Category Archives: MP3 Review

Bobby Wayne: Big Guitar

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Twangin’ early-60s boogie-woogie from the Northwest

Bobby Wayne remains a rather obscure country and rockabilly guitarist, despite his prolific release schedule in the early ‘60s. Originally from Spokane, Wayne spent time as a youth in California and Atlanta, and it was during this latter stay, as a teenager in 1955, that he picked up the rockabilly style. Returned once again to Spokane, he played the clubs of the Northwest and eventually hooked up with Jerry Dennon and his Jerden record label. Beginning in 1963, Wayne released a string of singles, including a number of instrumentals anthologized on this 1964 LP. He was a talented picker whose twangy tone showed his original grounding in country music, but whose energy and rhythms were heavily indebted to boogie-woogie, as heard on his “Bobby’s Boogie #1.” If you like the twang of Duane Eddy, Carl Perkins or Chet Atkins, you might like to check out Bobby Wayne; for his rockabilly sides (such as “Sally Ann,” featured below), check the Sundazed EP ’55 Spokane Rockabilly. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Bobby Wayne at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Jack Nitzsche: The Lonely Surfer

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Solo debut of legendary pop arranger

Producer, arranger, soundtrack composer and songwriter Jack Nitzsche had only brief chart fame under his own name, with the title track of this album having reached #39 on the singles chart in 1963. But it was under the names of the Crystals, Ronettes, Ike & Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones and dozens of others that his memorable arrangements, orchestrations, and in the case of the Seachers’ “Needles and Pins,” songs, had their most significant impact on the pop market. For his full album follow-up to the fluke hit single, Nitzsche penned a handful of original tunes and charted new orchestrations for pop standards and movie themes, including a swinging run at Elmer Bernstein’s theme from “The Magnificent Seven” and a dramatic rendering of “More,” the theme from Mondo Cane. He borrows his own hook from “Needles and Pins” for the Mexicali-tinged “Puerto Vallarta,” and the string line of “Theme for a Broken Heart” seems to be drawn from Jagger & Richards’ “Blue Turns to Grey.” There’s plenty of low twanging baritone guitar and tympani throughout, demonstrating Nitzsche’s mastery of weaving together pop and orchestral elements. Apart from the title track, a cover of Lee Hazlewood’s “Baja” (which was a contemporaneous hit for the Astronauts), and the bass-twanging “Beyond the Surf,” there’s nothing here that really even feints towards surf music. The album closes with a morose arrangement of “Da Doo Ron Ron” so deeply at odds with the joy of the Crystals’ hit single as to be virtually unrecognizable. This is a pleasant album of orchestral pop, but other than the title track, not nearly as memorable as Nitzsche’s arrangements for Spector and others. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Jack Nitzsche Tribute Page

Various Artists: Today’s Top Girl Groups, Vol. 1

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1998 sampler of international lo-fi, punk and girlgroup sounds

After several Rock Don’t Run volumes [1 2 3] of mostly male bands, Spinout collected sixteen girl groups for this 1998 release. But other than Sit ‘n’ Spin’s note-perfect homage to the sixties, this is more punk rock than girl group. There’s primitive Merseybeat from Japan’s Pebbles and 5,6,7,8s, buzzing post-punk from San Francisco’s Poontwang, Ramones-like intensity from The Neanderdolls and Bobbyteens, and garage rock from Holly Golightly and Greece’s Meanie Geanies. The Neptunas give a swinging instrumental surf spin to Max Frost & the Trooper’s “Shapes of Things to Come,” the Friggs’ drum-and-guitar heavy “Juiced Up” brings to mind the late, lamented Pandoras, and the Maybellines’ Bo Diddley beat was studied at the feet of the Strangeloves. Best of all, though, is the drums-bass-and-grunting of the Godzillas’ “Pass the Hatchet.” If the Litter had made soundtrack music for the softcore porn scene of an AIP cheapie film, it would have, if we were lucky, sounded like this track. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Various Artists: The Very Best of the Rat Pack

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Early ‘60s thrills from Sinatra, Davis and Martin

By the early ‘60s the Rat Pack that had once included Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland had evolved to a Sintara-centric group (that called itself “the Summit”) that included fellow vocalists Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. All three were solo recording and concert stars, but it’s their impromptu performances on one another’s Las Vegas bills that solidified their reputation for suave masculinity. The trio, along with Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, starred in the films Ocean’s Eleven and Sergeants 3, but didn’t often record together. The 18-songs in this collection rotate through each singer’s solo recordings, and includes duets of Sinatra and Davis on “Me and My Shadow” and Davis and Martin on “Sam’s Song.”

Sinatra’s tracks are selected from his early Reprise years, and include the brash “Luck Be a Lady” and the title track from his label debut, Ring-a-Ding-Ding. The bulk of these are remakes of songs that Sinatra initially recorded for Capitol in the 1950s, including “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Come Fly with Me,” “Witchcraft” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.” These ‘60s performances find Sinatra in good voice, jazzily stretching out the rhythms, playfully punctuating his syllables and snapping his fingers on “Come Fly with Me,” but they don’t have the inventive vitality of the Capitol originals. The early Reprise-era Sinatra often sounds like an entertainer coasting on his top-of-the-world success rather than an artist brashly reinventing himself, as he had at Capitol.

Martin’s tracks, borrowed from both the Capitol and Reprise libraries, include signature hits “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” “Volare,” “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” and “Everybody Loves Somebody.” Additionally, his 1962 single “Who’s Got the Action?” pairs horn-heavy swing with a lyric of love and horseracing. The same year saw the release of the Vaudeville-styled duet, “Sam’s Song,” with Davis singing stagey counterpoint to Martin’s crooning. Davis’ solo tracks show off his brilliant theatricality as he caresses and belts Bye Bye Birdie’s “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” and his roots in blues and jazz come out for the Ocean’s Eleven showcase “Eee-O Eleven” and a reprise of his own Broadway success with Mr. Lucky’s “Too Close for Comfort.”

Over the years, all three performers became such outsized media personalities that it’s easy to forget the greatness of their recordings and live performances. Sinatra’s reworking of his Capitol material is looser than the originals – more Sinatra doing Sinatra than being Sinatra – but they give you a good feel for his ‘60s ring-a-ding-ding swagger. Martin’s sides are among his most loved, and Davis’ proves just how skilled and soulful he was as a vocalist. This is a good sample of what these performers were doing in the studio, with a 16-page booklet filled with period photos and liner notes adapted from Bill Zehme’s The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’. For a taste of the trio in action as a live act, check out the CD/DVD set The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin’, or look for the hard-to-find The Rat Pack Live at the Sands and Summit in Concert. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The Anita Kerr Singers: All You Need is Love

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Soft-pop vocal arrangements of ‘60s hits

The Anita Kerr singers are among the most heard, and least known-by-name, vocal group in the history of recording. That’s because Kerr’s group was the go-to backing group (along with the Jordanaires) for hundreds of sessions during the Nashville Sound era of the early ‘60s. They appeared almost constantly on the charts backing top country hits by Jim Reeves, Ernest Tubb, Faron Young, Brenda Lee, pop records by Pat Boone, Perry Como, Bobby Vinton and many, many others. Alongside their choral work, the group recorded several albums for RCA, including the Grammy winning We Dig Mancini. In the mid-60s Kerr disbanded the Nashville edition of her group, convened a new edition in Los Angeles, and commenced recording for Warner Brothers. This is the group’s fourth, and last album for the label, and was originally issued in the flower-power year of 1967.

Kerr picked her material with an arranger’s ear for possibilities, finding new vocal interplay even in songs as originally complex as the Association’s “Never My Love.” The songs are drawn from pop, rock, folk, soul and easy listening, and Kerr’s arrangements and orchestrations always find something new, often with a vocal-jazz feel. She expands on the vocal work of the Mamas & Papas “No Salt on Her Tail” and turns the Bee Gees’ moody “Holiday” into something contemplative. Less successful are her transformations of the soul tunes, “A Natural Woman” and “How Can I Be Sure.” The album is more a period piece than the lasting art Kerr created with her hit background arrangements, but it remains a pleasant breeze that blew across the heavier rock and soul of the ‘60s. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Arthur Conley: Soul Directions

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Conley’s tragedy turned into great soul music

Southern soul singer Arthur Conley is known to most for his perfect celebration, “Sweet Soul Music.” Based on a “Yeah Man” by his vocal inspiration, Sam Cooke, and co-written with his mentor, Otis Redding, the song topped out in 1967 at #2 on both the Hot 100 and R&B charts and became the lasting emblem of the ‘60s soul movement. But like so many true artists that have one defining single, Conley recorded terrific material both before and after the lightning strike. This 1968 album was a bittersweet affair that collected singles and album sides recorded just months after the airplane crash that killed Redding and the Mar-Keys.

Unlike Conley’s earlier hits, which had been waxed at Muscle Shoals, the album was mostly recorded at the same American Studios in Memphis where Elvis would cap his late-60s comeback. Conley wrote half the songs, including the somber memorial “Otis Sleep On,” and collected a pair from Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn. Memphis horns resound in “Funky Street,” “Hear Say” and “People Sure Act Funny,” and Conley draws from both Redding and Cooke in the pleading “This Love of Mine.” Conley saves his most scorching vocal for the Redding written and produced “Love Comes and Goes.” This is a terrific, deeply felt album that should be in the collection of all soul music fans. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Bob Gibson: Ski Songs

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A wonderful album of original ski-themed folk- and pop-songs

This 1959 album has the hallmarks of a cash-in: a famous folk singer, a comical cover, and a seemingly lightweight theme. And while the subjects may seem trivial in comparison to those of Gibson’s better-known originals, neither the songs nor performances were tossed off lightly. Signed to the roots powerhouse Elektra, Gibson was living in Aspen, and turned his love of skiing into an album of song. His banjo is backed by Russell Savkas’ acoustic bass, Joe Puma’s guitar (which offers a swinging solo on “Ski Patrol”), with Eric Weissberg filling out the arrangements on all three. The result is a surprisingly clever, joyous and fulfilling album, with Gibson telling the imagined conquests of insufferable ski braggarts, the gory demise of a hot dogger, the ennui brought by Spring and the rebirth furnished by Winter. He interweaves skiing lingo the way Brian Wilson and Roger Christian did with hot rod talk, offering up a wry introduction to winter sport with the talking blues “Talking Skier,” and showing affection for snow-covered landscapes in “In This White World.” Several of the tunes are familiar, as Gibson practices the folk tradition of repurposing melodies from well-known songs. “Super Skier” borrows from “The MTA Song” (which, itself was borrowed from “The Ship That Never Returned”) and “Super Skier’s Last Race” borrows from “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” While many of Gibson’s albums have were anthologized and reissued over the years, this one remained elusive until this welcome reissue. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

Bob Gibson Legacy Site

Various Artists: Hot Rod City

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Gary Usher and the Challengers tune up some car songs

Though the tracks are credited to the Customs, Quads and Grand Prix, this is apparently the work of the Challengers and legendary writer/producer Gary Usher. The twenty-one tracks (fourteen original and seven bonuses) include workmanlike cover versions of the Four Speeds’ “RPM,” Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” and “Little Queenie,” and the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Shutdown,” and “409.” The originals are laced with the car jargon the genre brought to mass culture, though little of this is as clever as the best that Wilson, Christian and Usher brought to the Top 40. The Everly’s-styled duet on the opening “Candy Apple Buggy” is about the most exciting vocal on an album that’s sung with surprising listlessness; there’s little evidence of the adolescent joy one expects from surf ‘n’ drag music. Collectors might like the cover of Brian Wilson’s “She Rides with Me,” though the Wilson-produced version by Paul Peterson is better and easily found here and here. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The Avalanches: Ski Surfin’

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1960s L.A. studio players cut some rockin’ instrumentals

The Avalanches were a one-off studio group formed around Los Angeles studio players Billy Strange and Tommy Tedesco on guitar, future Bread main-man David Gates on bass, and legendary Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine. The original instrumentals offered here (in addition to the themed covers, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “Winter Wonderland”) are the sort of studio rockers that populated dozens of mid-60s albums and exploitation film soundtracks. Strange and Tedesco blaze away in their respective twangy and fuzz-soaked styles, and the rhythm section burns down the slopes. There’s little here that’s really surf music, aside from a few moments of half-hearted staccato picking; the occasional jabs of pedal steel suggest Alvino Rey and the electric piano leans to the soul rave-ups of Ray Charles. But mostly this sounds like incidental music from a low-budget AIP teen-film. And that’s a complement. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The DeFranco Family: Heartbeat, it’s a Lovebeat / Save the Last Dance for Me

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Digital reissue of sweet radio pop from the mid-70s

The DeFranco Family – a family act from Ontario, Canada – had several hits and a terrific run in ‘70s teen magazines. The fuss was centered on the super-cute Tony DeFranco, whose 13-year-old voice was complemented by his brothers’ and sisters’ harmony vocals, yielding a sound akin to the Partridge Family fronted by Donny Osmond. What made the records work were lyrics that Tony could croon convincingly to pre-teen girls, bubblegum hooks and sophisticated arrangements by writer/producer Walt Meskell.

The group’s debut album featured their biggest chart hit, “Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat,” but also several other pop gems. “I’m With You” has a clever circus beat (apparently supplied played by Wrecking Crew ace, Hal Blaine) and the throwback “Sweet Sweet Loretta” combines banjo, bass, and brass. The album’s second hit, “Abra-Ca-Dabra,” is a terrific piece of bubblegum, but the real sleeper is “Gorilla,” a song so sweet it will give you a toothache. You’ll want to make sure you have some time to yourself as the album closes with Tony’s special message to you, “I Love Everything You Do.” Sigh.

The group’s second (and final) album features their third (and final) hit, a cover of the Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance for Me.” It’s the best track on the album, though Tony’s slightly funky take on Dr. John’s “Poor Boy” isn’t bad. Tony’s voice still sounds fresh and young, but the arrangements are heavier, and the delicious bubblegum sounds were exchanged for MOR ballads and overcooked Vegas-styled horn-rock. There’s very little here that stacks up to the hooks of “Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat” or “Abra-Ca-Dabra.” Even the love letter to Tony’s pre-teen fans, “I Guess You Already Knew,” hasn’t the craft of similar sentiments from the debut; apparently the DeFranco’s producer/songwriters had only one album of top-notch material. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The DeFranco Family’s Home Page
Tony DeFranco’s Home Page