PETER & GORDON – Woman - (Capitol) - 1966, comment, review, Elvis, John Wayne, Paul McCartney

Check out my other comments for information on Peter & Gordon, one of the most interesting of the British Invasion groups though, because they didn't play R&B, or pout they are largely underrated today.

Okay that is an oversimplification but they don't appeal to the image of the British Invasion music many people have today.

In the 60s they were formidable as a British Invasion following in the Beatles wake though, interestingly, they always seemed to have more of a chart presence in the US than in the UK, so …

I’m not sure what was happening with this album release as it seems to be a bit all over the shop.

This person says this, “The U.S. and U.K. release chronology becomes very jumbled here, as the track lineup for Woman is split between the concurrent British Peter and Gordon album (a second self-titled disc) and what would be their final overseas (British) LP, the film music concept collection Somewhere. However, the U.S. album emerged months before the U.K. film collection, so perhaps all this material was recorded around the same time? (Capitol T/ST 2477, 1966)” http://isthmus.com/music/vinyl-cave/vinyl-cave-the-almost-complete-peter-and-gordon-discography/

The American companies were always playing around with UK album releases probably because they were playing catch up (as a mate of mine said). That is, they knew what the hits off the various albums in the UK were so why no bundle them with other popular songs to make a more foolproof album. They even did that (as pointed out by my same mate) to the Beatles on all their albums up till Sgt Peppers (dropping off songs and substituting them with others).

Or perhaps it’s a Capitol records things as they were both on Capitol?

No, The Animals (MGM), The Dave Clark Five (Epic), and The Searchers (Kapp), Manfred Mann (Ascot) and others suffered the same fate.

Such random chaos offends my OCD collecting sensibilities, it would be easier if the albums mirrored each other.

But, in some cases it may have worked …some Animals and Searchers albums are tighter (but the process still annoys me).

But here with “Woman” it makes no sense.

Peter & Gordon had recorded a batch of film cover songs and a batch of other non-film songs.

I don’t know if they were recorded at the same sessions or not, though I doubt they were.

Collections of film cover songs were popular in the US in the 50s and 60s but usually with trad pop artists. It seems that that was a market that Peter & Gordon were intent on breaking or at least breaking for one album. And they were still popular in the US.

Given that it is reasonable to assume that a collection of film songs was intended as a release for the US.

And …

That didn’t occur.

They mixed up the non-film songs with the film songs for this album and then released the remaining film and non-film songs on the “Lady Godiva” album in 1967.

Why?

Who knows, but they should have stuck to keeping the non-films songs on one album and the film songs on another like they did in the UK (with the album “Somewhere”).

That album I have and I have commented on before;

http://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/british-invasion/peter-and-gordon-somewhere-columbia-1966/

The only odd thing is, and that obviously, applies to some of the songs here is that Peter & Gordon have gone with film songs they like. Most film songs albums are made up of recent film songs so the album gets a boost from the popularity of the film or the theme song or they are linked otherwise: ie: Academy Award Winning songs. The films songs here, however are totally random from all sorts of films going back to the early 1950s.

The rest of the songs are covers bar one original. Peter & Gordon could write a tune but often relied on covers, probably because they were putting out so much material.

This album usually gets a look-in because of the title tune, “Woman” which was written by Paul McCartney under a pseudonym. The song hit the Top 30 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Woman – (Bill Webb) – this is very McCartney and very good in the full MOR tratment that McCartley always wanted to do but couldn't with the Beatles. . “Under the Lennon–McCartney moniker, McCartney had written three previous Peter and Gordon singles (viz. “A World Without Love”, “Nobody I Know”, and “I Don’t Want to See You Again”). On this occasion, McCartney used the pseudonym Bernard Webb (though some Capitol pressings carry the name A. Smith instead) to see if the song would be a success without the Lennon–McCartney credit. McCartney commented at a press conference in August 1966, “People come up to them and say, ‘Ah, we see you’re just getting in on the Lennon–McCartney bandwagon’. That’s why they did that one with our names not on it… because everyone sort of thinks that’s the reason they get hits.” However, the publishing credit was Lennon and McCartney’s company Northern Songs, and according to Gordon Waller it took only two weeks’ time for the song’s real author to be revealed, as the first review of the record said, “This Bernard Webb has an amazing talent. Could even be Paul McCartney!” It was then introduced as written by McCartney when Peter and Gordon performed it on the US TV show Hullabaloo. McCartney gave a casual performance of the song on piano during the Beatles Get Back sessions in January 1969. It can be heard on bootleg recordings”. https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/song/woman/. Also, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_(Paul_McCartney_song)
Wrong From The Start – (Peter Asher / Gordon Waller) – a bouncy beat tune and as good as anything else in the genre.
As Long As I Have You – (Ben Weisman / Fred Wise) – from "King Creole" (1958) – originally by Elvis Presley – a great underrated haunting ballad from one of Elvis' best films … not as good as the original of course … but quite wonderful.
Let It Be Me – (Gilbert Bécaud / Manny Curtis / Pierre Delanoë) – the oft covered big ballad – Elvis, Everly Brothers etc … maudlin, emotional and hopelessly romantic, but it works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_Me_(The_Everly_Brothers_song)
Green Leaves Of Summer – (Dimitri Tiomkin-Paul Francis Webster) – from "The Alamo" (1960) – originally by "The Brothers Four" (#65, 1960) and Frankie Avalon – one of my favourite of all movie theme songs from the vastly underrated John Wayne epic … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Leaves_of_Summer
High Noon – (Dimitri Tiomkin / Ned Washington) – from "High Noon" (1952) – originally by Tex Ritter – hmmm interesting … the starkness and edgy fatalism of the original is gone but it's a good song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_High_Noon

Side Two

I Know A Man – (McDermot-Frith) – a single for Rolf Harris in 1963. Like a film song from a Cliff Richard swinging pop film from England in the early 60s. Quite good.
Brown, Black And Gold – (Lease-Stevens) – I don't know much about this but it is co-written by Lona Stevens who co wrote the Jaynetts hit (#2, 1963 US) "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" which Peter & Gordon covered for their "In London For Tea" album from 1967. It has been suggested that Stevens was a pseudonym for Phil Spector but it seems that Stvenes was the wife of producer and A&R man at Chess records, Abner Spector (no relation). This music is like something from a 60s film set in a smoky jazz bar. Excellent.
3:10 To Yuma – (Andre Michel Salvet / Ned Washington) – from "3:10 to Yuma" (1957) – originally by Frankie Laine – Peter & Gordon get the right mix of western drama and Hollywood schmaltz in this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_3:10_to_Yuma
Somewhere – (Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim) – from the musical "West Side Story" (1960). I love this song. This is a good version but not as dramatic as needed, perhaps. It needs one, tortured voice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somewhere_(song)
There's No Living Without Your Loving – (Jerry Harris) – The song was written by Jerry Harris and Paul Kaufman and was first released by Gene Pitney in 1965 on his "I Must Be Seeing Things" album. It was covered by Manfred Mann later in the same year who had a #1 EP release with it in the same year. Not too bad. Solid even

And …

That album is magnificent (others would say patchy) but I like it because it features film tunes (mainly westerns and one from a John Wayne film as a bonus) , Elvis covers, a song from my favourite musical and some convincing Beat music. Perhaps, one of the best Peter & Gordon albums (of the ones I have heard) … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Singles

1965 There's No Living without Your Loving #50

1966 Woman #14

Album

England

Singles

1966 Woman #28

Album

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Sounds

Woman