Sing the Top-40 Hits! "The Top-40 Song Book" (Capitol T-2126; 1964)

 

Sing along with 1964!  I had meant to have this up two days ago, but things don't always happen as planned. (Ever notice that in your life?)  And, off topic, I'm not going to believe the reports of a "mothership" in our solar system until a mainstream news outlet confirms such an unlikely event.  People predisposed to believe that we're being "visited" will jump on the news without questioning it.  I strongly suspect that some genuine astronomical observation has been considerably "tweaked" to fit a popular narrative/trope.  By now, we have a public convinced that any unidentified light in the sky somehow satisfies the burden of proof for ET visitation.

Anyway, as musicman1979 aptly predicted, this 1964 Capitol LP is indeed a "1960's version of Karaoke."  In fact, Wikipedia has Karaoke (technically) beginning in Japan in 1967, though in the sense of pre-taped band backings.  In that sense, it goes back to the early days of rock and roll and lip-synching!  As always, the question is, How broadly do we wish do define a piece of technology?

And I haven't fully decided what I think of this album.  It's certainly interesting, but it's also odd.  Sort of like it's missing something.  Wait, I know!  Lead vocals!  That's it.

And we have to wonder how many purchasers actually sang along with this.  For sing-along purposes, Capitol inserted a lyrics sheet, and my copy actually has it, and it's pretty amusing.  But scanning the four-sheet insert would require sixteen scanning angles for "stitching," and I just wasn't in the mood.

However, if there's a popular demand for a scan (demand for a scan?), I might relent.  Might.

Interestingly, these tracks are sometimes purely instrumental, while others have backing vocals.  The reason is fairly obvious: the Beatles numbers (including the Lennon/McCartney Bad to Me) feature unison (same note) lead vocals, along with duets.  No way to reduce those schemes to a lead vocal/backing vocal presentation.  And I feel the need to define "unison" in music, because the word is so frequently misused: Unison means the same note, typically in the interval of a prime (e.g., Middle C and Middle C) or octave (e.g., C4 and C5).  It does not refer to harmony singing which happens on the same beats or syllables, but a person might not know this, given the widespread misuse of the concept.  When in doubt, think Gregorian Chant.

So, it's natural that those numbers would be purely instrumental.  For tracks which have vocal-harmony backing (Surf City, Bits and Pieces, It's All Right, Heat Wave, It's My Party), we hear those backings.  And we are to sing the melody on top of them.  Which, with a voice whose resting point lies between baritone and bass, is a chore for me.  But I expect the rest of you to sing along.  To get the full experience, if for no other reason.

And Capitol pulled a budget label-style bit by promising "the original instrumental arrangements," because this is easily misinterpreted as "the original backing tracks."  As in, Capitol licensing and presenting same.  Sorry--not the case. Yes, Capitol specifies "arrangements," but a quick read can be deceptive.  Meanwhile, the back cover offers a second LP title: Sing the Top-40 Hits, which is a standard budget-label stunt.  And, instead of "original" backgrounds, suddenly were dealing with "famous" ones.  See?  Such behavior wasn't unique to SPC or Big 4 Hits.  It leaves us with a fascinating philosophical dilemma: Did the budgets copy "legit" label practices, or vice versa?

"Produced by Dave Axelrod" is all we get in the way of clues, performance-wise--we're hearing whatever studio pros he assembled for this project.  Axelrod, of course, was Capitol's A&R man, and Wikipedia tells us that his 1968 Song of Innocence led a contemporary critic to coin the term "jazz fusion."  Wow!

Notwithstanding the somewhat fuzzy jacket claims, the tracks are expertly done--arrangement, production, and performance are top-notch, even if I seem to be making fun of things.  As pre-Karaoke Karaoke backings, these are pretty amazing.  And, best of all, this record "cannot become obsolete."  The back jacket says so.  This is good, because I worry about vinyl becoming obsolete--I have nightmares about it.  Still, I handled this carefully and used the proper tracking force, etc.  No point in taking chances.

DOWNLOAD: The Top-40 Song Book (Capitol T-2126; 1964)

Love Me Do, in the style of The Beatles

It's My Party, in the style of Lesley Gore

Bad to Me, in the style of Billy J. Kramer

Bits and Pieces, in the style of The Dave Clark Five

It's in His Kiss (Shoop Shoop Song), in the style of Betty Everett

I Want to Hold Your Hand, in the style of The Beatles

Heat Wave, in the style of Martha and the Vandellas

Surf City, in the style of Jan and Dean

Louie, Louie, In the style of The Kingsmen

It's All Right, in the style of The Impressions

Lee

Paul Mauriat doing the "Now" scene! "More Mauriat" (Philips PHS 600-226; 1967)

 

Despite the cover, no theme from MASH.  And let me apologize in advance for any typos caused by my reduced focusing abilities.  My eyes aren't producing enough tears, which means I need to take eye drops four times a day.  Ahh, the fun of getting older.

And I have yet to extend my MP3-tagging powers--sorry.  I've really been very busy with sound-editing, and so the tagging is a secondary concern right now.  Anyway, to our offering of the day: More Mauriat (Philips PHS 600-226; 1967), a fascinating take on the 1966 hit parade, including the massive French hit Love Me, Please Love Me.  Which I had never heard of.  Except for two movie-related tracks, the rest of the numbers are 1966 AM hits familiar to me, since I grew up with the things.  Kudos to Paul for getting me to like Black is Black, a tune I was never very fond of.  But Mauriat's arrangement brings out virtues that previously went undetected by me.  And, upon first listen, I wasn't crazy about Paul's treatment of Sunny, one of my all-time favorite hits.  But, come my third listen, I started to dig it.  And this is an album which (for me, at least) inspires multiple plays.

Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of this album, though it requires a tolerance of easy-listening-ized pop hits.  No problem for me, but for some, maybe.  Mauriat goes full easy-listening, and the result is superb, delightful, and just a model of its type.  Mauriat had a genius for this kind of thing.

My favorites are, of course, Black Is Black and Sunny, plus Guantanemera, whose title refers to a woman from Guantanamo.  The song's history is too complicated and weird to relate in words, but mostly, we need to know that it's a protest number.  Maybe even THE protest number of our time, and, in my estimation, an exceptionally distinguished choice.  The lyrics employ portions of Cuban poet José Martí's Simple Verses.  I prefer the epically moving translation used in the wonderful Sandpipers' version, which includes "My poems are like a wounded fawn seeking refuge in the forest," and "With the poor people of this earth I want to share my fate. The streams of the mountains please me more than the sea." Martí gave his life to the cause of Cuban independence, so pardon me while I choke up. 

Given the nature of the song, perhaps Mauriat's treatment is a little too up-tempo and joyous, but it sure brings out the beauty of the tune.  So, I like it.  Winchester Cathedral, meanwhile, is given the exact right touch of light humor, and Reach Out I'll Be There is quite effectively rendered in "easy" terms.  Masterfully, even.  Bang Bang is the only misfire (pun intended), to my ears.  The spoken "Bang Bang" part is downright weird, and I never liked the song, anyway.  So...

Otherwise, an A+.  Coming up soon, Capitol's The Top-40 Songbook, which, as it turns out, I didn't part with.

DOWNLOAD: More Mauriat (Philips PHS 600-226; 1967)

Black Is Black

Sunny

Winchester Cathedral

Guantanamera

Love Me, Please Love Me

Reach Out I'll Be There

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Lara's Theme (From "Dr. Zhivago")

Theme From "Is Paris Burning"

En Bandouliere

Lee

Instrumental Performances of the Same Exciting Vocal Versions--Johnny Arthey Orch. (Mercury SR 60996; 1965)

Hard to believe that Instrumental Performances of the Same Exciting Vocal Versions wasn't the result of a contest to find the dumbest album title yet released.  Maybe it was.  I mean, for sheer awkwardness, it's impossible to top.  I can see someone using it as a working title, to be replaced by a more graceful version.  Maybe that was the plan, and it never happened.  Who knows?

("You're calling my album what??"--Johnny Arthey)

Luckily, the music is way better.  Johnny Arthey was the real deal: An arranger for Petula Clark, Mary Hopkin, Jonathan King, Julie Rogers, Engelbert Humperdinck, and others.  Hence, these instrumental performances (of the same, blah blah blah) sound authentic.  Expert arrangements all--they occupy a fascinating place between easy listening and Top 40 rock and roll.  Typical instrumental pop of the period, but without any blunting of the r&r effect.  I Feel Fine is just one example of an excellent rocker that loses none of its edge when arranged for orchestra.  A miracle of an LP, really.

However, I have to say that during the editing process, these tracks lost much of their appeal.  Something to do with working with sections of selections--much of the impact is lost.  On the other hand, now you don't have to listen to the occasional surface glitches.  These sound way better without them.  But the editing part can get tedious, even when the material is fine, as here.

Proof that there's "no free lunch."  No, wait--that doesn't apply here.  Sorry.

Just an outstanding selection of top "English" hits of 1964: Wishin' and Hopin' (Bacharach-David), Time Is on My Side (N. Meade), You Really Got Me (Ray Davies), Bits and Pieces (Clark-Smith), and the "McCartney-Lennon" World Without Love, From a Window, and the "Lennon-McCartney" I Feel Fine.  I'm guessing that the name order is correct on the John and Paul numbers, since the first two (for Peter and Gordon and Billy J. Kramer) sound like McCartney numbers, while I Feel Fine is very Lennon-esque.  Or maybe someone in the credits department screwed up.  Anyway, as much as I love I Feel Fine, my favorite of the John/Paul numbers is probably the incredibly charming From a Window, which of course is one of the songs the Beatles "gave away."  Meanwhile, How Do You Do It was initially favored by George Martin for the Beatles' first single release, but I forgot why it wasn't.  (Love Me Do won out.)  And How Do You Do It became a hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers, of course.  

Decent liner notes, for once: "The music speaks for itself in an effervescent and exacting way."  I'll buy that.  Fine Mercury stereo, to boot.  I'd still like to know who approved that album title, and why.

DOWNLOAD: Johnny Arthey Orch.--Instrumental Performances, etc., 1965

Wishin' and Hopin'

My Boy Lollipop

The Wedding

Time Is on My Side

You Really Got Me

Bits and Pieces

World Without Love

How Do You Do It

From a Window

Do Wah Diddy Diddy

Needles and Pins

I Feel Fine

Mercury SR-60996, 1965

Lee

R.I.P., Burt Bacharach (1928-2023). Loving links to my Burt Bacharach offerings...

 

Less Common Burt Series

For Parts 1-6, please copy and paste link below (or highlight and right-click on "Go To"):

https://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/search?q=less+common+burt.

Sheila Southern

DOWNLOAD: Sheila Southern--The Burt Bacharach Songbook, 1969

Longines Symphonette

DOWNLOAD: Close to You--The Longines Symphonette and the Symphonette Choraliers (1972)

Lee

It jumps! It's hip! It swings! It's bright! It's cool! It's danceable! It's polyunsaturated! "Ray Ellis Plays the Top 20" (RCA LSP-2400; 1961)

Halfway through my sound-editing, I thought to myself, "Wait--wasn't I supposed to put up Johnny Arthey?"  Oops.  Well, Johnny will have to wait.  Meanwhile, I present this highly entertaining, mostly very energetic collection of hits from the 1961 Top 20.  All of the tracks (save a couple) rock very nicely, and they straddle the fence between instrumental pop (easy listening) and "fake" hits.  Reason being, song lyrics show up, on and off--thus, a few tracks sound like unusually well-produced budget fakes.  Except, they're not budget, this being RCA Living Stereo.

And I found the surface noise--as in, the sound of the needle tracking the vinyl--to be a little too much, and so I filtered it out.  I don't know if Living Stereo LPs are typically noisy in that manner, or if the vinyl has aged poorly, hardening with age.

This collection made for a nice, quick pop music tutorial for me, because I'm not as acquainted with the just-before-the-Beatles period as I want to be.  And my own Top 40 memories don't start until 1962 or 1963.  Clearly, 1961 was a fun year for the Top 20, and we have rockin' mostly-instrumental takes on Ral Donner's You Don't Know What You've Got; Gary (U.S.) Bonds' School Is Out, the wonderful Carole King-Gerry Goffin Take Good Care of My Baby, the superb doo wop number One Summer Night (the Daneleers), and Ben E. King's classic Amor.  And, of course, more.  Twenty in all.

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor is, needless to say, a cover of Lonnie Donegan's 1959 recording, which hit the U.S. charts in 1961.  Why Wikipedia gives composer credit to Donegan when, in fact, the song originated in 1924 (or 1923?) as Does Your Spearmint Lose Its Flavor (Billy Rose-Ernest Breuer-Marty Bloom), I can't say, but we all know what a joke copyright credits can be, and often are.  Wikipedia claims that the skiffle style dates back to the first half of the 20th century, and I'll have to take its word, since that's news to me.  Strange that I've been collecting 78s for more than half a century without encountering vintage skiffle.  I had assumed it was a mercifully short-lived UK craze--a sendup of 1920s novelty records as historically invalid as Art Mooney's post-WWII hits.  Though Mooney's sides, while inauthentic, were fun.

The liner notes expand on what musicman1979 has already reported: The Clovers, Ruth Brown, The Drifters, and Ivory Joe Hunter can be added to the list of artists and acts Ellis collaborated with.  No wonder these tracks sound very much like the real thing, as opposed to reinterpreted rock and roll.  In fact, this LP is unusual in that regard, making it (as I suggested earlier) a semi-"fake"-hits collection.  Which has me wondering to what extent instrumental pop of the 1960s might have sold to younger buyers?  After all, we can't simply assume that young listeners, as a whole, only settled for the originals.  I can imagine young r&r fans going for something like this.  In 1961, rock/rock and roll had yet to be mythologized as the sound of rebellion.

Seems a shame that things have to start off with the ultra-mellow Michael, since it's so out of phase with the rest of the track list.  Maybe it was an executive decision...

DOWNLOAD: Ray Ellis Plays the Top 20 (RCA Victor LSP-2400; 1961)

Michael

You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)

As If I Didn't Know

School Is Out

Pretty Little Angel Eyes

Little Sister

Let the Four Winds Blow

One Summer Night

I Just Don't Understand 

Last Night

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On the Bedpost Overnight)

Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)

Wooden Heart

Crying

Take Good Care of My Baby

Without You

Hurt

The Mountain's High

Don't Bet Money, Honey

Amor

Lee