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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 21 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Chiffons LP on BT Puppy
From: David Bell
2. Fading Yellow CDs
From: Mark
3. Re: Bassett Hand; Skeeter Davis
From: Phil Milstein
4. Re: Sugar Bear / Jerry Keller
From: TD
5. Re: Bassett Hand
From: Tom Taber
6. The Majority / Majority One
From: Mark
7. Mono versus Stereo
From: Matthew
8. como estas
From: Clyde Eriwn Barretto
9. Re: Ray, Goodman & Brown
From: Simon White
10. Re: Lou Toby
From: Simon White
11. Re: Mark Wirtz
From: Max Weiner
12. More on "The Fool Killer"
From: James Cassidy
13. Re: "The Look Of Love"
From: Richard Williams
14. Carol Kay / Carol Kaye
From: Norman
15. Keely Smith
From: Simon White
16. Oh . . . Kaye!
From: Steve Harvey
17. Re: The mono "White Album"
From: Alfie Noakes
18. Re: Sax for Dusty
From: Max Weiner
19. Re: Soft Rock
From: Patrick Rands
20. Stu Phillips appearances on the east coast
From: Stu Phillips
21. Re: Recent CD: Skeeter Davis
From: Jeffery Kennedy
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 18:10:11 EDT
From: David Bell
Subject: Re: Chiffons LP on BT Puppy
I'm glad that my alert got through and hope that someone on Spectropop
won this album.
I bought my record on Ebay about a year ago and, strangely enough, my
copy was also bought from an Australian dealer.
David
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 22:19:52 -0000
From: Mark
Subject: Fading Yellow CDs
Here's my question. Are these more pop or more psych? In order words,
what I usually go by is if Vernon Joynson hates something means its
good and the more he likes it, the worse it is. So before I order
these 5 CDs, how poppy are they? I like ultra-commercial records that
sound like they could have and should have been Top 40 hits.
Looking forward to the responses.
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 18:01:23 -0400
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Bassett Hand; Skeeter Davis
Ken Silverwood wrote:
> Does anyone know what the term BASSETT HAND means on Bang Records
> labels?
The liner notes to Robert Feldman's career retrospective LP "Roots Of
S.O.B.*, Vol. 2" include this dedication (among several others):
"To Richard Gottehrer & Gerald Goldstein: The 2 "G's in F.G.G., aka
Niles & Giles Strange aka Bassett Hand, etc., etc., thank you for some
of the best years of my life. The memories and the music will always
be there."
The collection includes two Bassett Hand tracks, "Happy Organ Shake"
and "Soul Paradise," but offers no writing credits for these or any of
its other tracks. As far as the origin of the pseudonym, perhaps it's
an in-joke corruption of "bassett hound." Just a conjecture.
Alfie Noakes wrote:
> Is "What am I Gonna Do With You" the same as the Lesley Gore track of
> the same name? If so, it's one of my all-time favourite recordings,
> and the Lesley Gore version could have sat happily on the forthcoming
> "Phil's Spectre" compilation on Ace.
Same song; different track.
--Phil M.
*Sounds of Brooklyn
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 20:43:17 -0400
From: TD
Subject: Re: Sugar Bear / Jerry Keller
The Sugar Bear singing "Can't get enough of that Sugar Crisp--Keeps me
goin' strong!" had to be at least ten years before '75. The tune Sugar
Bear is singing is the same tune to "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho".
The Sugar Bear artwork looks like it came from the same studio that
produced "Linus, and His Friends"--with Sheldon Leonard as the voice of
Linus. Sterling Holloway did a lot of voice work, from the narrator to
Walt Dizney's "Peter and the Wolf" to the voice of "Winnie, the Pooh"
(and I guess the web-page people got Sugar Bear and the Pooh Bear mixed
up) -- td
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 17:18:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Taber
Subject: Re: Bassett Hand
Ken Silverwood wrote:
> Does anyone know what the term BASSETT HAND means on
> Bang Records labels?
I know I have a really weird 45 by him called "Youm",
which has sort of a surf sound to it (Youm is the only
word [sound?] in it. No time to do a google search
now... Tom Taber
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 23:28:19 -0000
From: Mark
Subject: The Majority / Majority One
Does anyone have a discography that they can post on this group?
The Tapestry of Delights lists their UK 45s but they supposedly
recorded further material in Europe after changing their name.
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Message: 7
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 20:45:48 EDT
From: Matthew
Subject: Mono versus Stereo
While I've never been a big proponent one way or another in the mono vs.
stereo debate, I do believe that records should be listened to in the
recording format that they were originally released or approved. For
example, I am led to believe that the only versions of Beatles records
that George Martin actually produced were in mono and then somebody else
would come in and remix them for stereo.
My question for all of you is this: Is there a site on the internet that
lists the differences between mono and stereo mixes. For example that
Dylan's "Blonde On Blonde" contains totally different takes of certain
songs in the two formats. Are there more examples of this?
Matthew
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 21:52:27 EDT
From: Clyde Eriwn Barretto
Subject: como estas
hello! just wanted to say I am new to the list. I always knew about
Phil Spector but never really gave too much attention until one day I
went to go sell a Phil Spector songbook on ebay and realized that I
knew, heard and sung every song on that book over and over again. I
just never really pay attention to detail sometimes...
but anyways been listening to a lot of modern singer song writers such
as Beck, Sondre Lerche, Josh Rouse and a band called The Decemberists...
I am going to see David Bowie in New York for the first time as well
this December! who I actually did not really start to appreciate until
I met my girlfriend and realize that he's one of the best singer
songwriters performers out there!!!
Clyde Eriwn Barretto
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 12:22:49 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Re: Ray, Goodman & Brown
Stephane Rebeschini wrote:
> Ray, Goodman & Brown (?)...
...were The Manhattans after they lost the rights to use the name.
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 12:08:22 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Re: Lou Toby
Stephane Rebeschini wrote:
> He also released a LP "Meet Lou Toby" on Sano 1003 - year and
> style unknown - and a funk 45 "Heavy Steppin'" circa 1972.
I'd forgotton the 45 -I have it.
Peach -Mint 6065 - 1974
The 'A' side "The Impeachment Story" is a cut up record credited to
"Steel Jake and Jeff" and is in the style of Dickie Goodman - who was
recently discussed here.
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Message: 11
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 05:48:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Max Weiner
Subject: Re: Mark Wirtz
Dear Mark Wirtz,
Mant years ago I had a copy of "Out of his Head", a biography of Phil
Spector (forgive me I can't remember the authors name), but he made
reference to a Mark Wirtz that did a tribute album to Phil. By any
chance are you that same Mark Wirtz?
sincerely,
Max J. Weiner
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Message: 12
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 09:05:59 -0400
From: James Cassidy
Subject: More on "The Fool Killer"
Here's the plot summary of the 1965 film from IMDB.com:
'12-year-old George Mellish, tired of beatings for both real and
fancied misdeeds at the hands of his foster parents,runs away from home
by hopping a freight train and lands somewhere east of the Mississippi
River. The first person he meets is Dirty Jim Helliman (Henry Hull)who
lives in a fantastically filthy hovel and with whom George feels a
kindred spirit, both having "suffered" at the hands of a clean woman.
It is (really dirty) Dirty Jim that tells George of the mythical,
eight-foot bogey man called "The Fool Killer." George gets sick and
Dirty Jim takes him to town where Mrs.Ova Faversham (Charlotte
Jones)takes charge of the feverish boy. When Blessing Angeline (Sindee
Ann Richards), Mrs. Faversham's 10-year-old daughter, tells George that
her mother intends to return him to his foster parents, George hits the
road again. He meets Milo Bogardus (Anthony Perkins), a young Civil War
veteran, who has been robbed of his memory by a war wound, and is as
lost in his own way as George. THey come upon a camp meeting, where the
fanatical Reverend Spotts is conducting a revivalist meeting and during
the religious frenzy, George blacks out. He comes to and is alone, and
is unaware that the Reverend has been murdered, and starts in his
search to find Milo. He finds a home with the Dodds (Dana Elcar and
Salome Jens), small town store keepers. When, at supper, Dodds makes
mention of the murder of the Reverend Spotts, George blurts out that
"The Fool Killer done it" and tells them the legend as told to him by
Dirty Jim. That evening, while George lies in bed, a shadow appears at
his window. It is the figure of a tall, gaunt apparition, axe in hand
ready to strike---"The Fool Killer!"'
According to IMDB.com, the theme song they ended up using was "The
Ballad of the Fool Killer" by country singer David Houston. I've never
heard it, but perhaps a country ballad was deemed more apropos for a
post-Civil War setting than Burt's almost Kurt Weill-ian tune.
Personally, I think the eerie verse melody is one of Burt's better
ones, but the bland chorus is a letdown.
Jim Cassidy
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Message: 13
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 14:13:22 +0100
From: Richard Williams
Subject: Re: "The Look Of Love"
Re Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love"
I've got an idea the tenor solo is by Tony Coe, a great British
saxophonist much used by arrangers at the time. He was easily capable
of that sort of brilliant Stan Getz pastiche. I haven't spoken to him
for a few years, but I'll try to check it out.
Richard Williams
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Message: 14
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 22:34:26 +0930
From: Norman
Subject: Carol Kay / Carol Kaye
Hi Spectroppers,
I need some info, and I am too lazy to research for it, so I will
lay it at your feet.
What can anyone tell me about Carol Kay who backed Tommy Dee on
Three Stars?
Also, did the session musician Carol Kaye ever do any vocal work in
her early days?
Thanks
Norman
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Message: 15
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 21:19:31 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Keely Smith
Having received a 45 from one of the more venerable Spectropop
members, "Somethin' Wonderful Happened" by Keely Smith, I started
to think after a few plays that it sounded a little familiar.
Is it a film song? I have a memory of hearing it on a soundtrack
sometime. It's produced by Tony Hatch, so can we find out?
--
Simon
I must get a little hand for this watch.
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Message: 16
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 15:30:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: Oh . . . Kaye!
Norman wrote:
> Also, did the session musician Carol Kaye ever do
> any vocal work in her early days?
No, she was a jazz guitarist in the early days up
until the early 60s when some bassist failed to show
up for a session. Carol picked up the bass and the
rest is history.
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Message: 17
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 14:25:31 -0000
From: Alfie Noakes
Subject: Re: The mono "White Album"
All the mixes on the mono version of "The White Album" were different
to the stereo ones, by definition. When a multi-track recording is
made, it has to be mixed down to mono, stereo (or surround nowadays),
depending on how many speakers the listener is expected to have.
The mixdown is a crucial part in the creative process in popular
music, and is the stage where the loudness of indvidual instruments
is decided, and many effects are added to the raw recordings: when
multi-track recording was limited to four or less tracks, many
artists used this stage to add more instrumentation and even vocals.
With the advent of stereo recordings, artists began to produce mixes
in both mono and stereo, but as stereo was initially a small and
gimmicky market, this mix was usually little more than an
afterthought. Consequently, when a recording was released, the mono
mix often had the full creative input of the artist, whilst the
stereo mix may have been finished by a junior engineer.
In the case of The Beatles' recordings, the stereo versions are
pretty crude, and for the most part comprise the instruments on one
side, and the vocals on the other - great for karaoke, but
substandard by any other guage. But as stereo was the prevailing format,
these are the versions we're left with. The reason why the mono
versions of albums often command such high prices on the collectors'
market is not out of some prejudice against new-fangled stereo, but
because the mixes are quite simply better. Any mono fan will be able to
reel off a list of favourites where an instrument or hook is included,
that is altogether missing from its stereo counterpart. I've never
heard the mono mix of "The White Album" but from what I've heard, it's
in a different league to the stereo version. I don't understand why,
with the constant repackaging and remastering of albums, there aren't
more audiophile versions in mono. It's more likely that we'll soon get
to hear surround sound versions of our favourite songs, than hear them
as they were originally intended.
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Message: 18
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 09:15:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Max Weiner
Subject: Re: Sax for Dusty
> "The Look Of Love" that I think was featured in the "Casino
> Royale" fillum. "This is a job for Spectropop" I thought. Can
> anyone help?
> The movie version was conducted and arranged by Burt Bacharach,
> I believe and probably done in Hollywood.
That song was in "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Steve Mcqueen and
Faye Dunaway.
Max
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Message: 19
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 16:39:09 -0000
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: Re: Soft Rock
Orion wrote:
> "Soft Pop", "Sunshine Pop", "Pop Psyche" in my opinion those all
> mean the samething.
I think there are differences between the definitions listed above
(as well as Soft Rock). The way I see Soft Rock is it's supposed to
not make sense (in that rock-n-roll can't be soft, but something that
rhymes with rock can be) and that's part of the charm of calling it
soft rock. In other worrds, it's play on words.
I, for one, refer to soft rock from the 60s as "60s soft rock", to
make sure (maybe just to myself) that it's not the more slick sound
of 70s soft rock. I also look at the entire genre (60s soft rock) as
a precursor to the fame enjoyed by 70s soft rockers like The
Carpenters; since most 60s soft rockers had nowhere near their amount
of fame, I see these groups (The Match, Bergen White, Sundowners,
Roger Nichols, etc) as setting the stage for the larger success of
70s soft rock. I also think sunshine pop and soft rock are different
but often performed by the same groups (as well as harmony pop, soft
psych and even bubblegum etc).
:Patrick
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Message: 20
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 18:20:04 -0000
From: Stu Phillips
Subject: Stu Phillips appearances on the east coast
Hi Spectropop fans from Stu Phillips
Just a reminder to those in the NYC-NJ-Boston area, that I will be in
your area from Oct. 16-Oct. 23. Would love to say hello personally.
On Oct.16, 2003, he will be lecturing for the Film Music Network in
New York City. Event to take place at: DV DoJo 310 Bowery at 1st St.
(North of Houston) 6:30 PM.
On Oct. 17, 2003, he will be in New York City at the Barnes & Nobel
Bookstore, 1972 Broadway at 7:00 PM for a book discussion/signing.
On Oct, 16-17th, 2003, Guest lecturer at The Laguardia High School of
Music & Art and Performing Arts. 10:00 AM.
On Oct.20-21, 2003, he will be at lecturing at The Berklee College of
Music in Boston, Mass. 11:00 AM with a book signing to follow later in
the day.
On Oct. 23-24, 2003, he will be appearing at Friends of Old Time Radio
Convention at The Holiday Inn-North, Newark, NJ. (All day Thursday &
Friday morning, only.)
>From Oct.24-26, 2003 he will be at the Galacticon convention in Los
Angeles, CA which is taking place at the Sheraton Universal in Universal
City.
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Message: 21
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 18:37:20 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: Re: Recent CD: Skeeter Davis
After several delays, the Taragon Skeeter Davis CD is available and
in shops. I picked up a copy last week.
Most girl group buffs are probably familiar with most of the tracks,
but many are new to CD (is this really the first CD reissue of
Davis's "Sunglasses"?). The non-LP single tracks are a definite
plus. "Don't Anybody Need My Love" is particularly fantastic. I think
the biggest surprise, though, is "I Can't See Me Without You," from
Davis's "What Does It Take..." LP: great, chugging arrangement with
strange guitar effects and vocal group harmonies and a rather eerie
atmosphere.
This is a dream compilation for a Davis fan such as myself. I can
think of only a few other tracks I wish had been included. The liner
notes seem to suggest that Taragon is open to the possibility of
issuing a second volume.
The sonics are out of this world and 100% stereo. Highly recommended.
Jeffery Kennedy
San Francisco
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