________________________________________________________________________ SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop! ________________________________________________________________________ There are 24 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. Re: The long "El Paso" does exist in stereo From: vanmeterannie 2. Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" From: Rat Pfink 3. Hootspa/Chutzpah Jon Brion From: Alan Gordon 4. Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind From: fxxm 5. Re: El Paso short/long From: vanmeterannie 6. Re: Speaking of Zally From: Alan Gordon 7. You Didn't Have To Be So Nice / Breathless Shivers From: Alan Gordon 8. Re: The Jewish Beatles From: Al Kooper 9. Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" From: Denny 10. Re: Styrene vs.plastic 45's From: lightning_15228 11. who's songs got the Mrs. Miller treatment? From: steveo 12. Jellyfish From: Alan Gordon 13. Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" From: Lou & Jean 14. Del Shannon From: hiloth2002 15. Re: spine tingling moments From: Paul Levinson 16. Re: Backwards on the A-side and elsewhere From: Stewart Mason 17. Female Collectors & Male Attitude From: Chris 18. David Mook etc From: Al Kooper 19. "This Diamond Ring" From: Al Kooper 20. The Blues Project From: Al Kooper 21. Re: Annie Haslam/October Project/Grey Eye Glances From: Austin Roberts 22. Re: Speaking of Zally From: Steve Harvey 23. Re: Scooby Doo / Ben Raleigh / Austin Roberts From: Artie Wayne 24. "New York's My Home" From: Al Kooper ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:49:22 -0000 From: vanmeterannie Subject: Re: The long "El Paso" does exist in stereo Paul Bryant wrote: > Anyhow it should take you to Ace Records' track listing of "The Golden > Age of American Rock & Roll: Special Country Edition". There you have > your "El Paso," running time 4:31, in glorious stereo. I just ran > downstairs and checked with my ears. Hot flatpicking solos coming out > of the right hand speaker, no hot flatpicking solos coming out of the > left - yep, stereo. That's undoubtedly the regular stereo version that's been around for years - the mono single is about 4:45, and contains four lines not on the stereo: "Just for a moment I stood there in silence Shocked by the foul evil deed I had done Many thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there I had but one chance and that was to run..." which happens about 1:28 into the song. The issue wasn't about the song never appearing in stereo, it's about the missing verse. If yours is stereo AND has these four lines at that point in the song, then you do have something that's been missing for many years! John Sellards -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:44:03 -0500 From: Rat Pfink Subject: Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" Dr Mark wrote: > Not sure exactly what song they sang. I'm not overly familiar with > Strawberry Alarm Clock, outside of "Incense and Peppermints". > > Some of the lyrics they sang were: > > "We live in a word of troubles... Buildings to the sky... That make us > want to fly." "We live in a world Of carnivals and clowns And buildings to the sky That make us want to fly" The title of the song is "Tomorrow". It was the a-side of their second single (Uni 55046), following "Incense and Peppermints". RP -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:56:59 -0800 From: Alan Gordon Subject: Hootspa/Chutzpah Jon Brion Peter Kearns says of Jon Brion!!! and "Organic" and Chutzpah > "Hootspa?? Please fill me in. :-)" Hootspa = Chutzpah Same thing... My Mom was Brooklyn Catholic married to a my father, a Russian Jew... sounds the same, spelled different. Before you mentioned it, I had no idea Brion had a solo album out. I've been looking all over San Francisco this weekend for it. Everyone says it's out of print... any ideas, sir? best dishes, ~albabe -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:49:33 -0500 From: fxxm Subject: Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind I was stunned to hear Dick & Deedee's fantastic take on "Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind" recently. I have versions by Mick Jagger and Vashti -- haven't A/B'd any of 'em to compare basics, but they sure do all share the same feel, especially with that dark and insistent piano riff rumbling underneath like a subway train. Anyone know the story behind this killer song? Who wrote it, even? Any other versions kickin' around? --Phil M. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 01:05:42 -0000 From: vanmeterannie Subject: Re: El Paso short/long Al Quaglieri wrote: > I pulled all existing reels for this song when reissuing the GUNFIGHTER > BALLADS & TRAIL SONGS album for Legacy. Not only is there no stereo mix for > the full-length version but the extra verse was physically edited out of > the 3-track studio master sometime back when the album was originally > assembled. Usually, engineers placed these edit-outs at the end of the > reel, but not in this case. Afraid the long version stereo is lost to the ages. So there's actually a splice there? I've been fascinated by this for years, since there are different guitar fills at that spot between the two versions, but his lead vocal covers up the start of the fill both times...and an edit would be obvious. In addition, that would probably mean that the fill at that point on the stereo version would be one of the two on the mono single, but it's a completely different one! (In other words, if you try to edit the single down to match the stereo, there's no way to make them match.) Add to that the fact that there's a HUGE tape glitch at that place in the mono (1:47) where the two versions pick back up - there's no chance that the missing verse was an edit piece? I'm not arguing with what you found, just, as I said, this has intrigued me for years because nothing about it makes sense. John Sellards -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:17:03 -0700 (MST) From: Alan Gordon Subject: Re: Speaking of Zally Mr C. Ponti, you wanted to know what it was like working on the Spoonful albumRevelation/revolution. Well to this day I cringe when I hear it refered to as a Spoonful record. It was as you stated a Joe Butler record.Joe is a wonderful guy,my favorite track is "Till I Run With You"Garry and I were there for the few tune`s we wrote. My personal all time favorite Sponful /Sebastion song is "Younger Girl" a great song,and that was by the real Spoonful. Best That nala -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 17:20:45 -0800 From: Alan Gordon Subject: You Didn't Have To Be So Nice / Breathless Shivers Steve Harvey says of You Didn't Have To Be So Nice. > Unlike most of the Spoonful stuff "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice" > was mainly a Steve Boone tune that Sebastian added his input to. Wow! Really??? I've never heard that. That is one of The Spoonfuls absolute best tracks. Where did you hear that it was more of a Boone tune (hey that rhymes)? Breathless Shivers: On the Beach Boys box set there is a separate disc with cool special stuff on it. There is a "vocals separated from the music" version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." If you just listen to the vocals side (right channel) when the background harmony parts come in at: "Maybe if, we think and wish and hope and pray, it might come true... BG: Run Run Ree-ooooooo..." ...Good lord. You don't have to ask what angels sound like now. And every nano second of "At Last" by Etta James. Accept no substitutions. ' Feel more like Big Bill Broonzy, ~albabe -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 20:31:35 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: Re: The Jewish Beatles Previously: > On a related topic, I remember when I looked at the names of > the bandmembers and it occurred to me that they all might be > Jewish. I've never actually found it if that was true. Not only was that true, but everyone's last name started with a K except Roy Blumenfeld. In the early stages the press called us "the Jewish Beatles' -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 20:12:20 EST From: Denny Subject: Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" Hey, Dr. Mark! The song you are talking about is the SAC's follow-up to "Incense & Peppermints", called "Tomorrow" (Uni 55046) It peaked at #23 on Billboard. The lyric actually is: "We live in a world of carnivals and clowns. And buildings to the sky that make us want to fly" It's great that you saw this on Laugh-In. Sadly, I don't have the Trio network and would LOVE to see that show again, especially my favorite babes Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn and Pamela Rodgers (deep sighs for all three). Later, Gator! Denny -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 01:39:10 -0000 From: lightning_15228 Subject: Re: Styrene vs.plastic 45's steveo wrote: > Mike Mckay, > You are correct on the Epic singles from the early 60s thru > the mid-60s. They were all styrene and terrible (they wore out > quickly). Different regions of the country pressed the same > records, and in some cases such as "This Diamond Ring" by Gary > Lewis and the Playboys, you would receive the cheap styrene > (brittle plastic) or a nice vinyl copy that would play forever, > depending on where you lived. > > Los Angeles Plants pressed cheap styrene copies of "This Diamond > Ring" and other Lewis 45s. I remember getting a great copy of > "Ring" from a Liberty Pressing from Canada, second-hand..Great!!! > > Capitol records always used great vinyl, tho..and those Beatle.. > Beach boys records will play forever!..Anyone else have any > thoughts on this? Hey, Steve! You may already know this or you may not. Many record companies used BOTH vinyl and styrene, and for these labels, instead of tapping on the record, you can tell one from the other by just looking at the label. In such cases as Gordy, Cameo, and Uni, if the label's colors are deep, flat or dark, they are vinyl records. Bright or "bleached" colored labels are styrene pressings. Later! Denny -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:00:15 -0800 (PST) From: steveo Subject: who's songs got the Mrs. Miller treatment? Hi, I'm wondering if any of the writers on here were able to receive the Mrs. Miller treatment of their songs... Steveo P.S.I know I;m nuts..but i liked her! -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:04:28 -0800 From: Alan Gordon Subject: Jellyfish Dr. Mark says of Jellyfish > I had "Spilt Milk" and sold the CD at least 5 years ago because > I felt it did not measure up to their debut CD, "Bellybutton", > in any way. I felt that way after my first few hearings. Then I went back to it a little while later. I now think it's as good as their first. It's much harder in places, but the tunes end up being just as catchy after a while as the ones from Belly Button - which is, to me, a good indication of an album's lasting quality. It's also one of THE albums used by engineers and stereo salesmen to demo speakers. Amazing sonic quality. More Dr. Mark: > Look for their "New Mistake" EP where they cover, BADFINGER- > No Matter What (Live)" There is/was a four disc box set of Jellyfish's Demos, Out-takes, Oddities and Live stuff called "Fan Club," that is really cool if you happen to be a fan. I've listened to it so many times now, that I don't remember which songs are the demos and out-takes, and which songs were on the original 2 albums. The box set is laid out with disc one having all of the pre-work and out-takes from their first album, and the second disc has the live stuff from that tour. Disc 3 and 4 are laid out respectively the same with disc 3 being the demos and out-takes from their third album, and disc 4 representing that tour - with a few demos and stuff, like their Ringo demos - to fill that disc out. The set is sorta out-of-print, but I do see it around at places other than NotLame, like Barnes and Nobel. And as far as I know, Van Dyke had nothing to do with Jellyfish, besides inspiration. The album credits Albhy Galuten and Jack Joseph Puig as both producing, with Jack engineering. But as far as I've ever heard, the arrangements were the brainchildren of Roger Manning and Andy Sturmer. Also, Roger Manning did Imperial Drag, which is a great Metal-Pop album, and The Moog Cookbook, which is, obviously by it's name, Neo-Retro synth stuff. the other Nala Nodrog, ~Dr. albabe fever -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 21:29:40 -0500 From: Lou & Jean Subject: Re: Sock It To Me Time: Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh-In" Dr Mark wrote: > I was pleased to see Dan and Dick introduce the Strawberry Alarm > Clock. > They don't appear live, but rather they are presented in a film clip. > Not lip-synching. But the song plays while they cut up. Not unlike > the Beatles would have on film. They are all wearing yellow raincoats > ?and hats. They are driving around in a big black and silver, classic > looking 1950s car. Then they stop near a bridge and start destroying > the car with sledgehammers. Then drive off in the wreckage. > Not sure exactly what song they sang. I'm not overly familiar with > Strawberry Alarm Clock, outside of "Incense and Peppermints". The song they sang was their 2nd big hit, "Tomorrow". For years I thought that I only imagined seeing the Strawberry Alarm Clock on "Laugh In" because whenever I mentioned this to anyone I always got a reply that" Laugh In" never had pop groups appear on the program. I especially thought that maybe I was confused when I purchased the Complete Monkees TV series box set and watched as Frank Zappa appeared on one episode called "Monkees Blow Their Mind" in the pre-show segment in which Mike Nesmith teaches Frank how to play a car to the tune of the Mothers Of Invention's "Mother People" ( a little auto - destruct involved). Thanks for bringing up the fact that "Laugh In" did try (for a moment at least) to incorporate pop music as part of their show's format. Phew....I'm not totally crazy...yet !! Thanks Dr. Mark Lou B. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 02:19:47 -0000 From: hiloth2002 Subject: Del Shannon Aloha, Can anyone help on this one?I recieved a disc in trade a while back.Marked "Home and Away" 1967 Del Shannon,Finally got around to listening to it and was much surprised.Great Stuff.Can anyone tell help with artwork,setlist and who produced this gem? Mahalo, Michael -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 21:15:44 -0000 From: Paul Levinson Subject: Re: spine tingling moments Artie Wayne wrote: > It's sad that of all the music I hear on VH1 and EMPTY-V ,I've only > gotten shivers on two recent songs,at the chorus of "Feel like Makin' > Love" by Kid Rock[which is a Bad Company remake],and "Here without > you" by 3 Doors Down[the latest heirs to the Left Banke Dynasty.] FWIW, I got 60s shivers from Cher's "Believe" and The Back Street Boys' "I Want It That Way". Paul -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 14:27:53 -0800 (PST) From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: Backwards on the A-side and elsewhere Jules Normington writes of the Missing Links' last single: > It's also the only instance I'm aware of, of a > backwards song being on the 'A' side of a single. Purists might think this doesn't count, but Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1988 single "Peek-A-Boo" -- which was their first US chart hit after a full decade of releases, incidentally -- featured a backing track that was completely in reverse: the band learned how to play the song backwards and then that tape was flipped, so that the melody was "correct" as they had written it, but all of the instruments were backwards! Since the backing track consists primarily of accordion and drums, instruments that sound pretty much the same backwards and forwards, it actually takes a couple of listens before you realize just what's so weird about the sound, especially since Siouxsie Sioux's vocals are forwards. (Other trivia note: the estates of Harold Warren and Johnny Mercer sued Siouxsie and the Banshees after this song became a hit, and were awarded co-songwriting credit, because the chorus "Golly jeepers, where'd you get those weepers/Peepshow, creepshow, where did you get those eyes" was ruled to be too close to the lyrics of "Jeepers Creepers.") Two other more recent examples: the flip of the 12" single of the Bangles' 1987 cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" features what's called the "Shady Haze" mix, which is simply the song backwards. And coincidentally, the new album I'm listening to right now, Keith John Adams' SUNSHINE LOFT, ends with a two-minute song called "This Album," which consists of snippets of the previous 13 tracks played backwards. Which reminds me of the 1995 album by the Blue Up?, SPOOL FORKA DISH, which ends with the 34:09 bonus track "H. Sidakr Of Loops," which is the rest of the album played backwards. And Pearls Before Swine's fantastic 1968 album BALACLAVA ends with the sound of the entire master tape being rewound at high speed before fading out to the sound of the vintage Edison recording that starts the album. S -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:34:10 -0800 (PST) From: Chris Subject: Female Collectors & Male Attitude > You guys need to watch your mouths until the day comes when you > know what you're talking about! > > Sarah, Boston, MA- with a new bedroom to store over 2,000 albums. > Now with a third Stackridge album added thanks to Spectropop. Now > back to lurking, cowering in the cold and wondering why I don't > become a lesbian. There are some statements to which the only proper response is an hour spent with Carmen McRae's "Woman Talk: Live At The Village Gate." Chris -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 21:56:45 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: David Mook etc Previously: > I wonder if Al Kooper can recall if he was present at this > session and some of his favourite recordings from his mid-sixties > compositions. Not just the ones arranged by Jack Nitzsche, although > there were plenty and I'd like to think you enjoyed working with > Jack as much as Alan Gordon but the records back then when the > world seemed young! David Mook worked for my publisher at the time, Aaron Schroeder. David helmed the west coast office and Schroeder was based in the east. Schroeder started Musicor Records with one of my songs "Sick Manny's Gym," a take-off on the Vic Tanny muscle centers on the eastcoast. I wrote that song in math class in highschool! Mook got us lotsa west coast covers, but sadly we did not attend any of the sessions. "Sad Sunshine" by The Hard Times, "Street Song" by Beethoven Soul, "Going Through The Motions" by Keely Smith, "Night Time Girl" by The Modern Folk Quintet, are a handful that first come to mind. We also had a coupla Banana Splits songs as Schroeder's office provided the music for that show. And Schroeder managed Gene Pitney, so we had four or five covers by Gene. Ya might wanna chgeck out the discography on me website www.alkooper.com under WORDS. After Schroeder sold Musicor to Art Talmadge, he started Aurora Records. "The Water Is Over My Head" by Eddie Hodges was the original version of that song, covered by The Tokens and later covered in the UK by The Rockin' Berries and a minor hit over there. "The Old Rag Man" was covered by Freddie Cannon(!) on Warner Bros. and was cut by The Rascals on their first album, but didnt make the final cut. Hope this answers your queries and thanx for askin !!! Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 22:01:14 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: "This Diamond Ring" Austin Roberts: > All I know is Al Kooper and Leon Russell (I'm pretty sure) as > writers of This Diamond Ring. I guess there could've been a > third writer. W R O N G !!!!!!!!! Leon Russell was the ARRANGER of This Diamond Ring. Bob Brass, Irwin Levine & I wrote the song. Good thing this website exists, huh? Enemies of revisionism unite !!!!!!!! Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 22:09:22 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: The Blues Project Phil: > Two quick questions regarding The Blues Project, Al. I've always > wondered what happened to Danny Kalb and Tommy Flanagan. I know > Tommy quit the group and did not have the career he and his > girlfriend had envisioned, but are you still in contact with him > and/or Danny? Tommy Flanders left before the first album came out. He was doomed. He was the only non-Jewish member of the group. He was bound to slip up one day. Danny lives in Brooklyn, teaches guitar, and plays solo or trio gigs every now & then. In 2002, Andy Kulberg, bassplayer and flautist in the band died of lymphoma. That kinda closed the book on reunion gigs. Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 22:26:03 EST From: Austin Roberts Subject: Re: Annie Haslam/October Project/Grey Eye Glances Hey Jules, That's some good info; I'll check those out. What do you think of Steeleye Span? Austin -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:22:36 -0800 (PST) From: Steve Harvey Subject: Re: Speaking of Zally That Alan Gordon wrote: > Steve Harvey, thank you for reminding me of "As long as you're here". Hey Alan, They even did a video for that tune. I almost bought it from a bootlegger, but $20 seemed like alot of dough for one tune. I know Zally said he had a copy when I met him. I have the lyrics from some song magazine so it definately got some push. Really wild tune compared to Happy Together. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:38:48 -0800 (PST) From: Artie Wayne Subject: Re: Scooby Doo / Ben Raleigh / Austin Roberts Austin........How ya' doin'? I didn't know you did the Scooby Doo records.....that's cool! My long time collaborator Ben Raleigh co- wrote "Scooby Doo Where Are You?" with David Mook. I once asked him which of the songs he wrote, that included, "Tell Laura I Love her" [Raleigh/Barry], "Wonderful, Wonderful" [Raleigh/Edwards], "Dead End Street" [Raleigh/Linden], and "[Meet me at] Midnight Mary" [Raleigh/ Wayne], made the most money. He laughed and said, "Scooby Doo".... which he wrote in 20 minutes!! regards, Artie Wayne -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24 Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 22:27:22 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: "New York's My Home" Country Paul: > Welcome again to Al Kooper. I have a 45 of yours that appears to be a > one-off: "New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz)" b/w "My Voice, My Piano > and My Foot," Aurora 164 (dist. by Bell), both sides wr. Kooper, arr/ > cond by Artie Butler. How did this come to pass? Was this just after the > Blues Project and before BS&T? And wasn't the "A" side later done by the > Kitchen Cinq on LHI as "Street Song"? It's a great composition, and any > light you could shed on this would be welcome. I was a staffwriter for Aaron Schroeder and Aurora was his boutique label. When I played him my new song, he decided I should record it for Aurora. Artie Butler did a great job arranging it. I just couldnt sing very well in those days. It was cut in very early '65, before I joined The Blues Project and came out in the early daze of the band. They didnt care for it very much. The B side is HILARIOUS! there was no B side so I smoked a joint, rolled the tape and made this up on the spot. It's accurately titled "My Voice My Piano & My Foot." Very influenced by Dylan and my good friend at the time, Brute Force. I once met Quentin Fiore the co-author of The Medium Is The Massage and he asked if I was the same Al Kooper as the one who wrote MVMPAMF. Amazed that he knew it at all, I answered yes. In his opinion, he said , "you wrote in one line, whgt it took T.S. Eliott 3 pages to write." Incredulous, I asked what line was that ? He said: "The difference between first & last is negligible...." I thanked him and neglected to tell him how that record was made. In retrospect, I still bow to TS Eliott.... Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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