Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - "Greatest Hits" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1984 (Philips)

The annoying thing about this band from the British Invasion 1960s is their name: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (future reference for this piece DD-DBMT).  God knows what happens if one dropped out of the band, but reading the liner notes on this specific album, all their names are fake.  So in theory, the musicians can be replaceable, because anyone can be Tich.  The other problem I have is due to my memory, I can't recall the name of their band if I didn't have a piece of paper in front of me with their name on it.  I can remember up to Dave Dee, and I know there's a Mick somewhere there, but beyond that, memory failure.    On the other hand, they're one of my favorite 'pop' bands of that period.   Their music lacks any authentic feelings, and in fact is pure pop wallpaper music.  Which is often bad, but somehow DD-DBMT is brilliant at it. 

Their key element is that all their songs are written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, sometimes known as Howard Blaikley on liner notes or label credits.  They are also responsible for The Honeycombs (Joe Meek band), one of my favorite all time bands.   On one level, they're hack songwriters, but like DD-DBMT, they have a particularly brilliant zeal to their work.  And interesting enough, their songs for DD-DBMT are entirely different from The Honeycombs. I wouldn't think they were the same songwriters.  The Honeycombs are theatrical mood pieces, set to a pop medium, but DD-DBMT is almost goofy and clearly in their later years very much over-the-top productions.  

I first heard DD-DBMT watching an early performance piece on video by Gilbert and George.  They did a great dance to "Bend It," one of DD-DBMT's greatest songs.   It may have been a minor hit on American airwaves as well, but my memory (like remembering this band's name) is cloudy, but for sure the song made a huge impression on me through the talents of Gilbert & George.  I have three separate greatest hits collections by them.  Two are on vinyl, one on CD, and I also on my computer have their original albums issued in Japan about ten years ago.   The early DD-DBMT material was very straight ahead mod-like pop.  But very commercial with incredibly strong choruses.  Catchy as hell!  In a nutshell, superb 45 rpm singles. 

What's interesting about the compilation album I'm writing about now, are the songs on side two.  All are made later in their careers and very ambitious in sound and scope.  Still, entirely in the pop medium, but kind of koo-koo in theory and sound wise.  "Zabadak" and "Legend of Xanadu" are ridiculous.  Which is a big aspect of their appeal or specialness.  Fake exotica with a crazed production, it's a hard piece of work to avoid or ignore.  One of their greatest songs is "Last Night in Soho," one of the best, if not THE most fantastic song regarding that part of London, and its nightlife.   My advice is to track down the greatest hits albums (I think there are many editions throughout the world) and swing with the songs.  Pure ear candy. 

The Fortunes - "You've Got Your Troubles" b/w "Here It Comes Again" 45 rpm 7" vinyl single (London)

My dad, Wallace Berman, played music on his portable turntable in his studio, and The Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles" is one of the songs that he played over and over again.  When he played a record and loved it, that means it can be played 10 or 12 times in one sitting.  My job, as a child, was to make sure to pick up the needle at the end of the song and start it over again.  At the time, it was a song that seemed sad to me.  The melody always caught me in a very reflective state of mind. As a child and one who tends to play by himself, I often had time for quiet meditation, which was always backed by a record.  

The trumpet played in such a manner, like in this song, always seems like someone is crying.  The singer lost his love that day.  Nothing is good.  Here the singer wants sympathy, but he comes across another one in the dumps.  Misery loves company.  The brilliant part is the reframe where another voice comes in and sings over the vocal  of the one who is suffering, and comments "And so forgive me if I seem unkind/I ain't got no pity for you."  As a grown-up, I realize that this song is about self-pity, and is making a humorous statement of sorts.  

The beauty of this song, written by Greenaway and Cook, is that it is both a song of romantic despair as well as making fun of one who allows themselves to be in such a state, and not imagines anyone else feeling that similar type of romantic angst.  The duality, now as an adult, appeals to my sensibility.  As a child or teenager, the song always spoke to me as being in the bottom of a well, and just hearing my voice echoing among the walls.   "You've Got Your Troubles" is an amazing song and a superb recording by The Fortunes.   Not sure if it meant to be ironic, but the very name of the band seems to mock the song's sentiment as well. 

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. 

The Dave Clark Five ‎– "Glad All Over / Bits And Pieces" (Hollywood Records) 45 rpm Single

I found a used copy of the 45 rpm single of The Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over" and the back side "Bits and Pieces."  This is argumentative, but I feel that these two songs pretty much represent the Five sound at its best.  I have read that Joe Meek was convinced that Dave Clark was stealing his trademark sound, in fact, he suspected that his home studio was bugged.   This may or may not be true, but nevertheless this 45 rpm is magnificent.  It's the rhythm more than anything else.  The powerhouse drumming, the sax guitar bass - just basically the same noise.  And then Michael Smith's vocals which are John Lennon like in its intensity.   Strangely enough, the mighty five are not on Spotify or Apple Music, in fact, it's hard to find their work online.  Dave Clark owns the masters to his recordings, and for reasons unknown, he maintains the records wrapped up in his safe.   On the other hand, pretty much any decent music vinyl store will have used copies of The Dave Clark Five albums in stock.  Mono recordings of course are the best sound format for the Dave Clark Five sound. It's a sonic wave coming towards you, and once you're in the wave, there is no way of getting out.   Overall I'm not a fan of their albums - they tend to be one dimension.   But this single, oh my, fantastic.