The most notable element of Sonny & Cher’s 1967 film Good Times wasn’t the duo’s move into acting, the skit-based humor or even the meta-conceptual plot of a movie about making a movie. The film’s most lasting contribution to the arts was the introduction of William Friedkin as a mainstream director. Friedkin had been directing documentaries, but it was this collaboration with Sonny Bono that launched his feature filmmaking career. The film is an interesting lark, capturing mid-60s mood, design and a bit of artistic ennui, but without the acidic bite of Head. The original eight-song soundtrack gave Bono a chance to stretch out, and added several excellent titles to the Sonny & Cher catalog.
Leading off is a waltz-time instrumental version of the duo’s signature “I Got You Babe,†a title that appears again at the soundtrack’s end in a fetching acoustic arrangement. In between is Sonny’s perfectly self-deprecating “It’s the Little Things†in all its proto-Spectorian grandeur, its B-side Cher showcase “Don’t Talk to Strangers,†the sultry B-side “I’m Gonna Love You†(originally released as a Cher solo on Imperial in 1965), and several songs lifted from the soundtrack with lead-in dialogue. The latter include the stage-hall styled title tune and another of Sonny’s self-deprecating, average-guy love songs, “Just a Name.â€
Mitch Ryder’s chart singles, with a splash of mono
As a recent documentary on the Grande Ballroom notes, 1960s Detroit was both a hard rocking city and the home of Motown, America’s most commercially successful purveyor of R&B. Few exemplified these dual influences better than Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Though deeply steeped in soul music, Ryder’s biggest hits – “Jenny Take a Ride!†“Devil With a Blue Dress On†and “Sock It to Me-Baby!†– had a propulsive energy akin to Britain’s take on America’s early rock. Varese’s 16-track collection brings together all seven of the Detroit Wheels’ charting singles and four of Mitch Ryder’s solo outings. All tracks are stereo except for 5, 6, 8 and 15; the mono single of “Sock it to Me Baby†is especially welcome for its unique vocal track.
Expanded re-reissue of the Zombies live on the BBC 1965-68
Varese’s 43-track, 2-CD set expands on their earlier double-LP with five previously unreleased tracks. This augments material that’s been reissued in numerous configurations, including Rhino’s landmark Live on the BBC, and Big Beat’s Zombie Heaven and Live at the BBC. This is now a one-stop shop for the biggest helping yet of the recordings the Zombies made for the BBC. Included are live versions of the group’s three early hits, “She’s Not There,†“Tell Her No†and “She’s Coming Home,†along with other much beloved originals, “Whenever You’re Ready,†“If It Don’t Work Out†and “Friends of Mine,†and a slew of covers. Notably missing is a full take of “Time of the Season†(though it’s heard as background to the last interview segment), as its success postdates these BBC sessions.
The origin of these recordings (and similar catalogs for other British Invasion bands) lays in limits placed on the BBC’s use of commercially released records. To supplement their programming, musical artists were recorded in the BBC’s own studios, the recordings pressed to transcription discs, and the discs circulated to affiliates for broadcast. With the BBC failing to archive these works, it’s transcriptions of found copies that form the core of this set, supplemented by off-air recordings of material for which transcriptions haven’t yet surfaced. The quality varies, and while none match the productions of the group’s formal releases, they’re all quite listenable. The live energy and deep reach of the cover selections are essential additions to the group’s small catalog of commercially released work.
What’s immediately noticeable is how unique the Zombies sounded, even among the British Invasion’s explosion of creativity. Colin Blunstone’s voice gave the group an easily recognized front, Rod Argent’s keyboards added distinctive flair, and the group’s melodic sense was like nothing else on the radio. The tracks include several cover songs the group never released commercially, and multiple versions of “Tell Her No,†“Just a Little Bit,†“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,†“You Must Believe Me†and “This Old Heart of Mine.†Variations from the commonly circulated commercial masters – such as an acoustic piano on the February 1965 version of “Tell Her No†– are especially interesting in how they influence the tone of the performances.
Doris Day’s success as an actress in the 1960s has often eclipsed her earlier renown as a vocalist, but it was with the big bands of the 1940s that she first became a star. Though her films fell out of step with the social changes of the late 60s, she found renewed success on television, and it was amid this transition that she returned to the studio to record a set of standards, newly orchestrated by Sid Feller. Having just parted ways with her longtime label, Columbia, the independently produced album was shopped around without success, and shelved until the UK Vision label dug it out of the vault in 1994. A 2006 reissued added three bonus tracks recorded in 1970 for a 1971 television special, and it’s that fourteen-track lineup that’s reproduced here.
The Impressions have a long history, rooted in their late-50s Tennessee origins as The Roosters, growing through their 1960s reformation in Chicago as the Impressions, and continuing to the present day as a live act. Their earliest hits featured Jerry Butler as lead singer, their fertile middle period was voiced by Curtis Mayfield, and their post-Mayfield years were fronted variously by LeRoy Hutson, Ralph Johnson, Reggie Torian and Nate Evans. Many of the group’s iconic sides were waxed for ABC-Paramount in the mid-60s, but this 1968-76 run on Mayfield’s Curtom label is highlighted by both hits (“This Is My Country,†“Choice of Colors,†“Check Out Your Mind†and “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m A Changed Man)â€) and Mayfield’s growing sophistication as a composer and social critic.
These eighteen tracks include all of the Curtom singles that cracked the Top 100, plus “Loving Power,†which bubbled under at #103, and “This Time,†which was released by Cotillion. Following Mayfield’s departure (his last lead vocal here is 1971’s “Ain’t Got Timeâ€), the lead slot was passed between Leroy Hutson (“Love Meâ€, a Mayfield song), Fred Cash (on the Preacher Man album, not sampled here), Ralph Johnson (“If It’s in You to Do Wrong†and “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m A Changed Man)â€) and Nate Evans (“This Timeâ€). The group’s gospel foundation, sophisticated soul style and trademark harmonies continued to flourish, though only “Finally Got Myself Together†brought them back to widespread commercial success.
Carmen’s only solo album of the 1980s, reissued with bonuses
For those who grew up with the transcendent guitar-pop that Eric Carmen made with the Raspberries in the 1970s, this 1984 solo album may be a bit of a surprise. The transition from power pop to power ballads was seeded on his earlier Arista solo albums, but this Bob Gaudio-produced set dials down the charging guitars in favor of keyboards, strings and slick studio drums. Carmen was still singing beautifully and writing catchy songs, but Gaudio draped them in sounds that have become dated. Whether that’s good or bad probably depends on how much you like the commercial sounds of the ‘80s, and whether you’re looking to spark a nostalgic memory.
“You Took Me All the Way†reaches back to the Raspberries’ “Go All the Way,†but its guitar is undercut by the modern rock production. “Maybe My Baby†opens with a great a cappella passage, but the synths sap the song’s charms. Only “As American as Apple Pie†provides the unalloyed guitar rock Carmen had wanted to deliver in the first place. The latter was produced by Don Gehman after Carmen and Gaudio fell out over the album’s direction. Carmen’s one and only album for Geffen spun off the hit “I Want to Hear It From Your Lips†and the lesser-charting followup, “I’m Through With Love,†both of which also found success on the adult contemporary chart.
The gap between Rod McKuen’s popular success and his critical station may be larger than any musical artist or poet in history. McKuen sold more than 100 million records and 60 million poetry books, wrote hit songs for numerous A-list artists, brought Jacques Brel to an American audience, scored films, won two Grammys and a Pulitzer, yet critics regularly derided his work as “schmaltz,†“treacle†and “kitsch.†He read his poetry side-by-side with the San Francisco Beats, sang at the famed Purple Onion, appeared in concert and on television, and collaborated with Henry Mancini, but had his work labeled “superficial†and “irrelevant,†and his poems called “facile†in obituaries that followed his January 2015 passing.
Merle Haggard may be known as the “poet of the common man,†but Rod McKuen has probably been quoted more often in love letters and wedding vows. His plainspoken words of isolation and spirituality resonated with an audience that might not otherwise have ever read a poem, and his songs captured the attention of artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Waylon Jennings. McKuen rasped his way through both vocal and spoken word performances of his own, releasing dozens of solo albums, collaborations with Anita Kerr and the San Sebastian Strings, and more than a dozen film soundtracks, including the Oscar-nominated A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Though McKuen’s personal accomplishments on the singles chart were meagre (including only the 1959 Bob McFadden and Dor novelty “The Mummy†and 1962’s “Oliver Twistâ€), his songs were hits for Oliver (“Jeanâ€), Terry Jacks (“Seasons in the Sun,†an English translation of Jacques Brel’s “Le Moribondâ€), Damita Jo (“If You Go Away,†a translation of Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pasâ€), Perry Como (“I Think of You,†co-written with Frances Lai), Frank Sinatra (“Love’s Been Good for Meâ€), Perry Como (“I Think of Youâ€), the Kingston Trio (“Ally Ally, Oxen Freeâ€) and others. McKuen’s own versions of these hits are included here, along with poems, such as “Listen to the Warm†and “A Cat Named Sloopy,†which were set to original music.
McKuen sang in a hushed, hoarse tone – a byproduct of oversinging rock bands in his youth – that made his words feel like the confidence of a friend. Joe Marchese’s liner notes dub McKuen “the poet laureate of loneliness,†and though this captures the essence of his songs, the effect of his records is one of connection. McKuen’s writing may have been sentimental, treacly and even schmaltzy, but it voiced feelings that struck a chord with listeners. His remembrance of his cats Sloopy and A Marvelous Cat, is almost painful in its diarist’s sincerity, but it’s remained a listener favorite since it was released in 1967. Interestingly, the song’s invocation of “midnight cowboyâ€, from which the film apparently drew its title, seems to hint at McKuen’s complex sexuality.
It may have been this sort of intimacy that rubbed critics the wrong way, as McKuen sewed threads of acceptance and hope, if not quite happiness, amid thoughts of melancholy, lost love, abandonment, loneliness and isolation. “Lonesome Cities,†which was recorded by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone, speaks to McKuen’s wanderlust, a remnant of his early life drifting along the West Coast in the 1940s. McKuen sings many of the selections included here to lush orchestrations and touches of then-contemporary pop instrumentation. A few tracks, including “Rock Gently,†“A Boy Named Charlie Brown†and “A Man Alone†lean to jazz, “Listen to the Warm†is arranged as a samba, “Kaleidoscope†as a waltz, and “The World I Use to Know†is backed by folk guitar and harmonica.
Cilla Black, who passed away in August at the age of 72, was a lifelong star in her native Britain. In the US she scored a Top 40 hit with 1964’s “You’re My World†(a chart topper in the UK), and landed two more in the bottom half of the Top 100. Back at home she was a major recording star into the early 1970s, and a favorite television personality for decades afterwards. Black’s career began with an introduction to Brian Epstein by her fellow Liverpool musician, John Lennon. In turn Black was introduced to George Martin and signed to Parlophone, home of the Beatles, as well as another Epstein act, Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas.
Like Kramer, Black was seeded with Lennon & McCartney material, and her first single, “Love of the Loved†cracked the Top 40. Additional L&M material was threaded into her run of hits, including “It’s For You†(which includes a verbal introduction from John Lennon on this set) and “Step Inside Love.†But unlike Billy J. Kramer, Black’s biggest hits came from other songwriters. Her second single, a cover of Bacharach & David’s “Anyone Who Had a Heart,†shot to #1, and was followed the same year by a chart-topping cover of Umberto Bindi’s 1963 single “Il Mio Mondo,†translated into English as “You’re My World.†She continued to land singles in the Top 10 through 1971’s “Something Tells Me (Something’s Gonna Happen Tonight),†which closes this collection.
The Searchers’ US and UK hits in stereo!
