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Spectropop - Digest Number 1561



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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.


Topics in this digest:

      1. Re: Animal variations
           From: Mike McKay 
      2. Re: Catholic girl groups?
           From: Tony Leong 
      3. Re: Appaloosa
           From: Mike McKay 
      4. more on Mike Clifford
           From: Phil X Milstein 
      5. Re: what's a 45?
           From: Peter Lerner 
      6. Re: Sedaka's tracks
           From: Mike McKay 
      7. 45rpm: the book
           From: Kingsley Abbott 
      8. Re: Appaloosa; Sedaka bg vox
           From: Al Kooper 
      9. Arkade and "Sentimental Lisa"
           From: Peter McCray 
     10. Re: Carole King demos
           From: Brian Ferrari 
     11. new Diplomats compilation
           From: Julio Niño 
     12. Happenings/Bridge; "Mr. Soul" Brothers; short shorts
           From: Country Paul 
     13. lost recordings
           From: Will Stos 
     14. another belated hello; Kiki Dee's forgotten '60s
           From: Tom K 
     15. Re: Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
           From: Mikey 
     16. Re: Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
           From: Gary Myers 
     17. Re: What's a 45?
           From: Matt Spero 
     18. Nervous Norvus
           From: Country Paul 
     19. Darn, Witchi-Tai-to isn't on this Cd!
           From: Tom Taber 
     20. Ain't No Soul . . .
           From: Al Kooper 
     21. Hi Ho Silver Throat!
           From: S.J. Dibai 
     22. Another belated hello
           From: Joe Nelson 
     23. Re: Jerden / Rev Ola reviews
           From: Patrick Rands 
     24. Check out Jazz From Lincoln Center
           From: Mike Rashkow 
     25. Ain't No Soul . . .
           From: Frank Murphy 


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Message: 1 Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:29:29 EDT From: Mike McKay Subject: Re: Animal variations Steve Harvey wrote: > Recently I made a CD of my fav Animal tunes. In the process I > discovered two variations of "Boom Boom". I knew about the two > versions of "Outcast". The two rarer versions of "Boom Boom" and > "Outcast" can be found on the Cd "The Rhythm & Blues Collection". > Are there any other variations on Animal tracks that I'm missing? I assume you're cognizant of the two vastly different versions of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." The version that all of us in the United States grew up loving, which appeared on the U.S. MGM single and concurrent album releases, was apparently an alternate take shipped to the U.S. by mistake. Almost everywhere else in the world, a different take was released, one which is inferior by several million degrees to the U.S. one. Unfortunately, it's this version that seems to appear on all Animals CD reissues, and also gets played on U.S. oldies stations (despite bearing scant resemblance to the take that was actually a hit on these shores). I've asked before and I'll ask again -- has the U.S. single version of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" ever appeared on CD anywhere? Mike -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:06:46 -0000 From: Tony Leong Subject: Re: Catholic girl groups? Margaret G. Still asked: > The Chantels, Reparata and the Delrons ... who else would be Catholic > School girl groups? Phil Milstein replied: > The Shangri-Las. Why do you ask? The Shangri-Las went to a public high school in Queens (Andrew Jackson). Mary Ann and Margie went to a Catholic grammar school, and are buried in a Catholic cemetery in Farmingdale, L.I. Tony Leong -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 23:00:30 EDT From: Mike McKay Subject: Re: Appaloosa Christian Steiner wrote: > Yesterday a friend of mine gave me the 1969 LP from Appaloosa > as a birthday present. I was blown away by hearing the record for > the first time today, which is produced by Al Kooper. .... Did they > make a further album? To follow up a little further on Al Kooper's reply, there was a second Appaloosa album (sort of), also on Columbia. But by that time the band was down to a duo and going by the name Compton & Batteau (i.e., guitarist/songwriter John Compton and violinist Robin Batteau). This album, titled "In California," also has some great songs, most notably "Silk On Steel." John and Robin are augmented by various studio musicians, some of renown, on this effort. I was fortunate enough to see Compton & Batteau live on at least two occasions in the early 1970s in a small coffee house setting, and they were wonderful indeed. In addition to tracks from the two albums, I can recall them doing an affecting cover of Rick Nelson's "Traveling Man." Robin Batteau went on to several other bands and cut an album with his brother ("Batteaux"), and later still became a successful writer of jingles (profiled in People magazine many years ago). John Compton is still around, going variously by Johnny Compton or John Parker Compton. A few years ago, I discovered his website and e-mailed him a gushing fan letter, which he graciously responded to -- while also sending me a copy of his contemporary CD, "Sailing 'Round The World," which has some very nice moments. You can learn more about John Compton here: http://www.vmcrecords.com/index.html Mike -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 13:46:35 +0000 From: Phil X Milstein Subject: more on Mike Clifford An entry in Wayne Jancik's "Billboard Book Of One-Hit Wonders" might answer some remaining questions about Mike Clifford. And I quote: ------------------- MIKE CLIFFORD CLOSE TO CATHY (Bob Goodman, Earl Shuman) United Artists 489 No. 12, November 3, 1962 "... His voice really rubs me the right way," said Mae West of Mike Clifford in the legend's last film, Sextette (1978). "I've seen a lot of people go and come in the last 40 years," wrote Mike Clifford in a letter to the author. "In 1964, Sonny & Cher were my opening act! I toured with the Supremes, before their first hit; Mary Wilson wrote of me in her book, Dreamgirls...' When five, Mike (b. Nov. 5, 1943, Los Angeles) started singing with a group of strolling sidewalk musicians on the island of Catalina, where his parents owned a summertime business. His father, Cal Clifford, was a trumpet player with Tommy Dorsey, Stan Kenton, Paul Whiteman, and his own unit, The Cavaliers. Mike -- who got the chance to perfect his performance with his dad's band -- was making demos at the age of 15. The following year, he was greased up, suited, and crooning in nightclubs. Helen Noga, Johnny Mathis' manager, happened to hear Mike's singing and decided to manage him; she also introduced him to Mathis' label, Columbia. Mike's first few singles for Columbia were not bad teen idol tunes; the Paul Anka-supervised "Uh Huh"actually had raw and youthful energy. Noga arranged for Mike to make his first of several appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," in 1961 -- an event that would cause him to miss his awaited high school prom and graduation. Bio materials report that Mike Clifford had his first major hit -- a number-one charter, no less -- that year with the Lawrence Welk/George Cates tune "Bombay," in Venezuela. The success garnered the 18 year old his own TV special on the state-owned network, emanating from Caracas. On his return, Mike was ushered into the studios for a recording session for United Artists. "Close to Cathy," as well as his debut LP, For The Love Of Mike, were the result. His odes to girls like "Cathy" and "Joanna" though, were puffy pop, with leanings toward earlier times; definitely not the fodder for die-hard rock and rollers. While "What To Do With Laurie" (#68, 1963) and "One Boy Too Late" (#96, 1963) did chart, the road as a recording artist got rougher for Mike. More records were made for Cameo, Sidewalk, America International, and Air Records, some reportedly popular in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Through it all, Clifford appeared often on "American Bandstand," made four tours with the Dick Clark Caravan and appearances on the Joey Bishop, Donald O'Connor, and Mike Douglas shows; as well as repeat performances at such clubs as Mister Kelly's, the Hullaballoo Club and various Playboy Clubs. In 1965, Mike Clifford made his acting debut opposite "Leave It To Beaver's" Tony Dow and "Lassie's" Tommy Rettig in ABC-TV's short-lived soap series "Never Too Young." That same year, Clifford and Casey Kasem co-hosted the syndicated music show "Shebang," and appeared with 30-foot tall Tommy Kirk and Beau Bridges in the sci-fi silly Village Of The Giants (1965). For two years in the '70s, Mike played the dual role of Johnny Casino/Teen Angel -- opposite John Travolta-Barry Bostwick -- in the national touring company of the musical Grease. He sang "Love Will Keep Us Together" with femme fatale Mae West in her last flick, the Regis Philbin-Keith Moon-Alice Cooper extravaganza Sextette (1978); sang the love theme to Orson Welles' Necromancy (1972), and appeared in John Hurt's Lord Of The Rings (1978). And then there's the commercials he did -- Inglenook Wine, MJB Coffee, Holloway Candies, and Ortho Mattresses. "Right now, I have a part-time job, and I'm doing demos for songwriters," wrote Clifford. "Even though I only made $4,000 from 'Cathy' -- and I'm obviously not a millionaire -- I feel so lucky to have worked all over the world and known so many great people. All of my initial dreams have come true, as far as my career goes. Anything that happens after this is pure gravy. "Music is a part of my life like breathing," said Mike. "As long as I still have a breath, I'll still be singing. I still enjoy it and do it every chance I get.' -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 19:39:33 +0100 From: Peter Lerner Subject: Re: what's a 45? Phil Milstein wrote: > I understand the estimable Jim Dawson and Steve Propes have a new book > out on the history of the 45. I don't have its title or other info yet, > but I can bet the Spectropopulation will account for a number of copies > sold once it becomes fully available. It's already out, and extremely interesting. Published by Backbeat Books of San Francisco, and entitled "45 RPM: The History, Heroes And Villains Of A Pop Music Revolution". UK purchasers can get it from A&R Booksearch -- e-mail me if you need details. Peter -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 22:38:51 EDT From: Mike McKay Subject: Re: Sedaka's tracks Gary Myers wrote: > Although I'm sure it wasn't him, some of the vocal bg on one Pitney song > always sounded to me like Sedaka. IIRC, I think it's "It Hurts To Be In > Love." Somewhere along the line, I can recall hearing that "It Hurts To Be In Love" was originally pitched to Neil Sedaka, but that he turned it down, whereupon it was picked up by Gene Pitney. I have no idea if there's any truth to that, but the nature of the song makes it at least plausible. Mike -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 13:07:30 +0100 From: Kingsley Abbott Subject: 45rpm: the book Phil Milstein wrote: > I understand the estimable Jim Dawson and Steve Propes > have a new book out on the history of the 45. I don't have > its title or other info yet. 45 RPM -- The History, Heroes And Villains Of A Pop Music Revolution Jim Dawson & Steve Propes Backbeat $19.95 ISBN 0-87930-757-9 Very good it is, too -- knowledgeable, well-written and very nicely presented. Kingsley -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:53:57 EDT From: Al Kooper Subject: Re: Appaloosa; Sedaka bg vox re: Appaloosa LP: > What about the other half? Almost timeless. To quote myself, in the song "Sad Sad Sunshine": "Oh I do not ever claim to seek perfection ..." re: Sedaka bg vox: > Although I'm sure it wasn't him, some of the vocal bg on one > Pitney song always sounded to me like Sedaka. IIRC, I think it's > "It Hurts To Be In Love." Don't be so sure. Neil wrote it. He sang 'em. Originally a demo. So much so that there is no "real" stereo version available anywhere. P.S. I wrote the flipside, which has my least favorite bg vocals of anything I've ever been connected with. Honest Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 21:42:03 +1000 From: Peter McCray Subject: Arkade and "Sentimental Lisa" Over the past few months, I've been tracking round various second-hand stores on the Web hoping to get together a collection of the handful of 45s released in the early '70s by Arkade. Arkade had a great sound and very nearly 'made it'. If there was any justice they most certainly would have! As has been mentioned here previously, Arkade was made up of Austin Roberts, of course, as well as Price and Walsh. Well I have had to spend a few dollars to acquire some of these 45s, but it's been well worth it. In terms of completing the collection, I thought I was just about there when I finally found a source to buy the single Where You Lead b/w Sentimental Lisa. Unfortunately, I didn't research my purchase quite thoroughly enough and I've ended up with a promo version of Where You Lead, with a stereo version on the A-side and the mono on the B-side. Not to worry -- a very nice piece to have anyway. But I'm still on the trail of a version of the original single release to hear the B-side track, Sentimental Lisa. In doing a bit more digging around on the Web looking for a source -- no luck so far -- I came across something interesting. Around the same time as Arkade was releasing Sentimental Lisa on the B-side of Where You Lead, there were three separate releases of this very same title on the A-sides of singles by: Price and Walsh -- Sentimental Lisa b/w No Place Like Home (ABC) Stump Magpie -- Sentimental Lisa b/w The Road Ahead (Dunhill) Larry Meredith -- Sentimental Lisa b/w Holy Rollin' (Bell) The Price and Walsh release MUST be the same song as the Arkade one. I wonder if it is the same recording? And I wonder about the Stump Magpie and Larry Meredith recordings -- same song, or just coincidence? It's pure idle curiosity, but if Austin or anyone else knew anything of these recordings -- particularly if the Price and Walsh recording was different to the Arkade release -- I'd be real interested to know. And if anyone could be kind enough to play any of these recordings of Sentimental Lisa they might have to musica, I'd be especially grateful to hear them. Peter -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 20:54:21 EDT From: Brian Ferrari Subject: Re: Carole King demos Hello all, I've been enjoying all the Carole King demos that have found their way into the musica lately. Thanks to all that posted! I have the grey market Carole King Brill Building Legends CD that includes, according to the packaging, her demo version of "Some Of Your Lovin'." The actual track on the CD, though (which is on there twice) is The Honey Bees' version. Does anyone know if there is a surviving Carole King demo version of this song? Thanks, Brian Ferrari -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 19:39:55 -0000 From: Julio Niño Subject: new Diplomats compilation Hola, everybody. Today I was awakened by the postman. I forgive him because he brings me Ace Records' new Diplomats compilation. It includes all my preferred songs, and the sound is fantastic. The collection contains tunes recorded for Arock (my favorites), Wand and Dynamo, six of them previously unreleased. The group voices sound sharp and smooth, fascinating as a razor edge, and mixed perfectly, organically (by the way, who is the main voice?). My favorite Diplomats songs are "He's Got You Now" and "Can't Get You Off My Mind". The latter is so beautiful that it always produces a kind of perplexity to me. My scientific mind has problems trying to understand the biological meaning of the aesthetic feelings; maybe it's a secondary effect of something. I also like the previously unreleased "Forever", in which the singer's voice reminds me a lot of Van McCoy. Ady Croasdell's notes are as exhaustive and interesting as you can expect from Ace, and the booklet includes a Diplomats discography by Peter Gibbon. Chao, Julio Niño. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 01:45:32 -0400 From: Country Paul Subject: Happenings/Bridge; "Mr. Soul" Brothers; short shorts Karen Andrew: > Country Paul, I'm envious! To see and hear the Happenings and > then Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge - all in one weekend! > Where were you during these events (ie. town, state)? To add to Fred Clemens' response, The Happenings were in New Providence, NJ on July 3, one mile from my house. Johnny Maestro and company were in Summit, NJ, five miles away. Oh yeah, the fireworks were good, too. (Fred, I'm in Chatham; what town are youin? Off-list is fine...) Martin Roberts: > The Everly's "Mr. Soul" is playing on > http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm > ...Be prepared to have your flabber gasted. I never realized that the Everly Brothers had Neil Young's vocal texture without the quaver. Maybe not the authoritative version, but a superb addition to the collection. Thanks, Martin; my flabber is thoroughly gasted and the website hasn't even been refreshed yet! Who reads short shorts? (hey, it *is* summer): Phil X Milstein, Re: Catholic Girl Groups > The Shangri-Las. With two girls named Weiss?!? (Oy vey!) Ken on the West Coast: > I hope some kind soul can post a picture to the site of Mikki & Griff Saw one posted in the Photos section. They look like 1960s Nashville gospel singers! Mick Patrick: > (wondering if there are S'poppers who don't know what a 45 is) I've got about 13,000 of them, and while I don't play them all, I do ramble 'round the collection often enough that it isn't gathering too much dust. > Al "I Coulda Been The Next Frank Gari" Kooper The artist who did "Utopia," right? Is there a story behind your comment? Country Paul -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:10:05 -0000 From: Will Stos Subject: lost recordings I just read that a man in Australia found a suitcase full of unreleased recordings and memorabilia. Apparently this lost archive was well-known among Beatle fans. That got me wondering, are there any other well- known "lost recordings" out there that may be of interest to this group? And are these really lost, or just being hidden away by producers or engineers or artists? Thanks, Will : ) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 16:12:14 -0000 From: Tom K Subject: another belated hello; Kiki Dee's forgotten '60s Hi there, my name's Tom K. I've been lurking here for a while, I'm afraid to say, but I figured it was time I introduced myself. I'm 20, I'm from England and I'm a budding singer-songwriter in a vaguely Gene Pitney-ish mould (it's a pity I wasn't born a few decades earlier!) Naturally I'm in love with spectacular retro pop in all its forms, and I've been really amazed to see people like Al Kooper and Mark Wirtz, who are not only legends but personal heroes, post here. (Anyone seen Mark lately, by the way? My dream would be for him to produce me!) While I'm here I thought I'd mention Kiki Dee. Are there any fans out there of her '60s recordings for the British Fontana label, and/or her early '70s Motown stuff? I think it's a crime that almost none of this has officially been rereleased on CD, especially when we're talking about music of such quality as I Was Only Kidding (an early Goffin-King song -- who else recorded it?), Running Out Of Fools, Why Don't I Run Away >From You, Stop And Think, etc., which mixed the grandeur of Spector with the down-to-earth soul of Motown. If there's any justice in the world this stuff should be released pronto! Tom K -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 18:17:10 -0400 From: Mikey Subject: Re: Bernard "Pretty" Purdie Phil M: > In light of this, it seems to me that a) he deliberately tried to > play in Ringo's style on those sessions (which most good session > players, in most situations, would've done anyway), and b) if he > couldn't tell the difference (listening back, years later, to the > release versions), then Ringo's playing must've been "pretty" good > already. However, does the fact (if indeed it was a fact) of him > overdubbing the parts mean Capitol had access to EMI's multitracks? > Otherwise, wouldn't he just have been doubling the parts that were > already down? Phil.....there were no Multis TO use!! The Beatles first 25 songs (or so) were recorded on Two track, so Since Capitol had the stereo masters, it would be the same. Purdie would have just recorded right over Ringos drums, mixed correctly, it would sound fine. Purdie says in an interview in the book "The Big Beat" that he did this all the time...Producers would mix a song to mono, then want a different drum sound, and they would get Purdie to "go right over the top". Mono hides alot of sins as you know.... Mikey -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 17:11:52 -0700 From: Gary Myers Subject: Re: Bernard "Pretty" Purdie Mikey: > As for Purdie, I've heard all the bashing of this gentleman, and it > makes no sense. Ask yourself this question: This was a top call, > experienced, and well respected Session guy who played on hundreds > of hit records. Why would he lie about playing on Beatles records > and tarnish his reputation? This is not to bash Purdie, but: 1. IIRC, in the Goldmine story he said a couple of other strange things besides the Beatles remarks - like something about playing on "Please, Please, Please" when that came out about 5 yrs before the song that he had already said was the first hit he played on. (However, at this point I don't recall exactly what all was supposedly said). Yes, why would he lie, but I've seen that sort of thing before. Why does Jerry Cole, who has also done a lot in the business, lay claim to writing songs that he didn't? It's strange, but who knows why some people do things like that. gem -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 23:00:37 EDT From: Matt Spero Subject: Re: What's a 45? A 45 is this strange black thing made usually made out of vinyl . . . it most often has groves in and it is said that putting them on an object called a turntable and placing the needle on said 45 causes a vibration that goes into an amlifier and eventually makes its way to a speaker where sound comes out. Most people say they sound something simular to a CD or mp3 . . . interesting huh! Matt Spero -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 18:11:21 -0400 From: Country Paul Subject: Nervous Norvus A while back mention was made that our own Phil Milstein had compiled a Nervous Norvus ["Transfusion"] anthology on Norton. Aside from the compelling writing in the liner notes, the album itself is very interesting and strange. Yes, the hits are the high points - "Transfusion" and (to a lesser degree) "Ape Call" - but Norvus/Jimmy Drake was as talented as he was highly idiosyncratic. I've been trying to place his accent; it sounds like a Minnesota-North Dakota-Canadian style of enunciation. And then there's his choice of instrument: tenor guitar with foot-tapping for rhythmn, although a couple of tracks are more fully fleshed out. Also, like so many comedians, if one listens through one can hear the sadness and desperation in Drake's life as he tried to follow-up with one novelty after another. Fun musically, fascinating sociologically. Side note from Phil's research: the car crash used on 1958's "Transfusion," actually recorded in 1937, was used again in Paul Hampton's oddly-haunting 1960 "Two-Hour Honeymoon" (Dot) and in Jimmie Cross's 1964 death-novelty "I Want My Baby Back." (Other records, too.) I really like the "Al Pitney" demo playing to musica now, and the Barbi Benton "He's A Rebel" is sorta cool too (but the fuzz guitar where the sax used to be is a bit of an eye-opener); Benton really "gets it" on the chorus. Musica (actually the powers that be at yahoogroups) seems to be liking me more lately! Country Paul -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 10:55:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Tom Taber Subject: Darn, Witchi-Tai-to isn't on this Cd! But, for the more-than-a-smattering of 'poppers who wanted to know more, Almeron Records ("Yesterday's Sounds a Week from Tuesday") has just issued "The Skeletons: "LIVE" at the Amador 1979." This "limited to 1000 copies" disc contains 78 minutes of covers of such like-genred artists as George Jones and Adam Ant, Percy Faith and the Stones, Lesley Gore and the Count Five; not to mention the Crystals, Annette, Jan and Arnie, the Ventures, Richard Rodgers, and a score of others. (Has "Amazing Grace" and "Surfin' Bird" ever graced the same slab of plastic before?) A co-worker asked, "Who have you got distributing it?" I replied, "I thought I'd hire the same guy who edited the songs, designed the booklet and disc, paid for the licensing, and wrote some of the liner notes. He's not real good, but he works dirt cheap!" E-mail me off list, or just go looking on Ebay. Tom "Will he ever get back his $4000.00?" Taber -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:56:35 EDT From: Al Kooper Subject: Ain't No Soul . . . Previously: > Ending it all with: "Yeah, but ten years from now nobody's gonna > want to buy your shoes, but my basses will have increased in price > very nicely, thank you." My wife would like to know what size they are and if they're ALL 10 years old....... -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 19:23:32 -0000 From: S.J. Dibai Subject: Hi Ho Silver Throat! Hello Spectropoppers! In honor of Bill Cosby's birthday, I thought I'd bring up one of the weirdest '60s albums in my collection, the Cos' 1967 LP "Bill Cosby Sings/Silver Throat." This was the first of his, er, "singing" albums, and interestingly it seems like those are the only albums of his that haven't seen CD release! What in the world his management, record label, or the Cos himself was thinking when embarking upon this project is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of his classic TV work (especially "I Spy"), but the guy just can't sing! The hilarious liner notes, written by his friends and "Dick Van Dyke Show" writers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, actually seem quite sincere until you hear the album. An excerpt: "We were mad because not once in all these years of hanging out did he ever say ... 'Hey, I can sing a little' ... or 'Hey ... would you like to hear me hum something?' No ... he just goes around saying clever things making everybody laugh not caring that he could also make people cry. Are the songs sad? Not necessarily. But the singing is great. And when someone you dig does something unexpected and it is really great, that act has been known to bring a tear to one's eye." Oh, dear God. So what do we have? Cosby trudging through blues and R&B covers for the most part, sometimes altering them beyond recognition. His most famous example of that, the unlikely hit single "Little Ole Man" (which was Stevie Wonder's "Uptight Everything's Alright" before Cos got his hands on it) appears here. We know the Cos has a weird sense of humor, but this is so weird it verges on the absurd. (A herd of elephants stampede over me every day a half hour after the train runs over me???) Then there's his ridiculous cover of Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman," complete with Cos yelling about bumming money off of his many girlfriends. This theme of a greedy and/or lazy man bumming money off of women continues in his original composition "Don'cha Know," which is actually not bad, and ends with the classic line "And when her money runs out of course--divorce!" (Ha.) Meanwhile, we hear him struggling to pull of a love ballad ("Tell Me You Love Me"), adding in out-of-place "Whooo!" noises, his voice thin and quavering, and giving such an off-key performance on Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" that it's actually quite funny (and let's face it, even this is better than Peter & Gordon's insufferable rendition of same). There is a real gem tucked on side two, a groovy "Mojo Workout" (not the Larry Bright hit from 1960), which really moves, and Cosby's vocal is not bad, sassy and confident, playing nicely on the innuendo in the lyrics while keeping it in check, and adding some funny ad- libs ("Here I stand/When I fall"). The closer is the funniest and, oddly, most haunting track on the album, a totally bizarre version of "A Place In The Sun." The production is the fullest on the album, and Cos carries the melody in such a way that this would be a great rendition if he could actually sing the ideas he had in his head. But with his strange, low-toned nasal delivery and unsteady voice, he sounds kind of like a very frail old man, which, paired with the song's poignant lyrics, makes this track really touching. Until you remember that it was recorded by a healthy 30-year-old comedian, at which point it really makes you laugh. I've never heard any of Cosby's other "singing" albums, and I'm not making it a top priority to do so. But despite being perplexing and even pointless, "Silver Throat" is nevertheless a fun novelty item that was worth every cent of the four bucks I paid for a used copy of it! (But not a penny more.) Hi ho Silver Throat, and away! S.J. Dibai -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:19:05 -0400 From: Joe Nelson Subject: Another belated hello Someone: > I just read the Spectropop guidelines and saw that I have just jumped > in here with no formal introduction. I am Margaret Still; I love and > collect the music discussed here. Hmmm - I never knew we were supposed to ID ourselves, either. Here goes... A few days after JFK was killed my parents had a baby and they didn't like rock and roll enough to name it after Muddy Waters, so they went with their second pick and named him after a still-unborn baseball player. This was followed by a childhood so memorable that I never bothered to remember most of it. I did end up bitten by the songwriting bug which was a ticket to getting into several garage bands, but nothing ever became of it. Later I would investigate the truth about the music industry and realized this wasn't such a bad thing. (I actually recently started recording demos again, but it'll strictly be a hobby: not only am I too old and too cranky to start anything serious at this point but for some reason my hands go numb whenever I pick up a guitar and I can't feel the pick slip, wrong strings, etc.) But that was in the 80's, so what am I doing here? It turns out that one of those repressed memories was of my sadistic older brother tying up a neighbor's son in the woods, smashing my record collection against the porch guardrail and tossing the jagged discs at the poor kid. It included a lot of cutouts from the 60's and early 70's, some of which was never reissued after the original 45's were pressed. Over the years I would occasionally turn up one of these things, but it wasn't untill a few years ago that I started tracking them down in earnest. Thus I spent several years waiting for packages from eBay, including everything from chills at actually holding a copy of the Epic Splendor's "A Little Rain Must Fall" for the first time in nearly thirty years to shock and awe at discovering that stock copies of the Forum's "The River Is Wide" bought during the song's chart run didn't look anything like my old copy. Meanwhile, Bob Radil was sending the occasional MP3 of songs that were popular in his turf but didn't catch on nationally. They all sounded like I could have owned them at the time, so I added them to the CD's I was compiling as the records arrived. This was followed by several people I'd chatted with on Napster hooking me up to their FTP servers after the RIAA crashed the party, and these turned out to be goldmines. Apparently: 1) My departed record collection only scratched the surface. 2) My increasing beef with oldies radio wasn't a matter of me getting fed up with the sound - it was that I was getting bored after the music ran out. The point was the music didn't run out - I just had to dig deeper for it. When searching the Internet for info on the music I was finding, occasionally the Spectropop archives would pop up. It took a year or so to figure out how to get in, but I made it and discoverred yet more people who needed to preserve the forgotten 60's pop I loved so much. I've got what I've got, they have what they have. Put them together and the archives burst at the seams, but still hold up. Added to the exposure to other collectors and archivists, every time I find something I didn't know about I'm a happy guy. Aren't you glad you asked? Joe Nelson -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 00:44:49 -0000 From: Patrick Rands Subject: Re: Jerden / Rev Ola reviews We've got reviews of all 4 Northwest Battle of the Bands compilations posted and here's the latest one: http://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2004/6_1/nwbattlevol4.cfm You can also read the other reviews from that link if you are interested. Other recent reviews I've written which might interest Spectropoppers include the Meet Triste Janero Rev Ola reissue: http://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2004/7_13/tristejanero.cfm I'm hoping to be posting more Rev Ola reviews this summer, as well as finish up a review I've been writing of the Rhino Handmade Hallucinations compilation. :Patrick -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24 Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 09:47:40 EDT From: Mike Rashkow Subject: Check out Jazz From Lincoln Center Sure it's off-topic, but it's still music. Doo wop and be bop are just inconsonant, not inconsistent. Highly recommend this site: Click here: http://jalc.org (Welcome to Jazz at Lincoln Center) ...and don't get me started on Ricky Skaggs. Di la, The Eclectic Eccentric Rashkovsky -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 25 Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 08:31:19 +0000 From: Frank Murphy Subject: Ain't No Soul . . . Previously: > Ending it all with: "Yeah, but ten years from now nobody's gonna > want to buy your shoes, but my basses will have increased in price > very nicely, thank you." Surely you omitted the rejoinder that I hear: "They're only worth anything if you sell them. And when was the last time you sold a record without buying another two." FrankM reflections on northern soul Saturday's two thirty pm: http://www.radiomagnetic.com or listen to an archive show: http://www.radiomagnetic.com/archive/rnb.php -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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