__________________________________________________________
__________ __________
__________ __________
__________ S P E C T R O P O P __________
__________ __________
__________________________________________________________
Volume #0267 June 5, 1999
__________________________________________________________
full dimensional stereo sound
Subject: Fleetwoods
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: David Feldman, fexxxnderables.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Jamie LePage says:
> Yes, the Fleetwoods - my very favorite Seattle group!
The Fleetwoods rock.
Plus the Mr. Blue front cover is one of my all-time
favorites.
At the risk of being totally off topic (well, he is a very
soft "rocker"), may I put in a plug for the latest Ron
Sexsmith CD, "Whereabouts?" For those of you who have a
notion that he is too arty or precious, I find this the
most easily accessible of his albums, and although the
melodies remain complex, the sentiments and sincerity are
clear and moving.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Fleetwoods go down under
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: james fisher, JHxxxv.net
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Great to see spectropop in the mailbox again and I want
thank all who answered my queries about the missing vocal
tracks on the Mammas and Papas--another of life's little
mysteries solved. Also good to see The Fleetwoods get some
ink (Do we still say that?) and I want to join in the
appreciative chorus for them....I lived in the outback of
Australia when I was about 14 and the projectionist at the
local open-air movie theatre only had two records to play
before the saturday night flick would start--"Mr.Blue" and
"Come softly to me". He would also play them again at
Intermission (remember that?) and once more after John
Wayne had ridden off into the sunset. I knew every Dum dum,
dum da de dum de da etc even more certainly than I knew
that The Duke would triumph in the end. I wonder if Gary
and the girls realised that thier Seattle Teen Angst
fueled many a romantic notion about 12,000 miles away.
Great songs. BTW--someone told me that the song was called
simply "Come Softly" but that this title was considered
just a bit too suggestive for the times...true?
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: Fleetwoods
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: Michael "Doc Rock" Kelly, docxxx.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
I forwarded the Fleetwoods comments to Gretchen and invited
her to join SpectroPop.
Doc
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: More posts please!
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: Runar Sorgaard, wuxxxet.se
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
This list is even more dead than *dead*....doesn't anyone
listen to music from the sixties anymore?!?! Well, anyway,
here are some topics - good or bad - to discuss:
* I saw Stan Getz' LP of Bacharach covers, is it worth
buying?
* Modern record labels reissuing (hmmm, sp?) music from
the past - why are they always going for the Best Of
(which always seem to leave out some great songs that just
didn't become commercial hits) and rarely for the actual
albums the artists released in the first place? Is it just
a matter of money? And is it *that* more expensive to
re-release the original albums in a limited edition (if
the label fears it won't sell) than to release The Big
Super Duper Compilation which gets marketed with lots of
ads in magazines and even the odd TV commercial?
* What are the members of all our favourite soft rock
bands up to today? Roger Nichols, Innocence, Harpers
Bizarre, 5th Dimension, etc...what happened to songwriters
like Sloan/Barri and arrangers like Perry Botkin Jr?
* Many of the Spectropop-artists were studio projects -
were they much inferior live? Has anyone on the list
actually been to any concerts with the bands we talk about,
such as The Millennium (who I assume probably were great
live) or The Association or [insert soft rock band of
personal choice]??
* We rarely discuss sixties music (this listy, that is, I'm
not talking about non-Spectropop stuff) in a wider context.
Without getting too non-listy (BTW, can you get non-listy
on a list that essentially has only two or three regular
contributors?), maybe we could discuss the influence of
Spectropop music on modern music (uhh, I need a synonym of
"music" :)).....
These are just a few topics to get this list A L I V E
again....I'm sure you can post a short comment during your
lunch breaks :)
Tobias
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: Nuggets
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: David Bash, Baxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
> Subject: the Nuggets box set
> From: Runar Sorgaard, wuxxxet.se
> I'll soon be getting the Nuggets Box Set on tape, the
> tracklisting looks *very* interesting! I'd like to hear
> some opinions about the artists....what are the highlights
> on the discs....the whole idea of the box is interesting to
> me...are there actual reasons why most of these bands only
> released a couple of singles and then completely
> disappeared? It seems like not many managed to release
> more than one album!
> Tobias (who does think The Mojo Men's Sit Down I Think I
> Love is a little bit out of place on Nuggets)
Hi Tobias,
I guess there are a few reasons as to why most of the
bands on Nuggets only released one or two singles:
1. Budgetary: most of these bands were made up of very
young guys who simply didn't have the money to record more
than a couple of tracks, and the local label who released
their record(s) didn't have the budget to help them out.
2. Disenchanted with the fact that their first record(s)
didn't catch on or that they didn't generate any major
label interest, they simply gave up on their musical
aspirations and went on to do other things.
3. Some of these people probably had other jobs to begin
with and did these records as a side project. Garage music
was supposed to be fun, so perhaps the making of a record
was a lark to a few of them.
I would like to post the review of The Nuggets box I did
for Entertaiment Today, a Los Angeles newspaper. It will
follow my signature.
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David Bash
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era
(Box Set) Various Artists Rhino Records
George Michael once exclaimed "If you're gonna do it, do
it right!", and it wouldn't be surprising if Rhino Records
were among his listeners because when it comes to doing box
sets, nobody does it "righter" than they do. Rhino's latest
offering is a 4 CD box that celebrates not only a genre,
but an album that had become a watermark for the
garage-punk movement of the '60s, a two LP set called
Nuggets. The original Nuggets album had been released in
1972 and was filled with 27 punk and psychedelic pop
masterpieces, and had been compiled by respected
journalist and musician Lenny Kaye. Rhino Records has now
extended the concept with a remarkable package of 118
mindbending, scorching, fuzzed out garage rockers, psych
poppers, and folk punkers combining the well known and the
obscure, easily adding up to the most amazing compendium of
such music that has ever existed. The Nuggets box
illustrates most cogently that it wasn't just the hippies
that had attitude in the '60s. The punks made their voice
heard even earlier and did so with a vengeance, spewing
vitroil about the establishment, woman that did them wrong,
women that did them right, and their love/hate
relationship with drugs. Their emotional conveyance was so
perfect; you don't even need to listen to the lyrics to
feel the venom, as the loud fuzz guitar, searing harmonica,
pounding drums, and ultra-snotty vocals do the trick
nicely. Many of these recordings were done at home, hence
the term "garage", and the genre is indeed one of recorded
music's most collectable, with some of its 45s fetching
upwards of $500. This music was purely American, and
although it came from all over the U.S. it especially
gained noteriety in areas like Michigan, Texas, the
Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Disc 1 of this set is
a straight reissue of the original Nuggets album, and it's
a cacaphonous soundscape of the punk sentiment, combining
some of the biggest hits of the genre such as "I Had Too
Much To Dream Last Night" by The Electric Prunes, "Dirty
Water" by The Standells, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count
Five, and "Liar, Liar" by The Castaways with lesser known
but extremely significant tracks like the almost laughably
Dylanesque "A Public Execution" by Mouse And The Traps,
"Moulty" by The Barbarians, an autobiography about their
one handed drummer's emergence from his disability, "Let's
Talk About Girls" by Sunset Strippers The Chocolate
Watchband, and perhaps the ultimate version of "Hey Joe"
by The Leaves. The album also featured several poppier
numbers like "Open My Eyes" by Nazz (featuring Todd
Rundgren), "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" by The Mojo Men
(their wonderful cover of the Buffalo Springfield tune),
and the pop-psychy "My World Fell Down" by soft-pop
legends Sagittarius.
Disc 2 follows along the same lines as disc 1, and could
have easily served in the same capacity as the original
Nuggets. Highlights are the hits "Talk Talk" by The Music
Machine, the party favorite "Double Shot (Of My Baby's
Love)" by The Swingin' Medallions, the mocking "Little
Girl" by Syndicate of Sound, the Los Angeles classic "7
and 7 Is" by Love, and the stomping "(We Ain't Got) Nothin'
Yet" by Blues Magoos, as well as some essential
obscurities like the humorous "Spazz" by The Electric Band,
"Going All The Way" by The Squires, "I Wonder" by The
Gants, which sounds like a garage version of The Beatles'
"In My Life", and "Strychnine" by The Sonics, an ode to
their beverage of choice. This disc also includes some
tracks that only tangentially embrace the concept, but are
nonetheless great songs like "Time Won't Let Me" by The
Outsiders, "Laugh, Laugh" by The Beau Brummels, and the
mega classic "Incense And Peppermints" by The Strawberry
Alarm Clock".
Some of the tracks on disc 3 feature artists that would
later attain prominence, playing and singing in a style to
which you might be unaccustomed, such as "Fight Fire" by
The Golliwogs, whose lead vocalist was a pre-Creedence
John Fogerty, the folk-poppy "Follow Me" by Lyme and
Cybelle (Lyme was the nom de plume for Warren Zevon),
"Like Fallin' Sugar" by The Palace Guard, a band that had
among its members the then 15 year old Emitt Rhodes on
drums (!) and background vocals, and the Cleveland classic
"It's Cold Outside" by the Choir, a band that contained
several soon-to-be Raspberries. This disc also shows some
bands in a different light than what you might be used to;
"At The River's Edge" by New Colony Six is an all out raver
that typifies their beginnings but belies the middle of the
road pop stylings they later rode the charts with, and
"She's My Baby" by The Mojo Men definitely shows a gritty,
rawer side to the band than they eventually transmuted to.
Some of the higher quality obscurities on this disc are the
Transylvanian-y "Put The Clock Back On The Wall" by the
E-Types, the surf-garagey "Run, Run, Run" by The Gestures,
the spoken word, off the deep end "Knock, Knock" by the
ironically named The Humane Society, "Psycho" by the
legendary Sonics, which is a screamer that Little Richard
could have done, and the psychedelic, Animals-ish "I'm
Five Years Ahead Of My Time" by The Third Bardo.
Disc 4 features some wonderful heretofore uncompiled gems
like the haunting "Johnny Was A Good Boy" by The Mystery
Trend, the very catchy "Stop, Get A Ticket" by Clefs of
Lavenderhill, the snarling "Open Up Your Door" by Richard
and the Young Lions, "Codeine" by The Charlatans, which
perfectly communicates the altered state of consciousness
caused by the drug, the folk-punky "Mindrocker" by Fenwyck
(for which a series of LP compilations was named), "I Live
In The Springtime" by the Lemon Drops, which features one
of the best fuzz guitar lines you'll ever hear, and the
minor key stomper "Hold Me Now" by The Rumors, as well as
classics like "Wooly Bully" by Sam The Sham and The
Pharaohs, "I Want Candy" by The Strangloves, the should
have been a bigger hit, pre-hippie slab of sarcasm "Are
You A Boy or Are You A Girl" by The Barbarians, and the
ultimate party record "Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen, the
song that may have been the greatest influence on garage
music that there ever was.
The Nuggets box also includes a wonderful booklet, with
liner notes by garage music's greatest authorities, Greg
Shaw and Alec Palao, as well as very complete annotations
by fellow expert Mike Stax. Sound Producer Bill Inglot
also took great care to make sure that as many tracks as
possible would be presented in their original mono form,
to preserve the energy and rawness that they were meant to
have. All in all, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The
First Psychedelic Era is a huge winner of a box set.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: The Ronettes on Charly???
Received: 06/05/99 12:15 am
>From: Jamie LePage, le_pagxxxities.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Today I found a CD near my office during lunch that is
such an exciting find I had to share it with the list.
The Ronettes "All the Hits" (CD CRB 560)
It says "Manufactured by Charly Schallplatten GMBH". There
is also a copyright notice c1995 Charly Schallplatten Gmbh
And, there is a "Cedar Audio Ltd." trademark on the sleeve.
You know what that means...
I thought Charly was a legit label, but surely neither
Spector nor ABKCO licensed this collection. It is the best
Ronettes CD collection I own, including the Spector Box
material, the ABKCO Ronettes CD and the Marginal release
(the last of which favors Colpix material over the more
obscure Philles stuff). Everything on this CD is Philles
material, and the bulk of the "Introducing..." material is
in true (((stereo)))!
Here is the track listing (* indicates stereo)
1. Be My Baby*
2. Baby I Love You*
3. Best Part of Breaking Up*
4. Do I Love You*
5. Walking In the Rain*
6. Born To Be Together
7. Is This What I Get For Loving You Baby
8. I Can Hear Music
9. So Young*
10 I Wonder (with recently discussed drum intro)*
11 You Baby*
12 How Does It Feel*
13 When I Saw You*
14 Oh I Love You
15 Blues for Baby (rare B of Born to be Together)
16 The Twist (from the Crystals sing the Greatest Hits)
17 Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love
18 Chapel of Love*
19 Mashed Potato Time (from the Crystals sing the Greatest Hits)
20 What'd I Say*
Great collection, but the CD clocks in at 57:04. I wonder
why they didn't put the Rare Masters tracks like I Wish I
Never Saw the Sunshine, Keep on Dancing, Soldier Baby of
Mine and Everything Under the Sun. Maybe because these
were first issued in the 70's and perhaps this is a
gray-boot (meaning 60's material is in public domain in
the territory of origin). Anyone know for sure?
I have to go back to that store and buy every Charly/Cedar CD
they stock. I saw Chubby Checker, Duane Eddy, Sonny & Cher,
Shangri-La's...
Jamie
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
End
Spectropop text contents & copy; copyright Spectropop unless
stated otherwise.
All rights in and to the contents of these documents, including each element embodied therein, is subject to copyright
protection under international copyright law. Any use, reuse, reproduction and/or adaptation without written permission of the owners is a violation of copyright law and is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.
