Joe Meek - "The Emotional, The Cosmic & Occult World of Joe Meek (Mississippi Records)

For the past 30 years I have been obsessed with the sounds and narrative of Joe Meek. There are many compilations out there, but what I suspect is a bootleg, "The Emotional, The Cosmic & Occult World of Joe Meek" is magnificent. Not a bad cut here, and extremely well curated collection of Meek's productions, mostly from the early to mid 1960s. My favorite is Blue Rondos's "Little Baby" which is Roy Obrison magnified in the Meek surroundings into something huge and beautiful. The compressed sound of Meek's production makes it sounds like the band are in a box with tiny air holes to keep them alive. Therefore there is an aural intensity of the sound. The Moontrekkers's "Night of the Vampire" is the ultimate horror instrumental, from the creeking of a casket opening to the female screams, a superb marching riff which I suspect on guitar is played by Richie Blackmore. There is only one mega-hit on this compilation and it's John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me," a death song bordering on Meek's sense of eros. If you look hard enough one can find this 12-song compilation online. I'm not sure what the sound source is from - CD? Master tapes? Still, it sounds good on my hi-fi. A must for the Joe Meek fan.

Roger Ruskin Spear - "Electric Shocks" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1972 (United Artists)

Vivian Stanshall is the face of The Bonzo Dog Band, but in truth, there is also the musical talents of the late Neil Innes, and then someone called Roger Ruskin Spear.   Mr. Spear played sax in the band and wore silly outfits.  One wonders what a solo album would be like from this artist (visual as well as aural).  The music is very tightly arranged, humorous (of course), and a glance back to the music hall days of Britain, but with a straightforward approach to (kind of) 1950s rock.  The appeal for me is the intelligence behind his work.  Spear knows his music history, in the same sense as someone like Roy Wood.  The fact that he has Andy Newman (of Thunderclap Newman) on piano, and two music journalists serving here as musicians.  The main cut here is "Patrick Moore" which has this great Joe Meek tribute in the middle of the song, and serves as the chorus. 

The Raybeats - "Guitar Beat" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1981 (Don't Fall Off The Mountain)

The Raybeats were Don Christensen, Jody Harris, Pat Irwin and the late George Scott.   The music they focus on were sounds of The Shadows and The Tornados, but with the aesthetic of the No Wave era.   Since all the musicians were members of James Chance's The Contortions, or James White & The Blacks, there is a crossover of New York sophistication that reminds me a bit of The Lounge Lizards as well.   All is a very good thing because The Raybeats are terrific. 

The guitar work of Harris and Irwin are twangy, but with distortion effects that brings the picture of the sounds to another level.  For me, I adore The Shadows as well as The Tornados and there is equal respect for the guitarist Hank Marvin as well as a nod by the "Guitar Beat's producer, Martin Rushent to the outer space sounds of Joe Meek.  There have been revival bands devoted to surf/instrumental, but The Raybeats' attitude is different.  They are not here to imitate but to add their own sense of adventure with sound and vision.   If James White & The Blacks commented on the Disco medium, then The Raybeats play with the genre that is surf instrumental.    The Raybeats music is sharp, sophisticated, fun, and an eye out for the avant-garde.  Their music is a heady mixture.  

Joe Meek - "The Joe Meek Story/The Pye Years" 2 x CD, Compilation, 1991 (Sequel)

Beside The Honeycombs CD that I bought in Japan, this compilation of Joe Meek's 1960s recordings was my introduction to the strange sounds and therefore the odd world of Joe Meek.  I remember buying the double-CD compilation out of curiosity more than anything else.  I was on one of my trips to Japan, and that at the time, was like going to another world.  Something like Meek made perfect sense at the time.   Knowing nothing of the man until I purchased this collection and read it's detailed liner notes, which was hard for me to re-fold in its packaging, was a life-changer.  Listening to the music on this package had a profound effect on me.  One, the sound was so eccentric, yet it's clearly pop or rock music, but with a twisted darkness as an aftertaste.  

The opening cut, Blue Rondo's "Little Baby" was a garage rock version of Roy Orbison, with an incredible echo like vocal that sounded like it came from either heaven or hell.  The other artist that made an impression on me is Glenda Collins, who had the perfect British girl pitch, but a sassy attitude. "It's Hard To Believe It" and "Something I Got To Tell You" are upfront, straight to the face, and a perfect match for Meek's experimentation and sense of romantic angst.  I have read that Meek at one time wanted to marry Glenda, but I suspect that would have been a tragic mistake.  "The Pye Years" is an excellent introduction to the Meek sound, especially with respect to the nod toward the British Invasion at the time.  Here you get instrumentals, but a strong leaning toward a beat rock sound.   His famous songs/works are not on this collection, but it's a very strong compilation.  Get and find it. 

Joe Meek and The Blue Men - "I Hear A New World" LP, Album, Reissue, Italy, 1991/1960 (RPM Vinyl)

"I Hear A New World" is a masterpiece.  When I first heard the album, around 1989, I was living in Japan, which at the time, was indeed living in a world that seemed so familiar to me through films and books, yet a new world.  Not saying that Japan is another version of outer space, but to my sensibility and aesthetic, it indeed was an out-of-space and mental landscape.   Joe Meek's half-exotica (or the space-age) and Musique Concrete, with a touch of pop melodies, is a strange hybrid of science and the imagination.

Meek made this album after his odd career as an engineer for a large recording company, which mentally and aesthetically he didn't fit in.  He wrote and recorded "I Hear A New World" in a London apartment (Flat) in 1960.  Mostly made of tape reels and experimentation with speed, both slowing and speeding up the tape, as well as recording odd effects such as the toilet being flushed and so forth.   The Blue Men were a Rhythm and Blues outfit that had strange instrumentation when they added a Hawaiian steel guitar to their mix.  A weird mixture of Western and R n B and Meek had the genius even to advance that sound to another galaxy.   The leader of the band, Rod Freeman, helped Meek with his compositions by transforming it into 'songs.'  The Meek method was him humming the melody either in person or on a tape.  The fact that Meek was tone-deaf added more work for Freeman as the music arranger.  After that, it's Joe Meek 100%.

When I first heard these recordings in 1989, I thought it was music made by a madman.  Re-listening to the album very recently, I conclude that it's a remarkable piece of work.  Composition wise as well as how he brilliantly uses sound and shapes the aural like a magnificent sculpture in front of clay or steel.  The thing with Meek, since he did work independently by choice, away from the mainstream recording industry, he truly wanted to have hits and be commercial. He succeeds it at times, but he lived the life of an outside artist, due to his homosexuality (illegal in the UK during his lifetime) and temperament, which was on the violent side.  He eventually had no separation of home life and studio work, since he lived and worked in the same space.   The Meek world is one of a small apartment in Northern London.   The compressed sound he makes is not really of a world that is open, but in actuality very closed and almost locked up in a mixture of security concerns and paranoia.  "I Hear A New World" is although about outer-space, it is more in tune with Meek's life in London at the time.  Closed off from the mainstream culture, he invented a workspace where he can fully expose his demons, dreams, and sensuality.

"I Hear A New Year" if you were not aware that Meek did it, one would easily think it was a Pierre Henry piece of music in parts.  Total "Musique Concrete" that is both experimental and expressing a mood of otherness.  It is only when the melodies kick in that you realize it's a work by Meek, but still, the album is more avant-garde than a pop release. Especially for the year of its partly release in 1960.   Meek only released vol 1 on a 7" 45 rpm disc during his lifetime.

The one album that comes to mind while listening to this Meek album is Brian Eno's "Another Green World."  Both artists use the studio as a recording instrument, and both, I think could visualize another world through their sounds.  Eno's album was made in 1975, and although he never credits Joe Meek, I find it difficult to believe that he wasn't aware of "I Hear A New World."  Listening to both albums - side-by-side, "Another Green World" is the brother or sister (nephew or Niece) to "I Hear A New World."   Eno's world is more inner, and Meek's sounds are approaching the sky above and beyond, but still, both are a very contained and cut-off world of sorts. "Another Green World," I think is Eno's best album of 'pop' songs, and Meek's album is another masterpiece of its time and place.  For me, "I Hear A New World" due to the optimism of the space age, it's a painful work to look back on, considering Meek's suicide and murdering (or shooting accident) his landlady in his studio/living space.  

Screaming Lord Sutch - "Screaming Lord Sutch Story" Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation, Unofficial Release,

I never feel that Screaming Lord Sutch came from the world of rock n' roll.  The legendary Lord I feel came from the theater and film world of Tod Slaughter.  A horror icon who traveled throughout the United Kingdom performing in Victorian-era macabre theater plays as well as appearing in borderline exploitation horror films. Theater of absurdity meets rock n' roll plus a dash of Tod equals Screaming Lord Sutch. 

Only one man can capture the intensity and eccentricity of Lord Sutch and that, of course, is Joe Meek.  Probably their most famous recording is "Jack The Ripper" which even out cramps The Cramps in horror rock.  If one has to compare Lord Sutch to another artist, Alice Cooper comes to mind, but Alice (and that band) strikes me as more intellectual.  Sutch is in one's face, and it's entirely music hall entertainment, but not in the tasteful sensibility.  

Meek brings the horror out of Sutch's visions into the 3D sound of its production.  Screams, laughter, and the savage rocking of the backing band, The Savages, of course, are remarkable then as well as now.  The membership of that band is a mystery.  Possibly Jimmy Page, but more likely Ritchie Blackmore (of Deep Purple fame) played guitar in the Meek recordings, but due to the insane world of Meek and company it is never obvious or explicit, which comes to this album or compilation of Lord Sutch cuts - "Story."

The album is a lovingly put together bootleg, but even with liner notes, it gives no credit to Joe Meek, or any information regarding the recordings, or who plays what.  With the help of the Internet, I figured that Meek produces all except one cut.  For sure all the early trademarks of the Meek aesthetic is tattooed on these set of recordings.   Side one is devoted to horror, which is Lord Sutch's natural habitat, and side two is "rock."  The highlight for me is the demented version of "The Train Kept A Rollin" which is insane.  As for the others, they seem to be the blueprint for bands like the excellent Cramps to follow or connect their dots.  Punk rock in a garage rock manner, Screaming Lord Sutch plus Joe Meek was a brilliant team.  

Heinz -"The Singles" Vinyl, LP, Compilation (Triumph)

No one sounds like Heinz, because Joe Meek produced Heinz.  And the closest record maker to Meek is maybe Brian Eno, during his early solo album/song career.  Meek started off as a recording engineer for EMI during the 1950s and eventually left the corporate music world to start his own label, Triumph Records, for the sole purpose of producing and even writing hits.  His one accepted masterpiece is "Telstar," which he wrote and produced for The Tornados.  In that instrumental band, the platinum blond bassist, Heinz, caught Meek's eye (and ears).  If Phil Spector had Ronnie, then Heinz was Meek's obsession.  

The 16 songs on this compilation album are recorded in what sounds like from another planet.  Each country has their own take on rock n' roll, and these recordings sound like they came from Mars.  To describe the music, it's basic rock or pop but filtered through Meek's aesthetic it becomes a weird hybrid of bedroom recordings (he worked mostly in his home studio in North London) and musique concrete practices.  It's pop music, but clearly has avant-garde leanings that I don't think Meek was aware of. In that sense, he's an outside artist who thought himself as a commercial hit-maker.  And he was, at certain moments in his brief and tragic life. 

For the last 25 years or so, I have been obsessed with Joe Meek.  I'm slowly collecting his works on CD and on vinyl, which at times can be difficult to obtain.  "The Singles" I found the other day at Rockaway Records in Silver Lake, and I believe that it was once owned by Ronald Kane, who had a record collection that was out-of-mind-out-of-body great.   Nevertheless, Heinz belongs in an eccentric world of sound and vision.   The compression of the sounds and the muted drums are surely the foundation for not only Eno's "Here Come the Warm Jets," but also the pop side (side 1) of Bowie's "Low."   Without a doubt, the strangest recordings to come out of 1960.   Therefore a work of genius.  

The Outlaws (Joe Meek) - "Dream of the West" LP, Vinyl, Album, 1961 (His Masters Voice)

The Outlaws is an instrumental band and worked with Joe Meek being their producer and songwriter.  Meek wrote all the songs on this album under the name of Robert Duke, as well as writing the liner notes.  The two guitars, bass and drums on a Meek recording can sound like it was recorded somewhere on the other side of the moon, yet pretend to be human.  Which is ironic, because this is an album that has a theme of the wild west.  "Dream of the West" is a concept album, but not one with a narrative, but with a place, a time, and of course, since it's British, more about the cinematic Western than the real west. 

If one compares The Outlaws to another band, it will have to be The Shadows.  Twangy guitars that are more British sounding than say surf, yet it's almost like scientists studying the surf guitar sound, and somehow getting it wonderfully wrong.   There is not one authentic western song on this album. All of the material, written by Meek (Duke) is a western that is imagined than real.  It's a beautiful album in the sense that fantasy plays a great role in Meek's world.  Yet, I sense he feels that all of it is 'real,' at least to him.   

Joe Meek - "The Joe Meek Story" Compilation, 2 x Vinyl, LP, 1977 (Decca)

My first Joe Meek recording I have ever heard was The Honeycombs "Have I The Right," in 1964.  I was ten-years-old at the time, I knew nothing of the world of the record producer, or even aware of the identity of the songwriter.  I knew the artists that were The Honeycombs and they had a girl drummer.  Did I need to know more?  It wasn't until my year-long stay in Japan that I found a Joe Meek compilation at a swanky music store in Roppongi called 'The Wave.'  I was intrigued to hear more sounds similar to The Honeycombs, which from the very first time of the hearing, I was a life-long fan of that unique echo sound.  

Shortly I became a Meek addict, especially when I read his biography in various publications.  I have always had an interest in the Gay subculture in London, and Meek is a character that was very much part of that world.  Also the fact that he was insane and killed his poor landlady, and then committed suicide.  A tragic incident, but one can hear traces here and there in his recordings that expressed his interest in the after-life, UFOs, and perhaps hidden messages between men.  Meek, perhaps even more important, was a sonic genius.  Once you hear the sound of Meek, you will never forget it.

Over the years there have been numerous compilations on Meek's recordings, which in theory, is difficult to pull off, due to the fact that the record's ownership is often in question, due that Meek often licensed his recordings to other labels.   Therefore we have this Decca Records release "The Joe Meek Story" which is very good, but not complete by any means.  What excited me to have this record is to obtain Meek recordings that are not digitalized for the CD format.  It's not that difficult to find an original Meek production as a 45 rpm single, but locating vinyl compilation of his works is rather difficult.  Except for a handful of original vinyl releases, most of his work came out as singles. 

The plus side of the Meek compilations is that one comes upon a song or recording never released on another compilation.   I have at least 10 compilations of Meek's (all on CD) and often they don't repeat their songs/recordings.   "The Joe Meek Story" is missing some famous recordings, but it's the obscure tracks that I find totally fascinating and great.  Mike Barry and The Outlaws' (featuring Richie Blackmore on guitar) captures the essence of Meek's obsession with Buddy Holly as well as a weird outer-space version of Rockabilly.   Most of the songs here were written by Meek, and as a songwriter, he's never consistent.  But his productions never fail.  Someone like Phil Spector is more consistent with quality, but every Meek record has a tinge of weirdness or eccentricity.   Which is one of the reasons why I like to collect Meek, both on CD and more importantly on vinyl.  I feel each recording by this lunatic expresses a sense of hysteria and desire.  Meek was very much of his culture of the 1950s, that he rebelled against by becoming an independent producer with his own studio - mostly built by his own hands.  The majority of his work is from the early 1960s, yet there is something distant and far away from his music for that era.   He was an artist that wasn't attached to the times, compared to The Fab Four or the work of Andrew Loog Oldham.  Meek is or was very much an outsider artist.

"The Joe Meek Story" comes with fascinating liner notes.  A small biography as well as a breakdown of all the songs selected for this compilation.   The one odd thing is mentioning the suicide (not in detail), and staying away from the fact that he murdered someone before shooting himself in the head.   Art comes with darkness, like life itself. 

Michel Polnareff - "Michel Poinareff" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 2008/1966 (Universal)

The Lou Christie of French rock is Michel Poinareff.  Well, mostly due to his vocal style, which can go as high as the stars, if he chooses that route.  Ponareff's first album is classic French pop.  Still, I suspect that he wanted to go beyond his country's borders.  Side one I presume was recorded in England, due that he worked with lyricist Keith Reid, who either at the same time or a tad later, became the words-man for Procol Harum.  He also used Charles Blackwell as an arranger, who worked with Burt Bacharach on the soundtrack "What's New Pussycat" as well as working with my favorite eccentric producer Joe Meek.  So, with those two, our M. Poinareff was in excellent hands. 

This is a very strong debut of a songwriting talent, who is still with us, and for me, a mysterious figure.   In fact, I suspect he's a mystery to a lot of people.  Like the tide in an ocean, he comes and goes as he pleases.  Still, from 1966 to the end of the 1970s, he was an iconic presence in France.  Visually stunning, but with an incredible knack for writing memorable melodies.   There's not a bad cut on this album, and I would recommend it as an introduction into the world of Poinareff.  The garage rock sound of "La Poupée Qui Fait Non," "Time Will Tell"  (lyrics by Reid) and his fifties orientated (and could be a Morrissey favorite) "Love Me, Please Love Me" are essential cuts. 

Tosh Talks - Joe Meek part1 The Honeycombs

My talk on the great British record producer Joe Meek.  Part 1

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Electric Ladyland" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1968 (Track Records)

I was 15 years old when "Electric Ladyland" came out.  The original British cover spoke to the teenage heterosexual in a manner that was very direct, and perhaps more so than any other album cover of its time.  And the music wasn't bad!   I originally had the American version with Hendrix on the cover.  No way or in fashion would the British cover be allowed in the American market at its time.   If it was one naked lady, then that may have passed, but to have a dozen or so, on the front and back (fold out) cover, that is clearly a no-no.   Reportedly Hendrix hated the British cover.  In my teenage mind, I thought this was very much the lifestyle of Hendrix.  Perhaps the cover was taken in his home or bedroom.   It wasn't, but to a 15-year old, the fantasy outlives the reality. 

The music on this album is superb.   The Jimi Hendrix Experience was progressing from the first to the last album, which to me, is "Electric Ladyland."  I never bought any albums after his death, because I felt the unfinished work was not meant to be heard because Hendrix couldn't give its proper blessing due to his untimely death.    "Electric Ladyland" is both looking back, but very much a forward album.  Here, he works with other musicians and the music is more of a bigger canvas than the first two Hendrix Experience albums.    

Hendrix without a doubt is a genius guitar player, but he is also a fantastic arranger, lyricist, and record producer.  Technically an Experience album, but apparently Hendrix is thinking like a solo artist here.  The dreamy side of him such as "And the Gods Made Love" (goes with the British cover in my opinion), "Rainy Day Dream Away," "1983.." are all impressionistic paintings set to music.  One cannot separate the visual aspect of Hendrix, not only in his dandyism but also the colors that reflect in his music.  My favorite Hendrix song "The Burning of the Midnight Lamp" is perfection.  Psychedelic but holding on to the melody if life was about to be stamped out.  A great record, a great single.   Or was it ever a single?  

"Electric Ladyland" is a very sophisticated album.  When I first initially heard the album back in 1968, I felt it was opening up to new avenues, and I was excited to follow that Hendrix road.  His death was a major disappointment to me because I felt he would have gone on to make very interesting sounds.   And I have to add the importance of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell in the band.   In fact, Mitchell as a drummer is simply amazing.  More jazz-like than rock n' roll.   Mitchell's professional life as a musician sounds incredible.  From having a rifle pointed at his head by Joe Meek to working with Jimi.  How perfect is that?

The Honeycombs "I Can't Stop" b/w "I'll Cry Tomorrow 45 rpm vinyl single, 1964 (Interphon Records)

The Honeycombs, if truth to be known, is my favorite band.  Over the years I collect their recordings, which is not a lot.  They only did three albums, and that includes a live album made and recorded in Tokyo.  The brilliance of The Honeycombs is the combination of great songs with brilliant production by Joe Meek.  "I Can't Stop" should have been a mega-hit around the world, but alas, it never reached the heights "Have I The Right."   Nevertheless, it's a masterful song with a driving beat and chorus.  The b-side for me is the super treat.  A song by Meek, "I'll Cry Tomorrow" is superb drama and I get goosebumps hearing Honey's (the female drummer) backup vocals during the chorus.  

The Honeycombs - "Something Better Beginning"/"I'll See You Tomorrow" 45 rpm vinyl single (Pye Records)

"Something Better Beginning" is one of my favorite Ray Davies tunes.   It has an incredible amount of drama, and the comparison between The Kinks recording and The Honeycombs version is the drama is presented in a much higher state.  I'm presuming that Ivor Raymonde is responsible for the sound/recording of this song - or it could be Joe Meek.  But it doesn't have the Meek eccentricity.  Still, a beautiful record and The Honeycombs nail the pathos of a romance that may or may not happens. 

B-side "I'll See You Tomorrow" is pure Meek via the songwriting talent of Howard Blaikley (actually two songwriters credited as one).   The melody I believe is based on a Shubert composition.  Dennis D'Ell is one of my favorite singers from the British Invasion era - and Meek really knew how to use his voice.  I often think that D'Ell is the character that Meek imagines himself as - at least vocal wise. A great 45 rpm single.  The Honeycombs are the most underrated band from the British 1960s. 

The Honeycombs - "All Systems GO!" CD, Mono, Japan (Parlophone) WPCR-16842 (Recorded in 1965, CD 2015)

First of all, ignore this cover.  This is from an early CD release.  The one I have is Japanese and it has 11 bonus tracks.  Re-released in 2015 and remastered at that time in Japan as well.  So, a classy package of the second Honeycombs album, produced by the legendary and great Joe Meek. 

The first album by the Honeycombs (same title as their name) is a masterpiece.   All the songs were written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who worked as a team and sometimes known as "Howard Blaikley."   The essence of The Honeycombs is Denny D'ell's vocals, which has traces of vintage Gene Pitney, but very much his own voice that conveys emotional breakdown and disappointed.  A British soul voice that doesn't adopt from the Black American, but from a crooner's fate in its own hell-hole.   Their drummer Honey Lantree, who besides being a female drummer (unique at that time in the early 60s) is also a good vocalist as well, when she takes a solo vocal time-to-time, and third, and perhaps most important is the contribution by the record producer, Joe Meek.

Listening to a Honeycombs recording from the early 60s is very much like listening to a band produced by Brian Eno in the 1970s.   Meek takes all the aural ingredients from the band and transforms the sound into something compressed and highly electronic.  The vocalist echo effect traces back to the croon via Phil Spector, but Meek makes it totally unique and of course, the sound is from outer space.  There is also the weird electronic keyboard that comes through their recordings which I believe is a Clavioline or Univox.

After the success of The Honeycombs' first single "Have I The Right," they pretty much toured the world, so the second album I imagine is what is left over from the first or material put together quite quickly.  "All Systems GO!" sounds very much like a second album.   Still, a fantastic album, that is not a masterpiece like the first, but it does show a band with a future (which, didn't happen).   One of the great beauty tracks on the album is "Emptiness" a song written by The Kinks' Ray Davies.   A beautiful song that is totally classic Ray.   There are classic performances here.  "Something I Got To Tell You" is a Honey lead vocal, and she is the classic British pop girl singer.  Why she didn't make recordings under her own name is a mystery of sorts, but nevertheless her work as a percussionist/drummer as well as occasional lead vocalist and back-up is always superb. 

"I Can't Stop" is a classic Honeycombs single.  It should have been a mega-hit, but alas, it didn't happen. There are five solo Joe Meek compositions on the album, and all are either great, or of interest.  Meek's work as a songwriter always has a yearning for a better romance or life - it's moving when you know his actual life and what he went through.   For me, I feel The Honeycombs was a perfect vehicle for Meek to do his magic.   The band itself is great, with a wonderful guitarist in Alan Ward, but even the throwaway b-sides that are on this album is enticing as well.   A great find for me in Japan. I bought this CD at Pet Sounds in Meguro Tokyo. 

Billy Fury - "We Want Billy" / "Billy" CD Compilation

Billy Fury – We Want Billy/ Billy

CD Compilation, 1995

Beat Goes On (BGO)

Like all good titles, the name 'Billy Fury' stayed with me ever since I first read that name. Totally unknown in America, especially in the 1960's, I must have read about him as a teenager in an article about Swinging London, but as someone from the past. At the time not that interesting but I love the combination of Billy with Fury. Many years later The Smiths put Billy Fury on the cover of one of their 12” singles, and something about his face caught my imagination. In fact I became totally fascinated by U.K. Pop culture right before The Beatles made the big time. Like millions of others, I was lead to believe that nothing was happening music wise in England before The Beatles, but alas, I was deeply wrong. In two words what was happening was Billy. Fury.

I had to search the internet for this CD release of two Fury albums on one disk. What really interested me is the live album We Want Billy because he was backed by The Tornados, the Joe Meek fueled instrumental band. I have this one image I think I got from Mojo, where Fury is on stage and wearing a gold suit, and clearly you can see he is wearing heavy eye make-up, and he's rockin' with The Tornados' bass player Heinz looking on. For me it is one of those classic moments that freezes a specific time in a very specific place.

Musically the live album is very so-so. Fury, at heart, was a white RnB singer, who was forced to sing pop, even though at the very beginning of his career he was one of the first pop figures to actually write his own songs – but alas, over time he had to cover other songs due to the recording pop world at the time. There is tension between the early songs in his set, which was mostly rock n' roll, but eventually he does a melody of his 'pop' hits. Done without passion, there is clearly a wall between the two styles of music for him, at least on stage.

Now one would think I would prefer the rockin' songs, but I actually love his pop side more. For one the songs he sang were excellent, and two he was a great British ballad singer. What makes him special is you can clearly hear his Liverpool accent when he sang, which of course gives it an instinctive stamp of individuality, as it becomes his song. Billy is a very straight forward pop, but tinge with tragedy of romance and heartbreak.  

801 "801 Live" CD Album

801- 801 Live

CD, Album, US, Original release 1976

EG - EGCD 26

A side project by Roxy Music's great guitarist Phil Manzanera, with an all-star cast of musicians that were making a big noise in the year of punk 1976. Here we have a combination of three albums or artists promoting their work in one swoop. Manzanera's side band Quiet Sun, his first proper solo album, and Eno's early solo albums. The great thing about Manzanera is that he's half prog and half Ventures/Shadows. His range of styles go from world music to Joe Meek. 801, named after an Eno lyric, uses the skills of prog/jazz into the pure rush of something like “Baby's on Fire.” The beauty of “Diamond Head” is almost Shadows like in that the guitar plays a hypnotic melody and it just builds and builds. Two interesting covers on this live set; The Kinks “You Really Got Me” and The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” which perfectly conveys the interest in dream-like pop with the grittiness of British invasion rock via The Kinks.

The arrangements on 801 are beautifully put together. “Rongwrong” truly an exquisite piece of dreamy music starts off like an Eno out-take from Another Green World and then goes into this wishful melody. One of the great things about 801 is that you can clearly hear every instrument, so everyone stands out, yet the whole sound or picture is extremely sophisticated – and the cuts blend into each other effortlessly.

To give band full credit: Phil Manzanera guitar, Bill MacCormick on bass, Francis Monkman electric piano, Simon Phillips drums, Lloyd Watson guitar, and Brian Eno on everything else. All splendid here.

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