________________________________________________________________________ SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop! ________________________________________________________________________ There are 23 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. Re: He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) From: Laura 2. Reality - The Rock Opera From: Les Fradkin 3. Re: Sid Bernstein From: Mike Rashkow 4. Snuff Garrett From: Mark T 5. Rupert's People From: David Walker 6. Re: Joss Stone / Sid B. / Mellotron / Big Al & the Wildweeds / Sam C. From: Phil Milstein 7. Re: Early Synths From: Mike Rashkow 8. Brit Girls From: Mike Dina 9. Re: la di da From: Stuart Miller 10. Re: More Gay Songs From: Jimmy Crescitelli 11. Best line in a song From: Bill Brown 12. Johnny's Day. From: Julio Niño 13. Re: Lost Master Tapes From: Mikey 14. Re: Tom Wilson From: Artie Wayne 15. Re: Tom Wilson / Sound Of Silence From: Dan Hughes 16. Jim Doval & The Gauchos From: Matt 17. Re: Javier Solis From: Julio Niño 18. Re: The death of the LP From: Vlaovic B 19. R. I. P. Tom Wilson From: Stuffed Animal 20. Re: The End of Albums From: Paul Bryant 21. Re: Viva Snuff / royalty dreams / He Hit Me / AM concrete From: Phil Milstein 22. Rock concert geography / David Hemmings From: Watson Macblue 23. Sweetshop - Lead The Way From: Mutsushi Tsuji ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 17:13:04 -0000 From: Laura Subject: Re: He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) Julio Niño: > The mention of "He Hit Me" brings to mind some early > sixties songs with SM ("Sadomaso" as we say in Spanish) > connotations, like Brian Hyland's "Let Me Belong To You", > Jess Conrad's "Hurt Me" (produced by Joe Meek) or Little Eva's > "Please Hurt Me". I always find a bit of perversity wrapped > in an innocent package very sexy. Could anybody add some more > examples?. Phil Milstein wrote: > I would put Hal David's lyric for "Johnny Get Angry" in that > category. How about the Beatles' "Run For Your Life?" Laura -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 18:22:04 -0000 From: Les Fradkin Subject: Reality - The Rock Opera Dear Group, I've just joined the group at the urging of my good friend Mark Wirtz. My music is clearly influenced by may icons of this group including Spector, Beach Boys and Curt Boettcher. I do symphonic pop with big harmonies and telling lyrics. So....It gives me great pleasure to announce to all that my new solo CD - "Reality-The Rock Opera" is in release. It's available as I write this at http://www.cdstreet.com http://www.cdbaby.com and http://www.amazon.com National distribution has been obtained for my new label (RRO) and that means that "brick & mortar" stores like Tower, Barnes & Noble and Borders will be carrying the CD as of 2004 (Jan or Feb). Thanks for all the group's support in advance. This CD is Symphonic pop with big harmonies and really catchy hooks. Phil Spector fans should feel right at home. Happy holidays and peace to all! Les Fradkin -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:53:54 EST From: Mike Rashkow Subject: Re: Sid Bernstein djholvay: > "Brenda, I'm going to make you into > another Judy Garland." Sounds like he was threatening her to me. di la, Rashkovsky (pushing the limit as usual) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 20:06:32 -0000 From: Mark T Subject: Snuff Garrett Sorry to hear that he [Snuff Garrett] is in ill health. He was another one of the unsung producing geniuses. Seeing his name on a label almost guarantees a really good pop record with excellent production. Hope someone tells him about this board and he comes on. We can never have enough living legends on here. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 05:47:12 +1030 From: David Walker Subject: Rupert's People Re Rupert's People: "Reflections of Charles Brown" is a wonderful record. Does anyone know who the lead singer was? Can anyone confirm or explode my belief that the backing band were Fleur de Lys, possibly with Bryn Haworth on lead guitar? I have the Rupert's People 45 "A Prologue To A Magic World / Dream on My Mind" and have so for many years. It was bought brand new from a remainder table and played to anyone who would listen way back when. The B-Side "Dream On My Mind" is power driven piece which I think the trendies call psyche or something like that. A Prologue to A Magic World was written by R Linton & A Condor. Dream On My Mind was written by R. Linton. At the time I pasted the following names on the sleeve; so it may help in identifying who they were. Steve Brendell Drums Raymond Beverley Bass Rod Lynton (sic) Lead Guitar Dai Jenkins Rhythm Guitar John Tout Organ Regards, Norman -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 15:43:08 -0500 From: Phil Milstein Subject: Re: Joss Stone / Sid B. / Mellotron / Big Al & the Wildweeds / Sam C. Yanks curious to hear what all the fuss is about Joss Stone can see and hear for themselves tonight, as she appears on the Conan O'Brien Show. James Holvay wrote: > Brenda Lee was the headliner of the show and I remember him > saying to her backstage, "Brenda, I'm going to make you into > another Judy Garland." A loaded line if ever I heard one! David Coyle wrote: > I would love to find an electronic keyboard such as > Casio and Yamaha makes that has a setting for > "Mellotron." I know the original ones were difficult > to master and awkward to play, but they made such a > great sound. Michael Pinder, in association with the Mellotron Archives, has created a set of discs for use with various modern-day electronic keyboards that are digital transfers of the original Mellotron and Chamberlin tapes. I don't know if this set is still in print (check around at http://www.mellotron.com to see), but if not I imagine copies would turn up on eBay, etc. every now and again. Steve Harvey wrote: > Yes, that is Big Al Anderson of NRBQ and Wildweeds > fame. Jonathan Fred did a few of his tunes on one of > his lps and the Carpenters (originally from his > hometown of New Haven) use to do "And When He Smiles" > in concert. Ian Matthews' Matthews Southern Comfort also covered And When She Smiles, and included it alongside another fab Big Al song, Mare Take Me Home. I've said it before here, but it's worth repeating: I can't imagine a single member of this list not being able to find at least a couple of big-time thrills on "No Good To Cry: The Best Of The Wildweeds" (http://www.confidentialrecordings.com/shop_wds.html). The label it's on, Confidential Recordings, was created expressly to release this collection, and of course it is with the band members' full cooperation. David Coyle again: > Sam Cooke may have asked for clear enunciation from > his artists on SAR Records, but you'll notice beyond > that that so many of the singers for the label sound > just like Sam! Particularly Bobby Womack and Mel > Carter, whose version of "When A Boy Is In Love" is > almost indistinguishable from Sam's version. I suppose this means Sam's name should go on that list of producers with an identifiable and highly personal sound. --Phil M. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:57:48 EST From: Mike Rashkow Subject: Re: Early Synths David Coyle: > "Mellotron". They had one at Allegro in NYC once upon a time. There was a delay between the attack and the sound. Personally, I am anaesthetized by the amount of posts on synthesizers (I wish I could get that to really rhyme) and I cast one vote to end this filibuster - ass that I am. I believe that between the last two weeks and the archives it has been done to death. Di la, The Always Pleasant and Reasonable Rashkovsky -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Sun, 07 Dec 2003 22:31:13 -0000 From: Mike Dina Subject: Brit Girls Hi Gang: At long last a group that I can really sink my teeth into! Love the Girl Group scene and British Pop including all those wonderful Brit Girls! Would like to correspond with anyone who grooves to the following artists: Susan Maughan, Billie Davis, Jackie Trent, Julie Grant, Samantha Jones, Kathy Kirby, Tammy St. John, Lulu, Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, The Great DUSTY SPRINGFIELD, Lyn Cornell, Jackie Lee, Dodie West, Shirley Abacair, Glenda Collins, Petula Clark, Helen Shapiro, Julie Rodgers, Anita Harris, Francoise Hardy, Sylvie Vartan, France Gall, Rita Pavone, Lorraine Silver, Andee Silver, P.P. Arnold, Nita Rossi, Nita Stern, Chiffons, Cookies, Angels, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Flirtations, Royalettes, Carole King, Ronettes, Crystals, Darlene Love, Shelley Fabares, Supremes, Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, Kim Weston, Brenda Holloway, Brenda Lee, Diane Renay, Peggy March, Velvelettes, Annette, Suzy Wallis and tons more too numerous to mention here, but I did pretty well for openers right? Also like Producer/Writer music like Phil Spector, Tony Hatch, Bacharach & David, King & Goffin, Mann & Weil, etc. To give you a little info about me, my name is Mike, was born and raised in Queens, New York City and currently live in Palm Bay, Florida and followed music very, very extensively since I was 5 years old in 1960. I'm a G/W/M, 48, Italian, Irish & German and music has been my passion all my life. If you would like to correspond and share ideas/opinions about the most wonderful ever recorded, then please don't hesitate to write me offlist. Take care all!! Happy Holidays to all! -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 21:02:26 -0000 From: Stuart Miller Subject: Re: la di da John wrote: > OK, what was the song that went la di da, oh boy, let's go, > cha cha cha? (This is not a test...for some reason, this song > popped into my mind with this thread) "Lucky Lady Bug" by Crewe/Slay. Sung by the 4 Seasons. Maybe. Stuart -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 16:10:16 EST From: Jimmy Crescitelli Subject: Re: More Gay Songs Did anyone mention Josie Cotten's "Johnny Are You Queer?" A clever penning from the distaff side of things. ; ) Jimmy -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 08:17:26 -0800 (PST) From: Bill Brown Subject: Best line in a song What does everyone consider the best line in a song? One I like is "The Captain laughed and said 'You boys want some sex? You can squeeze the sails, you can lick the decks'" ("Shakedown Cruise", Jay Ferguson) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 18:04:57 -0000 From: Julio Niño Subject: Johnny's Day. Hi Everyone, In reference to the track "Johnny I Love you" by Booker T and The MGs, is a song included in the motion picture soundtrack album Uptight, 1970 directed by Jules Dassin. I, myself haven't seen it but it belongs to the Blaxplotation genre. I've always liked that song and it seems incredible that with a such a voice Booker T didn't sing more often. Although the track seems shamelesly gay, maybe it has other nuances in the context of the film. In terms of songs with SM connotations, it is funny that I had never realized the implications of the lyrics to "Johnny Get Angry" (today must be Johnny's day) surely because my English is so poor that I don´t get half of the lyrics. For instance, every time I listen to the song "Bandit of my Dreams" I imagine a vicious adolescent having wet dreams about a male Bandit (again maybe because the word bandit/bandida is not often used in feminine in Spanish) but I suppose it must be that I don't understand the lyrics very well or maybe it's because I have a twisted mind, or a combination of both factors. A song frequently associated with SM is "These Boots are made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra". Personally, the most fun version I know of the song is in Spanish by the Benitez Sisters, "Estas Botas son para caminar" (Discophon- 1966), a well aged Cuban sister trio that don´t seem to realize the implications of what they are singing, and they sound totally like dominatrix moms. The Benitez sisters recorded amongst many horrors a couple of very fun tracks in ye-ye style during the second half of the 60s in Spain. Julio Niño. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 16:14:34 -0500 From: Mikey Subject: Re: Lost Master Tapes When a reissue label licenses a title from a small label, they may or may not spend time and money trying to track down Master Tapes. In many cases, because the time period that the label has to issue the material is small, they will do a Disc transfer if their first inquiry comes up with "no tapes found". -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:17:21 -0800 (PST) From: Artie Wayne Subject: Re: Tom Wilson James..........Unfortunately, Tom Wilson passed away about 20 years ago. Considering the time frame he produced the Dylan and Simon/ Garfunkel electric sides, 1964-66, I've always wondered if could he be credited with the first "Folk-Rock" recordings? regards, Artie Wayne -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 15:19:59 -0600 From: Dan Hughes Subject: Re: Tom Wilson / Sound Of Silence The way I heer'd it was that Tom Wilson did not think about juicing up the Sounds of Silence until he saw Like a Rolling Stone become a big hit. So a timeline that makes logical sense is this: Wilson records Wed Morn 3AM--a folkie album--and it flops. Wilson records Like a Rolling Stone--by a folkie doing rock--in July 1965 and sees it go to #2 in Billboard for two weeks: Sept 4 and Sept 11, 1965. Seeing this, Wilson says "Hmmmm....." and calls the session guys back in mid-September to change Sounds-folkie into Sounds-rock. By the way, wasn't the S&G song variously entitled "Sound of Silence" and "Sounds of Silence" on the 45, first album, and second album? ---Dan, http://members.soltec.net/~dan (spiffy home page) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 21:28:01 -0000 From: Matt Subject: Jim Doval & The Gauchos I recently watched an old episode of Shindig which featured this group. Anyone know anything about them? I checked All Music Guide but other than listing one of their songs on a compilation album... Anyway, they flat-out ROCKED and I was amused by their Raider-like ponytails...hmm, which (or rather who) came first, I wonder? Or was it purely coincidental? -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 21:33:18 -0000 From: Julio Niño Subject: Re: Javier Solis Hugo M wrote: > Mexican singer Javier Solis had a knack for picking out songs where > romantic rhetoric took on a dominant/submissive flavor - the obvious > one was "Esclavo Y Amo" (Master & Slave) but there were a couple > others I can't think of right now, 02 or 3 others that were either > on the Sombras LP or the one that was originally called "Rancheras" > and is currently available as "15 Autenticos Exitos". Wish I could > remember what they were. I love Javier Solis (although his kind of music is definitively off topic here). My favourite songs of his are "Escándalo" (a gay classic), and "Entregatotal", so exaggeratedly sadomasochistic that it has to be heard to, to be believed. Julio Niño. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 16:37:40 -0500 From: Vlaovic B Subject: Re: The death of the LP Back in the late 70s when I started buying vinyl LPs (as opposed to 45s which had been a purchasing staple for close to a decade, not counting the Peter Pan 45s from even earlier in my childhood) I could get, on sale, LPs for 4.99 Canadian. Fast forward less than a decade and CDs move into the market. Usually they were priced at about $21-25 Canadian, while the humble vinyl LPs could be purchased for about $8 (on sale). BTW, I can remember the first time I saw CDs was in 1983 when I was doing my back-pack through Europe. Mostly classical selections, but Roxy Music’s Avalon and a Deram David Bowie compilation were also frequent sightings. Mais, je digress…..I think the shock of having the same product at that time, circa 1986 at such vastly different prices has never left me, and I’ve never made the inflationary adjustment in my mind. And although I love the longer format of the CD, the reality is most ‘artistes’ seem to have difficulty filling up the allotted 75 minutes with decent material. I recall Motown embarking on a programme circa 1985 of withdrawing all their recent vinyl reissues of classic Motown LPs and replacing them with Twofer CDs. I remember being slightly p*ssed at the thought of them deleting the vinyl before I’d purchased much of it. And I also remember mentioning to a friend who worked in a traditional music store that I wasn’t into CDs because it was all just current stuff and there’d never be historical stuff released…..geez was I wrong. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 21:38:46 +0000 From: Stuffed Animal Subject: R. I. P. Tom Wilson > What's Tom Wilson doing now? I've always been a big admirer of his > work and always wanted to meet him. Unfortunately, he died of AIDS. Sometime in the mid-1990s, as I recall. His passing was noted in The Advocate, the gay and lesbian newsmagazine. Don "Stuffed Animal" Charles -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:53:17 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Bryant Subject: Re: The End of Albums Tom Taber: > Not having a calculator with me - I believe that a > 60-70 minutes CD is a much cheaper source of music > than the 30 minute $3.98 stereo LP was in 1967 Ah - it is, and it isn't. The concept of the "album", which in pop/rock music was introduced by Dylan, the Beach Boys and the Beatles, made sense for a long time. Albums were approximately 40 minutes long, and there were two sides to them - this was important! You could concentrate for 20 minutes without too much of a problem, then came the natural break, the ritual of turning the record over - then back to another 20 or so minutes. And throughout this intense listening period, there was the album sleeve - which was large enough to be able to read everything on it without the use of a magnifying glass, and which in many cases was a work of art in itself. You don't have to turn over a cd and thus there is no natural break, and no element of ritual. This is important! The whole aesthetic experience is shattered also by the tiny size of the cd cover and - you can't see the cd going round like you could an lp! And then, modern bands realising that you can get 75 minutes easily onto a cd think that if you don't fill up your new cd with music you're in some way short-changing the buyer. Well, of course, that's an argument. But they have overlooked this - how many people have the time to concentrate on 70 plus minutes of music? How many people's private time is so orderly and their concentration level so high? Very few. 40 minutes was tolerable, and indeed, highly enjoyable. 70 minutes is way too long. Instead of a manageable chunk of vinyl time, the album has elephantised into an evening-crunching experience. Playing two albums in one evening was perfectly feasible. Two cds all the way through? Not a chance. So I now believe that there are millions of cds sold to buyers who often never get round to listening to the whole thing - they'll just pick out three or four favourites. I agree with all the commercial reasons put forward for the death of the album, and I am hereby adding the aesthetic reason. The pudding has been over-egged and the customers are sick of it. In this case, less was more. pb -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 17:11:04 -0500 From: Phil Milstein Subject: Re: Viva Snuff / royalty dreams / He Hit Me / AM concrete Mark T wrote: > Sorry to hear that he [Snuff Garrett] is in ill health. > He was another one of the unsung producing geniuses. > Seeing his name on a label almost guarantees a really > good pop record with excellent production. Hope someone > tells him about this board and he comes on. We can never > have enough living legends on here. Does anyone know of a good discog. on his Viva label? They few records I have on it run a very strange gamut of sounds. I mean, what kind of nut would put out Prof. Irwin Corey 45s ...?!? Kevin Melville wrote: > Although there may be other problems with this idea, if there was > a flat master use rate - say $.10 per master per CD sold - you > could put 20 songs on a CD, pay the $2.00 royalties to the labels > (RIAA could act as a blanket licensing agency) and $1.70 > royalties to the songwriters, sell for $15.00 and everybody gets > their share. Fair price, selection unlimited, everybody makes as > much money as they can. Labels even make money off "dead" catalog. I don't see where the artist comes in for his/her/their cut of the action. astro4004 wrote: > Be sure to include the Chantelles "Gonna Get Burned" > from volume three in the Dream Babes series! Alder Ray, in A Little Love (Will Go A Long Way), sings: My baby he don't love me The way I think he should Ooh whee when he hurts me It makes me feel so doggone good Available on the fabulous "Phil's Spectre." Then, of course, there is "One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you ." Clark Besch wrote: > Hi, now playing to Musica is 10 minutes of "Being There: The > Beatles on Radio". Wow, what a totally amazing pastiche! How long did it take you to put it together? And, did you edit it all at once, or bits at a time? (And forgive me if you answer these questions in your text, I skimmed it but didn't read every word.) I think what I like best about it is the detritus of the AM signal. Since most of us, at least those of us old enough to have been around when the AM band was mostly dedicated to music stations, similarly tried to pull in whatever signals we could from wherever they arrived (and sometimes it could be almost a game to get them from as far away as possible), there is a real romance to the static, the whirs, the fades in and out, etc. As a kid growing up in N.J., sometimes I thought that if I could pull in a station from, say, Kansas, if I tried hard enough maybe I could get one from China, or even the Moon! Listening to Clark's AM concrete makes me curious about how the AM/FM dichotomy might've played out in countries other than the U.S. Did the dynamics unfold in much the same way as they did in the U.S.? Bang a gong, --Phil M. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:15:38 -0800 (PST) From: Watson Macblue Subject: Rock concert geography / David Hemmings David Coyle writes: > One major problem I had with the British segment of the PBS special > was the title >screen saying "The Mersey Beat." Years later, and > they're still unwittingly lumping all >British rock under the > Liverpool scene. Never forget "The TAMI Show," whose title song, From All Over The World, has Jan and Dean intone "...the Rolling Stones from Liverpool are bound to be there." The Grateful Dead from Boise? The Beach Boys from Tampa? Clods. We American-based Scots spend a calculable proportion of every year explaining to our neighbors that Scotland is not part of England. The response is usually "What's the difference?" - to which I always reply "You Texans always say that." "But I'm not ... " Well, exactly. By way of adding a dollop of murk to the David Hemmings story, his early years as a classical singer included creating the role of Miles in Benjamin Britten's opera The Turn of the Screw; he also sang the treble solo in the first performance of Britten's cantata St. Nicolas. The librettist of The Rape of Lucretia, another of Britten's operas, Ronald Duncan, includes a creepy passage in which he describes having the next-door hotel room to Britten and his lover Peter Pears in Venice; Duncan was kept up half the night by a screaming match between Britten and Pears on the basic text of Britten (a known pedophile) preferring Hemmings to Pears. Hemmings always insisted that nothing untoward ever happened between him and Britten, but a Radio 3 play broadcast a few years ago (The Ceremony of Innocence) went into Britten's kiddie-fiddling tendencies in some detail, and it's impossible not to wonder. Another young singer, a few years after Hemmings, was sufficiently traumatized by Britten to wind up changing his name to lose the association. Hemmings certainly chose not to go the musical path until much later, and this may have had something to do with it. Watson -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 07:23:15 +0900 From: Mutsushi Tsuji Subject: Sweetshop - Lead The Way Hello, I'm a Mark Wirtz fan from Japan. I'd like sing along with the song: Sweetshop - Lead The Way but I can't recognize the complete its lyrics from CD: Mark Wirtz / Pop works Two. Here are some lines of lyrics below that I could get to hear. So please somebody help to complete or fix the lyrics. Lead The Way Lead the way, I will follow Leave today for tomorrow To you towns, To you places To you friends, To you faces Let's see vain, a life of routine There's a world of wonder to see We're too young to grow old much too soon To be told what to do, Lier blue, oh blue Lead the way, I will follow Leave behind, all our sorrow Look ahead, naughty hind Search for love and peace of mind Let's see vain, a life for routine There's a world of wonder to see We're too young to grow old much too soon To be told what to do, Lier blue, oh blue Kind regards, mutsushi -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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