Archive for the ‘The Move’ Category
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Listen: You Upset The Grace Of Living When You Lie / Tim Hardin TimHardinGrace.mp3
There was once a great revolution in US radio programming, when all the underground music in the 60′s – like album tracks and singles by album type artists – started getting aired on FM stations.
Top 40 back then was a life saver compared to now, but was pretty quick to avoid anything considered too colorful or probably drug related. So off the Top 40 airwaves stayed Traffic, The Move, The Nice, early Jimi Hendrix Experience, early Cream, definitely early Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother & The Holding Company, etc. Still many of the major market Top 40s (I got WBZ/Boston clear as a bell) would open up in the evening and definitely after midnight. And to be fair, some acts got converted to regular play.
But it’s those late night listening memories I’m touching on here. Like Joey sang in ‘Do You Remember Rock n Roll Radio’: “Do you remember lying in bed / With the covers pulled up over your head / Radio playing so no one can see”. All of us that were addicted did this nightly – especially in the summer when you could sleep in the next day. This is how I discovered The Seeds (‘Mr Farmer’ and ‘Pushin Too Hard’ are still night time records for me), Jefferson Airplane (‘My Best Friend’ is a big favorite), Blue Cheer, Tim Rose (his version of ‘Hey Joe’ was the first I heard and clearly the template for the Jimi Hendrix version) and especially Tim Hardin. Yeah, I was bitten by this haunting single ‘You Upset The Grace Of Living When You Lie’. I even liked that the title was too long and the untimely fade out.
Folk was hip, I always wanted a smattering beyond Bob Dylan and I guess others did too. Did anyone really dislike Joan Baez, Richie Havens or Buffy St. Marie like they pretended? Probably not. But Tim Hardin hasn’t gotten his deserved props either. Listening with one ear attached to my transitor and the other hearing the ambience of late night, small town, upstate NY: crickets, the New York Central freight trains way off in the distance, the occasional drifting of the cars on Thruway also out there. The whole thing still comes right back to me every time, and I mean every time, I play this.
Tags: Big Brother & The Holding Company, Buffy St. Marie, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, The Grateful Dead, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Ramones, The Seeds, Tim Hardin, Tim Rose
Posted in Big Brother & The Holding Company, Buffy St. Marie, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, Joey Ramone, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Richie Havens, The Cream, The Grateful Dead, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Move, The Pink Floyd, The Ramones, The Seeds, Tim Hardin, Tim Rose, Traffic | No Comments »
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Listen: Cokane In My Brain / Dillinger DillingerCokane.mp3
‘Cokane In My Brain’, being a summertime hit during exactly the same year and season one’s friends and one’s self dove head first into the festivities is something you never forget. Trust me. 1977 was a great one.
Talk about a badge of honor. We all touted around copies of this Dillinger track, on record, on tape. Seemed no party, club show or event was quite perfect without it, both musically and literally. Oh, to be a kid again. I wouldn’t trade the timing of my youth with any generation.
Well maybe the one just ahead of me, come to think of it. That way I could have gotten on a plane to London a few years before I actually did and seen The Move and The Action and……I better not start.
Tags: Dillinger, Island, The Action, The Move
Posted in Dillinger, Island, The Action, The Move | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Listen: Happy Jack / The Who WhoHappyJack.mp3
Pull this out and give it a spin. You’re bound to say, “Man I have not heard this in ages”. Well, my guess is you’ll say that. I loved all the singles up through and including ‘Pictures Of Lily’. Then came ‘I Can See For Miles’. Something about that one, it was good but didn’t hit dead center. Was a first real understanding of my body’s reaction to music. ‘I Can See For Miles’ may have been the record that set the template for an A&R career years later: if I didn’t love it – chances were good it’d be a huge hit. Hey, as long as you know how to read the indicators, that’s all that really matters. ‘I Can See For Miles’ was in fact their only ever US Top 10. Hard to believe I know.
Back then, The Who weren’t much different than The Small Faces or The Move when it came to US radio. You never heard them. Yeah radio was much better in the 60′s, but still fairly narrow. These bands just didn’t get national airplay – if they were lucky, regional exposure was usually the extent of it and then maybe a crossover….leads me to an interesting memory about The Who.
I and my Anglophile friends religiously bought every single by The Who. My teenage girlfriend and I missed our junior prom the night I got ‘Substitute’ it was so good – we just played it over and over and fiddled about, as someone once coined. It was the plan anyways.
There were a few shops around town that would get two to five copies of the non hits, or hopeful to be hits – like Walt’s Records or Smith’s Records or that huge record department in WT Grant’s on Salina Street in Syracuse. So starting with ‘I Can’t Explain’, we bought ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’, every single right through and including the immaculate ‘Substitute’, ‘I’m A Boy’, ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and this one, the psychedelic ‘Happy Jack’, which actually did crack the Billboard chart peaking at #24 in ’67. A few years later when TOMMY was released, everyone noticed a rock opera similarity between that and it’s predecessor, The Pretty Things S.F. SORROW, still we listened to them both regularly during several weekend Parcheesi matches. The Who finally made a return visit after opening for Herman’s Hermits a few years earlier. Even though in my opinion the glow of those earlier singles had dimmed down noticeably, of course I went along. TOMMY admittedly wasn’t bad.
After the show, a few of us waited around for autographs, brought albums, singles, the works. I wasn’t quite as fussed and brought nothing, but seriously, was there something better to do in Syracuse as a teenager than possibly say hello to The Who? When my best friend Denny went up to Pete Townshend proudly with his MY GENERATION album to get signed, the guy turned his nose away, dismissiveley refusing to sign anything. He proceeded to make his way toward their station wagon with band members including Keith Moon and Roger Daltry already inside waiting. Even Keith Moon jumped out of the car to oblige, looking at Pete with a ‘you asshole’ glare, I couldn’t resist. So I spoke up.
“Pete, you know those few copies of the older singles you used to sell in towns like this prior to your hits, we were were the kids that bought them.” As the car pulled away, plain as day, I recall him hanging out the window, wearing a coat that looked like a piece of ghastly ornate drapery, middle finger on both hands projecting at me and shouting “you got a show for your $6 prick”.
Hmm. Not really, you didn’t play any of the aforementioned songs I came to hear. Not one. Still it was rude, certainly embarrassing and I never bought another record by The Who. Big deal, basically my bitterness toward he and unfairly the other guys in The Who went unnoticed and I’m sure Pete Towshend never lost a wink of sleep because of me.
About thirty years later, his keepers were doing the rounds of labels trying to hawk a new, not very good Pete Townshend album. I was at Columbia then but decided to pass on the record, or more specifically on him, his talent to write those gems long ago withered in my opinion. Still, it was a very hard call. You’d be a fool to not want to work with Pete Townshend. Honestly, he is a higher form of life but I’d experienced his temper. Once bitten, twice shy.
‘Happy Jack’ really is a terrific single.
Tags: Billboard, Decca, Herman's Hermits, Kit Lambert, Pete Townshend, Smith's Records, The Creation, The Marquee, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Who, Track Records, Walt's Records, WT Grants
Posted in Decca, Herman's Hermits, Pete Townshend, Smith's Records, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Who, Walt's Records, WT Grants | No Comments »
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Listen: Happy Doing What We’re Doing / Brinsley Schwarz BrinsleyHappy.mp3
Never much interested in American flannel shirt country rock easily lead me to brush off similar bands from the UK. I was equally dismissive of Man, Help Yourself, Brinsley Schwarz, any of that early stuff hiding behind the pub rock shield. One listen and as soon as The Band/Woodstock detector would sound in my head – immediately off came the vinyl and back into the sleeve it went. Besides, I noticed Brinsley Schwarz were playing The Fillmore East with Van Morrison and Quicksilver Messenger Service. This just didn’t feel right for my palate.
Having preceded themselves as Kippington Lodge, a more mod, colorful pop Marmalade meets Herd lightweight singles band, they too never registered on my radar, oddly, despite Mark Wirtz as producer. So the evolution of Brinsley Schwarz basically was a rather unnoticed one for a while.
I softened a bit to some singles by The Band, and actually liked ‘Up On Cripple Creek’. Interestingly, their first few 45′s were higher, much higher chart achievers in the UK than here. I know, not an obvious guess, but true.
By ’72, I was fast friends with Rich Fazekas out at UA’s west coast office – a connection initialized by the label suddenly being the hip home to Family and The Move. He implored me to give their newly released fourth Brinsley Schwarz album, NERVOUS ON THE ROAD, a fair listen. I did and guess what, it became a favorite for a patch. There are a bunch of songs worthy of 7″ status on that one, and I was perfectly content to have ‘Happy Doing What We’re Doing’ be someone at the label’s choice. I just wanted a Brinsley Schwarz single from that LP in my collection.
Being a completist, I eventually surrounded ‘Happy Doing What We’re Doing’ with their singles prior and following. Some of them are fun, and real keepers, but nothing tops this one still, not for me at least.
Tags: Brinsley Schwarz, Family, Fillmore East, Help Yourself, Kippington Lodge, Man, Mark Wirtz, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Rich Fazekas, The Band, The Move, United Artists, Van Morrison
Posted in Brinsley Schwarz, Family, Fillmore East, Help Yourself, Kippington Lodge, Man, Mark Wirtz, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Rich Fazekas, The Band, The Move, United Artists, Van Morrison | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Listen: I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman / Whistling Jack Smith WJSKaiser.mp3
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 WJSMary.mp3
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 WJSJada.mp3
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 WJSLarf.mp3
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, March 26th, 2010
Listen: Looking For A Love / The J. Geils Band JGeilsLooking.mp3
I used to pretty much ignore The J. Geils Band during this period, well always if the truth be told. They were a six piece, one too many in my imaginary rule book, and man did they look bad. Endlessly touring, always playing upstate New York, mostly with some up and coming UK band as support. So, I’d go to the show, but usually found my way backstage to talk with said English group, stalking them for obscure info and details while they boogied through their headline set. It was way more exciting to stand in a crowded dressing room talking to Steve Marriott or Phil May than listen to The J. Geils Band’s blues jams.
Now I wish I could have found a way to do both. Eddie & The Hot Rods were big fans, and I started to appreciate them in hindsight. Barrie Masters constantly pestered everyone about them. So now, I can listen and appreciate them a lot more. Please accept my apologies guys, but you did need a visual make over I’m afraid.
Listen: Lookin’ For A Love / Bobby Womack BobbyWomackLookin.mp3
Bobby Womack, on the other hand, was always a favorite. Funny enough, the English group fan in me had a lot to do with that as well. I was very friendly with Rich Fazekas from United Artists’ LA office in the early 70′s, when they had two distinct sounds to their roster: one a bunch of UK bands like The Move, Hawkwind, Brinsley Schwarz and Family; then the other RnB via Ike & Tina Turner, Monk Higgins, Marlena Shaw, Donald Byrd and Bobby Womack.
It was Roger Chapman who cornered me at the label’s LA location on Sunset, giving a stern lecture about both Bill Withers and Bobby Womack. He took me into Marty Cerf’s office and forced several new tracks from Bobby Womack’s then current COMMUNICATION album on me, at the same time recounting he and Family’s first exposure to Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. It was on the car radio somewhere between Houston and Dallas, and they would literally pull over every time it came on, drooling as it played. Being a Family freak, I hung on his every word of advice, hence my initial Bobby Womack crash course and eventual worship.
Tags: Atlantic, Barrie Masters, Bobby Womack, Brinsley Schwarz, Donald Byrd, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Family, Hawkwind, Ike & Tina Turner, Marlena Shaw, Marty Cerf, Monk Higgins, Phil May, Rich Fazekas, Roger Chapman, Steve Marriott, The J. Geils Band, The Move, United Artists
Posted in Atlantic, Barrie Masters, Bobby Womack, Brinsley Schwarz, Donald Byrd, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Family, Hawkwind, Ike & Tina Turner, Marlena Shaw, Marty Cerf, Monk Higgins, Phil May, Rich Fazekas, Roger Chapman, Steve Marriott, The J. Geils Band, The Move, United Artists | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Listen: Love / The Virgin Sleep
Love / The Virgin Sleep
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
Halliford House / The Virgin Sleep
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
Secret / The Virgin Sleep
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
Comes A Time / The Virgin Sleep
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, February 10th, 2010
Listen: Say You Don’t Mind / Denny Laine
Say
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 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 Laine 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
Fight
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 five minutes, the US promo and stock were edited down to under three, 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 »
Friday, December 25th, 2009
Listen: See My Baby Jive / Wizzard WizzardJive.mp3
This isn’t the first time SMRSLT has celebrated Roy Wood’s mere presence on this earth. Thankfully, he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution to music by the University of Derby as recently as January 18, 2008. After all, the guy mastered guitar, bass, sitar, cello, double bass, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, tuba, recorders, oboe, French horn, banjo, mandolin, bassoon, drums, percussion, vibraphone, bagpipes and keyboards. And as a songwriter, well he’s an international treasure.
As much as The Move played a vital building block in my musical preferences, Wizzard contributed equally. For one thing, I’d finally gotten the 50′s RnR humor that had before passed me by. In the looks department, I was crazy about his multi-colored hair extravagance that, during the height of Glam in ’73, seemed commonplace. Luckily, when I landed in London that June, ‘See My Baby Jive’ was everywhere, on every pub jukebox, on every radio station.
Listen: Angel Fingers / Wizzard WizzardAngel.mp3
‘Angel Fingers’ raced to #1 that fall, and if you can believe it, I loved it even more. I could never understand why no one in the US cared about Wizzard. How could anyone seriously prefer The Marshall Tucker Band or Wet Willie (yes, ‘Keep On Smilin’ is great) to this bunch? Still baffling.
Listen: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday / Wizzard WizzardChristmas.mp3
Of equal amazement at the time was the complete US musical disinterest in anything Christmas. Now, from Thanksgiving onward, we’re bombarded with seasonal music. Not so in the 70′s, bar maybe the Brenda Lee classic. Roy Wood had just signed to Warner Brothers, and in their haste, mistakenly pressed copies of what was clearly about to be a seminal record (see above – now how did they get those masters?). Harvest adamantly maintained ownership to ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’, and so (most) of the WB vinyl was scraped, but the sleeves (in possibly the label’s first attempt to be green) were saved and passed on to Harvest, who proceeded to use them for their release despite the Warner Brothers catalog number still present on the packaging.
So some 36 years later, on December 24, 2009, as the single’s yearly re-entry sat at #45 in the UK chart, what do I hear in Bed, Bath & Beyond?: ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’. Finally, and I lived to witness it. Despite my excitement, no one else flinched. Still, a joyous moment.
Tags: Brenda Lee, Harvest, Roy Wood, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Move, Wet Willie, Wizzard
Posted in Brenda Lee, Harvest, Roy Wood, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Move, Wet Willie, Wizzard | No Comments »
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Listen: Caught In A Dream / Alice Cooper AliceCooperCaught.mp3
I became pretty friendly with a couple of Syracuse University students, Fred Perry and Harry Fagenbaum, via their Sunday evening late night show on WAER, the student run radio station. It was as much a case of me finding them as them finding me.
I couldn’t sleep, it was late on a very cold Sunday night and despite school beckoning the next morning, I started fiddling with the wireless part of the TV/stereo/radio combination counsel, as much a piece of time period furniture as it was a media center. This was 1968, and I was so desperate to hear the new single by The Move, ‘Fire Brigade’, that I actually believed I’d find it on some far away radio station, beaming it’s way to me back when late night signals bounced to unlikely places. Lo and behold, I found my first ever college radio station, and was stunned. These two guys were playing some fantastic music: Ten Years After, John Mayall’s Bluesbreaker and The Kinks. I could not believe my luck.
Twenty minutes into the bliss, onto the air comes ‘Fire Brigade’ by The Move. Holy fucking shit. It was like I was possessed or something. Having tossed and turned, feeling frustrated to be growing up in a town and country where the radio stunk, I get out of bed and find what I was looking for. I know you’re thinking this is being exaggerated to make for better copy, but I swear, it’s true. Yes, be careful what you wish – it can be a little unsettling when it comes true.
So I made a low volume, long distance call to these DJ’s. Not only had I found a weekly oasis for my musical desires, they’d finally found a listener who wanted to hear the stuff. We agreed to meet up and talk English groups.
A year or so later, Harry became the Warner Brothers college rep, and would occasionally let me troll through his trunk full of promos, not anywhere near as often as I wanted, or as often as I’d have let him had the situation been reversed. Still, I was appreciative for the high.
One of those Saturday trunk scores included white label promos by Deep Purple ‘Strange Kind Of Woman’, John & Beverly Martyn ‘Road To Ruin’ and Alice Cooper ‘Caught In A Dream’, back when the name of the band, not the guy, was Alice Cooper. The Zappa partnership still seamed strong, with the WB label prominently including Frank’s Straight logo. Lots of good singles from Alice Cooper were still to come, but I think this one remains their best.
Tags: Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Frank Zappa, Fred Perry, Harry Fagenbaum, John & Beverly Martyn, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Straight Records, Ten Years After, The Kinks, The Move, WAER, Warner Brothers
Posted in Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Frank Zappa, Fred Perry, Harry Fagenbaum, John & Beverly Martyn, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Straight Records, Ten Years After, The Kinks, The Move, WAER, Warner Brothers | No Comments »
Friday, September 11th, 2009
Listen: Wham / Lonnie Mack LonnieMackWham.mp3
Listen: Suzie Q / Lonnie Mack LonnieMackSuzie.mp3
Often lumped with Duane Eddy and Link Wray, contemporaries of the day, Lonnie Mack’s musical distinction is the blues as opposed to a rockabilly instrumental slant. Not surprisingly, he’s widely regarded as a ground-breaking rock guitarist, whose artistic impact far outreaches his commercial accomplishments, although he had a few massive records. His first, ‘Memphis’ hit Top 5 in early ’63 on both Billboard’s Pop and RnB charts.
Things were clearly different in those days. It’s not the first time that a record, recorded quickly during some down time, post a proper session, somehow got released without the artist knowing, and ended up a hit – again to said artist’s surprise. Such was apparently the case with ‘Memphis’
‘Wham’, a followup, has significance for (a) being another unlikely instrumental success and (b) for actually describing a sound both unique and original at the time in it’s title. The culprit, a whammy bar, in reality a Bigsby tremelo arm. To further enhance the vibrato on his tunes, Lonnie Mack employed a variant of Robert Ward’s distortion technique, using a 1950s-era tube-fired Magnatone amplifier to produce a ‘rotating, fluttery sound’. Hence, the blues guitar revolution began, at least according to some.
Either way, this is a great double sider. Adults and children alike should own a handful of his 7′s for when the appropriate party moment occurs at one’s home.
I was quite excited back in September ’69 when Lonnie Mack was on the bill at The Fillmore East as main support to headliners Crosby, Stills & Nash. Opening that weekend: The Move. I just sent away for two tickets and announced to my Dad that he was either taking me or I was hitch hiking. Mind you, we lived in Syracuse and NYC was a good 300 miles away. To be honest, this was all about seeing The Move, but planning to stay long enough to gawk at Lonnie Mack and his wire-fire fingers.
Sadly, The Move never did play New York, so I exchanged my seats for another weekend’s triple header: Spirit / The Kinks / The Bonzo Dog Band. A life changing tradeoff, I can assure you.
Tags: Billboard, Creedence Clearwater Revivial, Crosby Stills & Nash, Duane Eddy, Fillmore East, Fraternity, Link Wray, Lonnie Mack, Spirit, Stateside, The Bonzo Dog Band, The Kinks, The Move
Posted in Billboard, Creedence Clearwater Revivial, Crosby Stills & Nash, Duane Eddy, Fillmore East, Fraternity, Link Wray, Lonnie Mack, Robert Ward, Spirit, Stateside, The Bonzo Dog Band, The Kinks, The Move | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Listen: Night Of Fear / The Move
Night Of Fear / The Move
A reoccurring event: ‘Night Of Fear’ moving in and out of the slot known as my all time favorite single. THE BEST OF THE MOVE was the only cd in the car this past week, so when the iPod ran out of juice during a four day break out of town, in went the disc.
‘Night Of Fear’ had charted in England during December ’66. Just after Christmas day I ventured to Smith’s Records, my local, to pour over BILLBOARD. The Hits Of The World section to be exact. It was always a first stop once picking up any issue, as well, the singles review page and Bubbling Under The Hot 100. The record had jumped from #42 to #17, and with a band named The Move, I was already sold. Unlike today’s just-a-click-away reality, the long wait to hear this one began then and there.
I’m pretty sure the first time was on AMERICAN BANDSTAND in February, the Rate A Record segment to be exact. I’d always have my reel to reel poised for this bit, you could count on at least one gem to be played. Thinking about the programming and record company politics of the day, I’m guessing Rate A Record was much like today’s Specialty Show play, where radio will squeeze in some not yet proven releases that deserve an airing. Regardless, I was ready, and played that taped version, with Dick Clark talking over the intro and outro, easily hundreds of times. I still hear his delivery subliminally during each play of the actual record to this day.
I know Roy Wood hates ‘Night Of Fear’, he told me so. When I asked him to do me a jukebox tab, he was totally agreeable. But when I said ‘Night Of Fear’, a dreadful grimace crossed his face and he asked me to please pick any other song. I chose ‘Blackberry Way’ but prodded. Apparently, he never thought ‘Night Of Fear’ was very good at all, hated the recording and despised it being an A side. No amount of complimenting him otherwise changed his stance. What a shame. He should be so proud.
Well, I loved this song. All it’s twists and turns hold memories of the time, the weather, what was going on at school, what other records I was anxious to hear and own, how fun life was just being a little kid. Lots of reasons to play it over and over all these years later.
Tags: American Bandstand, Billboard, Bubbling Under The Hot 100, Deram, Dick Clark, Roy Wood, The Move
Posted in American Bandstand, Billboard, Bubbling Under The Hot 100, Denny Cordell, Deram, Dick Clark, Roy Wood, Smith's Records, The Move | No Comments »
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
Listen: Gin House Blues / The Amen Corner AmenGin.mp3
Listen: The World Of Broken Hearts / The Amen Corner AmenWorld.mp3
Listen: High In The Sky / The Amen Corner AmenHigh.mp3
It’s interesting that despite today’s technology, and all the immediacy of it, things in 1967 were happening pretty fast too. ‘Gin House Blues’, released on July 21 (according to the above hand written test pressing) actually charted 6 days later on July 26, peaking at #12. Almost as unlikely a mainstream hit, it’s followup, ‘The World Of Broken Hearts’ spent six weeks in the UK Top 50, reaching #24. Singer Andy Fairweather Low’s strangled delivery didn’t initially appear to have mass appeal, but subsequent singles, like the near US hit ‘High In The Sky’ proved otherwise. Indeed, The Amen Corner took Roy Wood’s (should-have-been-a-single for his band The Move) ‘Hello Suzie’, to a UK #1 in ’69, the band having left Deram for Immediate by then. Their album only (except in Holland) version of The Soul Survivors’ hit, ‘Expressway To Your Heart’, apparently became a much played track in the Northern Soul clubs.
For the record, let me share some factual information: all promotional A labels from UK Decca and it’s subsidiaries (Deram, London, etc), up until mid-’69, were shipped in white sleeves. As tempted as you may be to put a company stock bag on them – it’s just not correct. Hence, any of the records I post in white sleeves are there for authenticity. The UK promo of ‘The World Of Broken Hearts’ pictured above is the ’69 reissue, by then being shipped in the Deram company sleeve. Oh, in the US, Deram promo singles shipped in Deram sleeves by the label’s second release (The Move ‘Night Of Fear’). Only the very first US Deram promo 7″ (Beverley ‘Happy New Year’) came in a plain brown sleeve. What can I say, I am completely obsessed with having my records in their correct covers.
Tags: Andy Fairweather Low, Beverley, Deram, Immediate, Northern Soul, Roy Wood, The Amen Corner, The Move, The Soul Survivors
Posted in Andy Fairweather Low, Beverley, Deram, Immediate, Northern Soul, Roy Wood, The Amen Corner, The Move, The Soul Survivors | No Comments »
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Listen: Cry To Me / The Pretty Things PrettyThingsCry.mp3
I don’t need much prompting to give The Pretty Things a shout out. Phil May is one of music’s greatest vocalists. When I was running The Medicine Label at Warner Brothers in the 90′s, I asked then chairman Mo Ostin, during casual hallway conversation, if he’d let me reissue their 1973 FREEWAY MADNESS album, which was ripe for CD format. No problem.
Mo was the ultimate executive, they literally don’t make them that way any more. Prior to getting the green light to set up Medicine, I had a memorable meeting/job interview with him. I wanted details of when he signed both The Kinks and Family, which he ever so graciously recounted. And that was only the beginning of the many fascinating stories.
FREEWAY MADNESS, one of those Mo signings, holds some serious sentimental placemarks. Plus it afforded the band their first US tour. How insane is that? Despite their legendary status almost instantly, it wasn’t until spring ’73 that The Pretty Things played their initial US show, at LA’s Whisky A Go Go. I up and flew to California in April, like the senseless Anglophile that I was. Turned into a fantastic trip. Rich Fazekas, then part of United Artists hip college radio department, put me up for the week and introduced me to old Hollywood. UA had Family, Hawkwind, Ian Whitcomb, Man, The Move, Wizzard, endless Blue Note acts. It was the place to be. We raided, with Greg Shaw, UA’s publishing office, then anxious to dispose of their 7″ library. Talk about timing. We saw Tim Buckley at The Troubadour and of course The Pretty Things at The Whisky several nights straight. One month later, I booked them back at my college. May 19, 1973 to be exact.
Fast forward to last night. At a friend’s for dinner, I became engrossed in THE ROLLING STONES ALBUM FILE & COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY, by Alan Clayson, that was meant to be casual coffee table glancing. I intended taking a quick look, then couldn’t put it down. Learn something every day – and with this book you’ll learn many somethings. For instance, March 7, 1965. Manchester. Following a stopped Rolling Stones show at The Palace Theater, Keith and Mick taxied across town to leap onstage with The Pretty Things (Brian Jones was a room mate of The Pretty Things at the time) at The Manchester Cavern that evening. Among the songs that Mick duetted with Phil May: ‘Cry To Me’.
Tags: Alan Clayson, Family, Fontana, Greg Shaw, Hawkwind, Ian Whitcomb & Bluesville, Mo Ostin, Phil May, Rich Fazekas, The Medicine Label, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Rolling Stones Album File & Complete Discography, Tim Buckley, Troubadour, Whisky A Go Go, Wizzard
Posted in Alan Clayson, Fontana, Greg Shaw, Hawkwind, Phil May, Rich Fazekas, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Rolling Stones Album File & Complete Discography, Tim Buckley, Troubadour, United Artists, Whisky A Go Go, Wizzard | No Comments »
Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Listen: Omaha / Moby Grape MobyGrapeOmaha.mp3
When recalling the handful of US 60′s bands I appreciated (at the time that is, I was still pretty buzzed on the British Invasion, it was us-against-them mentality), I always forget Moby Grape. They were a bit wooly looking, yet had a nice splash of psychedelia thrown in, especially on ‘Omaha’ (from their debut LP, MOBY GRAPE), thereby completely tolerable. Initially I probably liked the name and idea of Moby Grape better than Moby Grape themselves. Surprisingly, many UK bands tipped them, with some, like The Move, actually covering their songs live. When the second album, WOW, came out, I felt the compelling urge to buy it. Like Pink Floyd’s UMMAGUMMA, it was a double record, but priced as a single – that helped. The second disc was a jam, and featured Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield, both well respected….jammers. Let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone got through it more than once, although we all claimed to have. The first disc however had some proper songs in there. It was all very Dennis Hopper. The psychedelic angle had vanished but their dark, cold sound increased nicely – and the vocals were a big attraction. In the end, a top rock group.
Posted in Al Kooper, Columbia, Mike Bloomfield, Moby Grape, The Move, The Pink Floyd | No Comments »
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Listen: Rock The Nation / Montrose
Rock The Nation / Montrose
Montrose. If it’s good it’s always good. You may remember a time in punkcentric ’77 when Montrose was a nasty word, representing the hard rock, metal hair band, LA Sunset Strip. A frozen in time culture when we were all teens and knew way more than those folks did. Yeah right. Like the reality of every musical movement, there were great things happening which we happily turned our nose to at the time. I secretly didn’t. Montrose was one. I went to LA for the 1st time in May ’73 at the invitation of Rich Fazekas, then promotion guy for United Artists. We’d stuck up a friendship (lasting until this day) as a result of him promoting their UK signings (The Move, Family. Hawkwind, Man, Help Yourself). This resulted in my self-serving position of playing them on my college station even though no one was probably listening, which was basically the situation for all of us in small towns acting as cities. Still it got me a relationship with Rich. So in May ’73, at his invitation, I schlepped to LA. Bless his heart, Rich introduced me to mexican food, took me to the Troubadour for a jaw dropping Tim Buckley show, we raided a publishing company with Greg Shaw that was dumping all their 7″ singles (I got many sick things like several copies of The Alan Price Set’s ‘I Put A Spell On You’) and took me to see The Pretty Things 1st US shows at the Whisky (which was the ultimate point of the trip originally). Somewhere in that 4 day blur, we went to Warner Brothers Studios to see Montrose making their 1st album. I vividly remember this song being recorded – but I’m not choosing to post it for nostogia or show off reasons – instead becuase it is so ‘the real thing’ and sounds it until this day – and in mono my friends, straight from my 7″. I hope you love it like I do. I never hear it anymore – not that I did then. Hopefully someone will discover it here and make Montrose some well deserved $.
Posted in Hawkwind, Montrose, Rich Fazekas, The Alan Price Set, The Move, The Pretty Things, Tim Buckley, United Artists, Warner Brothers | No Comments »
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
Listen: Happy New Year / Beverley 01 Happy New Year (01) (01) 1.mp3
The year was 1966. UK Decca are about to launch their hip subsidiary Deram. The first release was a now period piece by Beverley, before she married John Martyn and became one half of the Island act, John & Beverley Martyn. ‘Happy New Year’ was the first of two solo singles, both on Deram and both produced by Denny Cordell. The record is so ‘live’ and was mastered so loudly – it’s just the ultimate vinyl sound with some very extreme production ideas – not out of line for Denny Cordell.
Luckily I got to work with him years later at Island. He was just full of stories and info. Never a day would pass without him dropping some tidbit my way. He knew I was a trainspotter and fed it well. You know the loud techno sound in The Move’s ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ at exactly 2:08? I asked him once how he got such an other worldy electronic sonic back then. He simply raised his two little fingers to the corners of his mouth and whistled. Exactly like on the single. Awesome.
Posted in Beverley, Decca, Denny Cordell, Deram, Island, John Martyn, The Move | No Comments »
Monday, June 2nd, 2008
Listen: Crawdad / Bo Diddley 01 Crawdad.mp3
I starting collecting artist-signed jukebox tabs when I got my 1st Seeburg. It was an aqua/lavender/chrome 1956 model that held 100 singles, with the records housed in a circular carousel that spun around until the desired choice was located, then an arm would reach for the single and put it onto the spinning platter. The tonearm would proceed to lift & set on to the vinyl, and away we’d go. There’s a youtube video of my actual box playing The Rolling Stones ‘Heart Of Stone’ posted by 25 Million, a good friend of mine. Seek it out to see what I mean. So I got this idea back then, around 1986, to carry blank jukebox tabs with me at all times (which I still do) and get artists to fill them out for a record of my choice that they were on, if and when I’d run into them. It was the start of me collecting autographs I guess. So now I have hundreds. So many amazing ones too: Nina Simone, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, The Creation, Ike Turner, The Move, The Cramps, Love, Ellie Greenwich, Sparks, The Ronettes even Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours. Honestly, loads. A few summers ago I went to see Bo Diddley and was lucky enough to have a word with him. He was just a sweetheart, happily answering questions that would turn into amazing stories. It was at a festival so he was just sitting around. Frail in ways even then, I wasn’t confident I should ask him to do the tab, but finally felt comfortable and did. He was so great about it, saying he wanted to do it, but would it be ok to just fill in his name, as he had a tremble when he wrote. Well sure – no problem. Thankfully, I have this to treasure forever.
Posted in Bo Diddley, Ellie Greenwich, Jukebox Tab, Love, Nina Simone, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Seeburg, Sparks, The Creation, The Move, The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes | No Comments »
