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Spectropop - Digest Number 1292



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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. Re: What happened to the Brill Building?
           From: steveo 
      2. Re: Brenda Lee's background singer
           From: steveo 
      3. Re: "Porpoise Song" in stereo
           From: Bryan 
      4. Re: Marcy Jo
           From: Ed Rambeau 
      5. Re: Spine Shiverers
           From: Joe Nelson 
      6. Re: Biggest record label blunders!
           From: Bob Rashkow 
      7. Re: Van Trevor / Luvs
           From: Fred Clemens 
      8. Re: Spine Shiverers
           From: Bob Rashkow 
      9. Re: A&M Vinyl
           From: Mark Hill 
     10. VINYL overload / VINYL The Documentary
           From: Mark Hill 
     11. Rev-Ola's Phantom Jukebox
           From: Bob Rashkow 
     12. "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"
           From: Al Kooper 
     13. Re: iPods
           From: Al Kooper 
     14. Re: "I Think We're Alone Now" sdrawkcaB :eR
           From: Glenn 
     15. AK as songwriter
           From: Al Kooper 
     16. Re: Mary Hopkin
           From: Eddy 
     17. Re: What happened to the Brill Building?
           From: Artie Wayne 
     18. Female record collectors
           From: Scott 
     19. Change in direction / Colours
           From: Scott 
     20. Len Barry "Keem-O-Sabe" / Kenny Lynch
           From: Austin Powell 
     21. Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, and ...
           From: Chris 
     22. Re: 1963
           From: Jimmy Crescitelli 
     23. "My Own Two Feet" / Shirley Matthews
           From: Mick Patrick 
     24. Re: Unchained Melody
           From: Andrew Hickey 
     25. Re: porpoise song in stereo
           From: Richard Hattersley 


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Message: 1 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 17:54:18 -0800 (PST) From: steveo Subject: Re: What happened to the Brill Building? Paul Bryant wrote: > Thinking about what the Beatles killed off and what > they put in its place got me wondering what happened > to the Brill school of songwriting. The Fabs were > big fans of the Brillos and played many live covers > of Brill songs, but maybe they helped do them in > inadvertently by making it de rigeur for groups to > write their own stuff, so that jobbing songwriters > could no longer place their songs easily - I dunno > about that. What do you all think? We know what > happened to the Brillos individually (Carole, Ellie, > Barry, Neil, etc etc) but we also know that by - say > - 1966/7 there wasn't a Brill School of Hits any more. > Something had happened. Paul, This was exactly so. Not only that, but the new breed of group self penned writers were more ameturish, and this led to more unorthodoxed sounds, chord changes, and melodies. For better or for worse, (a lot of times worse) this changed a lot of things. Subject matter became widened out..Drugs, Personal Statements, etc. Steveo -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 17:59:52 -0800 (PST) From: steveo Subject: Re: Brenda Lee's background singer Alan Gordon wrote: > ...The amazing soprano background singer in Brenda Lee's > "I'm Sorry," who, during Brenda's heart-felt recitation, > echoes that gorgeous melody from a palm-tree-swaying, > soft-breezed beach in the balmy just-out-of-reach, sun- > setting distance ... Mike McKay: > I don't know this for a fact, but this is almost > certainly Millie Kirkham, whose soprano graced hundreds, > if not thousands, of records cut in Nashville from the > 50s through at least the 80s. Mike, That record, "I'm Sorry", was certainly well produced (Owen Bradley) and arranged (Bill McElhiney). It's an amazing record, with an understated backround. Strings, Choral Group, and subtle rhythm section. Steveo -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 19:18:08 -0800 From: Bryan Subject: Re: "Porpoise Song" in stereo Country Paul had asked: > My favorite Monkees 45 was "Porpoise Song," the full-length > version. Stewart added: > Rhino's vinyl reissue of HEAD in 1986 included the long version > of "Porpoise Song" in place of the short version That long version -- 4:00 (Colgems single #66-1031, 1968) -- is soon-to-be available again on an upcoming Rhino Handmade release, 'Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets From The WEA Vaults (RHM2 7821). It's a fantastic collection, with great packaging, liner notes, photos, etc. Bryan -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:17:30 EST From: Ed Rambeau Subject: Re: Marcy Jo > And Eddie, I'd forgotten about the cuts you did with Marcy Jo. > (Was she as good looking as she sounded?) Better. Ed Rambeau -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:23:38 -0500 From: Joe Nelson Subject: Re: Spine Shiverers Austin Roberts: > Back to center on this thread: how about the great vocal 'bong' > at the end of Thomas Wayne's "Tragedy" ? That whole record fits the bill in my book. Something about poor sound quality has always made records stand out for me. Joe Nelson -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:27:36 EST From: Bob Rashkow Subject: Re: Biggest record label blunders! If I'm not mistaken the Philles (Collectables) re-issue of "Then He Kissed Me" (Crystals) b/w "Puddin "N Tain" (The Alley Cats) shows the Crystals info on both sides. Also, I have a Roulette reissue of Tommy James/Shondells one side "Sweet Cherry Wine", the other "Crimson & Clover" which indicates the former tune on both sides. Bobster -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 03:57:25 -0000 From: Fred Clemens Subject: Re: Van Trevor / Luvs You're welcome, Country Paul... Thanks for the visit and kind words... Another Van Trevor favorite of mine appeared on his Date album, YOU'VE BEEN SO GOOD TO ME, in 1967 called "Guitar". It was released on a single a year later. It's somewhat reminiscent to a Paul Evans favorite (in theme, anyway), "Hushaby Little Guitar". Regarding Don's (Bob's) version of the song, "Satisfaction Is Guaranteed", ...on the actual single release it's sung at a slightly slower tempo. Bob enhanced the audio to bring it up to the intended speed (what you hear on site). As it happened, the band (Headstone II) couldn't play the music fast enough. I must confess that the Luvs track heard on Bob's site is not how it is heard on the album. I took the liberty of mixing/editing in audio from the previous and after tracks to give the song continuity. On the actual album (should you be able to find it), it has all tracks separated and complete, including Don's spoken intro and comments. (Bob was known as Don Bombard back then, as that's his real name.) The Luv's liberty is only liberty I've taken. Back in December, Bob featured a section on the Singing Dogs version of "Jingle Bells" I put together, including a LIFE story on the song from December 19, 1955. The Dog's version was done originally back in 1955 as part of a three song medley, which also included "Pat-A-Cake" and "Three Blind Mice". In 1971, RCA reissued the song, but only the "Jingle Bells" portion of the original, without the introduction and outro found on the 1955 record. To give it a reasonable play time, RCA lifted the opening vocals (barking, if you will) and tagged it onto the end of the track. What I did was to re-create the 1971 release in a 1955 sort of way. I left in the original intro and outro from the 1955 release, and recreated the 1971 edit of "Jingle Bells", while excluding the rest of the medley. I then lifted a portion of the guitar bridge and underlayed on the introduction to give it a Seasonal feel throughout. So what you heard on the site (if you caught it) was not the actual 1955 release, though all the audio was taken from the 1955 record. Fred Clemens -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 23:13:03 EST From: Bob Rashkow Subject: Re: Spine Shiverers Austin Roberts: > the great vocal "bong" at the end of Thomas Wayne's "Tragedy" Absolutely!!! One of my favorite late-5Ts records. My favorite spine-tingler is after he sings the first "Ta-ra-je-dy" and the Delons go "Daaa-ahhh-dee-ahh-ohh". How much more delightfully blue can a song get! Dickey Lee, please call Nashville......Bobster -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:20:56 -0500 From: Mark Hill Subject: Re: A&M Vinyl Steveo: > Herb wanted to make sure the pressings were top notch. In my record collecting experience, an A&M record is always gonna be an excellent pressing. A&M are consistently some of the best recorded and manufactured records I own. I feel they must have always used better than average pressing facilities and vinyl. New or used, I've never found a bad sounding copy of an A&M disc. (Other than from severe wear.) I've got A&M LPs that are 30 or more years old. I just played my PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE soundtrack the other week and it sounded as good as the day I bought it as a new release in 1974. I do know that in the 80s, around the time of THE POLICE- Synchronicity (1983), that many standard issue A&M releases were made with a high grade vinyl that you could see through if you held it to the light. Check some and see. Mark "Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:34:11 -0500 From: Mark Hill Subject: VINYL overload / VINYL The Documentary > There was one fellow whose records were scattered all over > his apartment (on the floor) and he had to shift piles to get around. Oh, my goodness. Who does THIS sound like?... (Me!) Navigating around my living space is like working a Rubiks Cube. Everything is in neat stacks and in some sense of order. I call it "organized chaos." But... in order to get to certain areas... This has to go UP THERE and that has to go OVER HERE... Then that goes DOWN THERE... To get to a certain stack of LPs or CDs or books or whatever. Then it all has to go back. Of course, I'll never hear it all. And of course, I want more. Mark -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 04:49:59 -0000 From: Bob Rashkow Subject: Rev-Ola's Phantom Jukebox Just went to musica but couldn't access anything--too bad! But I looked over the Phantom Jukebox contribution by Country Paul. The 2 CDs respectively, sound delightful. White Whale in particular released tons of great recordings that were destined for the canyons of oblivion. The Time Zone, The Rainy Daze, The Committee, The Brothers, The Everpresent Fullness, many, many more that I'd still pay for. Their successes are legend...from the Turtles to Liz Damon's Orient Express. The Clique, doing bubblegum/sunshine stuff by Tommy James, Mike Vale, Gary Zekley, etc.....ahh, what bliss. Thanks Paul for your knowledge and your great review. Bobster Paul's review: http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index2004.htm#PhantomJukebox -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:33:17 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" Bob Radil: > Regardless of your intentions, "I Love You More Than You'll Ever > Know" ended up being one of my favorites. I was a bit dissapointed > though last year when filling in on "The 60s Show" on WNHU/New Haven > when I played it from CD and it turned out to be from a different > take or recording from what I remember on the original vinyl LP. Could only have been the CD SOUL OF A MAN - which is a live album from 1995. BTW I just remixed CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN in 5.1 Surround Sound and remastered the stereo tp SACD. Dont know when they'll (SONY Legacy) release it but it's darned good. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:49:03 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: Re: iPods Denis: > I'm curious to know why you think third generation IPODS suck. My > wife has one of those and I think it works very well. Not as well > as my CreativeLabs's Zen (20Gb USB 2.0), but just about...:o) Denis, The four control buttons (new to that generation and not actually neccessary) are WAYYY too sensitive and make it difficult for the listener to easily get where they wanna go. Apple was eventually aware of this and eliminated them from the next generation's "mini- pods" Also the "docking" feature made it difficult to encase the i-Pod as the bottom had to be open for connectivity. Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 08:05:15 -0000 From: Glenn Subject: Re: "I Think We're Alone Now" sdrawkcaB :eR Did I say "myth"? I meant to type: Truth. Total truth. It was just a typo! Seriously, after hearing the segments you played to Musica, Bob, there can be absolutely no denying that the segment from "Mirage" is exactly "ITWAN" played backward. It's stunning! It couldn't have been accomplished with just a simple chord reversal. So I admit that I was wrong. However, I am sure I can find the early Tommy James interview where he made the statement that they reversed the chord sequence of "ITWAN" to create "Mirage", and said nothing about playing the record backwards. Of course, playing the record backwards would also have naturally led to the reversed chord sequence, but in this particular interview James said nothing about that. Perhaps it was at a point where he wasn't ready to own up to it? When I find the interview I'll post the quote. In the meantime - WOW! It's almost creepy. And they got another hit out of it! No wonder James was laughing. Thanks for the educational experience. Glenn -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 03:23:09 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: AK as songwriter Clark: > Al, I did not realize you wrote this song! It is GREAT > by the Boys Next Door, who were out of Indiana. Bobby > Goldsboro later produced them for Atco. I was lucky to > help with the Sundazed release, and that was the main song > I wanted. Just to help out some 'poppers I thought I'd take some info from the discograpgy on me website to see if I could get some keys clickin' on some of these obscurities: AK: AS A SONGWRITER 1959 : "Thats My Kinda Love" ANASTASIA Laurie 3066 1963 - "The Old Rag Man" FREDDIE CANNON Warner Bros. 5666 "I'm Over You" LORRAINE ELLISON Warner Bros. 5879 "A Young Man's Fancy" TOMMY SANDS ABC Paramount 10466 "Goin' Through The Motions" KEELY SMITH Reprise R20-149 "The Chain" JOHNNY THUNDER Diamond SD 5001 (LP) 1964 - "Rainy Days Were Made For Lonely People" PAT BOONE Dot 45-16754 "When Something's Hard To Get" THE ESSEX Roulette 4564 "The Old Rag Man" EDDIE HODGES Aurora 156 "The Water Is Over My " EDDIE HODGES Aurora 161 "Tell Me Like It Is: LULU Carnaby 552030 (CD) "Hawaii" GENE PITNEY Musicor MU1040 "One Boy Tells Another" SURFER GIRLS Columbia 4-43001 "The Last 2 People On Earth" GENE PITNEY 1965 - "This Diamond Ring" GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS Liberty 5576 "Where Were You When I Needed You" ERNIE ANDREWS Capitol 5448 "Don't Take Candy From A Stranger" GENE PITNEY Musicor MU-1070 (LP) "I Must Be Seeing Things" GENE PITNEY Musicor MU 1020 "I Fell In Love So Easily" EDDIE RAMBEAU DynoVoice 9001 (LP) "Flute Thing" ALAN LORBER Verve V6 8711 (LP) "She's Still There" GENE PITNEY Musicor MU 3056 (LP) 1966 - "Night Time Girl" MODERN FOLK QUINTET Dunhill 45 D4025 "The Water Is Over My Head" THE ROCKIN' BERRIES Reprise 0442 "Fly Away" BOBBY VEE BGO BGOCD515 (UK) 1968 -"I Can't Quit Her" THE ARBORS Date 2-1645 "I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes" TEN YEARS AFTER Deram-DES 18009 (LP) 1970 - "Brand New Day" STAPLE SINGERS Stax 0074 >From Pat Boone to The Staple Singers is as yin-yang as I can manage AK -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 10:40:10 +0100 From: Eddy Subject: Re: Mary Hopkin Phil Milstein; > Does anyone know what Mary Hopkin does these days? Her career was pretty much over after she left Apple. If you love was her only 45 to scrape the bottom of the charts in the UK, which is still better than her 45 Mary had a baby which got some attention, but did nothing on the charts. After marrying Tony Visconti, she confined herself to the odd backing vocal here and there (for hubby Tony, Thin Lizzy, Elaine Page, Sparks, Hazel O'Connor, ...) . Last I heard, Mary & Tony got divorced and Mary was planning to give her career some new life and a new direction. Eddy -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 02:04:38 -0800 (PST) From: Artie Wayne Subject: Re: What happened to the Brill Building? Paul.........How ya' doin'? What happened to the Brill building?... .....all the action moved up the street and around the corner to 1650 B'way!! Koppleman and Rubin were hot with Gary Bonner, our Alan Gordon, John Sebastian and Tim Hardin, Kama Sutra and Buddah records were starting to tear up the charts, the Isley brothers and Diamond records were upstairs......Bert Berns and Bang Records were in the middle......and my partner Kelli Ross and I were representing the publishing companies of Joey Levine and Artie Resnick, Leslie Gore, Janis Ian, Bobby Scott, Peter Udell and Gary Geld, Ron Haffkine, Bo Gentry and Quincy Jones. If you want to know more...check out my website http://artiewayne.com/ regards, Artie Wayne -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 05:10:31 EST From: Scott Subject: Female record collectors Doc Rock: > As for me I just sold my 40-year record collection, all 10,000 > records, to a female collector! Not to pry, but how did you go about pricing a collection like this? Scott -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 05:29:23 EST From: Scott Subject: Change in direction / Colours > There are many other examples of bands/artists that started out with > great melodic gifts, and then got seduced by the heavy siren and > turned into something at best ordinary, and at worst -- as you say, > unlistenable. Sorry this is kind of a late contribution to the discussion, but add Colours. The first LP is great Beatles-styled psych-pop. The 2nd LP is nothing like the debut and is simply dull. Scott -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 10:57:00 -0000 From: Austin Powell Subject: Len Barry "Keem-O-Sabe" / Kenny Lynch Tony Waitekus wrote: > The Electric Indian had a hit with the instumental Kemosabe. > I have a vocal version by Len Barry. The music track of that > song is the exact same track that became the Electric Indian > hit. Len's vocal version of "Keem-O-Sabe" was issued in the UK on an album called "More From The 1-2-3 Man" on Bulldog Records (BDL 1013)....The eleven tracks were his Amy and Scepter recordings...The labels credited all the tracks as John Madara productions whereas the sleeve listed the tracks as variously being produced by Madara (including "Keem-O-Sabe"), Tom Cogbill (Bob, Carol, Ted And Alice)and Leon Huff/ Len Barry....The album was also issued on Bulldog in Canada....copies are available on the net for next to nothing.... Clark asked: > and who was this Kenny Lynch guy? Did he record a lot in UK? Kenny Lynch (a very funny guy, by the way), recorded a lot of singles for the UK HMV and Columbia labels, and charted several times notably with his cover of "Up On The Roof" (#10/1962) and with "You Can Never Stop me Loving You" the following year.....He was also a prolific songwriter...he co-wrote "Sha La La la Lee" with Mort Schuman for The Small Faces, but his songs have been recorded by loads of artists..... He scraped the bottom end of the Brit charts as late as 1983 with "Half The Day's Gone And We Haven't Earned A Penny".....He last had an album out in about 1992....Mostly, he plays golf these days..... Austin -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 03:04:53 -0800 (PST) From: Chris Subject: Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, and ... John Sellards wrote: > Since you've brought up R&B and pop from that era, I'd like to vote > for (I think) the greatest male vocalist of all time, and a man who > you can hear in Elvis, and whose mid 40s band stylings possibly > influenced many of the great R&B bands of the 50s...Billy Eckstine, > with his recording of "Body And Soul." Amen to that! While we're in this territory, however, might I also suggest Joe Williams? The specific cuts I have in mind are "Just A-Sittin' And A- Rockin' " (on "Jump For Joy," 1963) and "Rocks In My Bed" ("Me And The Blues," 1964). They swing and they're wonderfully witty. As for Elvis pre-echoes, though ... perhaps this is the time to talk about the Bing Crosby of his 1933 "Blue Prelude" and his 1932 "Here Lies Love"? One forgets the heft that could be found in Crosby's voice. I heard these cuts recently and was *very* pleasantly surprised. "Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin' By Myself All Day," Chris -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 08:53:56 EST From: Jimmy Crescitelli Subject: Re: 1963 One of MY favorite years, young as I was (7 that summer). Still, I could feel the innocence and optimism in the air: a feeling of hope, and change for the better. And then they took Kennedy out... the music convulsed... and sometimes it seems like we're still recovering from 11/22/63. But yes, a great year for music... and I think 1964 would have been even more astonishing this side of the Atlantic, but we were laid low, our defenses down, and vulnerable to another British invasion. Music has always been subject to the tides of history, and the sea change from 1963-1964 proves this dramatically. Jimmy -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 14:09:27 -0000 From: Mick Patrick Subject: "My Own Two Feet" / Shirley Matthews Ian Chapman: > Ed, were you ever aware of (Kenny Lynch's version of "My Own Two > Feet")? If not, it's currently playing at musica for everybody to > check out. Ed Rambeau: > Yes, I was aware of this version. I never really heard the Hal Miller > version and the Kenny Lynch version side by side to evaluate which I > like better. How does one get to MUSICA? Hi Ed, That's easy. Click below: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/ If you go there now, you'll find another great song you co-wrote: Shirley Matthews "(He Makes Me) Feel So Pretty" (Amy 910, 1964). Written by Eddie Rambeau, Bud Rehak & Bob Crewe, Arranged by Charlie Calello, Produced by Bob Crewe. Were you at the session, Ed? Is that Jeanne Thomas & the Rag Dolls I hear on back-ups? Were you a lyrics man, or melody? Shirley was a great singer, deserved a hit. Hey la, Mick Patrick -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 14:12:14 +0100 From: Andrew Hickey Subject: Re: Unchained Melody > And originally in 1955 it was a No 2 hit for some guy > called Al Hibbler (!) Some guy?! Al Hibbler was only the singer with Duke Ellington's band for 7 years, and one of the *very* few singers with Ellington ever to actually have a half-decent voice...his version of "Trees" is probably his best known performance. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 25 Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 14:48:56 +0000 From: Richard Hattersley Subject: Re: porpoise song in stereo I'm pretty sure that its the full version with the fade on the Arista CD "Then And Now" from 1986. Not heard it for about 10 years mind you. Rhino currently have a Monkees greates hits out with "Porpoise Song" single version on it. Not sure if it is mono or stereo though as I do not have it. On the Rhino "Head" CD it is the short version. Richard http://www.wiz.to/richardsnow -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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