Tag Archives: David Bowie

Queen Bitch – Beat City Bowie Special – Sleeve Notes
21
Jan

“The worst trick God can play is to make you an artist, but a mediocre one”

– David Bowie

I’ve always loved that quote from Bowie.

Medicority, however, is not something he would have ever had first-hand knowledge of, though, as I hope the tracks in demonstrate.

Bear in mind that we have not even begun to scratch the surface of the man’s body of work here.

David Bowie “Queen Bitch” (from the album “Hunky Dory”)

Bowie’s tribute to Lou Reed / Velvet Underground pastiche from the “Hunky Dory” album.

A year later Bowie and Mick Ronson produced Reeds ‘s “Transformer” album.

After Reed’s first solo album after leaving the Velvet Underground had tanked, despite featuring Bowie-collaborator Rick Wakeman of prog band Yes among the backing musicians, he turned to his new friend Bowie and Bowie’s guitarist Mick Ronson to co-produce and perform on his second LP. Ronno’s influence is all over the album – it was he who provided the now-famous arrangements for Walk On The Wild Side and Perfect Day. Note the trademark Ronson guitar riffage on “Satellite Of Love”, as well as some excellent Bowie backing vocals.

David Bowie “Born In A UFO” (from the EP “The Next Day Extra”)

Six months after David Bowie, suddenly and without warning, released “The Next Day” on the world, we were treated to that horror of horrors, the “Deluxe Edition” version of the album – never let it be said that Bowie was slow to pick up the prevailing winds, whether in music or in business.

However, in these days of digital purchases, fans had the option of just downloading the new tracks – and this one in particular is a little gem, a lot less tentative than the original “The Next Day” album, you get the idea that this was Bowie and producer Tony Visconti having a bit of a laugh.

“Born In a UFO” is a parody / homage to Bruce Springsteen – apart from the obvious Born In The USA echoes in the title, the verse sounds more than a bit like “Its Hard To Be A Saint In The City” (a song Bowie covered earlier in his career)

There’s a great Youtube clip going round of Bruce Springsteen saying nice things about Bowie and playing “Rebel Rebel” in Pittsburgh on the first date of his massive 2016 world tour, check the sleeve notes at tonythegigguy.com for the link and others.

David Bowie “Up The Hill Backwards” (from the album “Scary Monsters And Super Creeps”)

The “Scary Monsters” album almost comes across as Bowie drawing a line under his seventies albums by recreating / pastiching them all. “Up The Hill Backwards”, sonologically speaking, seems to mix a bit of Berlin-era guitar with “Station To Station”. “Fashion” sounds like its on “Young Americans”, the title track goes all “Diamond Dogs” on us and the “Ashes To Ashes” single is a dead giveaway as the lyrics reveal it to be a sequel to “Space Oddity” ten years on.

The famous “Ashes To Ashes” video is at the heart of the best of all the wonderful, touching stories I’ve read and heard since Bowie’s passing. This is courtesy of Michael Dignum – thank you so much, sir, this is just loverly.

“One part of my job is to keep the talent close while we make small changes to lighting and camera positions. While shooting the video for David Bowie’s Miracle goodnight we had a change that was gonna take 10-15 mins to complete. I decided to strike up a conversation to kill the time. Let face i was talking to my childhood hero. I asked Mr Bowie what was the biggest moment in his career. His reply was EPIC. and It went like this

Bowie…. Well let me tell you about it. I had quit the attitude as a young pop star, its easy to get caught up in the hype. It changes you. So i was on the set of the music video Ashes to ashes, do you know the one.”

Me………Yes i do. (thinking boy if only he knew)

Bowie… So we’re on the beach shooting this scene with a giant bulldozer. The camera was on a very long lens. (Camera is along way away, but the artist fills the frame) In this video i’m dressed from head to toe in a clown suit. Why not.I hear playback and the music starts. So off I go, I start singing and walking, but as soon as I do this old geezer with an old dog walk right between me and the camera.

Me………Laugh (seeing this video in my head and what that must have been like on the set)

Bowie….Well knowing this is gonna take a while I walked past the old guy and sat next to camera in my full costume waiting for him to pass. As he is walking by camera the director said, excuse me Mr do you know who this is? The old guy looks at me from bottom to top and looks back to the director and said….

Old Man……. Of course i do!!!! its some cunt in a clown suit

Bowie………. That was a huge moment for me, It put me back in my place and made me realize, yes i’m just a cunt in a clown suit. I think about that old guy all the time”

This was just one of the Stories Mr Bowie shared with me that day. I was so happy that my childhood Hero Stayed my hero as an adult.
RIP Mr Bowie..”

Now, try and watch this video without thinking “cunt in a clown suit” And smile.

David Bowie “Little Wonder” (from the album “Earthling”)

Opinions differ as to whether Bowie, taking on and shedding new personae at a whim, frequently changing musical styles, was a true innovator or simply a chameleon.

I’d lean towards a bit of both myself, while noting that his innovation generally came in partnership with carefully-selected others (Ronson, Eno, Fripp, Lulu) and also that when he jumped on a trend, it was usually one that was just around the corner, and always one that would last and not seem old-fashioned.

In 1997 Bowie was not seen as particularly relevant to anything at all. British music was firmly in he grip of Britpop, which while fun was hardly groundbeaking. The other major musical strand of the late 90s came from black music – jungle and trip-hop, which are the two genres that most inform the “Earthling” album.

“I guess …I can’t sell youth. ‘Cause I’m not a youth. So I’m selling whatever it is I am as a persona, which tends to be this kind of ironically enthusiastic old guy who’s still into this crazed sound”

Even in this he was ahead of the times – fast forward to 2016 and there has never been a better time to be a fifty-year old music enthusiast. Bowie was a pioneer in this, as in so much else.

If “Little Wonder” is more on the junglist / Prodigy side of things, this track is pure Tricky as far as I’m concerned.

David Bowie “Fascination” (from the album “Young Americans”)

“Fascination” is a reworking of a song called Funky Music Is A Part Of Me written by then-unknown Luther Vandross, given a new lyric by Bowie.

I’m not keen on the commonly-used term “plastic soul” for this part of Bowie’s career, even if the man himself did use it. It seems almost an apology for moulding soul into a Bowie-ised version of soul.

That said, its probably no coincidence that the most soulful song on the “Young Americans” album was originally written by Luther Vandross
(nitpickers note – yes, Luther’s version wasn’t released until 1976 but it was written well before then)

David Bowie “Yassassin” (from the album “Lodger”)

As far as I know, this is Bowie’s only attempt at reggae ever committed to record. Drummer Dennis Davis had a hard time learning the beat, since American musicians back then were generally unfamiliar with reggae – the music has never really gone mainstream in the USA. Going the other way, of course, American records brought back to Jamaica by migrant workers in the late fifties and early sixties certainly had a huge influence on reggae sound system culture.

And this song is about migrant workers, as it happens, written in Germany, inspired by the Turkish migrant workers Bowie encountered in the Neukolln district of Berlin.

Arcade Fire “Reflektor” (from the album “Reflektor”)

In 2013, shortly after “The Next Day” album had come out, Arcade Fire were recording what would become the title track of their magnum opus “Reflektor”.

According to the band’s multi-intrumentalist Richard Reed Parry:

“Bowie basically just came by the studio in New York while we were mixing, just to have a listen to the stuff we were doing. He offered to lend us his services because he really liked the song. In fact, he basically threatened us – he was like, ‘If you don’t hurry up and mix this song, I might just steal it from you!’ So we thought, well why don’t we go one better, why don’t you sing on our version? Thankfully he obliged, and we were really happy about that”

“Reflektor” has a Bowie-esque feel which seems to go well beyond the mere presence of the man himself singing backing vocals.

This wasn’t Arcade Fire’s first Bowie collaboration – that came in 2005 with this “Fashion Rocks” show in New York which saw them join forces on a selection of songs including AF’s “Wake Up” and Bowie’s “Five Years”.

David Bowie “It Ain’t Easy” (from the album “The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars”)

… and from the album that starts off with “Five Years”, this is an oddity. A throwback to his folkie years, it sounds out of place on “Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”.
“It Ain’t Easy” was written by American songwriter Ron Davies – and not, as many people think, Ray Davies of the Kinks. By the time Bowie got round to cutting his version of the song, it had already been covered by Three Dog Night and Long John Baldry.

Franz Ferdinand with Girls Aloud “Sound And Vision”

Franz Ferdinand with their take on Bowie’s 1977 smash hit single “Sound And Vision” featuring Girls Aloud From an intriguing, sometimes annoying and occasionally brilliant album put out by BBC Radio One in 2007 to commemorate 40 years of the station by commissioning 40 of the top stars of the day to cover various songs from the lifetime of the station.

Kylie Minogue’s excellent cover of Roxy Music’s “Love Is The Drug” was another highlight – produced by Calvin Harris, its pretty much the perfect cover version, retaining the feel of the original while adding to it, and crucially NOT changing the words from “I say go, she say yes” to “I say go, he say yes”.

Props to all concerned. Definitely going to feature this on Beat City’s tribute to Bryan Ferry in 2028.

David Bowie “Alabama Song” (Brecht/Weill cover)

In 1978 Bowie was considering an offer to star in a revival of Bertolt Brecht’s “Threepeny Opera”. This did not come to fruition although one legacy was that he decided to play Brecht’s “Alabama Song” live.

It can be seen as both a celebration and a self-criticism of Bowie’s recent Berlin-based output.

The song was (and is) best-known to rock fans from the cover by The Doors.

In the Doors’ cover, Morrison had put a soulful rasp into the verses, making them flow better into the choruses. Bowie instead is inspired by Lotte Lenya’s version (below), singing the verses flatly while smoking a cigarette, then suddenly, dramatically falling into the chorus, swooning and closing his eyes.

Pleased with how “Alabama Song” was working in his live sets, Bowie brought his touring band into Tony Visconti’s Good Earth studio in London, the day after the final Earl’s Court show, to cut a version of “Alabama Song” as a prospective single.

Bowie shelved “Alabama Song” until early 1980, when he finally issued it as a single.

I heard it first – as I did so many other songs – on the John Peel show. The old curmudgeon was unimpressed.

“I know we should all be grateful for David Bowie and all that, but he kicks that one well into the stands in my estimation”.

Great though my respect for Peel is (and at the time he was basically God to me), I remember that being the first time I thought “hang on, he’s got that wrong”.

David Bowie “Baal’s Hymn” (from the “Baal” EP of songs from the 1982 BBC TC production) (Brecht/Weill cover)

In 1981 Bowie took the lead role in the BBC TV BBC TV version of the Bertold Brecht play “Baal”.
He also sang the five songs Brecht wrote (with Kurt Weill) for the play.

Click here to see the full 90 minute production.

It’s well worth a look – check here although its been unavailable officially for years

David Bowie “I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spacecraft” (from the album “Heathen”)

Older Bowie fans who remember how jaw-dropping his records and indeed his every move was throughout the seventies tend to judge his post-“Scary Monsters” (or post-“Let’s Dance” if you’re feeling generous) output harshly but Tin Machine aside, it contains a couple of great albums – 1997’s “Earthling” being one and 2002’s “Heathen” being if anything even better.

This song is a cover of a 1968 song by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. You can listen to it here but it isn’t to everyone’s taste, shall we say.

Bowie “We Are The Dead” (from the album “Diamond Dogs”)

David Bowie’s music has been there at the back of my head since I was about nine years old, in 1971. There have been some spectacular misheard lyrics along the way, of which the best example comes in this song – no he isn’t singing “I love you in your funky bumps” although twelve-year-old me decided that actually made perfect sense. He actually sings “I love you in your “fuck-me” pumps” which doesn’t really add up if you don’t know that “pumps” are a kind of shoes.

Now the album Diamond Dogs features a fantastic comic-book style illustration of Bowie on the cover as what can only be described as a sexy dog – and incidentally, definitely NOT a sexy bitch if you look closely. And we all did, believe me.

David Bowie “Boys Keep Swinging” (from the album “Lodger”)

This song is, to me, the quintessential Bowie song – not my favourite Bowie song (see a future blog post for that) but it just brings together a number of the things that made him such an icon in the seventies – the sassy delivery, the screeching guitar, the weird lyrics that hinted at other, more exciting worlds, and most of all, the dressing up as a woman in the video.
On a slightly dodgy television and without the benefit of video playback, my sisters and me couldn’t agree on whether all the backing singers were, in fact, Bowie. The third one to appear solo at the end of the video caused the most discussion, but its definitely him.

… I think …

Bowie-related links

There have been some excellent shows and pieces over the past couple of weeks. Here’s a few of the ones I’ve enjoyed most:

James Ward’s blog is really two in one – a takedown of the haters followed by a heartfelt and moving tribute to the man.

Takedown of the haters and a heartfelt tribute to the man

Marc Riley’s BBC 6 music show the day we all heard the news is something to be treasure (as is the whole of the station’s output for Monday 11th January, have a listen before the first week in February when it’ll disappear as far as I know) WARNING – he does play The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.

Terrific tribute from Frankie Boyle obviously not overwrittenor overprepared and all the better for it.

Alex Petridis’ measured and comprehensive Guardian lead article however, is hard to beat.

Let me know if you’ve got any more links I may have missed, or any blogs of your own or podcasts.

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Hope you’ve enjoyed this show.

The next regular Beat City show will be available to download from Sunday.

Thank you. Come again.

BEAT CITY 62 – Shiva Is A Punk Rocker (Sleeve Notes)
18
Jan

NERVOUS TWITCH “John Power”

Nervous Twitch’s sound is a heady mix of punk from the 70s, Britpop from the 90s and the girl group sound of the 60s.

Not quite sure if this is about the former La’s bassist and Cast frontman John Power

You can pre-order the new album here

This track “Somebody Else” was a single for the band in 2014 – definite 60s girl group sound to this, kind of if the Shangri-Las had been allowed to let rip and make the records they secretly wanted to, with fuzzed up guitars.

WHITE REAPER “I Don’t Think She Cares”

Punky records with a good organ line or two will always get a hearing on Beat City!

From the album White Reaper Does It Again which came out on Polyvinyl Records last year.

Here’s the vid to another track from the album “Make Me Wanna Die” which features Death, who has a Union Jack on his bedroom wall.

Typical bloody Americans, the baddie ALWAYS has to be British.

BABYFATHER “Meditation”

This is a new track from Babyfather, one of the aliases of Dean Blunt. Co-produced with Arca this is Meditation.

Dean Blunt has a history of unconventional release methods, from premiering his music on an illegal Russian torrent sites to Ciroc Boyz, his book of receipts.

The latest movement from the enigmatic artist’s camp is no different: Blunt is selling a toy Mini Cooper on eBay, branded with the Foxtons logo and with some weed packed in the back for good measure.

It’ll cost you £250, and tucked away in the photos is an advert for Cubitt, an artist-led organisation that Blunt is involved in.

WRAY “Shiva”

From the brand new album “Hypatia” out this week that was Wray with “Shiva”.

There’s elements of shoegaze in there but also a refreshingly hard-edged garagey sound.

They have some live dates coming up throughout the U S of A, as well as a showcase at the prestigious South By South West festerval in Austin Texas later in the year.

They played a gig recently with a symphony orchestra – bands usually wait until four albums in to do this but it seems to have been a triumph.

LIZZO “Humanize”

Lizzo with one of the more laid back tracks from her excellent album “Big GRRRRL Small World”.

From her debut album “Lizzobangers” this is Bus Passes & Happy Meals.

THE CORAL “Chasing The Tail Of A Dream”

2016 sees the welcome return of The Coral after getting the solo albums and side projects out of the way with their first new album since 2010’s Butterfly House. The album is called Distance Between and the first track from it to be is Chasing The Tail Of A Dream.

Sounding like it would be very much at home on Beat City’s ‘older sister’ show ‘Retro Beat 66’

I say “sister show” but its the disreputable kind of older sister who drinks a bit too much and is often seen in the company of unsuitable men.

LAURA MVULA “Overcome”

Two and a half years after her breakthrough album “Sing To The Moon” we’ve got some new music from Laura Mvula.

While she’s been “between albums”, among other things she’s made an excellent programme for BBC 4 “Nina Simone and Me” which I think may have fallen off the iPlayer now but you can watch on Youtube.

ALLUSONDRUGS “Magic College”

Allusondrugs with a single from last year called Magic College.

The band are heading out on their biggest tour to date – the Scuzz UK Throwdown Tour, 16 dates co-headlining with a couple of other excellent punk bands Press To Meco and Max Raptor.

You can see them in Birmingham,Glasgow,Aberdeen,Dundee,Carlisle,Edinburgh,Newcastle,Manchester Deaf Instutite, Derby, Tunbridge Wells forum (as far as I know the only venue on the toilet circuit that is actually a converted public toilet – true story) Milton Keynes, Norwich, Southampton Joiners (blimey I’ve started so I’ll finish), Bath,Cardiff and finishing at the Borderline in London, so no excuses for not getting along if you can – support great live music.

Full list of venues and dates

CONNIE CONSTANCE “Answer”

In The Grass’ is the first release from North/West London born artist Connie Constance.

In 2015 a friend introduced Connie to UK musician Blue Daisy, their friendship was instant and Blue swiftly became her producer and mentor.

Together they set about carving a uniquely tripped-out sound.

At just 20 years of age, Connie’s aura surpasses the time she’s been on this planet.

She wanted to create music for her generation that breathes escapism from the cuts and bruises of young British life, penning lyrics on buses and trains. Her style owes as much to Pete Doherty’s old school off key dialogue as Erykah Badu’s freestyle soul.

You can get the EP on Bandcamp as well as the track featured in the show “Answer” which came out at the back end of 2015.

BEAR’S DEN “Agape”

Sal’s first Indietastic Classic selection for this year is from Bear’s Den’s 2014 “Islands” album.

Also from the album is the tragically beautiful “Elysium”.

SEA PINKS “I Don’t Feel Like Giving In”

The opening track from Sea Pinks’ album Soft Days

You can get the album from bandcamp, which I’d recommend – its a superb grower of a record.

DAVID BOWIE “Lazarus”

As far as final hits in yer lifetime go, Elvis Presley had Way Down, John Lennon had Imagine and Johnny Cash had Hurt. I’d say Bowie wins by a canter with that one.

Among the tributes to Bowie – and I’m certain there will be plenty more to come – Bruce Springsteen played “Rebel Rebel” in Pittsburgh on the first night of his 2016 tour.

Bruce messes up the introductory riff big time but so what? Heart’s in the right place!

KENDRICK LAMAR “Blue Faces”

Also known as “Untitled 2” this track was premiered by Kendrick on the Jimmy Fallon chat show a week or so ago.

Also, Kendrick put this video out on New Year’s Eve – entitled “God Is Gangsta” (and ain’t THAT the truth!) it mixes tracks from the “To Pimp A Butterfly” album which, by the way, everyone should own.

THE BLACK FEATHERS “Down By The River”

The Black Feathers are an award winning duo from Gloucestershire in England.

The perfectly paired voices of Sian Chandler and Ray Hughes intertwine effortlessly to create a genre-defying sound, combining elements of folk, roots, americana, and southern rock. The duo have been touring all over the UK for the past 2 years, winning over new fans of all ages everywhere they go.

This is the loved-up video for “Strangers We Meet” from their 2014 EP.

We’ll be doing a one-off David Bowie special so look out for that but the next show proper will be available to download or stream from next Sunday and will feature among others Max Raptor, Mechanimal, Hinds and (fingers crossed) Fat White Family.

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Thank you. Come Again.

Beat ’66 Show #1 – The Blurb
8
Jan

A new show will go up every Thursday throughout 2016, with the sleeve notes following by the Saturday.

13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS “You’re Gonna Miss Me”

“The saga of the 13th Floor Elevators was an Old Testament tale and Roky Erickson was its Job,” – Julian Cope.

Roky Erickson was a misfit kid who loved rock and roll. In 1965, he dropped out of high school a month before graduating to become a musician. Later that year he and his first band, the Spades, made their first single, the crude and hypnotic “We Sell Soul.” Written by Erickson using the pseudonym Emil Schwartze, it has the bare-boned elements of what would become the sound of his next step.

Shortly after the Spades dissolved, Erickson formed the 13th Floor Elevators with other like-minded souls. The band signed to the Texas-based International Artists label and released their classic debut single, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” in early 1966.

Their mind-blowing debut album, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, would follow that summer.

“You’re Gonna Miss Me,” was a minor hit, making it all the way up to No. 55 in the summer of that year, staying on the charts for nearly two months.

TEMPTATIONS “Get Ready”

The original Temptations version of “Get Ready”, produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, “The Duck”. The Temptations’ falsetto Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the song, which Robinson produced as an up-tempo dance number with a prominent rhythm provided by Motown drummer Benny Benjamin. In the song, Kendricks informs his lover to “get ready” because “I’m bringin’ you a love that’s true”. Melvin Franklin sings lead on the pre-chorus: “fe, fi, fo, fum/look out/’cause here I come” along with several other similar lines. The song made it to number one on the U.S. R&B singles chart, while peaking at number twenty-nine on the pop charts.[1]

The group’s previous singles since “My Girl” had all landed in the U.S. Pop charts (and R&B charts) Top 20. However “Get Ready” only just scraped into the Top 30.

The song did eventually become a Top 10 pop hit, but not by the Temptations, but by the Motown rock band Rare Earth.

In 1970, Motown’s rock band Rare Earth released a massively successful cover version of the song as a single.

21-minute version of the track appears on Rare Earth’s first album but it’s not for the faint-hearted.

THE UGLY’S “The Quiet Explosion”

Far superior B-side of “A Good Idea” :

The choice of name for Birmingham’s “The Ugly’s” was deliberate and not a reference to the physical appearance of band members as their van became covered in messages lovingly scrawled in lipstick from their many female fans. When interviewed for the Midland Beat newspaper, the group said; “It brings us embarrassing moments but we are achieving our object by using the name. You see, interest is aroused as soon as we are advertised to appear anywhere. People come along to see if we really are ugly!”

The Ugly’s third single for PYE featured Steve Gibbons playing a ‘kazoo’ on the A-side titled ‘A Good Idea’ which in retrospect may not have been a good idea as the single’s B-side is really the stand-out track. ‘The Quiet Explosion’ is a lost psychedelic classic complete with freaky organ and echoey bass.

This was certainly ahead of its time when considering The Beatles had only just started experimenting with strange sounds on their ‘Revolver’ album.

Despite a promotional TV appearance on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’, this Uglys single sank without trace and three decades passed before its flip side gained rightful recognition on a CD release.

DAVID BOWIE & THE LOWER THIRD “Can’t Help Thinking About Me”

If “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” was David Bowie trying to sound more like the Kinks than the Kinks did, and succeeding , then the B-side “And I Say To Myself” found the young pop chameleon trying on the teenage hearthrob crooner’s sweater for size – “Tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be Peter Noone”

THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR “I Fought The Law”

It is a misconception not universally acknowledged that when an artist is known for one hit and no others, that one hit was the absolute peak of their songwriting and musical creativity. They concentrated everything into those two and a half to three minutes and made no other records worth hearing.

Of course in some cases this is actually true – but not in the case of the Bobby Fuller Four.

Bobby Fuller is remembered as something of a Fifties throwback who recreated old-fashioned Buddy Holly-sounding records with precision and perfection, culminating in his most famous song “I Fought The Law”

He did so much more than the admittedly classic “I Fought The Law” though, including “My True Love”, “Only When I Dream”, “Never To Be Forgotten” and “Fool Of Love” (below).

THE GUYS FROM UNCLE “The Spy”

A cracking Northern Soul track about which very little is known. Check out the intro, a full six years before Isaac Hayes’ the Theme From Shaft

There was a vocal version credited to “The Girls From Uncle” called Agent Of Love, equally great, equally obscure.

THEM “Could You Would You” (from the album “Them Again”)

The band’s second and, for all intents and purposes, last full album was recorded while Them were in the process of breaking up.

Apart from Van Morrison’s vocals and Alan Henderson on Bass, it is not clear who actually played on the album although Jimmy Page probably played guitar on a few tracks at least.

The songs here are a little less focused than the first LP, they don’t really fit together as an album, encompassing too many different styles, but there’s still some excellent songs here

The material was cut under siege conditions, with a constantly shifting lineup and a grueling tour schedule; essentially, there was no “group” to provide focus to the sound, only Morrison’s voice, so the material bounces from a surprisingly restrained “I Put a Spell on You”

to the garage-punk of “I Can Only Give You Everything.”, both of which you’ll hear in forthcoming shows but this week we’ve picked the opening track Could You Would You.

You’ll hear a track every week on Retro Beat Sixty-Six throughout January from Them Again, one of our two albums of the month for January 1966.

THE MANHATTANS “Follow Your Heart”

Best known for their soft 70s soul hit Kiss And Say Goodbye …

… the five members of The Manhattans hailed from New Jersey which seems to be the origin of the name – “You could see the Manhattan skyline right across the water from Jersey City. It was an easy name to remember, and we just thought it sounded classy”. Either that or they were named after the Manhattan cocktail – the surviving band members are a little hazy in recollecting which version of the story is correct.

TAGES “Bloodhound”

Tages were a Swedish band formed in the early sixties near Gothenburg.

The band released a number of singles and LPs in their native Sweden to considerable success, making the Swedish Top Ten more than a dozen times.

Later in the year Tages released “Extra Extra”, regarded as one of the world’s first psychedelic albums.

Though remembered as one of the finest non-English speaking bands of the 1960s, they failed to ever really break into the US or UK markets.

Accepting that they would never break the Anglophone markets their later records mix in traditional Swedish folk music influences culminating in their fifth and last album, “Studio” (recorded, oddly at Abbey Road in London)

Here’s another track from 1966 with some dodgy miming (hey, you think it’s hard to mime, try it in a language other than your native tongue)

BOB DYLAN “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window”

Recorded during the sessions for Dylan’s 1965 album “Highway 61 Revisited”, “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” was released as a non-album single in late 1965 and performed creditably onm both sides of the pond. Dylan is backed for this song by he Hawks – Robbie Robertson on guiter, Rick Danko on bass, Richard Manuel on piano, Garth Hudson on organ and Levon Helm on drums

PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS “Just Like Me”

One of the most popular and entertaining rock groups of the 1960s, Paul Revere & the Raiders enjoyed seven years of serious chart action, and during their three biggest years (1966-1969), sold records in numbers behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

They were very much aware of and played up the theatrical side of rock and roll and were unfairly dismissed by critics of the time as being “a bit too showbiz” but their string of hits – “Steppin’ Out,” “Just Like Me,” “Hungry,” “Him or Me — What’s It Gonna Be,” and “Kicks” in particular — are actually decent unpretentious pieces of ’60s punky rock & roll.

“Just Like Me” was their biggest hit to date and led to the rush-release of the album “Just Like Us”, which you’ll hear tracks from later in January on Retro Beat Sixty-Six.

SLIM HARPO “Baby Scratch My Back”

“Baby Scratch My Back” was Slim Harpo’s only #1 on the soul singles chart where it stayed for two weeks. “Baby Scratch My Back” also crossed over to the Top
40 and was Harpo’s most commercially successful single.

Never a full-time musician, Harpo had his own trucking business during the 1960s.

He needed to tour constantly and play as much as possible; times were frequently lean financially and you have to put food on the table, when it comes right down to it.

But, by 1964, several of his tracks had been released on albums and singles in the UK,[8] and British rock bands like the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things, the Yardbirds, the Kinks, Pink Floyd and Them began to feature versions of his songs in their early repertoires. The Moody Blues reportedly took their name from an instrumental track of Slim’s called “Moody Blues”

Slim Harpo was no purist – his material proved to be quite adaptable for white artists on both sides of the Atlantic (see the Rolling Stones and others’ versions of “I’m A King Bee”.

A crowd-pleasing club entertainer, he certainly wasn’t above working rock & roll rhythms and country and western vocals into his music.

He had his biggest commercial success in 1966, when the predominantly instrumental “Baby Scratch My Back” reached no.1 on the R&B chart and no.16 on the US pop chart. Harpo described it as “an attempt at rock & roll for me.”

Here’s the B-side “I’m Gonna Miss You Like The Devil”

THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP “Let Me Down Easy” (from “The Second Album”)

One of the most exciting and influential groups to come out of Birmingham in the early 1960s, the Spencer Davis Group is recognized for their classic and ground-breaking recordings as well as for launching Steve Winwood’s music career.

The Spencer Davis Group comprised Spencer Davis on organ, Steve Winwood on guitar and vocals, his brother Muff Winwood on bass and Pete York on drums.

It was Muff Winwood who came up with the name ‘Spencer Davis Group’ on the pretext that the articulate Davis could do the interviews while the others stayed in bed – maybe not the best idea since the band became associated with Spencer’s name whereas their major unique selling point, sonologically speaking, was Stevie Winwood’s incredible strong, rangy voice.

Up to mid-1965 this time, the songs performed and recorded by the Spencer Davis Group were covers of existing blues and R&B standards but Chris Blackwell brought in Jamaican singer/songwriter Jackie Edwards to compose the next three singles for the group. The first was ‘Keep On Running’ which was transformed by the group into a rocking R&B number with the addition of a driving bass riff and a unique (for that time) electric fuzz guitar effect. The result it had on the record charts was spectacular with the song knocking The Beatles from the top spot and going to Number

One before the end of 1965. The Spencer Davis Group’s first LP was rushed to the shops and the band members now had to endure the side-effect of being pursued by screaming girls!

SHAWN ELLIOTT “Shame & Scandal In The Family”

Originally written in 1962 by Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Melody, “Shame And Scandal In The Family” was a hit in Europe for Puerto Rican singer Shawn Elliott Santiago. Oddly, the British satirist Lance Percival had the hit in the USA. Lord Melody never had a hit with it outside the Caribbean.

CHAD & JEREMY “Teenage Failure”

Banned from appearing on Thank Your Lucky Stars and Top Of The Pops because of the line “I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In”.

By mid-1966 Chad and Jeremy had cleaned up their act to the point where they could appear as themselves in an episode of the TV show “Batman”. The story involves Catwoman stealing their voices 8=)

Note Batman’s reference to “5000 screaming teenagers” – can’t be more than 50, surely Batman? Holy exaggeration!

THE McCOYS “Fever”

The McCoys, basically revamping their big hit “Hang On Sloopy” using the words and (vaguely) the tune of Peggy Lee’s smoking classic torch song “Fever”. Here’s the original:

BILLY STEWART “Mountain Of Love”

Co-written by Shena deMell and the legendary Sugar Pie deSanto that was Mountain Of Love by Billy Stewart, the B-side to the more commercial-sounding “Because I Love You”

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS “California Dreamin'”

Written by John Phillips on a frigid winter night in Manhattan when his young wife, Michelle, was homesick for Southern California, “California Dreamin’ ” is one of the all-time sunniest songs of longing.

It was first done by Phillips’ folk group the New Journeymen and later given to Barry McGuire as a thank-you after McGuire, riding high with “Eve of Destruction,” introduced the group to producer Lou Adler, who convinced the Mamas and the Papas to cut it themselves.

Due to its popularity, the song has appeared on numerous film soundtracks and as plot elements in other movies and television shows.

Notably, the song is used repeatedly in the 1994 Wong Kar-wai film Chungking Express, in which a character played by singer Faye Wong obsessively listens to it.