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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Volume #0049 03/4/98
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We recommend you to consult your record dealer
Subject: Re: Spectropop V#0048
Sent: 3/3/98 2:55 PM
Received: 3/4/98 12:44 AM
From: Paul MacArthur, rtf_XXX@XXXXXXdu
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
> > Some say the sixties began when Kennedy was shot and ended
> > with Nixon's resignation. I think in terms of musical
> > excellence, it started a little earlier than that, circa
> > Phil Spector, but after Nixon's resignation we had a
> > dramatic down turn in the quality of popular (and less
> > popular) music.
>...i don't want to waste spectropop space on sociological
>conjecture, but i think any decade takes a couple years to
>"get going".
The point there is if you had to find a turning point, that
was probably it. In one day, television, which elected
Kennedy, showed us, instantly, his passing (well some of us,
I wasn't even a gleam in the milkman's eye at the time). If
there was any doubt as to the power of the television
medium, it was erased in 12 hours.
>...i must say this: i think people have developed a far too
>narrow, negative view of the 70s. without any problem, i
>could list a hundred *great* singles released during that
>maligned decade; i wouldn't even attempt starting such a
>list regarding the 80s or 90s. granted, a good number (a
>majority?) of these treasured 70s records might not have
>been on the radio.
Which proves my KHJ point perfectly. There was great music
in the 70s, but not nearly as much as the decade before, and
that's why it is so maligned. Look what was before it: The
Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy
Preston, Jimi, Janis, Morrison, Spector, Woodstock, The
Miles Davis and John Coltrane groups, BS&T, Electric Flag,
Supremes, 04 Tops, Stax/Volt/Atlantic Soul, Chicago Transit
Authority. I'm not even close to scratching the surface.
The post-Nixon seventies? Saturday Night Fever. The Sex
Pistols. Boston.
Okay, yeah they gave us Blondie too, but there were far too
few Blondies are far too many Sylvers.
> but some *were* on the radio, and those that
>weren't had at least been written, recorded, produced, and
>released--giving me joy in the present and hope for the future.
There was some great music on the air, but the KHJ tape really
shows the decline of pop radio. Check it out.
>personally, it wasn't until the 80s kicked in that i truly felt
>like a stranger in a strange land.
Come on. The 80s gave us MTV...
- Paul
----------
Album of the Week: Beach Boys HOLLAND
RIP: Carl Dean Wilson (1946-1998)
----------
---[ archived by Spectropop - 03 /4/98 - 07 :54:47 AM ]---
Subject: Vikki Carr
Sent: 3/4/98 1:11 AM
Received: 3/4/98 7:46 AM
From: Kieron Tyler, kierXXX@XXXXXXorg.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Jack Madani was writing about Vikki Carr, and how good some
of her stuff was on the EMI Legendary Masters CD. I have
been trying to find out what she recorded in England (where
I am) in the 60s. Jack - are there any English recorded
tracks on the CD. I know that she did do at least two tracks
(a single?) with Charles Blackwell as Musical Director. Can
anyone else help...
All the best, Kieron
---[ archived by Spectropop - 03 /4/98 - 07 :54:47 AM ]---
Subject: Reply to Brent's post
Sent: 3/4/98 4:13 AM
Received: 3/4/98 12:44 AM
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Brent Kubasta wrote:
>...if hatch was trying to emulate the gold star sound in
>any way, it's worth noting that he was applying (teenage
>rock 'n' roll) to records appealing to an adult pop audience.
That's one of the most appealing aspects of 60's pop. It was
teenage rock and roll pushing the boundaries of what was
acceptable on top 40 radio, which in turn influenced A/C
and mainstream pop to reflect rock sensibilities in a way Pat
Boone could never have imagined. Sinatra, Four Tops, Pet Clark
and the Rolling Stones all on Top 40 radio at the same time. No
matter what music you liked best, you got it all from top 40.
Everyone shared a common popular music vocabulary, despite
any disparate interests.
>...60s radio interview with petula where she laughs...at
>the dj's classification of her records as rock 'n' roll.
Rightfully so! Pet Clark's mid-60's records are a far cry
from Gene Vincent! :-) btw, anyone heard her brilliant French
cover of No Go Showboat? Ms. Leclerc, perhaps?
>>
>> >"I Can Hear Music: The Songs of Greenwich & Barry"
>
>when i bought the reissue of ellie's _let it be written, let
>it be sung_ album in the late 80s, the album was on verve/
>PolyGram. perhaps she is considered a PolyGram artist? or
>made a publishing/administration deal with the label?
Gotta think Ellie's album was a one-off. Many of her records
were on Leiber/Stoller's Red Bird label, the Raindrops on
Jubilee, and she even cut as Ellie Gaye on RCA. I think the
latter guess is the most plausible; perhaps Trio Music is
administrated by PolyGram Music.
>thank goodness that abkco had the good sense not to be overly
>selective when it came to _goodfellas_ and _casino_.
That's the ABKCO philosophy at work, I suppose. Very
selective licensing means those uses that ARE licensed are
going to be effective in both generating income for songs
AND protecting (or even enhancing) their integrity.
>spector's philles recordings weren't merely well-placed in
>these films; they added absolute magic to certain scenes.
I like the use of Be My Baby in Quadrophenia too. When that
song cranks up, you know there's a party going on!
>> >Subject: KHJ
>i think people have developed a far too narrow, negative view
>of the 70s.
It wasn't like on January 1, 1971 music suddenly started to
suck. I had to personally come to grips with: "Are the 60's
simply the music of your youth," or "background music for
your Wonder Years?" But then, most of the 60's (& earlier!)
music I treasure today I never heard during the 60's - It was
only decades later that I discovered much music of that era.
Likewise, I bought most of my albums in the 70's. So, I
know it ain't no nostalgia thing, like hearing a song that
triggers some adolescent memory or something.
Today, many people in their late teens/early twenties are
keenly interested in 60's pop and pop culture, I suspect
including more than a few members of this list. Besides, as
soon as you start defining quality from a nostalgic point of
view, jitterbug & Village People are as cred as Beach Boys.
A Sha Na Na-like approach to ANY decade is offensive to me.
No, it's more a retrospective appreciation that for a brief
time, pop music Meant Something Very Special...really. No
doubt, much good music is made in every decade or era, but
the 60's were very special indeed, especially from a Top
40 perspective.
>......david gates wrote some *incredible* songs. if i don't
>dig listening to 'em all that much, it's only because
>those bread records are casualties of clean, soft,
>sterile, 70s multi-track production.
Agreed. Many Bread recordings are personal favorites. But
for the very reason you cite (sterile, 70s multi-track
production), I preferred to laud Gates' Brill-era sides,
some of which are very exciting.
>Five years earlier, had gates been in a band such as
>buffalo springfield and provided them with "everything i
>own" and "let your love go", i'm sure those songs would be
>held in high regard by all spectropop list members...
Buffalo Springfield was a good analogy. I can readily
imagine Gates in a band that released Nowadays Clancy,
Flying on the Ground and Expecting To Fly. Good call!
Great post, Brent.
--
le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
RodeoDrive/5030
---[ archived by Spectropop - 03 /4/98 - 07 :54:47 AM ]---
Subject: Re: The 70s, The Park, and Other Things
Sent: 3/4/98 6:09 AM
Received: 3/4/98 7:46 AM
From: BashPop, BashXXX@XXXXXXm
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
>From: Brent Kubasta, bkubaXXX@XXXXXXccc.edu
>
>i think people have developed a far too narrow, negative
>view of the 70s. without any problem, i could list a
>hundred *great* singles released during that maligned
>decade; i wouldn't even attempt starting such a list
>regarding the 80s or 90s. granted, a good number (a
>majority?) of these treasured 70s records might not have
>been on the radio. but some *were* on the radio, and those
>that weren't had at least been written, recorded, produced,
>and released--giving me joy in the present and hope for the
>future. personally, it wasn't until the 80s kicked in that
>i truly felt like a stranger in a strange land.
I totally agree with you about the 70s. As much as I love
so much music from every decade, when all is said and done I
might have to say that the 70s were my favorite decade.
I'll admit that my perception is biased, as the early 70s
were my formative years in radio and my tastes were very
much shaped by the Top 40 AM radio of the day. Not only
that, but because I was in my pre- teens/teens at that time,
my mind was expanding rapidly and I was discovering new and
complex emotions, and for that reason the songs on the radio
during the early 70s have left an indelible stamp on my gray
matter, and have forever become a blueprint for my life. By
the mid-70s, I had gotten into albums quite heavily, and
would have to say that for me the late 70s provided a
seemingly never ending fountain of great albums.
Your comment about the 80s was very interesting, and it does
bring to mind the concept of perspective. While you did
qualify your puzzlement with the 80s as something that was
subjective, it brings up the question: is there really an
inherent quality the music of particular time periods, or
does our perception of that music have more to do with our
own life's circumstances? I would venture to say that while
I abhor the music of Top 40 radio in the 90s, there are
thousands of intelligent, well informed pre-teens/teens with
great musical ears that absolutely love today's radio
because it's so connected with what they're going through,
just as 70s radio was for me. They are experiencing their
first crushes, and enlightenment about both the goods and
evils of the world, as they are listening to this music.
This is something that we as adults can never have with
today's music, and therefore for us to sit back and say that
today's music has no inherent value may be a bit arrogant.
I know I fall into the trap sometimes, but when I sit back
and look at it objectively, I have to say that my belief is
that if indeed there is inherent quality in music, that it
has existed in the same measure in every decade.
Thank you for allowing me this digression!
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David
---[ archived by Spectropop - 03 /4/98 - 07 :54:47 AM ]---
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