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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: Q for Ron Dante
From: Laura Pinto
2. Re: stupid songs
From: Andy
3. Re: The Outsiders and "Time Won't Let Me"
From: Mark
4. Re: the (un)original hits by the original artists!
From: Dan Hughes
5. It's the Munx, Not Monk!
From: Mark
6. Re: Lorna Dune
From: Artie Wayne
7. Re: Hair-raising moments
From: Dan Hughes
8. Re: Q's for Rashkovsky
From: Mike Rashkow
9. Re: Mark Radice
From: Mark Radice
10. Welcome Eddie Rambeau and Whoops
From: Rosemarie
11. Re: Don Costa
From: Artie Butler
12. Re: Vinyl Junkies
From: Fred Clemens
13. Spanky rocks! / Neon Philharmonic: madness or genius?
From: Skip Woolwine
14. Re: Check Burry's baseball verse
From: Phil Milstein
15. Re: Mark Radice
From: Mark Radice
16. Re: Spine-shiver moments
From: Mike McKay
17. Re: Inferior Oldies
From: Mike McKay
18. Eddie Rambeau; 4 Seasons
From: Mike Edwards
19. Al Kooper and Elvis
From: Alan Gordon
20. Re: Brits blitz Seasons?
From: Mike McKay
21. Al Kooper
From: Artie Wayne
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 01:40:35 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: Q for Ron Dante
Jeff Lemlich wrote:
> Ron Dante -- were you the singer on a 1967 song called
> "Flower Girl", produced by Al Kasha?
Hi,
I can answer that one. Ron indeed sings "Flower Girl," released
under the name Plant Life. To hear this track, go to the "Vault" on
Ron's site and click on the link for it; it's audio selection #17.
http://www.rondante.com/vault.html
Laura
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 01:44:59 -0000
From: Andy
Subject: Re: stupid songs
That's funny you should mention "ne ne .... nu".
I worked with Gerry Granahan back in the late 7T's,
doing those "great" (not) songs along with his hit
"No Chemise, Please", some stuff by the Fireflies
and a few of the Angels songs. He married a former Miss Rhode
Island and sorta-kinda (replacement) Angel Mary Lou (something),
when Gerry was part of the Caprice management team
....... always wondered what happened to him
(he owes me money-LOL). I's been years since I've
heard or seen anything about Gerry.
andy
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 01:44:10 GMT
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The Outsiders and "Time Won't Let Me"
Hi Mac!
The guy who could best answer this question is my
friend Tom King (lead guitarist for the Outsiders/co-writer
of "Time Won't Let Me").
Unfortunately, I don't see him that much anymore -- the
last time I ran into him was at a Denny's where we'd both
just had breakfast. I'll keep this in mind should I run into
him or his sons.
Best,
Mark
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Message: 4
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 19:28:43 -0600
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Re: the (un)original hits by the original artists!
I get a kick out of the so-called rationale for the re-recording of past
hits: "Songs on this album have been re-recorded to take full advantage
of the dramatic improvements in recording technology since the original
song was recorded."
Right.
Why DO artists recut their old hits? I'm guessing:
1. The artist signed a bad contract when he was a puppy, and he gets
nothing at all from sales of the original record. This is a way to make
a few bucks from his song.
2. The artist is down on his luck and badly needs cash.
3. The artist sees this as an opportunity to possibly restart his
career.
4. The artist recorded for Cameo-Parkway and knows his original will
never see the light of day....
Am I close? You artists would have a better handle on this than I would,
I'm sure.
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 01:37:38 GMT
From: Mark
Subject: It's the Munx, Not Monk!
Hi Clark!
First off, as I mentioned in the subject title, the name of the
group you wanted info on is the MUNX, not Monk.
Secondly, the song "Behind the Trees"--the correct title is
"Our Dream" (confusing, I know, as the title is mentioned
nowhere in the lyrics). It came out locally on the Clevetown
label (I might still have a spare copy of this, if you're interested),
with a more garage-y song, "Girls Girls Girls" on the flip.
Great record that did well enough around the North Coast
to get picked up by Jubilee (#5612), who also issued the
follow-up, "So Much in Love"/"Why Did You Run Away" (#5634).
Wish I knew more about the band itself. They may be mentioned
in Deanna Adams' book "Rock and Roll and the Cleveland
Connection", which I have yet to read (good excuse to visit the library).
Best,
Mark
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Message: 6
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:17:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Lorna Dune
Artie Wayne wrote:
> Lorna Dune was Lorna Wright. Gary Wright ["Dreamweaver"]
> was her brother.
Phil Milstein wrote:
> Interesting! So she was a British woman who lived in the
> NYC area and did regular session work in the studios there?
Phil..........both Lorna and Gary Wright were natives of New Jersey.
I guess most people think they were English because Gary was
in Spooky Tooth.
regards, Artie
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 19:38:44 -0600
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Re: Hair-raising moments
Al, sorry this is a repeat for you; wanted to tell the rest of the group:
My first exposure to Al Kooper was the WHAT'S SHAKIN' album, with his
slow, almost dirge-like rendition of I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes.
I loved it. Then a couple of years later, I heard the same song on the
Blues Project PROJECTIONS album. My hair did actually stand on end -- I
swear it did -- a few bars into the song, when I realized it was the same
song from WHAT'S SHAKIN'. I literally vibrated in delight! (And I'm
usually not that weird -- honest).
What an education to hear these two diametrically different versions of
the same song! Kinda like listening to Mr. Tambourine Man, first by Dylan
and then by the Byrds. Same great song, yet at the same time two
entirely different songs. But with Kooper, it was the SAME ARTIST! To
me, this is absolute genius.
Thanks again, Al.
---Dan
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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 21:55:01 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Q's for Rashkovsky
Jeff Lemlich wrote:
> I guess this is a good time to ask Rashkovsky if any soul
> artists recorded "Mary In The Morning". I think the lyrics
> to this song would lend themselves well to a deep soul
> rendition -- "The ache is there, so deep inside me".
Well Elvis is as soulful as it got -- but that will do as far as I'm concerned.
I remember when Johnny Cymbal found out that Elvis had done it and it was
going to be in that movie, he actually had to sit down. Stunned. So was
I but it meant so much to JC to have Elvis do a song he wrote that it
simply stopped him cold.
I had stopped liking Elvis after he left Sun and became whitebread, so I
wasn't as impressed, but I have been ever since -- each time the royalty check
arrives. That boy can sell some records, every place, every year. Astonishing.
Thanks for asking.
Just anecdotally, we wrote it for The Association, but they turned it down
on first listen. It's a nice little song -- wrote it in about an hour -- '67 I think
and it's been a part-time job ever since. At my house we always say Thank God
for Mary In The Morning.
Di la,
Rashkovsky
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:23:30 -0000
From: Mark Radice
Subject: Re: Mark Radice
James Botticelli wrote:
> Mark. Did you do "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em"?
Yeah, that's me. That was when I had a 14-piece band and we were riding
the disco wave. Steve Tyler asked me to join Aerosmith when I had
already had a 60-city tour planned. I talked to each one of them
individually and they all said "Mark, we love you, go for it, it will
be a good career move". It wasn't. Aerosmith killed my career as an
artist, not to mention 13 astounding musicians who, for the better of me,
lost\ their jobs. I love them to this day, I hope they are safe and warm,
damn, Steve, you just don't know, doya.
Fortunately, when I got off thier crazy A train, I got back into
songwriting and have been lucky enough to be on a lot of people who I
have admired over the years's (yearziz?) CD's. :) Like over 100.
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:20:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Rosemarie
Subject: Welcome Eddie Rambeau and Whoops
I go almost a year with no posts then post the same thing twice ...
but if something is worth saying it is worth repeating....oops
And Mark Wirtz's CD really is something else!
I have been like a small child on Christmas morning -- waiting to see what
Ed posted -- I will now go back into hiding and enjoying the group now that
Ed can answer all the questions that I have not got a clue about!
All I know is that Ed is wonderful and I am glad that he is here.
Best wishes from a very embarrassed Web Designer!
Rosemarie
Proud to be an Eddie Rambeau Fan!
http://www.edrambeau.com
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 22:54:33 EST
From: Artie Butler
Subject: Re: Don Costa
I was good friends with Don Costa. He was a great booster of mine when I was
starting out as an arranger in New York. When he heard something that I did,
he would call me up and say, "see Artie, I was right about you." I remember
going to Don's house in LA a few times in the '70s. I remember that he would
leave himself notes about the ranges of different instruments all over the
house in the funniest places. He would do this so that he could always have the
information at hand anywhere in the house. Under an ashtray, under a bowl on his
coffee table, under a few coasters at the bar. The funniest one was inside a
cabinet on the wall in his guest bathroom. I used to crack up laughing. I
would ask him about it and he would say "too much to remember." I can tell you as
an arranger myself, he was not far from wrong. I was at his memorial service
in Beverly Hills. He was truly loved.
God bless you Don.
With much love and respect,
Artie Butler
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 03:25:04 -0000
From: Fred Clemens
Subject: Re: Vinyl Junkies
Paul Bryant wrote:
> Record collecting... what do we actually mean? There
> are different varieties. I don't collect records as
> such, I collect the kinds of music I love. It's on
> tape, cd and vinyl (most of the vinyl is now of course
> in the loft.) I've never wanted to have the original
> record in the original sleeve - I guess that's what I
> mean by record collectors. I don't know what's rare
> and what's not.
> Another breed of collectors is the Completists. I
> know a John Fahey completist and his collection of
> different editions of each album is a sight to behold
> - it's like visiting a library. I think some people
> are record label completists, but I never met any. Are
> there any Completists on this list I wonder? If your
> version of Completism also requires that you collect
> every known bootleg of your particular musical
> obsession then you're truly doomed. I only ever came
> across one female bootleg trader and one female
> completist. Music may be universal but that kind of
> doggedness and endurance seems to be a male thing.
OK, I admit it. I'm a Record Collector. I collect what I like, not
what I'm supposed to like, or to fit in a certain category. I am very
eclectic in my tastes. I don't buy a song because of its genre, I
get it because it sounds good. I'm also a completist in some ways. My
pet label was the Laurie label for many years, simply because there
were a lot of great (and unknown) sounding tunes released on the label.
I am also a completist when it comes to certain songs, the primary
one being "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Mbube"
and "Wimoweh". You might think I'd be tired of hearing the song by
now, but I'm not (surprised the heck out of me too). It's got to rank
as THE most successful tune ever recorded by so many different
artists throughout the world in so many different eras. Though there
are well over 200 different versions of the tune (I've got about
150), it's not the most recorded song. But it does rank as the most
successful still (in my book). My quests have kept me seeking the
truths about several tunes, one of which was "Let's Live For Today",
separating the facts from the myths surrounding the tune. One of the
latest has been "Lazy Mary"/"Luna Mezzo Mare"/"Oh! Ma-Ma! (The
Butcher Boy)", which I'd been helping out Bob Shannon (WCBS-FM) with
his Behind The Hits feature on the tune. My job with that: Find 'em!
You can view the stories on the above, plus MUCH more, at
http://www.bobshannon.com
Fred Clemens
Record Collector ... and loving it!
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Message: 13
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 22:23:49 -0600
From: Skip Woolwine
Subject: Spanky rocks! / Neon Philharmonic: madness or genius?
Tight vocals like Spanky and Our gang really fire me up! I love those
great stereo mixes with overlapping layers of voices panned from every
which direction. The Yesterday's Rain LP with "Give a Damn" is a cool
soundscape as each song segs into the next. Stereo headphones
recommended. If you like that, you'd like the orchestral arrangements
that are the signature of the Neon Philharmonic's long-awaited CD of
every recording they did. Morning Girl is just the beginning of many
different, very complicated and brilliant arrangements that cause you to
pause and think,"Wow. To which frequency is Tupper Saussy tuned?"
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Message: 14
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:02:17 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Check Burry's baseball verse
Guy Lawrence wrote:
> - then there's the stunning baseball verse.
Which makes me nuts:
"Two, three the count with nobody on"
For those not hep to the ways of baseball, there is no two-three count.
Three-two, sure, but two-three would technically be a strikeout, and so
the same batter could not then
"He hit a high fly into the stand"
How could Chuck not know that? If it was a matter of poetic license, to
adjust for meter or rhyme, I could easily accept that, but clearly that
wasn't the case here. The only explanations I can fathom for this
baseball Spoonerism are that either he slipped ("heading for home"?), or
he was baseball illiterate. Either way, a rare "error" for this All-Star.
--Phil M.
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:15:07 -0000
From: Mark Radice
Subject: Re: Mark Radice
Mike wrote:
> Hey Mark,
> We corresponded privately last summer...recall my webpage
> with all of your pre teen 45s and pic sleeves? How long
> did it take you to pen your dancefloor fave, "10,000 Year
> Old Blues"? And I hope there are more tasty pop tunes
> from your '67-'69 era to be enjoyed
Hi Mike :) I'm sorry I have to admit I don't remember. Don't feel bad,
after 3 years with Aerosmith and all the cocaine we did from 1978 to
1981 I'm often finding myself not remembering what car I just got out
of to this day. But I think it must have been fun ... for everyone else. Oh well...
As far as "penning" "10,000 Year Old Blues", hey I was ten when that
came out, with none other than Steven Tallarico (now Tyler) playing
drums on my record, and also the bass marimba intro. We were friends
back then and he was really keen on getting on a record with someone
who was "signed" (I was ten, he was twenty).
I got the words from a traditional poem book. I used to do that a lot
when I was just learning to write, I would open up many of my Mom's
books, Robert Frost, etc, and just SING to them with a cassette on
record, just to see what I could do. Heck, at one point I wrote a song
to the back of a Ritz Cracker box, and I'm not kidding.
"Ten Thousand" is the only lyric I ever "lifted" from that time, all
the other lyrics were mine, as you could easily tell from my ten year
old mind. Although it's safe to say I was copying the Beatles big time
in my thoughts and chord changes, at the time it was easy to see
that , well, so was everyone else :)
For intance, even at ten, I picked up that The Turtles (The Beatles
name sideways?) wrote "Happy Together" (still a GREAT song) after
"Penny Lane". I put out a song called "The Girl By The Meter", in the
same exact feel as the first two mentioned, but at ten I was bold
enough to even steal the same subject matter ("Lovely Rita Meter
Maid"). HEY, I was ten.
All this stuff will be available this summer on what is currently
titled "RADICE-VOLUMES" and will be on the first CD of a 10-CD set.
Thanks for thinking of me :)
Mark
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Message: 16
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 00:00:03 EST
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: Spine-shiver moments
Sean Anglum wrote:
> The intro to "California Girls"
If this isn't on everyone's list, something's wrong!
> - bgv on "You Didn't Have to be so Nice"
I'm SO glad you mentioned this, Sean! This is my favorite Lovin' Spoonful
song of all ... it positively radiates warmth, and not just from Sebastian's lead
vocals, but the wonderful backing vox as well.
Meanwhile, I could make a very full list for this topic with Beach Boys and
Hollies moments alone. Just off the top of my head:
* The chorus of "Don't Worry, Baby"
* Brian reaching for the heavens with "...knows me so well" on the chorus of
"She Knows Me Too Well"
* The way the voices and piano combine leading up to the title phrase of "Let
the Wind Blow"
* The thrice-repeated title phrase of "I'm Alive"
* The guitar intro to "Look Through Any Window" (never fails)
* The full three-part harmonies on the bridge of "Yes I Will"
* The same on the chorus of "You Need Love"
I could go on and on, but I'll stop short for now with just a couple more.
Since Laura Nyro has come up here of late (and since I positively LIVED with
"Eli and the 13th Confession"), I'll mention:
* The flute arpeggio that leads from the intro to the body of the song in
"Poverty Train"
* The way three different "ooo"'s seem to come out of nowhere and merge near
the end of "Timer"
And finally:
* The phrase "sleep nights" on Raspberries' "Let's Pretend." Eric Carmen's
soaring high note juxtaposed with an F chord played against a G bass. Gets me
every time!
* "Here Without You" by The Byrds -- the entire song!
Mike
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Message: 17
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:07:15 EST
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: Inferior Oldies
John Sellards wrote:
> ...the big one is "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and Papas,
> where a substantial part of the instrumentation is missing
> from the stereo version.
I may be alone in preferring the album version of "Creeque Alley," without
all the horn overdubs, etc. This may be due to the "heard first" syndrome, as
some station I listened to regularly (Dick Summer on WBZ maybe?) was playing CA
as an album cut for some time before the single version came out. The single
mix always seemed overdone and, by virtue of the horns, "cornier" somehow.
Mike
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Message: 18
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 04:07:09 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Eddie Rambeau; 4 Seasons
Welcome Eddie Rambeau!
Eddie writes:
> For those of you who do not remember me....my hit in 1965
> was "Concrete and Clay" and I also wrote Diane Renay's
> "NAVY BLUE" and "KISS ME, SAILOR" along with many other
> top 100 songs.
And very fine songs they were too. Some of them have picked up a
following on the northern soul circuit and Spectropop's Simon White
played a couple on one of his recent Metropolitan Soul shows: Dee Dee
Sharp's "Deep, Dark Secret" (Cameo, 1964) and Hedy Sontag's "He Never
Came Back" (Philips, 1964).
The song I have chosen to welcome Ed to Spectropop with is the 4
Seasons' "Only Yesterday", a track from their highest charting
LP, "Dawn". Ed wrote this with his long time collaborator, Bud Rehak.
Outside of Crewe-Gaudio and Linzer-Randell, not too many people had
original material recorded by the 4 Seasons in those fabulous golden
years, which speaks volumes about the quality of this great song now
playing on musica. Crank it and enjoy because Frankie really sings
his heart out and the back-up vocals are perfection.
Mike
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Message: 19
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 20:58:15 -0800
From: Alan Gordon
Subject: Al Kooper and Elvis
Doug said:
> "Good grief! Al freakin' Kooper is now posting here?!?
> What next, Elvis?"
Did Elvis leave? Was the food too rich?
Mr. Al Babe:
My favorite album in the last few (?) years is the Nilsson tribute you put
together. Far and above, it is the BEST tribute album I have ever heard.
There is one song on the album that in my pathetic humble opinion doesn't
measure up (I plead the Fifth) ... but that's only because every other song --
besides being written by one of the world's best composers -- is a
ridiculously high, top-drawer interpretation. This compilation seems an
obviously heartfelt tribute to a dear friend (?).
Then, of course, there's those amazing albums you did with blues master, Mr.
Bloomfield; SuperSession (a personal fave); all that incredible Dylan stuff;
The (freakin' amazing) Blues Project; BS & T's high water mark; The rockin'
Paul Butterfield Blues Band; The Tubes (another favorite); and you were
obviously quite "special" enough to play with The Stones, George Harrison,
Ravi, Ringo, Hendrix, The Grape ... I could go on, but I'm already breathless
and my coffee buzz is wearing thin. Suffice it to say: It is an extreme
pleasure to be in such lofty company ... even if it's only virtual.
Is there a version of "This Diamond Ring" performed in its original R & B
style?
~albabe
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Message: 20
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 00:11:41 EST
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: Brits blitz Seasons?
Dan Hughes wrote:
> But white American male singers with names like Tommy and
> Bobby and Eddie were out of favor by 1965--and the DynoVoice
> label was run by Bob Crewe, whose 4 Seasons were also out of
> favor after the British Invasion.
As 9 of their 13 top 10 hits came post-"I Want to Hold Your Hand," the
Seasons certainly were "in favor" with someone!
Mike
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Message: 21
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 21:08:52 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Al Kooper
Al.........How ya' doin'? I've been a fan of your music for a long time.
and I'm proud to have witnessed some of your accomplishments
early in your career. I remember when I ran into you up at Liberty
Records in N.Y., where I was an artist and you were there to pick
up the first commercial copy of "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis
and the Playboys. You shared your cab with me back to 1650 B'way,
where you played it for me. I remember saying ,"It was one of the
most obvious number one records I'd ever heard!!"
A few years later, I remember running into you outside of the Ed Sullivan
Theater. You were so excited about a new group you put together.
You took me to a little rehearsal studio and let me hear Blood, Sweat
and Tears for the first time!! Every time I run into you something eventful
seems to happen, like the time, while we were catching up on old
times in front of the Cafe Au Go Go and you introduced me to Bob Dylan.
Now thirty years later we run into each other again, this time on
Spectropop, the best music site on the net .... and your presence has
made it even better!!
regards, Artie Wayne
---------------------------------
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