________________________________________________________________________
SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
________________________________________________________________________
There are 16 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Patty Michaels' "Mrs. Johnny" now at musica
From: Phil X Milstein
2. Roy Orbison & "It's Over"
From: Jim Fisher
3. Re: "Beyond The Sea" review
From: David Coyle
4. A funny Darin/Spacey-related story
From: David Coyle
5. Three almost-made-it tales; Dylan & The Shadows; common knowledge
From: Country Paul
6. Re: French recordings
From: Stephane Rebeschini
7. The Teardrops / Frankie Lymon
From: Simon White
8. Re: The Chiffons' "Now That You're My Baby"
From: Donny H
9. obscure Brazilian singer spotlight (Yvette)
From: Patrick Rands
10. More about "Je T´Aime" and Gainsbourg.
From: Julio Niño
11. English Amps
From: Frank Murphy
12. Re: Roy Orbison
From: S.J. Dibai
13. Re: Roy Orbison's "There Won't Be Many..."
From: S.J. Dibai
14. Re: Joe Brown and Bizet
From: Richard Havers
15. Re: " Days Of Pearly Spencer"
From: Bill Mulvy
16. "Now That You're My Baby" featuring Toni Wine, the Chiffons, Carole King and the Cookies
From: Mick Patrick
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:29:08 -0500
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Patty Michaels' "Mrs. Johnny" now at musica
>From John Grecco and my recent article on Patty Michaels:
> Produced by Helen Miller ... - and co-written by Miller and Pam Sawyer
> (the latter under the name "P. Mersey"), ["Mrs. Johnny"] is a frothy
> girl group gem. Intro'd, in the now-classic Shangri-Las style, with a
> whispered girls' room mini-dialogue, the sentiment of lines such as
> "Then and there he changed my life / I knew someday I'd be his wife"
> are pure cheerleader fluff, but Miller's tracks sparkle, and Patty's
> singing perfectly captures the song's ambivalence between adolescent
> dreaminess and grown-up desire.
Now at musica:
"Mrs. Johnny"
Now at Spectropop:
Lavender Girl: The Patty Michaels Story
http://www.spectropop.com/PattyMichaels
--Phil M.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 14:09:32 -0800
From: Jim Fisher
Subject: Roy Orbison & "It's Over"
Rob Pingel:
> Sometime in the late 70's I was surprised to see that Roy Orbison was
> booked to play the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium... Oh my God. String
> section, background singers, full band, and a great percussion player
> who looked like he was having the time of his life. To everyone's
> amazement, Orbison had not lost one iota of power or majesty in his
> voice. He stood in the middle of the stage, and blew everyone away
> with one devastating mini-opera after another. Each sounded exactly
> like the recorded versions, only BIGGER...
I envy you for having seen Roy in such fine voice, esp. doing "It's
Over". Anyone happen to see the movie "Little Voice" a few years back?
The last scene has Michael Caine doing a version of "It's Over" that
simply has to heard to be believed..yes, it's that Michael Caine. Try
and rent the movie, it's a good pic' and MC's belting out the song is
worth the price of admission anyway. (Maybe just don't rent it from
Blockbuster.)
Jim.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 15:36:04 -0800 (PST)
From: David Coyle
Subject: Re: "Beyond The Sea" review
Mike Edwards:
> On a trivia note, Tayfun Bademsoy plays the part of Ahmet Ertegun
> (one of the biggies at Atlantic Records at the time) but that part
> was played by Curtis Armstrong in the recent film, "Ray". But, who'd
> have thought: two big films featuring the character of Ahmet Ertegun
> released within a couple of months in 2004. Spectropop heaven indeed!
That's what you get when you have two film biographies concerning
Atlantic/Atco artists! At least they didn't come up with some
fictional composite in place of Ertegun, the way they fictionalized
just about everyone else but Buddy in "The Buddy Holly Story."
I tell ya, rock and roll biofilms have come a long way since then.
Funny that you would have such good things to say about the song and
dance sequences. Most reviews I've read have razzed more on that
aspect of the film than Spacey's age and vanity.
I would compare "Beyond The Sea" to a lot of '50s/'60s rock/pop movie
musicals in that it seems to be a collection of performances linked
together by a little bit of plot. Does most of this movie work as an
actual biographical film, or is it all centered around the "movie
within a movie" gimmick?
I got a chance to sample more of the soundtrack CD the other day, and
I was impressed by the authentic vocal portrayal and attention to the
original arrangements for the most part, but I was mostly offput by
the duet between "Bobby" and "young Bobby" on the closing version of
"As Long As I'm Singing." It just reminds me of the reasons I've
hesitated on seeing the movie (plus it hasn't played in my hometown...
"Ray" was in the theatre for a weekend and disappeared).
Until the DVD comes out, I may just stay with A&E's excellent
"Biography" of Darin from a few years back, which is one of the two
main factors that influenced my belated appreciation of Darin.
David
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 15:40:17 -0800 (PST)
From: David Coyle
Subject: A funny Darin/Spacey-related story
This is my last word on the Darin vs. Spacey thing before any posts
about the subject are lumped into a "let's get this thread over with"
compilation...
I was watching a TV Land rerun of "The Flip Wilson Show" not too long
ago, which featured Bobby Darin as a guest. Wilson and Darin were in
a non-musical skit when my fiancee came in out of the shower. I
pointed at the TV and said "You know, Kevin Spacey's going to be
playing that guy in a movie." She gave me this quizzical look, and
said "Ooookay..." in her usual way (I get that a lot).
I soon found out that she thought I was putting her on and that she
was actually seeing Kevin Spacey on the screen to begin with.
David
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 00:52:22 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Three almost-made-it tales; Dylan & The Shadows; common knowledge
There must be hundreds if not thousands of "almost nearly but not quite"
stories out there, yet each one carries with it a certain different
angle. Seems I missed a digest, and thus missed at least three of these,
all well worth checking out.
Compliments to "The Patty Michaels Story," as usual, well-written and
researched by John Grecco and Phil Milstein. Thanks for shining a
spotlight into this corner, guys.
Frank J's "Steff story" reminds me that somewhere in my collection there
may be a copy of "Where Did She Go," which I'll now have to dig out and
play again....
And the Washington Post's Carolyn Hester article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2434-2005Jan11.html
is exceptional as well - in her case, sooooo close but still no golden
ring. And Dan Hughes, your login ID, screwthepost [at] marketingslags.com,
and password, "slag," worked like a charm. (It's amazing their
"electronic brain" doesn't pick up on stuff like that!
Bob Celli:
> ...could [I] supply pics of Bobby Vee and the Shadows from 1959,
> the period where Dylan was in the group for a few gigs....Dylan
> had talked about his connection with Vee during his days in
> Fargo at length during nine hours of interviews.
Has this been mentioned here before? Or is this more "common knowledge"
that I've completely missed? What a combination! I wonder if this might
help lead to some kind of Bobby Vee Revival.
Davie Gordon:
> ...[I]f I have X amount of cash and there's two records in front
> of me I'll invariably go for the more obscure one on the basis of
> "If I don't get this now I might never see it again" especially
> if it's a "bargain". Probably how I ended up with a lot of
> mediocre Motown albums from the eighties and none of Stevie
> Wonder's eighties stuff. That's record collectors' psychology for
> you.
Amen, Davie. In a recent trivia contest (where my team came in 2nd), I
came to the realization that most folks who do that kind of stuff know
a lot of obscure stuff about mainstream things. I - and probably lots of
us - know a lot of obscure stuff about *obscure* things. I'm finally
coming to accept that about myself. It manifests itself in my collection
by the gaping holes where the huge mainstream hits should be. I'm coming
to accept that, too.
Finally, a friend, Gabby Parsons, Music Director of WMMM, Madison, WI,
turned me on to a new female duo. If you haven't yet done so, or aren't
familiar with them, check out www.thedittybops.com.
The happily-obscure
Country Paul
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:03:21 +0100
From: Stephane Rebeschini
Subject: Re: French recordings
Dave Monroe a écrit:
> There have also been a couple of English-language Francoise Hardy LPs,
> there, mostly featuring translations of her Francophone hits which--
> and I know there are differeing opinions on this here--lose some of
> their charm in translation, but her "Catch a Falling Star" (I have a
> 45 on Pye), of which I know of no French version, is fantastic. Any
> other attempts to break ye-ye, French pop, whatever, in the UK/US?
In the 60's, US record labels seem to have focused on french singers
for "adults" : Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu, Yves Montand...
Few french pop/yeye tracks were released in the US then, and it's quite
easy to understand as lots of french ye-ye were covers of US hits.
Apart from Francoise Hardy, one of the few was Michel Polnareff , whose
records were released by Kapp/Four Corners Of The World in the US circa
1966/68. Great tracks, but commercial flops in the US.
There's also Claudine Longet, who is French, but her records were
recorded/released in the US and she was unknown in France
Bonen journée!
Stephane
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 13:01:08 +0000
From: Simon White
Subject: The Teardrops / Frankie Lymon
As far as I'm aware, The Teardrops "Here Comes Loneliness"
was originally released on a "Kent Anniversary" 45 in the UK
- however I'm now told that a new price Guide for Rare Soul
45s lists it as being on Saxony too.
All the information I have says it was unreleased until the
Kent 45 and then on the CD of Teardrops tracks. Can anyone
confirm that the Saxony 45 actually exists?
The same guide lists a late - mide 60's - Frankie Lymon 45
"I'm Sorry" on a label called (I think) "Big Apple". I know
this track was released on a CD too - but the 45 is rare....
apparently. Anyone have any information on it?
Simon White
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 19:56:24 -0000
From: Donny H
Subject: Re: The Chiffons' "Now That You're My Baby"
Donny H wrote:
> I just received my "Where The Girls Are, Vol 6" yesterday and it's
> a great CD. I was wondering why the Chiffons' "Every Boy And Every
> Girl" is in mono; the 1970 LP is stereo. Also, the recent posting
> to musica from the same LP of "Now That You're My Baby" is in mono,
> although for some reason I think that one sounds better in mono.
George Schowerer wrote:
> Donny: There is much confusion on some of these older sessions that
> WERE done mono. I was the engineer on "He's So Fine" (Chiffons),
> done at Allegro studios...and produced by Hank Medress/Tokens...yet
> recently I was told it was in stereo. Now, Allegro (at that time)
> wasn't stereo..so perhaps some of the older sessions were redone
> somewhere else (at a later date) in stereo in order to "update" the
> song to fit with newer stuff. In those days, there was only a fine
> line between demos and sessions for immediate release. I did 16
> candles (as a demo) at Regent sound...and to this date have never
> heard it in stereo because it wasn't originally done in stereo. Who
> knows..but there is definitely confusion on some of the older songs,
> since the original studio sessions did not have stereo equipment.
> Realize, however, that many of the original dates were simply done
> as a 45 record release mentality...without even a hint of future
> stereo release. That's why some early stuff remixes in stereo, is so
> lopsided in the "stereo" spread. We only had (at best), eight tracks
> to work with...so much overdubbing was done and channels had to be
> mixed together before the final mix was accomplished....and all the
> while, only a mono release was the goal.
Thanks for the info. That explains why "Now That You're My Baby"
sounds so lopsided when mixed in stereo on the 1970 LP. The lead is
all on one side and the background vocals on the other. I think it
sounds better in the mono version that it was intended for.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 19:20:13 -0000
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: obscure Brazilian singer spotlight (Yvette)
For those of you interested in obscure Brazilian singers who sound
like Astrud Gilberto, I wanted to tell you that we posted a video
preview online on our website that might interest you.
http://www.zbconline.com/testpattern.html
Page down to the bottom for a video preview for the female singer
Yvette. She recorded in the 1960s and 1970s, releasing obscure
singles, appearing on some Brazilian various artist albums, and
recording some duets with Edu Lobo and Eduardo Conde.
If you enjoy vocalists like Astrud, check out the video preview and
tune in next Friday night (1/21/05) between 6-7PM EST at 90.3 FM in
the Boston area, or online at http://www.wzbc.org for a full hour of
her incredible music.
:Patrick
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 20:04:03 -0000
From: Julio Niño
Subject: More about "Je T´Aime" and Gainsbourg.
Hola Everybody.
Me about "Je T´Aime Moi Non Plus":
> The song was previously recorded by Serge with Brigitte Bardot
> (with an arrangement by Michel Colombier, I think), but it wasn´t
> released until many years after. I believe that the first time
> the hypnotic riff of the track was recorded was for the soundtrack
> of the film "The Coeurs Verts", in 1967.
Country Paul wrote:
> Julio. Is it good? As good as the hit? Is it in print? If not, any
> chance of playing it to musica? Por favor?? ("The Green Hearts"? Or
> am I missing an idiom in translation?)...
Hola Paul, the piece of the Original Soundtrack of " Les Coeurs Verts",
with the riff of "Je T´Aime " is included in the compilation "The
Cinema of Serge Gainsbourg", which contains compositions by Serge made
for films.
The version with B.B. has been released many times in several CDs.
Personally I prefer the version with Jane Birkin. I love Jane Birkin´s
voice, she often sings at her ranges limit and slightly out of tune,
which I find very sexy. I do not know why her singing always reminds
me of Billie Holiday.
Clark Besch about the same topic:
> Besides the sounds that, later, Donna Summer took to new heights, I
> always thought it was a cool second coming of "A Whiter Shade of
> Pale"!...
Hola Clark. That´s especially notorious in the version with Jane Birkin,
arranged by Arthur Greenslade. I´ve read somewhere that the organ in
this version was played by Alan Hawkshaw, (maybe someone can confirm or
deny this information), who in the liner notes of a RPM compilation
about his sixties and early seventies work declares that "A Winter
Shade of Pale" influenced him a lot and impelled him to play Hammond.
However, in the guitar and slower version included in the Soundtrack
of "Les Coeurs Verts", which I think was recorded in 1966 (earlier
than the release of "A Winter Shade Of Pale"), although the melody is
identical it doesn´t remind so strongly of the Procul Harum´s track.
I think both songs ("A Winter shade..." and "Je T´Aime..") have a
certain classic flavor, I don´t know if they are based on some
classical piece.
Serge was responsible for one of my first aesthetic-erotic memories:
In the early Eighties on a Saturday morning I was in bed with my
little sister, she was around ten or eleven, watching music videos on
TV. Among the many insipid clips we were fascinated by was a video of
Serge with his daughter Charlotte singing "Lemon Incest". They were
surrounded by a cardboard set representing Hell, and they were romping
on a leather bed while they were singing. He was wearing only blue
jeans and Charlotte just blue panties. Charlotte was then around
thirteen or fourteen. My sister and me found that very amusing and
laughed quite a lot. Charlotte released a LP with Serge compositions
that I like very much.
Chao.
Julio Niño.
PS: I want to thank Tom D. and Jeff Lemlich for the great tracks
played in musica. I particularly enjoyed the faux-mexican touch of
the Kenny Young´s demo. Kenny has a really exciting and changing voice.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 21:02:39 +0000
From: Frank Murphy
Subject: English Amps
Phil M:
> And yet the English came up with the Marshall amp. Was that just
> a matter of the corner on post-War austerity having finally been
> turned?
It was the guitars that were the problem. Burns Guitars were the
only manufacturer of note. Due to the fascination with radio
technology, the training in electronic engineering in the armed
forces and a fairly vibrant Hi Fi Industry there were people who
mad pretty good amps. WEM , Selmer and Vox had already estblished
pretty good reputations before Jim Marshall came along. Here's a
potted bio: http://www.blamepro.com/mar/jim.htm
FrankM
reflections on northern soul Saturday's two thirty pm
http://www.radiomagnetic.com or listen to an archive show
http://www.radiomagnetic.com/archive/index.php?genre=&show=65
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 21:55:16 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: Re: Roy Orbison
Artie Wayne:
> Rob... You said that the version of "It's Over" that's used on the
> Blockbuster commercial is a Roy Orbison soundalike. It sounds to me
> like Roy in a rerecorded version...in his later years.
I'm with you on this one, Artie. I've listened closely to it and I
would guess it's one of those re-recordings he did for Virgin
Records in the late '80s.
Speaking of Roy Orbison, any fans of his who don't have the video
entitled "Roy Orbison: The Anthology" should pick it up. I recently
borrowed the VHS edition from the library and loved it so much I
bought the DVD. It's got a bunch of filmed performances--some live,
some lip-synched to records, many of them rare and hard to come by.
In addition to the hits, we get to see him doing songs you wouldn't
expect, like "Walk On," "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again," and "Wild
Hearts." Plus, there are all sorts of comments about Roy from a
diverse array of music industry figures, some expected (k.d. lang,
Jeff Lynne, Bono, all of whom Roy worked with), some surprising (The
Bee Gees, Bernie Taupin, Robert Plant!). And these are not just "Roy
was great"--these are really meaningful, insightful observations
about Roy's talent and contributions. A wonderful video.
Rob and Phil, you guys made my day with your stories about Roy's
concert performances. Let's face it--for a brilliant talent, Roy hit
a lot of points in his life where he wasn't at the top of his game.
He had some serious personal tragedies, which always affected his
musicianship and songcraft, and he didn't take such good care of
himself physically, which certainly came through sometimes. But when
he was good, he was GOOD, and when he was great....
S.J. Dibai
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 22:08:08 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: Re: Roy Orbison's "There Won't Be Many..."
Clark Besch:
> "There Won't be Many Coming Home" is just an amazing piece that
> unfortunately is still a real theme for today. GREAT song sang
> in a very heartfelt way.
Well, I really have stirred up some Orbison-related converstaion
here! Sorry if I missed anything anyone else said. "There Won't Be
Many" was anthologized on the Australian CD "Communication
Breakdown: The MGM Years," from Raven Records. In the liner notes,
Glenn A. Baker names it as one of Roy's Aussie hits. I know it was
also issued as an A-side in the UK and if I remember correctly, (a)
it was released in lieu of the "Communication Breakdown" single, and
(b) it hit the top 20. I recall reading that Roy said the song was
about the US Civil War (as it was written for his movie, which took
place during that war), acknowledging that people who heard it out
of context probably thought it was about Vietnam. I don't know where
that statement came from, but the exact quotation appears in Alan
Clayson's dreafully written (but informative) bio "Only The Lonely."
S.J. Dibai
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 22:08:53 +0000
From: Richard Havers
Subject: Re: Joe Brown and Bizet
David Coyle wrote:
> (Joe) Brown puts on an acoustic guitar and introduces the number
> as being from Bizet's "Carmen" and the title sounds like
> "Sep-guid-i-gus." He apparently mispronounces it as one of the
> Bruvvers shouts out "It's Sep-guid-i-tus, you nit!" I've not been
> able to find the actual title or spelling. Can anyone help?
Pretty close David. It is Seguidilla from the opera Carmen as well as
in Bizet's Suite No.1 from the opera.
Richard
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 10:54:16 -0600
From: Bill Mulvy
Subject: Re: " Days Of Pearly Spencer"
Jesse:
> ... and, from Italy, Caterina Caselli (who did great versions of
> "The Days Of Pearly Spencer"...
The Grass Roots did a good version of "The Days Of Pearly Spencer" on
the "Lovin Things" album. Sung in English, of course.
Bill Mulvy
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2005 10:37:12 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: "Now That You're My Baby" featuring Toni Wine, the Chiffons, Carole King and the Cookies
Attention Carole King fans - this just in from Allan Rinde and Toni
Wine on "Now That You're My Baby":
Thanks so much for this. It is indeed Toni singing. She says she
remembers it like it was cut yesterday, standing behind me singing
along with every lick, and she especially wants you to know (which
no one else does) that the very last line, "Nobody's gonna get you,"
was a last minute suggestion from Carole King, as she picked Gerry
and her up to go to lunch...
Donny H wrote:
> I just received my "Where The Girls Are, Vol 6" yesterday and it's
> a great CD. I was wondering why the Chiffons' "Every Boy And Every
> Girl" is in mono; the 1970 LP is stereo. Also, the recent posting
> to musica from the same LP of "Now That You're My Baby" is in mono,
> although for some reason I think that one sounds better in mono.
George Schowerer wrote:
> ... some of these older sessions ... WERE done mono. I was the
> engineer on "He's So Fine" (Chiffons), done at Allegro studios...
> and produced by Hank Medress/Tokens...yet recently I was told it
> was in stereo. Now, Allegro (at that time) wasn't stereo..so
> perhaps some of the older sessions were redone somewhere else (at
> a later date) in stereo in order to "update" the song to fit with
> newer stuff.
George, is it possible that the version of "He's So Fine" you
engineered was the group's original mono demo version, rather than
the Laurie 45? The track IS available in stereo, and that is the
exact same recording as the original mono 45, NOT a re-recording.
Just wondered.
George:
> In those days, there was only a fine line between demos and
> sessions for immediate release... Realize, however, that many of
> the original dates were simply done as a 45 record release
> mentality...without even a hint of future stereo release. That's
> why some early stuff remixes in stereo, is so lopsided in the
> "stereo" spread.
Donny:
> Thanks for the info. That explains why "Now That You're My Baby"
> sounds so lopsided when mixed in stereo on the 1970 LP. The lead
> is all on one side and the background vocals on the other. I think
> it sounds better in the mono version that it was intended for.
Ace Records used the mono version of the Chiffons' "Every Boy And
Every Girl" on the "Where The Girls Are, Vol 6" CD because it
sounded better than the mono version. I do have the group's "My
Secret Love" LP on BT Puppy. Yes, it's stereo, but stereo mp3s take
up too much valuable space at musica. That's why I posted a mono
version of "Now That You're My Baby".
Allan Rinde:
> ... "Now That You're My Baby" thread. That is indeed Toni's demo,
> and one of her favorite performances. She's also doing some backup
> on the Chiffons record (although she doesn't particularly remember
> the session so it's possible those vocals were from the demo as
> well.) She does have vague memories of cutting this with the
> Cookies, although it's not on The Complete Cookies CD. Anyone have
> info on this?
How fascinating! The next time I listened to the Chiffons' version
of "Now That You're My Baby", it dawned on me that, while it is very
obviously Judy Craig on lead, the backing vocals sound more like the
Cookies than the Chiffons. It looks like Toni's vague memory is
correct. If the Cookies did do a version of the song, it has never
surfaced. But even without it, that "Complete Cookies" CD is not
complete.
For those who haven't heard it, Toni Wine's demo of "Now That You're
My Baby" is still playing at musica, as is the Chiffons' BT Puppy
version.
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
End
