http://www.spectropop.com
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Volume #0387 February 16, 2000
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Project 3 Records have achieved Total Sound!
Subject: Re: Love update
Received: 02/16/00 3:56 am
From: Andrew Sandoval
To: Spectropop!
Gethsemene, the rumoured 4th Love album, does not exist.
However its title is another of Arthur's play on the
words for "get some money" (I'm sure he'd be happy to sell
you the statue of liberty too). Ken Forsi died of brain
cancer four or five years ago - he was living in Florida
at the time. Bryan Maclean passed away at a resteraunt in
Los Angeles on Christmas Day a year ago. Arthur is still
in prision. Michael Stuart does his best to stay out of
harms way. Much like the lyric to several Love songs,
Snoopy has gone down to Mexico. Johnny Echols lives in
Arizona. All the members were interviewed for a special
edition of the Forever Changes album due in November from
Rhino. I'm saving the revelations for the booklet.
andrew sandoval
P.S. Da Capo came out prior to Forever Changes, therefore
it is not and cannot be the follow up album (though it's a
nice thought). Arthur did record a fourth album (and
several others) with a different line up of Love in 1968:
Four Sail. It is really quite good (though not currently
available on CD - sorry).
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Subject: Re: Ron Hicklin, and Love
Received: 02/16/00 3:56 am
From: Hillary Rodham Hussein
To: Spectropop!
Lindsay Martin quoted:
>As for Gary's lead vocals. .. well, that's not just
>Gary's voice you hear on the record. To help fill out what
>he felt to be Gary's vocal inadequacies, Snuff brought in a
>session singer, too. His name was Ron Hicklin.
If you listen to the interview with Gary Zekley by Domenic
Priore on the Sundazed reissue of "The Yellow Balloon",
Zekley talks about Hicklin too. If he wasn't a member of
YB, he sang on their recordings atleast.
Dave Mirich wrote re follow-up to "Forever Changes":
>Probably a myth, or the bootleggers would've gotten ahold
>of it by now.
Apparently, the last ever Love single with their "classic"
line-up, Your Mind And I Belong Together b/w Laughing Stock,
is from the FC album follow-up sessions...
>How much of the arrangement did A. Lee do on FC? Was
>there a G. Martin arranging the ornate, delicate,
>intricate, majestic music on FC?
Arthur Lee has claimed to have had nothing, some, and
everything to do with the arrangements in different
interviews! It seems like Neil Young arranged The Daily
Planet mostly by himself, and that while Lee might've
contributed to the rest by scat singing (which The Beatles
also did for G. Martin), the actual hard work of arranging
the strings and brass was more than likely entirely by
David Angel.
DJ Jimmy wrote:
>Forsi went into Forensic Pathology following an
>television addiction to "Quincy" during the 8T's.
Interesting...
>Echols is making sheckles selling the answer to
>Love's "Seven And Seven Is" via his newly-created
>website.
And the URL is?
>Snoopy is attending Charles Schultz's funeral and is
>unavailable for comment.
Well, *duh* :)
Tobias
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Subject: Re: Association, Love, 101 Strings
Received: 02/16/00 3:56 am
From: Stewart Mason
To: Spectropop!
I notice that "The Association" is playing at one of my
local Indian casinos this weekend, and something smells
wrong about it. Does anyone have any information about
current touring lineups, including if anyone in the real
band is involved? I've been suspecting for a while that
this casino (the Camel Rock, near Santa Fe) either
knowingly or unwittingly books a lot of ripoffs.
More importantly, is there any kind of web resource that
lists semi- or totally-fraudulent bands on the oldies
circuit? If not, there should be. One of my day jobs
involves writing about the local live music scene in New
Mexico and if this place is booking ripoffs, I have no
choice but to write about it whenever it happens.
David Mirich wrote:
>Probably a myth, or the bootleggers would've gotten ahold
>of it by now. I think A. Lee received 8 years in the pen.
>Started serving time about 3? years ago, so with good time
>.... another couple of years. I don't know about the long
>lost follow up to Forever Changes, but I felt that DaCapo
>(1st side) was a worthy follow up to FC.
I know I won't be the only person to mention this, but DA
CAPO actually preceded FOREVER CHANGES. It was their
second album and FC was #3. And am I the only one who also
likes side two of DA CAPO, the 19-minute,
Coltrane-influenced "Revelation"?
>How much of the arrangement did A. Lee do on FC? Was there
>a G. Martin arranging the ornate, delicate, intricate,
>majestic music on FC?
I've always assumed Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean did the
arrangements on FOREVER CHANGES, but now that I think
about it, that may be entirely wrong.
Billy Spradlin wrote:
>>*101 Strings: The Romance of Magic Island
>>
>>Exotica-listees probably rave about The 101 Strings...this
>>LP is actually brilliant and "a program of lush
>>instrumentals that set the mood of a tropical paradise -
>>played in the sound of magnificence". It's pure
>>entertainment music, but what is wrong with that?
>
>My fave 101 Strings is a late 50's/early 60's LP called
>"Back Beat Symphony" where they took classical melodies and
>did them "Rock & Roll" Style. It was an early "Hooked On
>Classics" attempt and It is Sooo bad...!
I see that and raise you my one 101 Strings album: 101
STRINGS PLAY THE SONGS OF HANK WILLIAMS. Yes, really.
>What makes it horrible is that it sounded like the
>producers dubbed in a small rock band behind 101 Strings
>playing 50's R&R style (ala the Platters hits...Triplets
>on piano) and to make matters worse they added a hideous
>(white sounding) chorus singing "Doo-Wop" styled background
>vocals! And this did this to every song on the album. It is
>one of the weirdest sounding LP's I have in my collection!
I've read that many of the 101 Strings records are based
on the same orchestral recordings, with different
instruments dubbed on for the different versions,
depending on the theme: steel guitar and bird noises for
the "Hawaiian" album, etc.
A particular Holy Grail of mine is a series of albums I've
heard of under a different name -- which I unfortunately
can't remember, but I bet someone here knows -- which came
out in the late 60s and early 70s. They were psychedelic
mood music created by running old 101 Strings tapes
through an Echoplex! If anyone knows where I can get my
hands on one of these, please let me know!
Stewart
****************************FLAMINGO RECORDS************************
Stewart Allensworth Mason "Eight high-octane musicians who
Box 40172 met and jammed in the great peanut
Albuquerque NM 87196 butter octopus that is Los
www.rt66.com/~flamingo Angeles..."
**********************HAPPY MUSIC FOR NICE PEOPLE*******************
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Subject: A KOOKIE LITTLE PARADISE
Received: 02/16/00 3:56 am
From: Alan and Pat Warner
To: Spectropop!
Re: Jim Fisher's question about what he thinks may have
been a Connie Stevens record...
A KOOKIE LITTLE PARADISE was written by Lee Pockriss and
Bob Hilliard and recorded by Jo-Ann Campbell on
ABC-Paramount in 1960. The song was covered in Britain by
the late Frankie Vaughan.
Rock on!
Alan Warner
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Subject: Kooky Little Paradise
Received: 02/16/00 3:56 am
From: WASE RADIO
To: Spectropop!
To Jim:
There were two versions of "Kooky Little Paradise" both in
1960. One version was by Jo Ann Campbell released on ABC
Paramount 10134. It peaked at #61 that September.
The other charted version is by the Tree Swingers on
Guyden 2036. It peaked at #73 that September in 1960. Good
luck in finding either one.
Michael G. Marvin
WASE radio
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Subject: Emmit Rhodes actually
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: DJ JimmyB
To: Spectropop!
In a message dated 2/14/0 1:16:04 PM, you wrote:
>If anyone can tell me...where I can get...
>anything by Emmit Rhodes, it would be much appreciated
Mr Nit Pick backatcha...Wasn't Emmit Rhodes actually
in Merry Go Round?
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Subject: behind the hits
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: Frank Youngwerth
To: Spectropop!
<< "...the Playboys were almost irrelevant--they weren't
allowed to play their instruments and their voices were
used sparingly.>>
Something of a contrast with Gary Lewis' own recollections
in the notes to the excellent CD compilation from the EMI
Legendary Masters series, which came out in 1990:
"The original Playboys that I put together in 1964 were
the guys that did all the tracks to the first seven hits.
We played on all the basic tracks but then the overdubbing
was done by studio people. Actually they let the Playboys
feel like they were really part of it, but in the final
mixdown, they kind of buried them."
Seems to me that Garrett would've had the studio pros put
down the basic tracks. If the drummer's time is even a
little bit off, the whole track suffers no matter how much
you overdub (which is why producers in general so eagerly
embraced drum machines when working with "real" bands in
the early 80s). And look who Gary claims was in there
keeping time:
"I played drums on everything--all the albums and all the
singles up until 'She's Just My Style'...I really didn't
have drum chops for a shuffle. That's when we brought in
Jim Keltner, who became part of the Playboys and I went up
front. Hal Blaine was also there from the beginning. He
played timpani on 'This Diamond Ring'..."
So, as Gary remembers it, HE was the principal drummer on
his records, with Hal the auxiliary percussionist, until
Keltner joined the band. I kinda doubt it.
The notes also state "Gary Lewis did all the vocal parts
on 'This Diamond Ring,'" and that Hicklin came in with the
Eligibles starting with the next single.
Whether or not Hicklin is on "This Diamond Ring," I think
it's Gary's voice that makes so many of his records so
likable. Hicklin is supposed to be singing the goofy
falsetto on "Time Stands Still," and that voice couldn't
be mistaken for Gary's.
Another contradiciton with the above Behind the Hits quote:
Gary claims the other Playboys *never* sang on any of
"their" records.
Frank Youngwerth
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Subject: Them Critters
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: Jamie LePage
To: Spectropop!
Reading all the replies on Critters in the last ish was
interesting. I guess it isn't surprising that their
recordings are well known and appreciated by listers
here.
I have three or four Critters albums but they are in
storage and I haven't heard them for far too long. I
remember, though, that the band switched to Project Three
after the Kapp stuff, and somehow I remember thinking the
Project Three recordings were less overtly commercial than
their prior output. Project Three of course also brought the
world the Free Design.
Any comments on the Critters Project Three records, or how
they ended up on Enoch Light's label? Anything about Enoch
Light or the EZ/mood label's connection to soft pop? Also,
isn't there a Critters tie-in with Bonner/Gordon and
Anders/Poncia? Possibly even with latter-day Lovin'
Spoonful?
Jamie
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Subject: Carol Kaye and Frank Zappa
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: Glenn Sadin
To: Spectropop!
I was looking over the abundant liner notes on the
original vinyl version of Frank Zappa & the Mothers of
Invention's 1st album, "Freak Out!," and I noticed with
interested that Carol Kaye is listed in the "Mothers
Auxillery." Carol, what do you remember about working with
FZ on this album? Do you remember what tracks you played on?
(I realize that FZ has little to do the usual Spectropop
topics, but I couldn't resist asking about what is one of
my all-time favorite albums.)
Glenn
Glenn Sadin
Read about JAPANESE POP MUSIC from the 1950s thru the 1990s:
http://home.earthlink.net/~glenn_mariko/nihon.htm
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Subject: Whew....
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: Carol Kaye
To: Spectropop!
Talk about exhaustion from the NYC trip to get my Women In
Music award (Will Lee and Ron Carter presenting, they were
great - Lesley Gore there, we had fun chatting as were Max
Weinberg, others like George Wein who died laughing when I
was describing some things that went on in the studios --
he said on the side "imagine the stories she can't tell
here" -- yes, it was pretty formal -- people say "what is
the 'dirt'?" This is usually from people who look at too
much TV.
Well, there is NO DIRT, we were a business, not a house of
ill-repute, but there were some great funny one-liners
during the very boring times (most often than not), inside
jokes that only the musicians got....like the time when
Glen Campbell used to get up and sing funky cowboy songs
etc.), then 4 days of the NAMM Trade Show, playing,
signing autographs, taking pictures, etc. then a jazz
concert...as busy at 65 as I was at 35.
Lindsay Martin sez: >>>>then Snuff added Gary's voice,
overdubbed him a second time, added some of the Playboys,
and then added more of Hicklin<<<<
I worked probably 1,000s of dates with the wonderful Ron
Hicklin, and the rest of the fine studio background
singers, so I don't doubt this is true. It was customary
for a lot of studio singers to sing parts like that. BTW,
see a picture of Snuffy and myself on my website; I worked
for Snuffy a lot, good people, very sharp.
>>>>On the subject of session musicians: looking through a
list of people for whom Carol played, I see the Ventures.
One of the most famous guitar groups ever and even they
used a session guitarist? I can take only so much
disillusionment!<<<
Yes, it must be hard to know that the same studio
musicians who literally created and played on so many of
the 60s hit recordings for the other groups, joined the
Ventures on some of their recordings too -- I know women
who idolized all the cute guys who formed the groups we
did the tracks for are in tears at hearing the news but
they soon get over it
...and btw, at the Aria booth at NAMM (Nat'l Assoc. Of
Music Merchants) -- I play the Aria bass -- where I mainly
played, the Ventures came and did a couple of jams of their
own. Bob Bogle their bassist was so nice, graciously said
"you played so great on bass on our hits" etc., etc.,-- he
forgot that Ray Pohlman also played some bass on their
things too.
The Ventures could play their own music, they just
sometimes added studio musicians with them to play on the
recordings (Tommy Tedesco on guitar).
Also stopping by the Aria booth were Bill Medley,
wonderful to see him again, hugging, etc., his daughter is
a bassist too. And of course the regular fine bassists:
Jeff Berlin, Bunny Brunel, Alain Caron, others stopped by.
Even Joe Osborn stopped by for a hug, it was wearing at the
LA Convention Center, thank God it's back at Anaheim next
year.
Where I played jazz at the Polytone booth, Dick Dale
stopped by and gave the crowd a thrill, he was so funny, I
played one of his licks on the bass duga-duga-duga-duga etc.
he laughed and said "this lady played on all my hits"
well....don't think it was "all" but he was being gracious,
was great to see him again (told him I hear him
everywhere now, we laughed about how the come-back seems
to be hitting big, was proud of him), good guy he is.
Played some fine jazz with Karl Ratzer from Austria,
wonderful Joe Pass-style guitarist, we played two guitars
at the Thomastik booth, played guitar with the wonderful
Dave Stone too - people are surprised that I'm a jazz
guitarist, but our group all knows it as I spent about 5
years recording first on guitar after playing in the LA
jazz clubs for years in the 50s -- did regular guitar, 12-
string, acoustics, electrics, mandolin, banjo, Dano, etc.
but liked to play bass on the rock instead of guitar, when
a bassist didn't show one day at Capitol. Listen to
"Natural Man" and you'll hear Earl Palmer on drums, myself
on bass, that's the kind of music I played and liked to
play then, altho' a lot of it was the rock stuff....which
eventually caused me to turn down ALL studio work in late
1969 for about 7 months, then wouldn't work for any of the
rock groups anymore, only people like Ray Charles, Mancini,
etc. and the beautiful music of the movies and TV shows in
the 70s. Got so tired of those rock groups even on bass
that time.
Three cheers for the Women In Music people, they're
wonderful and even had a great time sitting in playing
with Les Paul the night before, he was great, suffering
from Arthritis, but still has a quick wit!
Catch our "Thumbs Up", now shipped out to all the jazz
stations across the USA, some really playing it a lot,
regards,
Carol Kaye
http://www.carolkaye.com/
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Subject: search for mike alway??
Received: 02/16/00 3:55 am
From: Rough Trade Shop
To: Spectropop!
hi,
sorry ...deleted the post oops! or i'd write direct....
mike alway comes in our shop regularly so if anyone wants
to send a message i can make sure it gets passed on.......
thansk
x deila x
www.roughtrade.com
if you'd like to be sent regular new releases emails let me know
ph-0171 792 3490
fax 0171 221 1146
at....130 talbot road , london , wiiija, u.k.
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