________________________________________________________________________
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______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Beatles-related girl group songs
From: Andres
2. Sunday Night with Simon White
From: Simon White
3. Re: Larry Henley
From: Clark
4. Andy Pratt catch-up; fake Shangri-Las
From: Phil Milstein
5. Johnny Marr on Phil Spector
From: Patrick Rands
6. Need info on song
From: Jeffrey Glenn
7. Sha-na-na-welcome
From: Kingsley Abbott
8. Music to file fretted feet by
From: Jack Madani
9. Re: Looking Glass song
From: Eddy
10. Beatles-related girl-group songs
From: Ian Chapman
11. Re: Looking Glass
From: Martin Roberts
12. Sha Na Na
From: Stewart Mason
13. Sha Na Na; Extremes
From: Country Paul
14. Nick and Nitz
From: Martin Roberts
15. Re: The Planotones' Angel Rissoff
From: Jeff Lemlich
16. Re: Larry Henley/Dan Folger songs
From: Jeff Lemlich
17. Re: Beatle-related songs.
From: Guy Lawrence
18. I know that record!
From: Bob Rashkow
19. Re:The Strangeloves
From: Guy Lawrence
20. Re: Extremes
From: Jeffrey Glenn
21. Re: Beatles-related girl-group songs
From: Andres
22. Re: Feathers
From: Simon White
23. Re: Four Seasons remixes
From: Billy G. Spradlin
24. Re: Looking Glass song
From: Rat Pfink
25. Nick DeCaro CD
From: Bill Reed
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 12:08:51 -0000
From: Andres
Subject: Beatles-related girl group songs
Hi everybody, I am a newcomer
I am a great lover of girl groups of the 60s (especially
interested in Beatles-related songs). Could you help me
with the lyrics to the song "We Love The Beatles" by the
Vernons Girls?
And one more thing - does anybody know whether the
Carefrees were just a group (trio?) of Beatles fans or
were they professional singers/musicians ?
Thank you
Andres
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 12:36:39 -0000
From: Simon White
Subject: Sunday Night with Simon White
Thanks to all who listened in and emailed.
For those who didn't, here's what you missed:
smokey robinson you must be love
eddie holman stay mine for heaven's sake
madeline bell I cant wait to see my baby's face
the tymes this time it's love
phonetics just a boy's dream
the astors candy
the feathers trying to get to you
obrey wilson you don't love me
laura lee are you doing me wrong
earl wright them love blues
lee roye tears
the moments nine times
walter jenkins back in my life
gwen owens you better watch out
martha reeves always something there to remind me
herbie mann philly dog
the allen sisters downtown crowd
the volcanos storm warning
larry clinton wanted in three states
the fantastic johnny c look what love can make you do
the fantastic johnny c don't depend on me
lisa curtis I feel love coming on
darlene love lord if you're a woman
darlene love too late to say you're sorry
barbara mills make it last (take your time)
kim weston you're just the kind of guy
the pussycats I want your love
alfreda brockington spilt milk
four tops shake me wake me
sonny stitt lovers' concerto
jean carne my baby loves me
jean carne if you wanna go back
fabulous kayes it's too late
big al downing bring your good loving home
ketty lester nice and easy
patti drew stop and listen
bobby freeman cross my heart
claude 'baby' huey drifting
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 08:49:22 EST
From: Clark
Subject: Re: Larry Henley
Bill George wrote:
> Larry Henley recorded some songs written by Dan Folger.
> Does anyone have copies of "His Girl", "Bring Back the
> Good Times" or "I've Been A Long Time Loving You"? These
> were possibly recorded on Hickory Records.
Bill, are those Larry Henley songs on the Sequel CD? I have
it and there are several solo 45s on it. I have a Joe Melson
import 45, but don't remember what the title is.
Take care,
Clark
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 09:05:38 +0000
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Andy Pratt catch-up; fake Shangri-Las
Country Paul wrote:
> Phil, do you have links to any of those, or any other
> info to share?
Go to http://www.boston.com/globe/search/ and search for
"andy pratt" and (to weed out some false hits) "pratt
institute." Make sure you select "past year," as the main
story appeared in October. Since then I've seen a few little
blurbs for upcoming gigs, but the main article provides a
fairly thorough catch-up on him. Warning: I believe the
Globe (as well as most U.S. papers) charges a few bucks to
retrieve articles from its online archives. But the hit you
get will also provide a cover date, if you'd prefer to search
it out at your local library. I believe it appeared in the
Thursday Calendar pull-out section.
> I see they're appearing in Flushing, NY
> April 5th with the Shangri Las's! So who's in the
> Shangri La's these days?
I assume this will be one of the fake Shangri-Las. A
management group is believed to be licensing the rights to
the name from the Weiss sisters. I don't know what sort
of performance they give nowadays, but at one point at least,
one of the fake SL versions was lip-synching to the original
group's hits, which they would introduce as "our" hits.
Caveat emptor.
--Phil M.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 14:35:31 -0000
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: Johnny Marr on Phil Spector
Any Smiths fans ?
Here's a short trancsript with Johnny Marr's impressions of
Phil Spector:
http://www.morrissey-solo.com/news/1999/408.shtml
:Patrick
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 06:48:28 -0800
From: Jeffrey Glenn
Subject: Need info on song
I've just played to musica an mp3 for which I'm looking
for more info.
It's "If I Never Love Again" by Looking Glass. It really
sounds like a 1966/67 Curt Boettcher production - and sounds
like he could be singing on it as well - but I can't find any
info on it. Running the title through ASCAP and BMI reveals
a song of this title by Barry De Vorzon and Raul Abeyta which
seems a likely suspect (and would provide a link to Boettcher).
And is this the same group that Gary Zekley produced in 1967
("Virginia Day's Ragtime Memories"/"What Am I Doing Crying"
on UNI 55024)? Help!
By the way, it's a great song. :-)
Jeff
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 15:56:14 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Sha-na-na-welcome
Good to welcome George's posting about Sha Na Na.
I well recall the first time I saw the band on TV - loved
the theatricality of it all - Bowser (sp?), The Gold Captain
and all the rest - At last there was someone who remembered
Rock & Roll was FUN and some of it shouldn't be taken
too seriously. Well done to all involved!
I do remember seeing a cheap CD recently of the band
that had audio and I believe a complete video show as well.
Don't know if it was a legit item, but would probably be fun
to see.
Kingsley
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 23:06:36 -0500
From: Jack Madani
Subject: Music to file fretted feet by
Stuart Miller wrote:
> Jack M, Sorry if I was a bit harsh about Russell T.
> Obviously from my words, he isn't one of my favourites.
Nah, not too harsh at all. I only wanted to disagree with you
a little on the relative strengths of the Delfonics and the
Stylistics, while still leaving room for personal preferences.
From: Steve Harvey
> Jack, You must be incredibly talented to play the
> violin with only one foot! What do you fret with?
Actually, Steve, I try not to fret too much, which is why I
have so few wrinkles.
Mick Patrick sed:
>P.S. Jack, how's your foot?
Comin' along, Mick, thanks.
And now, here is the song list of the two cd's worth of tunes
I listened to on my portable cd player as the surgery progressed,
with the volume turned desperately loud so's I wouldn't have to
hear what was going on(unfortunately, when they hammer away at
your foot bones, the sounds get transmitted all the way up your
skeleton to your skull). It's not exactly like I was William
Bendix in "Life Boat," but hey, one does what one can.
1. Chapel Of Love---The Dixie Cups
2. I Wanna Love Him So Bad---The Jelly Beans
3. People Say---The Dixie Cups
4. Remember (Walkin In The Sand)---The Shangri-Las
5. Good Night Baby---The Butterflys
6. Baby Be Mine---The Jelly Beans
7. Leader Of The Pack---The Shangri-Las
8. You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me---The Dixie Cups
9. Give Him A Great Big Kiss---The Shangri-Las
10. The Boy From New York City---The Ad Libs
11. Iko Iko---The Dixie Cups
12. He Ain't No Angel---The Ad-Libs
13. I Can Never Go Home Anymore---The Shangri-Las
14. Sally, Go 'Round The Roses---The Jaynetts
15. Party Lights---Claudine Clark
16. My Boyfriend's Back--The Angels
17. The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)---Betty Everett
18. He's Mine ---The Swans
19. Let Me In---The Sensations
20. I Can't Let Go---Evie Sands
21. Get A Hold Of Yourself---The Persians
22. Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)---The Cinderellas
23. Lover Boy---The Blossoms
24. I Wonder---The Butterflys
25. The Kind Of Boy You Can
26. Come Back Baby---Roddie Joy
27. The Dum Dum Diddy---The Goodies
28. You Don't Know---Ellie Greenwich
29. Go Now---Bessie Banks
30. Gee Baby Gee---The Butterflys
31. He's So Easy To Love---Roddie Joy
32. Big Bad World---Cathy Saint
33. Gee, The Moon Is Shining Bright---The Dixie Cups
34. Take Me For A Little While---Evie Sands
35. Baby---Ellie Greenwich
36. Another Boy Like Mine---The Dixie Cups
37. Do Wah Diddy---The Jelly Beans
38. Dreamin' Of You---Noreen Corcoran
39. The East Side Of Town---Melinda Marx
40. Sophisticated Boom Boom---The Goodies
41. There He Goes---Yvonne Carroll
42. Snow Man---Peggy Sans
43. Welcome To My Heart---The Bouquets
44. Second Best---Barbara Jackson
45. Jerry (I'm Your Sherry)---Tracey Dey
46. Duchess Of Earl (stereo)---The Pearlettes
47. Cops And Robbers---Marie Gladness
48. A Little Tear---Linda Martell & The Anglos
49. Good Old Days---The Sunbeams
50. Big Mr. Heartbreaker---Marilyn Britton
51. Every Beat Of My Heart---(Gladys Knight &) The Pips
52. You Made A Fool Of Me---The Sensations
jack
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 17:18:52 +0100
From: Eddy
Subject: Re: Looking Glass song
Jeffrey Glenn wrote:
> I've just played to musica an mp3 for which I'm looking
> for more info.....It's "If I Never Love Again" by Looking
> Glass.
Isn't that song on one of their Epic albums ("The Looking Glass"
or "Subway Serenade")?
Eddy
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:36:21 -0000
From: Ian Chapman
Subject: Beatles-related girl-group songs
Andres wrote:
> Hi everybody, I am a newcomer. I am a great lover of girl
> groups of the 60s (especially interested in Beatles-related
> songs). Could you help me with the lyrics to the song "We
> Love The Beatles" by the Vernons Girls?
> And one more thing - does anybody know whether the
> Carefrees were just a group (trio?) of Beatles fans or
> were they professional singers/musicians ?
Welcome to Spectropop, Andres
In a way, you’re right on both counts - the Carefrees were a
'designer' group of professionals intended to *sound* like a
bunch of Beatles fans with "We Love You Beatles". They were
six British session singers: Johnny Evans, Don Riddell,
John Stevens, Lyn Cornell, Barbara Kay and Betty Prescott.
Before they became session regulars, the Don Riddell Four
had cut an instrumental "Casablanca", and both Betty and Lyn
had been members of the original Vernons Girls. Betty
subsequently joined the Breakaways while Lyn cut several
solo singles for Decca. Barbara Kay too cut some fine solo
singles for Pye. The Carefrees record (based on "We Love
You Conrad" from "Bye Bye Birdie") didn’t do a thing in the
UK, but got to #39 in the States in ‘64.
"We Love The Beatles" (different song) was done by the
second incarnation of the Vernons Girls, the trio that
carried on the name in 1962, after the original sixteen had
gone their separate ways. They were Maureen Kennedy,
Frances Lee and Jean Owen (aka Samantha Jones), who appeared
with the Beatles on several occasions, both on tour and on
TV - most memorably on the special "Around The Beatles". As
requested, Andres, here’s the lyrics – to be read of course,
in the broadest of Scouse accents..... :-)
Intro (spoken):
Who d’you like the best, Maureen?
Well, I think John’s the gear…
I think Paul’s fab…
Well Ringo’s a bit of alright, tho’, isn’t he?
Go on, it’s George….
Ah, be honest….
Chorus:
We love the Beatles
We love the Beatles
Yeah yeah yeah yeah……
There’s Johnny, Paul and gorgeous George and Ringo Starr,
And everyone in Britain knows how fab they are
We read about them in the papers every day,
Yes, we’re crazy ‘bout the Beatles and we’re glad to say:
(Chorus)
Now Johnny is the leader and he knocks us out,
The way he sings the melody on "Twist & Shout";
Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah, aaaah....
Paul and George are on guitar and sing along too,
Now Ringo fills the rhythm and they all shout "oooooooh!!"
(Chorus)
Oh how we adore them
We’d do anything for them
We’re mad about their haircuts and their crazy clothes
Dig everything about them from their heads to their toes
We’ve never felt like this before, so let’s explain to yer,
We’ve simply got...Beatlemania
(Chorus)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 17:08:22 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Re: Looking Glass
Hi Jeff,
Interesting posting. The Looking Glass track you played to
musica is the B Side "Silver And Sunshine (How Wonderful Is
Our Love)" (written by D. Addrisi/D.Addrisi, arranged by Don
Addrisi, produced by B. DeVorzon/D. Gallese) on the wonderful
Valiant label 750. The track you mentioned is the better A Side,
"If I Never Love Again" (written by DeVorzon/R. Abeyta, produced
by DeVorzon/Gallese, arranged by P. Botkin.Jr.). Can't help with
the Looking Glass on UNI though.
Martin
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 12:45:20 -0500
From: Stewart Mason
Subject: Sha Na Na
George Leonard writes:
> My brother Rob and I have been reading the posts for a
> while, impressed by the scholarship. This may be a good time
> to say hello, since there's a good piece this month about
> our old group, Sha Na Na, in Maxim's Blender (a glossy rock
> mag here in the USA-- you can get it in any supermarket), the
> edition with Mariah half naked on the cover. Page 36, "Life
> After Rock." Big picture of Rob. It covers my contribution too.
Good to have you aboard, George! Incidentally, one of my few
brushes with rock fame is that my first college English teacher
(at Texas Tech University in the late '80s) was your old cohort
Bruce "Bruno" Clarke!
Aside to Country Paul: sadly, Big 98.5 doesn't stream online
anymore. I'll keep you posted if that changes, though.
S
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 13:23:50 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Sha Na Na; Extremes
I wrote:
> Unlike most sites I've encountered, and considering the
> number of first-person participants here, if I read it here,
> it's probably true.
And then I see a post like George Leonard's. I've read both
his bio links:
http://www.georgeleonard.com/corrected.html
http://www.georgeleonard.com/shanana_columbia_today.html
and wonder how I can keep up with guys like this. I knew the
bare outline of the Sha Na Na story, so it's fascinating to
read the well-written first-person details. (In my smoke-fogged
memory, I seem to remember doing an interview with a couple of
the members at WHCN.) But as I am also a fan of 50's group
harmony music, I'll confess to a love/hate relationship with
Sha Na Na. I have great admiration for the group's innovation,
the phenomenon of their Woodstock appearance and subsequent
success, and their bringing the music to the attention of
audiences who may not have heard it otherwise. In contrast,
there's the "showbizzing" and slick packaging of what had
often been almost a folk music of the cities - doo-wop groups
on the corner or in the hallways creating music from the heart
that was, at its best, often profound in its zenlike simplicity.
I wonder if I could invite George to comment further on the
unintended consequences of Sha Na Na's success - the watering-down
of that music to attract a mass audience and the recreation of
the "the fifties" as Sha Na Na, "Grease," "Happy Days" et al.
Bill George, I have the Extremes 45, RCA 47-9009 (1965), both
sides produced by Felton Jarvis:
"Hide The Moon" (wr. Dan W. Folger) Acuff-Rose, BMI
"S.O.S." (wr. Marge Barton) Screen Gems-Columbia, BMI
Interestingly, "S.O.S." (which starts with those letters in
Morse Code played by a trumpet, but is actually "Sweet On Sally")
was the A-side, but suffers from being too cute by half, as well
as being excessively "busy." "Hide The Moon," on the other hand,
is far better - a very nice medium-uptempo song. One could hear
the Newbeats doing it, but the record would need much crisper
production (which wouldn't have hurt here, either). "Hide The Moon"
is definitely "the one that got away."
Country Paul
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 20:04:40 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Nick and Nitz
Country Paul wrote;
> See the Jack Nitzsche page for "record of next week" - my
> choice of Bonner sides would be the flip of the nominated
> track, the gorgeous "Me About You," but Gentle Soul's "Tell
> Me Love" is a major treat. (May I propose following these
> with Gentle Soul's "Our National Anthem", the 45 that never
> made it to an LP?)
Hi CP,
In the case of "Me About You", this is not arranged by Jack
- hope you're paying attention Bill! - but by Nick De Caro.
I'm unaware of the credits on Gentle Soul's "Our National
Anthem" but would be thrilled to add the track to the
discography if Jack is credited.
Martin
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Message: 15
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 20:09:17 -0000
From: Jeff Lemlich
Subject: Re: The Planotones' Angel Rissoff
Country Paul wrote:
> Incidentally, new to the Planotones are Angel Rissoff ("Little
> Leopold"), Frenchy Fediu and Johnny Gale, all of the late lamented
> Little Isidore & The Inquisitors.
Angel Rissoff was the lead singer of the Kollektion, and co-wrote
their classic 1967 psychedelic single "Savage Lost". He was also
briefly a part of Blues Image in 1968, and shares lead vocals on
their debut single with Mike Pinera ("Can't You Believe In Forever"
on the Image label). I've been in e-mail contact with Rissoff, so if
anyone has any questions for him, let me know.
Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 20:26:13 -0000
From: Jeff Lemlich
Subject: Re: Larry Henley/Dan Folger songs
Bill wrote:
> In the same line, does anyone have copies of the following Folger songs?
> "Weeping Annaleah" by Gordon Waller same song, by Dave Guard "Young
> Tears Don't Fall Forever" by The Graduates (rec. 68/69; prod by Charlie
> McCoy, Bobby Russell & Buzz Cason)
I have two of those Folger songs, but not by the artists you asked about.
What I have is:
Weeping Analeah - Sammy Hall (Parrot 332) (The first solo single by the
former vocalist of the Birdwatchers and Mor-Loks. The Birdwatchers appear
on the flip, but not on "Weeping Analeah".)
Young Tears Don't Fall Forever - Edie Walker (Rising Sons 713) (The A-side
of Edie's first national release, after a couple of 45s on the Florida-
based Mew label. The flip, "Good Guys", is one of the best-known Northern
soul cover-ups, probably better known by its cover-up artist, Patience
Valentine, than by the real artist).
Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com
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Message: 17
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 22:01:30 -0000
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Re: Beatle-related songs.
I would strongly advise anyone interested in Beatle novelty records
to check out the following CD:
"Better Than The Beatles" Knight Records kcd1003 ("26 Tunes That
Failed To Oust The Fab-Four From The Charts")
I'd been praying for a CD like this for years - a compilation of American
Beatle-inspired novelty records. It has the pro's ("I Want To Be A
Beatle"), the anti's ( "You Got Me Bugged") and lots more in between.
Several girl group tracks appear as do several Spectropop faves - Gary
Usher, David Axelrod, Ernie Maresca (whose geography is as bad as Jan &
Dean's!) and a pre-Rascals Gene Cornish with his "Unbeetables". 26 tracks
about Ringo, long hair, Liverpool and lame insect jokes makes a gruelling
listen in one go but it really captures the mood of those weeks when the
Fab Four held the American charts to ransom. Knight records don't appear
to have a website but plenty of online dealers are stocking it. I'll
happily provide anyone with more information if they contact me off-list.
Regards, Guy.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 17:33:38 -0500
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: I know that record!
Great to have you with us George Leonard. I also was not a
big fan of Sha Na Na in the 7Ts; however I can look back now
and see that they were an important part of the 'Bring Back
the 5Ts!' movement at that time; and it probably goes without
saying that their TV series compared to about 98% of what's
available today was pretty good.
OK since this isn't a TV group back to the topic at hand....
Jeff G, I had a copy of "If I Never Love Again" at one time.
Excellent voice and harmonies altho' didn't like it enough to
hold on to it. Wish I knew more; but Eddy S, one thing I can
say with certainty is that the "Brandy" & "Jimmy Loves Marianne"
Looking Glass on Epic is most assuredly not the same group as
the ones who recorded DeVorzon's song on Valiant.
Simon, you played a truly GREAT record which I also own,
"Tryin' To Get To You" by the Feathers on the Team label
--did this catch on at the Northern Soul clubs? It wouldn't
surprise me, it's a moderately fast, very tuneful bubblegum
thing (produced by the Super K and Big Kahoona people) and IMHO
a really super dance song. I LOVE IT :)))
Bobster
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 23:01:58 -0000
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Re:The Strangeloves
Richard Havers wrote:
> I just picked up an October 16 1965 Billboard off ebay.
> There is a wonderful full page ad for The Strangeloves.
> It's headed 'Bert Berns and Julie Rifkind say
> "the Strangeloves are hot!!!"' The ad finishes with the
> sign off '"...and we're still not tired", the gang at Bang.'
Wow! Anyway we can get a scan of this in the files section
for us Strangeloves nuts?
Regards, Guy.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 15:10:10 -0800
From: Jeffrey Glenn
Subject: Re: Extremes
Bill:
> In the same line, does anyone have copies of the following
> Folger songs? "Hide the Moon" by The Extremes (pre-1965 on RCA)
Unless there's an earlier version of the song, The Extremes'
"Hide The Moon" came out in 1966 on RCA Victor 47-9009 (the B-side
of the great "S.O.S" (has this ever been a northern soul fave?).
Written by Dan W. Folger, and produced by Felton Jarvis, it's been
played to musica.
Jeff
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 07:43:25 -0000
From: Andres
Subject: Re: Beatles-related girl-group songs
Ian, thank you very much indeed. Your knowledge on this topic is
unbelievable! Do you or anybody here happen to know anything about
Annie & The Orphans (they had a funny song `My Girl's Been Beaten
By The Beatle Bug' way back 1964 (?))
Regards
Andres
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 00:47:14 +0000
From: Simon White
Subject: Re: Feathers
Bob Rashkow:
> Simon, you played a truly GREAT record which I also own,
> "Tryin' To Get To You" by the Feathers on the Team label
> -- did this catch on at the Northern Soul clubs?
Bob, it got played at Northern venues and is on a compilation cd.
It's one of those white pop things that work [think Mitch Ryder]
cos it is beaty and tuff enuf.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 00:59:36 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: Re: Four Seasons remixes
The original CD with the remixes is "The Four Seasons - The Hits:
Digitally Enhanced" on Curb. Curb loves to repackage and repackage
for the bargan bins so Im not surprised to see them again.
I have the cassette, and I agree the remixes do absolutly nothing to
improve the songs. They just added (bad) drum machine programming to
the original tracks, not even wiping the original studio drummers.
Most 80's/90's dance remixes of original 60's hits just dont work.
I'm reminded of a gawdawful version of the Contours "Do You Love Me"
that was a big hit in the late 80's when "Dirty Dancing" was a hit
movie (yuck).
From what I have read the remix of "Oh What A Night" became a hit
when a CHR radio station played it as a "Flashback" oldie and got so
many requests for it (from kids who thought it was a new song) that
they added it to thier current playlist. That spurred Curb (always
looking for a hit) to reissue it and it made the Top 40. Curb even
repackaged that song in another rehashed oldies collection of the
same name.
Another story I heard that Valli/Gaudio were planning to create a new
4 Seasons based on the New Kids on The Block boygroup craze in the
early 90's. Too bad the Osmond kids beat them to it (which didnt
become a big hit).
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 20:06:20 -0500
From: Rat Pfink
Subject: Re: Looking Glass song
Jeffrey Glenn wrote:
> I've just played to musica an mp3 for which I'm looking
> for more info.....It's "If I Never Love Again" by Looking
> Glass.
> Isn't that song on one of their Epic albums ("The Looking Glass"
> or "Subway Serenade")?
I think it's a different band, the song he's asking about is
from '66 on Valiant:
If I Never Love Again b/w Silver And Sunshine (Valiant 750, 1966)
RP
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Message: 25
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 01:25:20 -0000
From: Bill Reed
Subject: Nick DeCaro CD
Last year, for the Japanese publication "Record Collectors'", I
conducted an inteview with the multiple Grammy winning recording
engineer Al Schmitt. When the Q&A was over, he gave me a CDR of an
album "Bolero California" that he described as not only his favorite
of the many Nick DeCaro recordings he had worked on, but also one of
his favorites, in general, of the countless sessions he has
engineered in a career that stretches back to the early 1950s. Up
until then, I had only heard OF the album.
"Bolero California," a fascinating melange of musical style recorded
in late 1990 and released the following year, is one of Nick DeCaro's
most intriguing projects: part Afro-Cuban, part Tango, part Bolero,
part big band jazz. . .sometimes all at one and the same time! After
listening to the copy Schmitt gave me, I decided that the only thing
more baffling than the near-total obscurity of this Kazuhiko Kato
album is why it has been out of print in Japan, its country of
origin, for several years now.
DeCaro is so omni-present on the CD, wearing the several hats of
arranger, accordionist and background singer, that he comes off more
as a collaborator with Kato, rather than a supporting player. The
musical palette Nick works with on this, one of his last major
recordings, is totally unrelated to anything he had done before, a
fact that is doubly amazing considering that he was in the late
stages of a terminal illness. For more background on this sui generis
work, see my profile of Nick at Spectropop:
http://www.spectropop.com/NickDeCaro/index.htm and also the one at:
communities.msn.com/nickdecaro
Kazuhiko Kato (sometimes spelled Katoh) is a legendary figure in
Japanese pop, with his most famous alliances being with the groups,
Sadistic Mika Band and Folk Crusaders. Recently a long supressed---
nearly 40 years---recording, "Imujin Gawa," by the latter group, rose
into the the upper reaches of Japanese pop charts.
The copy of "Bolero" Al Schmitt gave me contained no personnel or any
other recording information. Just a CD in a plain wrap jewel case.
Finally tired of playing Blindfold Test for nearly a year, on my last
trip to Japan in the Winter of 2002, I searched high and low, to no
avail, for a copy to assuage not only my curiosity but also my sense
of completionism.
At last a couple of weeks ago, while surfing the web, I happened on a
copy of the CD for sale at a small coffee shop, au Chat Bleu Cafe, in
Nagoya Japan. It was displayed along with only a handful of other
items, mostly rare Jean-Paul Belmondo posters. It was not a cyber
commerce site; that is, the items were not for sale on the web per
se, but were being announced for sale at the cafe itself. But thanks
to a flurry of international faxes and a couple of international
phone calls, AND the kind cooperation of Chat Bleu's Hidenori Niwa, I
at last have aquired this white whale of a CD. Much as I had
suspected, the various particpants in the project, both the esteemed
session players and the various technicians, constitute a Who's Who
of the Hollywood recording studio scene of the time.
Bill Reed
www.pinkywinters.com
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