May 22nd, 2009
Listen: Heavy Heart / Peter Green PeterGreenHeavyHeart.mp3
Despite having a massive instrumental hit with Fleetwood Mac (‘Albatross’), repeating the process for Reprise as a solo artist wasn’t so automatic. In fact, this was a total non-starter. Released a year after his disappointing post Mac album, THE END OF THE GAME, it seems all his fans lost interest, all of the press and media lost interest and quite frankly, so too did his label.
Now the subtle grower is a damn hard single to find. Having patiently riden out his has-been phase, Peter Green graduated nicely to legend – making this record sound just a little more vital.
Posted in Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Reprise |
May 21st, 2009
Listen: Â Wake Up Little Susie / The Everly Brothers EverlyWakeUp.mp3
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Listen: Â Cathy’s Clown / The Everly Brothers EverlyCathy.mp3
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Listen: I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail / The Everly Brothers EverlyJail.mp3
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Listen: Â Don’t Let The Whole World Know / The Everly Brothers EverlyDontLet.mp3
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Talk about remembering your childhood. ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ precedes mine, but I still seem to remember this record being out. I’m guessing it was played for years after hitting #1 in ’57. I’m pretty sure my babysitting cousin Peggy would let the changer keep repeating it endlessly on my parents Living Stereo console, during which she would lock me in the bathroom, while she and her boyfriend made out (I’m guessing).Â
There’s something to be said about siblings, and how their voices are magic together. The McGuire Sisters, or Ray and Dave Davies – you’d think John and Exene were family members sometimes. I wonder what Ron and Russell would sound like if they sang together?
Here’s something interesting, for what sounds like the ultimate white pop music, both ‘Wake Up Little Suzie’ and ‘Cathy’s Clown’ scaled to the #1 spot on the pop AND the RnB charts. Can you believe that!!!
After the brothers bailed  for Warner Brothers in 1960, their original label, Cadence, continued to release the odd single in the hopes of grabbing another hit. One such 7″: ‘I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail’ snuck out in August ’62. Not as wild as the title suggests, it’s nonetheless grown on me over the years. The record’s humble chart run and placing (6 weeks, #76) in Billboard being part of the attraction. I love a flop.
By ’63 the hits had pretty much dried up – and not surprisingly, the British Invasion crippled them as it did so many other clean cut late 50′s/early 60′s teen stars. They released a version of ‘Love Her’ in that year, only to be usurped by The Walker Brothers rendition. In fact, ‘Don’t Let The Whole World Know’, the B side to ‘You’re My Girl’ (#110, 2/65), is a total cross between The Walker Brothers and The Cramps, two acts everyone, even The Everly Brothers, wishes they were like.
Posted in Cadence, John Doe, Ray Davies, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Sparks, The Cramps, The Everly Brothers, The Kinks, The McGuire Sisters, The Walker Brothers, Warner Brothers, X |
May 20th, 2009
Listen: Jelly Roll Gum Drop (Mono) / Ruben & The Jets
Jelly
Proof positive that those mono mixes back in the 60′s were approached very differently than their stereo counterparts. Word has it the importance of the 7″ single, and early indifference towards albums, many times resulted in leaving the stereo mix to one of the studio engineers, while the band and producer focused only on mono. Might explain the radical difference in mono/stereo versions of The Pink Floyd’s PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN and A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS. Not to mention The Pretty Things S. F. SORROW or The Small Faces OGDEN’S NUT GONE FLAKE. If you’re lucky enough to have both versions, a/b them sometime. You’ll hear different vocal takes and even additional instruments throughout.
No exception is this mono version of ‘Jelly Roll Gum Drop’. Like other early mono releases by The Mothers Of Invention, who were one in the same with Ruben & The Jets, this too is radically different, and therefore much desirable in it’s mono 7″ issue.
Posted in Frank Zappa, Ruben & The Jets, The Mothers Of Invention, The Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, Verve |
May 19th, 2009
Listen: Mighty Mighty Spade & Whitey / The Impressions ImpressionsMighty.mp3
Was it by coincidence the album from which this, and it’s flip side ‘Choice Of Color’, came sported a title THE YOUNG MODS’ FORGOTTEN STORY? What fan of the under appreciated US Blues/RnB/Soul sound, so loved in the UK, would not embrace it whole heartedly? After all, the mods championed Tamla/Motown, James Brown, all things blues, ska and multi racial in the years prior to this 1969 release. Capturing the heroin chic of Harlem, glorified by endless blaxploitation films, ‘Mighty Mighty Spade & Whitey’ was the real theme of racial tensions in every inner city public school. If you lived it, you’d know. Relegated to a B side, it’s a bit of an undiscovered gem.
Impossible now not to respect, even worship, the mere sound of Curtis Mayfield’s fragile falsetto voice, his style was in extreme contrast to the sound of rollicking soul, then dominating the charts. It’s gratifying that he, along with Donny Hathaway, tended to define the mainstream almost overnight.
Posted in Blaxploitation, Curtis Mayfield, Curtom, Donny Hathaway, James Brown, Motown, Tamla, The Impressions |
May 17th, 2009
Listen: Sweet Sherry / JJ Barnes
Sweet
There’s a fantastic double cd anthology, THE IN CROWD – THE STORY OF NORTHERN SOUL that instantly moved my interest and knowledge in the genre forward exponentially. I became insatiable and was somewhat content to find that many of the classics I already had in my collection. But it didn’t stop my quest for all the others. The cd was issued with an accompanying book, equally great. It’s pretty funny to read the quotes by various DJ’s and journalists centric to Northern, all militant about having the final say, or getting the ultimate credit, on a record. Still, it’s great music and loads of fun to collect.
JJ Barnes had a few moderately successful singles in the 60′s.
But it’s ‘Sweet Sherry’, originally an LP track from RARE STAMPS that, without being released as a single, became a big deal in the Northern Soul clubs of England and subsequently, bootlegged. Or maybe kind-of-officially released after the fact, it’s findable as a 7″, I think.
Posted in Groovesville, J. J. Barnes, Northern Soul, Northern Soul Price Guide |
May 15th, 2009
Listen: When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again / Automatics Automatics.mp3
Who is the best living rock producer? Steve Lillywhite.
There are many, and I’m probably writing this without really thinking it through. Whatever. Steve has made so many great records for decades. The list is staggering: XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, Joan Armatrading, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Ultravox, fuck it – loads.
U2 – even if the band isn’t, to my tastes, great – the recordings are wonderful. For all the sonic wonder he has added to U2 alone, he still had to start somewhere.
Enter The Automatics. Certainly not his first, but definitely an early production. He’s come a long way. Or did he arrive fully formed?
This certainly captured the sound of London ’78. Those shouty vocals, bratty guitar grinds and the beautiful clunk of a noisy rhythm section all rolled up into a loveable mess. Either its great or it isn’t, and this is. If you add to that recipe an anthemic song, well, you end up with ‘When The Tanks Roll Over Poland’ by The Automatics, for one.
Posted in Automatics, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Island, Joan Armatrading, Northern Soul, Steve Lillywhite, The Psychedelic Furs, Ultravox, XTC |
May 12th, 2009
Listen: Miss Chatelaine (St. Tropez Edit) / k. d. lang
Miss
Never have I known k. d. lang to deliver anything less than a stellar live performance. From her very first New York shows, at The Bottom Line, that vocal stamina was jaw dropping. Initially, she claimed to be the reincarnation of Patsy Cline. Couple that with an outfit not unlike Granny Clampett and it reeked of novelty. Undoubtedly the reason Howard and Krasnow weren’t interested when I brought her into Elektra as a signing consideration. I was too inexperienced to see her potential, and as this was early ’85, I’d just started my A&R career, hence had no clue about fighting to get an act signed.
I feel foolish recalling the day she and her manager, Larry Wanagas, came by my office, only for me to tell them I was passing. What a idiot.
Deservedly, Seymour Stein, then a floor below me at Sire, saw her potential very differently and brought her greatness to the world.
She has many essential singles, most in classic picture sleeves. ‘Miss Chatelaine’ was a big hit in the UK, and it was fantastic hearing it on Radio 1 at the time. A particular hard one to find, it’s B side, the appropriately titled ‘St. Tropez Remix’ is equally vital, effortlessly bringing the tropics to your speakers.
Posted in Bob Krasnow, Howard Thompson, k. d. lang, Larry Wanagas, Patsy Cline, Seymour Stein, Sire |
May 10th, 2009
Listen: Indian Hate Call / The Pink People PinkPeople.mp3
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’.
Posted in Philips, The New York Dolls, The Novas, The Pink People |
May 5th, 2009
Listen: Love Years Coming / The Strawberry Children
Love
Turns out Johnny Rivers was a pretty hip cat, as I believe he’d be referred to at the time. Like his career, Johnny Rivers’ record label Soul City, was very Los Angeles centric. Having earned parent company Liberty a ton of cash, he was afforded an imprint and indeed quite the businessman, which occasionally populated the landscape during the 60′s. In short, he licensed his masters instead of allowing the label to own them. Not only as performer, but as producer and A&R alike, Johnny Rivers had talent, signing The Fifth Dimension to Soul City as well producing many of their hits. Reputedly giving Jimmy Webb his initial songwriting placements, Rivers teamed he and The Strawberry Children together. Never shy on picture sleeves, Soul City issued ‘Love Years Coming’ during the summer of ’67. It was almost a hit.
Looking back on one of my local radio station’s chart below, ‘Love Years Coming’ was that week’s pick hit. Look further though. Usually a very tight follower of the national Top 40, seems WNDR was burning it’s bra that summer as well. The sunshine was clearly powerful as acid pop singles aplenty were being played: Sagittarius at #15 (which they misspelled), The Third Rail, The Forum, The Merry-Go-Round, The Will-O-Bees, The Cyrkle, The Left Banke and pyschedelic folk hippie Marcia Strassman. Not to mention some decent soul/Northern soul: Linda Jones, The Sweet Inspirations, Betty Swanne and a portion, though not big enough, of UK stuff: The Kinks, The Spencer Davis Group
It was a great summer.
Posted in Betty Swanne, Jimmy Webb, Johnny Rivers, Liberty, Marcia Strassman, Soul City, Steven Monahan, The 5th Dimension, The Kinks, The Left Banke, The Merry-Go-Round, The Spencer Davis Group, The Strawberry Children, The Sweet Inspirations, The Third Rail, The Will-O-Bees, WNDR |
May 4th, 2009
Listen: Stereo MCs / Connected StereoMCsConnected.mp3
Has there been a better funk/rock single since this? Probably not. I’ll never forget hearing it for the first time. It was at an Island A&R retreat in New Orleans during Jazz Fest in ’92. Jon Baker, who ran Gee Street, brought it straight in from the studio. Everyone’s mouth dropped.
Jon had invited me two years prior to see the band practice/showcase at a space in south London, just near Waterloo Bridge. They’d put one single out in the UK, and were about to be dropped. The rehearsal was spectacular. Just the three piece, with their live drummer Owen. It was slamming as they say.
Island did a deal for Jon’s Gee Street label, but it took a minute. After some dicking around, Jon was getting fed up and had planned to sign with Virgin, but came into my office for one last shot. He played me a new single by his other act, PM Dawn. Their ‘Set Adrift On Memory Bliss’ was a no brainer. Later that day, I went round the Gramercy Park Hotel to hook up with Jon, and meet the P. M. Dawn guys. I kept them there until around 2AM, insuring they’d miss their dinner with Virgin which was supposedly happening. I must ask Jon if that dinner date was really true. Whatever, Jon and I schemed to get Island’s committal quickly. I suggested Jon demand a substantial check within twenty four hours, and that if the label didn’t conclude the deal within one week he could keep the money. Island agreed to it the next day, once Chris heard ‘Set Adrift’. Bingo, two acts signed in one swoop, not to mention getting Jon Baker as part of the deal.
So we proceeded to deliver Stereo MC’s their first hit, in The States instead of England no less, with ‘Elevate My Mind’. Howard Thompson played Happy Mondays the single, and got Stereo MC’s the opening slot on their upcoming red hot US tour. A perfect storm.
Even better, ‘Connected’ was to follow.
Posted in 4th & Broadway, Chris Blackwell, Gee Street, Happy Mondays, Howard Thompson, Island, Jon Baker, P. M. Dawn, Stereo MC's |
May 3rd, 2009
Listen: Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White / The Standells StandellsGoodGuys.mp3
Most people were disappointed by follow up singles, I was usually the opposite. Accepting that my tastes fell off the straight and narrow, the mid chart followups pleased me more every time. Like with this one, I always had wished they were the bigger hits. A real testament to this song’s quality came when The Cramps started covering it during the Kid Congo era.
I had seen The Standells open for The Rolling Stones, along with The McCoys, on July 6, 1966. While trolling backstage to nervously reacquaint The Rolling Stones with myself (as if they cared) – having gotten into their dressing room the previous October (see my Alvin Robinson post for the full story) – I stumbled on most of The Standells. They looked old and kind of fake to this little kid. Indeed, they weren’t true beat group long hairs and were slightly advanced in years having done the early 60′s LA circuit during the surf days. Never mind. I was way more interested in seeing The Rolling Stones. Years later I did regret not knowing enough about The Standells history at the time. Like, for instance, that Gary Walker from The Walker Brothers had once been a member. Missed opportunity, I’m ashamed to say.
This followup to ‘Dirty Water’ was all over my local station that summer (see local WOLF chart below). God, it sounded fantastic on the air. Bless him, Little Steven plays it on his Sirius channel, but unfortunately, it might be the remastered, digitally polished and shined stereo version. So just in case, here my friends, is the mono single, taken right off my original 7″ purchased at WT Grants that very summer.
Posted in Gary Walker, Little Steven, Sirius, The Cramps, The McCoys, The Rolling Stones, The Walker Brothers, Tower, WOLF |
April 29th, 2009
Listen: Jadoo / Passport PassportJadoo.mp3
Back in ’74/’75 when I worked at Discount Records’ Syracuse University location, a bunch of my co-worker pals were really into all the jazzy prog coming out of the UK and Europe. Bands like PFM, Hatfield & The North, Faust, that kind of stuff. Probably it’s how I got turned on to Passport. I didn’t follow that sound down the Herbie Hancock or Mahavishnu Orchestra path though and drifted back to more familiar terrain quickly. Some of the sonic elements that, say, Manfred Mann’s Earthband would incorporate, were enough for me.
I always liked ‘Jadoo’ from the CROSS COLLATERAL album and was so excited when the WEA salesman, Jack Riehle gave me a sampler 7″. I hadn’t listened to this in a good ten years. Having pulled it out recently, I was actually shocked to discover it a precursor to techno. Who knew?
Posted in Atco, Discount Records, Faust, Hatfield & The North, Herbie Hancock, Jack Riehle, Klaus Doldinger Passport, Mahavishnu Orchestra, PFM |
April 28th, 2009
Listen: Saturday Miles (Edit) / Miles Davis
Saturday Miles / Miles Davis
Isn’t it a riot that this was released as a single? Who on earth was ever going to play it? The edits are classic.
Posted in Columbia, Fillmore East, Miles Davis |
April 27th, 2009
Listen: Man Of Renown / Writing On The Wall WritingOnTheWall.mp3
Two singles in four years. Not a great work ethic. This got a lot of Radio 1 play during summer ’73, for a few weeks that is. I really loved it – sounded so good through the transistor radio in my cousin Diane’s kitchen.
It was a fun summer, trolling the record stalls and stores by day, working at The Marquee by night. I was a regular at One Stop Records on Dean Street. I’d get there by midday to await the arrival of the shipments. Terry and Jeff were Marquee regulars and I’d keep them in pints, so they’d return the favor with…..singles. Just to keep it all tidy, as they’d say, I never left the shop without record in bag. This particular one (pictured below) housed the Writing On The Wall single, not only as it traveled from Dean Street to Diane’s place on Clipstone Street with me, but all the way back to America. I just never separated them.
Writing On The Wall played a few times at the club (see both front & back of the July ’73 schedule below that coincidentally has One Stop on the map side), and were particularly nice guys. With just the right mixture of Status Quo, Audience, Blackfoot Sue, Thin Lizzy and Wizzard, they straddled blues boogie and glam well, as evident on ‘Man Of Renown’. I’m guessing not many agreed though. This was a flop, but cult status awaited. I bet they’d have preferred the money.
Posted in Audience, Blackfoot Sue, Glam, Marquee, One Stop Records, Pye, Status Quo, Thin Lizzy, Wizzard, Writing On The Wall |
April 25th, 2009
Listen: Goodnight Sweet Josephine / The Yardbirds YardbirdsJosephine.mp3
The band’s stock had nose dived by April ’68, the month their final single ‘Goodnight Sweet Josephine’ was released. Maybe because having both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck in the lineup, as well as producer Mickie Most, all pretty much deciding on their material. It was a recipe for disaster, although I love the final few singles that resulted. Their live show was moving toward what would become Led Zeppelin, yet the records were being positioned for pop radio success (‘Ha Ha Said The Clown’, ‘Ten Little Indians’ and this). ‘Goodnight Sweet Josephine’ was my very favorite single for months, it’s psychedelic attack still sounds incredible. The guitar tone, lead line and solo being signature Jimmy Page. The band lip synched this on the syndicated UPBEAT show out of Cleveland, whose archive is apparently still intact but being hideously under exploited. There’s a lot of fantastic stuff in those file cabinets guys.
Despite one week on Billboard’s Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart at #127, (see below), there were apparently very few copies in actual circulation. Impossible to find for years, the occasional one that does appear still commands a $75+ price tag. I bought mine week of release. Somehow, our local shop got the obligatory three (always started with three to test the water) copies. A best friend and record nut at the time, Denny and I scooped one each and the third…an old girlfriend Marsha. Hmmm. I think she lives close to my sister still.
Posted in Billboard, Bubbling Under The Hot 100, Epic, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Mickie Most, The Yardbirds |
April 24th, 2009
Listen: Candle In The Wind / Sandy Denny SandyDennyCandle.mp3
I hadn’t even thought about meeting Sandy Denny for the longest time, not until writing my Fotheringay post a week or so back. It’s unbelievable how much email I got as a result. People wanting the most specific details of our conversation, what she drank, what she wore, did she seem depressed. Not that I’m surprised she is so revered.
‘Candle In The Wind’ was always a song that got me choked up and not many do. Then when Elton John’s version became the signature Princess Di track, forget it. I literally had to switch it off. It weirded me out. Combine such a powerful song with Sandy Denny’s immaculate voice and, well, it was a hard one to pull out and play.
But I did it just now and it really is so spectacular. I don’t know if many people have heard this as the single is quite rare, at one time booking for 100 GBP in The Record Collector Price Guide. Fact is it never made it beyond the promo run.
Posted in Elton John, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Island, Record Collector Price Guide, Sandy Denny |
April 23rd, 2009
Listen: Baby I’m – A Want You / Bread BreadBabyImAWant.mp3
Listen: The Guitar Man / Bread BreadGuitar.mp3
I was filing a box of singles last weekend that I’d been avoiding for ages, with no recollection of how I ended up owning them even. Mostly likely Graham Stapleton saved these for me from his stockpile of 70’s promos, back when he dealt with all the BBC dj’s and pop press music critics. Check out past posts for more details.
They were all UK A labels – and the reason for avoiding them was not what you think. It’s because I knew it would eat up an afternoon to get through the 30 count box, once I started cleaning and playing them all. As it turns out – I had a great time.
Amongst them were two Bread 7’s. Like everyone, I had my nose in the air toward this band at the time. Yes, they looked like shit, and were no match for glam or The Kinks. But guilty pleasures were indeed a few of their songs at the time. I have to say, ‘The Guitar Man’ sounded pretty great on Sunday. In hindsight, these sit perfectly with any Glen Campbell or Jimmy Webb record probably considered more politically correct still.
Posted in Bread, Elektra, Glam, Glen Campbell, Graham Stapleton, Jimmy Webb, The Kinks |
April 22nd, 2009
Listen: Soul Makossa / Manu Dibango ManuSoulMakossa.mp3
Listen: Reggae Makossa / Manu Dibango ManuReggae.mp3
There was some song, a current hit, I caught this morning when taking the kids to school. They either torture me with Z100 – or I torture them with the Bloomberg channel. Today was my turn to suffer. Said hit was a total lift of ‘Soul Makossa’. I wonder if anyone else noticed.
Ah for a time when this could actually get radio play. Interestingly, there’s hardly a hip hop track nowadays that doesn’t pummel rock music when it comes to pushing the envelope musically. So maybe this could work in the year 2009. It certainly didn’t in 1980 when the so-so reggae version was issued.
Posted in Atlantic, Island, Manu Dibango |
April 21st, 2009
Listen: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away / The Silkie
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away / The Silkie
A 1-2-3 blueprint for success in the burgeoning UK folk rock scene of 1965: be managed by Brian Epstein, cover Beatles song in folk style, have obligatory female harmonizer in lineup. Boom, you’re off to the charts. And that’s exactly what happened with The Silkie. But, after said single, ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ made the UK Top 30 and US Top 10, no one, including Brian, was interested. Despite being afforded an album on Fontana, with good songs and production, and a beautiful sleeve – the world moved on.
Listen: Born To Be With You / The Silkie
Born To Be With You / The Silkie
But the world made a mistake, as the fourth and final single released in 1966 was a gentle but terrific remake of ‘Born To Be With You’, a hit for The Chordettes some ten years prior. It went unnoticed by just about everyone, except me that is. I couldn’t believe no one cared. Admittedly the folk scene was a bit passe two years down the line, but the song alone deserved more attention. Proof came in ’73 when Dave Edmunds literally recreated a wall of sound production and applied it to what became a hit remake.
Posted in Brian Epstein, Dave Edmunds, Fontana, The Beatles, The Chordettes, The Silkie |
April 19th, 2009
Listen: But Not Really / Les Mc Cann, Ltd. LesMcCannButNotReally.mp3
Listen: Jack V. Schwartz / Les Mc Cann, Ltd. LesMcCannJack.mp3
Fill a 1958 Seeburg 222 with mid 60′s jazz singles and you can literally transport yourself back in time. To a jazz affectionado, this might be sacrilegious. Most jazz fans double as audiophiles, collecting deep groove Blue Note pressings at premium prices. This is great news actually. They’ve all ignored the disposable 7″ format for that genre, thereby making the acquisition of thousands of jazz singles a very easy accomplishment, and usually never at a price above a dollar or two. Thus it has been an ongoing process for me during the past twenty years. I love ‘em all, especially the small combo, brass free ones. Actually, I hate brass, but still happily own many Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc. etc. 7′s nonetheless.
Les Mc Cann released loads of jukebox friendly singles. I particularly love his, well any, releases on Mercury’s jazz imprint Limelight. A mid 60′s subsidiary, the label and sleeve design perfectly captured the feel and color of the era, with real verve (no pun intended).
Posted in Blue Note, John Coltrane, Les Mc Cann, Limelight, Mercury, Miles Davis, Seeburg, Verve |
