Departed
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2019 18:40:56 GMT -5
I played the Phil Spector Christmas album today. I never get tired of hearing that magic. I'm always blown away by Hal's drumming on "Frosty The Snowman". Perfection. It makes the song for me.
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Post by E on Mar 14, 2019 12:31:04 GMT -5
My favourite Spector (even more than Be My Baby)  And another: |
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Post by jk on Feb 24, 2020 16:28:19 GMT -5
My favourite Spector (even more than Be My Baby) Yes, I also prefer "Walking In The Rain", along with "Do I Love You"... ...and "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", with the best false ending ever: |
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Post by jk on Mar 10, 2020 6:26:42 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Apr 2, 2020 9:31:16 GMT -5
When DJs started flipping The Righteous Brothers' "Hung On You" in favour of the original B-side, "Unchained Melody" (to become a US #4), this gorgeous wall of sound sank into relative obscurity. I remember hearing it at the time while it was still the side being plugged. A magical time:
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Post by jk on Jan 10, 2021 17:01:32 GMT -5
Some haunting footage here of Sonny Charles and The Checkmates Ltd on the Spector-produced classic "Black Pearl", a US #13 hit in 1969 and, I'm guessing, one of Spec's last hallmark wall-of-sound singles.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkmates,_Ltd. |
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Post by jk on Jan 17, 2021 16:07:27 GMT -5
How will I remember Phil Spector? Well, I recall hearing The Crystals' "He's A Rebel" when it was at #1 in the US but I don't think the notion of a Phil Spector production dawned on me until around the time of that same group's "Da Doo Ron Ron". My brother bought it and we were both knocked sideways by the curious guitar-led instrumental on the B-side -- "Wow, these ladies can play!"
Unlike Brian, I was underwhelmed by The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and have always regarded "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up", "Do I Love You?" and "Walkin' In The Rain" as far superior.
I lost interest in Spec (as Liberty label producer Snuff Garrett used to call him) at the appearance of "River Deep", which I've never liked. As for his connection with Leonard Cohen, well... has anyone here heard Death of a Ladies' Man? His sterling work with The Beatles together and solo drew me briefly back into the fold. But it's his pre-"River" stuff that I will always treasure.
Good night, Uncle Phil.
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Post by jk on Jan 18, 2021 4:01:50 GMT -5
And, to celebrate the man's musical achievements, here are "Da Doo Ron Ron" and its flip, "Git' It". The two sides of Phil Spector, if you will:
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Post by jk on Feb 5, 2021 16:50:50 GMT -5
To these ears at least, The Ronettes' "Baby, I Love You" has aged better than its more famous predecessor. I have often seen it cited as folk's favourite Uncle Phil wall-of-sound production and I can understand why! The occasionally wayward pianistics (Leon Russell?) give it an edge lacking in "Be My Baby":
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Post by jk on Feb 15, 2021 5:59:14 GMT -5
As you must know by now, I'm no fan of "River Deep, Mountain High". For my money, Tina Turner's finest hour with Uncle Phil is on the Holland-Dozier-Holland song "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Every Day)", originally a B-side for Martha and the Vandellas. Richard Williams' wonderful description in Out of His Head, his early '70s book about Phil, is worth reproducing in full:
"Tina's version is amazing: it sounds as if it were recorded in a cathedral, with massed strings and tom-toms frequently giving way to an almost sepulchral hush -- which Tina fills with lung-bursting sound. Sometimes Spector makes his orchestra sound like one big guitar; here it sounds like a giant Welsh harp. The finale also displays the best cymbal crash ever committed to tape."
One more Tina/Phil goodie on the way...
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Post by jk on Feb 16, 2021 9:09:14 GMT -5
One more Tina/Phil goodie on the way... And here it is, 1967's "I'll Never Need More Than This". Richard Williams writes that he often prefers this one to "River Deep", "because of its longer, more elegant line, which still does not lose any of the explosive energy. Once again, the orchestra builds to a peak which bursts the heavens — like an aural reproduction of the universe constantly expanding. No Spector record has ever swung harder than this. Here the cymbal crashes, courtesy of Earl Palmer, expand like some giant mushroom cloud and hang over the entire production." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Never_Need_More_Than_This |
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Post by jk on Jan 13, 2022 4:17:56 GMT -5
Very sad to learn of Ronnie Spector's passing. I agree with E about this one. "Walking In The Rain" has something appropriate about it right now: |
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