PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS – Goin’ To Memphis – (Columbia) – 1967

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Franko

No garage, no pop, no psych.

 

This is not what you would expect from a Paul Revere and the Raiders album.

 

Here, lead singer Mark Lindsay has decided to tackle black soul.

 

I say “Mark Lindsay” specifically because by all accounts – see the links – this was practically a Mark Lindsay solo album. Apparently the album was done with Lindsay singing with session musicians (albeit legendary ones – Tommy Cogbill, Spooner Oldham, Bobby Woods, Gene Crispian, Mike Leech, Reggie Young) at producer Chips Moman’s studios.

 

Full marks to Mark (sic) for being ahead in “the game” as soul was in the air and in the charts. Northern soul was well established and southern soul was starting to come into its own, chart wise. But for Lindsay to tackle black soul with producer Chips Moman is odd.  White southern soul was on the uptake also with Billy Joe Royal, Joe South, The Box Tops and others. Elvis would stage his comeback the next year and then deliver the white southern soul masterpiece “From Elvis in Memphis” (produced by Chips Moman also) in 1969 the same year as Dusty Springfield released her similar acclaimed “Dusty in Memphis” (recorded at Chip’s studio).

 

I think Mark, perhaps, would have had better success with the white country soul which has country and pop elements in the music. Tackling the Afro-Americans on their home ground is foolhardy and inevitably will draw (unfavourable) comparisons.

 

That’s not to say the album is bad. It isn’t. It just doesn’t stand out.

 

Mark Lindsay is a superior singer and can tackle anything. His voice on these songs reminds me of a young Rod Stewart. I think Lindsay has a better voice but Rod has the better voice for this type of music (of course I’m referring to 60s /early 70s Rod).

 

Also, producer Chips Moman, hadn’t fully developed the beautiful ecstasies of his southern wall of sound which was made of instruments, strings, horns and singers all overlapping and complimenting each other. This was confirmed in the wonderful hit records he produced for Elvis, Neil Diamond and others over the next two years. On this LP the sound sounds a little sparse with all the components failing to mesh. Also, on my record at least, Lindsay’s voice is too far back and is slightly drowned by the instruments.

 

Ultimately though, the album is a little jarring when compared to other Paul Revere and the Raiders albums. Sometimes it surprise me that it’s Lindsay singing as I associate him with other styles. I acknowledge that you have to experiment but perhaps he could have tweaked his own sound to incorporate these influences.

 

Google this site for the background to Paul Revere and the Raiders and Mark Lindsay.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • Boogaloo Down Broadway – James – pretty standard soul shouter. Nice keyboard break but otherwise not highly distinctive. Originally done by The Fantastic Johnny C and a #7 hit for him in 1967.
  • Every Man Needs A Woman – Lindsay – again, some nice keyboards in this up-tempo song, and some great gritty vocals but not especially memorable.
  • My Way – Lindsay – ho hum, more standard blue eyed soul
  • One Night Stand – Lindsay – more blue eyed soul
  • Soul Man – Hayes, Porter – great horns on this soul classic originally by Sam and Dave ( #2,1967). Lindsay would have to try hard to compete and he does admirably but he will always be compared (unfavourably) to the original.
  • Love You So – Lindsay – a soul power ballad. Well suing but dull.
  • I Don't Want Nobody (To Lead Me On) – Thomas, Jones- a cover – I’m not sure who did the original but perhaps it was the Lindsay, or the Afro-American R&B group The Masqueraders, or the Afro-American R&B group The Dynamics. Lindsay isn’t Afro-American but here he could pass for a Afro-American vocalist ….a good tune with the right amount of grunt. It sounds like many other soul songs but that’s not a bad thing. Excellent
  • I'm a Loser Too – Lindsay – catchy, with nice keyboards and horns.
  • No Sad Songs – Carter – a 1968 song by soul singer Joe Simon (#49)
  • Cry On My Shoulder – F. Weller – at the time Weller had just joined the Raiders as lead guitar. He was there four years then went solo and had a number of country hits. Not too bad
  • Peace of Mind – Lindsay, Melcher – this is a dirge of a song with gravel vocals, horns, quirky instrumentation. It looks forwards to some of the heavy blues acts from the early 70s. Oddly it is the only track on the album not done at American Sound Studios with Chips Moman. A good track
  • Goin' to Memphis –  Lindsay – Lindsay impersonates many a black vocalist but the song about “Goin to Memphis” is quite good as it chugs along

And …

 

Mark Lindsay sings well but the album is only so so …too much white boy soul from a boy from Oregon. Still, I’m keeping it.

 

Chart Action

 

US

Singles

Peace of Mind #42 1967

Album

#61

 

England

Singles

—

Album

—

 

Sounds

 

Boogaloo Down Broadway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs5Ao9fDv2o

 

I Don't Want Nobody (To Lead Me On)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzhjVwbc9KY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsZHcm8JXy4

 

Peace of Mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4plMM5CFIY

 

Goin' to Memphis

attached 

 Paul Revere and the Raiders – Goin to Memphis

 

 

Others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRu5TDiHmEU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP8G4clUJBY

 

Review

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goin%27_to_Memphis

http://www.allmusic.com/album/goin-to-memphis-r47843/review

http://www.marklindsay.com/gointomemphis.htm

 

Bio

 

http://www.musoscribe.com/features/paul_revere_and_the_raiders.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chips_Moman

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/freddy-weller-p21369/biography

 

Website

 

 http://www.marklindsay.com/

 

Trivia

—

Posted in Blue Eyed Soul, Garage, Surf and Frat | Tagged | Leave a comment

YAZOO – Upstairs at Eric’s – (Mute) – 1982

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Franko

This album normally would have no place in my pile of records, let alone my record collection. As a youth in the 1980s this music was all over the radio and at the time, perhaps recklessly, it defined to me who the enemy was.

 

Juvenile?

 

Yes.

 

Immature?

 

Yes.

 

I did say I was young.

 

The 80s was the decade of my youth but (I think I may have ranted on this before), it was perhaps the worst era for mainstream pop music. (well until recently, perhaps) There truly was a lot of shit on the airwaves. I’m not talking just about synth but also AOR Rock, poodle rock, stadium rock, soft rock, adult contemporary, sophisti-pop, dance. It was all largely crap. If you don’t believe me then whack on an album and see for yourself. Don’t rely on the singles, some of which are catchy, put on the albums and see how far you get into them.

 

In defence of the 80s I will say that I’m of the firm belief that the 1980s was the greatest era for underground / independent / alternative music. No era spewed forth as much worthwhile independent music (well, maybe the 50s with it’s thousands of small record labels). However, movement out of “alternative rock” or “indie” was not easily possible.

 

Before the 80s there was good music, eclectic music and all sorts of music mixing it up in the mainstream charts so indie wasn’t necessary.

 

After the 80s there was a change in the parameters of what was “indie” and accordingly what was “mainstream”. Due to college radio, the internet, and who knows what other reasons the musical goalposts moved so bands could move more easily into the mainstream.

 

But, the 80s was the era when the record companies thought they could control the market. This they tried, and accordingly, much of the mainstream was bland as music was reduced to it’s lowest common denominator … a slick, inoffensive commodity. Without any rough edges, experimentalism, regional accents or jarring instruments the music could appeal to the broadest audience possible.

 

It’s easy to say the music was made into “pop” but really there is much pure pop which is joyous and I’m not referring to that. What I am referring to is what happens in every era, though it was especially noticeable in the 80s, and that is the music was “slicked up” or “slicked down” (whichever you prefer).

 

So,

 

hard rock , slicked, became AOR rock;

 

singer songwriter, slicked, became soft rock;

 

dance, slicked, became Madchester;

 

jazz vocals, slicked, became sophiti-pop;

 

rap, slicked, became modern R&B;

 

electronica, slicked, became synth pop;

 

guitar rock, slicked, became Brit pop

 

roots rock, slicked, became heartland rock;

 

disco (which was slick anyway), slicked more, became dance-pop.

 

I could give you a list of bands that would make your skin crawl …..but no, it’s too late at night.

 

In their own way in terms of audience there is no difference between Yazoo and Whitesnake, Rick Astley, Huey Lewis or the Dave Matthews Band.

 

I acknowledge you have to pander to the masses to sell records but rather than feeding them something which they may have to chew on with a little thought it is easier to change the product and make it smoother, blander and more easily digestible.

 

Yes, I know there are exceptions …

 

Synth music has never been my cup of tea unless the synth is experimental, avant garde, quirky, mixed with electronica or otherwise obscure. (Suicide, Devo, Perrey-Kingsley, Hrvatski, Titan, Pierre Henry, Gil Mellé I can all stick on the turntable with relish).

 

But, when synth is used in a pop setting, as exemplified by many English bands, it is mainly pap.

 

Yes, I know there are exceptions …

 

They are, however, mainly singles from what I have heard though I admit I’m not intimately familiar with many of the albums (I am familiar enough to pass comment though):

 

A non exclusive list would contain Depeche Mode’s “Just cant Get Enough” “Personal Jesus” and a handful of albums. A album or so by Ultravox, Duran Duran, and Japan. Singles by OMD ( “Enola Gay”), Visage (“Fade to Grey” ), Flock of Seagulls (“I Ran”) and a handful of 45s by Human League,

 

All are slight but superior pop singles where the form and content compliment each other perfectly.

 

But, generally, the music is just to slick for my ears. Pop is great but this slick synth pop has no emotion and the music comes across as an aural façade.

 

Any cult that revolves around the music seems, rather, to be around fashion with the music being decidedly incidental.

 

Given my antipathy to this type of music how did this LP end up in the pile?

 

My wife, being a few years younger than me, and not needing a rallying point, loves 80s music. When you are not part of it perhaps it is more palatable. Certainly it seems that apart from girls, and guys who don’t have a clue, the only people who like the mainstream 80s are those who didn’t grow up, or barely grew up in the 80s.

 

Incessant LP rotation (on my turntable) by the wife has through a process of osmosis given me some knowledge about the synth world. Yazoo (or Yaz as they were known in the US) was a two piece … a man with a synth and female singer.

 

Allison Moyet’s vocal I can take or leave though I suspect anyone half competent could have supplied the vocals.

 

Vince Clarke, the main songwriter of Yazoo, I know as being formerly of  Depeche Mode (he was the poppy one) and then later of Erasure.

 

Wikipedia: Yazoo was formed in late 1981 by Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet in Basildon, Essex, England. Clarke was previously the main songwriter and keyboard player for Depeche Mode, who also came from Basildon and who at that point had recorded one album and three singles for Mute Records, including the hits "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough". The name 'Yazoo', according to Moyet, came from the labels of old blues albums: Yazoo Records. Yazoo was signed to Mute Records in the United Kingdom and to Sire Records in the United States. Yazoo's initial foray into the US was disastrous when they received a £3.5 million lawsuit threat over the band's name. Yazoo renamed to Yaz for the US market because the name was already in use by a small American rock band.

 

The album here is their first of two and the music is perfectly dated – it does not transcend itself.

 

Of my initial comments the best thing I can say about this album is that it’s a testament to it’s listenable pop strengths that I have heard a few of the songs on it and can even hum the same.

 

However, I’m not sure where the musical emphasis is supposed to be – the lyrics are bland but the tunes are danceable but there aren’t enough of them. Today’s dance bands have got it down pat – all form no content.

 

The only theme seems to be alienation and of the most banal type. If music is a form of communicating ideas, emotions or personal tales then this type of music is severely limited.

 

The music is certainly new wave but it could also be prog pop with synths. No one will veer mistake this for Suicide or the seminal punk synth acts, but do they have to?

 

A lot of this is the music you would hear on soundtracks to 80s teen dramas and it is more humable than singable but it can also be very catchy and ultimately, a little of this goes a long way.

 

Of course Yazoo continues to inspire many contemporary bands of bland synth based dance pop. And that is unforgivable, but maybe necessary, if for nothing else than creating a rallying point.

 

One thing becomes distinctly clear and that is that Vince Clarke is the whole show and is a master of this music. All of the original thoughts seem to be his. Moyets songs are awful and trapped in the past.

 

This is as good as it gets – it certainly won’t make a convert of me – but my toes have tapped and the aftertaste isn’t atrocious.

 

Now if we could only get rid of the fans …my wife excepted of course.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • Don't Go -(Vince Clarke) – catchy, dancy thought I’ve often found the vocals overwrought. Moyet sounds a little like Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode.
  • Too Pieces -(Clarke) – Without the synth an otherwise straight pop ballad. Actually it’s quite good.
  • Bad Connection -(Clarke) – Fisher Price music ..but incredibly catchy
  • I Before E Except After C – (Clarke) – a experimental piece which is all talk in some sort of fragmented stream of consciousness. Good to see someone thing outside the box but it goes on too long.
  • Midnight -(Alison Moyet) – awful … written by Moyet. Clearly Clarke is the talent. This comes across as bad white soul with synths.
  • In My Room- (Clarke) – silly. Clarke recites the “Our Father” prayer whilst Moyet sings about something.
  • Only You– (Clarke) – the hit single. Fisher Price music again but, err , catchy.
  • Goodbye 70's- (Moyet) – rubbish
  • Tuesday -(Clarke) – Clarke seems to be running out of ideas here.
  • Winter Kills – (Moyet) – crap
  • Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)- (Moyet) – again, crap. At least Moyet is consistent

And …

 

You can see Clarke was the prime mover in this group ….despite some pleasant surprises it’s not for me. It goes to the wife.

 

Chart Action

 

US

Singles

1982   Don't Go   Dance Music/Club Play Singles 1

1983   Only You   Adult Contemporary 38

1983   Only You   The Billboard Hot 100 67

 

Album

#92

 

England

Singles

1982 Only You #2

1982 Don’t Go #3

Album

#2

 

Sounds

 

Don't Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaHuzkyurC0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhQWt8GVQfM

 

Too Pieces

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ina1bX6wq5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1VNPSMKugA

 

Bad Connection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JML9mtoUrnw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnb_U8xNVgE

attached

Yazoo – Bad Connection

 

I Before E Except After C

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG4tqI-9K3o

 

Midnight  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogU-AwQB4jE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lJWev1WxX8

 

In My Room

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsTK6TZnsB8

 

Only You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdvZa46xb3M

clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9DOmlfICGw

 

Goodbye 70's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnJ8q4zrxU8

 

Tuesday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFpBt5f6I1M

 

Winter Kills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu68p3QAyPA

 

Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3RieSAhCOk

 

Others

 —

 

Review

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstairs_at_Eric%27s

http://www.allmusic.com/album/upstairs-at-erics-r22431/review

 

Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazoo_(band)

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/yazoo-p5889

 

Website

http://www.yazooinfo.com/

 

Trivia

—

Posted in Synth Pop | Tagged | Leave a comment

JOHN HARTFORD – You and Me at Home – (Flying Fish) – 1981

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Franko

Yes, I know. Some people are saying, "not another John Hartford". What can I say except I have a large pile of records with quite a few Hartford's in there. Oh, and I like him.

 

It’s funny that as the Nick Drake cult juggernaut rolls on, John Hartford, who had a more substantial and influential career remains, in international terms, relatively obscure.

 

Admittedly, the Nick Drake cult is mainly fanned by English music journalists, probably because there is precious little else coming out of England at the moment, but it seems to have taken a life of its own.

 

I mean, for fucks sake, where were all the Nick Drake fans in 1974, or 1984, or 1994, or even 2004.

 

“I was into Nick Drake years ago” – “Yeah, yeah, sure you were”

 

The muso journalists have been digging these singer songwriters up for the last few years – and there are millions of them that followed in the wake of Dylan. All you need is the internet or a subscription to Mojo or Uncut.

 

But what about Hartford?

 

He also followed in the wake of Dylan but he was probably listening to the same original source mausic as Dylan. Dylan opened the door for him but he didnt  necessarily influence him directly. 

 

Hartford, perhaps, is not dark enough. Fans seem to understand darkness more than happiness or optimism – perhaps that explains the cults around Cave, Cohen and Drake…and possibly it explains why Cash wasn’t popular with the hipsters until the end of his career when his music got darker. It seems to be an respected artist you have to be tortured ….

 

My criticism isn’t of Drake’s minor joys but of the nature of fandom and the parasitical, dilettante nature of music listeners.

 

Drake is more comparable to David Ackles though he has lifted from Donovan, Nilsson and Bob Lind but I see no increase in their cultural capital.

 

It’s a pity.

 

Until the hipsters learn to think outside the box Hartford, Mickey Newbury, David Ackles, Val Stoecklein and others will remain obscure.

 

Maybe Hartford hasn’t been dead long enough, maybe he put out too much material, maybe he had too many happy songs, maybe his royalty check for writing “Gentle on My Mind” was too big.

 

But I digress.

 

John Hartford was an amazing singer songwriter with a country bent.

 

And he isn’t being revered enough.

 

And that annoys the fuck out of me.

 

OK, admittedly, the whole post “O Brother Where Art Thou” old timey thing increased his profile but the volume of his work leaves so much to be discovered.

 

Google this site for more on Hartford.

 

Hartford was reasonably prolific in the recording studio and clearly, due to the volume, could write songs in his sleep.

 

I suspect that his large output was because his songs don’t rely on trickery, just vocals and couple of instruments so he would have worked quickly in the studio.

 

The songs have to sell themselves without any fancy accessories. And more often than not they do. There really aren’t any, from what I have heard, “bad” John Hartford songs. There are those that are better than others though.

 

This album is casual and laid back and has the feel of a lounge room sing a long, or rather a front porch sing a long. Backing vocals mimic the singer, instruments are few, and the arrangements are playful.

 

Personnel: John Hartford – fiddle, vocals  / Charles Dungey – bass / Kenny Malone – percussion / Jeanie Seely, Jackie Greene – vocals / Jack Greene –vocals / John Hartford – fiddle, vocals / Benny Martin – vocals / Buddy Emmons – steel guitar

 

The album is singer songwriter, country, alt country, folk, bluegrass, new grass but it is also unmistakeably John Hartford.

 

All songs written by Harford.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • You and Me at Home   – quirky Hartford vocals are played against more standard and straight vocals from the other personnel which is jarringly pleasant. This is a simple repetitive song which at first doesn’t seem like much but eventually it gets under your skin, much like the wooden marionettes at old Disney theme park doing the “It’s a small world after all” …you don’t want to shoot yourself here though.
  • Tonite We're Gonna Boogie  – I nice gentle boogie with some great guitar work which though a little obscure is a bit like Marc Ribot meeting Scotty Moore  … and that’s a good thing.
  • Your Stuff   – excellent
  • River of Life    – starts off like a 70s hymn with the other singers then Hartford joins in.
  • Ladies Live Such a Long LongTime  – astute!
  • Once You've Had the Best – a gently rollicking ode.
  • Don't Go Away –   excellent

 

We play these games with each other

Looking for something wrong

        Picking out words and phrases

To hang each other on

 

  • I Believe in You –  much like the first track.
  • My Love for You – Williams  – much like the first track.
  • Imagination Fired by Books –

 

I love you so much

So much more than a touch

So much more than your touch and looks

I love what I find when you show me your mind

Expanded and nurtured by books

 

Its love of a kind

That’s perfected with time

Enhanced by your touch and your looks

And goes on to your dreams

And the beautiful scenes

And imagination fired by books

 

  • You and Me Reprised – the first song reprised which ends with a bit of a Christmas song, ‘Silver Bells”, I think.

 

And …

 

Not the best Hartford album I have heard but with a fair share of good tracks and any Hartford is good Hartford ….. I'm keeping it.

 

Chart Action

 

US

England

… nothing no where

 

Sounds

 

Tonite We're Gonna Boogie

attached

John Hartford – Tonite We're Gonna Boogie 

 

Others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=996TpkBH2gk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNHqG9lPcaE

 

Review

—

 

Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hartford

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifrxql5ldse~T1

http://www.johnhartford.org/ZHome%20Page/JohnHartfordBiographyandDiscography/John'sBiographyandDiscography.htm

 

Website

—

 

Trivia

—

 

 

 

Posted in Alt Country | Tagged | 1 Comment

COUNTRY JOE McDONALD – Country Joe – (Vanguard) – 1974

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Franko

Country Joe occupies a strange place in rock history.

 

He never had many hits.

 

He never had songs covered by others that became hits.

 

He never had any sort of a sizable cult develop around him.

 

But he is still discussed and listened to.

 

Admittedly, most of the discussion is around his psychedelic, acid, country, folk, rock band “Country Joe and the Fish”. Also, most discussion seems to revolve about their historical importance in relation the anti-war movement and in breaking down other taboos rather than the music specifically.

 

Perhaps that was a sign of the times.

 

I have a couple of Country Joe and the Fish albums and I have always liked them. They are perhaps a little dated but they are anarchic and uncompromising in a lot of ways. They are not as cynical as The Fugs and they aren’t as hippy-esque as Donovan or Scott McKenzie. But they were always, politically, left of centre. They embraced the politics but they also embraced the experimentation that seemed to go with the politics. If you like the 60s groove, as I do, then you will have no troubles getting into them.

 

You wont hear them being played in any 60s retro dance club though.

 

When Country Joe struck out on his own in the 70s the psychedelia was turned down but he still experimented musically albeit within the singer songwriter style. He never abandoned the earlier Country Joe and the Fish style as there is folk, country, old timey in there also. His tunes, whether they are accompanied by other instruments or not, are still quite dense. They are both lyrical and thoughtful.

 

You wont hear them being played in any 70s retro dance club though.

 

Country Joe wrote or co-wrote all of the songs and they are, as his musical pedigree dictates, fairly topical. There are, however, some nice “personal” ones in there also.

 

Personal songs about the universal themes are timeless and can appeal across generations. Topical songs are more limited in their appeal, but I like them. They appeal to my interest in history and frequently topical songs (and historical films) will set me off to my Encyclopedia Britannica (err, or increasingly, the internet …sigh) in search of background and detail.

 

This album is quite typical of the (great) Vanguard label. It’s produced cleanly by Vanguard co-owner and sometimes writer Maynard Solomon (he wrote the well known text “Marxism and Art” in 1973).

 

Ultimately, Country Joe, like many of his ilk is an album act and this album should be listened to as such. It is a perfect snapshot of the times, from a political singer songwriters perspective. I’m not sure if a compilation would really suit him or would even sell. But then again such commercial considerations probably don’t matter to him. Given he has managed to keep recording and still have an audience, regardless of size, into this decade, more power to him.

 

Read his bios, links below, they make for interesting reading.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • Dr. Hip – with a laid back funk going on this recalls Country Joe & the Fish.
  • Old Joe Corey – old folk time song.
  • Making Money in Chile – topical at the time given America’s involvement (via the CIA) in the coup which deposed the democratically elected socialist president Allende of Chile. They were making Chile safe for American big business. Hence the song.
  • You Messed over Me – again, very Country Joe and the Fish – jagged guitar and pointed lyrics.
  • Memories – No politics and one of the strongest songs on the album. Quite evocative.
  • Chile – a straight rock song which is not McDonald’s forté. His rock songs are better when they are off kilter. Nothing to do with the country Chile … from what I can tell
  • Pleasin' – a love song of sorts. It works
  • Jesse James – another ode to an authentic American rebel. There ain’t no shades of grey or any suggestion Jesse was anything but a rebel.
  • Satisfactory – horns a plenty but otherwise the standard Country Joe and the Fish sound …they were never adverse to horns.
  • It's Finally Over – a quite witty finale. A Broadway show song about a entertainer bemoaning his career at the end of a show … which works especially well given it’s the last song on the album.

Where’s my mansion

Where’s my car

Where’s my picture in Harper’s Bizarre.

Where are the agents

And where is the press

Where is the bastard that booked this mess

 

And …

 

Quirky … a charming reminder from an era when experimentation was normal.

 

I’m not sure where the market is today.

 

Probably with sad pricks like me … I'm keeping it.

 

Chart Action

 

US

Singles

—

Album

—

 

England

Singles

—

Album

—

 

as if there would be any chart action.

 

Sounds

 

Dr. Hip

attached

Country Joe McDonald – Dr Hip

 

Memories

attached

Country Joe McDonald – Memories

 

Others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xD8j8ye9k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTl68Nr-DKc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cAAVuboEXA

 

Review

—

 

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/country-joe-mcdonald-p103837

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Joe

 

Country Joe & The Fish

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/country-joe–the-fish-p25282

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Joe_and_the_Fish

 

Website

http://www.countryjoe.com/

 

Trivia

 

Country Joe McDonald01.jpg 

Country Joe at Woodstock, 1969.

Posted in Folk, Singer Songwriter | Tagged | 2 Comments

BOBBY VEE – I Remember Buddy Holly – (Liberty) – 1963

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Franko

I have commented on some of Vee’s later albums which I find quite endearing and much underrated. This album is from his hit making period and he does, as the title suggests, an entire album of Buddy Holly songs. This is interesting in itself as “tribute covers albums” were not common in pop rock at the time, probably because there was no sufficient “history” in the music. Also interesting is his interpretation of a batch of Holly songs, in 1963,  which will have to be different to someone doing the same in the 70s, 80s and so on.

 

The trouble with “tribute cover albums” is that, whether it is 1963 or 1983 you are always going to be compared to the original singers versions. The trouble with that, of course, is that because the artist is deemed to warrant a whole album of covers suggests that the artist must have been significant. If he was significant that means he must have put out a body of work that was exceptional. Accordingly, you are really putting yourself by the eight ball by doing an album of covers by an exceptional artist.

 

You follow?

 

Sure, you can get away with it if you are doing one track on a compilation tribute covers album …..but to do a whole album is either brave, foolhardy, or stupid.

 

So why do it?

 

I assume the answer is because you adore (or have connected emotionally with) the singer you are covering or you are in it for the quick buck.

 

Vee, who started in the late 50s (check the other comments for bio details), was acutely influenced by Holly and this album is no cash-in on Holly’s premature death. Holly died in 1959, had some posthumous hits but was off the US charts by 1963. His influence however is indisputable, though again, his chart positions don’t really reflect that – one #1 and two other top 10s in the US.

 

I assume the record label green lighted this project because Vee does in fact love Holly and had covered him on a couple of earlier albums and had even put out a album of mainly non-Holly tunes with Holly’s backup band, The Crickets (“Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets” LP in 1962).

 

Vee is smart enough not to try to imitate Holly but uses his voice to find the right emotional pitch Holly was trying to convey in his slightly dark, pop rock teen songs.  Buddy’s writing and the songs he was drawn to as covers, I find, even when happy, are quite melancholic as if there was some heartbreak around the corner.

 

Perhaps there is more foreboding in Buddy’s voice but here Vee rocks harder than Holly – something I never thought would happen given that Vee has more of the “pop voice”. Certainly Holly’s regional accent is more evident on his recordings as is his synthesis of pop and rockabilly. I suspect Vee “rocks harder” because he needed to reclaim the rock n roll in the music which had largely taken a back seat to pop in the 1960 – 63 period. When Buddy was recording in the mid to late 50s he was trying to increase the pop in his songs at a time when every man and his dog was rocking out.

 

You follow?

 

Also, Vee perhaps rocks a little harder because by 1963 rock was starting to change again and get a little “dirty” with surf music and frat rock taking off. You can even hear the Beatles in there somewhere even though this is before the Beatles were known in the US. The Beatles (especially McCartney) listened to Holly who had a big influence on their sound so perhaps that’s why that comes through, though I wouldn’t be surprised to find out The Beatles were listening to Bobby Vee also.

 

Vee uses backing vocalists (The Eligibles -whoever they may been.) more than Holly and they remind me of Elvis’ Jordanaires but otherwise Bobby Vee nails every song here and adds his own spin on each of them. He isn’t doing anything too radical (as Elvis or Bobby Darin would have done) and how much you like the album really depends on how much you like Buddy Holly and / or Bobby Vee.

 

Likewise, which song you prefer on the album is probably dependent on which Holly song you like also.

 

The recording techniques were certainly better in 1963 and the sound here is particularly full. It’s interesting to think what Holly would have done with the studio time.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • That’ll Be the Day – Allison, Holly, Petty – A seriously good cover of the Holly classic, perhaps his most identifiable song. The guitar break sounds very much like Scotty Moore (as did the guitar on the Holly original) and Vee rocks a little harder but this is as good a cover of a Holly song as you could hope to get.
  • It Doesn’t Matter Anymore  – Anka  – always a pretty song written originally by Paul Anka.
  • Peggy Sue  – Allison, Holly, Petty  –  Vee does a great version of this other well known Holly song. He had already recorded this on his 1962 LP “Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets” but I’m not sure if this is a re-recording.
  • True Love Ways –  Holly, Petty –  as if Vee wasn’t going to be able to do the ballads – I had no doubt. I was in more fear about him doing the rockier numbers – he nails this also.
  • It’s So Easy  – Holly, Petty  – Vee nails it.
  • Heartbeat –  Montgomery, Petty –  Vee nails it
  • Oh, Boy!  – Petty, Tilghman, West –  Vee nails it
  • Raining in My Heart  – Bryant –  Vee almost nails it
  • Think It Over Allison, Holly, Petty  – Vee nails it
  • Maybe Baby  – Holly, Petty  – Vee nails it
  • Early in the Morning –  Darin, Harris   – The Bobby Darin song covered by Holly  in 1958. Vee sounds more like Darin here than Holly.
  • Buddy’s Song –  Holly  – Vee nails it

And …

 

A good album ….maybe a little redundant, but a good album.  I’m keeping it.

 

Chart Action

 

US

Singles

—

Album

—

 

England

Singles

—

Album

—

 

Sounds

That’ll Be the Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BChRgeZ_ZYA

 

It Doesn’t Matter Anymore 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2X2jy0EzRA

 

Peggy Sue 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-cuxf7ewnk

and attached

Bobby Vee – Peggy Sue

 

True Love Ways

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVwKybz7wbM

 

It’s So Easy 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vgBuCs3rTI

 

Heartbeat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDxhh93PE9g

 

Oh, Boy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icy8HmbXI0M

 

Raining in My Heart  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW4dAl1BP_s

 

Think It Over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAnnEvdm9aU

 

Maybe Baby 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1phfvwl05g

 

Early in the Morning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAaQdO74E9U

 

Buddy’s Song

Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdp_oM3W18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBgJXeOGUMA

 

Others

—

 

Review

 

http://www.allmusic.com/album/i-remember-buddy-holly-r21071/review

 

Bio

 

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bobby-vee-p5750/biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Vee

 

Website

 

http://www.bobbyvee.net/

 

Trivia

 

  • On Holly’s influence on Vee: Wikipedia: Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (February 3, 1959), the three headline acts in the line-up of the traveling 'Winter Dance Party'—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper—were killed, along with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson, in the crash of a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza v-tailed aircraft (registration #N3974N) near Clear Lake, Iowa, while en route to the next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then aged 15, and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota, schoolboys calling themselves The Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.

 

In 1963, Bobby Vee released a tribute album on Liberty Records called "I Remember Buddy Holly". In the sleeve notes accompanying the album, Vee recalled Holly's influence on him and the events surrounding the tragic death of Holly thus: 'Like so many other people, I became a Buddy Holly fan the very first time I heard him sing. I've been a fan ever since and I guess I always will be. I remember a few years ago when Buddy was scheduled to appear at a dance in my home town of Fargo, North Dakota. It was going to be a big event for the whole town, but even more so for me. I was anxiously looking forward to seeing Buddy in action.'

 

Vee continued, 'The day he was to arrive disaster struck, taking Buddy's life, along with the lives of two other fine singers, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The shocking news spread through Fargo very quickly. The local radio station broadcast a plea for local talent to entertain at the scheduled dance. About a week before this, I had just organized a vocal and instrumental group of five guys. Our style was modelled after Buddy's approach and we had been rehearsing with Buddy's hits in mind. When we heard the radio plea for talent, we went in and volunteered. We hadn't even named the group up to that time, so we gave ourselves a name on the spot, calling ourselves "The Shadows". We appeared at the dance and were grateful to be enthusiastically accepted. Soon afterwards, I made my first record. It was called "Suzie Baby" and I was pretty lucky with it; it was a fair-sized hit.'

 

Vee concluded, 'For some time now, I have wanted to make an album in tribute to Buddy, but I wasn't sure it was the proper thing to do. However, during the past year, I have received many requests to do such an album. These requests came not only from my fans and from DJs, but also from Buddy's loyal following—still a large group of devoted fans. It…. gave me the confidence to do the album. From "Suzie Baby" to this present album, I have made many records, but I have never forgotten Buddy Holly and his influence on my singing style and my career.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Vee

 

  • The Eligibles: a @&A on-line….. “Sean wrote: I was watching a Shindig tape that I have and I saw a group perform  called "The Eligibles". They only sang one song but they weren't  that bad of singers. Then they sang backup on the song "I Saw Her Standing There". Does anyone know any info on them? Like what  were their names and which key did they all sing (like alto, 2nd  soprano, soprano)?

 

If it's the same Eligibles I'm familiar with they were Stan Farber, Al Capps, and Ron Hicklin (sp?). They backed Bobby Vee on a couple of lps, "I Remember Buddy Holly" and "Sings The New Sound From England" and single releases. One single that comes to mind right away is "Where Is She". Capps also did some arranging for Snuff Garrett. He also was the voice on Gary Lewis' "She's Just My Style" singing "don't ya know that she's" in the background. Also, Ron Hicklin was the guy that Gary Lewis sang along with on most of his records to keep Gary on key. That's info directly from one of many conversations I've had with Snuffy. Bob.” http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/message/25895

Posted in Pop Rock | Tagged | Leave a comment

GLEN CAMPBELL – Highwayman – (Capitol) – 1979

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Franko

what Frank is listening to #232 – GLEN CAMPBELL – Highwayman – (Capitol) – 1979

Check my other comments for background on Campbell, if you need them.

 

I have always had reservations about Glen’s mid-period recordings and in one of my other comments I said: “Glen’s albums from the 70s are (generally) patchy but are always worth listening to (though I only have about half so the last statement may be a bit premature). In other words they are never tiresome though some aren't always particularly exciting. What they all have is a song or two which stands out among the MOR country pop tracks”

 

This release is from those years and fits that earlier comment of him generally but here the patchy leans to patchy bad rather than to patchy good.

 

Glen is in fine voice but one of his strongest features, his guitar, is practically hidden on this album. Sure, on the Jimmy Webb songs of the 60s, Glen’s guitar work was also pushed back but when you have song writing as good as Webb’s that doesn’t matter. On this album there are a couple of Webb tracks but nowhere near enough to justify pushing Glen’s guitar back.

 

Micheal Smotherman who worked a lot with Campbell in the late 70s over a number of albums (he wrote all the tracks on the “Basic” album from 1978, and quite a few here) is no Jimmy Webb.

 

Smotherman was put into the preferred songwriter position because he was signed to a seven year song writing contract for Campbell. Clearly Glen or one of his advisors must have found something they liked in Smotherman’s song writing. Smotherman had been in the industry for awhile and had written a number of MOR country hits as well as having played with Roger Miller, Fleetwood Mac and Captain Beefheart ! (in Beefheart’s “Tragic Band” period).

 

I find a lot of his songs across this album just a little to country MOR bordering on soft rock and without the eccentric touches which could help distinguish them from others similar songs. The songs are not particularly catchy but as tunes go they are strong enough. Clearly Smotherman knows how to write, but he is not Jimmy Webb and even then the arrangements do nothing for the songs here. They are just too sickly sweet.

 

Clearly that’s where the country market was at the time but sometimes it’s better to kick against the pricks than go the way the water flows.

 

Tracks (best in italics)

 

  • Highwayman -(Jimmy Webb) –  the song made famous later by Kristofferson/Cash/Nelson/Jennings. I read somewhere once that Campbell wanted this released as a single at the time of this album but the idea was scrapped by the record company. A pity. The song is a good one with all of Webb’s usual evocative and perceptive sincerity. Perhaps not as good and certainly not as elegiactic as the later version.
  • Hound Dog Man – (Tommy Stuart) – another song about the old days of rock n roll that’s not a rock song. It’s also perhaps (probably) a song about Elvis. Roy Orbison also did the song in 1979

 

You gave the world a whole lot of joy
Now that ain’t bad for a country boy
I just knew you could not lose
The way you sang rock and roll and blues.
I still think about these things
And the memory that it brings

Hey, hound dog man,
My old friend, play it again.
Hey, hound dog man,
My old friend, play it again

 

  • I Was Just Thinking About You – (Micheal Smotherman) – schmaltz.
  • Love Song – (Jimmy Webb) –  minor Webb.
  • My Prayer -(Micheal Smotherman) –  schmaltz
  • Tennessee Home- (Micheal Smotherman) – schmaltz, but half interesting.
  • Don't Lose Me In The Confusion – (T.J. Kuenster) –  schmaltz – pure country pop pap …
  • Cajun Caper -(Micheal Smotherman) –  a slight song but at least a bouncy one with some nice fiddle by Doug Kershaw. Despite the proliferation of Croats in Louisiana’s fishing industry they don’t get a mention. C'est la vie.
  • Darlin' Darlinka -(Micheal Smotherman) –  Barely country and barely listenable.
  • Fool Ya – (Micheal Smotherman) –  No, I don’t think so.

And …

 

Very average and probably the crappiest Glen Campbell I have heard thus far…. but because I have the others …..I'm keeping it.

 

Yes, I know that this is not a wise philosophy.

 

Chart Action

 

US

Singles

1979  Hound Dog Man  Country Singles 25

1979  My Prayer  Country Singles 66

Album

—

 

England

Singles

—

Album

—

 

Sounds

 

Highwayman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQdKtustvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M48M0YTLrg

and attached

Glen Campbell-Highwayman

 

Hound Dog Man

Attached

Glen Campbell – Hound Dog Man

 

Others

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tgVAML2gE&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qoymGCDYzU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIUPCfIihQ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p8wDhK5LyY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s17Be3PZA8c

 

Review

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highwayman_(Glen_Campbell_album)

 

Bio

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Campbell

 

Website

 

http://www.glencampbellshow.com/

 

Trivia

— 

Posted in Country | Tagged | 2 Comments

THE SOUP DRAGONS – This is Our Art – (Sire) – 1988

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Franko
what Frank is listening to #231 – THE SOUP DRAGONS – This is Our Art – (Sire) – 1988
I knew very little about The Soup Dragons before sliding this on the turntable.
 
I knew they did appear on a Kinks cover versions tribute album that I have some years ago. That's a good thing.
 
I knew they did a "baggy" cover of the Stones "I'm Free" which was obvious but fun which is also a good thing.
 
I knew they were English and from the 80s. That's not a good thing.
 
Actually as it turns out they are Scottish. My apologies to the Scots for that faux pas.
 
Allmusic: "Before Scotland's Soup Dragons hit the mainstream with their reggae-infused cover of the Rolling Stones' "I'm Free," the Glasgow four-piece were poised to carry the torch first lit by the Buzzcocks and the Adverts. Formed in the mid-'80s around singer/guitarist — and eventual programmer — Sean Dickson, the band included guitarist Jim McCulloch, bassist Sushil Dade, and drummer Ross Sinclair. Their punk-pop debut, Hang-Ten!, consisted of two years worth of singles and EPs — the shorter Hang-Ten! EP arrived via Raw TV Products in 1986 — and was released in 1987 on Sire Records. Their direction changed completely on 1988's uneven but ambitious This Is Our Art, a schizophrenic collection of hard rock, funk, and harmony-laden pop that showcased the group's love of melody and willingness to experiment within the modern rock genre".
 
As suggested above in the allmusic extract The Soup Dragons vacillated in their sound looking for an audience, which after this album became an even more pronounced vacillation.
 
Wikipedia refer to the same: "Originally inspired by Buzzcocks and lumped in with the C86 movement, along with fellow members of the Bellshill Sound, such as the BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub, they went through a number of stylistic changes in their career".
 
I try not to read to much but just listen to the music as I sit here scratching myself. After all, I have to try to challenge my prejudices. Right? A little background can't hurt too much though. Can it?
 
The Soup Dragons have been called a "C-86" band. Surely one of the most obscure music genres, if it is in fact one.
 
Allmusic: In 1986, the British music weekly NME issued a cassette dubbed C-86, which included a number of bands — McCarthy, the Wedding Present, Primal Scream, the Pastels, and the Bodines among them — influenced in equal measure by the jangly guitar pop of the Smiths, the three-chord naivete of the Ramones, and the nostalgic sweetness of the girl group era. Also dubbed "anorak pop" and "shambling" by the British press, the C-86 movement was itself short-lived, but it influenced hordes of upcoming bands on both sides of the Atlantic who absorbed the scene's key lessons of simplicity and honesty to stunning effect, resulting in music — given the universal label of "twee pop" — whose hallmarks included boy-girl harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, infectious melodies, and simple, unaffected performances.
 
I don't know about "influenced hordes of upcoming bands on both sides of the Atlantic". That's a bit much. Otherwise the definition is apt but ultimately this is just retro 60s music.
 
There is nothing new here. The English (and others from the Isles) were playing catch up. By 1986, 60s garage had already been updated in the US (around the turn of the decade) with The Fuzztones, The Chesterfield Kings, The Fleshtones and others. Jingle jangle and harmonies had been exploited and updated by Californian Paisley Underground bands like The Three O Clock (initially The Salvation Army), The Rain Parade, The Long Ryders, and The Dream Syndicate whilst 60s girl group pop had a look-in with the influential Bangles. The 60s powerpop would continue to be mined successfully in the US with Jellyfish, Urge Overkill and others.
 
Ultimately, though the Soup Dragons headed into "Baggy" territory, a close relative, as did many of their peers. Baggy (and Madchester) music was a perfectly English, highly derivative, limited and very short-lived mix of the poppiest elements of 60s psychedelica, 70s glam, 80s new wave and dance music. A lot of it was catchy but most of it is so poppy, light and frivolous (as was the associated scene) that like fairy floss it dissolves, pretty much, instantly. Excessive use will lead to cavities. It's best taken in very small doses but it did ultimately lead to many superior Britpop acts like Oasis.
 
Whoops, my prejudices are showing.
 
Anyway, who gives a flying fuck if the music has been done before.
 
I like 60s music so this will be given a go, err, more of a go.
 
This is The Soup Dragons first album – all the other releases of the preceding couple of years were EPs.
 
I sit here writing and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised though not entirely excited. To me they sound like a catchier Wonder Stuff (though with a poorer sound).
 
The songs are a grab bag of styles but there is a 60s vibe running through the whole album so the band certainly fit the definition of 60s retro updated to the 80s thought there is more 60s here than 80s. It's certainly not very far from here to Oasis though Oasis can play better and write better songs.
 
Tracks (best in italics)
  • Kingdom Chairs – a incredibly catchy song (admittedly a bit deja vu) but with an incredibly lame harmonica solo.
  • Great Empty Space – catchy (and deja vu) again
  • The Majestic Head? – Fuck this sounds like The Three O'Clock. And it's more the better for it.
  • Turning Stone – ho hum
  • Vacate My Space – another Three O'Clock type number but average
  • On Overhead Walkways – dull.
  • Passion Protein – a wannabe rock song with some lame keyboard. Sounds like bad "Blue Ruin", if anyone remembers that great band from Australia.
  • King of the Castle – a slightly funky
  • Soft as Your Face – a beautiful, katchy (sic) bubblegum pop song with a knod (sic)  to The Kinks "Better Things".
  • Family Ways – did Blur rip this off?
  • Another Dreamticket – just dull.
And…
 
There are at least 3 great songs here dying to get out. But whether it is the production or the band I do not know but ultimately the album is underwhelming. There is no punch or passion.
 
I suspect I will tape a few tracks and sell.
 
I am keen to hear their earlier albums though…but definitely not their later LPs.
 
Chart Action
 
US
Singles
––
Album
—
 
England
Singles
Soft as Your Face #66
Album
#60
 
Sounds
 
Kingdom Chairs
 
The Majestic Head
attached

Turning Stone
Soft as Your Face
Others
 
Review
 
 
Bio
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_Dragons

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-soup-dragons-p5484

 

Website

—

 

Trivia

  • The band split in 1995 with Quinn joining fellow Bellshill band, Teenage Fanclub. Sushil K. Dade formed the experimental post rock group Future Pilot A.K.A., and singer Sean Dickson formed The High Fidelity. Jim McCulloch joined fellow Glaswegians Superstar, and has since formed musical collective Green Peppers. He writes and records with Isobel Campbell. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_Dragons

Other Comments

—

 
Posted in Indie | Tagged | 2 Comments

THE DILLARDS – Wheatstraw Suite – (Elektra) – 1968

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Franko
what Frank is listening to #230 – THE DILLARDS – Wheatstraw Suite – (Elektra) – 1968
Of course I know who The Dillards are but I don't have much by them, just tracks on some compilation album and one of their 70s albums. The reason is because you don't find them much in op shops here in Australia. Even in the States they were reasonably marginal to mainstream pop music. Only one of their 12 or so albums charted in the Top 200.
 
The truth is that even the well versed music listener would have trouble naming three Dillards songs. Can you?
 
But, if sales were the only yardstick to a musics worth then there would be much underappreciated and much that is total crap being heralded. So let us champion those the masses have missed though caution is needed …let us not loosely praise unknown music … it's unknown for a reason.
 
A band like The Dillards share a similar place (not in sound) to the Velvet Underground on the East Coast. No sales, limited popularity but every musician that saw them was influenced by them. The only difference (apart from music styles obviously) is that the Velvet Underground cult really only kicked in, in the 70s whereas The Dillards impact on other musicians was almost immediate.
 
You may not like country rock (which is a pity as there is much to enjoy in it) but The Dillards, The Byrds and The International Submarine Band (the last two with Gram Parsons) really set the template for all that followed in that genre.
 
Having said that I cannot envisage The Dillards then or now being as hip as The Byrds, regardless of the quality of the music.They clearly did not look as "cool" as The Byrds. Music is great but the look and cultural cache are under appreciated in "serious music". Only in pop do they understand the true worth of image.
 
I digress.
 
Back in what Frank is listening to #187 I said (google country rock on this blog and you can find me nattering on):
 
"Country Rock" is one of those terms that always divides listeners. Country rock is essentially country music played by rock bands, though some are more convincing and authentic than others. Slackers will say that Gram Parsons started this particular hybrid but that's just a fallacy. He may have been one of its early enthusiasts, it's icon and superstar, and deservedly so, but people had been mixing country and rock long before him. The Byrds, solo Gene Clark, Rick Nelson and solo Michael Nesmith (including some Monkees tracks) were all having a go in the mid to late 60s. And what is half of Elvis' Sun Sessions from 1954/55 but country rock. Further, he would in the late 50s record Hank Williams and Hank Snow and then return with a vengeance to Southern gothic country with "From Elvis In Memphis" in 1969. In the 70s he would cover many country songs and his fine "concept" album "Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old)" from 1971 is central to the genre. So, bully for him.
 
I suppose the difference though is that Parsons and the others consciously fused their love of country and rock whereas Elvis was acting more on instinct. They also added youthful defiance, drugs and lots of long hair to the mix ..something Elvis (or Jerry lee Lewis who travelled much the same country ground as Elvis) wasn't about to do. All of the first wave of rockers from the south were in country bands early on or had country in their sound at times – (especially) Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran, Charlie Feathers, Conway Twitty and Bill Haley (though from the Midwest he started out as a country act).
 
The Dillards approached country rock from a slightly different angle … they were a country band (specifically bluegrass) who started playing rock and not vice versa. And interestingly they were pushing the envelope as early as 1964 … they "plugged in" and went electric on their second album which was heresy to the bluegrass establishment at the time.
 
This, their 4th album, was their first proper country rock album and came out the same year as The Byrds "Sweethearts of the Rodeo" and The International Submarine Bands "Safe as Houses". Interestingly, as befits a band that started off as a country bluegrass band, country enthusiasts prefer to call the music "progressive bluegrass" emphasising bluegrass country with rock overtones rather than rock with country overtones.
 
It's a subtle difference but one that makes a world of difference in country / pop / rock fusion music, especially later when everyone started jumping on the bandwagon.
 
Interestingly the album is co-produced by guitarist and vocalist Rodney Dillard. Evidence that he really was in command and clearly knew where he wanted this music to go. (His brother Doug had left the band by this stage)
 
Tracks (best in italics)
  • I'll Fly Away – (Albert E. Brumley) –  what a way to start a pop album with a snippet of a white gospel song from the 30s (one of the most well known of all gospel songs) with beautiful harmonies.
  • Nobody Knows –(Mitch Jayne, Rodney Dillard) –  A perfect song …This is the Byrds go country (like they did on "Sweethearts of the Rodeo") but here there is more country than pop or rock.
            Nobody knows 
            Nobody ever knows 
            No one knows when things will stay the same 
            She’s in love with you 
            And you know you love her too 
            There will come a time when she won’t know your name 
            There’s a lot of things to die every time the day goes by 
            There’s a lot of things people cannot explain 
            You can be in love today 
            I mean every word you say 
            Knowing when tomorrow comes a word you say will be a lie
  • Hey Boys –(The Dillards) –  again, quite country bluegrass…and again the harmonies and banjo do it for me.
  • The Biggest Whatever –(Mitch Jayne, Rodney Dillard) –  a country rocker and not dissimilar to what Glen Campbell was doing at the time (when he wasn't doing Jimmy Webb)
  • Listen to the Sound –(Herb Pedersen, Mitch Jayne) –  a folk song
  • Little Pete– (Herb Pedersen) –  a country song and morality tale
  • Reason to Believe – (Tim Hardin) –  a singer songwriter song by the great Tim Hardin (his most well known song which has been covered by everyone – I'm partial to the Bobby Darin from 1966).  A great song with harmonies and a lyric which is poignant:
            If I gave you time to change my mind
            I'd find a way to leave the past behind
            Knowing that you lied straight faced while I cried
            Still I look to find a reason to believe
  • Single Saddle– (Arthur Altman, Hal David) –  starts off with a bass line like a blues but it's a cowboy song, It is co-written by Burt Bacharach co-writer Hal David and originally done by Vaughn Monroe (I think) in the 40s.
  • I've Just Seen a Face – (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) –  you don't hear the Beatles done like this often …bluegrass country style. "The Charles River Valley Boys" had done an album of Beatles bluegrass style in 1966. And they had done this song. I suspect The Dillards are covering them rather than The Beatles per se …but who knows. I have that Charles River Valley Boys LP in the pile behind me somewhere but I haven't given it a listen yet. Still, regardless of inspiration this is a good song and a good version.
  • Lemon Chimes –(Bill Martin, Rodney Dillard) –  a slow country folk ballad.
  • Don't You Cry– (The Dillards) –  what starts off as a bluegrass hoedown goes pop mid way through with some pop orchestral instrumentation. But it works.
  • Bending the Strings – (Allen Shelton) –  an instrumental right out of the Flatt & Scruggs songbook.
  • She Sang Hymns Out of Tune– (Jesse Lee Kincaid) – a 60s pop musician with a country and folk bent, Jesse Lee Kincaid was in the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. He is largely forgotten which is a pity because he wrote some nifty songs. This song had actually been covered the year before by Nilsson on his Pandemonium Shadow Show album. Whether the Dillards got it there or from the original I don't know. It's a classy tune though
And…
 
A excellent album. Seminal. A keeper.
 
Chart Action
 
US
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Sounds
 
and attached
 
I've Just Seen a Face
attached

She Sang Hymns Out of Tune
 
Others
with John Hartford
 
 
Review
 
 
Bio
 
 
Other
 
Website
 
 
Trivia
  • Though The Dillards were a tremendous influence on the main core of musicians who started Southern California's country rock movement in the late 1960s (which further extended from that genre into today's country music), their biggest claim to fame is playing the fictional bluegrass band "The Darlings" on The Andy Griffith Show. This was a recurring role and the Dillards were led by veteran character actor Denver Pyle as their father and jug player, Briscoe Darling. Maggie Peterson played Charlene Darling, their sister and the focus for the attentions of character Ernest T. Bass, played by Howard Morris. The appearances of the Dillards as the Darlings ran between 1963 and 1966. In 1986, the Dillards reprised the role in the reunion show Return to Mayberry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dillards
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Posted in Country Rock | Tagged | 2 Comments

GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS – New Directions – (Liberty) – 1967

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Franko
what Frank is listening to #229 – GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS – New Directions – (Liberty) – 1967

Hey, I've waxed lyrical about Gary Lewis on this blog already. Search those entries for background etc.
 
It would be nice to have each of these "comments" as self contained entries but my temperament doesn't allow for that. I love short hand. Too much sometimes.
 
The music here on this album recalls The Beach Boys and The Beatles of the preceding couple of years. Those bands who were much more innovative (derrr) and had already moved on to new sounds. Here, it's almost as if Lewis and his co-horts had figured there was still some life left in the the superseded style.
 
There wasn't.
 
Well there was, but not much.
 
You may have got away with this more successfully earlier in the 60s but by 1967 music was moving at a million miles an hour in all directions.
 
But that doesn't mean the tunes here are bad, just a little dated. If you were around in 1967 I would suspect you would have thought this is decidedly old hat, or you didn't notice because you were a "square".
 
What I have said is a little harsh because this album has a lot in common with Lewis' other album from 1967, the brilliant "Listen!". "Listen" is full of great tracks and leans heavily to "sunshine pop" which was quite contemporary at the time. This album also has a couple of "sunshine pop" type tunes and some contemporary tunes but it also has a few "old sounding" "fillers". So, it's not as good as "Listen".
 
But, fuck it, we don't have to make decisions or distinctions about sounds and relevance because we can sit back and enjoy the 1965 sound, recorded in 1967, in 2011.
 
Tracks (best in italics)
  • Girls in Love -Bonner, Gordon – beautiful, well orchestrated 60s pop with a nod to the Beach Boys….
  • Double Good Feeling -Bonner, Gordon – more 60s pop apparently recorded originally by Bonner / Gordon's group "The Magicians". A real toe tapper. I'd pay to see someone cover this at a local club.
  • Keepin' Company -Bonner, Gordon – a slight ragtime feel as was popular at the time when bands were trying to be quirky.
  • Here I Am- Duboff – so so
  • Hello Sunshine -Darin-  the Bobby Darin tune …done low key. Lewis' version is pleasant and understated but he isn't Bobby Darin.
  • Neighborhood Rock n Roll Band– Sieglal – a forced upbeat rock song.
  • New in Town -Lerman, Perles, Sheppard – a good pop song.
  • Slow Movin' Man -Bonner, Gordon – A Beatles type ballad (circa 1964) with some ragtime in the background.
  • A Little Love From You– Duboff, Kornfeld – a carnival Oom pah pah type song with a vague Kinksian feel …. I love the accordion. There isn't enough accordion in pop. Author Kornfeld was a music wunderkind and the man behind Woodstock.
  • Let's Be More Than Friends– Daryll-  another vaguely Beach Boys song and as genteel a song there ever was about winning on …. excellent
  • Me About You -Bonner, Gordon – the Jackie DeShannon song, also from 1968. I don't know who did it first but Lewis is actually in exceptional voice on this ballad. It was also recorded by The Turtles (who Bonner and Gordon also wrote a number of tunes for).
  • Moonshine -Bonner, Gordon-  nice pop … with some orchestral flourishes by arranger Jack Nitzsche -pity  the song was about radiant moon shine rather than alcohol.
And…
 
This album is a little "safe" but there are enough good pop tunes here (and a couple of brilliant ones) to make it a superior pop album, and one of Lewis' top 5.
 
And this kind of pop is always preferable to Herman's Hermits.
 

I'm keeping it.
 
Chart Action
 
US
Singles
Girls in Love #39, 1967
Album
#185, 1967
 
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Sounds
 
Girls in Love
and attached

Double Good Feeling
and attached
 
Keepin' Company

Here I Am

Hello Sunshine

Neighborhood Rock n Roll Band
New in Town
Slow Movin' Man
A Little Love From You
 
Me About You
Website
 
 
Trivia
  • from the net: Gary Lewis kindly shared some of the fond memories and disappointments on these sessions:
    "The 2 albums that I made with Koppelman-Rubin were my favorite 2 albums I've ever done. Another good producer in that company was Gary Klein; he did most of the work with me. The writing of Bonner and Gordon was terrific and the best songs I ever did. It's just too bad that I was too young to realize that at the time. I had just come out of the Army, and I thought those 2 albums would put me back on top. (New Directions and Listen) But that didn't happen. Not because of the songs or bad production, but because the music got much harder in 1967. (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane) So I was doomed no matter what I recorded. It took me a long time to get over that. Jack Nitzsche was a tremendous asset in the studio, and the arrangements were almost flawless. http://www.spectropop.com/KoppelmanRubin/KoppelmanRubin2.htm
    Posted in Pop Rock, Sunshine Pop and Baroque | Tagged | 1 Comment

    JUBAL – Jubal – (Elektra) – 1972

    Posted on September 25, 2011 by Franko
    what Frank is listening to #228 – JUBAL – Jubal – (Elektra) – 1972
    Jubal
    When people talk about this record they inevitably mention the fact that Dennis Linde was the bass player in the band.
     
    Dennis Linde (commented on this blog) was a bit of a quiet genius auteur involved in most of the music process: writing, producing, playing, and singing.
     
    Linde was born in Abilene, Texas, but was raised in San Angelo, Texas, Miami and St. Louis. He learnt to play guitar young and at age 15 joined Bob Kuban and the In-Men (the group had a great pop hit in 1966 with "The Cheater", the record was before Linde I think). He then played with a St. Louis band, The Starlighters, before moving to Nashville in 1969 to become a songwriter, where he befriended Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson and others. Linde almost immediately wrote some country hits for Don Cherry, Roger Miller and Roy Drusky which led to him releasing his first album in 1970. It didn't sell. It was around this time that he joined Jubal as a bass player, sometimes guitarist and occasional songwriter. This, their only album, didn't sell either. About the same time Elvis recorded  Linde's "Burning Love" which went to #2 (1972) and gave Linde a renewed career as a writer and a solo performer and also gave him some cash in pocket.
     
    But to think Linde was the focal point of the band would be wrong. All the members co-jointly or solo wrote and produced all the tracks on the album, as well as swapping instruments around. Members: Rob Galbraith (organ, guitar, piano), Dennis Linde (bass, guitar, vocals), Randy Cullers (percussion, drums, tambourine), Terry Dearmore (guitar, vocals), Alan Rush (guitar, harmonica, bass, vocals).
     
    Clearly they were a "supergroup" of err, unknowns. Significantly, as proof of talent, they all had significant work in music before Jubal and much after. Pianist Rob Galbraith became a major Nashville producer and also released some acclaimed and eccentric solo albums. Guitarist (and occasional vocalist) Alan Rush wrote songs for Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, The Hollies, Robert Palmer, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Roy Head, Delbert McClinton, Canned Heat, Don Williams, T.G.Shepherd, Tommy Overstreet, Earl Scruggs, Roy Clark, Mel McDaniel and did session work (he worked on Elvis overdub sessions). Drummer Randy Cullers went on to do a lot of session work (including Elvis overdubs) and write songs for others. Vocalist Terry Dearmore (ex Fat Sow) went on to join Nashville country rock legends, Barefoot Jerry,  as one of their lead vocalists in the mid 70s. He eventually became a preacher.
     
    Clearly they are the musical product of their times but they are also forceful personalities.
     
    And this album reflects this.
     
    The album is firmly country rock or rather country rock n soul but there are also pop, roots and jazz thrown in also (search this blog for country rock definitions and discussions).
     
    It's a weird mix….and it probably stretches "country rock" to it's furtherest limits.
     
    All it needs is a couple of killer tracks and you have instant cultdom.
     
    The other exciting thing is that its on the Elektra label…mmmm Elektra
     
    Tracks (best in italics)
    • Lay Me Down – Linde – A Delaney & Bonnie type of country soul song with a hint of Elvis in the vocal by Dearmore.
    • Friendly Goodbye – Galbraith, Clayton – a melancholy Beatles type of rumination with country-ish overtones.
    • Yesterday (I Threw My Life Away) – Rush, Cullers – some slight baroque touches on this one. As if The Moody Blues were doing country.
    • Really Not A Rocker – Dearmore – a rock song.
    • Morning Of My Life – Galbraith – a MOR ballad
    • For Becky – Galbraith, Clayton – a strange ballad that sounds like a Blood Sweat & Tears song without the jazz fusion, or in other words something from a hip Broadway show.
    • Talk To Me Tonight – Rush, Cullers – a MOR
    • I’d Hate To Be A Black Man – Galbraith – "I’d Hate To Be A Black Man in the State of Alabama …" A slow electric folk blues.
    • Courage Of Your Convictions – Rush, Cullers – later covered by the Hollies. A straight rock song, and none too good.
    • Ridin’ – Linde – again a song written by Linde (sung by Dearmore) that you could see Elvis singing.
    • Castles In The Sand -Rush, Cullers – A MOR meaningful ballad. On it's own level quite effective.
    And…
     
    The album is admirable and even inventive to the point of musical schizophrenia, which is never a good thing on an album (schizophrenia), but the glue here is the "country-ish" vibe on all the tracks.
     
    Jubal are no worse than many other country rock bands of the era and often better but the big problem though is there isn't one knockout track. Still, I'll keep it because of Linde ….
     
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    Friendly Goodbye
    attached
     
    Courage Of Your Convictions
    Hollies version
     
    Ridin’
    attached

    Others
    Dennis Linde
     
    Rob Galbraith
     
    Terry Dearmore
     
    Review
     
     
    Bio
     
     
    Website
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    Trivia
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    Posted in Country Rock | Tagged | Leave a comment