1960s
DEE DEE SHARP It’s Mashed Potato Time/Do The Bird Ace CD
www.acerecords.com
By the time Dee Dee Sharp was 16, the singer had gone from directing the choir at her granddaddy’s church in Philadelphia
to sweet-talking kids into forming a big boss line on American Bandstand. Backed by The Orlons, Sharp shot to the top in 1962 with ‘Mashed Potato Time’, a thinly disguised version of ‘Please Mr Postman’. Basically, It’s Mashed Potato Time is
Sharp’s Cameo hits album minus two. Released that summer, it has her follow-up top ten single ‘Gravy...’ and a superior album version of ‘Slow Twistin’’, a previously uncredited duet with Chubby Checker But it’s her next album Do The Bird that
allows her inner R&B singer a chance to shine. With Willa Ward’sgospel group backing on the majority of songs, Sharp displays her church roots, whippin’ up a testifyin’ storm on ‘Let The Sunshine In’, soaring with Ted Taylor’s ballad ‘Be Ever Wonderful’, and applying a soulful growl to ‘You Ain’t Nothin’ But A Nothin’’. Alan Brown
SUNSET LOVE/THE INNER SANCTUM Psychedelic Moods Part Two: Journey Thru Inner Space Cicadelic CD
www.cicadelic.com
Mark Barkan, one of the melted minds behind the revered 1966 outing Psychedelic Moods Part One by The Deep,
dreamed up this sequel soon
after.This time around the tracks were recorded by two different acts: Greenwich Village’s Inner Sanctum and Sunset Love Of New Mexico/Texas. The resulting 22 songs are a grab bag of brain-fried psych, airy bubblegum and breezy West Coast raga-rock. A lysergic concept album intended to
capture the various states of the turned-on mind, Journey Thru Inner Space, contains bits that sound like the Stones circa ’65, ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’-era Elevators, solo Syd Barrett, Curt Boettcher’s soft psych and any number of stoned folk-rock acts of the era. Many of the songs are throwaway, yet totally enjoyable for anyone who appreciates left of centre sounds from the late ’60s, and a handful of the selections are bona fide tripped-out gems. Brian Greene
VARIOUS ARTISTS Fading Yellow Volume 10: The Better Side Flower Machine CD
fadingyellow.tumblr.com
After a lengthy absence FY is back. Not with a bang of course, because that just wouldn’t be right, but certainly with a
lush chorus of “Huzzah’s” and a blizzard of scented rose petals (faded, naturally). “No Elvis, no Beatles, no Rolling Stones.”
OK, that’s from a Clash song, but the principle applies here too. What we have is a parallel pop dimension in which it appears that every musician aspired to be… Justin Hayward! Just listen to Candle’s‘Matthew, Little Man’ or Gerry Morris’ ‘When It Comes To Love’ for proof. That catch-in-the-throat, yearning yet soothing vocal style; always calm and assured even when apparently in the depths of despair. Standards are tip-top from the second
that the electric sitar/sweet ’n’ sour strings combo of Ted Mulry’s ‘Remember Me’ oozes
THE RONETTES Be My Baby: The Very Best Of The Ronettes THE CRYSTALS Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best Of The Crystals DARLENE LOVE The Sound Of Love: The Very Best Of The Crystals PHIL SPECTOR Wall Of Sound: The Very Best Of Phil Spector All Sony/Legacy CDs
www.sonymusic.com
from the speakers, but extra Michelin stars should be awarded to Ronnie Bird’s Mick Jones/Tommy Brown-produced ballad ‘De L’Autre Cote Du Miroir’, Gallic folk giant Antoine’s post-Apocalyptic ‘Where Did Everyone Go To?’ and Aussie group The Strangers (featuring John Farrar, later of Marvin,Welch &…), who turn in a gorgeous ‘Take The Time’. Oh, and Paul King of Mungo Jerry infamy (now re-named P Rufus King) finally atones for blowing that damned jug on ‘In The Summertime’ with the slightly skewed but completely wonderful ‘Nobody Knows’. So, if turning it up to 11 strikes you as
being tantamount to treason then here are 24 more slices of heaven just for you. Anyone suspecting that FY could be running out of steam can rest assured, there’s no drop in standards here. Better grab it fast.
Mick Capewell
VARIOUS ARTISTS Die Bremer Beatmusikanten Bear Family CD
www.bear-family.de
acknowledge as their favourite holiday album ever, 1963’s A Christmas Gift For You, that seasonally showcased the wizard’s signature overarching, polyphonic (some would say symphonic) aural approach amid the skilful employment of level upon level of overdubbed interlocking instruments accompanying the entire Philles artist roster. The exotic-looking Ronettes (comprising
sisters Veronica and Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley) had recorded five unsuccessful pre-Spector singles for Colpix. In ’63 ‘Be My Baby’ and ‘Baby, I Love You’ sold over a million apiece with smaller hits like ‘Walkin’ In The Rain’ and ‘Breakin’ Up’ to follow. They’re all here plus 14 more. The Crystals, originally five Brooklyn schoolgirls, formed in ’61 and struck gold immediately with both ‘There’s No Other’ and ‘Uptown’ but Spector augmented group members with various Los Angeles session
2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame producer Phil Spector’s phenomenally successful Philles Records label. Utilising a top notch aggregation of session musicians and inventive technicians, including the likes of Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Barney Kessel, composer and arranger Jack Nitzsche and engineer Larry Levine, the guru-like Spector and his Wrecking Crew notched up 15 consecutive hits in just two years – culminating in what many
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Packaged with their customary flair and attention to detail, Bear Family’s exploration of the West German beat
scene of the ’60s continues with this latest volume, which focuses on the northern city of Bremen by presenting original period releases side by side with a selection of previously unreleased recordings from a variety of local combos. The previously released material comes in
the form of the A and B-sides of a series of 45s by The Germans, The Mushroams and The Pipelines that were originally issued on a variety of small West German labels including Jaguar, pe pe and Storz circa 1965/66. Other material featured here includes
tracks by The Yankees (shown on the front of the digibook decked out in full US Cavalry uniforms) recorded in the studios of Radio Bremen in ’64 along with previously unreleased tracks from The Rascals, The Bobbies and The Five Spots. Grahame Bent
singers (including Darlene Love) on later productions. The 18 titles here are the cream of the crop. The still-active rock ’n’ roll singer Love had solo as well as session smashes on Philles while maintaining a career with The Blossoms – these 16 tracks reveal why. The 19-track Wall Of Sound
compilation begins with Love and The Crystals’ ‘He’s A Rebel’ and closes with Ike and Tina’s cinematic ‘River Deep, Mountain High’, with potent stops along the way for not only The Ronettes and Love but the often overlooked Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans (of ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ fame) and the blue-eyed soul of The Righteous Brothers, who, incidentally, first reached a national audience as regulars on the syndicated Shindig! TV dance show. Gary von Tersch
“And then I shot her!” Spector and The Ronettes
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