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The get-with-it sound for everyone who cares
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There are 9 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 90:
1. Some interesting albums I recently found
From: Glenn Sadin
2. Re: Playlist for "Casa Nostra"
From: "Randy M. Kosht"
3. RE: Chad & Jeremy
From: John Love
4. DeShannon and Letterman Musical Guests
From: "David Feldman"
5. Re: Jackie on Letterman
From: alan zweig
6. Re: Lesley's "What Am I Gonna Do With You (Hey Baby)"
From: "Spector Collector"
7. Hey Baby
From: "Jack Madani"
8. Lesley Gore - Jack Nitzsche
From: "Joseph E. Vine Jr."
9. Deconstructing the Wall, Honors Section
From: "Jack Madani"
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 15:46:32 -0800
From: Glenn Sadin
Subject: Some interesting albums I recently found
Are any of you familiar with an LP on Mercury from 1967
called "Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar"? The
album was recorded at Gary Paxton's studio and vocal
arrangements were done by Curt Boettcher. It's a very
peculiar album; side one is primarily experimental
arrangements of well-known pop songs, ie: "Louie Louie"
(listed as "Louis Louis"), and side two is mostly
wordless psych toons, with layers upon layers of
ethereal vocal harmonies on top of a psychedelic backing
(with plenty of groovy raga guitar to boot). The entire
effect sounds like a cross between the Beach Boys' "Pet
Sounds" and the Mothers of Invention's "Freak Out!". Far
out!
At the same store that I found the Friar Tuck LP, I also
finally scored a mono pressing of "Bee Gees 1st," which
is actually one of the greatest early British pop/psych
albums (1967). I see stereo copies around from time to
time, but the mono ones seem to be pretty scarce. It's
amazing to me that the brothers Gibb were only in their
teens when they cut that amazing album. It's a shame
that they're best known for the disco crud (IMO) that
they cut 10 years later, yet their adventurous early
recordings are generally not known or recognized.
Glenn
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 10:19:03 -0800
From: "Randy M. Kosht"
Subject: Re: Playlist for "Casa Nostra"
Hi; had to comment on that "Final Set" list for "Casa
Nostra" -- I love to see all of those A&M titles in one
place! The only one listed as A&M that actually wasn't
was Nick DeCaro's "Under a Jamaican Moon." His
"Italian Graffiti" LP was on Blue Thumb, not A&M. I
have both his "Happy Heart" LP (A&M 4176) and "Graffiti"
and love both!
BTW, have you heard that the Free Design have a new
album coming out? KPFK-FM in Los Angeles played a cut
>from "Cosmic Peek-A-Boo" -- it's due out in March, I
believe, on a German label.
Best,
Randy
A&Mania
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 05:20:56 -0600
From: John Love
Subject: RE: Chad & Jeremy
Just a PS to all the interesting posts on Chad &
Jeremy. Anyone else notice that one of the pics in
the Varese Best of is of Peter & Gordon? Keep up the
good work everyone!
John
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:52:23 -0500
From: "David Feldman"
Subject: DeShannon and Letterman Musical Guests
> I was one of those who saw Jackie on Letterman the other
> night. Was I disappointed! He introduced her as one of
> music director Paul Shaffer's "innovators of rock"
> guests, and I guess it was suppose to be "this is his
> blast from the past spot"....
I watch Letterman every evening, and although the
truncation of musical acts can be frustrating, in no
way was her treatment meant to be a slight to DeShannon.
Many much bigger names, and current ones at that, have
played with the band and are heard by the home audience
only during intros and outro transitions to/from
commercials. A couple of weeks ago, Sheila E. played
with the band for a week and never played a solo for
the home audience, although she was able to promote her
new CD.
The next evening, Letterman again mentioned how much he
loved having DeShannon there (this is highly unusual)
and said that it was a shame that the home audience
didn't hear more of her. We'll see if she's booked
again.
With a comic, whether or not they sit with Letterman is
a sign of status. Not so with musicians. Here, the
decision is based primarily on the guest-mix and
whether or not the singer is perceived to be a good
talker (bands never get interviewed en masse). Brian
Wilson is not going to get to that couch.
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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:15:41 -0500
From: alan zweig
Subject: Re: Jackie on Letterman
At 12:05 PM 1/15/01 -0000, you wrote:
> From: Claudia Cunningham
>Subject: Jackie DeShannon
>
>I was one of those who saw Jackie on Letterman the other
>night. Was I disappointed! I got the feeling that
>Jackie was too Sixties to appeal to Letterman's top
>demographic group, those 20 and 30 year olds who can't
>relate to Jackie. Sad, isn't it?
It might be sad if it were true. But I don't think it
is. IF they wanted to, it wouldn't take much for
Letterman and Shaffer and others like them to make
Jackie DeShannon into THE hip 60's comeback gal. Those
20 and 30 year olds (which really isn't one demographic
group) will relate to pretty well anyone they're told
to relate to. As long as you say "She's hip", "She's
the real thing", "She's more real than all these
plastic folks you're listening to these days". I think
maybe you could make the case that it would be easier
for them to sell a man than a woman. Or at least, it's
easier to sell an older man than an older woman.
I actually find it sadder how easy it is for them to
sell "hipness" to their demographic.
I don't know why they didn't let Jackie sing a number.
I don't know why she was hiding back there.
On the other hand, I don't know why she looked like a
deer in the headlights when Dave actually addressed a
question to her. You say that Shaffer cut her off when
he answered for her. I think he saved her from further
embarrassment.
There was something feeble about the way she was
presented, I agree with that.
It seemed half-hearted. But I wouldn't blame the
audience. They're always ready to be told what's hip.
You just have to tell them.
AZ
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 18:49:40 -0000
From: "Spector Collector"
Subject: Re: Lesley's "What Am I Gonna Do With You (Hey Baby)"
Jamie wrote:
> Now I am very keen to hear the original mono mix. I
> believe I have the LP somewhere, but I can't remember
> if it is mono or stereo. In any event, I can't seem to
> find it just now. If I continue to look I just might
> find it and listen to it several more times. My wife is
> surely bound to call the medics then!
Adding to his eagerness to locate the mono LP, I offer
the following quote, lifted from the discography
section of Lesley's very sophisticated site. (If you
haven't already visited it, check out
http://www.spectropop.com/go2/lesley_gore.html)
"On the monaural issue of My Town, My Guy and Me, there
is a fabulous, two-or-three voiced multitracked vocal
on "What Am I Gonna Do with You" that rockets that
classic tearjerker into a whole other dimension, and is
the equal of either one-voiced version that has
surfaced on the various anthologies..."
Jamie also asked whether the Bear Family box was worth
the investment, and I say yes, even if "only" for the
sake of all the previously unreleased material found
there, not least of which is the entire cancelled
"Magic Colors" album. Other votes?
David A. Young
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:46:47 -0500
From: "Jack Madani"
Subject: Hey Baby
re: "What Am I Gonna Do With You"--
Did I neglect to give props to the writers,
Titelman/Goffin? Sorry about that.
>Definitely my very favorite Lesley Gore recording - I
>have to mention the boy-betrays-faithful-girl lyric has
>a lot to do with it. Of great appeal to me is that
>sentiment expressed in so many of her recordings -
And yet she also sang "You Don't Own Me." But I know
what you mean about the betrayed faithful girl thing.
>
>Also, any song that has as its main catch phrase "Hey,
>baby" gets extra points.
...
>In this Titelman/Goffin work, the monotone line Hey Baby
>on the surface seemingly adds no importance to the lyric.
>But imagine extending the word "do" for a couple of
>beats and replacing "hey baby" with "with you". It works,
>but the impact is radically lessened. It's an example of
>the sum of the lyric and melody exceeding its components.
True enough, but there's something more to it, and I
think it's the implied intimacy of the conversation.
I remember one chilling talk years and years ago that
I had with a significant other, and it had the same
tone, the same sort of feeling of "I could kill you
with my bare hands....if you mattered to me anymore,
that is." Implied in that "hey baby" is all the
resignation, the it's-outta-my-hands emotion, even the
sense that the two people are even *physically" close
as they are talking. Those two words brilliantly add
so much depth and color to the scene.
Those Hey Baby's get me, also.
jack
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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 17:17:44 -0000
From: "Joseph E. Vine Jr."
Subject: Lesley Gore - Jack Nitzsche
> >my favorite Nitzsche-arranged track of all time, Lesley
> >Gore's "What Am I Gonna Do With You"--
>
>Definitely my very favorite Lesley Gore recording
Mine too.
The vocal on the Mercury Anthology (and ALSO, Rhino's
1998 "Best Of Lesley Gore: Sunshine, Lollipops &
Rainbows" and Demon-Westside's 2000 "My Town My Guy And
Me/Sings All about Love" 2-fer) sounds awfully HARSH to
me--and I'm not 100% certain it is the same vocal on the
"Golden Hits" CD. All above versions are Stereo--the
Mono version would have to be an improvement.
The Rhino "Best Of" CD credits NO arranger for Track 14
'What Am I Gonna Do With You' yet Jack Nitzsche IS
credited as arranger on Track 17 'Off And Running.'
The Demon-Westside CD booklet says:
"What Am I Gonna Do With You (Hey Baby)
Recorded in New York, July 23, 1965
Written by Russ Titelman & Gerry Goffin
Arranged by Don Costa
...This was Lesley's second attempt at the song--a Jack
Nitzsche-produced version cut in Hollywood having
failed quality control. "
> >the Mercury Anthology version is apparently the original
> >mix, with a lot of the classic Gold Star echo on it and a
> >more primitive stereo pan--instruments sort of huddled
> >left of center, and Lesley over to the right and a
> >little too upfront. The version on the Golden Hits cd
> >was apparently remixed...
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:54:29 -0500
From: "Jack Madani"
Subject: Deconstructing the Wall, Honors Section
Jamie LePage wrote:
> Now I am about to tear apart the mixes. Egad. Remember,
> this is my FAVORITE Lesley Gore recording!
[Bigtime snip]
> In fact, it is one redeeming quality of nearly all
> stereo vs. mono mixes, and the same can often be said
> of recent remixes. All those "sessions" tapes like
> the Pet Sounds box too help pinpoint those tricks.
To which brilliant discussion I can only quote from the
liner notes to "Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl Group
Anthology:" Producers, who were in the habit of
'borrowing' techniques from one another, weren't
necessarily happy with having to work in mono. Bob
Crewe: 'Mono was anathema to most of us! If you
separated into stereo, then you could figure out who
was playing certain things. But if you kept it in mono,
and layered it, no one could figure out what you'd put
together to get that sound! I remember joking with
Phil Spector about that.'"
I'll be digesting your post for some time before I can
get my brain all the way around it, Jamie. Good job.
jack
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