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Volume #0067 04/14/98
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"For every star there's a man with a cigar"
Subject: elvis as "cover artist"
Sent: 4/12/98 1:04 PM
Received: 4/12/98 6:29 PM
From: dave prokopy, prokXXX@XXXXXX.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Doc Rock, docroXXX@XXXXXXom writes:
>Even when songs were written for Elvis, he covered Demos by
>PJ Proby, who imitated Elvis perfectly, and laid out the
>vocal arrangments for EP on the demos.
well, i don't think i'd consider those to be "covers," then.
nearly EVERY pop artist in the fifties and sixties "covered"
songs in this sense. remember, not that many singers were
writing their own material, and the most common way for a
singer to record a song written by another was to listen to
a demo first. this isn't really "covering," tho'. when i
think of a "cover," i presume we're talking about a song
that had already been released by another artist. (whether
or not it was a hit isn't so important, i suppose.) MOST of
elvis' songs were written for him. he did do his share of
"covers" (moreso during his sun years, and again in the
seventies), but most of his songs - and nearly all of his
hits - were written specifically for him.
>Often Elvis just added his voice to PJs demo track.
THIS i take issue with - elvis GENERALLY (albeit, not always
- particularly for his movie soundtracks) preferred to
record as much as possible live. the big notable exception
was his late sixties work in memphis ("suspicious minds,"
"kentucy rain," etc.). but nearly all of his fifties and
early-to-mid-sixties stuff was done live.
(and i'd never heard that PJ proby story before - what's
your source on that?)
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /12/98 - 11:26:07 PM ]---
Subject: Various
Sent: 4/11/98 9:39 PM
Received: 4/12/98 9:37 AM
From: Jack Madani, Jack_MadXXX@XXXXXX2.nj.us
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Subject: Bob Crewe Generation
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here's the rundown on the Bob Crewe Generation lp
_Music_To_Watch_Girls_By_:
Dynovoice Stereo SLP 9003
Distributed by Bell Records
Produced by Bob Crewe
Arrangements by Hutch Davie
Engineers: George Schowerer and Bill Szymczyck
Studio: Mirasound, NYC
Side 1
Anna
A Felicidade (Theme from Black Orpheus)
Theme from A Man And A Woman
Let's Hang On
Music To Watch Girls By
Side 2
Concrete And Clay
Theme For A Lazy Girl
A Lover's Concerto
Girls On The Rocks
Winchester Cathedral
In addition to Let's Hang On (obviously), the only other
songs on this album written by BC are Theme For A Lazy Girl
and Girls On The Rocks (both co-written with Hutch Davie).
Doesn't say anywhere on here what year the album was released.
Subject: girl watchin' in stereo
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> Then you'd want to get Love Power: Hard to Find U.S. Hot 100
>> Hits of the 60s (Sequel 669), which has it in stereo.
>Yes but the stereo version, If memory serves me has a guitar
>break (solo) that is not on the hit mono version. Or is it
>the other way around.
you were right the first time, Paul; my scratchy stereo lp
version has a guitar thingy goin' on.
Subject: Look of Sleighbells
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>You will notice the song Look Of Love on the two Cd set is
>the original hit single in stereo with the sleigh bell
>overdub, whereas I believe the Golden Hits had the LP
>version without the overdub. To me the overdub makes the
>song.
That sleighbelled/kettle-drummed/extra-vocalled version was
also on Mercury's 2-disc "Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl
Group Anthology," so I'd already known about it. Being the
sucker for sleigh bells that I am, I also prefer the
punchier overdub version. Plus, the track having been
Spectrified, it makes more sense when at the fadeout Lesley
sings whoa ho hoooo, hey hey heeyyyy, just like Darlene Love
in Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home.
Subject: More covers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here are three more pairs of covers:
Help Me Ronda/Help Me Rhonda
Be True To Your School/Be True To Your School
Cotton Fields/Cotton Fields
all by the Beach Boys. In the case of the first two, it's a
competition between an album version and a single version,
but we're not talking about just remixing or adding some
extra dubs to make an album cut sound punchier for single
airplay--these are total re-recordings. Was this a common
practice in those days, or was it just Brian Wilson?
The last example is down to competing versions by helmed by
Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, and I know that the latter
version was a sizable hit at least in the UK. Was the
former version ever released as a single, or was it merely
an album track?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Madani - Princeton Day School, The Great Road,
Princeton, NJ 08540 Jack_MadXXX@XXXXXX2.nj.us
"It is when the gods hate a man with uncommon abhorrence that they
drive him into the profession of a schoolmaster." --Seneca, 64 A.D.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /12/98 - 11:26:07 PM ]---
Subject: Toys on Sundazed
Sent: 4/12/98 8:53 PM
Received: 4/12/98 9:42 PM
From: le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
David Marsteller asks:
>Has anyone got the reissue of The Toys "Attack" album on
>Sundazed? I'm thinking about getting it. Are the bonus
>tracks worthwhile? And how is the sound quality? I expect
>it will be good, Sundazed generally is.
I have the Sundazed reissue. There are virtually no liners,
save for what appear to be the original album liner notes
by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell: Entertaining but hardly
informative. I have no complaints about the sound quality,
Bill Inglot o/b/o Rhino was involved with the remastering
and his work is always top notch. The thing is, are the
Toys really all that interesting? It seems to me Linzer and
Randell mapped out what would be a black GG version of the
Four Seasons, and after it all worked on paper took it to
the studio. The tracks groove; in the Let's Hang On-era
Four Seasons mode. The vocals are really grating though.
The harmonies are all rather screechy, and just ever so
slightly out of tune - consistently. The lead vocal on
Lover's Concerto is fine, but it is in a lower register.
Often when the lead vocalist reaches for a soulful high
note, she squeals atonally. Ironically, Frankie
Valli handled this sort of thing perfectly. Compared to
groups like the Chiffons or the Exciters, the Toys are
runners up in my opinion.
If you ask me, the Rag Dolls' "Dusty" (Bob Crewe/Sandy
Linzer/Danny Randell) is a far better GG take on the Four
Seasons. Doc, I'd love to hear more on the Rag Dolls, and I
am very interested in what Crewe might have to say about
all this.
btw, the bonus tracks on the Toys CD are perhaps the most
interesting tracks on the collection. It appears more effort
was put into these as they were destined for A-side
release. "Baby Toys" in particular is quite good.
The "Attack" album cover artwork is priceless!
Hope this helps,
--
le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
RodeoDrive/5030
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /12/98 - 11:26:07 PM ]---
Subject: Re: cover versions
Sent: 4/13/98 12:12 PM
Received: 4/14/98 12:31 AM
From: Big L, biXXX@XXXXXXmail.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
How 'bout two by the great Billy Stewart: "Summertime" and
"Secret Love?"
==
Big L Check out my Radio Legends pages at:
biXXX@XXXXXXmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/9816
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /14/98 - 12:34:55 AM ]---
Subject: Double Bubble Trading Co.
Sent: 4/13/98 12:15 PM
Received: 4/14/98 12:31 AM
From: Javed Jafri, javedjaXXX@XXXXXX.ca
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
> Subject: Re: cover versions
> Sent: 4/11/98 10:20 AM
> Received: 4/11/98 9:53 PM
> From: Big L, biXXX@XXXXXXmail.com
> To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com>
> >>Good ( and Fun) cover versions, well the list could go on
> forever but here's a start :>
> 1. Over and Over/DC5
> 2. You Got What It Takes/DC5
> 3. Words Of Love/Beatles
> 4. Roll Over Beethoven/Beatles
> 5. Do You Wanna Dance/Beach Boys
> 6. My World Fell Down/Sagittarius
> 7. Dedicated To The One I Love/Mamas& Papas
> 8. Iko Iko/Dr. John
> 9 Younger Girl/The Critters
> 10. Little Honda/The Hondells
> 11. You Showed Me/The Turtles
> 12. The River Is Wide/The Grassroots
> 13. Laugh At Me/Mott The Hoople
> 14. Nobody But Me/The Human Beinz
> 15. Sugar & Spice/The Cryan Shames
> 16. Just Like Romeo & Juliet/Michael & The Messengers
> 17. Love Potion # Nine/The Searchers.
> 18. Hush/Deep Purple
> 19. Summertime Blues/Blue Cheer
> 20. Don't Think Twice It's All Right/The Wonder Who>
> I will accept #1, 02 , 05 , 07 , 15, 18 & 19 as fitting my
> definition of a "stand alone" cover. I didn't know #6, 11,
> 14 & 20 were covers.
Leonard,
The original versions of 6,11,14 and 20 were as follows :
6. My World Fell Down/The Ivy League
11. You Showed Me/The Byrds or to be exact the pre-Byrds,
this Gene Clark song can be found on the Byrds "Preflyte"
collection.
14. Nobody But Me/The Isley Brothers
20. Don't Think Twice, It's All right/Bob Dylan ( Peter,
Paul and Mary had the first chart hit).
Before I go here's six more great covers. Some of these are
very close to the original in arrangement but I enjoy them
all. By the way there is a link between number 4 , 05 and 6.
1. Love's Made A fool Of You/The Bobby Fuller Four
2. Come On Let's Go/The McCoys
3. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy/The Buckinghams
4. Do Something To Me/The British Roadrunners
5. Sugar On Sunday/The Clique
6. Superman/REM
Javed
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /14/98 - 12:34:55 AM ]---
Subject: Four Seasons' drummer
Sent: 4/13/98 11:04 AM
Received: 4/14/98 12:31 AM
From: BOBBYLLOYD, BOBBYLLXXX@XXXXXXm
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Doc Rock writes:
>And does anyone have any burning questions you'd like to
>have asked?
This may not be something you'd have to ask Mr. Crewe,
(someone on the list may know the answer), but I was always
blown away by the drummer on all the Four Seasons' records.
He sounded like Hal, only just a little funkier. Anyone know
the gentleman's name?
Thanks,
Bobby
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /14/98 - 12:34:55 AM ]---
Subject: soooo sad
Sent: 4/12/98 9:49 PM
Received: 4/13/98 7:11 AM
From: Jack Madani, Jack_MadXXX@XXXXXX2.nj.us
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
It suddenly occurred to me that two numbers that I adore,
Lesley Gore's What Am I Gonna Do With You, and Glen
Campbell's Guess I'm Dumb, were both co-written by Russ
Titelman. I don't know if that means anything.
But it does lead me to something else that I've often
thought about regarding what makes a great Specterscopic
tune, and it has less to do with the recording quality or
arrangement--namely, for me, the best Specterrific numbers
are overloaded with melancholy. They're sad songs, or
achingly wistful, or downright tragic (although tragic is
harder to do, because it's too easy to slip into plain old
pathetic). Some examples, in no particular order:
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore (Walker Brothers)
WAIGDWY (Lesley Gore)
Guess I'm Dumb (Glen Campbell)
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (Beach Boys)
You'd Better Come Home (Pet Clark)
Baby That's Me (Cake)
All Strung Out (Nino & April)
Wonderful Summer (Robin Ward)
Can't Stop Lovin' The Boy (Carolines)
Lonely Without You (Julie Grant)
He Knows I Love Him Too Much (Paris Sisters* or Glo Macari)
This is by no means a complete listing, and I've even left
out the entire true-Spector* canon. But the idea here for
me is that there's something very appropriate in that echo-
y, pedal-point bassline wall of sound that really brings a
lump to my throat if the singer's singing about something
he/she can't have or lost. One of the most effective uses
of a wall of sound song in a tv show was several years ago
in Crime Story, when Paulie's callgirl girlfriend was rubbed
out by rival mobsters, and he collaborated with the cops to
help get his revenge on the guys what did it. The Walker
Brothers' version of The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore was a
leitmotif throughout the episode, and even at the end when
the bad guys were got, there was Paulie all by himself, his
vengeance taken, but still with his girlfriend dead.
Loneliness is a cloak you wear.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Madani - Princeton Day School, The Great Road,
Princeton, NJ 08540 Jack_MadXXX@XXXXXX2.nj.us
"It is when the gods hate a man with uncommon abhorrence that they
drive him into the profession of a schoolmaster." --Seneca, 64 A.D.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /14/98 - 12:34:55 AM ]---
Subject: Stand Alone Covers
Sent: 4/13/98 12:30 AM
Received: 4/13/98 12:33 AM
From: le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Here are two more:
Go Now-Moody Blues cover over the Bessie banks original
Here Comes The Night by Them over There You Go by the Exciters
Both originals are personal favorites, but the covers are
the ones better known by the public; both Brit Invasion
covers are memorable recordings.
---[ archived by Spectropop - 04 /14/98 - 12:34:55 AM ]---
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