THIS BLOG IS ABOUT 7" RECORDS ONLY. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY. EVERY SONG IS CONVERTED TO MP3 FROM MY PERSONAL 45 COLLECTION, AND THERE'S NOT ONE THAT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND YOU SEEKING OUT. ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDERS WHO DON'T WANT THEIR MUSIC HEARD HERE JUST LET ME KNOW, AND DOWN IT WILL COME. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE.
Listen: (Drawing) Rings Around The World / Super Furry Animals (Drawing)
Do not adjust your sets. ‘(Drawing) Rings Around The World’ sounds distorted and sonically noisy. Don’t fret, it was meant to. Despite that minor issue, the song is so good, and as their show opener, so memorable, it’s pretty hard not to love it.
Back during summer 2001, Rob Stringer at Sony UK asked if I’d stay in London an extra day for Super Furry Animals’ record release party. It was a small do, a bunch of regional sales reps from across Britain were brought into London, food and drink offered up. The limited access, and a Friday dinnertime event meant most of the crowd were boringly annoyed at the interruption known as the band’s set, as opposed to excited fans thrilled at the privilege. For me, it was indeed a perfect opportunity to stand front and center, like being treated to a private rehearsal. As with the record, this live show opener haphazardly found it’s footing by transforming an initial tune up like chaos into a powerful groove and swing, dare I call it an unleashing. Yes, that’s what it was. Superb stuff.
RINGS AROUND THE WORLD was the band’s first album on Sony imprint Epic UK. The previous five years, parent company Sony had distributed Super Furry Animals’ releases through a deal with Creation Records. When Creation founder Alan McGee had had enough of running the label, most of the bands moved onto the corporation’s various imprints.
Rob was logically looking for a US partner, and as much as I loved that album, Columbia was just a poisonous place populated by clueless leadership when it came to music with such culture and class. It would have ended in tears. So I passed, and I suppose Rob never forgave me.
Never mind, got what bordered on an audience with the Queen, and a limited 7″.
Listen: Nice Girls Don’t Stay For Breakfast / Julie London Nice
You can listen to Julie London for the rest of your life if you want, and probably find it hard to get intimately familiar with her entire recorded output: 32 albums. She’s so good, I say give it a try.
She was signed to Liberty Records from ’55 – ’69, yet had only one single that made the BILLBOARD Top 100. Now that’s a commitment to the artist. But what a worthy choice.
Julie London, wife of DRAGNET’s Jack Webb, issued endless suggestive song titles and double entendres, some hysterical now, in the 21st century. Surely at their time of release, they turned many a lonely guy on.
Knowing her own vocal weakness, or strength in my book, she’s qouted as follows: “It’s only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of oversmoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate.” Now there’s a recording technique tip if I’ve ever heard one.
Wonderfully out of place in the ’67 musical landscape, ‘Nice Girls Don’t Stay For Breakfast’ was even, in it’s day, a 50′s throwback to an era when, I guess, it was not talked about that even nice girls did stay for breakfast.
Never mentioned as one of her greats, and she has many, many greats, this single is most elusive. Yes, it’s the title of one of her final albums, but as for the 7″, seldom seen.
Ever hear worse mixes than these early Grateful Dead records? They are also hard to surpass in the wretched drum sound department. In the case of ‘Dupree’s Diamond Blues’, they’re thankfully non existent.
While I’m at it, none of the records were ever cut loud enough. Not only The Grateful Dead’s, Jefferson Airplane’s and Quicksilver Messenger Service’s qualify too. You just can not make these records sound comfortably loud, at least I can’t.
But…if you want an innocent snapshot of wandering around Haight Ashbury, loving the police as they kicked the shit out of you, look no further than one of these singles. ‘Dupree’s Diamond Blues’ will do just fine. Like a travel guide to the San Francisco summer of love sound, and one that has no sell by date. I slap this on the turntable, and boom, instantly envision the bong drenched, head shop busy streets of the 60′s beat movement. Oh what it must have been like, sitting around all day, playing records or listening to Tom Donahue on KMPX, just waiting for The Fillmore West to open.
Never will I forget the sight of this first US single by Tyrannosaurus Rex. Their name was so foreign at the time, completely intimidating to all, particularly US programers. Yes, they were full of reasons back then to keep adventurous music off the airwaves too. Add to that the band’s warlock folk, as one reviewer called it. He couldn’t have conjured up a more tempting challenge.
A&M never did release either their first nor second album in the US when current, just this lone 7″, ‘Debora’.
The Los Angeles label had a deal with Regal Zonophone out of the UK, or maybe it was directly with Denny Cordell’s and Tony Secunda’s production company, Tarantula. Basically, the arrangement covered US representation for their UK artists: Procol Harum, Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, The Move and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The latter two benefiting only from singles being issued in the US, and in the case of Tyrannosaurus Rex, just this one. WOUR were only too glad to have me cart their copy out of the building. That bunch literally had no clue. Bless their studipity.
Listen: Ride A White Swan / Tyrannosaurus Rex Ride
What seemed like a generation later actually was one short year. Their third and fourth albums, UNICORN (’69) and A BEARD OF STARS (’70) were near perfect, still as exhilarating today as then. By this time, Bob Krasnow had picked up the band for his Blue Thumb label. He released both albums in quick succession plus ‘Ride A White Swan’ almost immediately after A BEARD OF STARS.
Although still using the full Tyrannosaurus Rex moniker in the US, Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin-Took had officially shortened their name to T. Rex elsewhere, coinciding with their full on electric and pop path, not unlike Bob Dylan’s gear shift with BLONDE ON BLONDE, bar a name change to B. Dylan.
Almost simultaneously, Bob, as in Krasnow, joined Warner Brothers Records’ A&R department, bringing T. Rex with him. The rest is history.
Listen: Midnight To Six Man / The Pretty Things Midnight
Happy birthday Phil May.
Acquiring one of the hardest US singles by The Pretty Things, a commercial stock copy of ‘Midnight To Six Man’, evaded me for decades. It became the most exasperating exercise. I had even put a $300.00 eSnipe bid in on the very, very rare occasion that one went up for auction several years ago. The previous day, I changed my eBay password as a standard safety procedure, and neglected to do the same with eSnipe. The bid was rejected due to security reasons. The record, listed by it’s B side as opposed to ‘Midnight To Six Man’, sold for just over $7.00. I was mortified. Even contacted the seller with a bribe, and the winner with hundreds. No luck.
Not so the second time through, and finally got the copy above. Nowhere near the $7 mark, but thrilled just the same. Now I can go to my grave, and this single will come with me.
Above: The Pretty Things perform ‘Midnight To Six Man’ live on the British TV program A WHOLE SCENE GOING March ’66.
Listen: Standing Ovation For Love / Jay Dee Bryant Standing
Swamp Dogg has been a sign of dependable endorsement for years now, to these ears that is. Coincidentally, as time passes, I found a solid handful of Jay Dee Bryant singles had moved into the house uninvited. Glad they did though.
During ’74, Jerry Williams aka Swamp Dogg was doing his usual co-writes and productions for others. In this case, ‘Standing Ovation For Love’ was born. Thank you sweet Lord.
‘Standing Ovation For Love’ was picked up by Island UK, and issued on their short lived USA series, identified by it’s own prefix (USA) and numbers, and given unique label art. Well sort of issued that is. Reading the press release above, the company manufactured copies to test the waters. Not having seen a stock copy ever, my guess is it never got issued commercially. Plus given there were four other USA prefixed releases, all of which I do have retail copies of, it’s hard to verify.
Come ’76, another DJ run was pressed up as you can see above. Again, never saw a stock. Plus, I can’t find anyone from Island during either period that remembers. Therefore, no idea what happened, but can tell you something for sure. I play this constantly.
The fifth single in a multi year run of pretty flawless releases that lasted through the early 70′s. By then, The Tremeloes could always be depended on to come up with one or two undeniables: ‘Me And My Life’, ‘(Call Me) Number One‘.
Due to those high charting records, the occasional “too pop” comment got attached to this band quite unfairly. But ‘Helule Helule’ particularly proved them serious players as well as hit makers. This sounded so good on the air that springtime when released. I recall hearing it a lot for a few weeks, around the same time as The Small Faces’ ‘Lazy Sunday’ and Grapefruit’s ‘Elevator’ were out. The record seemed to be a payola casualty, lack of, basically. Still baffling how the powerhouse of Epic Records let this band dwindle off the airwaves in the US. Crime.
Ok. So these are fairly recognizable records. Certainly The Who and The Cream songs are, probably the most obscure being The Small Faces ‘Patterns’. Although on many comps, it’s their hardest Decca single to find by far, and certainly the most expensive. Plus it was never issued in the US as a 7″.
The reason I have them clumped together: they all travelled back to The States with my Mom from Ireland in June ’67. She had gone off to see my Aunt Connie for a few weeks and I loaded her down with a list and a half of records to please bring home. She came back with four, all she could probably afford but I was totally content; my Aunt Connie ordering the one I wanted most, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich ‘Okay’, and sending it on later.
Luckily I had the greatest parents in the world for a billion trillion zillion reasons, two being their patience with my record fetish and generosity toward the addiction.
I found that I had filed The Cream single with the actual shop bag all four records came back to the US in. Notice the address on the bag’s art work matches the stamp on the record’s sleeve. So when pulling ‘I Feel Free’ to play tonight, I thought it would be fun to bunch them together for this little, but true, story. After all, they literally existed as a unit for weeks upon my Mom’s return that June. I almost couldn’t let one play all the way through, I was in such a hurry to hear the next, especially once familiar with them.
Somebody, somewhere knew how to pick terrific material for Grace Jones. Possibly it was she herself. For my two cents, this is absolutely one her all time best vocal interpretations. Ever.
I do know the early 80′s musical patch during which Joy Division’s ‘She’s Lost Control’, a B side only, was recorded by Alex Sadkin and The Compass Point Allstars, coincided with Jean-Paul Goude’s image reinvention. As a result of that intense visual makeover, Chris Blackwell hung the already completed WARM LEATHERETTE cover art in the studio as the album’s sessions were begun, instructing the entire team to make a record that sounded like the photo looked. He told me this himself.
Eventually released in an extended club version, complete with dub, it’s this original B side ‘She’s Lost Control’ that is most valuable as a 7″. Despite all the other versions finding their way onto bottom of the barrel scraping compilation cds, this single edit has only ever appeared where it originally was issued, on a 7″.
Listen: Hard Times Of Old England / Steeleye Span Hard
I can completely understand why some folks found Maddy Prior’s voice grating. Never really noticed until now, all these years later. Sometimes I’m clearly asleep at the wheel. For instance, during the commercial heyday of southern rock, I couldn’t for the life of me get why the US was not into Roy Wood’s Wizzard or Sparks. So there you go.
Folk rock, as with jazz, seems allowed to deal themselves the occasional out of jail free card. In the case of a voice, there are plenty of folkies who get appreciated, where in any other genre, that same person would be considered unacceptable. The Incredible String Band or The Pentangle’s Jacqui McShee come to mind.
Whatever. ‘Hard Times Of Old England’ was a big favorite when current. I played the hell out of it on my college station, not exactly a fit in upsate New York.
Although the single was not a UK chart success, unlike some of Steeleye Span’s other releases, one would have thought it might turn into an anthem, ever present on pub jukeboxes across the land. A bit like The Strawbs‘ ‘Part Of The Union’.
The record certainly got embraced by the BBC heavily, the public just didn’t buy it.
Never mind what the label copy indicates. This one’s less than two minutes long. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when converting the vinyl to a file for the post. Memory never recalled ‘Run, Run, Run’ as being that short. Must be the tempo change / middle bridge breakdown, a flower power 101 production trick during ’67. Every respectful, as well, confused producer used that ace card to authenticate their psychedelic masterpieces. The passage certainly gave subliminal symphony dynamics to “Run, Run, Run’, even implying a longer playing time. Plus it comes only :45 in. Nowadays, the first chorus hook sometimes doesn’t even hint at existing before the :60 mark.
As a kid, the lyrical stock exchange mock up went completely over my head, and I bet it was not mine alone. That era required a song’s message be current and political. Not many years later, those of-the-moment lyrics bit everyone on the back, turning their punch lines into quick sell by dates, and now makes for historical place marking.
To be fair, ‘Run, Run, Run’ didn’t need lengthening. It’s the perfect gem exactly as it stands. You can really hear the profound influence guys like Gary Usher and especially Brian Wilson, even more precisely ‘Good Vibrations’, had on west coast bands, songs, arrangements and productions. The clean and colorful clarity of lysergic acid was ever present.
‘Run, Run, Run’ was yet another audio sugar lump journeying confidently down the summer of love conveyor belt. As mentioned in other posts, these records were everywhere that year. And every single one a keeper.
Listen: Don’t Go Breaking My Heart / Elton John & Kiki Dee EltonKiki.mp3
‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ meant to the 70′s what Dusty Springfield’s ‘I Only Want To Be With You’ did to the 60′s. Is there anyone on the face of the earth capable of switching either one off? Be hard to convince me the answer to that question is yes. They’re the kind of songs that allow you to just worry about whatever is the problem in three minutes or so. All issues go on hold.
‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ had the energy and pep of Northern Soul. I suppose the genre purists will cringe at that one, but seriously, this was pop oddly out of step when released. A kind of throwback to the 60′s, most likely intentional. Just like Northern Soul itself.
For history’s sake, Kiki Dee was the first white artist to be signed to Motown. If that’s not Northern Soul, nothing is.
It’s fun to be wandering on your own, completely lost, every once in a while. So is the case with The Blisters. No idea who they were, or where they ended up. Google is pretty far reaching, but when it comes to records like this apparent one off, even the World Wide Web is baffled.
Thinking this was yet another formula rendition of ‘Shortnin’ Bread’ proves negative. Instead, The Blisters’ take is pretty inspired, not following the easy rockabilly path but instead, doo wop meets jump.
Listen: Cookie Rockin’ In Her Stockings / The Blisters Cookie
Scouring a Liberty discography puts this release somewhere in ’63. Checking out eBay for interest, seems there’s not too much. One guy had a post calling them and this single a one hit wonder. More like no hit, it neither charted on the Top 100 nor Bubbled Under.
Impossible to not spin ‘Cookie Rockin’ In Her Stockings’ a few times on title alone. A good double sider, and a keeper.
Listen: Fooba-Wooba John / The Original Soundtracks Fooba-Wooba
Snow day in NYC, yes seriously. October and a very out of season, I think they’re called freak snowstorm pounced the region. Which was fine. I love the winter, especially when it goes away the next day. The storm was an excellent excuse to unearth several boxes and do some filing.
Damn, I hadn’t heard ‘Fooba-Wooba John’ in years. So simple and memorable as a kid, the record is hard not to hear if you just close your eyes and recall. Turned up loud, it turned back time.
The Original Soundtracks were local Syracuse guys from the early 60′s. Just listen to the singer’s accent making it easy to spot their geographic location. The stuff sock hops were made of. AMERICAN GRAFFITI right there in our own backyard.
Listen: The Transylvania Twist / Baron Daemon & The Vampires The
But this jarred my brain in another way. ‘Fooba-Wooba John’ sure did remind me of ‘The Transylvania Twist’, another local single from exactly the same era.
A couple years back, I did a post about ‘Ghost Guitars’, B side to ‘The Transylania Twist’. In it, the very short explanation of Baron Daemon is un-mythed.
Every so often, the garage band or surf bug bites, and ‘The Transylvania Twist’ is an easy grab for either. I recall Baron Daemon & The Vampires appearing on at least one local AMERICAN BANDSTAND type program, decked out in Dracula gear, lip synching it.
A lovingly obvious Ventures instrumental track is all over both the above singles. My suspicions increased. I actually had to A/B the two as suddenly I was sure their backing tracks were one in the same. But alas, not true.
Still, I’m guessing The Original Soundtracks are The Vampires as well. There are too many fits for it not to be, but I’ll most likely never know.
She never sat in my office at Columbia. Nina Hagen was before my time, but during Howard’s. I don’t recall his memories being flattering. Not unlike her records, she was apparently rather primal.
Her vocal styled in that walking dead voice always took the prize for best dynamic moment on any track, although I’d have to say Mike Thorne was best at dragging that out of her on NUNSEXMONKROCK from ’82, one album and one year prior to ‘Zarah’. In fact, my all time favorite Nina Hagen track from said album, ‘Born In Xixax’, never graced a 7″. Luckily, ‘Zarah’ came in a close second.
Good call on someone’s part paring her with Giorgio Moroder, and, the 80′s version of today’s Mark Ronson fifteen minutes of fame producer, Keith Forsey. The track is superb, soldiering along proudly in the shadow of Sparks ‘Beat The Clock’, another Giorgio Moroder production from three years earlier.
Man, remember when records began to sound really expensive? Looking back, ‘Zarah’ was totally in that fast lane.
Robert Parker began his recording career playing with Professor Longhair on ‘Mardi Gras In New Orleans’ in ’49. Over the next decade, this guy worked with just about every New Orleans musician, including Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, and Huey ‘Piano’ Smith. You name it. Hitting his stride in ’66, after signing to the small Nola Records, he and the label delivered a Top 10 (#7) BILLBOARD hit with ‘Barefootin’.
As it turns out, the single was a classic double A side, as ‘Let’s Go Baby (Where The Action Is)’ became a huge Mod club hit in the UK. It’s cemented his popularity in Europe till this day, where he still can make the occasional appearances and get some royal treatment.
Despite lack of national radio and chart success, his musical success never stopped. Released in ’74 ‘Get Ta Steppin’ eventually became known as a southern funk template, determined not only by those in the know but more importantly, via endless sampling.
Almost as though lightning struck twice, not unlike the ‘Barefootin’ / ‘Let’s Go Baby (Where The Action Is)’ coupling, ‘Get Ta Steppin’ / ‘Get Right On Down’ proved to be another double side, basically must have in any respectable soul collection, 7″ single.
Despite not issuing albums during the 70′s (his only LP is BAREFOOTIN’ from ’66), Robert Parker just proceeded to make a seemingly essential single each year or so, right up through ’76.
Listen: A Little Bit Of Something (Is Better Than A Whole Lot Of Nothing) / Robert Parker A
As with his 60′s output, career long musical arranger, producer and collaborator Wardell Quezergue was part of ‘A Little Bit Of Something (Is Better Than A Whole Lot of Nothing)’, his final single prior to recording retirement and one I just never see around.
Both a ridiculous band name and one I loved immediately. Seems there was a late 60′s music business formula: find a proper soulful voice, three or four other good looking guys, smart them up with some loud London clothes, get them some women’s haircuts and off you might go to the charts. Usually these were bands that actually had some chops but needed a break, so my guess is they sucked it in and went along. I would think The Marmalade and The Love Affair were guilty victims.
Cupid’s Inspiration had to have been just that. Vocalist Terry Rice-Milton could really sing. And they made a couple of singles (five in total were released) that were timeless in. ‘Yesterday Has Gone’ and this, it’s follow up.
Occasionally you hear them on BBC Radio 2. Dale Winton in particular played them often while he was still the presenter of PICK OF THE POPS.
Every time ‘My World’ comes on I just think it’s a perfect symphony.
Listen: Mamma Gave Birth To The Soul Children / Queen Latifah & De La Soul Mamma
I was fortunate enough to meet Jon Baker, owner of Gee Street Records, through the Island UK office. Actually, Julian Palmer from 4th & Broadway in London had signed Stereo MC’s to a singles deal, and Jon, the ever ambitious yet courteous entrepreneur, bugged me incessantly to come over and see a rehearsal, guaranteeing their greatness.
I recall Jon having a picture perfect office setup, basically heaving with records and always jumping. I loved Gee Street. They had released some US hip hop and house independently prior to ultimately signing the deal with Island. On a previous trip, this guy fed my 7″ addiction with serious handfuls of each release. Generous wasn’t near a strong enough term. And his pressings were beauties, thick vinyl, top notch UK picture covers. Jon Baker always did these things classy.
Well last night, ‘Mamma Gave Birth To The Soul Children’ got stuck on repeat as I moved some big boxes around the house, a lucky break. It recalled the time he and Ziggy drove Corinne and I around Chelsea, blasting late night London pirate stations. Some of the stuff played would still rock up any world, and in the mix, on comes Jon’s Queen Latifah / De La Soul record. Kid in a candy shop, it couldn’t have been a better moment for him.
Back to that Stereo MC’s rehearsal. They were red hot, yeah, undeniable. Mission accomplished. We scheduled ‘Elevate My Mind’ as a US Island single immediately. It eventually climbed into the BILLBOARD Top 40, paving the way for a proper Stereo MC’s career run and a full Gee Street/Island label deal.
Listen: It Takes Two (Radio Edit) / Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock It
Nothing like chilly autumn weekends to hibernate inside a warm house, filing records. My shelves are freaking me out, they’re jammed, and there’s hundreds of singles in white boxes awaiting a slot. So, much of Saturday was spent removing a ton of records I almost couldn’t believe I owned. Some acts with like ten singles deep, sitting wasting space.
Mind you, nothing really gets eliminated, just moved to the backup library or officially into storage. Mostly 80′s and 90′s rock titles I hadn’t listened to even as they were being filed, like R.E.M., The Cult, Everything But The Girl. Seriously, hundreds and hundreds more.
Years ago I created a hip hop 7″ section. We’re talking the early days, given the confusion I anticipated organizing DJ this or MC that. As with some other random sections: jazz, reggae, world, acid house, I found I quite liked the setup, made it easy to scan for a song when the genre bug has bitten. Mind you, this requires a second copy of everything: one for the genre section and one for the main library. In the heyday of 80′s/90′s record business, everyone was only too happy to unload 7″ singles my way. Nobody wanted them, a result of the 12″ or CD taking preference.
Fantastic.
As with some of the aforementioned genres, hip hop 7″ singles looked almost odd, like they weren’t really meant to exist in that particular size. Now of course, they’ve become quite scarce, and I guarantee their values will continue to rise as a result. They’re fast becoming my new obsession so needless to say, I ended up log jamming through them, pulling out more to play than I was putting away.
As with yesterday’s post, and probably tomorrow’s, I’m on a roll. Even the most mainstream hits look and sound great on a 7. Hip hop pressed in the UK is even more perverse. They might be my favorites of them all.
‘It Takes Two’ got slammed with sampling issues early, like a bunch of other records at the time. In the case of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s biggest hit, the single used James Brown and Lyn Collins’ ‘Think (About It)’ without clearance. Combine that with other unauthorized snippets, especially a Frankie Beverly & Maze sample, and the IT TAKES TWO album, despite selling millions, hit financial disaster. The calamity was the talk of the industry, which of course likes to talk so who knows, but the mess seemed to throw cold water onto their career.
One last bit. Many of the hip hop 7′s provide the only access to each song’s radio edit, and out of laziness, the labels carelessly assigned the instrumental version or some throwaway remix onto the B side, making them even more collectable.
A solid ten years before the turn of the century, Biz Markie’s ‘Just A Friend’ was a hit. A mainstream, BILLBOARD Top 100 hit, #9 to be exact.
This was 1989 into 1990, when Young MC’s ‘Bust A Move’ and Kool Moe Dee’s ‘Wild, Wild West’ were sharing slots on the US Pop charts with De La Soul’s ‘My Myself & I’ and A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘I Left My Wallet In El Segundo’. Biz Markie, with most of the Cold Chillin’ roster, fit right in.
Looking back nowadays, they collectively made up the sound of an era gone by, before most hip hop became major label controlled, processed and manufactured. And way before Biz Markie’s beat boxing went out of style.
