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Volume #0333 October 16, 1999
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Stereo Workshop Series
Subject: Johnny Franz
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Alec Palao, xxxxxus.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
>>Who produced that stuff - was it Wally Stott?
>
>I've seen that name somewhere but can't place it.....the
>person who produced the Walker Brothers was, according to
>the CD liner notes, John Franz, who I haven't heard of
>before.
Johnny Franz is one of the unsung heroes of 60s pop in my
opinion, if for nothing more than his totally sympathetic
direction of the Walkers' (group and solo) and Dusty
Springfield's, Madeline Bell's, Kiki Dee's etc recordings
for Philips. Indeed Scott Walker has admitted that his
best work came from the collaborative efforts of himself,
Franz and the various arrangers such as the aforementioned
Wally Stott, Ivor Raymonde, Peter Knight etc. Kudos also to
Peter J. Olliff, staff engineer at Philips' Marble Arch
Studio, who no doubt also had a hand in creating the
faux-Spector sonic majesty of the Walker Brothers records,
and of course Dusty's exemplary 1960s canon. I could embark
on a lengthy discourse regarding the genius of these
records but I suspect I'd be preaching to the converted...
Archivally yours,
ALEC
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Subject: Re: Scott Walker & Brazilian stuff
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Larry Koch, xxxxxrlog.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
>>Who produced that stuff - was it Wally Stott?
>
>I've seen that name somewhere but can't place it.....the
>person who produced the Walker Brothers was, according to
>the CD liner notes, John Franz, who I haven't heard of
>before.
Aha. Stott did the Scott solo albums.
Rediscovered a great old quote the other day.
"The truth is, I don't like white music. Scott's white
and he sounds it."
- Jack Nitzsche
>> has there ever been any discussion of Creed
>>Taylor on this list?
>
>Not as far as I know. Who is he?
Jazz producer, mostly associated with Verve and Astrud G.
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Subject: Sunshine Company
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Kingsley Abbott, kinxxxxxa.freeserve.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
It's good to see that Spectropop knows about the Sunshine
Company CD that I compiled for Joe Foster at the
wonderfully eclectic Revola label. It was fun doing it, as
I have been enjoying their particular brand of soft summer
pop since 1967 when it was not in any way hip in Britain.
Was it ever? Joe and I hope that it will help to spread
the word ( if not the apostrophes! - Sad case of vanishing
punctuation on some of the sleeve notes!)
Why don't fellow Spectropoppers put up suggestions for
other possible Revola projects that we could get our teeth
into. Please bear in mind that single albums are difficult.
Two plus possibly maketh an album...
By the way, Joey Stec of the Millennium used to hang out a
little with The Sunshine Company. He told me JUST after I
had finished the notes!!! Such is life!
Kingsley Abbott
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Soft Pop/Walkers
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Joe Foster, joe.fxxxxxtion.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Hello All! Some interesting postings on both these
subjects.....Johnny Franz was head of A&R at Phillips
records in London, and was in overall charge of most
important sessions....Ivor Raymonde was arranger and
producer on most of the Walkers early sessions (as with
Dusty Springfield), Franz took over the supervision of the
sessions and Scott effectively became the co-producer, a
relationship which continued on Scott's solo albums, Scott
leant heavily on Franz's experience as a real old-school
early '50's type producer to produce the movie-type
soundscapes of his imagination...that Franz put so much
energy and enthusiasm into Scott's vision when an easy
ride supervising MOR and soundtracks from the comfort of
his office beckoned, is a tribute to an often overlooked
producer...Wally Stott was an arranger on many Phillips
dates, and was by all accounts a fairly Bizarre character,
and as can be heard, a great arranger!....On Mike's article
, I think he is right to refer to modern day bands...there
has been an enormous resurgence in soft pop, and it's
influence is everywhere....on the new stuff by Guided By
Voices, in the rising wave of pop bands across America,
even in the odd soundscapes of many 'ambient dance'
projects, many people involved in them are big fans of
soft pop...a recent underground track by Future Pilot AKA
(at one time the only other person I knew with a copy of
"Begin") consists of loops of 'Prelude' by the Millennium
with Kim Fowley telling a strange story along with it....
the genre is by no means dead..HOWEVER this does not mean
that either myself, Mike, or any of the contributors
mentioned are not focused on the historical aspect....re:
Eternity's Children... Todd, I'm not suprised the Rev-ola
release is five bucks more, the other one is a BOOTLEG!...
The Rev-Ola one is 25 tracks from the original tapes which
I had the mighty Bill Inglot search under floorboards for,
God bless him, with extensive notes and rare photos...what
with paying EMI and several publishers, it's amazing there
is only $5 difference...I do have enough respect for soft
pop artists to pay them royalties! Sorry, not getting at
you, I've had to deal before with a similar question over
prices, ironically I was in the midst of arranging legal
action on behalf of Curt Boettcher's estate against the
issuer of the 'cheaper' edition....ie the bootleg....rest
assured the Sunshine Co. disc is well worth buying, I
don't know about a rumoured 4th album, neither Bill nor I
could find more than 2 songs not issued on tape....perhaps
someone knows something?? beyond rumours?.....best to you
all...Joe Foster
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Subject: Pixies Three Live
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: M. Helfinger/D. Grant, mhexxxxxrlog.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Hi again everyone:
This past Columbus Day (Canadian Thanksgiving) weekend, I
finally extinguished 15 years of burning curiosity and
made the trek from Toronto to Warren, OH (where they
appeared at Packard Music Hall as part of a "Rock & Roll
Spectacular") to catch the Pixies Three live.
A bit of background here. I'm a late baby boomer who grew
up with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin but discovered Girl
Groups and early rock'n'roll during the 1980s. I sought
refuge from the yuppie elevator music (a.k.a. "Adult
Contemporary") and increasingly dreary and mechanical
heavy metal that was dominating the airwaves at that time
by locking into a nearby oldies' station. Its playlist
included "442 Glenwood Avenue," a record whose unbridled
joyous energy caught my attention as an ultimate antidote
to the noise and mush covering the FM dial. It quickly
established itself as one of my oldies favorites. This
declaration has earned me some glowering stares from R&B
purists as well as looks that say "he's lost it" from most
friends my age, but I have continued to stand shoulder to
shoulder with "Doc Rock" Kelly and others to proclaim the
Pixies Three the most underrated of the early '60s Girl
Groups.
The show was worth every bit of the 300-mile drive. I'd
encourage anyone with a serious interest in Girl Groups -
even those who dismiss the Pixies' 1960s Mercury
recordings as too cute - to check the ladies' website for
a gig near them (just key "Pixies Three" into a search
engine). The "party girls" have grown up and have
developed an extensive and varied repertoire of R&B, pop
and country (see volumes 306, 308 and 309 for a discussion
of country-Girl Group linkages) tunes.
The absolute highlight of the set was a positively
kick-ass rendition of Ike & Tina Turner's "A Fool in
Love." Debby (Swisher) Horn's voice has evolved from
high-pitched and perky to smoky, sultry and powerful. She
packs an awesome emotional punch as a ballad singer, as
exemplified in the group's versions that evening of the
Crystals' "There's No Other Like My Baby" and Brenda Lee's
"Break It to Me Gently." However, the maturity and depth
the ladies have developed over the years did not prevent
them from performing "442" and "Birthday Party" with all
the bounce-off-walls exuberance of their teenage years.
Finally, I had the privilege of spending some time with
the Pixies and their spouses in Warren, and it was
wonderful to discover that nice music can be made by nice
people. The ladies and their husbands were a very classy,
hospitable and down-to-earth group, sharing a passion for
music and a dry sense of humor.
Michael Helfinger
111 Santa Barbara Rd.
Willowdale, ON M2N 2C4
Canada
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Subject: for once I have to disagree
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Frank, fxxxxxc.fr
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Hello Carol,
As always your posts are fascinating to read for all of us
fans. But for once I have to disagree with you :
>But getting back to Phil, we all knew he had that Midas
>touch and damn, every one was a biggie for him until the
>"River Deep" recording which took us all off-guard.
>
>But actually looking back, it was too much of a
>party-scene during the recording of that, and maybe that
>much distraction (altho' Phil loved people around him)
>took his usual edge off in producing...maybe it could have
>been better, who knows.
I know the relation between the US public and "River Deep
Mountain High" was somewhat "dodgy" As seen from Europe
where, as you say, it was a major hit in the UK, this
track definitely remains the greatest ever recorded. A
sort of "Citizen Kane" of Rock Music. And whatever
happened during the recording session, Phil certainly did
not lose his edge on this one. Its failure certainly never
had anything to do with its quality.
As for myself, just to think that you were on this session
makes my admiration for you and your work grow out of
limits.
Frank
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Subject: Spector's "Chico's Girl"
Received: 10/15/99 10:20 pm
From: Ian Chapman, iaxxxxxalnet.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
Following Francesc's post about the Spector tapes, I wrote:
> But the revelation for me was that there exists a
> Spector-produced verson of "Chico's Girl"!
>
>Can you tell us if it's by the Ronettes, Crystals or Darlene??
Francesc e-mailed me about this. He wasn't too sure about
the vocalist, although he was fairly certain it wasn't
Ronnie. Anyway, he kindly offered to play the track for me
over the phone. It made fascinating listening!! Even over a
long-distance line to Spain, I could hear Phil's studio
directions quite clearly. The three takes Francesc has are
track-only take, vocal take stereo, and vocal take mono -
all unfinished, but still plenty of Spector sound in
evidence. This version is rather slower than those by the
Girls and Susan Barrett, and in this one, "Chico wears a
jacket that says *tiger* on the back", rather than "rebel".
I can say with certainty that the vocalist isn't Ronnie,
Darlene or LaLa.....what I was hearing was relatively early
Philles, and I'm 99.9% certain that this is an early
Crystals track, circa "Uptown". I don't think it's Barbara
on lead, however. I'm sure the same vocal nuances I was
hearing are also on "Oh Yeah Maybe Baby" - so I'm gonna
stick out my neck and say, therefore, that I think this is
a Pat Wright-led Crystals track. Barbara, if you're out
there, can you confirm/refute?
Thanks again, Francesc!!
Ian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Not Diamonds in the Rough, but Chunks of Coal
Received: 10/15/99 12:56 am
From: Don Richardson, drixxxxxs.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxxxities.com
A few weeks ago I stumbled across a CD that I had long ago
forgot. I hadn't heard it in over 20 years, and picked it
up because of one song that was contained on the CD. Sadly
, the song wasn't a wonder hit of R&R, but rather one of
the best of the worst. You know...the kind of song you
only can play for friends near the end of the party when
the keg of beer is beginning to float in the barrel of ice.
The song that made me purchase the CD was from Dylan's "
Nashville Skyline." It is a duet with Dylan and Johnny
Cash. Only a duet with Mother Maybelle Carter and Minnie
Pearl could have competed for this worst duet of the year.
I'm certain others may disagree, but if you listen
carefully I'd suggest neither of them knew all the words
to the song.
While this list focuses on the great songs of a great
music era, I'm certain everyone also has that album or two
they bought, only because it had a song that was so bad it
was funny; at least near the end of the keg. Anyone want
to contribute other duets that turned out to be
ill-advised?
--Don
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