Spectropop - Digest Number 1611

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004

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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 11 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. Re: Just Four Men
           From: David Coyle 
      2. Re: "San Francisco"
           From: Mark Hill 
      3. R. Chords / D. Berry / G. Pitney / T. Dey / J. Hammond / E. Cobb
           From: Pres 
      4. Re: S. McKenzie
           From: Clark Besch 
      5. Re: Bergen White -- For Women Only
           From: Steve Stanley 
      6. Re: Gene Toone
           From: Simon Bridger 
      7. Showtime Airing Beach Boys' 'Smile'
           From: Phil X Milstein 
      8. Re: The Hobbits
           From: Frank Jastfelder 
      9. Re: research inquiry
           From: Davie Gordon 
     10. Re: Rev-Ola
           From: Orion 
     11. Re: looking for the Union label
           From: Gary Myers 


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Message: 1
   Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 17:42:26 -0700 (PDT)
   From: David Coyle 
Subject: Re: Just Four Men

"What A Sweet Thing That Was" by the Four Just Men is available on 
"Beat At Abbey Road: 1963-66", on the EMI label. Not sure if it's still 
in print. The album also has Four Just Men's other big beat hit from 
1963, "Things Will Never Be The Same." Good comp.

David



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Message: 2         
   Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 20:56:43 -0400
   From: Mark Hill 
Subject: Re: "San Francisco"

Steve Harvey wrote:
> The tune was cut as a Mamas and Papas tune. John wiped the vocal track 
> and put on Scott McKenzie's and he had the hit. 

Has the "original" version of "San Francisco" with The Mamas & The Papas 
ever been released? Does it still exist? That would be a good extra track for 
the upcoming 4-CD box set. 



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Message: 3         
   Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 20:34:37 -0400
   From: Pres 
Subject: R. Chords / D. Berry / G. Pitney / T. Dey / J. Hammond / E. Cobb

I just got the Ace compilation "The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 4" for 
a digital copy of the Lafayettes' "Life Too Short" -- in glorious mono, no less --
and have found that I am now in love with "Here I Stand" by the Rip Chords. 
Surely this is what locking Dick & Dee Dee in a room with Bob Crewe and 
Phil Spector would sound like. It's the aural equivalent of a car accident, I 
can't stop listening to it. Well, not completely true. The copy I made for my 
car, with changes to track order, has "Drip Drop" by Dion following it and 
I love this one too. Oddly, I never cared for it much before. 

Anyone know if all the CDs in Ace's Golden Age ... series are completely 
mono? Being a completist, I want them all, even if Amazon charges an 
obscene amount for them.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with info on "Gonna Fix You Good". 

Other recent purchases include "Playin' Hard To Get -- West Coast Girls" 
and The Gene Pitney EP Collection" on See For Miles. Regarding the former, 
Dorothy Berry's "Crying On My Pillow" is ... divine! Bad enought that 
"You're So Fine" didn't hit, but you'd think some smart DJ would have 
flipped it over at some point. Go figure.

All the talk of Gene Pitney reminded me of a Pitney 45 that my mom had 
when I was a wee one: "In The Cold Light Of Day". Odd that she would have 
it, since she was a true top 40 gal and it was not a hit. Anyway, I realized that 
the Pitney CDs I had didn't have this song, explaining why I had completely 
forgotten this record even though I was unable to get the chorus to stop 
running through my mind when it did re-enter my head. When my copy of 
the EP collection arrived I was amazed to find that from the moment the 
song started, I remembered every single word to this song regardless of 
the fact that it's been at least thirty years since I'd heard it. When my mom 
came to visit a few weeks later I put it on with no introduction and she, too, 
started singing every word. She even remembered that she'd won it at some 
dance or another. Now, that's a hell of a song!

Where the hell is Tracey Dey? I bit the bullet and got the Marginal comp off 
eBay and even through crappy sound, I'm not only amazed by her versatility, 
but I just may be in love. I know that she's been mentioned on the list in the 
past but was wondering if anyone has an update. I sent an emai to Sundazed 
begging for a compilation but I'm sure that it will never happen. Not their 
speed, it seems. 

I did buy all three Sundazed "Garage Beat '66" comps, and love them all. 
The John Hammond on Red Bird track was a nice discovery.

Last but not least, any list members in the Atlanta/East Cobb, GA area?

Thanks for listening,
Pres



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Message: 4         
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 04:41:38 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Re: S. McKenzie

previously:
> The tune was cut as a Mamas and Papas tune. John wiped the vocal track 
> and put on Scott's and he had the hit. Always loved the B-side, "What's 
> The Difference", which I recall being done as two B-sides, parts 1 and 2. 

Although I like those songs, I REALLY love his Epic single "No, No, No, No, 
No". I think it's on CD, or else I would play it to musica. Much different style 
than his hits, but very forceful vocal that should be heard!

Clark



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Message: 5         
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 04:00:57 -0000
   From: Steve Stanley 
Subject: Re: Bergen White -- For Women Only

Cleber wrote
> I bought the CD "For Women Only -- Bergen White" in July. ...
> I don't know if somebody has this very good CD, but in my copy 
> the sound of some tracks (especially "Hurt So Bad") are not good. 
> The sound has ups and downs of volume. Somebody notice that?

Thanks for the valid heads-up re: the Rev-Ola website. We'll have the track 
listing adjusted soon. There was a fidelity problem with "Hurt's So Bad," 
and it is a bit of a mystery to us all, but future pressings will correct it. 

"For Women Only"'s recent 5-star reviews in both Mojo and Uncut have 
pleasantly baffled everone at Rev-Ola and Cherry Red. Thanks to all the 
Spectropoppers for their support. If anyone has any questions they would 
like me to relay to Bergen, please email me off-list. 

Steve Stanley



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Message: 6         
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 09:22:39 +0100
   From: Simon Bridger 
Subject: Re: Gene Toone

Phil M. asked:
> What is the identity of Gene Toone, who (with "The Blazers") 
> recorded "You're My Baby" / "Jose" for Phil Spector's brief-lived 
> Annette label in 1964, and a pair of 45s for Wand, three sides of 
> which bore variations of the title "Baby Boy," over 10 years later?

Don't know if it's any help, but there's a track by Gene Toones, 'What 
More Do You Want', on the Simco label. Could be the same guy.

Simon



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Message: 7         
   Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 23:15:11 -0400
   From: Phil X Milstein 
Subject: Showtime Airing Beach Boys' 'Smile'

Showtime Airing Beach Boys' 'Smile'

by The Associated Press (Aug. 19, 2004)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Smile," the Brian Wilson album that was famously
unheard by the public for nearly 40 years, will be the subject of a
Showtime documentary.

"Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile" is in
production and will debut Oct. 5 on Showtime, the channel announced this week.

The film will include interviews with Wilson, the Beach Boys' creative
genius, and footage of February's triumphant "Smile" debut concert in London.

"'Smile' is the most important piece of music that I ever composed, and
I'm thrilled that Showtime feels so strongly about it that they are
going to let me tell the story of 'Smile' in this film," Wilson said in
a release.

"Smile" was to follow the Beach Boys' groundbreaking 1966 album "Pet
Sounds." After carefully crafting the album's multilayered sound, Wilson
shelved it shortly before its scheduled 1967 release. He said the songs
were "not commercial."

Over the years, "Smile" gained a reputation among fans as the band's
lost masterpiece and was hailed by critics at its London debut.



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Message: 8         
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:15:54 +0200
   From: Frank Jastfelder 
Subject: Re: The Hobbits

Phil M. asked:
>  * Anyone know anything of a group called The Hobbits?

One track by The Hobbits, "Sunny Day Girl," can be found on the German 
Compilation "The Get Easy Sunshine Pop Collection. The song is from 
their "Down To Middle Earth" LP for Decca. BTW the double CD is a must-
have for all Sunshine Pop fans.

Frank J.



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Message: 9         
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:48:04 -0000
   From: Davie Gordon 
Subject: Re: research inquiry

Phil M. asked:
> What is the identity of Gene Toone?

I've no biographical info on him, but he had another single on Simco (an 
Amy-Mala-Bell distributed label) in '66.
 
> Is the 1968 Mercury record "Collector" (a Sonny Curtis tune) / "Misery," 
> by the All Night Workers, extant in any capacity? Is this the same group 
> as the Syracuse-based combo (feat. Mike Esposito and Felix Cavaliere) of 
> that name?

There may be two groups of that name. There's one on Round Sound, which 
is tied in with Pickwick/Design. Then there's a Cameo single, which may be 
yet another group -- one side is "Honey And Wine", a Carole King song, but 
unfortunately I've yet to hear it.

One of the All Night Workers may have been from the Boston area, as I 
remember reading somewhere that Larry Atamanuik of Seatrain (on A&M, 
Capitol, WB) was in a group of that name.
 
> Has there ever been a "Union" label?

Yes -- wasn't The Marketts' "Balboa Blue" on Union before being picked up 
by Liberty ?
 
> Anyone know anything of a group called The Hobbits?

I think there may be something on them in the archives. Off the top of my 
head, their driving force was a guy called Jimmy Curtiss, who had singles on 
Laurie and probably other labels. Try Fuzz Acid & Flowers -- I'm sure there's 
an entry for them.
 
> Can anyone add any credits for a '60s songwriter named Fangette Enzel
> (aka Fangette Willett)?:

No idea -- great name though. The Fangettes! I know "Uphill Climb," but 
didn't realize she'd written the Barbara McNair and Billy Eckstine songs.
I'll see if I can come up with anything.

Davie



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Message: 10        
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 8:09:45 -0400
   From: Orion 
Subject: Re: Rev-Ola

Speaking of Rev-Ola, I purchased a CD from then by the group "The Sunshine 
Company". It sounds like it was made from LPs for sure, as track 11 has the 
sound of the needle picking up and about 6 or 7 seconds of distortion. The 
CD has a few other tunes that have "snaps, crackles and pops" ... hmmmm 
hungry now.

Is this normally how their CDs sound? They have a few in their catalog I would 
like, but don't really care to buy something that is less than I can produce at home.

Orion




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Message: 11        
   Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 09:50:26 -0700
   From: Gary Myers 
Subject: Re: looking for the Union label

Phil M. asked:
> Has there ever been a "Union" label?

Ken Clee's "Stak-O-Wax, Vol. 5" includes one. Write me offlist for 
more details.

gem



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