"Teens, you'll like Wards....because Wards is really 'with it'...has been for over 90 years." People were "with it" in the late 1800s?
Other than this, there's no attempt made in the liner notes to sell young people on Montgomery Ward. Oh, and this: "Join the smart teens who belong to our Wendy Ward program..." Wendy Ward program?
"Join the 'in' crowd...stick with Wards!" A quarter century before the internet, and Wards was already disregarding traditional punctuation. I guess Wards really was "with it."
So, what about the music on this LP of then-current British Invasion hits? Is it "with it"? Mildly so, but there are a few too many clunkers (on the rhythm guitar, especially), and the musicians sound game but under-rehearsed. They certainly don't sound overly familiar with the charts, but maybe Ward/Wards figured that teens--even smart ones--couldn't tell a wrong chord from a right one, so why sweat it? This is several levels below Herman Clebanoff's teen-hits albums on Mercury, though I suspect much more rehearsal time went into those.
But it could be worse. It could be the Design label, for example. The unidentified group--let's call it Wendy Ward and the Montgomeries--has a fairly decent feeling for British pop, and the bass is appropriately fat and loud. And, as I type this, I'm listening to a spirited A Hard Day's Night, so maybe Side II makes up for its counterpart. The lead guitarist almost nails the famous George Harrison solo, and at a faster tempo, but... not quite. And the ending is too abrupt. But Side II is more together, with more energy--especially on It's Not Unusual.
Ah, but then we have a plunge into near-chaos with the Lennon-McCartney A World without Love, which sounds like a Pickwick reject, complete with distorted piano. Glad All Over, the next track, is nice and bouncy, but the drummer is speeding through the chorus, and the chord changes are going to pot. A sloppy Can't Buy Me Love ends the set, and what a shame. This could have been a camp gem. But I'm certain the musicians were rushed, so I'll give them an A for effort.
Liner notes: "We've been invaded! Its (sic) that swingin', dynamic British sound, which is their version of 'rock & roll.'" No, it's that swingin', dynamic British sound, Montgomery Ward. Not "its." I should note that the label, Majorette, also put out four Heidi LPs--as in, Remco's Heidi Pocketbook Doll, which I very vaguely remember. Never had one, of course.
"The prices at Wards are sized to fit a teen's budget," the liner essay informs us. Which is about what they put into this album, apparently. But I'm being too mean. This is a reasonably campy relic of its day, and what can we expect from a freebie designed to get teens into the Wendy Ward program? At least, I hope this was a freebie....
And here's the 2016 obit for Lois Daly, founder of the Wendy Ward program.
DOWNLOAD: British Beat-A-Go-Go (Majorette Records 305A; 1965)
6 comments:
Interesting, very interesting. Never seen a connection between this label and Monkey Wards before.
Hi Lee, I added this to several of those "Fake British" albums you posted. This is a quite interesting album. While we were middle class, I seem to recall only once going into a Wards. Or as my father called it Monkey Wards. We never bought anything from them that I was aware of. Same with Sears, except licorice or popcorn after my father had his car oil changed. The same went with Penny's, except for my white school socks.
My parents bought from only the Quality major retail stores or specialty stores. I would only say I seem to recall these stores only sold their own private labels and not name brands, so we never shopped there. So as you talked about the quality of the production etc., maybe it fits as what I have read Wards was on the skids so to speak. So why spend too much money. I know stores during this time had those Christmas albums for around two dollars. Maybe it was one of those. Perry Como had some kind of special on TV where he sang the song "Seattle" I got that album from Radio Shack for 1.99. Those were the days. Anyway, glad you posted this. Bryan
Oh, I did not intend to infer that there was a connection between the label and Wards. But who knows? I just thought that as Wards was not as successful as other retailers during this time, (or even later it seems) they would not spend a lot of money on production for a possible instore promotional album if that is what it was. It still is fun to listen too though.
Thanks, guys--"Monkey Wards" is new to me! That's hilarious. I looked up MW and Toledo on line, because I have no memory of a MG in Toledo--and, sure enough, none appeared until 1981, six years after I left. The discount stores I remember from childhood are Grant's, Arlan's (great source for cut-out LPs), and of course Woolworth. And I got your point, Bryan, about the record budget--and I do think it's a store tie-in. It must be, with the Monkey Wards blurb on the back. On the other hand, it could have been a Majorette label issue intended for use by various chains--there's nothing about MW on the front, so the back might have been used for whichever store wanted to attract "smart teens." Hm. But Discogs says "Montgomery Wards record." Nevertheless, maybe there's a Sears version someplace. Or a Penney's.
My Toledo memories are kind of spotty (probably because i left after HS and didn't return), but I seem to remember my family doing its big shopping at the downtown Tiedtke's--a big deal in Toledo. And I remember the big Tiedtke's fire in 1975--the store had closed by then. It was a huge building, or so I remember. Ashes were landing in our back yard.
You know that someone is a Boomer (or older) from Toledo if he or she remembers the big Tiedtke's fire. All I remember about the place is that it scared me as a little kid--its size, mainly.
It all looks so....groovy man. Like, thanks for turning me on to this.
You sound "with it." Ready to let yourself go and have a ball with these dynamic sounds.
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