________________________________________________________ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ S P E C T R O P O P _______ _______ _______ ________________________________________________________ Volume #0142 September 9, 1998 ________________________________________________________ Spectra-sonic-sound ...the ultimate in High FidelitySubject: Egyptian Shumba Sent: 09/08/98 1:48 am Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am From: Doc Rock, docroXXXX@XXXcom >After doing my Chiffon-a-thon for my birthday spectacular (btw, >I used at least one selection from every list I read before the >show air date, and Doc, "Egyptian Shumba" was so wild I haven't >stopped hearing from listeners yet!) Will, Glad you played it and glad it was well received. To me, it is the ultimate GG record. I wonder what it would have sounded like if the Pixies 3 had done it! >Anyway, I was wondering something. Did the Chiffons who >recorded "He's So Fine," and others really recorded the first >record released as by the Chiffons, "Tonight's The Night," "Tonight's the Night" was a big favorite of mine, by the Shirelles, when I was in junior high. But I never heard the Chiffons version til years later. And I never for a second thought it was THE Chiffons. Doc
Subject: unissued Philles & some videos
Sent: 09/08/98 9:44 pm
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Mark Landwehr, mslXXXX@XXXbs.com
To Robert the Ronette Hound...
Great story re: Phil asking you about the song, Robert...And then
not waiting for your answer. Sounds like Phil...The people you
mention as having access to Philles stuff might have been involved
in this recent wave of unknown releases going public, but a few I
am skeptical of....By the time the Philles colored-vinyls were
secretly pressed and stock copies of "Stumble and Fall" were
pressed (early-mid 1964), Helen Noga and Harry Finfer were pretty
much "out of the loop," weren't they? The "Thanks..." single was
pressed at the end of 1965, and the Phil Spector Spectacular LP
was pressed in the early 70's. Finfer & Noga HAD to be gone by
then! Still, as you say, there are many other possible "suspects."
I'm still putting Danny Davis and/or Joan Berg at/near the top...
Maybe Barney Kessel's kids (David and Dan) raided Phil's vault!!!
I spent Labor Day evening get acquainted with some old videos..."
Girl Groups: The Story of a Sound," the un-cut T.N.T Show (a
bootleg), and "That Was Rock: The T.A.M.I./T.N.T Show"...If the
latter, released by Media Home Entertainment, is the only
available legit record of the T.N.T. Show, then it leaves alot to
be desired: Missing is Ike & Tina's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out
Fine" and an amazing finale dance number, Joan Baez being
accompanied on piano by Phil Spector, false starts by Ray Charles
and The Lovin' Spoonful (Charles makes a comment that breaks up
the band), and much more. If you've never seen the original,
un-cut T.N.T. Show, find it!!! It's pure 60's!!! David McCallum
conducting the band?! Twice ??!!
The Girl Groups video is priceless if for nothing else than the
Ronettes on Shindig & T.N.T., the Shangri-Las doing "Give Him a
Great Big Kiss," and Darlene Love with the Blossoms doing "Needle
in a Haystack." I've had all of these videos for years, but
haven't viewed them in a long time...Glad I did.
Mark (Philles Phanatic)
Subject: Dionne Warwick CDs
Sent: 09/08/98 3:24 pm
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Scott Bauman, ScottBauXXXX@XXX.msn.com
Jamie LePage wrote:
"I've got the Bacharach Music Group promo box set that
was put together recently, but what is the Dionne CD set most
recommended by Spectropop listers?"
I think that you need to get 3 different Dionne collections -- Her
All Time Greatest Hits, Hidden Gems, and From the Vaults. (The
first two are on Rhino; the third is on Ichiban.) Although the
first set contains the biggest hits and the second set contains
some smaller hits, even the third set contains numerous gems (i.e.,
"Get Rid of Him" w/ backing by the Shirelles and "Don't Say I
Didn't Tell You So", a track that I'm sure Brian Wilson must have
listened VERY closely to) w/ arguably zero-filler. Crucially,
there is absolutely no overlap among the 3 CDs.
-- Scott
BTW, I just wanted to say that I had the pleasure of having lunch
a couple of weeks ago with the aforementioned Mr. LePage and
fellow Spectropopper Michael Carpenter when they came to Los
Angeles for the recent International Pop Overthrow. Next time
lunch is on me, Jamie!
Subject: Dionne Debate
Sent: 09/08/98 8:39 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: David Feldman, feldXXXX@XXXderables.com
Jamie says, in part:
>As much as I adore Dionne Warwick's mid-60's recordings, I don't
>really care much for her as an artist. Her voice works on those
>early records, but Sandie Shaw, Jackie DeShannon and Dusty
>Springfield made great covers of Bacharach/David material that
>arguably could be said to have out Bacharached Dionne's originals.
>Later, That's What Friends Are For and the Psychic Friends things
>really put me off.
Taste is taste, but I couldn't let this pass without a murmur. I
think DW is a great singer. It's funny that you mention these
three singers, because I've heard DW sing versions of at least one
of each their songs that I prefer to the originals, as much as I've
enjoyed the latter.
It just goes to show, IMO, how important producers and writers are
to any singer. I totally agree that artistically, her career fell
off a cliff when she left B&D, but I don't think her descent was
any steeper than most of Aretha's output. And like Aretha, she
also became a lazier performer (Dionne's concerts during her
prime were sometimes spectacular, although she showed traces of
erratic behavior even then, and occasionally a weird hostility to
her audience) over the years.
I'm thrilled with Aretha's newfound interest in learning opera. It
has done wonders for her voice. I'm not sure Dionne will have the
energy, or even the opportunity, to record songs the equal of her
masterpieces. I happen to like all three of the singers you
mentioned above, but I think of Jackie DeShannon and especially
Sandie Shaw as relatively minor singers, and Dusty Springfield as
an extremely expressive and effective singer with a relatively
limited instrument.
Dionne, on the other hand, had an extraordinary vocal AND
expressive range. From the raw fury of "Don't Make Me Over" to the
delicacy of "Windows of the World," from the innocence of "Last One
to Be Loved" to the weariness of "A House Is Not a Home," I just
can't think of many singers, male or female, who have both the
emotional and technical range of Dionne.
And obviously, B&D's career obviously did not blossom after their
association with Dionne was ended. But that's another topic.
Dave
Dave Feldman
CD of the Week: The Very Best of Crowded House
Herb of the Week: fresh sage
Annoyance of the Month: Humidity
Best Time Killer of the 90's: Filling out the UPDATED gender survey at
"http://www.imponderables.com"
Subject: Dionne's belting voice
Sent: 09/08/98 11:26 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Frank Youngwerth, FMXXXX@XXXom
<<Anyone else have Dionne on vinyl and think there is something very
wrong with Scepter pressings? It seems the discs were cut at very
low level, because surface noise on Dionne records is particularly
noticeable. >>
I've found that with a lot of these pressings Dionne's belting
voice seems to distort the recording, as if the levels had been
allowed to go way too far "into the red." Maybe the problem is
that the original vinyl copies we've heard got played a lot back
in the 60s on cheap phonographs with worn-out needles.
Subject: FRENCH POP
Sent: 09/08/98 4:48 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Jimmy Cresitelli, JimmyXXXX@XXXom
...and let's not forget Sheila, and Francoise Hardy: the latter
especially has a few Spector-type songs from the sixties. Sheila
was France's answer to Lesley Gore / Patty Duke, don'tcha know...
Best to all,
Jimmy Boy
Subject: I Want You To Be My Baby/French 60s
Sent: 09/08/98 11:19 pm
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Kieron Tyler, kierXXXX@XXX.org.uk
Thanks very much to everyone who helped out on this. I would have
replied earlier but was away.
I was trying to compare the Billie Davis UK version with the 1967
Ellie Greenwich version. I had suspected that the producer of the
Billie version had been influenced by the Ellie version and
recorded a version in the same style as the US version.
There will be an article on French 60s pop in the October issue
of the UKs Record Collector magazine (comes out last week of Sep
over here). I agree that France Gall is just about one of the best
girl-pop singers ever. She influenced a whole load of other French
girls such as Annie Phillipe. I could waffle on about French 60s
pop for a while, but am not sure if I should......
All the best, Kieron Tyler
Subject: Oldies stations
Sent: 09/08/98 1:03 am
Received: 09/08/98 1:10 am
From: james fisher, JHFAXXXX@XXX.net
There have been a few references to oldies radio recently and I
wanted to add my beef against the major player in that game out
here in LA: Does this multi-zillion $ station actually only
possess those 50 songs that they endlessly recycle??? I mean how
many times can they play "My Girl" and "Wooly Bully" before the
peasants revolt and march on the studio with flaming torches? I
feel so sorry for those DJ's that I would like to lend them a few
of my records for variety before they wear the welcome mat out
forever on songs that were once a pleasure and a thrill to hear...
I have heard The Isley's "twist and shout" THREE times in a day.
Now it, and it's 49 other cousins, are great tunes BUT......I know
that my radio has an "off" button but it sure is a pity to waste
50,000 watts on a merciless play-list that probably scares
potential oldies fans off to some Easy Listening station and into
the waiting arms of a competing sponsor. (My 20 year old daughter
loves oldies {Thank you God} but whenever we're together in the
car she will say "hey, didn't we just hear this one back at that
last traffic light?". Oh the shame of it.)
Is this a real problem or is it just me?? I apologize for taking
up space to complain. And I'm usually such a happy guy.... Jim.
Subject: Re: CONNIE FRANCIS
Sent: 09/08/98 2:36 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: CHARLES THOMPSON, CHAZTHOMPXXXX@XXXgy.net
Responding to Jack Madani, Jack_MadXXXX@XXX12.nj.us regarding a
Connie Francis compilation collection:
>Thanks, Jon, for your opinion on the Connie Francis Polydor disc.
>I started to get interested in picking up a CF compilation, in
>fact, *because* of those two numbers you refer to on the Growin Up
>Too Fast anthology. "My Best Friend Barbara" gets under my skin and
>won't leave me alone. I wonder how much of her output sounds like
>that.
For a few extra bucks, my choice to you would be the "Connie
Francis SOUVENIRS" 4 CD box set. It has just about every recording.
There are close to 120 of Connie's recordings on the 4 CDs
(including DON'T EVER LEAVE ME, but unfortunately It doesn't have
MY BEST FRIEND BARBARA on it). But as mentioned above, the 'Growin
Up Too Fast' Anthology set carries that recording. And it would be
well worth the bucks to own both CD sets. The 'Growin Up Too Fast'
set certainly has some great (somewhat forgotten) girl group
recordings on it.
Chaz_T
Subject: Re: Connie
Sent: 09/08/98 1:48 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXX@XXXcom
>there is a killer girl group sounding connie francis tune
>on the girl group anthology "growin up too fast" written
>by barry/greenwich "dont ever leave me" and sounds exactly
>how the Raindrops......
Ellie sang all the background parts on that tune, and Jeff
engineered it.
You oughta hear Connie's Japanese version! Stereo yet!
Subject: Re: Connie again
Sent: 09/08/98 2:05 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXX@XXXcom
>My Best Friend Barbara" gets under my skin and won't leave me
>alone. I wonder how much of her output sounds like that.
My wife, Barbara, loves that song. Another good one was "Souvenirs."
Connie did very few of these, MGM did not really court the teen
audience. She made them because she encountered teens so much in
her shows. But, if I remember correctly, "Barbara" and "Souvenirs"
were unreleased until the 90s.
As for "VACATION," that's another one worth hearing in Japanese!
Doc
Subject: Lost Connie Francis Song
Sent: 09/08/98 8:01 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Paul Urbahns, PaulurbXXXX@XXXom
Since many of the people on this list are into Phil Spector
(Spectropop is a Spector list right?) Anyway I would like to hear
his version of Second Hand Love by Connie Francis. Phil wrote the
song and recorded with Connie, but the record company didn't like
it and she recut the song in a country style and that is the
version that has been released. I wish someone would put the
original Spector version on something as a bonus track. Wonder if
it sounds like Darlene Love?
Paul URbahns
paulurbXXXX@XXXom
The above information came from Connie herself in an interview.
Subject: Re: Verdelle
Sent: 09/08/98 9:36 pm
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Francesc Sole, fsXXXX@XXXes
Mark wrote:
>Ok, gang - Here's a toughie (maybe)...On Verdelle's song "Tar and
>Cement" (Capitol 5632) there is a sub-title "Il Ragazzo Della Via
>Gluck" - Looks Italian to me...Can anybody translate it? Great
>song!!!
This is Italian indeed and translates to "The Boy From Gluck
Street" as Jimmy well said. And Gluck is German for Luck, so, it
would be "The Boy From Luck Street". This is a song by one of
Italy's most popular singers in the 60's Adriano Celentano. Do I
understand, then, that Verdelle's song is a cover of this one??
Celentano's original features a lot of acoustic guitar, and it has
an environmental message, as it talks about a boy living in a
beautiful street in a beautiful country village and how that
beautiful country village is being polluted by the factories and
the "civilization".
Celentano is still making records but his best period was the 60s.
He used to do a lot of covers too, like Preghero (Stand By Me). His
Italian version was very popular in Europe and it was a smash hit
for him. There are a lot of Celentano compilations (at least in
Europe) and he is really worth checking out.
Enjoying this list immensely,
Francesc
Subject: Re: P.J.Proby
Sent: 09/08/98 2:05 am
Received: 09/09/98 12:08 am
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXX@XXXcom
james wrote:
>Hold Me" P.J.Proby, from 1964. It's a real rocker!
>Anyone else remember this guy?
Sure. He got sued by Liberty for recording for another label in
the UK. Used to be a demo singer.
According to an old interview with PJ, he would record songs for
Elvis -- he did a great Elvis impression -- and then Elvis would
imitate HIM, putting a new vocal on the demo track. Can anyone
corroborate this?
Doc
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