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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 9 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Buddy & Dusty & the Troggs!
From: Clark Besch
2. Mike Smith update
From: Norman
3. Righteous Brothers sing Bonner & Gordon
From: Peter Richmond
4. Jimmy Walker
From: Peter Richmond
5. Unchained Melody
From: Peter Richmond
6. The Reflections and Barry Darvell
From: Martin Roberts
7. Re: Righteous Brothers sing Bonner & Gordon
From: That Alan Gordon
8. Re: Righteous Bros. / celebrity pottymouths
From: Phil Milstein
9. The Poor (New Release from Sonic Past Music)
From: Ron Weekes
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 05:49:49 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: Buddy & Dusty & the Troggs!
James Botticelli wrote:
> Add to the Buddy Rich stories, now circulating, Paul Anka Moment(s)
> wherein he berates his band saying HE is the show, HE is the center
> of attention and they are only there because HE is gaddam IT you
> bunch of wimpy f____rs! On it goes.
How bout the bonus CD of the "Troggs Argue"?? A legit release of a
bunch of "f" words while "discussing" their recording session! A
full blown version of "Harrison says to McCartney: 'I'll Play if you
want me to or I won't play if you don't want me to:'"
Take care,
Clark
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 20:48:01 +1030
From: Norman
Subject: Mike Smith update
Hi Spectroppers and DC5 fans,
Courtesey of Lynn Briggs, here is an update on Mike Smith:
> Mike Smith Update -- Lynn and John, 22:55:07
> 11/09/03 Sun
> On Saturday morning,we set off on the 500 mile round
> trip to see Mike. We were a bit apprehensive,but when
> he saw us his hand immediately shot up and he waved to
> us. There was a broad smile on his face and that famous
> twinkle in his eyes. He is obviously still in the ICU
> and very ill, but he is quite cheerful and was able to
> speak to us in whispers.
> The nursing staff all love him and he makes them
> laugh.
> Lynn stayed overnight with Charlie while I returned
> home. I came back on Sunday and we were later joined by
> John Mackswith. Once again, Mike's face lit up when he
> saw John and they spent some time together. Later, Lenny
> and Linda Davidson arrived and once again Mike was
> really delighted to see them. Lenny and Mike were
> laughing and joking and Mike seemed in good spirits. We
> arrived home late on Sunday night. Mike has a long way
> to go yet but he is certainly cheerful and being well
> cared for.
> Support the "Royal Theatrical Fund" Charity which is helping
> Mike after his accident.Email me for info or visit:
> http://www.trtf.com/
> Mike Smith/Lenny Davidson Official Website and Magazine:
> http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Theater/9169/index2.html
> Official Messageboard: http://www.voy.com/14321/
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:37:40 -0000
From: Peter Richmond
Subject: Righteous Brothers sing Bonner & Gordon
Thanks a million to Phil Milstein for playing to musica the
unreleased "Whatever Happened To Happy" and the stereo mix of
"Don't Give Up On Me" by the Righteous Brothers. I had never
previously heard the song "Whatever Happened To Happy" by any
artist so it was a wonderful surprise to hear it by the
Righteous Brothers.
'That' Alan Gordon did say that he thought that "Whatever
Happened To Happy" was overproduced, but I must say on hearing
this abridged version it didn't appear to be. Are there any
plans to release this track in its entirety? What is the story
behind the song itself?
It was really fascinating to hear the stereo mix of "Don't Give
Up On Me" - I did mention in a previous post that this had never
been issued in stereo previously.
Peter
Righteous Brothers Discography:
http://freespace.virgin.net/p.richmond/
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Message: 4
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:38:31 -0000
From: Peter Richmond
Subject: Jimmy Walker
Bill Craig asked;
> Here's a question: When Jimmy Walker took the Bill Medley role
> briefly in The Righteous Bros, did he play any drums on their
> album? He was a member of the somewhat limited membership club
> of singing drummers. Maybe there's a thread there....
> Interesting too that Saxman Buddy Randall had the Beatley voice
> in The Knicks
Yes, Jimmy Walker did play the drums on the sessions for the album
"Rebirth" at the Annex Studios, Hollywood, recorded between the 25th
and 29th August 1969.
The girl backing singers were Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis and Oma "D".
Peter
Righteous Brothers Discography:
http://freespace.virgin.net/p.richmond/
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Message: 5
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:59:36 -0000
From: Peter Richmond
Subject: Unchained Melody
Richard Hattersley wrote;
> By the way, something that always shocks me about that record,
> great as it is, is that wrong bass note during the last 1/2 of
> the song. A real clanger!.
According to the Official Righteous Brothers website, "Unchained
Melody" was recorded in a single studio take.
Peter
Righteous Brothers Discography
http://freespace.virgin.net/p.richmond/
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Message: 6
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 19:01:04 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: The Reflections and Barry Darvell
I remember 'chewing the fat' with Mike Edwards some while back
about the "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet" -famed Reflections.
Among various songs and recordings by other 'Reflections', we
bemoaned the lack of a CD release of their material. Well,
this matter has now been addressed with a rather super 'Fan Club'
(i.e. 'grey'?) issue with 'The Complete Recordings 63-66'.
32 tracks including all the Golden World and High And Mighty
records, their 1st 45 on Kay-Ko, a solo Tony Michaels' "I Love
The Life I Live" (a vocal of the San Remo Golden Strings, "Hungry
For Love") and more. The sleeve notes, booklet and sound are also
of a very high quality. Well worth looking out for.
Another artist we chatted about more recently was Barry Darvell
and what do you know?.....
"Barry Darvell - More Than Just Geronimo Stomp". A double CD, this
one, with all the 45s plus an extra CD of previously unreleased Colt
label material. It's on the Sparkletone label (I'm fairly sure I
have some good 60s doo-wop CDs on this label). Like the Reflections
release, it also has a colour booklet, plenty of pictures, label
scans, along with great notes and recording information.
Two releases deserving of separating a man from his money!
Martin
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 12:48:30 -0700 (MST)
From: That Alan Gordon
Subject: Re: Righteous Brothers sing Bonner & Gordon
Peter, regarding "Whatever Happened To Happy", I do not know
of any plans to release the song. There really is not any
story behind the song, but I will tell you this - pretty soon,
Phil M. will put onto musica Bobby Darin's version of the same
song. Bobby includes the last line of the song which is crucial
- the Righteous Brothers for some reason left it out.
One of the nice moments on "Don't Give Up On Me" is in the
beginning of the record when the Brothers call each other by
their first names. Somewhere in my storage space, I know I
have an unreleased version of Bobby Hatfield doing a song of
ours called "Don't Get Surrounded By Everyday Things" .
Best,
That alan
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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 14:43:56 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Righteous Bros. / celebrity pottymouths
Peter Richmond wrote:
> ... I had never previously heard the song "Whatever Happened
> To Happy" by any artist so it was a wonderful surprise to hear
> it by the Righteous Brothers.
That is a great one, isn't it? Bobby Darin's (also excellent)
version will be going up soon.
> According to the Official Righteous Brothers website, "Unchained
> Melody" was recorded in a single studio take.
Amazing that such a great and complex piece could've been knocked
off so handily.
Also amazing is the fact that Phil has been including the track on
all the many variants of "Phil Spector's Greatest Hits", knowing
full-well that he didn't produce it. Not that there's anything
wrong with that per se -- hellfire, if we started worrying about all
the deceptions in the music business we'd never have time to listen
to the music -- but what interests me about it is that, as far as I
know, it's the ONLY song in the entire official "Spector's hits"
canon that he didn't actually work on. Perhaps, to paraphrase what
he reportedly said to Bobby Hatfield, he's laughing about it all the
way to the bank.
James Botticelli:
> Add to the Buddy Rich stories, now circulating, Paul Anka Moment(s)
> wherein he berates his band saying HE is the show, HE is the center
> of attention and they are only there because HE is gaddam IT you
> bunch of wimpy f____rs! On it goes.
Clark Besch:
> How bout the bonus CD of the "Troggs Argue"?? A legit release of a
> bunch of "f" words while "discussing" their recording session! A
> full blown version of "Harrison says to McCartney: 'I'll Play if you
> want me to or I won't play if you don't want me to:'"
All these moments, and dozens more like them (incl. an F-word from
Barbra Streisand), are included on Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist
Gangster Computer God's 3-CD series "Celebrities At Their Worst."
The CDs list an address of PO Box 420464, SF CA 94142 USA.
--Phil M.
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 11:27:57 -0700
From: Ron Weekes
Subject: The Poor (New Release from Sonic Past Music)
So you've never heard of The Poor you say? I must admit, of all
the bands that were playing and vying for attention in California,
I don't recall hearing them either. Maybe I really did live the
Sixties! It might be due to the fact that they were performing in
southern California and, in my teenaged angst, if they weren't from
San Francisco or a headliner at Bill Graham's Fillmore, they weren't
worth listening to. Boy, was I wrong! Of course I did repent once
I heard the likes of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young. If you liked those groups, you'll like The
Poor.
"Help The Poor: The Complete Recordings of The Poor featuring Randy
Meisner" is part of Sonic Past Music's third set of releases. As
soon as I heard the first notes of The Poor's CD I felt: Wow, I'm
back in the late Sixties' and these sounds are coming from Bill
Graham's Fillmore. Turning on my iTunes visualizer really put me
back the Fillmore with a fabulous light show backing up an amazing
sounding band, The Poor. From the opening strains of a fuzz guitar
to the melodic guitar riffs a la Buffalo Springfield and tight vocal
harmonies, this was definitely the sound of the California music
scene back in the late Sixties. You name the sounds of groups coming
out of California at that time and you'll hear it on this collection
of all The Poor's tracks. And what you hear shouldn't surprise you.
Many of the artists from The Poor went on play with groups The Stone
Canyon Band with Rick Nelson, The New Riders and of course Randy
Meisner went on to play with Linda Ronstadt, Poco, and The Eagles.
The liner notes are sparse and I was hoping for a little more
information. Joey Stec tells us how he met up with The Poor's drummer
Patrick Merle Shannahan during the summer of 1968 in Chicago. It was
at Patrick's invitation that Joey traveled out to Hollywood. Through
The Poor, Stec met Curt Boettcher and the rest, of course, is history.
Kudos to Stec's crew at Sonic Past Music for preserving The Poor's
musical heritage. Also included are two bonus tracks performed live
in Denver by The Esquires...an earlier version of The Poor.
Anyone who is interested in the late Sixties sound in all it's glory,
this is a must addition to your collection.
Ron Weekes
webmaster@garyusher.com
www.garyusher.com -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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