Tag Archives: Real Gone

Steppenwolf: The ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection

Steppenwolf_ABCDunhillSinglesA treasure trove for Steppenwolf and John Kay fans

Steppenwolf’s residual radio legacy – “Born to Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride” – may fairly represent their brand of hard-rocking psychedelia, but it simultaneously over-represents their otherwise modest results as a singles band, and under-represents their enormous success as an album act. These two towering hits overshadow four years of gold-selling albums and a string of mid-charting singles that deserved a bigger stage. Real Gone’s two-disc set assembles Steppenwolf’s ABC/Dunhill A’s and B’s (except for “Monster,” which uses the full “Monster/Suicide/America” album track in place of the shorter single edit), alternate B-sides, and John Kay’s solo singles into a compelling recitation of the group’s lesser known singles and adventurous flipsides.

Beyond the two big hits, a few of the groups singles remain familiar. Their second release, a funky rock cover of Don Covay’s “Sookie Sookie,” failed to chart, but gained airplay on soul stations, their chilling take on Hoyt Axton’s “The Pusher” graced the opening scene of Easy Rider, and “Rock Me” closed out their top ten run in 1969. Nine more singles over the next couple of years brought some musical highlights, but only middling chart success, topped by 1969’s “Move Over.” AM radio was a big tent in the early ‘70s, and though there was still space for rock music, apparently the Doors, Who, Alice Cooper and Led Zeppelin had sharper commercial elbows than Steppenwolf. But even though the group’s singles stalled midway up the charts, their albums continued to sell and their popularity as a concert draw resulted in a gold-selling live LP.

The group’s B-sides often provided more musical reach than the A’s. Goldy McJohn’s signature organ provides an ominous underpinning, and John Kay’s gruff, bluesy vocal was well spent on producer Gabriel Mekler’s “Happy Birthday,” the original “Power Play” has a Dylan-esque meter and showcases then newly-added lead guitarist Larry Byrom, snappy horns were added to the instrumental B-side “Earschplittenloudenboomer.” and the arrangement turns acoustic for the string quartet backed “Spiritual Fantasy.” There’s was also a lengthy experimental instrumental, “For Madmen Only,” which was replaced as the B-side of Mars Bonfire’s “Ride With Me” by the more conventional “Black Pit.” The top sides had their adventurous moments, including the Kustom Electronics’ “The Bag” talk box used on “Hey Lawdy Mama” and a superb take on Hoyt Axton’s anti-drug “Snowblind Friend.”

In 1972, Steppenwolf disbanded, and Dunhill retained John Kay as a solo artist. His work combined originals and covers drawn from a surprising range of sources, leading off with a heavy cover of Hank Snow’s “Movin’ On.” Kay also covered Hank Williams’ wounded “You Win Again,” Alan O’Day’s “Easy Evil” and Five Man Electrical Band’s “Moonshine (Friend of Mine).” Kay’s voice is easily recognized, but freed from the legacy of Steppenwolf’s “heavy metal thunder,” he finds resonance with Richard Podolar’s spacious and more gentle productions. The combination is particularly effective on Kay’s fine country, folk and soul-tinged originals “Walk Beside Me,” “Somebody” and “Nobody Lives Here Anymore.”

This is a terrific set for the band’s fans, with mono singles mixes used for disc one (except track 15), and nearly half of disc two (3-5, 8-9 and 14-15), and true stereo for the rest. Those seeking the band’s hits are better off with a single disc collection (or even bargain priced copies of their first two albums), but fans will really enjoy this view of the band and John Kay’s early solo work. The latter may be the set’s biggest surprise, particularly for those weaned only on Steppenwolf’s radio hits. The generous running time (77:48 for disc 1, 69:26 for disc 2), is complemented by a 24-page booklet that’s stuffed with photos and intimate liner notes by John Kay. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

Steppenwolf’s Home Page

Ronny and the Daytonas: The Complete Recordings

RonnyAndTheDaytonas_TheCompleteRecordingsThe surprisingly extensive catalog of Nashville’s first surf band

On the surface, Ronny and the Daytonas’ “Little G.T.O.” is a classic mid-60s California surf & drag hit. The song is super-stocked with a driving beat, period hot rod lingo and a falsetto hook worthy of Jan & Dean. But the song wasn’t produced in California, nor was it even the product of an actual group. The eponymous “Ronny” was actually John Wilkin, son of country songwriter Marijohn Wilkin (“Waterloo” “Long Black Veil”), the Daytonas were an ad hoc aggregation of Nashville studio hands, and the session’s producer was Sun Records alumni Bill Justis. Even more surprising, “Little G.T.O.” was Wilkin’s first foray as an artist, and it launched a recording career that lasted into the early 1970s and spanned multiple record labels.

The Pontiac G.T.O.’s 1964 debut proved to be a pivotal moment in automobile history, igniting a muscle car craze that engaged all four American car makers and spread quickly to popular culture. Wilkin was a high school student when his dual interests in music and cars were catalyzed by an article in Car and Driver. The result was the #4 hit, “Little G.T.O.,” with Wilkin’s nylon-stringed classical guitar providing the unusual solo. With a hit single on his hands, more originals were recorded, an album was put together, and a touring band was assembled to hit the road. The follow-on singles, “California Bound” and a cover of Jan & Dean’s “Bucket T,” charted, though without the nationwide impact of the debut, and “Little Scrambler” and “Beach Boy,” despite their teen effervescence, failed to gain any commercial traction.

The lack of follow-on hits didn’t deter Wilkin, and working with Buzz Cason, he released the bouncy single “Tiger-A-Go-Go” (b/w the instrumental “Bay City”) under the names of Buck & Buzzy. The duo had more success with the Daytonas’ second (and final) major chart hit, 1965’s “Sandy,” developing a softer sound with folk tones, lush backing vocals and strings. The corresponding album offered more introspective lyrics than the earlier surf songs, and reflected the sort of growing sophistication heard in the Beach Boys’ contemporaneous releases. Strangely, 1966 started up in reverse with the non-charting single “Antique ’32 Studebaker Dictator Coup,” a track lifted from the 1964 Little G.T.O. album.

The Daytonas’ finished their run on the Mala label with 1966’s “I’ll Think of Summer,” and debuted on RCA with “Dianne, Dianne.” The latter was co-written with Merle Kilgore, and carried on the soft sounds of Sandy. The flip, “All American Girl,” was a catchy Jan & Dean surf-rock pastiche that must have already sounded nostalgic upon its release in mid-1966. The background vocals and falsetto flourishes of “Young” quickly recall the Beach Boys, though the driving piano and drums give the song an original kick. The flip, “Winter Weather,” sounds as if it were drawn from an AIP teen film set in snow country. Wilkin also tried covers, turning Rex Griffin’s 1937 suicide themed, “The Last Letter” into a teenage tearjerker, venturing winningly into light psych with Mark Charron’s “The Girls and the Boys,” and crooning “Alfie” and Boyce & Hart’s “I Wanna Be Free.”

RCA issued singles by both the Daytonas and Bucky Wilkin, the latter including the war themed “Delta Day (No Time to Cry),” co-written by Wilkin, his mother and one of her Buckhorn Music staff writers, Kris Kristofferson. Wilkin’s last “Ronny” originals included the Brothers Four-styled folk harmony of “Walk with the Sun,” the harmony rocker “Brave New World” and the pop “Hold Onto Your Heart.” A few tracks that were left in the vault finish off disc two with the surf-styled “Daytona Beach” the organ rocker “Hey Little Girl,” a reverential cover of Barry & Greenwich’s “Chapel of Love,” and the tender “Angelina.” For a “group” that’s known primarily for their first single, Wilkin built a surprisingly extensive catalog, riding various musical trends between 1964 and 1968, and creating a solid body of original work. Missing are his later solo releases on Liberty and United Artists, but what’s here, remastered almost entirely from tape in original mono, with revealing liner notes by Mr. Wilkin himself, is a surprise and a delight. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

John Buck Wilkin’s Home Page

Jackie DeShannon: All the Love – The Lost Atlantic Recordings

JackieDeShannon_AllTheLoveLost 1973 sessions with Tom Dowd and Van Morrison

As a songwriter, Jackie DeShannon had tremendous success throughout the 1960s, but it wasn’t until she recorded 1969’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” that she found fame with her own material. But despite the song’s commercial success, the following year’s To Be Free would be her last for Imperial, and after a brief stop at Capitol for 1972’s Songs, producer Jerry Wexler landed her for his Atlantic label. Her two albums, Jackie and Your Baby is a Lady, included both original material and covers, and though artistically satisfying, neither achieved much sales and DeShannon moved on to a short stay at Columbia as her recording career wound down.

Lost in the transition was an album made for Atlantic, but never released. Recorded in 1973 with producer Tom Dowd at the fabled Sound City and Criteria studios, the sessions were a distinct change from Jackie’s strong Memphis flavors. Gone were the backing chorus, strings and the heavier horn charts, and in was a smaller group sound highlighted by a wider choice of material that spanned folk, pop, soul and gospel. In addition to four new DeShannon originals (co-written with Jorge Calderon, a multi-instrumentalist who would famously collaborate with Warren Zevon), the album included well-selected covers of Dylan, Alan O’Day, Christine McVie and others.

With the album in the can and awaiting release, DeShannon did some additional recording with Van Morrison in his home studio. Those sessions yielded four more tracks (15-18 here), of which the Morrison original “Sweet Sixteen” was released as a single, with the Dowd-produced “Speak Out to Me” as the B-side. When the single failing to chart, Atlantic shelved the entire year’s output, and DeShannon eventually began work on her next album. Six of the Dowd tracks (1-3 and 5-7 here), and all four Morrison productions, eventually appeared on Rhino’s 2007 reissue Jackie… Plus, but the rest of the Dowd-produced material remained in the vault until now.

Why Atlantic scrapped the album is unclear. The material is excellent, DeShannon’s performances are strong and Dowd’s production provides soulful support. Perhaps it was the album’s broad reach that gave Atlantic second thoughts, though there are several tracks upon which they could have hung their promotion. DeShannon’s organ-backed take on “Drift Away” was beaten to the market by Dobie Gray’s hit, but “Hydra,” “Grand Canyon Blues” and the album’s superb cover of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” could have found some love on FM. Sadly, the set’s unlisted nineteenth track – a Coke commercial – was probably it’s most heavily broadcast. Real Gone’s done DeShannon’s fans a solid with this anthology, and augmented the ’73 sessions with a 12-page booklet that includes detailed liner note from Joe Marchese. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

Jackie DeShannon’s Home Page

Johnny Mathis: Life is a Song Worth Singing – The Complete Thom Bell Sessions

JohnnyMathis_LifeIsASongCompleteThomBellRomantic lead meets Philly legend

Throughout the ‘50s and well into the ‘60s, Johnny Mathis was the answer to the question “Who do you make out to? Sinatra or Mathis?” Mathis’ distinctive voice and long, vibrato-laced notes created a romantic mood that flourished especially well at album length. By the time rock shoved adult contemporary music off of the radio, Mathis had begun to expand his stylistic palette, while still remaining true to his romantic roots. This two-disc set compiles Mathis’ mid-70s  work with Philly soul legend Thom Bell, collecting two full albums (1973’s I’m Coming Home and 1977’s Mathis Is…) alongside eight bonus selections that include mono and stereo singles, unreleased instrumentals and collaborations released elsewhere as album tracks.

It’s not particularly surprising that Mathis fit easily into Bell’s string-laden arrangements, but as the band heats up with deeper bass and horns, Mathis breaks free of his comfort zone.Writing with lyricist Linda Creed for the 1973 release, Bell fashioned material that both catered to and challenged Mathis. Bell kept Mathis in the middle of his vocal range, exploring the singer’s ability to build emotion without relying on high notes. The soft brass of “I’m Coming Home” shines a light on Bell’s fondness for Burt Bacharach, and rose to the top of the Easy Listening chart. But Bell also pushed Mathis, inviting the staccato delivery of “Life is a Song Worth Singing” that adds attitude to the performance. The six minute album version includes terrific instrumental work from Philly International’s house band, MFSB, that was cut from the three-minute single.

In addition to the newly written material, I’m Coming Home includes covers of the Stylistics’ “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)” and “I’m Stone in Love With You,” with fresh arrangements to suit Mathis and fit the album’s tone.  The latter won over the Soul Train dancers in a 1974 performance that also featured the Bell/Creed original “Foolish.” The first disc’s bonus tracks include the mono edit of “Life is a Song Worth Singing,” the stereo single of “I’m Coming Home,” and previously unreleased instrumental takes of “I’m Stone in Love With You” and “And I Think That’s What I’ll Do.” The latter pair shows off Bell’s deft touch as an arranger and producer, and the house band’s ability to flawlessly nail a song’s mood.

Mathis and Bell reunited in 1977 to record a second album at Seattle’s Kaye-Smith (later Heart’s Bad Animals) studio. Surprisingly, though waxed on the West Coast amid the rising tide of disco, the album picks up where their previous collaboration left off. Bell wrote many of the album’s originals with his nephew LeRoy, and combined Philly and West Coast studio aces and orchestral players to build a sound that’s remarkably free of disco’s tropes. Mathis luxuriates in the long notes of  “Lullaby of Love” and soaring strings of “Heaven Must Have Made You Just For Me.” Bell comes right back with the upbeat “Loving You-Losing You,” and his love of Bacharach-styled bounce is heard in “I’ll Make You Happy.”

Mathis Is… closes with a cover of the Spinners’ “Sweet Love of Mine,” whose faster tempo strengthens the song’s hopefulness. The second disc’s bonus tracks show that these albums weren’t Mathis’ first meeting with Bell’s material, nor his last. Mathis recorded the Stylistics’ “Betcha By Golly Wow” in 1972 and “Break Up to Make Up” in 1973, and “You’re as Right as Rain” in 1975. He re-teamed with Bell in the studio for the 1991 Patti Austin duet “You Brought Me Love,” and cut a strong 2008 cover of “You Make Me Feel Brand New” with Yolanda Adams. Joe Marchese’s liner notes complement a 16-page booklet whose album cover reproductions will have you scrambling for a magnifying glass to read the credits. This is a great set for Mathis’ fans, as well as those who might enjoy a unique twist on the Philly soul sound. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

Johnny Mathis’ Home Page

Gene Rains: Far Away Lands – The Exotic Music of Gene Rains

GeneRains_FarAwayLandsAn exotica original finally gets his digital due

Like his exotica compatriot Arthur Lyman, Gene Rains was a vibraphonist with a jazz background. And like Lyman, and Lyman’s former band leader Martin Denny, Rains held a tenure at the Hawaiian Village Hotel’s famed Shell Bar. Unlike Lyman and Denny, however, Rains recording career was rather short – three original albums in all – and began a few years after Denny’s 1957 breakthrough with Les Baxter’s “Quiet Village” and Lyman’s return to exotica with 1958’s Taboo. Rains’ three albums for Decca didn’t gain the public renown that greeted Denny and Lyman’s releases, and until this eighteen-track sampler, his music remained available only on pricey, highly sought-after original releases.

Rains’ albums followed the same template as Denny’s and Lyman’s, combining Hawaiian folk melodies with standards, Broadway and film tunes and newly written island songs. Rains’ jazz quartet of vibes, piano, bass and world percussion were deft mixologists, and Decca’s engineers captured their sound in crisp, audiophile-quality recordings. The arrangements are alternately lush, romantic and dramatic, though even with vibraphone at their core, they don’t often swing as freely as Lyman’s work. Pianists Paul Conrad and Bryon Peterson add dramatic arpeggios and deep low notes, and bassist Archie Grant (who’d join Arthur Lyman’s group in the mid-60s) also adds flute, and several tunes are garnished with exotica’s requisite bird and animal calls.

Many of this compilation’s titles will be familiar to those who’ve collected Denny’s and Lyman’s albums, but Rains and his quartet put their own spin on the arrangements. Ernesto Lecuona’s “Jungle Drums,” which had been a hit for Artie Shaw in the late ’30s, opens with a dramatic introduction before leaning more heavily on the song’s Latin rhythm than Martin Denny’s vocal chorus arrangement. And “Caravan” (one of the three pillars of Exotica) is really more jazz than exotica, with the vibes, piano and bass each getting a solo spotlight. This is a superb collection, filled with lively playing and original nuances, and the song list includes exotica classics, jazz and popular standards, and a few inventive adaptations.

The collection’s 16-page booklet includes full-panel reproductions of all three original albums’ front and back covers, liner notes by Randy Poe, and a front-cover photo of noted mermaid, Marina; the disc is screened with a reproduction of Decca’s rainbow label. Due to a loss of the original masters, this set was sourced from vinyl, but the transfers, though not flawless, speak to the long-lived high fidelity of early ’60s pressings. It’s too bad that Real Gone didn’t go the full monty and reissue the three original albums in full; still, some Gene Rains is a whole lot better than no Gene Rains, and this disc belongs in the collection of every exotica lover. [©2014 Hyperbolium]

OST: How to Stuff a Wild Bikini

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OST_HowToStuffAWildBikiniCharming soundtrack to AIP’s sixth beach party film

Although pop music was a key element of American International’s beach party films, it was surprisingly elusive on record. Perhaps the value of cross-marketing hadn’t yet fully developed by the mid-60s, as the music from these films was only spottily released as singles and album tracks, often in studio versions that differed from those featured in the film. In fact, this cast album for How to Stuff a Wild Bikini is the only original soundtrack recording released in conjunction with any of the seven AIP beach party films, but it’s an excellent example of the musical variety offered by the films.

By the time this sixth entry in the series was cast, singer-actor Frankie Avalon’s busy schedule had moved him into a supporting role, where he was not featured as a vocalist. Annette Funicello was still starring, and got two superb songs from the pens of Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner. Sung in her trademarked double-vocals, “Better Be Ready” has a sweet bubblegum melody and superb guitar hook, and “The Perfect Boy” includes clever rhymes that are memorably fractured by the background singers. The album’s ballad, “If It’s Gonna Happen,” is sung by one-time Arthur Godfrey show regular Lu Ann Simms, but this solo version differs from the four-part vocal heard in the film. The version heard here was also released as a single, backed with a solo recording of this film’s group-sung “After the Party.”

The bulk of the soundtrack is taken up by group and novelty numbers that gave the film a lot of its flavor. Harvey Lembeck lays on a broad Brooklyn accent for his turn as Eric von Zipper singing “Follow Your Leader” and the ironic “The Boy Next Door,” and guest stars Mickey Rooney and Brian Donlevy each get campy Broadway-styled songs. Co-star John Ashley, who’d recorded rockabilly in the ’50s, leads the cast on the title theme, the country-rocker “That’s What I Call a Healthy Girl” and the closing “After the Party.” The latter is particularly effective in communicating the film’s idealized summer beach mood. The Kingsmen close out the album with an original garage-rock tune, “Give Her Lovin’,” and a drums-and-organ take on the title theme.

The album runs a scant 24 minutes, but it’s 24 minutes of musical bliss for fans of the beach party films. The vinyl has long since become a collectors’ item, and the rare stereo release – as reproduced here from the master tapes – was hard to find even at the time of its original release. Real Gone’s reissue includes the original cover art and a 12-page booklet that features detailed liner notes by Tom Pickles and several full-panel photos. It’s a shame that the film version of “If It’s Gonna Happen” wasn’t available as a bonus track, but for those who maintain a soft spot for beach party films and their kitschy soundtracks, this is a truly welcome reissue. [©2014 Hyperbolium]

Vanilla Fudge: The Complete Atco Singles

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VanillaFudge_TheCompleteAtcoSinglesHeavy ’60s covers of pop, soul and folk hits in original mono

This Long Island quartet grew from a blue-eyed soul act into one of the progenitors of what would eventually be labeled “heavy metal.” The group’s soul background is evident in their selection of cover material, but their mid-to-late 60s prime was also heavily influenced by the psychedelic era. Combining the two, Vanilla Fudge turned out a series of singles that relied heavily on slowed-down arrangements of then-contemporary covers, enlarged to nearly operatic size by producer Shadow Morton.

The band’s debut cover of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” stalled on the charts in 1967, but reissued in 1968, it climbed into the Top 10. The arrangement, supported by Mark Stein’s organ, the heavy rhythm section of Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice and unison backing vocals was a template for what was to come. The single’s original B-side, a cover of Evie Sands’ “Take Me for a Little While,” was also re-released as an A-side in ’68, and charted in the Top 40, sounding like a heavy version of the Rascals, and showing off the quartet’s instrumental talent in Bogart’s bass solo.

The band landed a few more singles in the Top 100, including the original title “Where in My Mind” and a two-part cover of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” that was generously carved from the lengthy album track. They softened their sound into a soul croon for Bacharach and David’s “Look of Love,” but this was unusual for a single. More typical is their hard-rocking cover of “Shotgun,” with its wailing guitar and full-kit drum fills, and the strutting B-side original “Good Good Lovin’.” Perhaps the band’s most miraculous single was their cover of Lee Hazelwood’s “Some Velvet Morning,” which somehow managed to cram 7’34 onto a seven-inch, 45 RPM record. A three-minute DJ promo edit is included in this set as a bonus.

After their initial success on the singles chart, the band continued to score with albums and on the concert stage. Their later singles featured a greater helping of original material, but failed to score commercially. These eighteen tracks represent all ten of the band’s commercially released singles for Atco; all that’s missing is a DJ-only promo single of “Eleanor Rigby” and “Ticket to Ride.” As the band became an album attraction, it’s interesting to hear how they were still represented in the singles market with punchy mono mixes (all but 1984’s synth-laced reunion single “Mystery” b/w “The Strangler”) that really should have gotten more radio love. [©2014 Hyperbolium]

Vanilla Fudge’s Home Page

The Mamas and the Papas: A Gathering of Flowers

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MamasAndPapas_AGatheringOfFlowers

This 1970 anthology, reissued on CD for the first time, is a one-of-a-kind time-capsule of the Mamas and the Papas. In addition to their first six Top 10 hits, the track list adds non-charting singles, B-sides and album tracks, carefully selected and ordered to show off the many sides of the group’s talent. In addition to the harmonies that graced the radio, there’s also the tight jazz work of “Once Was a Time I Thought,” thoughtful originals and keenly interpreted covers. Knitting it all together, and elevating this collection above a simple recitation of hits, are interview clips with John Phillips and Cass Elliot interspersed among the tracks. Their dialog reflects on the group, their producer, sessions and songs, and though the spoken words overlap the instrumental lead-ins of a few tracks, they’re surprisingly unobtrusive.

Several of the original tracks are also enhanced with bits of session chatter, vocal outtakes and rehearsals, providing listeners a few moments in the studio. The songs are organized as a musical program, rather a strict chronological run-through, which gives the set a holistic, album-like flow that’s unusual for an anthology. Though released after the group split in 1969, the tracks only cover through 1967’s Deliver; nothing from 1968’s The Papas and the Mamas (and their 1971 contractual obligation release, People Like Us) is included, which leaves out Elliot’s solo-career launching “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” But even without the last chapter and afterward, this set does an excellent job of telling the group’s story.

Real Gone’s reissue reproduces the 20-track double-LP lineup on a single sixty-six minute disc, and includes the original album’s photo-rich 16-page booklet, shrunk down to CD booklet size. This leaves the lyrics and Andy Wickham’s liner notes to be read with a strong magnifying glass (or find the latter here). In addition to a brief recounting of the group’s formation, Wickham also provides illuminating detail on the men who formed Dunhill Records. The disc was remastered from the original tapes by Mike Milchner at SonicVision, and shows off the rich sound that producer Lou Adler got out of the Wrecking Crew at the famed Gold Star studio. There are more complete sets (e.g., Gold and All the Leaves are Brown) but not even the Complete Anthology tells the story in the same novel way as this collection. [©2014 Hyperbolium]

The Paley Brothers: The Complete Collection

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PaleyBrothers_TheCompleteRecordingsA revised retelling of should-have-been power pop stars

The Paley Brothers – Andy and Jonathan – had the experience, original material and connections to make a much bigger splash than managed in the mid-to-late-70s. Having threaded individually through the Boston rock and New York punk/new wave scenes, their work as a duo charmed power-pop aficionados, but had little commercial impact. Their records with Seymour Stein, Jimmy Iovine, Earle Mankey, Phil Spector and the Ramones failed to ignite widespread notice, and their primary catalog – a four song EP and an album on Sire – has been unevenly reissued since its 1978 release. Surprisingly, this first-ever twenty-six track anthology, curated by the brothers themselves, tells a slightly different story than the original releases; but its alternate takes and mixes may offer some clues to the original lack of commercial rewards.

The collection’s lack of fidelity to the brothers’ original releases is both a blessing and a curse. The eleven previously unreleased tracks offered here, including two from a live date with Shaun Cassidy at Madison Square Garden, flesh out a fuller picture of the Paleys’ time as recording artists, and the alternate takes and mixes provide an aural view that went unheard at the time. But the alternates don’t always best the originals, and the lack of clear attribution creates a shadow of revisionism. The Paley’s may prefer these versions, and there is great merit in letting them out of the vaults, but replacing dear artifacts without so much as a note (the credits source the EP and album without any indication that some tracks are different recordings, and most are different mixes) is a disservice to those seeking clean digital copies of the originals, as well as to those who’d be enticed by the alternates.

With the album having been reissued in 2009, what’s still missing from the digital domain are the previously released versions of the duo’s 1978 Ecstasy EP. What’s here are mono mixes of “Ecstasy,” “Rendezvous,” “Hide ‘n’ Seek” and “Come Out and Play” that, while often more crisp than the vinyl release, are not always better. The alternate take of “Rendezvous,” in particular, hasn’t the Spector-inspired grandeur of the previously released version, and “Come Out and Play” is offered here at the edited length that appeared on the album. To be sure, the alternates are a gift to the Paleys’ fans, but offering them in lieu of the originals renders this “complete” collection incomplete, and leaves fans to find and transcribe original vinyl.

That said, the newly released material here is terrific. Opening the set are two previously unreleased originals from 1979, the bouncy Beach Boys-styled “Here She Comes” and the love-poor (but vocal-rich) “Meet the Invisible Man.” The latter, produced by Andy Paley, features a driving guitar line, brilliant harmonies and a coda that brings to mind the Beatles’ Revolver. Also from 1979 is “Boomerang,” with Brian Wilson adding his vocal to the background, the rock rave-ups “She’s Eighteen Tonight” and “Spring Fever,” the rare Paley Brothers ballad, “Sapphire Eyes,” the blink-and-you-missed it surf-styled “Jacques Cousteau” (though not the single’s B-side “Sink or Swim“),  and a faithfully sweet cover of the theme song to the supermarionation show, Fireball XL5.

In 1978 the Paleys had opened for Shaun Cassidy (who, in addition to fine bubblegum, waxed Wasp with Todd Rundgren), and two covers from their August stop at Madison Square Garden show how easily the brothers added Everlys-styled harmonies to Bobby & His Orbits’ Zydeco-tinged 1958 rocker “Felicia” and Tommy Roe’s 1966 smash “Sheila.” The remaining rarities are a cover of Richie Valens’ “Come on Let’s Go” and the Phil Spector-produced “Baby, Let’s Stick Together.” The former was recorded in 1977 with the Ramones while Joey Ramone was laid up in the hospital, and may be the Paley’s most broadly known single, as it was included on the soundtrack to Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. The latter was waxed at the temple of the Wall of Sound, Gold Star, with the Wrecking Crew kicking up the beat from Spector’s previous production of this title with Dion.

The Paley’s have stated that this is not an album reissue, which is fine, but without proper annotation, the changes elide rather than augment. Sorting out what’s actually here (and more importantly, what’s not) is basically impossible. To their credit, the mostly mono mixes of the album tracks improve upon the dated, booming production and vocal processing of the original album vinyl. The 16-page booklet includes liner notes by Gene Sculatti, terrific memories from Sire Records chief, Seymour Stein, and rare photographs that provide visual context for the Paleys’ place in the musical milieu of the 1970s. This is a must-have for Paleys fans, and a good, if not historically complete introduction for those who missed them the first time around. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

Patty Duke: The United Artists Albums

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PattyDuke_DontJustStandTherePattyDon’t Just Stand There / Patty
The world’s most popular teenager’s first two albums

Actors crossing over to the recording arts and sciences have had a long and spotty history. For a precious few, recording was a return to an earlier music career that was subsequently given a boost by their acting fame. For many others – think William Shatner or the cast of Bonanza – records were a quick cash-in that provided new marketing opportunities and gave fans an unusual musical memento. Capitalizing on her childhood stardom in film, theater and television, United Artists launched Patty Duke into the music world with four albums and a short string of hit singles. Though Duke wasn’t as vocally refined as her chart contemporaries, her theatrical talent, confidence and professionalism proved to be valuable assets in the recording studio.

Duke’s debut was titled after the album’s first and biggest hit, “Don’t Just Stand There.” The Top 10 single is a brooding piece of orchestrated pop whose mood and double-tracked vocals closely resemble Leslie Gore’s “You Don’t OwnMe.” Duke didn’t have the vocal depth of Gore, but as an actress she imbued the lyrics with intrigue and emotion. The album’s second hit, “Say Something Funny,” is a nicely wrought song of concealed heartbreak, written by the same team (Bernice Ross and Lor Crane) that had penned “Don’t Just Stand There,” and once again providing Duke an opportunity to create pathos from the song’s emotional storyline. Ross and Crane also contributed the waltz time “Ribbons & Roses,” whose dramatic arrangement and folk-tinged melody are a good fit for Duke.

The breezy “Everything But Love,” Gary Lewis’ “Save Your Heart for Me” and Skeeter Davis’ “The End of the World” lend Duke the charm of earlier girl singers like Annette Funicello and Shelley Fabares. Less successful is an unsteady remake of Nat King Cole’s early ’50s ballad “Too Young,” and covers of then-contemporary pop hits, “Downtown,” “Danke Schoen,” “A World Without Love” and “What the World Needs Now is Love.” Stacking these covers against the originals of Petula Clark, Wayne Newton, Peter & Gordon and Jackie DeShannon, Duke’s versions sound more like novelties than artistic reconsiderations. A pair of bonuses from the film Billie includes the sweet Top 100 single “Funny Little Butterflies” and a stagier flip that reused the melody of the A-side.

Duke’s self-titled second album was released in 1966, the year after her debut, and followed a similar template of combining new material (including the minor hit “Whenever She Holds You”) that suggests earlier girl vocalists, with covers of recent pop songs. The latter, particularly the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” play well to Duke’s dramatic abilities, but aren’t always well-served by her limited vocal accuracy. Double-tracked vocals are used to agreeably sweeten several tracks, such as covers of Gary Lewis’ “Sure Gonna Miss Him” and the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do is Dream.”

PattyDuke_ValleyOfTheDollsSingsFolkSongsValley of the Dolls / Sings Folk Songs
Third pop album and a resonant folk set

Patty Duke’s first album had yielded the Top 10 hit “Don’ t Just Stand There,” but subsequent singles charted lower and lower. By the time she released her third album, Songs From Valley of the Dolls, Duke’s television program had ended, and her acting turn in the title film had left her wholesome teenage image behind. The material for her third album reflects this transition, having moved on from teen-themed love songs to more sophisticated and theatrical compositions by Dory and Andre Previn, including the film theme from Valley of the Dolls. As on her earlier albums, Duke shined more brightly as a dramatist than a vocalist, though by this point she (or more likely, her producers) felt comfortable enough to often leave her voice undoubled, exposing some pitch problems but letting her expressiveness and emotion shine.

Unlike he crooning of her teen hits, Duke sings the Previns’ material in the muscular style of a Broadway show, and it suits her well. The wear in her delivery gives the film’s title theme a wholly different feel than Dionne Warwick’s hit (which, incredibly, reached #2 as the B-side of “I Say a Little Prayer”), one that’s clearly emblematic of Neely O’Hara’s condition at the end of the film. The second half of the album departs from the Previns’ material and returns to lighter fare produced in the pop vein of Duke’s earlier albums, including the empowered “My Own Little Place” and the fuzz-guitar, bass and horn-driven “A Million Things to Do.” In addition to the album’s eleven tracks, the previously unreleased contemporary pop “I Want Your Love” is included.

Duke’s last album for United Artists is a collection of surprisingly compelling covers of contemporary and classic folk songs. The album was left in the vault at the time of its 1968 recording, though a single of “And We Were Strangers” backed with “Dona, Dona” was released with little fanfare. The expressiveness of Duke’s voice is better served by these gentler backing arrangements, and relieved of the need to belt out teen-oriented material, she really shines. Her recitation of “The Bells of Rhymney” is a memorably original approach to a song whose association with the Byrds is nearly unseverable. United Artists apparently didn’t think the record buying public would gravitate to a post-teen TV star’s interpretations of folks songs, which is a shame, because this is Duke’s most musically satisfying of her four albums for UA.

Those who remember Duke’s singing career most likely remember her earlier records, particularly the single “Don’t Just Stand There.” Her first two albums will generate a stronger element of nostalgia, but this second pair is actually the superior musical experience. All four albums provide charming memories of Duke’s years as the world’s most famous teenager, and the immediate years thereafter. Each two-fer CD is delivered with a sixteen-page booklet that includes full-panel cover reproductions and detailed liner notes. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

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