Spectropop - Digest Number 330

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 13:25:24

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                       The ultimate in "now sound"
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There are 8 messages in this issue of Spectropop.

Topics in this Digest Number 330:

      1. Notes since Digest Number 324 and more rambling
           From: "Paul Payton" 
      2. Re: Happy birthday to Phil
           From: "L.E.Pinto" 
      3. Happiness is
           From: Alan Zweig 
      4. Crystals Track
           From: Monophonius 
      5. cliff wade pop-sike world
           From: Carlos 
      6. fuzz guitar?
           From: Alan Gordon 
      7. Dante's Inferno LP now on CD
           From: "L.E.Pinto" 
      8. Re: The Tandyn Slave-Master
           From: Bruce Kerr 


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Message: 1
   Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 01:33:08 -0500
   From: "Paul Payton" 
Subject: Notes since Digest Number 324 and more rambling

Back from Christmas in Mexico! Much fun, much e-mail to
catch up on....

Osmonds - I acknowledge their talent, and hey, even Pat
Boone made a few good records! I guess I just haven't
heard the Osmonds' yet....

Rashkovsky writes: "...Tony Pass(alaqua) is living in
Florida and is a member (maybe founding member) of a
vocal group called 'The Legends.'  All are former members
of NY 50's groups of some accomplishment, though I don't
know them or the credentials. Anyway, according to Tudie,
the group is touring full time and doing very well
performing the NY doo-wop repetoire, et al."

I'm light on the names, but I believe the leads of The
Capris and the Passions ("Just To Be With You") are also
part of it. They take turns singing their hits with the
others backing. United in Group Harmony Association
(www.ugha.com) features them live annually at their
meeting/shows, and they also are on a recent PBS doo-wop
special (frequently run at fund-raising time) sounding
quite fine.

Re: Four-Evers - "Say I Love You (Doo Be Dum)" is one of
the best Four-Seasons-when-they-were-great soundalikes,
but original on its own. Best of health to Mr. T - and to
Ms. Greenwich.

Warren Cosford wrote: "Nashville based guitar session
player Grady Martin [died]." Damn! And I just read that
Ron Townson of the Fifth Dimension passed on in late
summer 2001....

By the way, the "fuzztone" by Grady Martin was on Marty
Robbins' "Don't Worry." It's the first time I ever heard
that sound. It seemed an octave lower than a regular
guitar, leading me to believe that either he played it on
a bass or the distortion seemed to drop the lead by an
octave.

Rob Bates: I saw the Millennium/Ballroom recommendation
in the NY Times and smiled a lot. (I thought their review
to be quite positive overall, but agree with the
"sweetness" criticism.) It's nice to have them on our
wavelength!

Jack Madani: Hale & The Hushabyes' "Yes Sir That's My
Baby" was on Apogee A104 in '64. (It even got some radio
airplay in Providence, RI - "real" radio as well as
college). I only heard of the "Date With Soul" name long
after the issue, and eventualkly saw a DJ copy of it.
Never knew of any other releases. Whatever the name, to
have coerced that trifle of a song into the monument it
became in this version was truly visionary!

Paid a visit to freakemporium.com from Cedric's Gandalf
referral, kept scrolling, and found:

"Gary Usher - Add Some Music To Your Day - CD, £7.99 
(Poptones - MC5038CD) "Originally recorded in late 1969
for the Beach Boys Brother Records, this purely
Orchestral album was put together by Gary Usher as a
tribute to, and comfort for, his friend Brian Wilson.
Unfortunately Brother records went bust before it was
released. It has now, finally, been issued on Poptones in
a digi pak and features lush orchestral versions of God
only knows, In My Room, Pet sounds and other classics.
This item is in stock now."

Anyone heard this? Reactions? Is it a hassle to buy Freak
Emporium items int he US?

Re: the Tandyn [Almer] Slave-Master web page: it
comes from a book, "A Child's Garden of Grass." which
spawned a sporadically very funny album (at least it was
then - gotta re-listen to it straight) of the same name
on Elektra. A major treat if you can find it.

Speaking of finding unusual stuff, a couple of
discography sites: 
http://home.swipnet.se/skroff/ will take you to Ron Dante
and Archies discography sites as well as various UK
labels, Swedish artists (find a roaring 1993 track by
Popsicle called "Princess" - off our format as bit, but
worth the hunt), and other joyful obscurities; and
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/6784/apple.html
has an Apple discography which lists, among all the
singles, Brute Force's "King of Fuh" as Apple 8. (The
home page for this site has a note from late '98 as its
most recent entry, so I don't know if it's currently
maintained.)

Hope Santa smiled on you! More later, Country Paul


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Message: 2
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 13:57:02 -0000
   From: "L.E.Pinto" 
Subject: Re: Happy birthday to Phil

--- In spectropop,"Kurt Schroeder" wrote:

> NPR mentioned this morning that today is Phil Spector's
> 61st birthday.  I hope he has a happy one!  (I
> celebrated by listening to "A Christmas Gift for You.")
> 
> --Kurt

I can't believe he's 61 already, can you?  I'll always
think of him as that genius kid who produced all the
great music of the Sixties; I keep forgetting that the
Sixties was (were?) almost 40 years ago.  Boy, do I feel
old!  Many happy returns, Mr. Spector.

Laura


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Message: 3
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 12:21:42 -0500
   From: Alan Zweig 
Subject: Happiness is

"Jeffrey Glenn" wrote:
>
>Happiness Is (Don & Dick Addrisi)
>The A-side here is the same song The Association had
>already recorded and released on their INSIGHT OUT LP
>from the previous year.  

If you're going to start comparing versions of this song,
I suggest you check out the Anita Kerr Singers version on
her surprisingly good sunshine pop record, "Sounds".

Her "Singers" records were head and shoulders above the
other similar records of the day.  Perhaps that's because
there were just four of them and they actually harmonized
rather than singing in unison like so many other
apparently similar records.

But as good as her records are compared to for instance,
the Ray Charles Singers, "Sounds" is in a class by itself.

And if you've ever had the misfortune of hearing the Ray
Conniff Singers record "Happiness Is", you can imagine my
delight when the song on the Anita Kerr record was the
OTHER "Happiness Is".  A different song, in other words.

I know at least one person here knows what I'm talking
about and finds the occasional soft pop gem among the
Sandpipers/Lettermen/Anita Kerr Singers of the world.

AZ 


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Message: 4
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 17:42:13 -0000
   From: Monophonius 
Subject: Crystals Track

Can someone help me find the Crystals' version of "(I'm A)
Woman In Love?"  It's probably on a bootleg CD, but which
one?  Thanks in advance.


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Message: 5
   Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 00:17:01 +0000
   From: Carlos 
Subject: cliff wade pop-sike world

Hi there

Recently has been reissued on Demon a lost album (1969) by
Cliff Wade, could anyone comment any on this artist/sound?

I read some songs were cowrote with G Gill of The Smoke
and seem to be heavy on mellotron/strings, please anyone?

Carlos


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Message: 6
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 11:02:27 -0800
   From: Alan Gordon 
Subject: fuzz guitar?

Javed wrote:

> I believe Grady Martin is the session guitarist who
> inadvertently invented the fuzz guitar sound on a Marty
> Robbins session back in 1959.
>
> Javed

I thought the original use of "fuzz" guitar was the
distorted lead on the Johnny Burnette Trio's, Train Kept
A'Rollin' in '56, courtesy of Johnny's brother Dorsey.  I
have always heard this was a result of a loose tube in
Dorsey's amp, that later became a purposeful sound
appliance.


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Message: 7
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 12:46:12 -0000
   From: "L.E.Pinto" 
Subject: Dante's Inferno LP now on CD

Hi all! For those of you who are fans of Ron Dante
(Archies, Cufflinks), the 1979 disco LP Dante's Inferno
is now available on CD for the very first time! This is a
limited pressing and is ONLY available through Ron's
website WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Track listing:

1. Fire Island 
2. Skate Key
3. They're Playing Our Song
4. Could It Be Magic?
5. Open Up Your Heart 
6. 'Round About Midnight
7. T'Aint Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do!
8. Ain't Misbehavin'
9. Night Of Nights (*) 
10. Tear Up The Dance Floor (*)
11. I Go To Rio (*)

*Bonus tracks

Mosey on over to Ron Dante Online and follow the ordering
instructions on the homepage.  I'm ordering my copy today!
(Nope, I'm not receiving any 'compensation' for
publicizing the CD; I'm just doing so because I'm a huge
fan of Ron's!)

http://www.rondante.com

Happy New Year everybody!

Laura


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Message: 8
   Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 04:26:13 EST
   From: Bruce Kerr 
Subject: Re: The Tandyn Slave-Master

Jeff, I'm bowled over.

Amazed. And great review! You're right on. Our masters
were always so hot and bordering on distortion and the
song always seemed "back" somehow, not present enough. 

Courtyard, Happiness Is, and Whenever I'm Lonely would be
much appreciated.

Ever heard of our old song from 1967 on USA Records when
we were called "The Five Bucks" (also misprinted on the
"I'll Walk Alone" 45 as "The Five Bucs") which was
entitled, "Breath of Time"?

Please let me know if you want any info. on either The 5
Bucks or the Byzantine Empire.

By the way, Bill Traut once told us, in retrospect, that
"Whenever I'm Lonely" could have been a monster ballad
hit. I'm not sure if he was hoping for a flip hit after
"Happiness Is" which he thought was a sure-fired hit, if
"Snowqueen" didn't hit. None of them did and we maybe
should have stayed with our orignal sound instead of
thinking we had to have a hit w/ an almost exact replica
of "Happiness Is." But, we were hungry to make it, felt
we could shape our sound after we had a commercial hit.
Even Courtyard and Whenever I'm Lonely were our soft side.
We had a rockier, Beau Brummels type sound that had more
grit and might have served us better by '68, with the way
music turned away from pretty harmonies toward heavy
guitars and, if any, soul harmony, or none at all.

Fun "footnoting" with you.

Best regards,

Bruce Kerr


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