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Volume #0375 January 22, 2000
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Banned by Rock Critics
Subject: Madness
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Jimmy Cresitelli
To: Spectropop!
Delia:
Working officially in the mental health field as I do, I
see your point: the most creative geniuses do all seem to
have a touch of "madness." It's almost a given. It's those
people who so desperately try to conform to what they
perceive as "normalcy" that are the Stepford clones of
this world; no burning creativity to be found there...
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Subject: Re: madness and genius
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Gary Spector
To: Spectropop!
To: x delia xx and Jake Tassell
Hello.
I do not know how much information I can add on the
subjects of music or "mad" people, but when people sort of
lump them together with Phil Spector, sometimes I like
to leave a comment.
I have no obligation to defend Phil, but in his defense
(not that he needs any), he was a shy kid who grew up with
a skill that panned out and got him were he is now.
What happens when a skilled kid enters the music business
but does not like a lot of attention. Throw in the
articles in mass media speculating about his life because
he does not like to talk publicly about himself, then
add a few Gold and Platinum albums and more speculation.
What could he do but disappear a few times.
The music industry is like the acting industry. Catch 22.
You have a skill and get noticed which is what most want
but then you lose your private life and you want to get
away. Asking a great actor to stop acting would be like
asking Phil Spector to stop producing just because he does
not like crowds. That could be why he disbanded Teddy Bears
in the late 50's.
In the 70's he had a family that cared about him and
wanted him to be part of their lives. Being reclusive
helped a little, but he still had the stress of wanting to
produce great music for everyone (but without the
lime-light). That's tough for anyone with a skill that
entertains people.
I'll admit Phil Spector was a little odd but he was a good
friend to the people closest to him. He was hurt when
Lennon died as well as when Elvis passed away, but who
could he go to or hang out with. He was famous and people
recognized him. He was not a people person and probably
still is not. He is doing a lot better with his family and
he shows in his own way that he cares.
Comments about him don't bother me much but sometimes I
just like to try and help others see him from another side
to all the stories.
I will always love my father, flaws and all, but I am not
blind to the truth.
GPS
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Subject: Cher & Philip
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Ian Chapman
To: Spectropop!
Hi everybody,
Been meaning to post this for a while......just before
Christmas, about the same time as the Tina Turner birthday
TV special, the UK arts programme "The South Bank Show" had
an hour-long Cher special, comprising of an interview with
the show's presenter Melvyn Bragg, plus lots of archive
music and movie clips, plus interviews with various other
Cher-connectees. It was an excellent documentary, and as
with the Tina special, I thought Spectropoppers might be
interested in the Spector bit....
Bragg: Then you went to work with Philip Spector. Was that
through Sonny?
Cher: Yeah, I was just hanging out with Son, and one night
Darlene didn't show up, and Philip looked at me, and he was
getting really cranky, y'know.....Philip was not one to be
kept waiting.....and he said "Sonny said you can sing?"
And so, as I was trying to qualify what I felt my.....
expertise was, he said, "Look, I just need noise - get out
there!"
Bragg: So you started as noise?!
Cher: Yeah, I started as noise, and that was "Be My Baby".
Bragg: Oh, wonderful....I mean, with the Ronettes. To
start as noise with the Ronettes, that's not bad, if
you're going to start as noise!
Cher: (smiling) Right, and I ended up as noise - except at
that point I was no longer noise - but the last song I did
for Philip was "You've Lost That Lovin 'Feelin'".
(There then followed a clip of the song with some archive
stills of Cher and Sonny in Goldstar)
Bragg: Didn't you do a song about "Ringo, I Love You"?
Cher: Yeah, that was my first.
Bragg: What was the name he gave you?
Cher: Bonnie Jo Mason. Philip thought that all girl acts
should have very American names, and so...... But the
radios wouldn't play it, 'cos they said it sounded like a
guy singing "Ringo I love you".....and so, that wasn't
happening.
Bragg: So it sounded like a gay love song?
Cher: Yes.
(We then saw a close-up of the Bonnie Jo Mason record -
promo copy too! - and heard it as it accompanied some
predictable Beatles archive footage)
If this prog ever airs in the States (maybe it has
already?), I'd highly recommend it.
Ian
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Subject: Darlene question
Received: 01/20/00 5:33 am
From: Marc Miller
To: Spectropop!
In the Spector documentary that was shown on PBS, there's
a clip of Darlene, with Phil, singing:
"Every evenin'when the sun goes down..
I lay my head upon the pillow down..."
(or something similar).
What song is this???
Marc
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Subject: Phil Spector
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Doc Rock
To: Spectropop!
From "Liberty Records"
Phil Spector
1962 was the year producer Phil Spector started his
Philles Record label. However, he got irritated with his
partners back east, so when Snuff Garrett offered Spector
a position as a producer for Liberty, he readily accepted.
He kept the job for half a year, and popular press says
that he produced less than a half dozen tracks for Liberty.
One release which he did generate in the summer of '62
was "How Many Nights (How Many Days)" by Bobby Sheen. It
was a good record but failed to hit.
It is interesting to note that the flip side of the Bobby
Sheen 45 was not a Spector production. Spector had little
use for non-hit sides, like his throwaway instrumental
flip sides. However, Spector must have liked Bobby Sheen.
A year later, teamed up with Darlene Love and Fanita James
of the Blossoms, Phil would make him the Bobby of an artist
dubbed "Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans" on Phil's record
label ("Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah," Philles Records).
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Subject: He's a Soul Mann; Barry Mann & all-stars on new LP
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Jamie LePage
To: Spectropop!
On January 11, 2000 Atlantic Records announced the January
18 release of "Soul and Inspiration," the Atlantic debut
album from Brill Building veteran Barry Mann.
Barry Mann was hired to compose as a staff songwriter at
Aldon Music at the end of the 50s. He met Cynthia Weil
while working for Aldon, apparently at a songwriting
session. The two young writers fell into a professional and
private relationship. The couple soon married; Songwriting
husband/wife teams like King/Goffin and Barry/Greenwich
seemed to flourish in the Brill Building.
Much of the music was written by Mann while Weil furnished
the lyrics. Together they wrote a great number of hits
including "Uptown," "He's Sure the Boy I Love," "Blame It
On the Bossa Nova," "Only In America," "On Broadway,"
"Walking In the Rain," and "We Gotta Get Out of This
Place." Their songs often dealt with poverty and the
struggle for success, like on the Crystals' "Uptown." Mann
& Weil moved to Los Angeles in the late 60s. The hits
continued through the '70s. and Barry got a solo deal with
RCA. As far as I know, Barry and Cynthia are still married
and living in Los Angeles.
The new Atlantic release sees Barry Mann performing eleven
of the most treasured tunes from the Mann/Weil catalog.
Among the reported highpoints is Mann's duet with Carole
King on "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," co-written with
Weil and Phil Spector. This song was recently declared by
performance rights organization BMI as the 20th century's
most-played song on American radio and television.
Sounds great so far...
"Soul and Inspiration" features guest performances by
Bryan Adams, Daryl Hall, Richard Marx, Deana Carter, J. D.
Souther, Brenda Russell, Peabo Bryson, Paul Shaffer, etc.,
and the album is produced by Fred Mollin, who apparently
did Kris Kristofferson's "Austin Sessions" and Jimmy
Webb's "Ten Easy Pieces."
Has anyone heard this yet? Opinions? Great songs, modern
recording, contemporary guest artists...kinda scary.
On a related subject, Tapestry may have been the cause or
effect, but for whatever reason several Brill writers made
contemporary "singer/songwriter" albums in the 70's,
including Greenwich's "Let it be Written..." album. Anyone
have thoughts on this Greenwich album and the 70's Barry
Mann solo discs?
Jamie
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Subject: Butterflys=Blue Angels
Received: 01/20/00 5:21 am
From: Ian Chapman
To: Spectropop!
> Yes, it's a reissue of the Goodies record with a
> fictitious group name slapped on the label, something to
> do with evading the issue of rights to the track, I
> believe. Same thing happened with the Ribbons' "Ain't
> Gonna Kiss Ya" - originally on Marshall Leib's Marsh label,
> it later turned up on Charger as by the Sandpapers.
> Strange are the ways of the record biz.....
Further to the Goodies/Southern Belles thing, there was
another one I meant to mention .....the Butterflys "I
Wonder" was later reissued on SSS International as by the
Blue Angels.
Ian
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Subject: Mystery Trends
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Nat Kone
To: Spectropop!
Throughout all the years of my exotica/ lounge/ easy
listening/ crime jazz/ spy jazz/ Now Sound obsessions, I
managed to almost completely avoid CD reissues and
compilations. But this soft pop thing seems to be changing
that to some degree. To that end, let me ask you about an
interesting looking CD I saw today. The Mystery Trend.
Great name. Would have be even cooler if the title of the
record was "She ain't selling any alibis" but you can't
have everything. The description on the back referenced
Bacharach but it also mentioned garage rock. I don't want
it if it's garage. Any comments?
Nat
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Subject: INTENTIONALLY DELETED
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Subject: Essential list: thanks!
Received: 01/22/00 8:22 am
From: Levin Lo
To: Spectropop!
Dear David,
Thanks a lot! Your list is most valuable...especially the
original album list! The good news for me is these albums
are available on CD; the bad news is most of them are
pressed in Japan, meaning you have to pay the almighty yen
for it. Guess I'll have to search Thoughtscape for them.
I'm new to Spectropop, and the members here remind me of
Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451, especially when this gorgeous
music is banned by rock critics who know only one album:
Sgt Pepper's.
Levin
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Subject: Peppermint Rainbow Mystery
Received: 01/22/00 8:21 am
From: Paul Urbahns
To: Spectropop!
I have the same Peppermint Rainbow album others have
mentioned owning, seems I am in good company on this list.
The mystery for me is that my copy lists the songs on the
album cover in the following order for side one: Will You
Be Staying After Sunday If We Can Make It To Monday And
I'll be There Run Like The Devil Jamais Don't Wake Me Up
In The Morning Michael.
On the record label and as the record actually plays, the
second song does not appear, and was replaced by their
first single "Pink Lemonade." I am wondering if I have a
"revised issue" Does anybody on the list have the Pepermint
Rainbow disk containing "If We Can Make It To Monday" seems
like it would have been planned as the obvious followup, to
Will You be Staying After Sunday? For Lemon Piper fans the
photo on the back of the Peppermint Rainbow album (DL
75129) shows Ivan browne, Bill Albaugh and RG Nave (of the
Lemon Pipers) standing with two unknown females as the
group.
Paul Urbahns
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Subject: Happy Balloon
Received: 01/22/00 8:21 am
From: Nat Kone
To: Spectropop!
I just got a (review) copy of a newish Siesta compilation
"Sombrero" and the band whose softpoppy sound impressed me
the most, The Happy Balloon, are nowhere to be found on the
Siesta website. I mean, they cover "Come Saturday Morning"
for crying out loud. How could I not be interested in 'em?
So anyone know anything about my potentially new favourite
band?
Nat
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