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Volume #0261 May 9, 1999
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The Exciting NEW Way to Enjoy the Music You Want
Subject: Fifth Dimension
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: David Feldman, fexxxnderables.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
> 5th Dimension release prior to LTGT? Could someone review (in
> short) the earlier Webb/Nyro-styled 5th Dimension records
> and post the tracklisting of each? or at least direct me
> to some websites (haven't found any 5D homepages
> whatsoevever)....thanks!
>
I am far from a Fifth Dimension scholar. To me, there
first two albums were their peak, especially the second,
The Magic Garden, which like the first, was arranged and
conducted by Jimmy Webb. The first, "Up Up & Away," was
produced by Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon, the second by
Bones Howe.
UU&A features the title song, of course, but many songs
that I like much better, including a smashing version of
Go Where You Wanna Go, the hilarious Learn How to Fly, a
stirring rendition of Rivers's "Poor Side of Town," and
perhaps my favorite song of theirs: Jimmy Webb's paranoid
masterpiece, "Rosecrans Boulevard." Other tracks, many
written by Webb:
Another Day, Another Heartache; Which Way to Nowhere;
California, My Way; Misty Roses; Never Gonna Be the Same;
and Pattern People (not the Webb lyric that holds up the
best).
The Magic Garden is much more consistent and contains
interstitial symphonic doodling by Jimmy Webb. In fact, I
think everything but the cover version of "Ticket to Ride"
was composed by JW:
Prologue, The Magic Garden; Dreams/Pax/Nepenthe; Carpet
Man (hilarious lyric); Ticket to Ride; Requiem: 820 Latham;
The Girls' Song; The Worst That Could Happen; Orange Air;
Paper Cup; Epilogue.
You might be familiar only with the singles, but it's a
remarkably engaging and accessible concept album.
I was very disappointed in the "Stoned Soul Picnic" album,
but that might because I'm a major Laura Nyro fan. It
contains Sweet Blindness and Stoned Soul Picnic (both
contained on Nyro's "Eli & the 13th Confession") and quite
a few not-as-good-as-Webb songs by Jeff Commanor, and a
terrific Ashford-Simpson song, "California Soul."
Bones Howe came back for the "Age of Aquarius," and this
time they covered several songs from Nyro's first album
(Blowing Away and He's A Runner and Wedding Bell Blues) but
the album has the feel of a rush job to exploit the success
of the single.
Jimmy Webb needs singers who will give in to the emotion
and melodrama of his ballads. Billy Davis and Marilyn
McCoo, like Art Garfunkel, manage to convey passion and
intelligence simultaneously. The preponderance of the Webb
material on the first two albums is why I'd especially
recommend them. Regardless of how many miniskirts Florence
LaRue wore, the Fifth Dimension were never hip, and were
woefully underappreciated, IMO. They were superb vocalists,
in the studio and live.
Dave Feldman
CD of the Week: "Utopia Parkway" (Fountains of Wayne)
Hottest Group of the Month: Fresh Step
Word of the Week: Filch
Best Time Killer of the 90's: Filling out the UPDATED gender survey at
"http://www.imponderables.com"
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Subject: Re: Spectropop V#0260
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Ian Chapman, iaxxxalnet.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Tobias wrote:
>I've got a tape copy of the 2-CD compilation and an LP,
>Living Together Growing Together, but I haven't been able
>to track down the earlier LPs. What albums did the 5th
>Dimension release prior to LTGT? Could someone review (in
>short) the earlier Webb/Nyro-styled 5th Dimension records
>and post the tracklisting of each? or at least direct me
>to some websites (haven't found any 5D homepages
>whatsoevever)....thanks!
Tobias:
I have three albums, "The Magic Garden", "The Fantastic
Fifth Dimension", both on Liberty (Soul City in the US)
and "Love's Lines, Angles and Lines", a later one on Bell.
The tracks are as follows...
"The Magic Garden" (1968):-
Prologue; The Magic Garden; Summer's Daughter; Dreams/Pax/
Nepenthe; Carpet Man; Ticket to Ride; Requiem: 820 Latham;
The Girls' Song; The Worst That Could Happen; Orange Air;
Paper Cup; Epilogue.
"The Fantastic Fifth Dimension" (1967/68 tracks...sleeve
note by Alan Warner!):-
The Magic Garden; Up Up and Away; Carpet Man; California
My Way; The Worst That Could Happen; Good News; Sweet
Blindness; Stoned Soul Picnic; California Soul; Go Where
You Wanna Go; Ticket To Ride; Learn How To Fly.
"Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes" (early 70s): -
Time and Love; Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes; What Does
It Take; Guess Who; Viva Tirado; Light Sings; The
Rainmaker; He's a Runner; The Singer; Every Night.
Note that even on the later Bell album, there were still a
couple of Laura Nyro tracks (Time & Love", "He's A Runner")
Ian
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Subject: Fifth Dimension
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Paul Urbahns, Pauluxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Tobias wrote:
> What albums did the 5th
> Dimension release prior to LTGT? Could someone review (in
> short) the earlier Webb/Nyro-styled 5th Dimension records
> and post the tracklisting of each? >>
I liked their Soul City (label) stuff best. They had at
least four albums out on that label. Up Up And Away; The
magic garden; and Stoned Soul Picnic plus a greatest hits
set. I have the Greatest Hits album, which I think has
better material than what they issued on Bell. Paper Cup,
Wedding Bell Blues and The Worst That Could Happen was put
on the Greatest Hits as medley (very effective); The Girl's
Song, Carpet Man, Sweet Blindness, California Soul, all
good commerial pop songs and most never get played on
oldies radio today.
Paul Urbahns
pauluxxxcom
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Subject: Re: Fifth Dimension/Chipmunks
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Jeffrey Thames, Kingoxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
In a message dated 5/6/99 5:37:01 PM Central Daylight Time, Doctor
Snuggles
writes:
> (haven't found any 5D homepages
> whatsoevever)
Try this:
http://members.aol.com/laruemccoo/
I sincerely wish there was more "original" Chipmunks
material in print! Why no 40th anniversary box? And let's
not forget Seville's flipsides...when I was kid, I must
have played "Mediocre" even more frequently than "Alvin's
Harmonica".
Cheers,
Jeff
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Subject: Re: Speaking of the Chipmunks
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Doc Rock, docxxx.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
>From "Liberty Records:"
Si Waronker: "Here is the sad part of the Chipmunks. When
I quit Liberty, I wanted no part of anybody, except Ross
Bagdasarian [aka David Seville]. Ross and I remained great
friends. He was still at Liberty, but Liberty was going
through hell at this time. They had sold the company to
Avnet and lost a million bucks the first year. Ross had no
contract, just our handshake. The way I had always paid him
was simple. If he did not sell any records, he got nothing.
The first 25,000 copies he sold of a record, he got three
or four cents a record. That went up, to a dime if he sold
a million. From two million he got 12%.
"Well, when I left, the company was not being run right.
Avnet had sold it back after a year, and Ross wanted his
royalties, but he had no contract and Liberty had no money!
I called Al Bennett and said, 'Al, you gotta pay this
guy because he's gonna cause you trouble. Why don't you
make a deal, give him back all of his catalog and what
ever money you can afford to pay.' I did all of the
negotiating for Ross and for Al and got him his catalog
and all the rights for all his songs, 'Armen's Theme,'
'Witch Doctor,' 'Chipmunks,' everything. Ross also got all
the rights to the Chipomunk trademarks, in lieu of the
back royalties owed him. That is how Ross' family got the
stuff that allowed them to continue on with the Chipmunks
on records, tapes, CDs, TV, and videos. Now they use girls'
voices for the Chipmunks instead of men, and it doesn't
sound nearly as good."
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Subject: Re: Spector in stereo
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Frank, fxxxc.fr
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
>Derexxxdnet.att.net
Derek,
As a total Spector freak from way way back, I can tell you
there are quite a few tracks in Stereo. As you may know the
first Ronettes LP was released in Stereo, not to mention
the Xmas Lp, and most of the Righteous Bros.
Frank
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Subject: Ronnie Spector
Received: 05/07/99 6:58 am
From: john rausch,xxx.net
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Here`s some news for Ronnie Spector fans:
June 12; Ronnie Spector, Tommy James and the Shondells at
Central Park and also July 21; Marianne Faithful
Jonr
Presenting The Fabulous
Ronexxxp://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/2469/
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Subject: Re: The Case of The Missing Vocals
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: David Bash, Baxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
james fisher, JHxxxv.net wrote:
> I have a question which occured to me today while I was
> listening to my local oldies station--they were playing
> The Mamas and the Papas "California Dreamin" and the
> vocals had somehow all but been wiped off the track, along
> with some of the backing. This is not the first time I've
> heard this oddity over the years and I've also noticed it
> on some Lovin' Spoonful tracks. Does this have something
> to do with the equipment they recorded on? I sure hope
> someone else has noticed this from time to time as well...
Hi Jim,
Okay, this is going to sound completely hatstand if I'm
wrong, but could it be that you were listening to the
station while sitting next to only one of the two speakers
? I ask this because the stereo mix of "California
Dreaming", which is the one that your station is likely to
have been playing, is very extreme with vocals and slight
instrumental backing on one side and the rest of the
instruments on the other side. If you were right next to
one of the speakers, it could be that you missed hearing
the entire channel that has the vocals. I've definitely
experienced this phenomenon with several '60s songs while
listening to oldies piped through very disparately placed
speakers in a restaurant or club.
If that's not the explanation, than either I don't
understand your question or there's something going on
that I'm unaware of, because I've never heard a version of
"California Dreaming" without vocals.
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David Bash
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Subject: Missing in California (Dreaming)
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Jamie LePage, le_pagxxxities.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
james fisher wrote:
>...my local oldies station...was playing..."California
>Dreamin" and the vocals had somehow all but been wiped
>off the track, along with some of the backing. This is not
>the first time I've heard this oddity over the years and
>I've also noticed it on some Lovin' Spoonful tracks. Does
>this have something to do with the equipment they recorded
>on?
Every time the old mono vs. stereo debate comes up, I
quote California Dreaming as a prime example of the stereo
mix being simply wrong. It is not a matter of personal
preference, but rather, the mix is missing certain parts.
Early Beatles LPs in stereo also have strange omissions
which are clearly audible on the mono mixes (such as
Lennon's "a life of ease" line from Yellow Sub). I'm not a
stickler when it comes to clarity, so I personally tend to
prefer the more homogenized mono mixes, although I do
understand why many prefer stereo to mono given the choice.
The biggest problem I have with stereo mixes is that
when a stereo mix supercedes the original mono mix that,
after all, was the hit version, the "wrong" mix becomes
the one that everyone is familiar with. Another problem
with stereo mixes of pre-'70s material is that the spread
is usually far too wide to sound natural. When such mixes
are played over a stereo system, you have to be perfectly
situated between the speakers to hear the balance properly,
otherwise, parts start to disappear. At home this is
probably not a big issue, but when you are dining at a
restaurant, or in any shop with music playing, chances are
you are not going to be in the ideal spot to hear the
stereo spread properly.
In any event, it sounds to me like you heard that
notorious stereo mix of California Dreaming.
Mono (and Stereo) Rules!!!!!
Jamie
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Subject: Burt Bacharach Articles
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Paul MacArthur, Rtxxx.edu
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Check out the burt bacharach acticles in Houston Press:
http://houstonpress.com/1998/050699/music1.html
http://houstonpress.com/1998/050699/music5.html
Paul
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Subject: Gary Usher discography request
Received: 05/09/99 9:51 pm
From: Ron Weekes, Wexxxs.edu
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
I just heard from Gary Usher's biographer, Stephen
McParland. His message below states he looking for some
information to complete his discography for his book. If
any of you have some of these items in your collection,
please send me the information Stephen is requesting and
I'll pass it along to him.
Thanks, Ron Weekes
Original Message:
Just had the Usher book proofed and I've made all relevant
corrections. In doing so I discovered I still need full
label info - titles/writers/production/arranging/matrix #/
any Delta # for the following:
JOANIE SOMMERS
(Columbia 43950)
It Doesn't Matter Anymore
Take A Broken Heart
GENE CLARK
(Columbia 44088)
Is Your Mine
So You Say You Lost Your Baby
THE BYRDS
(Columbia 44990
Ballad Of Easy Rider
Wasn't Born To Follow
LIGHTMYTH
(RCA 74-0361)
Across The Universe
Quest For The Golden Horde
RAY PETERSON
(UNI 55275)
Changes
Fever
BRUCE JOHNSTON
(Columbia 3-10568) 7"
Pipeline
Disney Girls
THE COMMODORES
(POLH-31)
UNITED album - I only need to know what side (1 or 2)
was "Let's Apologize" featured on.
WARREN ZEVON
(VIRGIN 2422)
SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE album. I only need the MONTH this was
released in 1987.
Thanks
SJ
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