I have reviewed a later Gene LP before and said "Everyone has a favourite Gene Pitney song , don't they? If they don't they don't have a heart".
I also said, "Gene was a consummate (if occasionally melodramatic) vocalist. What he did do was take any song and not always make it his but certainly imprint it so you cant mistake it for someone else. His operatic pop ballads are "classics" of the genre and define a lot of 60s pop. Having said that, operatic pop up-tempo ballads weren't novel (think Elvis' "Its Now or Never" from 1960 or "Surrender" from 1961) but Gene made a career out of it. The emotion is worn on his sleeve and he created some of the most divine pop tunes of the 1960s. And as I have said before (elsewhere) if you are going to do pop you cant look for a better era than the 60s".
That all still applies.
This is a great 1960s pop album.
The album is produced by Schroeder and Gold. Aaron Schroeder also co-wrote two of the songs (he wrote some 500 songs and he wrote seventeen songs for Elvis Presley including five that reached number one). Burt Bacharach (no bio necessary – google him if you want to be impressed) co-wrote four other songs on the LP. So we are dealing with some high powered writers …
This is his third album and the familiar Gene histrionics are present though a little more low key. There are a few different "sounds" in here as the arrangers fumble around trying to find Gene's "sound" (there are three arrangers working individually on each of the tracks). So, in a way, it's a blessing and a curse – you get a little more diversity than the normal Gene album but you don't get that full on Gene Pitney sound we all know. Still, its a good album and I've played it a few times already. My only advice, if you are having love woes, is that this and a bottle of wine could do some real damage.
Of the 12 songs on this album only one does not deal with love in any of its permutations. Just look at the song titles below if you need proof as to the contents of the album.
The Tracks (the best in italics)
- True Love Never Runs Smooth – a magnificent up-tempo ballad from Bacharach-David
- Tower Tall
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – the only non "love" song. People assume this is from the film (probably my favourite movie of all time … it would be hard to pick between this and "The Searchers"), but it was not in the movie and was actually written afterwards to cash in on the film (or may have been rejected for inclusion in the film). It certainly doesn't fit the mood of the film though it summarises the obvious elements of the plot in its lyrics.
- Little Betty Falling Star – Another lush romantic ballad with Gene in an even more gentle mood.
- If I Didn't Have a Dime (To Play the Jukebox) – a bouncy mid-tempo tune with a good lyric
If I didn't have a dime,and I didn't take the time
To play the juke box
O-o-o Saturday night would have been a
sad and lonely night for me
To play the juke box
O-o-o Saturday night would have been a
sad and lonely night for me
- Going to Church on Sunday – a bit too much old school schmaltz – though the "prayer" songs were quite popular in the early 60s.
- Half Heaven Half Heartache – pseudo operatic, overwrought and totally enjoyable.
- Cry Your Eyes Out – a mish mash though a banjo gives it an up-tempo Stephen Foster feel …
- Only Love Can Break a Heart – another broken hearted ballad … it's addictive.
- Donna Means Heartbreak
- I Should Try to Forget (But I Keep Forgetting to Try) – a country flavoured weepie.
- My Heart Your Heart – a early 60s mid tempo rocker.
And …
I'm keeping this
Sounds
True Love Nervier Runs Smooth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBijZqQ6KMU
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Little Betty Falling Star
Half Heaven half Heartache
Only Love can Break a Heart
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(Originally posted: 28/10/2009)
