_______________________________________________________
_______ _______
_______ _______
_______ S P E C T R O P O P _______
_______ _______
_______________________________________________________
Volume #0163 October 10, 1998
_______________________________________________________
Order Yours Today
Subject: Ballroom CD
Sent: 10/09/98 12:44 pm
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: Dan Murphy, daniXXXX@XXXa.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
I got a surprise in the mail today... my copy of "Preparing for
the Millennium". I ordered it from the UK and it arrived a lot
sooner than I expected. This is an excellent disc! It features
twenty-three tracks, a running time of over an hour, and copious
liner notes.
I've only once listened to it all the way through, so I just have
a few comments: There are a few tracks that later found their way
to Millennium/Sagittarius LPs, and the versions here seem a little
bit less "textured", which I think makes the quality of the vocals
and their arrangements even more evident. It also helps showcase
the strength of the material.
You'll hear a sort of psychedelic approach to "Baby Please Don't
Go", followed by a "demo" version of "Another Time" that is a real
highlight. This is Curt B. himself on vocals, right? He sounds
great. The track "Magic Time" is a virtual definition of "sunshine
pop".
And hey, the last track is a Nilsson cover ("Best Friend")!
It's said that there is even more Boettcher-related material still
unreleased. I hope this disc sells plenty of copies so that the "
powers that be" give serious consideration to further such
releases. It's also a good thing to see Curt Boettcher get further
recognition (even if belated) for his work.
Buy it - you won't regret it.
Dan Murphy
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Hook, Line & Sinker
Sent: 10/10/98 1:55 am
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_XXXX@XXXties.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
The hook. I don't know where the expression originated from; if
anyone knows please share that bit of trivia with us.
It is not a universally accepted term, that much I do know.
Sometimes I mention "hooks" and get a puzzled look. An easy way
to describe a hook is to say it is something that is "catchy."
Hook - catchy - it works! So under this ten cent definition,
anything can be a hook: a drum fill (as in Bob Gaudio's Dawn),
a guitar riff (as in Satisfaction), a time signature (as in
Take Five), a certain "sound" (as in the solo on Zip a Dee by
Bob B. Soxx), a percussive accent (as in that great slap on
Ronettes' How Does It Feel), a spoken phrase (as in "By the
way where'd you meet him?"), a lyric and of course, a melody
line (choose your own examples).
I was discussing this with a fellow Spectropop lister a few
evenings ago over a bottle of Napa Cab after Jack's post first
appeared in an earlier digest. We concluded that the more hooks
there are, the catchier a record is. Are hooks premeditated?
Hey, hey Paula, you can bet yer Brill they are, or at least
they should be. It would be pretty stupid to leave it to
chance. Yes, I know hooks sometimes appear out of nowhere
during a session (we hear that happening during Pet Sounds
sessions, for example), but even then there is more often than
not a conscious decision to leave it in. I am sure that
occasionally hooks accidentally ended up on records, and I
guess we can thank god for those.
There are obvious techniques used in creating hooks, and the
greatest producers and writers of the Spectropop era were
masters at it. Using an instrumental melody or BG vocal line in
between lead vocal lines is a good one, a repeated chorus that
start a 4th or 5th above the verses is another, lyrical
variations on common phrases work great as hooks (e.g., Stop in
the Name of Love). A little fill that keeps popping up in
the same place is also very effective (the drum break in Be My
Baby).
So, using this very broad definition of "hook," it stands to
reason that much uninteresting music lacks hooks. But here's the
rub. Most insipid pop music is filled with hooks. Claudia
earlier commented negatively about a few bubblegum records.
While I too am not all that keen on much of that genre, I do
understand the craftsmanship that went into those records.
Bordering on banal? I have to agree much does. Simon Says by
Kasanetz & Katz pales next to There's Got To Be a Word by Anders
& Poncia for instance.
The conclusion? Great Pop Music has the hooks, but hooks alone
do not a great pop record make.
In the 60's, everyone was making three minute pop records
crafted for the teenager market. No one was thinking beyond the
first life cycle of the single. George Martin has lamented that
if he had known people would still be listening to the Beatles
records thirty years after the fact he would have taken a bit
more care in constructing them. I am sure no one imagined that
the Motown masters would become pop icons as used in film after
film after film. So many of these great pop records of the 60's
continue to shine through decades later and excite contemporary
listeners with their inventive (or at least creative) sound, a
fact not overlooked by the current hip hop producers I might
add. In an issue of Billboard some time ago there was a
spotlight on reissues, and one of the reissue label chiefs said
something like: While the 50's and the 70's basically have a
nostalgic appeal, the 60's appeal transcends nostalgia...quoted
by musicians from one era to the next as a major influence, it
remains valid music even today.
For me, it's simple. Ronnie sang oowee baby, and I fell for it
hook, line and sinker.
--
le_page_XXXX@XXXties.com
RodeoDrive/5030
n.p. Jelly Jungle (of Orange Marmalade) The Lemon Pipers
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: JAY TRAINOR
Sent: 10/09/98 12:48 pm
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: CLAUDIA CUNNINGHAM, TPXXXX@XXX.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
Regarding Jay and the Americans:
Yes, there were two Jays. The first who sang lead on their debut
song, "She Cried" was Jay Trainor. The second, Jay Black, did all
the other hits such as "Cara Mia", "Walking in the Rain" and the
others. As a bit of trivia, I live in the Albany, NY area and was
informed that at least as of a couple of years ago, Jay Trainor
was a cameraman at Channel 13 in Albany, a far cry from his glory
days as the lead singer of a very popular band. Black, with his
impressive operatic style, tours on the oldies circuit these days.
A great, great band...part and parcel of the magic of the mid
Sixties music scene. Claudia
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Jay & the Americans technique
Sent: 10/09/98 1:55 pm
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_XXXX@XXXties.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
Thanks, Javed. Two Jays in one. I guess Howard Kirshenbaum is
a less likely name for an aspiring rock and roll star than is
Jay Black. Howard Kirshenbaum was his real name, wasn't it?
Or am I confusing Howie Kane and Jay Black or what?
She Cried by the first Jay is great, still, I prefer the Shangri-
Las version. Their monotone "She cried" BG vocals are really fun.
btw, Jay & the Americans' 64 Top Ten US chart hit "Come a Little
Bit Closer" is a fave. I like Marty Robbins El Paso too; that
whole in a bordertown cantina keep the spirits high fell in love
with a pretty little senorita thing. Very Tex-Mex!
--
le_page_XXXX@XXXties.com
RodeoDrive/5030
n.p. Royal Flush - Terry Melcher
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: Leslie Gore "Look of Love"
Sent: 10/09/98 10:18 am
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: Marc Wielage, XXXX@XXXtrax.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
CC: Mark Landwehr, mslXXXX@XXXbs.com
Mark (Philles Phanatic) Landwehr <mslXXXX@XXXbs.com> asked on the
Spectropop List:
>Speaking of "Leader" & stereo, has anyone found a stereo copy of
>Lesley Gore's "Look of Love" in the "single-mix" form? The cut on
>her LPs is different, the background singers starting on a low
>note after the "ba-boom, ba-boom" drum intro instead of on a high
>note.
>>----------------snip----------------<
To my knowledge, there's only three versions of this song out
there on CD:
1) the original mono single mix, which runs about 2:00 and has the
added background vocals and sleigh bells [only on the "Growin' Up
Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology" on Mercury, as far as I know]
2) the stereo album version, which runs about 2:06 (since it's not
sped-up) and lacks the above background vocals and sleigh bells [on
CDs like "The Golden Hits of Lesley Gore" on Mercury, which is
marred by a bad speed variation at the head]
3) the stereo single mix, which is just a stereo version of #1
above [on CDs like the Bear family compilation and "It's My Party:
The Mercury Anthology"].
I'm not aware of a version with the differences you cite. Can you
provide some more details?
--MFW
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-= Marc Wielage | "The computerized authority =-
-= MusicTrax, LLC | on rock, pop, & soul." =-
-= Chatsworth, CA | XXXX@XXXtrax.com =-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Leslie Gore "Look of Love"
Sent: 10/10/98 4:47 am
Received: 10/10/98 10:04 am
From: Jeffrey Glenn, jeffrey_glXXXX@XXXil.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
>Speaking of "Leader" & stereo, has anyone found a stereo copy of
>Lesley Gore's "Look of Love" in the "single-mix" form? The cut on
>her LPs is different, the background singers starting on a low
>note after the "ba-boom, ba-boom" drum intro instead of on a high
>note. This and "Maybe I Know" are my favorites from her...
>
>Mark (Philles Phanatic)
You're in luck, Mark. The stereo mix of the 45 version of "Look Of
Love" is available on the 2-CD Leslie Gore set IT'S MY PARTY: THE
MERCURY ANTHOLOGY. It came out in 1996 and should be easy to find. And
yes, I have to agree with you that this and "Maybe I Know" are my
favorite LG tracks, although you'd have to throw "What Am I Gonna Do
With You" in there also.
Jeff
np: The Modern Jazz Quartet - UNDER THE JASMINE TREE
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Red-Bird CD/the Shangs/Lesley Gore
Sent: 10/09/98 1:11 pm
Received: 10/10/98 1:08 am
From: Billy G. Spradlin, bilXXXX@XXXre.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
>"Leader of the Pack" has the missing second-verse line, as you all
>have stated. I didn't care for the vocals being all in one channel
>(the Mercury LP has them split), but the motorcycle sfx going from
>one channel to another was super! And, the fade-out continues for a
>second or two after the screeching-tire sfx subsides.
I didn't like the background vocals tossed off on the left channel,
and they seemed a little bit buried in the remix. While the stereo
remix has much more clarity, it doesn't have quite pack the "punch"
of the mono mix, probably because it doesn't have the "hot" valve
and tape compression of the original.
Another thing I noticed about the stereo remix (when listening
very loud on headphones!) is that those were multi-overdubbed
pianos creating that droning backing track! From all the poor
quality mono versions I had always thought that those were guitars.
I guess Shadow didn't have the big budget to create a huge sound
using 30-40 musicians so he overdubbed lots of pianos with lots of
reverb to create his own "Wall of Sound". I also enjoyed the
extra-long fade, and I always wondered how they got that
screeching bike burnout sound to last over 15 seconds!
Another great remix is "The Boy From New York City" by the Ad Libs.
If you ever heard the original stereo mix (I have it on a
Canadian budget "Good Time Music" oldies LP from the 70's) it
sounds like the engineer had some fun mixing this into stereo and
the background vocals jump all around from the left to right to
center, similar to the crazy stereo mix of the Rascals "Good Lovin"!
This remix has the background vocals nicely mixed on the right
channel. All the remixes sound great, and If I was running my own
oldies station, I'd use these songs instead of the old mono
versions in a heartbeat.
I would love to see Taragon put together a best of Shangs album
with all remixes, even though there seems to be MANY Shangs
collections out all over the world. I would love to hear "Never
Again" (great song!!!) and "Right Now and Not Later" in true
stereo.
>Speaking of "Leader" & stereo, has anyone found a stereo copy of
>Lesley Gore's "Look of Love" in the "single-mix" form? The cut on
>her LPs is different, the background singers starting on a low
>note after the "ba-boom, ba-boom" drum intro instead of on a high
>note. This and "Maybe I Know" are my favorites from her...
It's on the Mercury Records 2-fer "Lesley Gore-Its My Party"
collection that came out last year. It's the same stereo mix that
appeared on the original "Golden Hits" LP. For some weird reason
they used a earlier version on the "Golden Hits" CD that didn't
have any sleigh bells, handclaps, background vocals and the
cranked-up compression!
One of my favorite Lesley tracks is "I Died Inside" which appeared
on her "Girl Talk" album, and was written by Ms. Gore herself.
Great song, but I have never found it on any CD! Anyone know where
I can find it?
Billy G. Spradlin
Billy G. Spradlin
29 Rim Road Homepage: http://www.tyler.net/wildbill
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
End
