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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 15 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. CD Brings Back '60s funk sound
From: Karen Andrew
2. Hawaiian music
From: Country Paul
3. Re: Back to Mono
From: Michael Fishberg
4. Re: Beattle-ettes, Bon Bons and Shangri-Las
From: Andres
5. sequel to "My Boyfriend's Back"
From: Charles Ulrich
6. The Big TNT Show
From: Martin Jensen
7. Re: Back To Mono
From: Jeffery Kennedy
8. Turtles
From: Charles Ulrich
9. Al Gorgoni
From: Alan Warner
10. Four Freshmen
From: Brian Chidester
11. Mamas and Papas' musicians
From: Mike McKay
12. Re: Back to Mono
From: Mike McKay
13. "Hippies" - A Story & Questions
From: S.J. Dibai
14. Tony Hatch
From: S'pop Team
15. "The Penthouse", Its Script, Plus A Few Recommendations
From: Chris Schneider
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 22:12:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Karen Andrew
Subject: CD Brings Back '60s funk sound
If interested, copy this link into your address line, hit enter,
and hopefully it will take you to a Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper
article: "CD Brings Back '60s funk sound" for Wed. April 28:
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/04/28/loc_GTHallen0428.html
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 01:40:06 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Hawaiian music
I had no e-mail while on vacation in Hawaii, so finally I will try to catch
up with 3 weeks of posts. I will fail. Thus, I'll skim. But first:
I should mention that Hawaii has an amazing local music scene. The
indigineous music - after the chants, etc. - tends toward wide vibrato, 03 part harmony, sweetness and sentimentality without irony, and occasionally
some interesting harmonies and metric structures. Ukeleles are still taken
seriously (and played well); I didn't hear that much steel guitar, but
there's a lot of Hawaiian country music. (The Parker Ranch, the biggest
cattle ranch in the USA, is on the Big Island; "paniolo," or Hawaiian
cowboys, make up a noticeable part of its year-round population.) There is
some contemporary hip-hop (often in pidgin rather than "ebonics"),
especially in Honolulu. There seems to be a predominant Hawaiian reggae
scene, also known as "Jawaiian" - a gentler version of Jamaican, but with
the groove just the same. There's also a lot of remaking of old pop hits
into reggae; many work. Two of the biggest current ones:
Mel & Tim's "Starting All Over Again" by the amazing and late Israel
Kamakawiwo'ole (you may know of him from the voice-and-ukelele version of
"Over The Rainbow/Wonderful World"). It's a gentle reggae sung with beauty
and passion. I wasn't all that fond of the original; but I LOVE this one!
(See his catalog at http://www.mele.com/v3/artcat/iz.htm )
Paul Anka's "Diana" is done in a reggae version by (I was told) a group
called Kolea (pron. ko-LAY-a; it's the Hawaiian name for a bird, the Pacific
Golden Plover). Didn't buy it; should have.
There are also all-Hawaiian radio stations that are not just Don Ho-style
hotel stuff. Best I heard (though not on the internet): KAPA FM on the Big
Island. Not just Hawaiian music but also artists based in-state. Judging by
the quality of the music, the talent pool of must be tremendous!
By the way, the only S'pop-era Hawaiian artists I know of are Robin Luke,
"Susie Darlin'," and Liz Damon, "1900-Yesterday," neither of which I heard
on the radio while there. There is also Van Dyke Parks' Hawaiian-inflected
album ["America"?], which I have to relisten to now that I have been on four
major islands and have a deeper appreciation of the state.
Now, back to our regularly-scheduled era....
Aloha,
Paniolo Paul
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 06:10:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Fishberg
Subject: Re: Back to Mono
John Sellards:
> I've heard this over and over about the Dunhill mono tapes being
> gone. Surely some of these things were issued somewhere other than
> the USA where the tapes didn't get pitched?
Billy G. Spradlin:
> I guess copies of the original Dunhill Mono masters could be hiding
> in oversea vaults if anyone's willing to get the legal rights and
> sort through them. Didn't RCA distribute Dunhill in the UK?
The Dunhill stuff WAS issued in the UK (and Germany) on RCA. Now part
of BMG. The best way to get these in mono, albeit on vinyl, is to
check out ebay.co.uk or the German ebay site. They're frequently there.
It shouldn't be too hard to do a vinyl to CDR transfer after that.
Michael Fishberg
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 12:16:57 -0000
From: Andres
Subject: Re: Beattle-ettes, Bon Bons and Shangri-Las
Lex Cody wrote:
> Can someone explain to me the link between The Beattle-ettes, Bon
> Bons and Shangri-Las? I believe they are all the same, as in pre-
> Shangri-Las. but that's all I know. Has anyone heard the songs they
> did, were they much like a Shangri-Las song? Are they available
> anywhere? I'm mystified. Please, some clarity here would be
> appreciated. Does anyone have any of the singles that were released?
> If so is it possible to get a pic of the centrepiece on the vinyls?
Hi,
It was already discussed some years before on this forum. We came to
a conclusion that these groups are NOT the same. As for songs, some
of them you may find here: http://monstr66.narod.ru/index.html (sorry
for promoting my own web page...)
Andres
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 14:26:55 -0700
From: Charles Ulrich
Subject: sequel to "My Boyfriend's Back"
Between 1967 and 1970, the Mothers of Invention used to perform a
medley of four songs:
My Boyfriend's Back (Feldman/Goldstein/Gottehrer; The Angels)
I'm Gonna Bust His Head
96 Tears (? and the Mysterians)
The End (The Doors)
(Only the final section of this medley has been officially released,
with Frank Zappa reciting a parody of the monologue from "The End"
over the changes of "96 Tears". It's on You Can't Do That On Stage
Anymore, Volume 5, listed as "Tiny Sick Tears".)
My question relates to the second song in the medley. It's a
follow-up to "My Boyfriend's Back", sung by the boyfriend. It begins:
Here I am
I hear there's been some trouble
Since I went away
Later on:
I'm gonna bust his head
He's gonna wish he were dead
I'm gonna pop his eye
I'm gonna make him cry
and so on.
So were the MOI covering an actual record released circa 1963 in
response to "My Boyfriend's Back"? The violent nature of the final
section makes me skeptical. Perhaps it's an original by Frank Zappa
(possibly in collaboration with Mothers vocalist Ray Collins). But
the other three songs in the medley are all covers (albeit with
modified lyrics).
Does anyone recognize this song? There's a sound clip at
http://members.shaw.ca/fz-pomd2/mysty/bust.wav
--Charles
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Message: 6
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 22:35:12 -0000
From: Martin Jensen
Subject: The Big TNT Show
Hi
The other day I was lucky enough to find a DVD with the Big TNT show
at a local record fair. I had heard and read a lot of good things
about this particular concert-film and was not disappointed – lots of
GREAT performances! Ike & Tina sure knew how to put on a show! She
must have burned a few calories after such a dynamic, sweaty and
soulful stage act! :-)
I made two observations whilst viewing the show:
First of al; is it just me, or is the sound quality of "This Could Be
The Night", played during the opening credits, noticeably clearer
than the version included on Back to Mono? It seems to my ears as if
the vocals are more up front, and that there are some underlying
harmonies that surface, which I hadn't heard before...
Secondly, in September 2003 on this subject, Tony Leong pointed out
in connection to the TNT show: "My biggest mystery is WHAT OTHER song
the Ronettes performed between "Be My Baby" and "Shout". In every
tape I have seen of the full TNT show, the film is crudely edited
between the songs - I'm guessing they sang "You Baby"?? Now, the funny
thing is that during their performance in my copy of the show, there
doesn't seem to be an edit? There is a very brief zoom on the audience
reaction to "Be My Baby" just before the girls go into "Shout" but
judging from the sound, no edit has been made. I wonder what was up
with the other copies that Tony saw?
Well, I guess I have to keep my eyes open for the TAMI Show in case
it surfaces at an upcoming fair…
With regards
Martin, Denmark
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 17:18:48 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: Re: Back To Mono
Al Kooper wrote:
> Many years ago, I found a Japanese import of a one disc Phil
> Spector collection IN STEREO!!!! It's one of my most prized
> posessions. "Be My Baby", "Walkin' In The Rain", "Do I Love
> You" etc... I just listened to it the other day - it's still
> amazing.
James Botticelli:
> I have it as well. You just haven't heard "Uptown" until you've
> heard the stereo version.
The stereo version of the Ronettes LP was reissued in England on Phil
Spector International in the mid-'70s and is not hard to find. Some
of the tracks have better stereo mixes than others, but IMHO all of
the stereo mixes have a nice ambience.
Is the stereo Crystals "Uptown" on the Phil Spector International
Crystals LP?
Jeffery
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 17:07:00 -0700
From: Charles Ulrich
Subject: Turtles
Clark Besch:
> By the way, May 4 was the anniversary of the Turtles being
> awarded their gold record for "Happy Together" in 1967! Later in
> the year would come the same award for "She'd Rather Be with me"!!
> I make this point for 2 reasons. First, because your dad wrote these
> songs. Second, because all these obscure groups and songs may make
> you feel you are on the "Island of Misfit Songs", but there's a lot
> of "Silver & Gold" here too!
Or Solid Zinc, as the recent 2-CD Turtles anthology on Rhino was
entitled. Disc 2 includes seven Bonner/Gordon compositions: "Me About
You", "You Know What I Mean", "She's My Girl", "Cat In The Window",
"Goodbye Surprise", as well as the two mentioned above.
Disc 1 leans more towards P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. There's also
one song ("Just A Room") by Kornfeld and Duboff, whose names I've
noticed here recently. And a couple by the late Warren Zevon.
--Charles
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 19:36:34 -0700
From: Alan Warner
Subject: Al Gorgoni
Further to Art Longmire's (5/7) and Dave Feldman's notes on
Al Gorgoni, he really is an unsung hero among songwriters
of the 1960's. When you consider his hits range from I CAN'T
LET GO (written with Chip Taylor) and recorded by Evie Sands,
The Hollies and Linda Ronstadt to THE YELLOW BANDANA (authored
with Steve Karlinski & Larry Kolber) which became a huge 1963
country hit for Faron Young. He and Chip also had success with
STEP OUT OF YOUR MIND (The American's debut pre-"Bend Me,
Shape Me" hit in '67) and I'LL HOLD OUT MY HAND by The Clique
two years later.
Rock on!
Alan Warner
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 20:47:38 EDT
From: Brian Chidester
Subject: Four Freshmen
Previously:
> Did you ever hear any of the stuff that the 4 Freshmen did on
> Liberty in the late 60's? LP's included "Memphis", "Everyday
> People", "It's Not Unusual", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", etc.
> One LP was arranged by Mike Melvoin, IIRC.
Are you saying that you like those records? Just curious... most
jazz afficianados find the Liberty Four Freshmen records to be the
nadir of the group's recorded work. I personally love those records,
but then again, I'm a sucker for any psych-era exploitation... lite
cover versions are welcome on my LP rack.
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Message: 11
Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 00:33:51 EDT
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Mamas and Papas' musicians
Frank Jastfelder wrote:
> Regarding the MATP producer Lou Adler always trusted the usual
> suspects in the studio: Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on
> keys, Joe Osborn on bass and labelmate P.F. Sloan on guitar. On
> their third album Jim Horn is credited with flute and sax playing.
I'm pretty sure at least some of their guitar work was done by Eric
Hord (aka "The Doctor"). Hord later teamed up with fellow Adlerite
Barry McGuire for a little-heard but pretty nifty LP, "Barry McGuire
and The Doctor."
Mike
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Message: 12
Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 00:40:03 EDT
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: Back to Mono
I wrote:
> The mono/stereo debate inflames great passions, and I've been an
> avid participant for some time.
Ed Salamon replied:
> Your post reminded me of the arguments I used to have with Dick
> Bartley, who was hosting Sold Gold Saturday Night (network radio
> show)for the RKO Radio Network when we (United Stations) bought
> RKO in 1985.
>
> Dick advocated stereo to the point where he would play stereo
> mixes that, to me, sounded far from the original hits - at which
> point I would insist he play the mono version. I especially recall
> our disagreement when the stereo version of "Do You Love Me" came
> out on "Dirty Dancing", which was a whole different take for gosh
> sakes.
A primo example of the "stereo at all costs" thinking that I find
completely baffling. In Bartley's case, there's all the talk about
the great memories the songs conjure up -- but how can this be when
what you're hearing is NOT what you remember?
I've been chanting this mantra for so long I'm sick of it, but I've
yet to get a straight answer from the "it's gotta be stereo" people:
how is that I'm being unreasonable if I want a song to sound the way
it did when I first fell in love with it?
Mike
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 21:52:23 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: "Hippies" - A Story & Questions
Dear Spectropoppers,
The story:
I have a professor friend who's teaching a course on the history of
Philadelphia, and he likes to use cultural artifacts, especially
music, in his classes. So I burned him a CD of Philadelphia oldies
for him to play for his students. Needless to say, it blew him away,
but I was talking to him about it the other day, and a peculiar
exchange resulted. I had given him annotations to go with the CD,
which included a mention of how "South Street" uses the term
"hippies," and how that term must have meant something different in
1963. So my professor friend, a Texan (Arlington, specifically) who
was born in the early '70s, said to me, a Philadelphian who was born
in the early '80s, "How many hippies were there in Philly?" I told
him I didn't know, but I reminded him that we were talking about the
early '60s meaning of the term. And he replied, "Yeah, like Dobie
Gillis with the long hair and the goatee." I pointed out that Dobie
Gillis was a beatnik, not a hippie and continued, "I think a hippie
was just someone who was HIP." I meant someone who was into the
latest music, latest clothes, latest dances, etc. But he responded by
describing a Fonzie-like character. Leather jacket, blue jeans.... I
said, "I don't know about that. I'd have to ask someone who was
around at the time and remembers the term." My parents were around at
the time, but my mother's the only one who'd know the early usage of
that term--and she doesn't.
Questions:
What DID the term "hippies" mean in the early '60s? The only records
from that era that I recall hearing it in are Cameo-Parkway hits by
Philly artists: The Orlons' "South Street," The Dovells' "You Can't
Sit Down," Chubby Checker's "Birdland," etc. Was it a regionalism?
And how did its meaning evolve from whatever it meant in 1963 to the
late '60s, and indeed current, connotation of the term?
I look forward to your responses!
Thank you,
S.J. Dibai
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Message: 14
Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 13:23:55 +0100
From: S'pop Team
Subject: Tony Hatch
Plucked from the S'pop Public Bulletin Board:
Tony Hatch, legendary songwriter, record producer and notorious
hatchet man of TV's 'New Faces' has chosen Glasgow's Tall Ship
as the venue for the glittering charity premiere of his brand
new cabaret on Thursday May 27th.
The show's title, 'Messing About On The River', comes from one
of his first hits, recorded by Glasgow school teacher Josh
Macrae back in 1960.
A champagne party is being laid on for the lucky 200 aboard The
Glenlee, raising money for the city's Prince and Princess of
Wales Hospice, and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Described as 'Britain's Burt Bacharach', 65 year old Hatch is
known worldwide as composer and producer of some of the most
memorable sixties hits, including Downtown, Sugar and Spice,
Look for a Star, Call Me, My Love, Colour My World, I Couldn't
Live Without Your Love, Where Are You Now?, Joanna and I Know a
Place. His hits have also been covered by Frank Sinatra, Lulu,
Paul McCartney, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Jack Jones and
Sammy Davis Jr.
A formidable number of TV Themes - Neighbours, Emmerdale,
Crossroads, even BBC Scotland's Sportscene - are among the most
familiar of his compositions.
As a record producer, his strong Glasgow connections include
waxings for our own Lonnie Donegan, Buddy Logan and The Alexander
Brothers, as well as global successes for Petula Clark, Jackie
Trent, The Searchers, Benny Hill, Bruce Forsyth and The Settlers.
'This show is the soundtrack of our lives!' says producer, Glasgow-
based broadcaster and writer Tony Currie, 'there's not a tune that
isn't familiar.'
Joining Hatch on board the Tall Ship to sing the hits will be
Glasgow's own Christian and Jill Keating, daughter of Oscar-
nominated Edinburgh composer and bandleader Johnny Keating,
together with top local musicians.
Tickets for this unique event are available from Karin Spalter.
E - mail tickets@radiosix.com for reservations. You can do the
champagne reception and cabaret only for £35; with the Special Fish
Supper Cruise on the Pride o' the Clyde waterbus afterwards it's
£50; or stay aboard for dinner on The Glenlee with Hatch and the
cast for £65.
'And we hope everyone will get out the tuxedos, panamas, feather
boas - it's a real dress-up-and-party night!' says Karin.
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Message: 15
Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 04:02:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Schneider
Subject: "The Penthouse", Its Script, Plus A Few Recommendations
Al Kooper wrote about "The Penthouse":
> I could care less about the music. The script was what got me in
> that one.
Since talk of this 1967 British thriller keeps reappearing, and no
one has mentioned the script (at least that I've noticed), I thought
I'd add a word or two.
The script for "The Penthouse" was adapted from a play by actor-
writer Scott Forbes. Forbes seems to've acted more than he has
written, but there is one other significant title from Forbes-the-
writer: "Perfect Friday" (1970), a heist comedy with Stanley Baker
and Ursula Andress and David Warner.
Back in my salad days, when I was way too young and picturesque to
know 'bout such things, I remember two repeated verdicts on "The
Penthouse": 1) it was kinky, *adult* stuff; and 2) it was a rip-off
of things playwright Harold Pinter had done elsewhere and more
interestingly.
With that in mind, let me recommend a couple of titles that are in
the same proverbial ballpark: "The Servant" (1963, scipt by Pinter,
with Dirk Bogarde and Sarah Miles); "Repulsion" (1963, with
Catherine Deneuve being gorgeous and homicidal); and "Laughter In
The Dark" (1969, where Anna Karina and various lowlifes take cruel
advantage of wealthy-but-clueless Nicol Williamson).
Chris "I Was So Much Older Then" Schneider
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