Juke Box Jury

Those Oldies but Goodies Won’t Go Away

A great thing is happening. People are learning to do old songs without being selfconscious about it. This may seem like a small thing, but it’s what’s held back rock & roll’s revitalization process for several years now. Were the Beatles camping it up when they did “Long Tall Sally”? Hell no! They never would’ve changed the world that way. What brings all this on is the appearance of some great platters from the Bell/Big Tree complex, one of the most important companies around today for singles.

What a blast to hear “Little Bit O’ Soul” by Bullet (Big Tree 140)! Who remembers or cares about the Music Explosion? It’s just a great song and I’m glad these guys weren’t afraid to prove it. Coming after their hit “White Lies” this could make it too. They do a fine version, full of fuzztone, loud drums and Question Mark organ. To hear this on the radio would be enough, but when you realize that it could conceivably be followed by the Bay City Rollers’ “Keep On Dancing” (Bell 45,169) the possibilities for good times become fantastic. This was a huge hit a few months back in England, where it was called bubblegum, as I suppose the Gentrys would’ve been dubbed in 1965 if we had abandoned “pop” a little earlier in favor of “progressive rock” and all our pretensions of grandeur. Why don’t we start a “back to pop” movement like Spector’s “back to mono” crusade?

Still more good ones from New York. Big Tree 133 is April Wine’s big hit “You Could Have Been a Lady,” but try flipping it for “Teacher,” a song about politicians that turns into a long hot guitar solo about halfway through. This is what the Moody Blues might sound like if they were a N.Y. studio group. A duo called Crimson and Clover has cut the old Poni-Tails hit “Born Too Late” (Bell 45,211) in a likely attempt to jump on Donny Osmond’s little red bandwagon. It’s pleasant, no worse than the original certainly, although the singers sound much younger. But with today’s jaded teenagers I guess romanticism has devolved to the pre-schoolers.

Following B.J. Thomas we have a whole raft of records that mention rock & roll without sounding like it. Thomas at least was singing a lullaby. The Tokens are pure sugar and popcorn on “I Like to Throw My Head Back and Sing (That Gold Ole Rock and Roll)” (Bell 45,190) but it’s a good record anyway. I’ve always like the Tokens; they know the art of making pop records inside out and backwards. “Spiritual Rock and Roll” by George Harvey (Bell 45,193) is a waste but the B-side “Cold Hands Mama” is very nice. It has a strong beat like the Archies doing Chuck Berry, and I’m partial to songs about medical conditions, ever since “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” or maybe the time the Jitterbug bit Carl Perkins.

Of this whole lot, though, one record shines the brightest. “Oldies But Goodies (Make Me Want to Fall in Love)” by Richard Williams & the Flame Tones (Bell 45,192) is the best tribute to rock & roll since Little Caesar. Who are these guys? They sound like they just stepped out of a Five Satins recording session — pure 1959. And the lyrics! “Those records were so great, so long ago/ We hear them weekends on our radio” and then the title. Nicely understated, a great nostalgic record. This could go to the top in New york, judging from the numbers who queue up for Richard Nader’s oldie shows.

We have some hot biscuits from people you’ve heard of, too. Like Python Lee Jackson. As “In a Broken Dream” (GNP 449) rises on the charts more and more folks are wondering how Jackson manages to sound so much like Rod Stewart, and still more are asking themselves how GNP expects to get away with it. I have no idea were this came from; it sounds like something he did after his stint with Beck, from the sophisticated vocal techniques he employs. The song’s a real tear-jerker and it ranks with the best of Stewart’s work. The anonymous band deserves credit too, for some fantastic guitar and organ playing. Maybe it’s Procol Harum. The only recognizable name on the label is producer Miki Dallon, who wrote songs for an English group called the Sorrows in 1965. The big question remains, how in blazes did Gene Norman get hold of this stuff and how long before lawsuits make this a very rare record?

The Guess Who’s “Guns, Guns, Guns” is out on a single (RCA 74,0708), and it’s , a protest song about recently liberalized hunting restriction in Canada. The Raiders seem hitbound with “Power Blue Mercedes Queen” (Columbia 4-45601), their best in a long time. “Metal Guru” (Reprise 1095) by T. Rex is more of the same, a bit nappier than their last offering. Collectors note that the English single has three songs, including “Lady” and “Thunderwing,” either or both of which mig|it hot be on the next album. And Alice Cooper, bless ’em, are the first in more than a decade to tackle the theme of “School’s Out” (WB 7596). They go further than anybody (natch!) with sentiments like “school is out forever — school’s been blown to pieces!” This one also finds them sounding looser, less deliberate than before, and rocking for all they’re worth. Buy it — you’ll like it.

A new group called the Eagles, made up of ex-members of Poco and other Buffalo Springfield splinter groups, gets off to a fine start with “Take it Easy” (Asylum 11005), an instant country-rock classic. Any group that can open a song like the Who, and on their first record at that, bears watching. An all-girl band from Sacramento called Thundermama makes a good debut in “Thundermama” (Marina 600), but they sound like a funky Joy of Cooking and obviously need to develop more individuality — or a “gimmick” as they used to say. .

You can get “Francene” (London 179) by Z.Z. Top on their latest album, but you’ve gotta buy the single to get it in Spanish. It’s a good single in any language and you can expect good things from this group. Gary Paxton returns to novelty records (remember “Alley Oop” and “Monster Mash”?) with his production of “The Whole Thing” by Scoopie Brucie (King 6390). It’s a real MOR bomb, like most of these takeoffs on TV commercials. Is this the best Lieber & Stoller can come up with? I’d rather hear Trammps do “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart” (Buddah 306) which they recorded with the Coasters when I was in knee pants. Some of you may also recall it from the Move’s version, which was considerably better than this. But at least these guys are serious — as serious as Richard Williams, anyway.

Those oldies but goodies just won’t go away. Here’s Robin & Jo with “Chapel of Love,” a 1964 hit for the Dixie Cups. This is such a faithful recreation that I can’t see it clicking today — but then, I shouldn’t forget the Chiffons were in the Top 10 last month in England with “Sweet Talkin’ Guy”. Jeff Barry, who helped Phil Spector write “Chapel of Love” for the Crystals, produced this one (A&M 1358). When it comes to female groups, you can’t beat any that Darlene Love was part of. Think of those old Crystals and Bob B. Soxx records — man, could that girl sing! It appalls me that second-raters like Rita Coolidge and Merry Clayton are stars while Darlene is stuck with her old group the Blossoms on obscure singles like “Touchdown” (Lion 108). But her class shows, even through dull songs and poor arrangements like this. What she needs most is a great porducer, or a part on some Stones album so all the, cattle of Young America would rush out to buy her stuff and clamor for her old stuff to be reissued. Where O where is. Phil Spector when she needs him?

Does the name Roy Head ring a bell? He’s been a mainstay of Texas rock for nearly 15 years, and has gone from Elvis to Joe Tex (“Treat Her Right”). His latest is “Why Don’t We Go Somewhere and Love” (TMI 106), a very fine cover of Sandy Posey’s current C&W hit. Finnegan & Wood have issued “Rock and Roll Show” (Blue Thumb 210) from their forthcoming album. It ain’t R&R but it ain’t bad either. Mike Finnegan has been playing around San Francisco since he came out from Kansas City, and a lot of people will be happy to see him on record. Don’t know if I can say the same for Mike Quatro, who has an instrumental “Circus” out on Evolution 1062. Buy it at the risk of creating another Mike Curb.

Speaking of which, every so often a record comes along that’s so catchy in its sugarcoated inanity that aging DJs and PDs can’t resist making it a hit. Unlike real bubblegum music, this stuff is aimed at middleaged people in the dotage fo their second childhood, after they’ve started believing life begins at 40. Such a record was “Everything is Beautiful” by Ray Stevens, and such a record is “Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr. (MGM 14320), produced by Curb and heading for #1. Everyone involved with records like these should be put out in the sandbox with James Taylor. They make me wann puke!

Dig the blues, kid? Here’s a couple for ya. First check out “Poinson Ivy” by Willie Mabon (Blues on Blues 2002), an auspicious start for this old master on an exciting new labet Then pick up “White Boy Lost in the Blues” by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (Im’Press 171 — dist. by Custom Fidelity, 7925 Santa Monica, H’wood) for some of the drollest satire you ever expected to hear from these guys.

Jeffrey Cain has a new album called Whispering Thunder. He also has a single by the same title (WB 7593) which isn’t on it, oddly enough. It’s the first good thing I’ve heard from Raccoon. Like Dylan’s latest, it’s a political number. The hero this time is Jonathan Jackson, George’s kid brother. Not as stark a record as Dylan’s, but well written and convincingly sung. Call your VM station about this one. Don’t know about you, but I was so surprised to hear the Bee Gees lifting riffs from Abbey Road that it took me awhile to notice “I Need You” was actually by America. This group has a bright future: they’ll never run out of wimps to copy, and if they do they can always start imitating themselves.

Among all the queries this column receives, the most frequent is, “where can I get the records you review?” It’s a tough problem, and one which reflects in a nutshell the basic inequities of record distribution in the U.S. There’s no hassle if you live in New York or L.A., but fans in the rest of the country often find themselves unable to obtain even records that are on the charts, unless they’re in the top 30. Esoteric items like we often feature are simply unobtainable. Writing directly to the company sometimes has results with the smaller ones, but big companies never reply.

If anybody knows of a company that specializes in mailordering new singles, please write to me. Meanwhile, I have a few suggestions. Most singles go out of print in a few weeks, after which they become “oldies”, and there’s plenty of oldies dealers. Kape, Int. (Box 68, Brooklyn, NY 11214) hasn’t put out a list in awhile but they used to offer hundreds of 45 s and LPs from 15 c on up. There are other companies that specialized selling in cutouts and reissued oldies to record stores. American Record Sales (925 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19107) requires a minimum order of $20, their prices range from 25c to 56c, and you must write on a phony letterhead or otherwise convince them you’re a retailer. BUT — they offer a search service, and you can probably obtain any recent single for 58c. Some odd things turn up in their lists from time to time, like “Long Tall Sally” by the Kinks on Cameo. Apex-Rendezvous has no minimum, but again you have to convince ’em you plan to order in quantity. Prices vary from 20c to 54c, and they also offer a search service.

These outfits send out lists frequently and can probably fill most of your wants. In the event of failure on all fronts, write to me. Wealthy as this column has made me, 1 still sell a few records on the side. Some of the hardest records to get date from the ’60s, and there isn’t a well-known group today that didn’t have some obscure early record nobody knows about. The best way to find these is through the fanzines, which often have sale & wants columns. Funny as it may seem oldies from the ’50s are much easier to find. A plethora of dealers offer a cornucopia of old sounds on original labels for surprisingly low prices. I’ll list a few of the better ones:

Rare Records Unlimited, 1723 Lake St, San Mateo, CA 94403. Val Shively, 6222 Lebanon Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19151. Mike Valle, 3407 Moray Lane, Rm 205, Falls Church, VA. 22041. Darryl Stolper, 16141 Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Rip L&y Box 16115, San Frahcisco, 94116. House of Oldies, 267 Bleeker St, Greenwhich Village, NY 10014. Golden Memories Records, 2 E. Main, Mooresville, Ind. 46158. Wax Museum, 1414 E. Fifth St, Charlotte, NC 28204. Besides rock oldies many of these dealers carry blues, gospel, R&B, and albums. Best for most CREEM readers would probably be Goldie’s Oldies, Box 15040, Philadelphia, PA 19130. They send out extensive monthly lists of 25c and 35c singles, mostly recent, and they’ve got most everything that’s made the charts in the last decade.