Juke Box Jury

Juke Box Jury

BY GREG SHAW

Jan. 24

A few months back I suggested a campaign to start thinking in terms of �pop music� again, instead of all this �underground rock� twaddle. It was a good idea, but unnecessary. Pop is coming back, the best rock is on singles, and as we�ve seen over the last few months these great singles are actually hitting the charts. And the snowball has hardly begun. I can cite Slade, the Raspberries, the Move, etc., but that stuff doesn�t add up to much yet.

The true sign that a change is in the air can be seen in the almost overnight switch I�ve observed in the hundreds of non-hit singles I hear every month. This time last year they were all lame imitations of dying styles, now an increasing number are the kind of masterfully crafted, sleekly designed singles qua singles we haven�t heard since 1965. This is the year for singles, no doubt about it, and before the changeover is complete there are bound to be a lot of collectors� classics. And never fear, we�ll review �em all, even if they are almost impossible to get.

The big thrust toward singles consciousness is coming from two directions. R&B, which has never really meant much outside of hit singles, is fast becoming the dominant trend. And soul music itself is getting much better. Whether you�d class reggae with R&B I don�t know, but it too is getting ready for a strong push in the U.S., what with all the Trojan stuff and that amazing Jimmy Cliff album now coming out here on labels like Mango, Shelter and Island. It probably won�t ever be as big as it is in England, but I think it will become a major trend. One of the first Trojan releases here is �Rock it Baby� by the Waders (Island 1211), a typical reggae dance song. The best is yet to come, but this is a fine appetizer. Watered-down reggae ala Paul Simon is more likely to clean up, and that�s all right if it accounts for more records like �Smoke Gets In Your Eyes� by Blue Haze (A&M 1357). Marvelous arrangement of the boring old Jerome Kern standard. And here�s one from left field: Goldie Hawn, directed by Van Dyke Parks, singing �Pitta Patta� (Reprise 1126). Believe it or don�t, it�s a fine disc with an even finer picture cover.

Number two trend and growing is the English and English-inspired Glam rock/Production-conscious singles thing. Still too amorphous to require any label like �merseybeat,� these new English singles all seem to share a certain style of commerciality that sets them apart. A good example is �Jenny Jenny� by Kincade on Penny Farthing 55000. A lot of British labels are starting to appear here as custom labels now - first Pye, now Penny Farthing andHarvest. Next Regal-Zonophone, I hope. Love that name. Anyway Bell (or their A&R dept, at least) is the hottest thing in the bizness right now, and they�ve got this record. It sounds like a Dave Clark Five/Moody Blues supersession, meaning guitar chords, progressions, and vocals, but with DC5 heavy drum beat and no stupid mellotrons clogging up the breaks.

Then there�s �Spanish Lover� by Daniel Boone (Mercury 73357), who�s on Penny Farthing in England. Not up to �Annabelle,� this one sounds like �Baby Come Back� by the Equals (RCA 9583). First release on U.S. Harvest is �Thank You� by Barclay James Harvest (3501), which also happens to be a fine record. And isn�t it great to see that pale green label?

Roy Wood of the Move has a new group called Wizzard, and their first single went Top Five in England. �Ball Park Incident� (UA XW160) sounds like Lloyd Price with all its blatting saxes, not pop enough for my taste. �Carlsberg Special� on the flip is more appealing, sorta like Apollo 100 meets B. Bumble. My favorite record this month is a crazy thing called �Africa� by Thundermug (Big Tree 154). After a killer opening from somewhere between �Immigrant Song� and �Trogglodyte,� it launches into a Move-like, fast-paced jingle about the glories of the jungle, featuring an electric kazoo solo toward the end. Big Tree does it again.

Remember �Neanderthal Man� by Hotlegs? Well, lighten up the beat and insert the voice of Little Jimmy Osmond, and you�ve got an approximation of a fantastic novelty record called �I Am an Astronaut� by Ricky Wilde (UK 49008). It�s about this kid pretending to be in space: �I am among the stars/ I am among the stars/ I�m in a super time machine/ And I�m on my way to Mars.� How about the tehn �space-bubble� for this kind of stuff?

It�s possible for an American group to sound English without sounding like the Raspberries, and Big Star gets my Beau Brummels award for this month. �When My Baby�s Beside Me� (Ardent 2902) is one of the last things you�d expect to come from Memphis — they�ve got their English down as good as Christopher Milk, and this record is commercial enough to be Mickie Most production. Its absence from the charts has been duly noted in my ledger of pop crimes.

I�m getting so into pop that I�m even starting to like the borderline MOR stuff, like �It�s So Easy to Be Bad� by Tom Autry (Bell 281) and �Brand New Kind of Love� by Bobby Goldsboro (UA 51107). What is it about this gentle, carefully-produced pap I find so satisfying? Maybe I�m going nuts. No, the Red Krayola still sounds fine. Dunno what it is. Hell, I�m even liking stuff that sounds like BS&T, such as �Daytime NightTime� by Keith Hampshire (A&M 1403). But wait - it was written by Mike Hugg. That explains all.

One kind of pop I don�t have to justify liking at all is that based on the early �60s New York sound. That stuff has already been validated thanks to Carole King et al. �Bless You� by Wildfire (Eric 5005) is a remake of the Tony Orlando hit, and it�s very nicely done. Would�ve made a great Bell record, in fact it was offered to �em, but they turned it down (nobody�s perfect). Eric is normally an oldies label, so you should be able to get it. The early �60s are coming alive just like all those other nostalgic years. I recently heard the new Dave Edmunds tapes, he sounds just like the Ronettes. Now an English group called the Seashells has waxed Spector�s �Best Part of Breakin� Up� (Columbia 4-45760) and done a bang-up job. Great drumming.

You can write to J-Rad Records at 6272 DeLongpre, Hollywood, CA. and get a copy of �Mr. Astrologer� by Rickey Starr, who�s been studying his Neil Sedaka records in a soundproof closet for the last ten years. If you like records that are so bad they�re funny, this one will kill you. Also, oldies fans, Duane Eddy has his first decent record in years, getting back to the old sound with �Renegade� (Big Tree 157). Bunny Sigler is back with Bobby Lewis� 1961 hit �Tossin� and Turnin�.� Bob Montgomery of Crickets fame has produced a dreadful version of �Louie Louie� (nary a month goes by without somebody cutting that song) by Our Brother�s Keeper (King 6399). Roy Head gives the soul treatment to Chuck Berry�s �Carol� on TMI 75-0113 and doesn�t get far. Cliff Richard�s latest is the modern-sounding �Living in Harmony� on Sire 703. And the Del Vikings have done a great new version of �Come Go With Me� on Scepter 12367. Finally, the Flamin� Groovies� second 45 for English UA (not slated for US release) is �Married Woman,� a big improvement on their previous outing. Flip is Johnny Kidd�s �Shot of Rhythm and Blues� (Up 35464).

The Raiders� best song in years, �Song Seller� went nowhere. The followup is perhaps their worst record in years. It�s called �Love Music� (Columbia 4-45759). For fanatics only. A pleasant surprise from Free in �Wishing Well� (Island 1212), more commercial than they usually sound. Alice Cooper�s latest �Hello Hurray� (WB 7673), a song once recorded by Judy Collins, is his worst yet. Terrible! Deep Purple�s �Woman From Tokyo� (WB 7672) is okay, but no �Highway Star.� From requests and airplay so far, I�d say �Mary Long� is a more likely hit. A welcome side from Tommy James is �Boo, Boo, Don�t �Cha Be Blue,� (Roulette R-7140), much better than his other solo efforts except for �Draggin� the Line.� And Chris Hodge, of �We�re On Our Way� and the saucer people, has come out with a followup that sounds the same but not as good. If you liked his almost-hit, you�ll want �Contract Love� (Apple 1858).

Bonzo fans note that besides producing Ian Whitcomb, Neil Innes has been doing a lot with -Monty Python of late. �Eric the Half a Bee� (Eng. Charisma 200) finds him in high hilarity, get it while you can. Also get the latest issue of Zigzag (Yeoman�s Cottage, Church Lane, N. Marston, Buckinghamshire), a great magazine in any case, but with this one you, get a free Python record that ranks with Viv Stanshall�s drollest work.

Just imagine if you were the sister of a guy who was gay, and you were a singer. Could you write a song as funny as Lynsey De Paul�s �Getting a Drag� (MAM 3627)? She sings, �I thought you were my brother but you turned out like my mother, and you�re getting a drag.� Topical stuff, eh?

One last curio. Remember that dumb ad with a bum holding up an album by the Hans Staymer Band with the caption �Willie Knows�? I put it out of my mind until several days after I had gotten excited about a single called �Dig a Hole� by .. . the Hans Staymer Band (GSF 6884). What a single. Sounds more like Rod Stewart than Python Lee Jackson, an irresistable drone of a song with banjos and all kinds of stuff. Get this single if you, or get the album. Despite the ad, it�s not that bad.