Archive for the ‘Philips’ Category

BOBBY HEBB

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Listen: A Satisfied Mind / Bobby Hebb

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I hated his hit ‘Sunny’ when it was current in ‘66. Absolutely loathed that sucker. Got rammed down everyone’s throat, plus being so safe and mellow it managed to cross all the formats – you literally couldn’t get away from it. Logically it peaked at #2 during it’s healthy fifteen week US chart run.

Yet ‘Sunny’ was so strong that everyone from Ella Fitzgerald and The Electric Flag to Georgie Fame and Les Mc Cann were covering it too. Now I wish I’d had better taste at the time. Not only has it become a favorite through the years (I’ve collected over 30 covers on 7″) but I’m hooked on his voice as well. Like Jon Lucien years later, and probably Mel Torme prior, he has this calming tone that appeals to my valium side. His follow ups were pretty great too. I think he should’ve been around a lot longer.

The followup single, released just after ‘Sunny’, was a great double sider. ‘A Satisfied Mind’, despite possibly being a bit ‘Sunny’ sounding, has held up – I know cause it’s on my jukebox and plays a lot. I never tire of it. Not so with the public, peaking at #39, and lasting only six weeks total on the Billboard Top 100.

Listen: Love Love Love / Bobby Hebb

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The B side, ‘Love Love Love’, is now considered to be his ‘other’ hit – having gained UK Northern Soul success in ‘72. When re-released there due to demand, it sold well and charted at #32. Most tracks on his one and only Philips LP, SUNNY BY BOBBY HEBB are worth many listens too. Get it if you can.

The Sir Douglas Quintet

Monday, June 28th, 2010

The Tracker / Sir Douglas Quintet - US

Listen: The Tracker / The Sir Douglas Quintet

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Like so many bands popping up around the country circa ‘64 – ‘65, all imitating Britain’s Invasion, The Sir Douglas Quintet appeared. Unlike those others, they had a recognizable sound (perfectly part Bo Diddley, part Pretty Things) and could both write and find great songs. The band never released a bad single on London Records’ imprint Tribe. They eventually moved to Smash/Philips where their greatness, and the occasional hit single, continued.

‘The Tracker’, followup to their debut smash ‘She’s About A Mover’, was a real favorite despite it’s national stall at #105 in July ‘65 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart.

I recall seeing them on SHINDIG, Doug Sahm (Sir Douglas) doing a mean Phil May imitation vocal on ‘The Tracker’ while holding an oversized magnifying glass, kind of roaming around the stage as though following footsteps visible when enlarged, Sherlock Holmes style. Not only did they have the sound down, but the look as well.

Blue Norther / Sir Douglas Quintet - US

Listen: Blue Norther / The Sir Douglas Quintet

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‘Blue Norther’, the B side, with it’s rather haunting patent Sir Douglas Quintet formula (not to be taken as bad), I like to think is about the train line and totally conjured up nighttime images of a freight winding it’s way through some dark mountain woods or the Texas desert, assuming there is one there.

Listen: In Time / The Sir Douglas Quintet

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Quickly released that September, no doubt in hopes of refuelling interest after their huge debut, ‘In Time’ stiffed completely. Shame, just listen to it’s perfection. No other US band quite captured their flawless mixture of Texas and England, a recipe that should’ve easily worked. To my knowledge, only KNAC in Salt Lake City charted it for a week in October at #63 – otherwise, klunk

Listen: The Story Of John Hardy / The Sir Douglas Quintet

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For the flipside of ‘In Time’, as with Manfred Mann’s rendition of the Lomax/Lomax written ‘John Hardy’ (it too a B side of ‘Sha La La’), the ever present influence of The Pretty Things, marraccas particularly. prevailed. The band’s more folk blues ‘version’, retitled ‘The Story Of John Hardy’, songwriting mischievously credited to Doug Sahm, succeeded in establishing yet again that sound so unique to this band.

Many years later, Doug Sahm formed The Texas Tornadoes and signed to Warner Brothers. I saw him in the office one day (my company, The Medicine Label, was a WB label) and he graciously filled out a jukebox tab for me. It was a chance meeting, so I wasn’t prepared with B side info. I couldn’t remember it, neither could he.

Sir Douglas Quintet - Juke Box Tab

Above: Jukebox Tab filled out by Doug Sahm.

Gary Walker & The Rain

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

GaryWalkerSpooky, Gary Walker & The Rain, Polydor, United Artisits, Scott Walker, Allan Clarke, Philips, Charlie Crane, The Cryin' Shames

Listen: Spooky / Gary Walker & The Rain

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Is it possible to record a bad version of ‘Spooky’ – especially when Scott Walker is producing, or even just in the studio sharing oxygen with you? Before The Walker Brothers crumbled at the seams and eventually broke up, drummer Gary Walker was making solo singles – the first two, ‘You Don’t Love Me’ and ‘Twinkie Lee’, both becoming UK hits and as importantly, both produced by Scott Walker.

Shortly after that official breakup, Gary Walker & The Rain began what was to be a very desirable and highly collectable band. Members included Joey Molland, who prior was a member of Immediate Records recording artists The Masterminds, and after the breakup of The Rain, Badfinger.

I saw Badfinger in those days, they supported The Moody Blues. Despite their Beatles connection and Beatles sounding singles, I went along anyways – after all, it was two UK bands in my dull hometown of Syracuse. I recall speaking to the band after their set, for some reason they were all wandering around the audience looking depressed. Maybe it was bad acid.

Had no idea then he’d been a member of both The Masterminds and Gary Walker’s band. Lucky for him or the poor guy would’ve ended up running for cover.

GaryWalkerPneumonia, Gary Walker & The Rain, Philips, Charlie Crane, The Cryin' Shames

Listen: Come In, You’ll Get Pneumonia / Gary Walker & The Rain

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An even more interesting member of the lineup was Charlie Crane – a very unsung musical hero of mine. Lead singer with The Cryin’ Shames (UK not US band), it is indeed his voice on their Joe Meek produced anthem ‘Please Stay’, posted elsewhere on this blog. Search it out just to see how incredible this guy’s voice was and additionally, what a terrific compliment it made to that particular tune.

Most likely by accident, seems every single Gary Walker & The Rain released had a connection to another worthy band or artist. In this case, they were neck in neck with The Easybeats’ version of the song, released a bit earlier on United Artists and selling a few more copies, but just a few. Great song, deserved better result regardless of the version.

GaryWalkerFrancis, Gary Walker & The Rain, Philips, Charlie Crane, The Cryin' Shames

Listen: Francis / Gary Walker & The Rain

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This B side to ‘Come In, You’ll Get Pneumonia’ was always a favorite and of great interest amongst collectors. Seems the garage fuzz fanatics find it a must. I don’t see the musical connection but do love the track.

GaryWalkerHello, Gary Walker & The Rain, Polydor, United Artisits, Scott Walker, Allan Clarke, Philips, Charlie Crane, The Cryin' Shames

Listen: Hello, How Are You / Gary Walker

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From ‘69 to ‘75 we jump with Gary (who in the intern was a motorbike messenger delivery fellow – so the unofficial story goes). Having left his Japan-only success, The Rain, behind him now for six years, out of nowhere pops, oddly enough, another Easybeats cover, ‘Hello, How Are You’. Nice idea – I wonder in hope, can we expect ‘Friday On My Mind’ any day? Why not and what a treat that’d be.

In keeping with the aforementioned famous friends attachment, this version was produced by Allan Clarke from The Hollies. Not sure who’s playing on it. Any ideas are welcome.

James Brown

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

JamesBrownBoogaloo, James Brown, Smash

Listen: James Brown’s Boo-Ga-Loo / James Brown

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One day, around ‘90, I decided to own every last James Brown single from the 60’s and 70’s. It was a most fun challenge, and surprisingly easy. Don’t forget, we were still in the heyday of folks dumping their vinyl for cd. Despite all the unsolvable problems that began with the onset of the cd configuration, it was absolutely a miracle for the vinyl collector. What could be better than the entire world wanting to unload their records?

James Brown’s temporary switch from the King label to Smash lasted a only year or two. Seems he signed one contract before the previous one expired, ultimately settling it all by agreeing to record only instrumentals for Smash. Some fans seem to downplay their interest in the period – not me. Besides, I’m a sucker for any releases from the Mercury Records Group: Philips, Fontana, Blue Rock, Limelight and of course Smash.

The best part of all this being the public tired of his assembly line, contract fulfilling output, so sales declined faithfully with each release. These last few before returning to King became the hardest to find. Good fun in my book.

‘James Brown’s Boo-Ga-Loo’ came and went completely unnoticed. Although the label copy suggested it’s from his NEW BREED album, it’s not. Well, sorta not. The track is actually an edited version of ‘New Breed’ retitled and easily doubles as incidental music for a B movie. No problem.

JamesBrownJimmyMack, James Brown, Smash

Listen: Jimmy Mack / James Brown

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Equally enamored with muzak renditions of familiar hits meant many of his singles for the label were prime wants like ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ plus his own covers of ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’ and ‘Try Me’ for instance.

The last Smash 7″, and non-LP as well, is a lazy, slightly mundane (and therefore perfect for my tastes) version of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ‘Jimmy Mack’. As with many of the jazz organists from that period, I bet they all rattled out these one after the other in a day long session, thereby making both recording costs and sales pressure low. Everyone needed a few for party music I guess. Another hard one to find, yet most likely competition is pretty minimal.

MADELINE BELL / BLUE MINK

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Randy / Blue Mink

Listen: Randy / Blue Mink

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She made good pop records with Blue Mink in the late 60’s/early 70’s as one of their two lead singers (songwriter Roger Cook was the other). Anyone into the happening music of the day would turn their nose to them, preferring prog or glam; writing off mainstream radio music as with every generation. Their ‘By The Devil I Was Tempted’ is a great period piece and sounds fine still.

‘Randy’ was a summer ‘73 UK smash, it was always on the radio, and I vividly remember it blaring out of the market stalls on Wardour and Rupert Street while trolling for records.

Picture Me Gone / Madeline Bell

Listen: Picture Me Gone / Madeline Bell

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Before, during and after the Blue Mink run, Madeline Bell continually released her own solo stuff which soul nuts seem to appreciate, although most of those singles were heavily A&R’d with attempts at pop/RnB crossover. A cult artist she was not being tailored into. In the end, that’s what she became. Partially due to her lack of any chart hits, (‘I’m Gonna Make You Love Me’ was a Top 40 success here in the US), for being a backup voice on many a Dusty Springfield record (and Dusty on hers); but mainly for ‘Picture Me Gone’ which became a staple on the Northern Soul ‘circuit’. A few others recorded it, but her version gets the official respect. It was actually hidden on the B-side of ‘I’m Gonna Make You Love Me’ in America hence not that hard to find. Worth picking up.

NINA SIMONE

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Listen:  Four Women / Nina Simone

Listen: Four Women / Nina Simone

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Michael Alago signed Nina Simone to Elektra in ‘92, and I’m pretty sure she made her last studio album as a result. Michael, at that point, was very friendly with her, having been an ardent fan for several years. Nina was living in LA at the time, and during October of that year, she and Michael were together doing pre-production in some studio off Hollywood Blvd.

I was in town for The Cramps as they were preparing FLAMEJOB for my label, Medicine, and had timed the trip around a three day run The Ramones were doing at The Palladium (10/14 – 16, to be exact). It was a fun one.

Both Micheal and I, as well as Johnny Ramone, Arturo Vega (The Ramones’ career long light & design guy) and Monte Melnick (their tour manager), all shared birthdays within days of each other in that exact time frame, so Alago decided to have a pre show dinner party at The Hollywood Athletic Club to celebrate all five, as well as his Nina/Elektra signing.

By then he was having a slightly difficult time getting her to record the songs he wanted. On that particular night, it didn’t help that I was enamored with her Philips period stuff. She and I sat across from each other at this long table. With Nina right next to Joey, she just got into deep details about her time with that label as soon as we asked. It was fascinating info, I was even interested in what she could recall about the actual Philips offices, which surprisingly was a lot. Plus the details of the studios, her engineers and the small, small recording budgets of the day.

‘Four Women’ was a much played and loved single then as now, and after a LOT of champagne on her part, I suggested she re-record it for the new album. Michael at that moment was sort of standing behind her in his constant buzzing around, good host style, and just whipped his head toward me, eyes bugging and frantically hand motioned behind her head to STOP. Panicked and pissed all at once, he kept up this silent communication, but too late, she was now on a ‘Four Women’ roll. Her assistant, like Nina with back to Michael, opinioned that it was timely, and might be a good idea. So fuck it, I threw in, “and you should make a video”. Nina announces loudly “Michael, I want to make a video for ‘Four Women’”.

Listen:  Four Women / Nina Simone Juke Box Tab

This was about to go very wrong when he seamlessly circles round behind me and says, “Before you forget, you should get Nina to do your jukebox tab now, and you know Nina, if we redo ‘Four Women’, Philips will just try to reposition their version and not pay you like they still don’t”.

Good move Alago, as that’s all she needed to be reminded of. End of idea, end of dinner and onward to The Ramones show (with signed jukebox tab in wallet), sans Nina.

Casey Jones & The Governors

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

CaseyJones, Casey Jones & The Govenors, Huey Piano Smith, Philips, Eric Clapton, Tom McGuiness

Listen: Don’t Ha Ha / Casey Jones & The Governors

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Casey (real name Duncan) Jones left Liverpool for London stumbling around with rotating-door lineups that included Eric Clapton and Tom McGuinness in his band The Engineers. Like a few before them, off to Germany they went. Why I’m not sure – I always thought England was the happening place in the 60’s. It was in Hamburg that Casey Jones & The Governors formed and had some success as a live band, basically reinventing RnR standards of the day with a Beat Goup twist.

I picked this up in one of those 39 cent bins of flop 45’s at a Two Guys Department Store near the Thruway in Syracuse back in ‘74. It was a treasure trove, predominantly loads of Philips/Smash/Mercury/Fontana titles, for some reason. Listen once and you’ll hear that it’s Huey Piano Smith’s ‘Don’t You Just Know It’. Smith is credited as writer and the title switch fooled me into thinking it was an original for years.

Julien Covey & The Machine / Wynder K. Frog / Jimmy Miller

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

juliencoveyuk, Julien Covey & The Machine, Wynder K. Frog, The Spencer Davis Group, The Kinks, Ray Davies, Jimmy Miller, Island, Philips

Listen: A Little Bit Hurt / Julien Covey & The Machine

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An unheralded supergroup this. Julien Covey, real name Phil Kinorra, played with Brian Auger in his early days. As well as fronting the band vocally, he also drummed. Amongst it’s members were John Moreshead on guitar, who played with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, The Shotgun Express and The Ansley Dunbar Retaliation. In addition, the band included Peter Bardens (Them, Camel), Jim Creagan (Blossom Toes, Family) and Dave Mason at various times. Their lone release, ‘A Little Bit Hurt’, was co-written produced by Jimmy Miller in ‘67, who brought along his freshly used prodcution techniques, successful on The Spencer Davis Group’s ‘Gimme Some Lovin” and applied them to The Kinks ‘You Really Got Me’ riff, to help create this now, Northern soul classic.

wyndergreen,  Wynder K. Frog, Island, Jimmy Miller, Mick Weaver

Listen: Green Door / Wynder K. Frog

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Between ‘64 – ‘67. the sound of the Jimmy Smith/Jimmy McGriff hammond B3 was the prevalent connection that bridged hip rock and soul, bringing the jazzy black Flamingo club sounds (Brian Auger & The Trinity, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, The Graham Bond Organization) to a more mainstream public, as with The Spencer Davis Group. A key factor was the production sound of Jimmy Miller. He worked his magic of some less successful, commercially for the time that is, singles. Like the aforementioned Julien Covey & The Machine track, and ‘Green Door’ by Wynder K. Frog. Although not chart records, they became club dance floor fillers then, and still to this day, on the Northern circuit.

The Walker Brothers

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

walkerbrosshipuk, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash
walkerbrosshipusa, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash
walkerbrosshipps, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash

US Picture Sleeve: Above (Front) / Below (Back)

walkerbrosshippsb, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash

Listen: My Ship Is Coming In / The Walker Brothers

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I will never forget the Friday night I walked into Two Guys Department store with my parents. As usual, I headed straight to the record department while they proceeded to do some weekly shopping. The singles were displayed all along the the tops of the album bins, each in their own metal rack holding about 25 copies. I wish I had photos.

There in brilliant full color, was the above Walker Brothers picture sleeved single, ‘My Ship Is Coming In’ – a solid 25 copies freshly unboxed. I could hardly breathe. They looked fantastic in bulk. The sleeve just radiated about one hundred times more intensely than anything else in sight – like a messiah. I still get tingles looking at the cover. It brings me right back. I owned it minutes later.

I could not get home fast enough, freaking out in the dark car, holding this masterpiece but only getting to glimpse at it as we passed under traffic lights and street lamps. God knows how many times I played it that night. It was not guitar based British beat, but instead sounded like music grownups listened too – yet clearly there was something addictive in it’s air. I decided then and there, I was going to love this record. That was that. I did then and I still do.

Years later Scott Walker would reveal that while all his contemporaries in London were modeling themselves after American blues greats, his attention was focused on becoming the next Eddie Fisher. How genius was this guy?

WalkerSunUKA, The Walker Brothers

walkerbrossunuk, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash
wlakerbrossunusa, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Philips, Smash

Listen: The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore) / The Walker Brothers

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The world was not ready for the followup to ‘My Ship Is Coming In’. Mine certainly wasn’t. How could The Walker Brothers possibly up it’s perfection? Then along comes ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)’, a flop a few years earlier for Franki Valli. He and The Four Seasons had loads of great records, and he’s no slouch in the vocal department. But Scott Walker he isn’t, no one is.

I swear, this record can still stop me in my tracks when it comes up on the ipod or BBC’s Radio 2. I heard it on the 60’s Sirius radio channel aboard a JetBlue flight recently. As diverse and truly exciting that the many other songs were, this just grabbed the prize unchallenged.

I saw Matt Pinfield the other day. He had Matt & Kim on his morning WXRK radio show – so I went along. Pinfield is the most kind hearted and passionate music fan, really knows his stuff, loves records – we worked together at Columbia and got connected at the hip. Somehow the subject of ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)’ came up. Almost in unison, we both blurted out nearly identical sentences. ‘This may be the greatest single of all time’.

Deservedly, it spent a month at #1 in the UK (see 3 consecutive NME charts below, reprinted from 40 YEARS OF THE NME CHARTS), and despite not one US TV appearance or live show, it did get played here and had a healthy chart run, peaking at #13 in Billboard. It should have, at least, gone Top 10 but given the many singles that never ever charted, there’s some contentment in it’s placing.

nme4_66, 40 Years Of The NME Charts

The Drifters / The Walker Brothers

Monday, August 17th, 2009

drifterstheregoesuka, The Drifters, Ben E. King, The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker, Ivor Raymonde, Philips, John Franz, London American

Listen: There Goes My Baby / The Drifters

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Listen: There Goes My Baby / The Walker Brothers

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Speaking of The Drifters, as I did in my previous post, one of their Ben E. King written hits, ‘There Goes My Baby’, not only stands up on it’s own, but shows that a great song interpreted well can sometimes even get better. Hate to be politically incorrect, but my opinion is just that when it comes to The Walker Brothers version of ‘There Goes My Baby’.

Don’t misunderstand, I like both, maybe it’s just The Walker Brothers’ haircuts, my official diagnosis of having terminal Scott Walker disease or probably my admitted lack of Doo Wop appreciation. Why theirs wasn’t released as a 7″ in the UK remains a mystery to me. Those Ivor Raymonde ‘Night Of Fear’ leaning orchestral riffs just take the cake. John Franz, what were you thinking?

Dark Shadows

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

robertcobertillbewith-you1, Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins

Listen: Dark Shadows Theme / The Robert Cobert Orchestra

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Listen: Shadows Of The Night (Quentin’s Theme) / The Robert Cobert Orchestra

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Listen: Quentin’s Theme / The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde

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If I had my real dream come true, it would be to move into Collinwood, the daunting, cavernous mansion where the supernatural presided, on the rocky, stormy coast of Collinsport, Maine. It was home to DARK SHADOWS’ Barnabas Collins, Dr. Julia Hoffman and the Collins family. Fill that vast mahogany library with records, set up an AM Radio station, and just play suspenseful music for the rest of my life – enrapturing all the late, very late, night drivers lost on the dark back roads of rural Maine. Those roads can scare the lifeout of you – they have me. Sometimes when driving there in the early hours, I’ll just turn the headlights off for several seconds. Seems like an eternity, it’s terrifying. Mortifies Corinne and the kids to no end. But seriously, I watched DARK SHADOWS religiously after school every single day. Even in the summer, I’d draw the blinds and wish the howling wind and rain were really outside. So yes, to have a stormy night, every night and every day too, ocean crashing on the rocks and me beaming obscure records into the pitch black atmosphere would be heaven on earth.

The Pink People

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Indian Hate Call / The Pink People

Listen: Indian Hate Call / The Pink People

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Little is known about this single. Likewise the band. I’d love to meet the A&R person who decided to sign them. I do know it’s the second of their two releases and I’m still waiting to see a photo of this bunch.

I’d say the single’s appeal falls somewhere between The Novas ‘Crusher’ and The New York Dolls version of ‘Stranded In The Jungle’.

Dusty Springfield

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Spooky / Dusty Springfield

Listen: Spooky / Dusty Springfield

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I Am Your Child / Dusty Springfield

Listen: I Am Your Child / Dusty Springfield

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This is an easy one. Everyone agrees Dusty’s immortal and timeless. We all know her many classics. It’s these two very overlooked, almost forgotten B sides that are worth visiting.

‘Spooky’ from 1970 has been compiled occasionally. A hit for The Classics IV, it was a superb cover choice as was it’s A side, The Rascals ‘How Can I Be Sure’.

‘I Am Your Child’, a beautiful Barry Manilow co-write, from exactly ten years later, is a much harder one to grab. The A side, ‘Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees’ was not a hit and it would be another seven years before Dusty returned to the charts. Both are exquisite showcases for that shimmering, delicate craftmanship of a voice.

Scott Walker

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Lights Of Cincinnati / Scott Walker

Lights Of Cincinnati / Scott Walker

Listen: Lights Of Cincinnati / Scott Walker

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Nothing needs to be said.