Great Vocal Pop/Folk by Design: Design - Design 1970 & Tomorrow Is So Far Away 1972 (2011 RPM Retrodisc)

The British vocal group Design were an odd ensemble. They're sometimes described as soft rock, and there's a lot of validity to that categorization. Yet they were more idiosyncratic and eclectic than most early-'70s groups saddled with that tag. And although the wholesome-looking-and-sounding four-man, two-woman sextet had some of the traits of a manufactured group, they wrote most of their own material and did their own vocal arrangements.

This U.K. CD compiles their first two albums, 1970's Design and 1971's Tomorrow Is So Far Away, onto one disc, with lengthy liner notes by one of the group's original member/singers, Barry Alexander (nee Barry Johnston). Guitarist Tony Smith (the only instrumentalist in Design's first recording lineup) wrote most of the material on their debut, whose most attractive features are the high, feathery female vocal harmonies.

This has generated comparisons with the 5th Dimension (on the back cover of this reissue, at least), and those elements also slightly resemble the female harmonies in some of the more pop-oriented folk-rock groups, like the Mamas & the Papas and (more obscurely) the British band Eclection. Yet Design weren't by any means as soulful as the 5th Dimension, nor as folky or progressive as the Mamas & the Papas. With their orchestrated, poppy arrangements, they were more a whitebread act, and their pleasant songs fell on the precious and dainty side, as can be gathered after reading some of the titles alone ("Willow Stream," "The Minstrel's Theme," "Buttercup Stranger," "Children of the Mist").

Smith's songs aren't outstanding enough to command attention, yet the material's just a little too pleasing to fall into the category of easily ignored background music. It's soothing stuff that's best when it's at its folkiest, though lacking enough grit or imagination to appeal to many listeners who don't specialize in sunshine pop or soft rock. Smith left partway through the recording of Tomorrow Is So Far Away, on which just four of the songs are his compositions
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That accounts in part for a change in approach which, though hardly dramatic, is noticeable. Other members take on some of the writing duties, and a few odd covers are inserted. Though hardly heavy, the instrumentation and tunes are a mite more forceful. Things are still on the wistfully upbeat, mildly folky side, even on a song ("Jennifer No One") that seems to be about a young mother giving up her son for adoption.

Again, the album's too trifling to sound like it should have gotten a wide audience, but too substantial to dismiss entirely, even if you're not an early-'70s vocal pop/rock specialist. The cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" that starts off with a cappella choral scat vocals, however, is more novel than enjoyable, though there must have been few (if any) other covers of "Man We Was Lonely" (from Paul McCartney's first solo album) at the time.(allmusic.com)

In my opinion, first-class pop music with a folk touch is delivered here. Because it did not meet the commercial requirements of the market at the time, it is this certainly not a quality feature. Judging music by record sales is a benchmark, but not mine. I think a completely different audience should be addressed here. This should never sound like Californian sunny beaches and this has solved the band first-class, also by intensified work in some songs with typical big band harmonies and partial arrangements. In my opinion first-class vocal pop music that mostly moves on its own terrain, even though some songs have references to American sounds (e.g. ''Ladybird Don't Fly). I think who likes first class vocals and well done pop music is right here.(Frank)

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British Invasion Sounds: The Quiet Five - When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew 1965 -1967 (2005 RPM)

One of the more unknown British Invasion bands of the mid-'60s to make the lower reaches of the U.K. charts, the Quiet Five released half a dozen singles in 1965-1967 (one in the U.S. only) in various styles showcasing their accomplished vocal harmonies. The best of these, their debut, "When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew," was written by guitarist/singer Kris Ife for Marianne Faithfull. While its haunting folkiness would have been appropriate for Faithfull's early approach, the Quiet Five ended up releasing it themselves, and it did nudge just inside the British Top 50. So did a subsequent cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound," but that was effectively wiped out when the original version went into the U.K. Top Ten. Other singles found the group working in several formats, including rocked-up pop standards, reasonably convincing Merseybeat-influenced rock, and tunes showing the vocal harmony influence of American acts such as the Beach Boys. Perhaps, like some other such groups with accomplished and flexible vocal harmonies, they were a little too versatile. Some of their work had fleeting similarities to other pop-oriented acts of the British Invasion, such as the Fortunes, Peter & Gordon, and the Tremeloes, but they never established too strong an identity of their own. Nor, unfortunately, did they record too many of their own songs, despite the ability shown by Kris Ife on some of their tracks and some of Ife's post-Quiet Five work.

When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew The Quiet Five formed in the early '60s in London, first as the Trebletones before changing their name to the Vikings. As the Vikings, they did manage one side of a 45 single, the instrumental "Space Walk," whose title was changed to "Gemini" when it was eventually issued by Columbia. The Vikings became the Quiet Five, however, in 1964 when they became the backing band for singer Patrick Dane, replacing another group that had used the Quiet Five name. After some personnel changes, the Quiet Five split from Dane to go out on their own, signing with Parlophone, where they were produced by Ron Richards (who also handled the Hollies). As was appropriate considering that "When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew" had been penned for Marianne Faithfull, they also backed Faithfull on a 1965 EP, with Faithfull's guitarist Jon Mark also participating. Though they toured with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Donovan, the Byrds, and the Ronettes, the Quiet Five never had a big-selling disc. Ife left the group in 1967 to record as a solo act with MGM, and is best known for the late-'60s single on which he covered Joe South's "Hush," as this was the version that inspired the big cover hit of the same song by Deep Purple. Both sides of all six of the Quiet Five singles, along with seven previously unreleased tracks, were compiled on the 2005 CD anthology When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew.(allmusic.com)

A really good compilation with all singles A and B pages as well as the bonus tracks. the band was pretty good but as already said in the review they were really active in too many areas to realize their own vision. In any case an album absolutely worth listening to and to recommend it to anyone who likes this music.(Frank)
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Sixties Psychedelic Pop Garage: The Dearly Beloved - Rough Diamonds: The History Of Garage Band Music (1964-67)

Along with the Grodes, the Dearly Beloved were Tucson, AZ's top group in the mid-'60s. They started out in 1963 as a surf music combo called the Intruders, who were heavily influenced by the Ventures, and added singer Larry Cox to their lineup in early 1964. The Intruders cut one single, "Everytime It's You" b/w "Let Me Stay," as a result of winning a battle of the bands contest. The single wasn't much, although it had a vaguely Beatlesque quality and showed a band with a lot of potential, and this was borne out by their local reputation -- by the spring of 1964 they were one of the hottest bands in Tucson. The quintet was forced to change their name when they learned that there was a vocal group of the same name based in Detroit -- they existed very briefly as the Quinstrells and then, at the behest of Dan Gates, a local disc jockey and producer-manager who came in to help guide the group's fortunes, they became the Dearly Beloved.

The group broke out of Tucson in 1966, playing clubs as far away as Los Angeles and teen fairs throughout the west and southwest. They also cut a strange novelty single, "Peep Peep Pop Pop," which had been foisted on them by Gates, which became a number one hit in Tucson when issued on the local Boyd label, which got Columbia Records interested in the band. A Columbia version of the single was issued and scraped the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, even getting onto American Bandstand's rate-a-record segment. They also recorded a complete album for the label that stayed in the can for 30 years. One lawsuit later, they were on White Whale, with a lot of promise before them, and then it all fell apart when Larry Cox was killed in a car crash that took place while the band was driving back to Tucson, to get Cox to his wedding the next day. The group never recovered, despite getting an unexpected regional hit out of the song "Flight 13," the B-side of their one attempt to cut a record after Cox's death.

Let's Talk About Girls! Music from Tuscon 1964-1968 Their seven singles are passable period pop/garage rock that don't measure up to the standards of literally hundreds of better obscure '60s garage groups throughout the country. The evidence from their unreleased Columbia LP, part of which was issued in 1997 on Dionysus Records' Tucson garage band collection Let's Talk About Girls, shows that they did have a good ear for hooks, a hard attack on their instruments that translated well in the studio, and that Cox was a strong singer. Had he lived, the Dearly Beloved might've been White Whale's answer to the Leaves. Bassist Shep Cooke went on to join the Stone Poneys briefly, before returning to the Dearly Beloved during their final days, and went on to play on albums by Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne.(allmusic.com)

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Garage Rock From Iowa: Gonn - Gonn For Good - The Best Of Gonn 1966-96 (2008 Kimerik Music)

Like many garage bands of the '60s, the Gonn achieved (slight) international fame beyond anything they attained in their lifetime when their single "Blackout of Gretely" was rediscovered by collectors and reissued in the '80s. From Keokuk, IA, the Gonn released only a couple singles on tiny local labels in 1966 and 1967. Probably the toughest garage band in Iowa (not that there was an enormous amount of competition), the Gonn took their inspiration from the raunchiest aspects of the early Rolling Stones, adding the raw, throat-shredding screams that American groups of the kind were wont to use during this period.(allmusic.com)

The band has more to offer than these few words describe. The band had a really hard sound. Even on the few singles of the sixties they did not seem to peer at hits. To me they sounded really hard-line. However, this is a fine compilation of her musical work.(Frank)

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Two Classics On One Disc By Andy Kim - Baby, I Love You & Andy Kim (2006 Collector's Choice)

Bio:

Andy Kim enjoyed major success on the pop charts as a singer, songwriter, and producer in the 1960s and '70s before experiencing a career resurgence in the new millennium. Born Andrew Youakim, he was the son of Lebanese expatriates who had settled in Montreal, Canada and run a grocery store. As a youngster, Youakim developed a passion for music, and when he turned 16, he left home with just $40 to his name, heading to New York City with a dream of breaking into the music business. He cut a few singles for several labels with no particular success before he met the noted songwriter and producer Jeff Barry who, with Ellie Greenwich, had penned several major hits for Phil Spector.

Barry was impressed enough with a song the young man had written, "How'd We Ever Get This Way," to sign him to Steed Records, a label run by Barry. Youakim streamlined his name to Andy Kim and "How'd We Ever Get This Way" became a Top 20 hit in the United States and Canada in 1968. That same year, Barry was one of the writers and producers brought in to make music for the Archies, a fictive rock group appearing in an animated television series based on the popular comic book series. With Barry, Kim co-wrote two of the Archies' biggest hits, "Sugar Sugar" and "Jingle Jangle," and he also sang on some of the Archies' sessions, though Ron Dante was the primary lead vocalist for the "group." In 1969, Kim scored another solo hit, "So Good Together," and the following year he hit the Top Ten with a cover of "Baby I Love You," which Barry had co-written for the Ronettes. In 1974,, Kim rose to the top of the Billboard charts with the single "Rock Me Gently," but despite this success, his brand of simple, well-scrubbed pop, influenced both by bubblegum and the Brill Building songwriters, was falling out of favor; this would prove to be his last major hit in the United States.

Believing his image and reputation were holding him back, Kim released an album in 1980 under the name Baron Longfellow; it was a modest success, and a second Longfellow album, Prisoner by Design, followed in 1984. However, it was in 1995, when Kim appeared at the Kumbaya Festival in Toronto (an annual fundraising event for AIDS charities) that he met Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies and discovered that a member of Canada's biggest group was a longtime Andy Kim fan. It was through Robertson that Kim learned he was held in high esteem by many noted Canadian musicians, and Kim found himself writing songs with Robertson and Ron Sexsmith, as well as appearing on-stage with Canadian indie rockers Broken Social Scene. In 2005, Kim, who has long been involved in charity work, launched the Andy Kim Christmas Show, an annual fundraising concert held at Toronto's Mod Club, in which Kim is joined on-stage by a number of Canadian pop stars ranging from Luke Doucet to Alex Lifeson of Rush, to perform seasonable material.

Happen Again In 2010, Andy Kim returned to the recording studio and released a comeback album, Happen Again, which included some of the songs he'd written with Robertson and Sexsmith. Kim's connection to Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew stayed strong through the years, and eventually the two collaborated on an album. The resulting It's Decided had a strong indie rock influence and featured contributions from Dave Hamelin of the Stills, John McEntire of Tortoise (and a multitude of other projects), and Ohad Benchetrit of Do Make Say Think. The album was released by Arts & Crafts in early 2015.(allmusic.com)

There is nothing more to say about this great pop musician and wonderful personality.(Frank)

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Great Pop Album Of The Late '60s: Jamme - Jamme 1970 (2010 Now Sounds)

Jamme recorded an obscure, pleasant self-titled album that couldn't help but remind listeners of the mildest side of the Beatles when it was issued in 1970, influenced by California pop/rock. The story of Jamme, however, was quite complicated and interwoven with far more famous figures, and arguably more interesting than the music the group made.  Jamme evolved in some respects out of the mid-'60s Washington, D.C. group the British Walkers, who did indeed include a genuinely British guitarist, Paul Downing. Downing moved to Los Angeles in 1967 with his girlfriend, Nancy Throckmorton, staying with her mother, Susan Adams, who'd been John Phillips' first wife.

Downing joined the San Diego band the Hard Times for a while, and got to know Phillips, playing on some sessions in Phillips' home studio. After Downing played guitar on some tracks on the Mamas & the Papas album The Papas & the Mamas, Phillips suggested Downing put a group together, which he did in spring 1968 with fellow ex-British Walker Tim Smyser (on bass) and fellow British expatriate guitarist Don Adey. The drum slot was filled by Terry Rae, who had played with the Palace Guard.  This was the personnel that began recording Jamme's album in Phillips' home studio in Bel Air, but the road to the LP's completion wouldn't be smooth.

Phillips was distracted by the breakup of both the Mamas & the Papas and his marriage to Michelle Phillips, and instigated the departure of Rae. A plan to replace him with post-Van Morrison Them drummer Dave Tufrey didn't work out, with session drummers Jim Gordon (later to be in Derek & the Dominos) and Jerry Allison (of the Crickets) contributing to the sessions. Phillips then asked Downing to replace Smyser with another musician, and when Downing balked, the album fell deeper into limbo, Smyser soon joining a fading Standells.

With help from Adey's bassist brother Keith, the album was finally completed and released in March 1970 on Phillips' Warlock label. Unsurprisingly given the chaotic circumstances, the LP didn't gain much exposure, although a 2010 CD reissue on Now Sounds restored it to availability with eight bonus tracks and thorough historical liner notes.(allmusic.com)

I really love this album because to me it's full of beautiful pop songs played and produced by really great musicians. What i really like is you can find here the finest influences from both sides, the US with finest west coast pop and the mainly UK Beatles influences. Great Pop of it's time back then. And still it is.(Frank)

 

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Easy Listening and Lounge by Mark Wirtz 1966: Mark Wirtz - Wirtz And Music 2009 (Fantastic Voyage)

'Latin A Go-Go' LP originally released in 1966 on Ember Records.
'Smooth And Easy' LP originally released in 1966 on Ember Mood Music Library Records.

Regular readers of my old blog and this one know that I am a very big fan of Mark Wirtz and his work.
These two albums, which he completed for Ember records in 1966, are works shortly before he became known to a wider audience through his collaboration with the band ''Tomorrow'' and Keith West.

On these two albums the musical direction is different. He produced two albums here which mainly offer Easy Listening and Lounge music. However, here one should not use the terms in the sense of the ''pop'' movement of the sixties, but in their actual meaning.
If you like Easy Listening and Lounge Music, you will find two albums here, one of which I think is great and the other one is also a good album from the arrangement, but it's a little too much in the direction of the bar lounge. But that's a matter of taste, of course. (Frank)

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Lou Christie - The Complete Co & Ce,Roulette Recordings (1998 Taragon)

Although he had made some good, and interesting, doo-wop records around his native Pittsburgh, this 21-track collection is where the career of Lou Christie begins in earnest. Still working out of Pittsburgh with his collaborator/mentor Twyla Herbert, the majority of these sides have a homegrown, small-label session feel to them, even if they were almost all simultaneously issued for national consumption on the Roulette imprint.

Christie's otherworldly falsetto wails on the two big hits here ("The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I"), which need no introduction, but his trademarked sound is equally at home and just as fine on B-sides and album filler like "Red Sails In the Sunset," "Tears On My Pillow," "Tonight I Fell In Love" and "When You Dance." The previously unreleased version of the rocker "Money" yields a quirky take to the standard, but everything on here is vintage and prime Lou Christie, a true song stylist who just happened to also write a solid third of the material compiled here. An important, but often neglected, chapter in rock & roll's history that deserves a wider hearing.(allmusic.com)

That's exactly what i think about this works.(Frank)

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Sixties Psychedelic Pop: The Fredric - Phases And Faces The Complete Recordings 1967-69 ( 1996 Arf Arf)

Phases and Faces, the only album by Grand Rapids Michigan quintet The Fredric, was released in 1968 on Forte Records. Long considered a masterpiece by fans throughout the world, this once-in-a-lifetime merging of diverse elements is one of the most magical and extraordinary musical offerings in all of sixties music.
Any longtime fan will tell you, there is nothing like The Fredric in the history of recorded music. Nothing! Lead vocalist Joe McCargar and Guitarist Bob Geis were high school mates in the mid-sixties, playing in a band. One of their first shows was a booking on historic Mackinac Island, playing the Grand Hotel in the summer of 1966. Several days before the show the band lost their guitarist and drummer, but quickly found guitar-vocalist Steve Thrall as a replacement through the musicians grapevine.

Joe McCargar at the left of the Fredric, singing at The Note at Gun Lake
This move proved to be the genesis of what was to become the legendary Fredric sound. This revamped trio, minus a drummer, managed to play the show successfully and decided to enhance the group with additional musicians. Drummer vocalist David Idema was the son of a family friend of McCargar’s parents. Ron Bera was added on keyboards, making use of his excellent skills.
Fredric at The Castle in Holland, 1968
Extensive rehearsals were held throughout 1967. A unique and inviting sound began to take shape. At this point, the band approached a booking agent. Greatly impressed with the diversity of the original material, he encouraged them to develop and record. Soon afterwards he secured the band a position backing Harper and Rowe, a British vocal duo on a promotional tour. However, the duo’s label did not want a locally recognized band backing their act.

In need of a new moniker, the group changed their name from Yesterday’s Children to The Fredric, on the way to their first show in Fredric, Michigan Mackinac Island, located in the northern part of the state, became the paradisiac setting for early songwriting efforts, including “The Girl I Love,” “Morning Sunshine” and “All About Judy.” In the summer of 1967 Steve’s parents, in a vote of encouragement, let the band occupy their summer cottage on Lake Michigan as a retreat to perfect their sound. “Red Pier,” and “Cousin Mary Knows” were written there. Constant playing and  exchanging of ideas  had tightened and fine tuned a most unique sound.

The Fredric was on their way.
The Fredric shared concert bills with The Boxtops, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Yellow Balloon and other artists of the time. The Fredric played extensively throughout the Midwest and enjoyed an extensive fan base in West Michigan. In 1967 they formed their own label, Forte Records. In reality this was nothing more than means of copywriting their original material for presentations to major labels.
Fredric Recording at Midwestern studios
In June of 1970, The Fredric signed with Capitol Records and was promptly rechristened The Rock Garden by label executives. Capitol saw the group as a pop hit unit, which caused great frustration among the members who wanted nothing to do with this commercialization of their music. They had scheduled for several releases when the decision was made to dissolve the band.
After the demise of the band, both Thrall and Idema pursued recording careers and continued to write together, Idema performing under the pseudonym, David Geddes, scored a mega-hit with “Run, Joey, Run,” and an album by the same name. 

Thrall and Idema found careers in media. McCargar became a teacher and recording engineer. Geis entered the accounting profession and Bera furthered his formal musical training as a choral and band director.
Thrall confides, Take chances on your journey, or you will never discover the unwritten music. I’d like to thank everyone involved in this labor of love project. Enjoy The Fredric, truly an American treasure!

Ben Maxwell, August 1996(westmichmusichystericalsociety.com)



With their debut, the band delivered a pleasant piece of pop music. Although the album was certainly not unusual for its time, it still convinced with good songwriting and very good arrangements which gave the songs a soft pop touch with light psychedelic sounds.(Frank)

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The Tradewinds - Excursions 1967 (2010 Rev-Ola)

In 1965 a striking single called "New York's a Lonely Town" by a group called the Tradewinds flitted briefly across pop radio. Telling the story of a California surfer stuck in New York for the winter, the song was beautifully produced, echoing some of the studio techniques then favored by Brian Wilson, and although the song's premise seems even more ridiculous now than it did then, "New York's a Lonely Town" has such a memorable, lilting melody and projects such willful yearning and innocence that it is somewhat of a lost pop treasure.

The Tradewinds were actually Peter Andreoli (he is also known professionally as Peter Anders) and Vincent Poncia Jr., a pair of Rhode Island songwriters who had a minor doo wop-inflected hit with "Mr. Lonely" in 1960 while calling themselves the Videls, and who had written "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up" for producer Phil Spector and the Ronettes. The Tradewinds put out a few additional singles (including "Mind Excursion" and the pretty "I Believe in Her") and an album before morphing into the Innocence and issuing a single under that name ("There's Got to Be a Word") late in 1966.

An album credited to the Innocence followed, and then the duo began recording a project under their own names. Andreoli and Poncia parted ways shortly after The Anders & Poncia Album was issued by Warner Bros. as the 1960s drew to a close. Poncia resurfaced a few years later as a producer for Ringo Starr, Kiss, and other acts, while Andreoli kept a lower profile. "New York's a Lonely Town" remains their high watermark, one of the great lost singles of the surf era.(allmusic.com)

These two boys were exceptionally talented musicians in every respect. The album is a good pop album even if you ignore the single. Their other musical activities confirmed this and ''Excursions' is a lot of fun.(Frank)
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