Posts Tagged ‘Bob & Marcia’

The Eyes

Saturday, December 7th, 2013

THE ARRIVAL OF THE EYES / The Eyes:

Side 1:

Listen: The Immediate Pleasure / The Eyes
The

Listen: I’m Rowed Out / The Eyes
EyesRowed.mp3

Side 2:

Listen: When The Night Falls / The Eyes
When

Listen: My Degeneration / The Eyes
My

Originally a West London instrumental band, The Renegades added a vocalist and became Gerry Hart & The Hartbeats, before changing their name to The Eyes and recording a four song demo at Rayrik Sound Studios in Chalk Farm. Literally one block away from The Roundhouse, the apartment turned studio was used often by The Graham Bond Organization, and as well to record ‘Wrapping Paper’, the first single by The Cream. Trojan Records cut dozens of singles there as well, including Bob & Marcia’s hit ‘Young, Gifted And Black’.

Clearly influenced by The Creation and especially The Who, The Eyes didn’t appear to be the most original band around. A MELODY MAKER review of their stage show included sound effect tapes and colored visuals and despite rather lame soccer shirt uniforms that featured eyeball images, they managed to fit into the London Mod movement for a bit. By early 1965, The Eyes signed to Mercury, releasing ‘When The Night Falls’ and ‘I’m Rowed Out’ from those sessions as their debut single.

Like the follow up ‘The Immediate Pleasure’ and ‘My Degeneration’, both singles got decent airplay in the UK and so Mercury decided to couple them together as an EP in early 1966, when the EP market was still fairly healthy.

Apparently very few copies shifted out the door, making for one of the most valued EP’s from the era.

Marcia Griffiths

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Listen: Electric Boogie (Featuring Bunny Wailer) / Marcia Griffiths
Electric Boogie (Featuring Bunny Wailer) / Marcia Griffiths

Marcia Griffiths, she of Bob & Marcia from the early 70′s, also spent seven years as a member of The I-Threes, legendary background singers for Bob Marley & The Wailers.

This original version of ‘Electric Boogie’ with Bunny Wailer from ’83, initially turned up as a B side to her Mango single ‘Fever’ (top photo) but as a brewing party track, gained momentum. Within a few years, it was reissued on Island proper, this time as an A side.

Despite being a touch clumsy, possibly meaning rootsy to most, it’s a hard one not to like.

Listen: Electric Boogie / Marcia Griffiths
Electric Boogie / Marcia Griffiths

Like turned to love as a result of the 1989 remake with The Jerks, a sharp three man production team from Florida. Chris Blackwell had done a deal with them, hot off a success with Miami Sound Machine, and their biggest chart hit for Island (#51) came in the form of this new version, by now the signature song for the Electric Slide dance craze, well, sort of craze.

A DJ played this a few months back during an over the top birthday event held in one of those wonderfully generic party houses, complete with salty, over seasoned food, hoodwinking many into believing it was tasty. To be fair, the cake was super special, whipped cream instead of icing and lots of fresh fruit chunks and almond slivers folded in.

The floor lit up when ‘Electric Boogie’ hit the turntable, and I didn’t want it to end.