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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 13 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Tony Hatch
From: David Feldman
2. Buried Alive
From: Sylvain
3. Re: Billy Ward & the Dominoes' Eugene Mumford
From: Mike Edwards
4. Re: Faux Shangs: Ronnie Dante
From: Mick Patrick
5. Brian Wilson / Smile
From: Watson Macblue
6. Re: Wasn't It You - Goffin / King
From: Michael Robson
7. Where The Pussycats Are
From: Pekka Johansson
8. Re: Ronnie Dante
From: Tom Taber
9. Samantha Jones
From: Norman
10. Re: Tony Hatch
From: Phil Milstein
11. Re: Faux Shangs
From: Martin Roberts
12. Re: Goffin/King's "Wasn't It You"
From: Mick Patrick
13. Re: Brian Wilson
From: Stuart Miller
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 11:59:41 -0500
From: David Feldman
Subject: Re: Tony Hatch
Mick, posted the following from Tony Hatch:
> As for my songs being described as 'personal, mature and
> pessimistic', I would have to say I agree totally with 'personal and
> mature' but argue passionately against 'pessimistic'. Many, such as I
> KNOW A PLACE, MY LOVE and I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOUR LOVE are fairly
> shallow yet positive and, with very few exceptions, even those songs
> like DOWNTOWN, WHO AM I and THE OTHER MAN'S GRASS that begin with a
> downbeat view of life or a personal situation have an optimistic
> finish.
First of all, Mick, please thank Mr. H. for responding to my post and
thanks to you, too. It's a real kick to be able to converse with my
favorite English writer-producer.
Mr. Hatch, is right, of course, that many of his "pessimistic" songs
end with a happy ending, but the "problem" is that the despair depicted
in "Don't Sleep in the Subway" and "Who Am I," for example, are so
vivid that their impact can't be erased. It reminds me of the comedies
of Katharine Hepburn. She bursts onto the screen, full of energy,
power, and independence. Eventually, though, her characters buckle in
order to snag her man. But that isn't what you remember about the
movies -- the feisty Hepburn is indelible.
I agree completely with the Spectropopper who found sadness underlying
"Downtown." Maybe "pessimistic" was the wrong word. Hatch's songs
acknowledge all of the demons in the world, and his protagonists make
the conscious decision to trudge on anyway. Maybe this is what
separates Hatch's songs from the unrelieved gloom of "Cat in the
Window" (which otherwise fits into the Pet Clark oeuvre of that
periosd), and what makes Hatch' best songs so mature and timeless.
Dave Feldman
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 16:38:51 -0000
From: Sylvain
Subject: Buried Alive
Hello,
I just started a group called "Buried Alive", dedicated to
sharing informations about 60s-00s unknown/underground musical
treasures that everybody into true sound should have in his
collection. No concurrence with Spectropop, cauze Buried Alive
is intented to go well beyond the 60s scene, and will deal with
killer sounds whatever they are, ie psych folk, 77 punk, current
garage punk or even minimalism stuff and noisy pop... A group
for addicted music collectors ! I just started this group, I'm
currently inviting people, so wait a few days before getting
the first messages. hope to see you there soon,
Sylvain
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buriedalive/
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 14:38:09 -0500
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Re: Billy Ward & the Dominoes' Eugene Mumford
David Coyle writes re: (Eu)Gene Mumford:
> Like Nat King Cole, Earl Grant, Brook Benton, and Gene
> McDaniel, among others, he favored a more pop-oriented
> vocal sound, which had great crossover potential,
> without losing too much of a soul edge. And his little
> trills that he threw in were an instantly recognizable
> Mumford trademark (as in, "buh-UUUUHT, that was long
> ago..." from "Stardust").
Bring it on! Is there anything you can play to musica for us. I love
Clyde Mcphatter-Jimmy Jones type singers from circa 1958-1962. David,
do you know if Gene Mumford's Come What May on Columbia is the same
song as the one Clyde McPhatter took to # 43 in 1958?
Thanks, Mike Edwards
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 07:34:03 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Faux Shangs: Ronnie Dante
John Frank on Faux Shangs:
> Thanks to Mick for his donation of The Wild Angels' history, photo
> and song. This is fabulous stuff! Also for the Brenda Hall "Oh
> Eddy, My Baby".
Our beloved quartet of Shangri-Las may have been *the* angels of
angst, the most melodramatic of myrmidons, the loneliest of lorelies
and the quintessential queens of carnage, but they did not have the
world of teen torment entirely unto themselves. In fact, boys have
feelings too, as S'pop favourite Ronnie Dante (he of the Detergents
and the Archies) proved with his stupendous Shangs-like death-disc
"In The Rain".
This great platter was written by Richard Rosenfeld, arranged by Bert
Keyes, produced by Stanley Kahan (aka songwriter Bob Elgin),
engineered by Brooks Arthur and released on Musicor 1090 in 1965.
(When else?!) I have asked someone capable of such technical matters
to have it posted to musica.
I'll set the scene: It's raining, it's pouring. Some back-up chicks
(perhaps the Cookies) supply dramatic hand percussion. Thunder claps
in the distance. The former love of Ronnie's life is getting married
the next day. To someone else. Oh, no, the utterly unbearable anguish!
He's been walking, running, crying through the wet and lonely neon lit
streets all night long, determined to reach his honey before it's too
late. His eyes are so full of salty tears that he fails to see the
car heading straight for him. "Watch out, watch out!" the girls yell.
The car slams on its brakes........
Does Ronnie hear the girls in time? Who was in the car? Who is that
figure in white? And does a better male Shangri-Las' soundalike exist?
The answers to these and other questions can be found right here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/
MICK PATRICK
Still wondering who that is banging on the piano.
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 07:35:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Watson Macblue
Subject: Brian Wilson / Smile
Not so very long ago, I saw Brian Wilson burst into tears
and bury his head between his knees at the very mention of Smile.
The pysch nurse (sorry ... er ... friend) who was with him rounded
ferociously on the hapless journalist and said (give or take a few
expletives) "Don't go there". In his horrendous Smile interview
with BBC Radio One, Brian summed up the whole business with "That's
a bad area for me, Smile". Every Beach Boy has, separately or
together, turned six shades of puce at the mention of That Album.
Yet now, we find a "live" Smile in preparation.
Let's be plain what's going on here. Anyone who got past the goons
and saw the monitor by Brian's keyboard during the Pet Sounds tour
got a frightening surprise. Sure, it had the lyrics of the songs
(which Brian doesn't know after 35 years?). It also had instructions:
"Stand up now." "Sit." "Smile at the audience more." "It's really
great to be doing this for you." Nearly every word he said was
scripted for him. It was grimly obvious when he was wandering off
the script - the babble started. Play the live PS album to anyone
outside the cult, and they blench - Jeez, that guy can't sing.
If Brian 1966 had heard Brian 2001 singing, he would have fired him.
The only reason those shows worked so well musically was because
everybody *else* was note-perfect (itself a weird concept of rock).
They weren't concerts; they were revival meetings. The faithful
were so glad to see Brian that they forgot to listen to him.
Soon after Elvis died, someone made a cartoon that showed people
digging him up and using the corpse as a puppet in a stage show
called Necrophilia, Hawaian Style. The upcoming Smile show will
probably be in the same high taste. Poor Brian.
Watson
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 12:01:03 -0000
From: Michael Robson
Subject: Re: Wasn't It You - Goffin / King
Mike C:
> Peggy Lipton's "Wasn't It You" certainly isn't the strongest song
> of the entire set but for G&K searchers here's one where the
> material really outweighs the singer. Makes me appreciate Petula
> Clark once more.
Mick P:
> You're quite right. Petula Clark's Tony Hatch-produced version of
> this number is the definitive one (and the original, it seems). Not
> wishing to be unkind, I made a point of not using the words "tune"
> and "bucket" within Peggy Lipton's paragraph in the booklet. There
> are much nicer ways of saying "This girl can't sing" and I thought
> "A Shelley Fabares for the Age of Aquarius" might be one of them.
> Peggy and Shelley shared the same paramor/producer (not
> simultaneously, well, not to my knowledge). Her voice might not have
> been the strongest but her face...what a sweet thing that was.
Don't forget Billie Davis's (Decca F12620, 1967) or Lynne Randell's
(Silvercloud 105, 1968) versions. Lynne Randell's version, in
particular, features a slightly heavier uptempo approach and is all
the better for it.
MICHAEL CLUNKIE VINYL JUNKIE
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 14:07:16 +0100
From: Pekka Johansson
Subject: Where The Pussycats Are
I just went out and bought Where the girls are vol 5, and I
can't wait to get home and have a listen. I have all the
previous four volumes and they're great, even though I could
do without the soul and r'n'b acts. Pure pop rules! A special
thanks to Mick Patrick and Malcolm Baumgart for their liner
notes, and to Nick Robbins for his careful remastering work.
Mick, will the Pussycats' excellent song "The Rider" appear
on a forthcoming volume? In my opinion, this is by far the
best among their releases - one of those wonderful records
that sound more like the Shangri-Las than the Shangri-Las
themselves. Best regards,
Pekka Johansson, Stockholm, Sweden
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 12:31:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Taber
Subject: Re: Ronnie Dante
> MICK PATRICK
> Still wondering who that is banging on the piano.
"I don't know." He may have also played third bass. But I do know that
between the time the Detergents LP came out, and the follow-up single
was released, the name of the song was changed, from or to "007." Any
other known incidences of similiar name changes when a single got
released?
Tom Taber
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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 08:00:25 +1030
From: Norman
Subject: Samantha Jones
Hi,
I picked up a Samantha Jones's "A Girl Named Sam" LP at a local thrift shop a
week ago. Stereo SPFL- 933987 (PELS 501) Penny Farthing Records (released
through Festival Records, Australia). Arranged and Produced by Mark Wirtz. I
would appreciate any further info on this artist.
Thanks Mark for such a great job. I played side 2 first because I recognised
the track "Do I Figure In Your Life" by Mark Dello. The arrangement sent me
through the wall backwards! A great piece.
I played the rest of the album through and my ears pricked up on "Taking The
Heart Out of Love" a song I never recognised so I read the writers credits and
saw that it was Mark Dello again. These songs must have been a joy and a
challenge to work with.
Re: Mark Dello. In Australia "I Can't Let Maggie Go" by Honeybus was given
some air play but I don't think it charted (I am open to be corrected on this).
I remember only hearing it one and a half times. Unfortunately, a news item
reporting the death of American Senator Robert Kennedy interrupted it. As was
the want of the radio station instead of continuing the song they went onto the
next! I had the pleasure of picking the record up on a Decca compilation the
same year so I was not deprived of such a great song.
One great thing about the tyranny of distance is that being in Australia I did
not have to suffer hearing "I Can't Let Maggie Go" recycled as an advertisement
for a brand of bread and a "signature tune" for a British Prime Minister.
Norman
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 16:11:05 +0000
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Tony Hatch
David Feldman wrote:
> Mr. Hatch, is right, of course, that many of his "pessimistic" songs
> end with a happy ending, but the "problem" is that the despair depicted
> in "Don't Sleep in the Subway" and "Who Am I," for example, are so
> vivid that their impact can't be erased. It reminds me of the comedies
> of Katharine Hepburn. She bursts onto the screen, full of energy,
> power, and independence. Eventually, though, her characters buckle in
> order to snag her man. But that isn't what you remember about the
> movies -- the feisty Hepburn is indelible.
Well put. I'm always a bit bugged by the last-verse capitulations of
such songs as "Born A Woman" and "Gloomy Sunday." That is not meant to
take anything away from Tony Hatch, however -- there is nothing wrong
with the creator of a work deciding on its direction, but in these other
examples one senses the presence of a label exec browbeating his hired
hand to churn out something that'll leave the listener smiling.
--Phil M.
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Message: 11
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 22:46:17 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Re: Faux Shangs
As reluctant as I am to pull out any more 45s to add to the pile that is
currently covering almost every flat surface in my 'music room'. Ha ha. The
Shangs thread has caused me to have a quick shuftie and in the hope that it
hasn't been mentioned yet one 45 that HAS to be on any Shangri Las tribute
list is Robertha Williams' "Tell Mama Not To Cry" Uptown 707.
Impossible to resist a record that starts with a mournful piano backing a
whispered "Sis... wake up, shh, don't make a sound... Johnny and I are
running away to get married...and break it to the folks gently" before the
tempo increases and a more assertive Robertha pleads "Tell Mama not to cry,
make her understand but I've got to do what Johnny wants because he's my
man..."
The 45 - surely one of the best Lou Reed ever had a hand in - is, despite the
solo girl credit, a true Girl Group record with bells, finger snaps, spoken
passages and almost every other patented nuance of the genre.
Martin
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 21:07:38 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Goffin/King's "Wasn't It You"
Michael Clunkie:
> Don't forget Billie Davis's (Decca F12620, 1967) or Lynne
> Randell's (Silvercloud 105, 1968) versions (of "Wasn't It You").
> Lynne Randell's version, in particular, features a slightly
> heavier uptempo approach and is all the better for it.
Your revelations are sure to send our US CK-head chums tripping
over each other in a rush to get to ebay. While they're at it,
they could search for Brit mod band the Action's version too.
Those guys' appetite for British Goffin/King cover versions seems
insatiable.
MICK PATRICK
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Message: 13
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 21:36:21 -0000
From: Stuart Miller
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson
Watson
I think you were on the harsh side regarding the quality of Brian Wilson's
voice. Of course he can't sing anymore and hasn't been able to do so for some
time. His voice has dropped right off the scale. I speak as an obsessive who
does not enjoy live concerts because I prefer to hear the artist's recordings
performed as on the record. I eschew the vocal improvisation and musical
differences you find at a concert. But I went to see Brian at his January
Festival Hall performance and was not disappointed. Don't forget that for the
second half of the show, he does it all. And sure it ain't like the record but
I went knowing it wouldn't be and was slightly pleasantly surprised.
There aren't too many artists who have been in the business as long as he has
now and can still hold it together. As for the fact that he probably couldn't
go to the lavatory anymore without assistance, well you didn't need to get on
stage to see that. It was obvious from 20 rows back. But so what? We know
what he's been through and even if it was self inflicted, we can't ignore it
and he's been paying the price for it ever since. Good for him that he's now
married to someone (and no disrespect to Marilyn intended) who pushes him to
get out and still do it.
I know where you're coming from. It can be disappointing to see someone whom
you may have held in very high regard in the state that Brian's now in. I for
one though am glad he's back out there and felt privileged to have seen him.
Stuart
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