Archive for the ‘The Beach Boys’ Category

Wizzard

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Listen: Are You Ready To Rock / Wizzard
Are You Ready To Rock / Wizzard

My guess is when you can play every instrument under the sun, most get boring. Combine that with the option your competitors don’t have: the ability to pull a real musical curveball out of your hat, and you’ve unexpectedly just described Roy Wood.

Not totally mind you. Don’t forget that Roy Wood could write hooks and choruses seemingly in his sleep, and decorate the whole thing with an over the top visual to match the over the top audio.

So was the case with his band Wizzard. Not content with having masterminded The Move in ’66, then The Electric Light Orchestra in ’70, Roy Wood outglammed glam via Wizzard in ’72.

Yes, the rainbow haired frontman whipped up a rockabilly meets Beach Boys/Neil Sedaka pop stomp recipe with every Wizzard single. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the US hadn’t come to their senses and jumped on this train back in ’73 and ’74, when ‘Are You Ready To Rock’ continued a by then, British chart Top Ten onslaught, this one peaking at #8. Really tried convincing every last person in earshot pay attention to this UK national treasure but to no avail.

In hindsight, I understand. The American consumer’s musical tastes were sterilized by lazy, laid back radio programmers, all leaning to southern boogie noodle doodle or California soft rock to fill their playlists, and the future WalMart shoppers were no brighter then than now, hence limping along behind like injured lemmings.

A true multi decade damaging setback for our country. They were not ready to rock, and certainly not to bagpipes.

Mungo Jerry

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Listen: Alright, Alright, Alright / Mungo Jerry
Alright, Alright, Alright / Mungo Jerry

Like McGuinness Flint before them, or Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance just after, Mungo Jerry existed in the own sonic universe while current. A kind of rag tag gypsy dance folk, or even the skiffle side of glam, whatever…it was warm weather music and a fun slop.

‘Alright, Alright, Alright’ found it’s place on Radio 1 summer ’73. Like others I’ve mentioned here, the single was an ever present soundtrack of Soho’s market stalls that season.

Only The Beach Boys can rival them in the ‘forever summer’ category.

Jan & Dean

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Dead Man's Curve / Jan & Dean

Listen: Dead Man’s Curve / Jan & Dean JanDeanDead.mp3

Right after my little kid fascination with The McGuire Sisters, I moved on to The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las. This process seemed an eternity, but was actually only a year or two span. No sooner had the girl groups caught my ear, than surf took hold. Even though we lived in upstate New York, our favorite sport was surfing. At least that’s what we all agreed. I’m not a deeply knowledgeable collector of surf, but I do love a lot of the big hits. Summertime poured out of our transistor radios when any of the many surf singles were played, regardless of the season. Most friends were drawn to The Beach Boys, and indeed ‘Surfin USA’ and ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ still tingle like a first listen every play. But Jan & Dean for me were most consistent. These two singles, over time, have risen to the top. No secret that Brian Wilson co-wrote many of their hits, and that Jan was very involved in Beach Boys recordings too. It must have been an incredible time in LA.

‘Dead Man’s Curve’ is particularly eerie, given the near fatal crash two years after it’s release suffered by Jan Berry very close to the actual dead man’s curve, on Whittier Drive and Sunset Blvd. I have often driven past there, late at night, on my way back from John’s place just the other side of Bel Air, and would creep myself out by blasting this on the ipod. I know the route that the lyrics describe by heart. The fantasy of drag racing along Sunset, past Doheny and onward to the curve in a bright red Corvette is irresistible. Cheap thrills for a non resident basically.

Still all the history of LA and Hollywood never ceases to attract my morbid side. Years ago, Denise Zoom drove Joey and I to where the Tate murders happened. We were pretty buzzed, it was late and feeling adventurous. Halfway up the drive we both started shouting and screaming for her to stop – and back up. Never did make it all the way to the top. We were brave enough to drive past the garage where Sal Mineo was stabbed later that night though.

Ride The Wild Surf / Jan & Dean

Listen: Ride The Wild Surf / Jan & Dean JanDeanRideWild.mp3

Even ‘Ride The Wild Surf’ has a spine chiller element to it. Never could place what. The melody? The strings? The power of the ocean? They all make for an anthemic song not often given it’s dues anymore.

The Contours

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

The Contours / Just a Little

ContoursLittleUKA, The Contours, Tamla

Listen: Just a Little Misunderstanding / The Contours 06 Just A Little Misunderstanding.mp3

Most times the really successful acts are great, but after they’re pounded into your brain relentlessly, you can go off them a bit. The Beach Boys come to mind and their biggest hits at that. I love ‘California Girls’ but never need to hear it again. Likewise ‘Hey Jude’ or ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’.

So yeah, we all loved The Supremes and The Four Tops too, but those lesser known Motown acts were just as great. Some had the occasional smash, Like Mary Wells or The Marvelettes, yet some just never got near their fair share. Like The Contours.

It’s in hindsight I’ve come to appreciated them. Northern Soul has given a lot of great singles an unexpected success story, if not in big sales at least in big appreciation. ‘Just A Little Misunderstanding’ is one. I heard this on a few of those truly great Northern comps like THE IN CROWD – THE STORY OF NORTHERN SOUL and it’s accompanying must-read book.