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...in screamin' hi-fi
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There are 7 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Ronnie Remembered
From: DJJimmyBee
2. Gary Zekley
From: Super Nintendo Chalmers wuo058br
3. Home of the Brave Boy
From: "Ian Chapman"
4. NPR Top 100, inc. Good Vibrations
From: Doc Rock
5. Does sound quality matter?
From: Pekka Johansson pekka.j
6. Ronnie!
From: spectropop-owner
7. Zekley/Visions
From: "Ian Chapman"
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 12:57:50 EDT
From: DJJimmyBee
Subject: Ronnie Remembered
In a message dated 7/31/0 4:36:23 AM, you wrote:
>Ronnie Dyson was a true prodigy, a rare teenager who sang
>lyrics with depth and maturity. In this sense, he reminds
>me a little of the young Dionne Warwick. It's a shame
>that his talent was obscured by personal problems and a
>premature death.
What a voice he had. I was unaware of his passing. There
is a fairly comprehensive collection of his work on
Collectible that is well mastered. "I Think I'll Tell Her"
is his masterpiece IMHO.
JB
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 20:04:56 -0000
From: Super Nintendo Chalmers wuo058b
Subject: Re: Gary Zekley
Dave Mirich asked:
> Actually, can someone tell more about the too short life,
> career and influence of Zekley?
I recommend you to buy the Yellow Balloon reissue on
Sundazed. There is a bonus track interview, 10-15 minutes
long, with Zekley by Domenic Priore, which sums up most of
his career.
Tobias
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 19:48:12 +0100
From: "Ian Chapman"
Subject: Home of the Brave Boy
Jamie wrote:
> Interesting, The song is widely believed to have been
> written by Mann and Weil, but BMI database does not show
> this title as written by them. Anyway...how and/or why did
> Del-Fi get the Lori Martin credits wrong? There must be
> some little story there. Anyone know?
Well, maybe they didn't, Jamie.......... I presume Alan
actually checked the label. True, the song was believed
to be a Mann/Weill comp, and I have a Barry & Cynthia
discography from an old "Who Put The Bomp" mag, where the
track was indeed listed as one of theirs. But I have to
admit (turning scarlet even as I write!) I didn't
double-check, and was going by memory.......probably
thinking of "Home of the Brave". Happens with age..........
Ian
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Message: 4
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 22:20:32 -0400
From: Doc Rock
Subject: NPR Top 100, inc. Good Vibrations
http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html
This is a must-visit site!
Doc
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 05:51:27
From: Pekka Johansson pekka.j
Subject: Does sound quality matter?
Hi there GG fans,
When I listen to reissues of 50-60s pop on high-quality,
state of the art equipment, I don't only hear the
imperfections of the original recording, but also the
imperfections of the so-called remastering process. The
Motown box (1959-71) sounds much worse on CD than the
original singles and the Philles box is a joke. Also, when
I listen to the "Loud, fast and out of control" Rhino box
I get so disappointed - extremely distorted and noisy. I
have mailed dr.rhino about this but haven't got any reply.
Guess I'm not important enough, living overseas...
Let's put some pressure on today's sound engineers to
recreate the high standards of 1956-1964 recordings. Bill
Inglot and a few others have proved that this can be done.
After all, hi-fi means re-creating the original event. Why
don't today's remastering engineers let this shine throung?
Or could it be that re-issue record companies are not
willing to pay the royalties for using the original tapes?
By the way, and this is also my reply to the "what
recording session would you attend?"
query: where do I get a perfect, non-distorting reissue of
Reparata & The Delrons "Whenever..."?
Best regards,
Pekka Johansson
Stockholm, Sweden
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Message: 6
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 13:21:07 +0900
From: spectropop-owner
Subject: Ronnie!
The following message is cross-posted from another venue
with permission of the author.
--
Not a lady to give up or give in, Ronnie Spector is back
in the recording studio, working on an album.
Among the guest artists who will appear with her on her
new disc are Joey Ramone and Keith Richards (Back in the
Sixties, Keith slept on the floor of Ronnie's living room
during the Stones' first U.S. tour.)And as another trivia
bit, do you recall when Estelle Bennett, Ronnie's cousin
and fellow Ronette, had a thing with George Harrison, when
they first visited New York in '64?
Back to the news on Ronnie: For those girls like myself
who loved her mountains of hair, serious eyeliner and
frisky attitude, hear this, she is back with a vengeance
and all this, despite ex hubby Phil Spector's spectre
hanging over her head. See, she can't sing her great hits
legally right now, after battling Phil in court, but I
think she eventually will win out on this, too. Just to
hear her sing, "Walking in the Rain", "Baby, I Love You",
"Be My Baby", etc. etc. would entice me to spend an entire
paycheck to see her..please, God, just once!---
Claudia Cunningham
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 20:19:02 +0100
From: "Ian Chapman"
Subject: Zekley/Visions
Just by coincidence got a pot-luck package of 45s today
which contained a version of "How Can I Be Down" by the
Visions on Uni 55031, backed by "Threshold Of Love" (wr.
Zekley/Grady). Both are Zekley productions (as Yodar
Critch). The version of "How Can I Be Down" is great -
very much like Yellow Balloon and the Group, maybe with a
touch of the Gary Lewis' about it. I checked the Zekley
interviews I mentioned before, and he said he wasn't a
staff producer at Uni, but just did spot projects there
(such as the Fun & Games) There was no info on the
Visions, other than they had another release on Uni, which
I guess could also be a Zekley job. Anyone know?
By the way, Gary mentioned that some of his work at Uni
was done for a company called Zax-Altfeld. (i.e. Steve
Zax and Don Altfeld) Gary revealed that Steve Zax was a
plastic surgeon and Don Altfeld was not only a songwriter,
but also a doctor. The two knew each other (and Jan Berry)
>from the same medical school. Talk about having more than
one string to your bow!
Ian
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