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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 10 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. This Week's Finds
From: James Botticelli
2. Smokey Robinson question
From: Max Weiner
3. Re: obscure Bacharach-David search
From: Phil X Milstein
4. Re: Vogues on Reprise
From: Paul Urbahns
5. Re: The Essex
From: Bob Rashkow
6. Re: C&W & R&B
From: Clark Besch
7. Re: The House On Top Of The World.
From: Steve
8. Re: "The Way Of Love"
From: Andrea Ogarrio
9. Re: "Crystal Clear" -- NOT
From: Dan Nowicki
10. Re: "Martha"; Coed
From: Country Paul
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 21:36:41 -0400
From: James Botticelli
Subject: This Week's Finds
Your Rekkid Detective was diggin' through some more boxes this week.
Sporting his drug store 1.75s he scoped the grooves and labels to another
batch of 45s. Herewith ... the findings!
Mala: Ronny & The Daytonas -- Somebody To Love Me / Goodbye Baby
I always had a soft spot for the poor man's Beach Boys. And always
wanted another ballad by them along the lines of "Sandy." Well, this
is the rekkid I've wanted.
Kama Sutra: The Innocence -- The Day Turns Me On / It's Not Gonna Take
Too Long
Gotta thank Richard Havers for turning me onto this gem a couple of
years back. Rumored to also be The Tradewinds, I really like all of this
group's output ... and this one is soft pop extraordinaire!
Capitol: Brian Wilson -- Caroline No / Summer Means New Love
"Summer Means New Love" is a fantastic instrumental and the reason I
bought this record, although Caroline No is one of the best ever. And
it's artist-credited only to "Brian Wilson." Go figure.
Dolton: The Five Whispers -- Midnight Sun / Moon In The Afternoon
Great Instro -- Ventures meet Santo & Johnny type of sound. "Midnight ..."
is a ballad and has that great sliding guitar sound, with nice echoes and
reverb.
Capitol: Wayne Newton -- Comin On Too Strong
This is the Wayne record that Gary Usher wrote and Terry Melcher (RIP)
arranged. Sounds for all the world like a Beach Boys record but with Wayne
singing. Which is a good thing at this address.
MGM: Lou Christie -- If My Car Could Only Talk / Song Of Lita
Produced and arranged by Jack Nitzsche. While the guy at the counter
was cashing me out I asked him if his cash register could talk, what IT
would say!
Musicor: Teardrops -- Tears Come Tumbling / You Won't Be There
Can you go wrong with a Musicor 45? Not in my lifetime! Anyway this is
great girl-group pop from a group I hadn't heard of.
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 13:12:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: Max Weiner
Subject: Smokey Robinson question
I have a question for any of the Motown experts out there. Sometime in the
late sixties Smokey Robinson & The Miracles did a song called (I think) "I
Don't Blame You At All." The only lyrics I can remember are "I don't blame
you at all, 'cause you played it cool". I can't remember if it came out prior
to "Tears Of A Clown" or after, but it was in roughly the same period. I
was still in Chicago at the time, and remember hearing the song on WLS, and
on the jukeboxes at the hot dog stands across from Lane Tech. (Mr. Holvay,
I know you know THAT area! Clark Besch, you would probably know this one as
well.) If anyone could tell me what album it is on, I would appreciate it.
Thanks much in advance!
Mac
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 12:13:16 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Re: obscure Bacharach-David search
Rob Pingel wrote:
> Would like some confirmation that the record "Living Without Love"
> by Art Smalley is Bacharach-David composition. It was released on
> Epic records in the early '60s.
> Am also trying to find out if the song "Move Over and Make Room
> for Me" (Bacharach-David) was ever recorded. I discovered this
> title in a songbook of Bacharach-David material published by
> Aaron Schroeder enterprises. Perhaps an artist on Musicor gave
> it a shot.
I don't find either title in Serene Dominic's "Burt Bacharach: Song By
Song." It's possible one or both is in there and I simply overlooked it,
but I did scan it pretty thoroughly. Unfortunately the book does not
have an index.
--Phil M.
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 20:54:08 -0400
From: Paul Urbahns
Subject: Re: Vogues on Reprise
Bill Mulvy wrote:
> It's too bad those overdub versions were never released
> on CD. "Magic Town" sounds very powerful with the
> embellishments. I much prefer it to the "unadorned"
> version.
I know there is a lot of difference of opinion on the Reprise remixes,
but I agree that the additional instrumentaion was just the type of thing
a small label like Co & Ce could not afford. Actually the Vogues Greatest
Hits album on Reprise had one original song on it, "See That Girl," which
does not appear on any of their other Reprise albums. That was one good
thing about Reprise, if you purchased the greatest hits it was not 100%
duplication of the other Reprise releases like most labels.
A bit of trivia: did you know The Vogues recorded two different songs
set to the melody of Greensleeves while at Reprise? It's true.
Warner Brothers in Japan did include the three Reprise versions of the
Co & Ce hits on a legal CD, which I have and it sounds great!
Paul Urbahns
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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 00:21:31 EDT
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Re: The Essex
"Easier Said Than Done" truly is a classic. I love every record Anita Humes
and the guys ever did, but I think what I like best on their biggest seller is
all the possibilities for harmony within such a narrow range of notes on the
cha-cha-like "...said than done..." part. And, yes, that oh-so-catchy beat
that made it such a delight to dance to, that "boom-boom twank-twank boom-boom
twank-twank", used again on "Walkin' Miracle" to almost as good an advantage!
Bobster
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 15:40:23 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: C&W & R&B
Austin Roberts wrote:
> ... To me the bottom line is, a good song is a good
> song. Country used to be more C&W, but with the Urban
> Cowboy phase of the '80s and > '90s and today, sometimes
> it's hard to pinpoint if a CD is more pop or country;
> it's usually decided by how it's merchandised.
Austin, you are SO RIGHT on this. I first think of a couple of Glen
Campbell '80s examples. I think his "I'm Gonna Love You" could be a
hit today, except it seems country music has to be young stars only
(just like pop). In the '60s you had the old vets (Grandpa Jones,
etc.) selling just like the young Roger Millers. However, the equally
great '80s 45, "It's A Sin When You Love Somebody," probably wouldn't
be a hit today.
How 'bout Dickie Lee? He was never considered a country star, yet
his "Patches" from the early '60s, and his great "Red Green Yellow And
Blue" from the late '60s could have been big country hits. He FINALLY
had a big crossover with the great "9,999,999 Tears" in the '70s when
it was odd to have such a hit -- amid disco!
Paul Davis a country star? Yet, "I Go Crazy" could be similar to the
recent hit "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa," don't you think? Or
"Do Right" or "Sweet Life" by Paul? Yet, "Ride 'Em Cowboy" would never
fly today with this country crowd. Of course his two great '76 hits,
"Superstar" and "Thinking Of You" have no sound of country, so where
would that leave him?
Anyway, I have said to Alan Gordon that the recent Chris Cagle hit
"What A Beautiful Day," is like a current-day "Happy Together". Just
a great feel-good singalong. Music sure has changed and in some ways
it hasn't.
Clark
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 01:35:25 -0000
From: Steve
Subject: Re: The House On Top Of The World.
Ignacio wrote:
> I love that song. Pino's original is marvelous but perhaps
> I like even more Mina's version, also recorded in 1966 on
> the Italian label Curci. It's terrifyingly beautiful. The Italian
> lyrics written by Vito Pallavicini are magnificent and very
> moving. How are the English lyrics?
The lyrics aren't too bad -- Norman Newell was usually pretty good at
reinterpreting some of those Italian songs. Lyrically it's about finding
a place far away from pain and sorrow ("A World Of Our Own"?).
A home -- to live
A home -- to love in
A window with a rainbow
We'll see the tears of rain go
As I share ever more with you
It made me wish someone with more oomph than the Ray Charles Singers
had recorded it.
And yes, I agree -- Mina's version is the ultimate. I can't understand
the lyrics but it's that voice that gets me every time!
I also noted the "Another Wall Of Soundalikes" at the Ace website. What
are we hoping will be on it?
Cheers,
Steve
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 19:44:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Andrea Ogarrio
Subject: Re: "The Way Of Love"
Gary Myers wrote:
> I've always wondered why neither Kirby's or Cher's didn't
> make a simple lyric change to avoid the gay implication.
> The whole song sounds like a woman giving advice to
> another woman ("when you meet a boy," etc.), but ends with
> "what will you do when he sets you free, the way that *YOU*
> said goodbye to me."
No lyric change needed. It seems to me that the song is sung from
the point of view of a mother to a daughter who has left the nest.
Andrea Ogarrio
The Rapiers - champions of utterly cool,
early '60s UK rock 'n' roll
http://www.rapiers.net
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 01:12:33 EDT
From: Dan Nowicki
Subject: Re: "Crystal Clear" -- NOT
Peter Lerner wrote:
> Pres drew attention to the interesting "new" Jackie DeShannon
> CD and didn't say that the compilers chickened out on Track 21
> at the last minute, substituting "Put A Little Love In Your Heart"
> for "Crystal Clear", but forgetting to amend the sleeve listing.
What a disappointment. I have been waiting a long time for Jackie's cover of
Mike Condello's "Crystal Clear" to make it to CD. Come to think of it, I've
been waiting even longer for Condello's original version (a local hit here in
Phoenix, his home town) on Scepter to get digitalized.
Dan Nowicki
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 01:22:06 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Re: "Martha"; Coed
Joop wrote:
> I think the "Martha" you mean was composed in 1844 by the
> German composer Friedrich von Flotow (1812-1883). Larry
> Clinton had a no. 2 US hit with his cover-version of "Martha"
> in 1938. The Crew-Cuts renamed it "Mostly Martha" and had
> a hit in 1955.
Thanks, Joop; I should have known Flotow, being a music major in college.
(Of course, if I'd paid as much attention to my classes as I did to the
current music scene, I would have had an entirely different life!)
> And then you had a question about the artist who did "Magic
> Lover". Well that artist is MICHAEL WESLEY, who recorded his
> version in 1959 as the B-side of "Will You Love Me" (Columbia
> 4-41478)
I hadn't realized it was a flip side; it had always been my favorite. Thanks
for the update. Glad you're aboard; your knowledge is a great asset to this
group!
Mike Edwards wrote:
> Adam Wade is responsible for one of the very best Popcorn
> tunes, Bacharach-David's "Rain From Skies" (Epic, 1963). It
> ranks up there with Sam Fletcher's "I'd Think It Over Twice"
> (Tollie, 1964) and Nancy Wilson's superb take on Van McCoy's
> "Where Does That Leave Me" (Capitol, 1965).
I always knew Wade primarily for "Tell Her For Me," a sort of Johnny Mathis
clone that was a fair-sized hit on Coed. I didn't know of his extensive
"popcorn" career afterward. Also, you mention Sam Fletcher; I have his "Tall
Hope" on RCA (late '50s) which was very good if somewhat middle-road, but I
know nothing else about him, although in checking him out on-line I see the
song you mention was used in an AXA commercial in 2003, apparently in the
UK.
Also, Mike, thanks for the Coed CD info. I'll check Amazon for it.
Country Paul
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