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Volume #0353 December 5, 1999
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Music for the Teenager Market
Subject: The Victorians
Received: 12/04/99 6:08 pm
From: Alan and Pat Warner, wxxxxxetcom.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Jimmy Cresitelli asked (12/2) about The Victorians.
The singles he mentioned were actually on Liberty
beginning with WHAT MAKES LITTLE GIRLS CRY c/w
CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN (#55574) released in 5/63.
Then came HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUE and OH WHAT A
NIGHT FOR LOVE (#55693) followed by IF I LOVED YOU
c/w THE MONKEY STROLL (#55728), both issued in '64.
The Victorians were produced by Marty Cooper who
was the writer of OH WHAT A NIGHT FOR LOVE.
By the way, both WHAT MAKES LITTLE GIRLS CRY
and YOU'RE INVITED TO A PARTY were written by
Lou Josie, one of the authors of The Bar-Kays' smash
of '67, SOUL FINGER.
Rock on! AW
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Subject: Victorians
Received: 12/03/99 1:35 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_pagxxxxxities.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Jimmy Cresitelli, Jimxxxxxcom wrote:
>Any information on the Victorians..."What Makes Little
>Girls Cry" makes one wonder if the Victorians actually ARE
>Bobby Sheen and the Blossoms... any clues? Pictures?
>History?
"What Makes Little Girls Cry" certainly does sound like
Bobby Sheen.
I think "Oh What A Night For Love" was written by Marty
Cooper. Marty worked with Jack Nitzsche on several
projects in the early 60's in LA; apparently he was even
involved with Nitzsche's Lonely Surfer album (you remember
him, Carol?). The liners to the recent comp CD Girls Will
Be Girls mention that Marty worked with the Victorians
for Liberty Records. (Can you elaborate, Mr. Chapman?)
This places the Victorians on the West Coast, very
possibly with Nitzsche or Perry Botkin arranging.
What makes this so interesting is that I understand Marty
Cooper owns nearly a full album of unreleased Bobby Sheen
masters (arranged or co-produced by Nitzsche?). I believe RCA
at the time had the option on them but passed. Wouldn't it
be great if these masters saw commercial release, possibly
coupled with licensed Victorians masters (if indeed this is
Bobby Sheen). I am certain Marty Cooper would be very keen
to see these recordings commercially released.
Jamie
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Subject: Phil didn't supervise any overdubbing on the song "Let It
Be"..
Received: 12/02/99 11:29 pm
From: Joseph Scott, jnxxxxxetcom.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Hi all, something that I'm having fun being puzzled by is
whether a particular overdub on the album version of the
song "Let It Be" was supervised by Phil or not. The
particular overdub is Ringo hitting the vinyl pad of a
chair (one of those very commonly seen inexpensive metal
chairs with a vinyl seat) with a drum stick. This chair
performance of Ringo's is heard in "Let It Be" (album
version only) beginning right after Phil edits the same
verse in again for the second time. Phil was using its
sudden presence to help distract from the fact that he'd
extended the track by using the same verse twice via
editing: and it worked like a charm, pretty clever!
I guess basically the question is whether the chair
instrumentalism was added April 1, 1970, the date Phil
produced overdubs by musicians including Ringo, in which
case it was presumably Phil's idea to do it at all, or on
January 4, 1970, a date produced by George Martin that
included various overdubs onto the "Let It Be" multitrack
tape, in which case Phil just mixed the chair completely
out in some places and not in others (on March 26, 1970).
Or something like that.
(None of the other overdubs on the song "Let It Be," album
or single version, were supervised by Phil, of course...
which is why it's so funny when Beatles fans claim they
"don't like Spector's work on the Let It Be album, such as
the orchestral overdubs on the song 'Let It Be'"! It's
fine to want to defend George Martin as great for the
Beatles; he was, but don't put down one of his
arrangements in the process!!)
Joseph Scott
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Subject: "Chapel of Love"
Received: 12/04/99 6:07 pm
From: John Frank, jfrxxxxxhlink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Hi, Spectropoppers --
After about a year of lurking, it's time for me to post
for the first time. I've loved reading each missive and
have culled so much information from them. And hobnobbing
with stars such as Carol Kaye, Diane Renay, Kaye Krebs and
Ian Chapman (a star in MY book, at least!) has been an
added attraction.
The question that brings me out of lurking mode is one
that was recently raised in the 60's newsgroup. Can anyone
tell me what the recording dates for the three versions of
"Chapel of Love" are? (Darlene Love, The Ronettes, The
Dixie Cups). I understand the Spector versions were
recorded quite a while before the Dixie Cups'. When were
the Spector versions actually released?
Thanks.
John Frank
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Subject: Celia Paul and Eiichi Ohtaki
Received: 12/04/99 6:08 pm
From: Spector Collector, spectorcollxxxxxail.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Jimmy Cresitelli asked last time out for information on
Japanese chanteuse Celia Paul, so here's what I know:
Even though Jimmy guessed the recordings in question to be
from the mid-to-late '60s (and they have a terrifically
authentic feel), they actually were recorded and released
in 1977. The song to which he refers as "employ(ing) a
Spectorian thunder-and-rainstorm beginning" was a big hit
in Japan, and although the title of the song appears only
in Japanese on the album of the same name, an English
transliteration is "Yume De Aetara." Jack Fitzpatrick
turned me on to the album when it was brand new, and I
looked for it aggressively for twenty years without
success. (Lacking the "English" title at the time didn't
help.) Happily, the original 12-track album was reissued
on CD in Japan in 1997 on Sony/Niagara SRCL 3993 with six
bonus tracks. I'm not sure whether it's still in print,
but with the transliterated name above, you should have a
shot at special ordering it, and I heartily recommend the
entire album to Spectropoppers. Besides "Cha Cha Charming"
and "Tonight You Belong to Me," the album contains these
tracks in English: "One Fine Day," "Walk with Me," "
Whispering," "Oh Why" (the Teddy Bears song), and "The
Very Thought of You." The latter's disco overtones betrays
the album's release date more than the other cuts of either
language.
For more information on Celia Paul and on the album (much
more in Japanese than in English, unfortunately for most
of us), check out
http://www.fussa45.com/celia/celia_menu.html.
I don't have any information on the relationship between
Ms. Paul and Eiichi Ohtaki, who produced the album and who
"is" the Niagara label in the same sense that Phil Spector
"is" Philles. (In his post, Jimmy postulated that he may
be her husband.) I do know that he has had a very
successful and prolific career in Japan, both as an artist
and as a producer, that continues to this day. (Aside:
wasn't it Niagara who issued Ronnie Spector's 1980 album
"Siren" in Japan? I've always thought but never verified
this.) I have at least 15 albums by this guy, and every
single one of them contains at least one hardcore, obvious
tribute to the Spector Wall of Sound. "Dr. Kaplan's Office"
is the basis of one song, "Da Doo Ron Ron" another; he
lifts lines from "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts"
and "Puddin 'n' Tain" in yet one more, and this is only to
mention the most directly derivative cuts. Even when he's
not waxing Spectoresque, he's laying down some damn tasty
sounds, often as obviously loving homages to other readily
identifiable '60s influences. He's also the person to whom
1992's (Japanese, natch) "Canary Islands" various-artists
tribute album is a tribute (with three unavailable-elsewhere
cuts by Ronnie Spector and two by Darlene Love).
1996 saw the release of another Ohtaki-produced girlpop
singer, Marina Watanabe's "Ring-A-Bell." While
proportionally a bit more of its time than the Celia Paul
album was, it's still a winner, and once more contains a
knockout Wall of Sound raveup. Copping Spector yet again,
Ohtaki scored a huge hit the following year with the theme
for a popular Japanese TV show. At the risk of sounding
less than objective about this dude, I'll cut short here,
but would welcome opportunities to share/learn more about
this sensational artist who deserves the attention of a
much broader audience than just the Japanese one he
currently enjoys, and certainly of anyone reading this
list.
David A. Young
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Subject: Celia Paul
Received: 12/03/99 1:35 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_pagxxxxxities.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Jimmy Cresitelli, Jimxxxxxcom wrote:
>Back a few posts I talked about having some very
>Spectorian cuts by a Japanese girl singer...Two of the
>songs she does in English are "Cha Cha Cha Charming" and
>"Tonight You Belong To Me." The two in Japanese that I
>have, though, are fabulous... I wish I could tell you the
>names....Any info, anyone?
With several J-Pop fans on the list (including the guy who
wrote the book on the subject!), I guess I am not the most
qualified to comment on Celia, but I found your post so
interesting that I just had to jump in. Feel free to
correct any inaccuracies, everyone.
Celia Paul was a radio personality in Japan in the 70s,
appearing as a regular on Nippon Hoso (Japan Broadcasting)
program "Punch! Punch! Punch!". Celia and two other
regulars on the show formed a trio, called
Moko-Beaver-Olive (Moko-Biibaa-Oriibu). Celia was "Olive",
possibly because as a child of mixed blood (Japanese and
Indian), her skin tone was a shade darker than typical
Japanese. The Moko-Beaver-Olive project was spearheaded by
Ichi Asatsuma, who might fairly be called the Lester Sill
of Japan. One of the few truly great music men of Japan,
Asatsuma produced their album which included a Japanese
version of the Paris Sisters' "I Love How You Love Me".
Some time later, when Eiichi Otaki was stuck to find a
singer for his new song "Yume de Aetara" (If we meet in a
dream), Otaki's friend, mentor and music publisher
Asatsuma recommended Celia. Even though Celia got the gig
and her recording of "Yume" was the original, the song
itself became more popular than Celia's recording of it.
Many cover recordings were eventually released, so
although most Japanese will recall the song "Yume de
Aetara", few can name the original as being recorded by
Celia Paul.
In April 1977 Eiichi Otaki wrote the following dedication
in the Celia Paul album:
"The staff writers of Aldon Music were the number one
influence on me during my youth. Now, I would like to
dedicate this album to the 'knockout' sound of Phil
Spector."
You gotta like a guy who namechecks Aldon Music as a big
influence!
There are two duets with Eiichi Otaki on the album: "The
Very Thought of You" and "Whispering". "The Very Thought
of You" (Ray Noble) had previously been covered by Otaki's
Niagara Fall Stars, so it seemed natural for Otaki to
revamp it as a duet for Celia. "Whispering" is cute - very
close to the 1963 April Stevens and Nino Tempo version it is
patterned after.
Interesting that all the string arrangements on this album
are by Tats Yamashita, especially notable on the cover of
Teddy Bears' "Oh Why". Tats was apparently going for the
Nitzsche feel, and he got reasonably close, too.
The original album was called "Yume de Aetara". It was
remixed in the 80's by renown Japanese engineer Tommy
Yoshida (Yoshida does all the Tats records too). The
remixed album was reissued on CD on June 21, 1997 (SRCL-
3993) with several bonus tracks, all of which appear to
be alternate mixes or takes of songs from the original
album. Unfortunately, the CD is already out of print.
Celia did not have great pitch, and she wasn't the most
emotive singer either, but she had great A&R, and her 1977
album is a tribute to Brill without a hint of irony. Celia
reportedly now resides in Los Angeles. In 1977, at least,
she was a looker. Check out the album jacket for yourself at
http://www.cyberoz.net/city/sawa/yume.jpg
Jamie
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Subject: Mrs. O'Leary's Cow?
Received: 12/02/99 11:30 pm
From: WASE RADIO,xxxxxt.org
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Ian Chippett:
In late 1966, Brian Wilson recorded a song called "Fire"
at Gold Star studios. He assembled a small string section
and had the studio janitor actually built a fire in a
bucket-and placed the burning container in the studio. The
strings basically played very dissonant chords-supposedly
to sound like fire sirens. Sources vary as to this next
account. A building either across the street or next door
to the studio burned to the ground. Later on a rash of
fires broke out in Los Angeles. Fearing that the song had
something to do with this strange phenomonon, he had most
of the tape destroyed-except for about two minutes of it
which languishes in the Capitol vaults. I watched a Beach
Boys special and an excerpt of that song was played-and to
me it made for uncomfortable listening. I guarantee there
were no elementary fifth chords in that one.
Michael G. Marvin
WASE radio
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Subject: Perry Botkin on Van Dyke Parks
Received: 12/04/99 6:08 pm
From: Carol Kaye, caroxxxxxhlink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
>From Perry Botkin:
"Van Dyke is a hell of a piano player and composer.
Extremely original. Both he and Randy Newman were unique.
Much better musicians than most people thought in the 60's
and 70's. Both could WRITE a good sketch for film work. A
great deal of the arranging I did for Van Dyke was just an
embellishment of his piano layouts. I'm not underselling my
contribution but Van Dyke WAS (and IS) the real thing. Too
bad he didn't make his chops more obvious to the players.
Love, P."
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: VDP and stuff from the latest digest
Received: 12/04/99 6:07 pm
From: Poopdeck Pappy, wuxxxxxet.se
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Carol Kaye wrote:
>I liked working for Van Dyke, tho't he was a nice chap.
On what albums of his did you play?
Thanks for setting the record straight on this 'studio
musician'. I too found his story too odd to be true.
David Ponak makes me drooling all over as usual by posting
his radio show's set list:
>20.Bruce & Terry-Come Love
>The Best Of... (Sundazed)
Oh! I've got a song on tape called "Don't Run Away" (what
year is it from?), is the rest of this compilation as good?
And is "Come Love" the same song as the one Harpers
Bizarre recorded?
On another note (as it usually is :-)), I'm currently
reading Jimmy Webb's book "Tunesmith". While I already
know some music theory, Webb explains the theoretical
stuff in a funny and entertaining way which makes it
actually a hell of a lot easier to understand! It is quite
possible for somebody without any theoretical knowledge
whatsoever to become more professional through reading the
book. Carol Kaye, have you read it?
T.
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