Butchers Blind’s two previous releases, 2009’s One More Time and 2011’s Play for Films, showed off a wonderfully melodic form of rock-based Americana. Here they show how well it translates to the stage, recorded in November 2011 at Pianos in New York City.
Excellent, but ill-fated second album with super bonus tracks
Given the indelible mark Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders made with Clint Ballard Jr.’s “Game of Love†(#2 in the UK, chart-topping in the U.S.) it’s surprising just how short they ran as a unit. Nine singles, two albums, and by 1965 they’d gone their separate ways. In fact, their run ended as their singles (“It’s Just a Little Bit Too Late†from this second LP and “She Needs Love,†included on this reissue as a bonus) failed to capitalize on their breakthrough and Fontana’s solo career was realized more quickly than had previously been expected. It’s reported that he informed the band of his departure as he walked off stage midway through an October 1965 live show. Fontana and the band continued on separately (the latter scoring quickly with Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager’s “A Groovy Kind of Loveâ€), and this second album, released three months after the split, was left to founder.
Fontana and the band had been pulling in different directions before the split – the former looking to highlight his singing, the latter (lead by guitarist and future 10cc founder, Eric Stewart) their instrumental abilities. The latter’s versatility is highlighted in the range of songs tackled on this second album – a collection that was put together over a longer period of time than the single day afforded their debut. There are only two originals (“Like I Did†and “Long Time Comin’â€), both mid-tempo beat numbers written by Fontana under his given name of Glyn Ellis. The rest of the album picks up songs from a talented array of American writers, including Leiber & Stoller, Gene Pitney, Chuck Berry, Van McCoy, Goffin & King, Willie Dixon and Burt Bacharach. The selections are typically UK-centric, including a UK hit (“Memphis, Tennesseeâ€) that was a non-charting U.S. B-side, and Merseybeat favorites from Richard Barrett (“Some Other Guyâ€) and Bill Haley (“Skinny Minnieâ€).
The album included the follow-up single to “Game of Love,†sticking with Clint Ballard for “It’s Just a Little Bit Too Late.†Despite its great beat, twangy guitar and catchy lyric, it only edged into the UK Top 20, and fell short of the U.S. Top 40. The group’s last single, included here as a bonus track, was yet another Ballard beat-ballad, “She Needs Love,†which cracked the UK Top 40, but failed to chart in the U.S. The album’s original dozen tracks are augmented on this Bear Family reissue with nine rare single and EP sides. Pre-LP singles include Jimmy Breedlove’s “Stop Look and Listen†(b/w a cover of Gene Chandler’s “Duke of Earlâ€), and the group’s UK smash cover of Major Lance’s sweet soul “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um.†The latter is backed by a cover of the rare Doc Pomus and Phil Spector tune, “She Needs Love,†originally recorded by Ben E. King.
The final three tracks collect the rare Walking on Air EP (which also included “She Needs Loveâ€). Here you’ll find covers of obscure soul favorites by Jimmy Williams (“Walking on Airâ€), Jimmy Hughes (“I’m Qualifiedâ€) and Billy Byers (“Remind My Baby of Meâ€). Together with producer Jack Bavenstock the group simplified the arrangements to fit the group’s rock ‘n’ roll sound, dropping the heavy sax and keyboards of Rick Hall’s original chart for “I’m Qualified†and upping the tempo on “Remind My Baby of Me.†All tracks are mastered in crisp, mono, and Bear Family’s reissue is housed in a digipack with a 22-page booklet stuffed with photos and liner notes in both German and English. This is a terrific artifact of the British Invasion, made all the richer by the nine bonus tracks, and a terrific complement to the group’s first album. [©2012 hyperbolium dot com] 
Disconcerting 2012 remaster of Sinatra’s 1963 stage songbook
As has been noted widely, Concord’s 2012 reissue of this Sinatra title has provoked strong reactions among the vocalist’s knowledgeable fans. Originally recorded and released in 1963, this remastered edition remixes and rebalances the multitrack masters, and sharpens the individual tracks to the point of distraction. It’s interesting to hear the elements rendered so crisply, especially Sinatra’s vocals, but the separation, particularly between the voice and instruments, is unsettling. A great recording has an instrumental pocket into which the vocal fits, hand-in-glove, and earlier editions of this title show the pocket exists; this mix pushes Sinatra’s vocal forward, to the point at which the overall result is not cohesive. At times Sinatra sounds as if he’s overdubbed on top of the music, rather than the key player within it.
There’s no fault in Sinatra’s choice of material, which leans heavily on the Broadway stage compositions of Richard Rodgers, nor is there any problem with the arranging and conducting of Nelson Riddle, the enormous orchestra assembled on a Hollywood scoring stage, or the recording technology. Earlier editions of this title showed how Sinatra’s fluent interpretations and Riddle’s sympathetic backings worked in concert to create grandly emotional renderings of these songs. This re-master still contains each artist’s masterful work, but woven less tightly into a coherent whole. Lawrence Stewart’s original liners are augmented by new notes from Frank Sinatra Jr., and the original ten tracks are extended by a pair of bonuses that include the Van Heusen-Cahn “California,†originally commissioned by the state’s then-governor, Pat Brown.  [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]
A fine sampling of romance-themed mid-70s sides
Tony Bennett has sustained his vocal artistry for more than sixty years. He’s gone in and out of commercial favor several times, but the singularity of his voice, musicality and taste have repeatedly lured new generations to his work. His vocal talent measures up to that of Sinatra, but his feel for blue jazz notes adds a unique touch to every recording. This set collects recordings from four mid-70s albums (Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook, Life is Beautiful, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album and Together Again), showcasing Bennett in duets with Bill Evans’ piano, as well as trio, quartet and orchestral settings. The songbook favors American classics from the pens of Rodgers & Hart, Mercer & Mancini, Cole Porter and others, all of which Bennett sings with inimitable ease and class. [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]
A masterful pastiche of ‘60s and ‘70s pop sounds
The Explorers Club’s debut, 2008’s Freedom Wind, set a very high bar with its unerring evocation of the Beach Boys’ most sophisticated period. Incredibly, the band’s second effort manages to top their first, with a seamless pastiche of ‘60s and ‘70s pop sounds that suggests the band’s mastermind, Jason Brewer, is a twenty-first century savant of Brian Wilson, Curt Boettcher, Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach and others. He lovingly mashes riffs, instrumental sounds and melodic structures into confections that will spin the heads of those who once spun the AM dial in search of great pop. He lovingly cops the opening bars of “Up, Up and Away,†evokes the “over you†hook of “Goin’ Out of My Head,†and drops an electric sitar into “Bluebird†that’s worthy of Reggie Young’s work on “Cry Like a Baby.â€
You’ll hear the rolling rhythms of Glen Campbell, the classical drama of Eric Carmen (as well as the bubblegum of the Raspberries), and spy music that’s equal parts Herb Alpert, Ron Grainer and the Ventures. Brewer is a fetching vocalist, with a high end that evokes Carl Wilson’s riveting alto, but it’s the instant, insistent catchiness of his melodies that immediately hooks your ear. What makes it sticky are sophisticated arrangements that evoke the forward lean of radio’s best turn-of-the-70s pop – sounds that strike the ear as both nostalgic and still-new at the same time. It’s a dichotomy that suggests these musical styles weren’t played out by the time they gave way to whatever was next. The Explorers Club plays as both a brilliantly executed homage and a lively continuation of something that’s still full of life. [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]
Great rock ‘n’ soul from Jersey City’s One and Nines (seemingly named after U.S. Truck Route 1/9). Their new single “Tell Me” (b/w “Make it Easy”) mixes a bit of shore-side soul with some Memphis-flavored horns and a mix courtesy of the Bo-Keys’Â Scott Bomar. Available as a digital download or a 7″ vinyl single [1 2] for those of you with a working highway hi-fi.
Sweden’s Sweet Serenades make pop music that suggests they’ve fallen through a time vortex into the prime of early-80s MTV. In the snappy “Moving On” you can hear shades of the Buggles, Motors, Alarm, Call, Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, and other favorites of music video’s golden age.
New video from New York’s Lost Leaders (Peter Cole & Byron Isaacs), with a heavy CSN feel to the melody, harmony and guitars. Isaacs plays with Levon Helm and Ollabelle, Cole is reportedly a member in good standing of the American Automobile Association. You can hear a live performance (the so-called “Scarf Session”) in the video below, and download the studio version (plus a second song from their upcoming EP) on the band’s home page.
Modern music marketing begs ethical questions
In his revelatory first book, Futurehit.DNA, music industry insider Jay Frank explored the impact that modern recording and digital distribution technology are having on popular music. Rather than guiding readers to creating more artistic music, he took on the mercenary’s role of advisor-to-the-would-be-popular. He explored the ways in which modern listeners discover and consume music, and his insights as the former head of Yahoo! music yielded useful ideas for garnering listeners and the public recognition (e.g., chart action and sales) that goes along with all those ears.
In this follow up, Frank ups the promotional ante and lowers the moral barriers. This collection of ideas is even more mercenary in nature, and though it will help you maneuver around a lack of a label, industry experience or contacts, it does so in part by teaching you to use, and in several instances, game, Internet-based promotional channels. Frank builds upon the premise that the average music listener is not a fanatic, and that their music discovery is viral- and marketing-induced. As in his debut, he provides interesting analysis of how the music discovery curve has changed, and how artists who want to be discovered need to adapt.
Growing an audience with mechanisms other than music and live performance is a task many musicians are loathe to undertake, and the book’s focus on non-musical mechanics is sure to alienate a few. But the ease with which all musicians can distribute their music on the internet has made it more difficult for any one musician to be heard, and working out-of-band is a basic necessity to a modern music career. Many of Frank’s ideas – networking with fans and artists to grow your fan base, giving away music to expand your business, treating your most ardent fans as your most passionate customers, using contests to build a mailing list, optimizing your website for search results – are standard marketing fare.
Where he gets clever, and some would say less ethical, is in recommendations for juicing your YouTube placement by watching your own videos, pumping up your sales figures (and thus your chart placement) by buying your own songs at digital retail, and even buying Facebook fans (the latter of which he disclaims “I’m not for that, but it is a considerationâ€). One could see these as digital versions of practices common to the pre-Internet record industry, but their availability to all doesn’t make them any more savory. Still, Frank may be right that this is what it takes to succeed in today’s mainstream.
Hack Your Hit isn’t as uniquely informative as was Futurehit.DNA; other titles, including Ariel Hyatt’s Music Success in Nine Weeks and David Nevue’s How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet, cover similar ground. What distinguishes Hack Your Hit, for better or worse, is Frank’s knowledgeable perspective as a music industry gatekeeper and his willingness to let readers draw their own ethical line. With forty tips, many very simple and quick to implement, musicians are bound to find a few ideas that will help them along the road to a larger audience. [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]