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The June Minuets

June 2, 2008

1972 was Harry Nilsson's year. In February of that year, he topped the charts for four weeks with the lovelorn lament "Without You." Taking a stylistic leap the follow-up was the incendiary "Jump Into The Fire," featuring Nilsson putting his voice through an echoplex. Unfortunately it did not do well...peaking barely in the top 30. Both of these songs were from "Nilsson Schmillson," regarded as his best album. So RCA decided to issue a third and yet another stylistically single from the same album. I remember back in the spring of that year, I heard WAVE radio in Louisville playing this really offbeat record. It sounded like somebody singing with a Jamaican accent while someone else was finger picking an acoustic guitar on a C7 chord. The song was by you guessed it, Harry Nilsson. His ditty"Coconut" debuted on the chart in June, 1972 and eventually peaked at number eight. However public interest in Nilsson began to wane. He released a sequel album "Son Of Schmillson," which yielded only one top 40 hit with "Spaceman," which sounds like he was slightly copying Elton John's "Rocket Man." The record almost made the top twenty. The follow-up "Remember (Christmas)," a song with a nice classical sound thanks to a string quartet, totally bombed.

June 9, 2008

In June 1967, The Bee Gees were beginning to enjoy their initial success with their first single. A song about a fictitious event "New York Mining Disaster 1941." Judging from the sound and the group name, many people at first thought that the Bee Gees meant "Beatles Group". Not true. But nevertheless this was the beginning of a long and mostly successful career. The next single that appeared in late Summer 1967 was the not so enigmatic "To Love Somebody," followed by the haunting tear-laden "Holiday". All three singles were featured on their first album and all made the top twenty. I bought the CD of the first album and it is really quite good. Very much influenced by the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club" album . In addition to the three hits, other highlights included "I Can't See Nobody" which pitted Robin Gibbs' somewhat odd voice against this nice string session and a harpsichord. As well as "Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You," which has the boys singing a Gregorian chant accompanied by this eerie mellotron, which sounds like an orchestra from outer space. Couple that with a ton of reverb, and it sounds like it was recorded in a cathedral.  

June 16, 2008

Most popular songs from Europe are often catchy, melodic and sometimes silly. You would hear such a song and before you know it, your mental jukebox was playing it incessantly. Whether you're actually hearing it on the radio or off a cd player or if you're hearing it in your mind, it could drive you crazy. It makes you want to sing along or dance to show yourself and those around you that you really like that crazy song. A prime example of a catchy song comes from a duo out of Holland. Willem Duyn was known as "Mouth" because of his gravelly voice. Before he teamed with a then eighteen year old Maggie McNeil, he was gigging around the Netherlands. He was hailed as a Dutch version of Joe Cocker. He recorded a version of the Shangrilas' "Remember (Walking In The Sand".) It bombed. Maggie Macneil was once an aspiring opera singer, who gave up the classics to go pop. She recorded a version of the Motown perennial, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". Patterned after Creedence Clearwater's Revival's version, her rendition tanked. But when Mouth & McNeil came together, the chemistry worked-at least for the one hit. "How Do You Do" went to number one in Holland and England. In June 1972 the song was climbing the charts where it would peak at number eight the following month. It was their only hit they had on these shores. They had some sporadic success in Europe.

Bob Dylan

June 23, 2008

With a title like "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35", you would know that song has to be a real odd duck. Yet in spite of the odd title and the frat party atmosphere, Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35" was number two just as the weather heated up. I read somewhere that the inspiration for the title came from this situation. It was raining in Nashville, and a 35 year old woman along with a 12 year girl walked into the studio. The tune was part of a double album entitled "Blonde On Blonde," which yielded two more top forty hits with "Just Like A Woman" and the slightly less riddling, "I Want You." If you had the vinyl album years ago, do you recall the chagrined feeling that you had when it was time to change the record! If they were stacked on your automatic turntable, you had to flip them over after about 35 minutes. Well, the entire 73 minute album is now on one CD. Just pop it in your player-and let it rip. Talk about convenience.

Fleetwood Mac

June 30, 2008

Fleetwood Mac was initially formed as British Blues Revivalists in 1967. After eight years of sporadic success in England and numerous personal changes, the group found success. With the classic line-up including Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, they recorded their self-titled album that was issued in July, 1975. The first hit they had was the Joni Mitchell sound alike"Over My Head". It reached the top 20 as we slid into the bi-centennial year. The follow-up is a song about a Welsh witch named "Rhiannon."  Sung by Stevie Nicks with that unmistakable smoky pop soprano voice, it almost reached the top ten. When I was working at the University of Louisville radio station, the station began playing "Say You Love Me". With its catchy piano bit, I thought it was a natural hit. Sure enough it was the third hit and almost made a near top ten hit. Admittedly I'm one of these weirdo's who listens to music very closely. But all three hits from that album were either alternate takes or mixes. For example the single version of "Over My Head" sounds like it's essentially in mono and in a lower key than on the album. They cranked up the reverb on the guitars on the 45 version of "Rhiannon." A lot of retouching was done on the seven inch version of  "Say You Love Me". The piano was almost buried in the mix. Extra guitars were added and the vocals were slightly echo city.  For a long time if you had the album or the early cd incarnation, you did not get these authentic radio mixes. Why they did that, I have no idea. However in 2004, That self titled album was reissued on CD, which includes these long lost single mixes. They are the ones we play here on fun-loving WAKY.