I have commented on a Lou Christie LP before – "What Frank is listening to #15"
I am partial to this era of rock because it's, just, fun. The era I refer to is the "post Elvis – pre Beatles" era (though as I have said somewhere "post Elvis" is a bit inaccurate as Elvis had well over a dozen hits in the 1960 – 64 period). The period was a period of musical emotional excess with the happy songs being truly joyous and the songs of heartache being worn on the sleeve.
Christie who had started in the late 1950s was a perfect example of this style of music and even transcended it as he wrote many of his own songs and later became more introspective in music and attitude. Here, though, he was the king of the falsetto … even more than Frankie Valli Christie's voice anchors (or sends off) all the music around him.
Allmusic had this to say, "While Lou Christie's shrieking falsetto was among the most distinctive voices in all of pop music, he was also one of the first solo performers of the rock era to compose his own material, generating some of the biggest and most memorable hits of the mid-1960s".
And on this, his first album, the falsetto is played up on just about every song. Interestingly, unlike Christie's next album, this LP (mostly but not all) still owes as much to the black vocal groups (especially the "vocal pop" bands as well as the doo wop bands) and white Italo-American street corner singers of the late 50s as it does to any progression in pop music in the 60s. So, unlike someone like Roy Orbison who updated his pop music for the 60s, Christie,on this LP, remains firmly anchored in the vocal groups of his youth.
There is nothing wrong with that and of course that style was still popular in 1963.
If you don't like falsetto and near operatic caterwauling then give this a miss. I do, if for no other reason than its downright eccentric. The voice is used to convey the emotions that weren't allowed to be described in the lyrics of the time. Lust, foreplay, intercourse where all obliquely referred to in the lyric but it was the voice which had to emotionalise it for the listener so you knew exactly what they were referring to. It's music, not for the brain, but rather for the heart or loins (as sappy as that sounds).
Christie though also represents the darker, more complex and depressing side of bubblegum music. He doesn't indulge in the "teen death song" or "teen tragedy songs" popular at about the same time but a lot of his songs are about broken, unrequited or lost love. In that way he is much like Leonard Cohen, though that is probably lost on the "tastemakers". Look at the song titles if you need confirmation of the lyrical content: "Two Faces Have I", "All that Glitters Isn't Gold", "The Gypsy Cried", "How Many Teardrops","Tears On My Pillow".
The LP sounds it was recorded in my bathroom as it's not a sophisticated recording but it's the music that keeps it all together and it's pretty surprising given that Lou was only 20 years old here.
Best Tracks
- Two Faces Have I – #11 black singles, #6 pop. Co-written by Christie this is perfect example of this type of pop … and very Del Shannon sounding also.
- To Be Loved – a good example of the influence of black vocal pop group sounds on Christie – this could have been something by The Platters.
- The Gypsy Cried – #24 pop. Great lyrics. Teen tribulations in two minutes.
I had some trouble with my baby
So I had my fortune read
I had some trouble with my baby
And this is what the gypsy said
So I had my fortune read
I had some trouble with my baby
And this is what the gypsy said
The gypsy cried, she cried
Gypsy, oh tell me, what is in your crystal ball
Gypsy, oh tell me, will my tears fall
Gypsy, oh tell me, will my tears fall
She cried, she cried and said
Watch your step, oooh she'll hurt you yet
Oh no no no no no no no
Watch your step, oooh she'll hurt you yet
Oh no no no no no no no
Oh no no no no no no no
Watch your step, oooh she'll hurt you yet
Oh no no no no no no no
Gypsy, oh tell me, does she want to marry me
Gypsy, oh tell me, when the wedding's gonna be
Gypsy, oh tell me, when the wedding's gonna be
She cried, she cried
Listen to what the gypsy said
Oh no no no no no no no
Listen to what the gypsy said
Oh no no no no no no no
Oh no no no no no no no
Listen to what the gypsy said
Oh no no no no no no no
Gypsy, say it isn't true
Watch out, oooh she doesn't love you
Watch out, oooh she doesn't love you
Gypsy, say it isn't true
Watch out, oooh she doesn't love you
Watch out, oooh she doesn't love you
Gypsy, say it isn't true
- How Many Teardrops – a song that could have come from the late 50s
- Stay – a cover of the great Maurice Williams song. Not as good but not bad.
And …
Not as good as some later Lou LPs but still a keeper.
This is pop … near perfect pop of its time …
Chart Action
The album reached #124 on the charts.
Sounds
Two Faces Have I
Mr Tenor Man
All That Glitters Isn't Gold
The Gypsy Cried
How Many Teardrops
Tears on My Pillow
live -in the 80s?:
a 25 year old Lou in 1969
Website
Pictures
Here's Lou meeting Princess Margaret in 1969 – there are some other tools (just kidding) waiting in line …
(Originally posted: 17/10/2009)
