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Volume #0164 October 13, 1998
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America's First Family of Fine Recordings
Subject: Re: Jay and the Americans
Sent: 10/12/98 11:17 am
Received: 10/13/98 1:08 am
From: Alan Warner, wizXXXX@XXXtcom.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
> From: CLAUDIA CUNNINGHAM, TPXXXX@XXX.net
>
> 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.
> Claudia
>
The original 'Jay', Jay Traynor, had been a member of The Mystics.
The second Jay, Jay Black (real name: David Platt) recorded
several solo titles for UA during his tenure as leader of The
Americans, of which one single was released in 1966, coupling WHAT
WILL MY MARY SAY with RETURN TO ME with Gerry "No Chemise, Please"
Granahan in the producer's chair. Several years later, Jay Black
recorded for Midsong.
FYI, the Jay & The Americans record of SHE CRIED was a cover. It
had originally been cut by the co-writer of the song, Ted Daryll
on Utopia. Ted Daryll's other compositions included DON'T SAY IT
BABY (written with Chip Taylor) recorded by Dusty Springfield, THE
MAGIC TOUCH by The Bobby Fuller Four and SOMEBODY'S BLUE cut by
The Trans-Sisters on Imperial in '63.
As for other versions of SHE CRIED, Tommy James & The Shondells
gave it a shot, as did the UK's Billy Fury, P.J. Proby and much
more recently, TV hunk David Hasselhoff!
AW
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Subject: compression
Sent: 10/11/98 3:40 am
Received: 10/11/98 8:43 am
From: john rausch, jXXXX@XXXnet
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
all this talk about tape compression...
can someone please explain what "compression" is ?
I have a vague idea but would like someone's professional opinion.
thanks
jonr
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Subject: IT'S MY PARTY: THE MERCURY ANTHOLOGY
Sent: 10/11/98 3:42 am
Received: 10/11/98 8:43 am
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXX@XXXcom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
>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 I also had the pleasure of reviewing that one for Discoveries!
Doc
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Lesley Gore
IT'S MY PARTY
Mercury 314-532 517-2
"It took the Beatles to put a finish to shrill female nastiness."
That was the way the late rock historian Lillian Roxon wrote about
Lesley Gore in her book, ROCK ON in 1969. Roxon also
characterized Lesley's voice as "consistently high." In reality,
Lesley had only three pre-British Invasion hits, but 16 hits
afterward, and often sang in a low register. So much for
revisionist rock history.
A while back, a Lesley Gore CD box set came on the market. If
memory serves, it had everything Lesley ever recorded on it. That
set was probably a delight for the serious collector and big
Lesley Gore fan, but way beyond the reach of most buyers interest
or budgets.
Now Mercury has issued a two CD set of 52 cuts. For most people,
that's more like it.
Speaking of most people, many folks probably know Lesley mainly
for her biggest hits, "It's My Party," "Judy's Turn To Cry," "You
Don't Own Me," and the rest. Well, all of Lesley's dozen big
hits are here, and they sound a lot better in CD stereo than they
did on our transistors back in '63 and '64. And they sounded great
back then.
But this package presents almost as many songs that charted, but
missed the national Top 40. Most of these, such as "Hey Now" and
"Young Love," were in fact big hits on the stations I was tuned
to in the mid-'60s. It is something of a shock that they did so
poorly nationally. Fans of Lesley's big hits need to hear the
others, the ones few stations played then and none play now. The
quality is there.
Also included are a half-dozen songs Lesley wrote herself, and two
written by Madara and White (the guys behind the Pixies 3 and the
Secrets). There are some Ellie Greenwich songs, including
"Maybe I Know" and "Look of Love." Fortunately, Mercury used the
correctly mixed version of the latter -- there is a version that
turns up occasionally which is missing background parts. Ellie
sang backup on most of Lesley's albums.
The rest of the two CDs is made up of album cuts, flip sides, and
some unreleased material. A B-side included is "The Old Crowd."
Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the demo is on a
Cookies' CD, and was obviously intended for the Orlons. Yet Lesley
makes it her own.
In fact, the strength of the set is the way, unbeknownst to casual
fans, Lesley's recordings went beyond the hit sound, as she grew
and explored . . . and borrowed. "Wonder Boy" borrows from
"Heat Wave." "The Bubble Broke" from 1966 is almost psychedelic.
"I Can't Make It Without You" is reminiscent of Dionne Warwick,
"Take Good Care of my Heart" owes a nod to Helen Reddy, and
"What Am I Going To Do With You" recalls "Walking In the Rain."
Then there is the Jackson Five-ish "I'll Be Standing By." And her
version of "Wedding Bell Blues," which ends CD two, has been my
favorite version of that Nyro song for almost 30 years.
Not that Lesley's later work was simply derivative. She was
stretching and trying out styles, doubtless looking for new hits.
The result is that her late-60s work shows a maturity and depth
that will surprise many.
The booklet includes interview material with a lot of good
background information. The track listings include plenty of data,
including recording sessions and chart positions. There are a half-
dozen classic period photos, including one from the TAMI show with
Jan & Dean. An album cut that she sang on the TAMI show, "You
Didn't Look Around," is included. That was probably the only
song featured on the TAMI show that was never a hit by any artist.
Quincy Jones' productions (yes, THAT Quincy Jones) sound full and
lush, and Lesley bends every note to perfection. This CD tells the
story. I wonder what Lillian Roxon would say about Lesley
Gore if Ms. Roxon were around to hear it now.
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Subject: Association/Bacharach/Clique/American Breed
Sent: 10/11/98 9:09 am
Received: 10/11/98 8:43 am
From: MUV96XXXX@XXXnt2.lu.se
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
I bought some LPs at a record fair today (the prices are in
Swedish Kronor, divide the sum with 8 to get it in US$):
The Association - "Stop Your Motor", 20 kronor. This LP is from
1971 and I didn't even know of its existence! I kinda hesitated to
buy it at first cuz there was no sign of Curt Boettcher, the title
sounded like Spinal Tap and the members of the group didn't look
like the pop band they used to be but either a/ heavy rawk fans (
that is to say, fans of heavy rawk, not rawk fans who happen to be
overweight :)) or b/ heroin addicts (which was actually true in the
tragic case of Brian Cole). But I realized as soon as I played the
record at home that this is - which the exception of one or two
songs - just as good as the older stuff like "Windy" or "Along
Comes Mary", particularly the opening track "Bring Yourself Home".
Burt Bacharach - "Living Together", 20 kronor. This starts off
with a rather weak (by Mr. B's high standards) "Mexican Divorce"
but the rest of the LP is pure bliss and amazing. Highlights:
"Nikki" (no one can recycle his own music like Bacharach!), a longer
'symphonic' version of "Wives & Lovers" and "April Fools". The
record is in mint condition too, which is why it's so weird it
cost next to nothing! Original Bacharach LPs are normally trendy
and expensive as hell, at least over here.....
Burt Bacharach - "Burt Bacharach", 35 kronor. This is one amazing
motherBLEEEEEP of a record from 1973! :) I hadn't heard some songs
before ("Monterey Peninsula" is so incredibly super-duper great I
just wanna jump up and down and shout "YES!!!!") and several
reworked versions of some of the songs ended up on the "Lost
Horizon" soundtrack. Actually, this is the last LP Bacharach
released before his troubled years started.....his last truly
great record IMO - I haven't heard the new one with Costello yet.
The Clique - "Sugar On Sunday", 20 kronor. I've searched for
Clique records for ages and it was a great surprise to finally
find one! Produced and written (and performed?) by Gary Zekley,
this is fantastic but not really what I was expecting. I imagined
it to be more upbeat like his Yellow Balloon project...what year
is this Clique record from anyway? 1965, '66, '67??? I've always
assumed Zekley first did The Fun And The Games, then The Clique
and *then* The Yellow Balloon but I'm not sure having listened to
"Sugar On Sunday" - it definitely sounds more elaborate, the
arrangements and orchestration, and less primitive than the Yellow
Balloon, so I don't really know.....great record anyway!
The American Breed - "Bend Me, Shape Me", 35 kronor. Haven't had
the time to listen to this properly but it sounds fantastic so far,
particularly the two Gerry Goffin/Carole King tracks. Actually,
the only reason I bought this LP is because the group has also
recorded Roger Nichols/Tony Asher's "Always You" (what album is
that song from? I only have it on a mixtape), I know nothing about
the band otherwise.
Another record I found but somehow didn't end up buying (it's not
easy having the memory of a goldfish) was one with The Sunshine
Company - did I miss something great? It's the only time I've seen
one of their LPs.....
Anyway, enough of my ramblings....
Tobias
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Subject: MOJO's Top Singers
Sent: 10/12/98 1:01 pm
Received: 10/13/98 1:08 am
From: Paul MacArthur, Rtf_XXXX@XXXedu
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXX@XXXties.com
Mojo Magazine's latest issue has it's 100 greatest singers of all
time as voted by a number of rock musicians (Brian Wilson, Robert
Plant, Bobby Womack, Pat Boone, etc.) The Top Ten are:
1) Aretha Franklin
2) Frank Sinatra
3) Ray Charles
4) John Lennon
5) Billie Holiday
6) Marvin Gaye
7) Elvis Presley
8) Stevie Wonder
9) Sam Cooke
10) Otis Redding
11-15
Bob Dylan
Nat King Cole
Paul McCartney
Ella Fitzgerald
Van Morrison
Okay, now....
First off, Say what you will about Aretha, she has no business
above Ella. Period. The only female singers I could conceive
placing higher are Lady Day, and Sarah Vaughan, even then, I say
that's a stretch.
Second, Lennon above Macca?
Third: Bob Dylan the singer? Give me a break. As one researcher
said: You have to be a lead edge baby boomer to get this joke. A
GREAT songwriter. As a singer, yeah, placing him above Sarah
Vaughan makes sense.
Forth: Mel Torme did not make the list (don't tell Judge Stone)
nor did Joe Williams or Billy Eckstine. To which I say, HUH?
Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher did? Please Paul Weller before him
any day.
As always these subjective lists are great argument fodder.
Oh yeah, Pavarotti didn't make it either.
In case anyone is wondering, I'd probably go
1) Ella
2) Nat Cole
3) Brother Ray
...as my easy one, two three. After that, ugh.
BTW Brian & Carl Wilson made the list. Mike Love did not.
- Paul
----------
Album of the Week: ENDLESS MILES: A TRIBUTE TO MILES DAVIS
Song of the Week: Hole "Celebrity Skin"
Quote of the Week: "Ain't nothin' like a fight at Wal-Mart."
R.I.P: Carl Dean Wilson (1946 - 1998)
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*** Recording industry steps up war on Internet piracy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Recording Industry Association of
America has asked for a federal court injunction to stop a new
device that can play music downloaded from the Internet from
hitting store shelves next month. RIAA, the trade group
representing the U.S. music business, said it was suing San Jose,
Calif.-based Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc., which plans to
release its new Rio PMP300 portable music player to retailers in
November. The $199 device, known as the Rio, is about the size of
a pager and resembles Sony Corp.'s Walkman. The Rio can play music
downloaded from a computer connected to the Internet and stored on
a memory card.
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