Sgt Pepper wrote:So review time. First up, apologies that this took forever.
No problem at all, dear boy - I still have not reviewed mine.
Anyway,
1. I love me a tropical beat to get me in the mood for Mix Clubbing. There's not really any kind of song here, but that doesn't really matter, it's just a laid-back groove and loads of fun at that.
One of the most irresistibly danceworthy rekkids ever made imo, and just about Chip's favourite tune: it's the Jimmy Castor Bunch doing Hey Leroy from 19682. I'm not so mad on this one. Nothing particularly bad or anything, just a little bit too ploddy and I'm not a huge sax-rock guy. I did like the intro though.
Wild Weekend by the Rocking Rebels, recorded in 1960 and a US top ten hit two years later, by which time the band didn't really exist any more. That intro was the hook, really3. This is an interesting one. It's Ray Charles, yes? It sounds a bit like him but I don't think I know it. The arrangement is very bold and up front and Ray gets lost a bit. That said, I really do like it a lot.
Yes, this is Ray, but the reason I included it is that it's basically the Margie Hendricks show, with the lead singer of the Raelettes really giving him a run for his money in the call and response vocals. It's a 1963 single, Don't Set me Free; quite a big hit here.4. Another curious one. The song itself is relatively standard but the production is fascinating and all over the place, in that big wonderfully over the top way that you could get away with in the 60s. Nice.
This is the Drifters, with Rudy Lewis doing one of his last lead vocals before joining the 27 club. It was released in 1963 as the follow-up to On Broadway. That arrangement - all kinds of brilliant and bizarre pop arrangements came out of New York in the early 1960s, one of my favourite places in musical space-time - I could write a book, but I probably won't5. One from the dusty archives. This is charming; nice and jaunty and I love the fiddling and the casual vocal sparring. Good stuff.
The Memphis Jug Band with Insane Crazy Blues from 1934. As you may have read, I do like to give things a thematic link, and since all I really new of your taste was that you liked soul and blues, aren't averse to pop, have open ears and are considerably younger than me, so probably wouldn't know much of the 2nd division stuff from the early 1960s, the best I could come up with was to riff on your avatar name (hence Sgt Pepper's Lively Head Trip Mix) and to be as diverse as, as lively, and as trippy as possible. This track, which I've only just acquired on a comp, seemed to fit right in6. A pretty cool, organ-heavy instrumental work-out. The musicians are tight but the groove is loose and builds up a good head of steam. The trumpet solo is a particular highlight.
This is a case in point. I would expect anyone over 60 to recognize the tune, You Can't Sit Down, which was a million-seller for its writer, 20-year-old guitarist Phil Upchurch, in 1961. It was spread over two halves of the single, but the mp3 unites both halves7. Wow. Some novelty nonsense about Martians. It was quite interesting on the first listen.
Less so after repeated spins. I'm kinda keen to know exactly what the story is (if there is one) about this.
Hah. Always the way with novelty records. This is The Martian Hop by the Ran-dells, one of several American hits in the early 1960s (1963) to use electronic effects. I love it. It was put together in a garage by three teenage cousins from New Jersey. I found the combination of daft lyrics - 'We have just discovered / an important note from space. / The Martians plan to throw a dance / for all the human race) doowop bass voice, speeded-up falsetto, handclaps and excitingly different boingy-boingy electronic noises (this record was released before the Dr Who Theme first aired) irresistible then, and still do today, to an extent8. A weird all-string ensemble. It's great. I can't say that I hear a lot of cello music so this was cool to get exposed to something new.
This is new - 21st century in fact. It's the Portland Cello Project, a kind of loose collective (much like Godspeed!) whose stated aims are 'to bring the cello to places you wouldn't normally hear it, to play music on the cello you wouldn't normally hear played on the instrument, and to build bridges across all musical communities by bringing a diverse assortment of musical collaborators on stage with them.' this last aim means that some of their tracks feature vocals which aren't always appropriate, but at their best as on this track, Danza del Fuego, they really, ahem, catch fire.9. Hot risque ukulele action. I assume that this is some kind of musichall thing from the 20s or 30s but the recording quality sounds amazing and crystal clear so maybe it was recorded later. Or maybe not. I'm genuinely curious about early recording methods. Do tell, dear mixer.
I think the quality is down to the remastering (or possibly the 78 they remastered it from), but your first instincts were right, it's from 1927, which means it precedes George Formby's recording career. It's Art Fowler [presumably not the EastEnders character] and his Ukelele with No Wonder She's a Blushing Bride. I got it from a rather splendid (Dutch?) vintage music series called Flashbacks, more specifically from their 'Copulation Blues' album, which includes all sorts of filth. I looked him up for the first time just now and was astonished to find out that he was an American. 10. 60s British psych whimsy to washboard beat. I assume that 'Granny's trip' was a euphemism and not about a coach journey to Mablethorpe? Cool stuff.
The first time I heard this was when the DJ at Middle Earth played it to the crowd waiting to see Beefheart and the Magic Band in early 1968. All the hippies, who had been lying on the basement floor digging the light show (incidentally, about 20 years later I met the guy who was doing those lights, Reg Eagle, who was a boyhood friend of Chip's brother, Peter, and hence of her. He went out under The Lights of the Charge Brigade) and started hopping about in an alarming manner (this was my first ever contact with druggies of any stripe - I was 19). Granny Takes a Trip was a psychedelic / vintage clothes boutique in the King's Road (which is where the title comes from), but the group were basically a post-Trad jug band from Cheshire, who took the name The Purple Gang (a bunch of bootleggers from Detroit) because of their 1920s roots and sharp suits, and the lyrics are actually totally innocent whimsy about an old lady who dreams of breaking into Hollywood movies via the audition route - 'She always turns up / But she's always turned down', but it was banned by the Beeb immediately and so became notorious11. A feel-good oldie. It kind of reminds me of Bugs Bunny cartoons. Not something that I'd choose to listen to a lot, but I do enjoy these little mix nuggets.
From 1933, Jack Wilbur and his Band, with one Sam Browne on vocals, present We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow, taken from one of those comps that present Bonzo-Dog style tunes. Imagine how banned this would have been if they had released it with guitars in 1967.12. Dreamy, shimmery, psychey. The vocals are a little bit weak, but it's not a deal-breaker because the swirly noise and guitar picking are top notch. I love how this ends up being like three different songs rolled in to one. "I speak of colours that you've never seen before". I can't get enough of these kind of daft trippy lyrics. Actually, forget what I said about the vocals, this is favourite track on the disc (apart from the Irma/Mimms one-two later on).
I'm thrilled to have been able to play this gem to someone who has never heard it before. The first time I heard it was when John Peel was guest DJ at a uni dance in 1967 or so, and I was emboldened to ask after it, so I could order it: Fontana TF 777, but I was unable to lay my hands on a copy until an extortionate ten bob persuaded my flatmate JD (now my financial advisor, oddly enough) to part with his copy in 1970. Most people know the Misunderstood, an American band that recorded in Britain (I'm a bit hazy but I think Vietnam draft-dodging was involved), if at all, from their second, inferior, single, Children of the Sun, but this is their first, I Can Take You to the Sun (with a fine version of Diddley's Who Do You Love? on the B-side), featuring some dynamic playing, two great guitar solos from Glen 'Fernando' Campbell (i.e. not the Wichita Lineman, another one) and, as you point out, some magnificently haughty lyrics: 'With half a mind / you laugh at me / Because I speak of colours / you've never seen before. / You've existed in a lie /that will someday show / I can take you to the sun (to the sun) / but you don't want to go.' It's actually possibly to see it as a high Romantic song (or songs, take that point absolutely) about art and ideas and other hifalutin stuff, rather than a drug song, too, which helps.13. I suppose that this is a punk band trying to be
deliberately provocative, but the, um, dated subject matter is still a bit off-putting (which it was probably meant to be). Apart from that, a generally enjoyable slab of fuzzy noise.
When I read this review I wondered what track it could possibly be, then I realized that it was probably the reference to 'schoolgirls'. I'm sure they're only referencing 6th-formers, sarge . I tend to think of this as a cousin to the MC5's Teenage Lust. It's the A-side of the second single by arty bastard post-punks The Table (who as far as I know only released four tracks, three of which are brilliant), Sex Cells. I love the pace, the bass, the whole fidgety nature of the song - you can just feel the poor bastard squirming with lust and frustration - and one of the great rhymes in modern popular song: 'I'm obsessed with a mad desire for sex, / Upper chest regions that are convex'14. Another one that I can't quite decide exactly what I make of it. The bass and piano are pretty infectious and I dig the flat baritone vocals. I think there's something off with the production, particularly at the chorus - the backing vocals and stuff like that. Anyway, I'm going to give it tentative thumbs up and then stick with it. I'm looking forward to the reveal and possible further investigations.
I'm not sure where I got the impression, but I thought you were from Nottingham, so I naturally turned to Leicester's finest (can anyone think of a band from Derby - fucked if I can?) quasi-psychedelic literary post-punk accountants Yeah Yeah No for their considerably altered version of the old soul number (it was in the cup this year, first time I realized this wasn't a band original) Stealing in the Name of the Lord. Along with the Dancing Did, they are one of the great lost bands of that period. If you want to check them and their Joe Orton obsessions , there was an excellent comp fairly recently called Leicester Squares. Everything else is out of print, or was when I last looked. 15. Twee 60s fun. I like this one a lot. I'm a sucker for harmonies and this kind of charmingly innocent nostalgic pop. The drumming's ace too.
You obviously haven't read all my BCB 130 on the Everly Brothers as this features there towards the end. It's Milk Train from 1967. I agree with every word of your review, except maybe 'twee' - play it at the correct volume, and that drummer drives the train right into your skull.16. Vampy instrumental goodness. I can't think of much to say about it, but it's definitely right up my street.
I knew you'd like this, a lovely piece of Hammond playing by Hank Jacobs entitled So Far Away from early in 1964 on Sue. He also plays the piano on this track. 17. Ah, another goodie, although I know this one. Irma is one of my absolute faves. Those vocals are perfect. She really knows how to hit all the rights spots without sounding like she's making any effort at all.
Knew I was on a winner here!18. One of my favourite female vocalists followed by my favourite male. In a lot of ways this is very different to Two Winters Long. That was all very understated and laid-back, whereas this is all glossy production and big arrangements, but the end result is equally amazing.
This was, I think, GM's first British single not to have the Enchanters' name on it. Again, I already knew from the JB&S cup that you liked the man, so a bit of a gimme19. Sixteen tracks without a clue and then three come along at once. This is Timi Yuro with It'll Never Be Over For Me. Fantastic stuff, great arrangement. Love the Baby Washington version too.
Timi has an astonishing voice and an enormous catalogue of hardly-known brilliant performances. She was my favourite performer bar none for years. I'm particularly fond of this track, not so much for what's in the grooves as for the fact that its Northern Soul connection meant that the single I bought in a 10p bargain bin for completion's sake (I already had it on an album) in around 1971 I sold 40 years later for £250.Now THAT's a thrift shop score20. Another Northern Soul classic. I'd forgotten how amazing this track is, so thanks a lot. It's Homer Banks, although I had to check iTunes to jog my memory. I have so many Northern Soul comps but I always struggle to remember the artists.
I admit to being totally baffled by this. As far as I'm concerned track 20 in the mix is the insanely over-the-top doo-wop / jump version of Unchained Melody by Vito and the Salutations from 1963.21. Crackly big band jazz and it's a belter. They were just heating up when it finished. I could've happily wolfed down another five minutes of this.
This is a beaut, isn't it, a legacy of my time as a subeditor on Jazz Greats? The reason it stops so abruptly is that it's a single from the 78 rpm era (around the year I was born, 1948), that could not go on any longer and it's a notable example of someone trying to put together a be-bop big band. That someone was the vocalist on this track, Billy Eckstine, and the two tenors that carry it away are Dexter Gordon and Gene AmmonsThanks a million. I really enjoyed the wide date and genre range, and all 21 tracks had something to enjoy. I'll definitely be doing some post-reveal investigating. Cheers again.
Ah, you're very welcome. Give me a cough if there's anything you want to investigate further.