK version, which ran upwards of 5 minutes, the US promo and stock were edited down to under 3, making for a better track which would not have been out of place on SHAZAM. It’s power deserves the attention much lesser records have achieved, packing so hard a punch, it knocked the wind out of both the band and Trevor’s solo career.
Tags: Balls, Bessie Banks, Denny Cordell, Denny Laine, Deram, Epic, The Moody Blues, The Move, Trevor Burton
Posted in Balls, Bessie Banks, Denny Cordell, Denny Laine, Deram, Epic, The Moody Blues, The Move, Trevor Burton | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Listen: Shoorah Shoorah / Betty Wright
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I was working at Discount Records in the early 70’s when this came in. Discount was a deep catalog chain between ‘65 – ‘75 or so. Their stores were concentrated in the northeast, and their home office was in Scarsdale. The location on the Syracuse University campus was always a haven for the most obscure albums, all the British and west coast names you’d heard of. When I finally got a job there in ‘74, it was a real win. You see, each store could buy direct from the labels. So although it was a chain, you weren’t just allocated the hits. There was serious inventory maintenance and responsibility required. This was of course huge fun.
One weekend, I really got into the old Billboard magazine collection and with intense detail, compiled a many-paged list of singles to order from each of the labels. The one that really came through was London Records. Unlike pretty much all the others, somewhere deep in their fulfillment warehouse were tucked sole copies of countless singles. I opened that big box about a week after placing the order resulting from said weekend, to find crazy London, Parrot and Deram singles from years prior (Them, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, The Honeybus, The Attack, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, The Cryin’ Shames, Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours, Savoy Brown). Ah, the good old days.
But back to Betty’s version of ‘Shoorah Shoorah’. I was very into The Meters around this time and hence insatiable for all things Allen Toussaint. Reading that he had written this one in the Billboard singles review section that particular week, I ordered myself a copy. Smart move. It was a classic. I proceeded to get in a box, and with in store play sold them through nicely. Wish I had kept a few more.
Tags: Allen Toussaint, Betty Wright, Deram, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, London, Parrot, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Savoy Brown, The Attack, The Cryin' Shames, The Honeybus, Them
Posted in Allen Toussaint, Alston, Betty Wright, Billboard, Deram, Discount Records, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, London, Parrot, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Savoy Brown, TK, The Attack, The Cryin' Shames, The Honeybus, Them | No Comments »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Listen: Flowerman / The Syn
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In January ‘06, original members Steve Nardelli (vocals), Gerard Johnson (keyboards) and Chris Squire (bass) put together a lineup (sans Pete Banks) of The Syn and toured America. Huh? Why? I suppose the drawing power via the Yes connection was enough to fill the small clubs they played. It certainly worked in New York. They were great when they clumped together three of the four songs that made up their two lone Deram singles from ‘67. They sounded exactly like what the entire audience seemed to have waited almost three decades to hear, and thankfully didn’t try to squeeze into the orginal paisley coats and floral patterned trousers adorned in their youth. Perfect, gave us all tingles.
‘Flowerman’ was properly titled for that summer of ‘67. Although perfect from the very start, it does go to eleven at 1:34, when the horn riff adds an unexpected and period piece sonic (a wonderfully typical studio staple from the Decca/Deram production handbook).
I even found the location of the picture sleeve shot: It’s in Fitzroy Square, just off Tottenham Court Road, when walking west toward Cleveland Street, in front of The London School Of Economics residence halls. Just happened to stumble on it one wet, deserted Sunday afternoon in November a few years back. I froze in my tracks.
Tags: Chris Squire, Deram, Flash, Pete Banks, The Syn, Yes
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Sunday, October 11th, 2009
Listen: Havana Anna / The Crocheted Doughnut Ring
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Listen: Happy Castle / The Crocheted Doughnut Ring
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Sometimes the great thing about a truly obscure band, one where none of the members went on to bigger fame and success, is just that. You get to keep them as a limited edition, private pleasure. Having changed their name and label in ‘67 to fit in with the currant craze, psychedelia, I’m glad to report – or sadly for the fellows I suppose – they kept their obscurity intact despite a nice production from Peter Eden. Sounding similar to Decca’s Toby Twirl (that’s a good thing), they’re honorary members of CHOCOLATE SOUP type collections these days.
Listen: Gee Too Tiger / The Force Five
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Before their new found sound, label and name, most of them soldiered forward initially as The Force Five, recording five echo drenched RnB styled singles, this one actually getting a US release. A must for every decent collection, it clearly had high hopes of sitting beside singles from The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things, I’m guessing.
Tags: Ascot, Decca, Deram, Peter Eden, The Crocheted Doughnut Ring, The Force Five, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, Toby Twirl
Posted in Ascot, Decca, Deram, Peter Eden, The Crocheted Doughnut Ring, The Force Five, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, Toby Twirl | No Comments »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Listen: Birds And Bees / Warm Sounds
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In May ‘67, my Mom went off to Ireland to visit her sister for a few weeks, armed with my 45 want list. She came back with some life-changers (see my post from October 7th, 2008 titled: The Move / The Who / The Small Faces / The Cream). An added unexpected bonus were two pull-out Top 50 charts from RECORD RETAILER, the UK equivalent of BILLBOARD. If I could scan them for you, I would. They’re too large, purposely made to hang on your shop’s wall so kids can easily identify their purchases. Sliding gently back from a #26 peak (to #27, then #28) was ‘Birds And Bees’ by Warm Sounds. It was on Deram. It had to be good.
The psychedelic summer of ‘67 was just about to happen, and the great music that would define it was in full tsunami mode. Every week handfuls of ‘must hears’ were arriving in stores, at the radio stations and in trade magazine listings.
Before I could even worry about it, one of my local Top 40’s, WNDR, was playing ‘Birds And Bees’ (see chart below). Occasionally, they or the more loosely programmed, UK and garage band leaning WOLF, would add a gem that never went on to national success. Unlike WOLF, WNDR wouldn’t stick with them too long, but at least we’d have a chance to get a taste – and usually one of the local shops (Walt’s Records in particular) would stock 5 or 10 copies. You had to move quick to secure one though, there was fierce competition amongst us sickos.
Despite it’s rather mainstream pop leanings, it was undeniably English on first listen, the string breakdowns were perfectly LSD’d out, and the lyrics, so blatant (“don’t be afraid, come with me please, that’s all there is to the birds and the bees”).
I was in. Yet how did the program director not notice those lyrics?
Tags: Billboard, Deram, Record Retailer, Walt's Records, Warm Sounds, WNDR, WOLF
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Listen: What Am I Living For / Mark – Almond
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Listen: The City / Mark – Almond
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I was lucky enough to see one of the early shows John Mayall did in support of his then brand new album TURNING POINT, basically himself, Jon Mark, Johnny Almond and Steven Thompson. A fantastic drumless lineup – so different at the time. If you have the album, well the live show was exactly the same. A perfect evening.
Always on the move musically, John Mayall soon reinvented himself, possibly due to the formation of Mark – Almond. They too, were a super good act live. Several of the songs from their first two albums on Bob Krasnow’s Blue Thumb label were progressive radio staples, including ‘The City’. It was frankly shocking to hear it on a JetBlue flight recently via their Sirius radio feed. It had been years since that came out of any radio. Got to hand it to Sirius, they play a lot of great stuff.
Learn something everyday: I was completely sure ‘What Am I Living For’ had charted, even peaking in 30’s/40’s on Billboard’s Top 100. Not so. Never even entered. I heard it often as a current during the summer of ‘72. It was a high point of the live show as well.
Mark – Almond double billed often with plain and simple guitar bands during their 4-5 year run. Despite the company, every audience listened and appreciated their undeniable musical superiority. Jon Mark, the consummate acoustic, 12 string player, with Johnny Almond at his side, swaying to the music, eyes closed. His seemingly euphoric state took up almost as much stage time as his playing, which by the way, was superb.
Listen: Solar Level / Johnny Almond Music Machine
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Prior to the John Mayall association and subsequent Mark – Almond period, Johnny Almond made a few albums for Deram’s jazz leaning long player roster (along with the likes of Henry Lowther, The John Cameron Quartet and The Mike Westbrook Orchestra). All highly desirable now, primarily for their sampling potentials, it’s interesting to think that the label would actually release singles from said endeavors, which even more oddly, I ended up liking a lot.
Listen: Night Comes Down / Jon-Mark
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Jon Mark, in fact, started years earlier, playing guitar on various Marianne Faithfull singles, like ‘Come And Stay With Me’ and ‘Summer Nights’. It was during that period (‘65) that he too recorded a version of the Shel Talmy written ‘Night Comes Down’, which I post a few days back by The Mickey Finn in a much more psychedelicized style.
Tags: Blue Thumb, Bob Krasnow, Columbia, Deram, Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, John Mayall, Johnny Almond Music Machine, Jon-Mark, Marianne Faithfull, Mark - Almond, Patto, Shel Talmy, Sirius, The John Cameron Quartet, The Mickey Finn, The Mke Westbrook Orchestra
Posted in Blue Thumb, Bob Krasnow, Columbia, Deram, Henry Lowther, Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, John Mayall, Johnny Almond Music Machine, Jon-Mark, Marianne Faithfull, Mark - Almond, Shel Talmy, Sirius, The John Cameron Quartet, The Mickey Finn, The Mike Westbrook Orchestra | No Comments »
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Listen: I Love My Dog / Cat Stevens
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Listen: Portobello Road / Cat Stevens
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Listen: Matthew & Son / Cat Stevens
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How sharp am I? I just realized Cat Stevens was actually a singer/songwriter. Not my cup of tea usually, big exception being Joan Armatrading. During his time with Deram, he was most likely forced to use in-house producers/arrangers by parent company Decca. Mike Hurst was one. I loved his productions, and Decca A&R seemed to be most comfortable with dramatic arrangements, enter Alan Tew. ‘Matthew & Son’ was a big favorite – still is. I recall when ten or so years back, driving through Shepherd’s Bush in a cab on our way to Heathrow heading back home, Corinne saying ‘Look, Matthew & Son’. It was a small store front, a shoe maker, clearly from the font and signage, there for decades. It had to be the subject for the song.
His previous, and initial debut single ‘I Love My Dog’ / ‘Portobello Road’ hits home too. I love dogs, cats, any animal. It’s why I’ve been a vegetarian for 25 years – refuse to have any part in an animal living a horrible life and then being slaughtered. As for ‘Portobello Road’, come on, it’s a London tradition. Those weekend market stalls are well known now, but on my last trip (June ‘09), I got there before the sun came up, when the real crazies are picking, and found the first three Walker Brothers albums in spotless condition – one GBP each.
Tags: Alan Tew, Cat Stevens, Decca, Deram, Joan Armatrading, Mike Hurst, The Walker Brothers
Posted in Alan Tew, Cat Stevens, Decca, Deram, Joan Armatrading, Mike Hurst, The Walker Brothers | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
I got a fantastic email today from a reader in France, Bands Michel, who alerted me to a site whereby you can read just about every BILLBOARD from the 50’s, 60’s and onwards. These are mesmerizing. Scrolling through the weekly singles reviews whereby they predict records that will achieve Top 20, Top 60 or simply a ‘Chart’ placing alone is worth the visit. Most of the greats are in that later section, although many a ’should have been a hit’ record features in the other two as well. Not to mention stunning full page tip sheet adds for singles by The Herd, The Who, Mary Wells, Scott Walker, Ike & Tina Turner, The Small Faces, multi artist adverts for Mercury, Okeh, Motown, Fontana, Deram, Ric Tic, Bang, Sue Records plus hundreds and hundreds more. Do yourself a favor:
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE ARCHIVE
Tags: Bang, Billboard, Deram, Fontana, Ike & Tina Turner, Mary Wells, Mercury, Motown, Okeh, Ric Tic, Scott Walker, Sue Records, The Herd, The Small Faces, The Who
Posted in Bang, Billboard, Deram, Fontana, Ike & Tina Turner, Mary Wells, Mercury, Motown, Okeh, Ric Tic, Scott Walker, Sue Records, The Herd, The Small Faces, The Who | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Listen: Doctor’s Orders / Sunny
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Basically Sunny has loads of history. Solo artist, one half of Sue & Sunny (both of whom were also members of The Brotherhood Of Man) and background voice on many, many, many hit singles (Dusty Springfield, Elton John, The Love Affair, Lulu, Mott The Hoople, T. Rex, Tom Jones, and Joe Cocker to name but a few bigger ones). She’s probably on more records than even she can remember – let alone you or me.
Often associated with the Cook & Greenaway writer/producer team, it was their song ‘Doctor’s Order’ (co-written with Geoff Stephens, himself claim to a long list of song credits: The Applejacks, Manfred Mann, Scott Walker, Dave Berry, Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters) that became a favorite for literally months in ‘74. As into rock and soul as I was in ‘74, the occasional pop track would bite me hard. I was never comfortable that Sunny’s version didn’t become the US hit version, it was better and smoother than Carol Douglas’. Rest of world though, the crown went to the awesome Sunny. I want to meet her someday.
Tags: Carol Douglas, CBS, Dave Berry, Deram, Dusty Springfield, Elton John, Epic, Frank Sinatra, Geoff Stephens, Joe Cocker, Lulu, Manfred Mann, Mott The Hoople, Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Scott Walker, Sue & Sunny, Sunny, T. Rex, The Applejacks, The Brotherhood Of Man, The Carpenters, The Love Affair, Tom Jones
Posted in CBS, Carol Douglas, Dave Berry, Deram, Dusty Springfield, Elton John, Epic, Frank Sinatra, Geoff Stephens, Joe Cocker, Lulu, Manfred Mann, Mott The Hoople, Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Scott Walker, Sue & Sunny, Sunny, T. Rex, The Applejacks, The Brotherhood Of Man, The Carpenters, The Love Affair, Tom Jones | No Comments »
Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Listen: Baby, Get Your Head Screwed On / Double Feature
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This was the best of both worlds: period psychedelic and a perfect template of that bombastic UK Decca production sound. Either as employees or via production deals, a lot of the same names appeared on many of the label’s releases, in this case musical director Alan Tew and producer Mike Hurst. An all time personal favorite, Mike Hurst also produced several early Cat Stevens singles. As was quite common at time, bands didn’t always write their own material. This Cat Stevens cover, no doubt a suggestion from Hurst, is both on fuzz overload and claustrophobically orchestrated, all somehow making for a perfect sonic marriage.
Tags: Alan Tew, Cat Stevens, Decca, Deram, Double Feature, Mike Hurst
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