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Volume #0005 11/03/97
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Subject: Don't Touch Me There
Sent: 11/2/97 8:32 AM
Received: 11/2/97 12:13 PM
From: Kevin & Collette Mangold, discXXX@XXXXXXmail.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
The Tubes were in Las Vegas last night for something
called the 'Fetish And Fantasy Ball.' Although I passed
on that... er... show, I did take out a couple of their
albums, which I hadn't played in years.
It was surprising how good 'Don't Touch Me There' has
held up after all this time. The Tubes, with alot of help
from Jack Nitschke, really pulled-off a Spectoresque
production in grand style. (Or is that Re Styles?)
Why didn't A&M ever release it as a single? Given the
performance and production quality, along with the sly
humor of the lyrics, it could have done fairly well.
I can't listen to it without breaking into a big (albeit
evil) grin.
"... The smell of burning leather as we hold each other
tight, as our rivets rub together, flashing sparks into
the night. At this moment of surrender, darling if you
really care, don't touch me there..."
They just don't write 'em like that anymore, folks!
Rock On!
Kevin
-----------[ archived by Spectropop ]-----------
Subject: Favorite Lesser-Known Writers
Sent: 11/2/97 8:32 AM
Received: 11/2/97 12:13 PM
From: David Marsteller, davebXXX@XXXXXXlin.org
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
I thought it would be interesting if other list members
would like to share names of lesser-known 60's writers
that they look for while record browsing. One that I have
fun looking for is Artie Resnick. Artie's two big songs
are "Under The Boardwalk" and "Good Lovin'". I met Mr.
Resnick a number of years back when he held an informal
songwriting workshop. Since then, I've been on the
lookout for his songwriting credit when I'm rifling
through the bins. I'm sure I have other recordings of his
songs, but at the moment I can think of two places I've
found his work: on the album by The Banana Splits (yikes!)
and on a 45 by Julie Budd. The Julie Budd single was
actually a cool find. I had vague memories of Julie as
Merv Griffin's protege, but I thought her style was faux
Striesand. This single was more in the Petula Clark/Dusty
Springfield mode, and quite enjoyable. I'll pick up more
Julie Budd recordings in the future (if I ever find any!)
Oh I forgot to mention that Artie Resnick is solely a
lyricist, so it's hard to predict what any of his songs
will be like musically. Part of the fun I guess....
Later
Dave
/************************************************************************/
/** "Reach out and grab a fistful of now" **/
/** Thornetta Davis **/
/** David Marsteller davebXXX@XXXXXXlin.org **/
/************************************************************************/
-----------[ archived by Spectropop ]-----------
Subject: Re: Bring Me The Head Of Lou Adler
Sent: 11/2/97 2:54 AM
Received: 11/2/97 8:04 AM
From: Marc Wielage, XXX@XXXXXXrax.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
MCG&WSM <wmacbXXX@XXXXXXt.co.uk> wrote:
>I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I have a CD which I keep
>under several layers of concrete and lead, and only touch
>wearing thick gloves and a full-body anti-contamination suit...
>This CD looks *just* like Wrap Around Joy - until you put it on,
>that is. Don't do it, folks. On every single track, a crude
>disco beat has been lashed on and secured with six-inch nails,
>mixed way high...
>I just *can't* believe Carole is freely allowing this sort of
>thing to happen to her back-catalogue. Do that to something of
>mine, and you're dead, friend. Like, *now*.
---------------<snip>----------------
Pressing errors can and do happen sometimes, and the
artist has no control over screw-ups like this. Even
Adler can't really be blamed, since I think his main
work today is counting the royalties, not making the
discs. :-)
The U.S. release of WRAP AROUND JOY was fine, on
Epic/Ode EK-34953, but it wasn't pressed in very large
quantities, nor did it sell very well. Sadly, I think
that's the story for quite a few of Carole's other 1970s
releases, most of which are now out-of-print.
I'd gladly trade a CD-R or MiniDisc copy of this for
other King material I don't have.
--MFW
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
= Marc Wielage | Internet: XXX@XXXXXXrax.com =
= MusicTrax, Ltd. | CompuServe: 76702,1025 =
= Chatsworth, CA | AOL: mtrax6 =
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-----------[ archived by Spectropop ]-----------
Subject: Re: Return To Brill Days
Sent: 11/2/97 5:54 PM
Received: 11/2/97 5:54 PM
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
David Marsteller wrote:
>I've been thinking about the Brill building and Motown's 60's
>songwriting organization and was wondering if something similar
>could sprout and flower again. I think one of the main
>hindrances is the opinion (created post Beatles and Dylan) that
>an artist was inferior if he (or she) didn't write their own
>material.
The irony is that the Beatles, by emulating and
glorifying Brill (and Motown to a great extent),
simultaneously destroyed its very concept; pro writers
composing for pro performers. It's very true, since the
end of Brill artists were and are expected to write their
own material. This is such an accepted concept, that many
don't even notice even when there are pro writers on
their favorite band's records. Diane Warren and Desmond
Child immediately come to mind. The artist-as-writer
concept takes care of a big part of the "R" in A&R.
Labels sign baby bands, put them in the studio and shrug
their shoulders when the album doesn't work. Absurd! No
wonder so many potentially good bands make boring records.
Today, there is another big incentive for artists to
record their own material, even if they would prefer to
use outside material. It is the "creative" concept of the
label lawyers, and its name is Controlled Composition
Clause. There is a statutory rate in US for mechanical
royalty. But publishers normally issue mechanical
licenses, and publishers are able to accept a lower rate
than statutory if the CCC gun is put to their head. So
the creative lawyers cooked up a scheme to pay only 75%
of statutory rate, with a maximum of 10 tracks per album.
To make a long story short, if an artist with a CCC in
its contract covers a Brill or Motown song, 25% of the
mechanical royalty paid to Screen Gems or Jobete is
recouped from artist royalty. Pretty creative, doncha
think?
>For some peculiar reason, Nashville doesn't attach this stigma
>to its artists. Perhaps this is why Nashville still has a
>fairly active songwriting community.
Many writers left NY and LA for Nashville for this very
reason. It seems to be the only place left. btw, ever
wonder why country music has become such a strong
segment of the record market in recent years? Hmmm......
>Do you think we might be able to come back to the approach
>that an artist with a good song is just that, and not really be
>concerned on whether the song is self-written or not?
Probably not, and the first thing necessary would be to
abolish the CCC disease in U.S.. But I believe that
David's "artist with a good song is just that" concept is
a big reason the music we categorize here as Spectropop
is so special. For many reasons, it was the golden age of
pop music, particularly if we limit the conversation to
the "rock and roll" genre, and I am afraid we will never
experience such an exciting time in music again. So, if
we look at time vertically and genre horizontally, my
search for "new" music is horizontal, not vertical, and
it is always exciting to discover music from that era
that I wasn't aware of.
It seems to me that as far as Oldies Radio is concerned,
programming leaves much to be desired. It stands to
reason that if listeners like "Locomotion" by Little Eva
and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by Shirelles, the sound
of a less popular but artistically wonderful record like
the Cookies "I Never Dreamed" would sound familiar enough
to Oldies Radio listeners to spark interest, and because
so many wonderful records of the Spectropop era were
flops, endeavors in this area could expand interest in
the genre horizontally. I know Oldies reissues aren't big
business in general, but Oldies Radio pays no attention
to the myriad CD reissues of lesser-lnown Spectropop era
recordings. By ignoring them, they actually contribute to
their own format becoming stagnant.
Looking back to the late 40's and 50's, and even early
60's, songs were more important than records. In the
pre-phonogram days, sheet music was the medium for
distributing music, hence the name music "publishers." If
you think about it, music publishers today rarely
"publish" anything; prints are farmed out to music book
publishers like Hal Leonard. So when did recordings start
to eclipse compositions in terms of importance? I think
it came as a result of the advent of the 45 rpm record.
Which one? There probably isn't one particular record,
but Mickey's Monkey by Smokey comes to mind as a early
recording that is more important than the song itself. It
was just about this time that artists began to record
less cover (read: filler) material for their albums.
Anyone else have an opinion on this?
LePageWeb
-----------[ archived by Spectropop ]-----------
Subject: Re: Spectropop V#0004
Sent: 11/2/97 8:23 AM
Received: 11/2/97 12:13 PM
From: Kevin & Collette Mangold, discXXX@XXXXXXmail.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Re: Battle of the 'I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight'(s)
(Q). << Is this the same song that was also done by
Boyce & Hart? I always assumed B&H were the
writers of that song. >>
(A). Same title (almost), different songs.
(Q). << Which do you like more: "I Wonder What
She's Doing Tonight" by Barry And The Tamberlanes, or "I
Wonder What She's Doing Tonite" by Boyce & Hart. I'd
vote for the former, but it's damn close! >>
The Boyce & Hart song is okay, although the corny
voice-overs (i.e. "... okay Bobby, let's go!") are really
hokey.
The Barry & The Tamerlanes track, IMHO, is superior
in almost every way. It has a charming innocence to it.
Along with the doo-wop-y vocals, the production sounds as
though it was recorded in a garage. There were alot of
top 10 records that weren't half this good.
Rock On!
Kevin
-----------[ archived by Spectropop ]-----------
Subject: The Pet Sounds Box!!!
Sent: 11/2/97 3:16 PM
Received: 11/2/97 7:21 PM
From: David Bash, bashXXX@XXXXXXt.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to the mountain top! Due
to the tip of my great friend Spaz, I found a store which
had the Pet Sounds Box set on sale today! Well, you know
this guy drove the 45 miles to pick that one up!
First of all, some curiosities: The copyright date on the
box is still listed as 1996. I would have thought, due to
the reported changes that had taken place in the interim,
that it would have a 1997 date. I had heard that the
liner notes were supposedly being re-written by Dennis
Diken of the Smithereens, but unless I missed it I see
nothing by him in either the main book or the "The Making
Of Pet Sounds" booklet. The opening notes are from Brian,
then there's stuff by Beach Boy biographer David Leaf and
Mark Linett, the engineer who did the stereo re-mix of
Pet Sounds. The "Making Of Pet Sounds" booklet leads off
with a note from Mike Love. If these liners were indeed
re-done, I don't know what the fuss was about. Mike seems
very conciliatory, lauding Pet Sounds as a great work!
Perhaps the original notes printed what Mike had
originally said at the time when he first heard Pet
Sounds, that it was Brian's "Ego Music" and his warning
to Brian "not to f**k with the formula" that made them
big stars, and that's what Mike wanted deleted. In any
case, I've only done a quick perusal of the notes, so
I'll report more later.
Now to the important stuff, which is the music! Disc one
has the stereo mix of the album, and I know that some of
you are "mono people", but there won't be one among you
who won't think that the stereo mix of this album,
*despite the fact that it was done recently*, isn't
absolutely one of the most natural mixes you've ever
heard. It's not extreme in any way, and it reveals many
of the nuances that you just know Brian is really happy
to have finally bestowed upon the world. I remember very
well reading the liners on the Brother reissue of Pet
Sounds that came out in 1972, which said "this album is
reissued in mono, the way Brian cut it". Well, had Brian
had two good ears he might very well had cut a stereo mix
back in 1966. In any case, this mix is a warm and
beautiful tribute to one of the greatest and most
essential albums of all time!
So far, the only other material I've heard from the box
is on disc 3, which has the alternate versions of many of
the tracks. The most striking one is the original slowed
down version of "Caroline No", which Brian's dad Murry
had urged him to speed up, which of course Brian did for
the finished Pet Sounds. Well, as far as I'm concerned,
as great as the released "Caroline No" was, the slower
version is sadder and much more poignant. I really felt
his pain listening to that one! Other interesting things:
The alternate version of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" has the
first line reversed (i.e. "Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live
Together In The Kind Of World Where We Belong, And
Wouldn't It Be Nice If We Were Older Then We Wouldn't
Have To Wait So Long". You know what? I like it better
this way; it seems to have a more natural flow. I'm going
to read the notes to see if there's anything in them as
to why these lyrics were changed for the released version.
The alternates of "Sloop John B" are also really cool,
one with Carl singing lead and the other with Brian.
There's so much on here that's fantastic, but I don't
want to take up any more list space. All I can say is,
any fan of The Beach Boys and Pet Sounds MUST HAVE THIS!!
--
The Beach Boys Rule, As They Always Have!!!!!
Take Care,
David
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