Jeff Beck - "Tallyman" b/w "Rock My Plimsoul" 45prm single, yellow vinyl, 1967/2015 (Epic/Sundazed)

Jeff Beck always appealed to me due to his clothes sense, physical looks, and of course, his guitar playing.  There is something no-nonsense concerning his approach to music-making.  I admire that and being a fan of The Yardbirds, I feel a devotion to his time in that band.  Still, in 1968, when I purchased his album "Truth" I was disappointed in its conservative approach to rock.  I loved the craziness and wildness of The Yardbirds singles and their manic quality.  Beck, on his own, was a tad tasteful.   He had a great band, with such talent as Rod Stewart, Ron Wood as the bassist, and Mick Weller as a drummer - plus the presence of the great Nicky Hopkins.  Still, there was something missing in the mix, and I think that was due that Beck is not a songwriter.  Also, he's not a great arranger like Jimmy Page, who by the way, I don't think he's a songwriter as well.  But he knows a great tune if you get my drift. 

"Tally Man" is an interesting record/song by Beck. Written by the great Graham Gouldman, who wrote hits for The Yardbirds as well as Herman's Hermits, and produced by Mickie Most.  I believe it's Beck on lead vocals, and it's a wonderful pop song done in that Beck manner to make it heavy.  A one-off single before the album, or before he got the band together.  

Graham Gouldman - "The Graham Gouldman Thing (Vinyl, Album, Stereo, 1968 (RCA)

My interest in figures who somehow made pop music culture, yet remain in its shadows is an obsession of mine. For instance, songwriters who wrote numerous hit songs for various artists, and yet, they made their album. Does one wonder if they had hopes of being successful without fronting other music artists? Graham Gouldman wrote hit songs for The Yardbirds and Herman's Hermits, among others. He eventually formed and became a member of 10cc. Eric Stewart, his co-band member, was also from the British Invasion era. He was a member and songwriter for The Mindbenders (with and without "Wayne").

I'm an admirer of these 'pop' songwriter albums such as "The Graham Gouldman Thing" as well as Tony Hazzard (wrote songs for The Yardbirds as well as Manfred Mann) and Boyce and Hart (they wrote classic hits for The Monkees). All albums are of great importance, mostly due that they have their 'hit songs' on them, and it's interesting to compare the recordings between their recorded version and others by the bands who did their songs.

Gouldman's album was co-produced by Peter Noone (Herman of Herman's Hermits) and himself, as well as John Paul Jones handling the arrangements. It is released in 1968, a tad later than The Yardbirds's "For Your Love" this is very much a showcase of Gouldman's songs and his ability to carry these tunes under his name. The hits (made famous by others) are "For Your Love" (The Yardbirds), "Bus Stop" (The Hollies), "No Milk Today and "Upstairs and Downstairs" both by Herman's Hermits. If there is a Gouldman aesthetic, it seems his songs relay sort of mid-20th-century British culture, that is a snapshot of life as it happens, with a touch of the Harold Pinter/John Osbourne observation of British everyday life. When he started working with 10cc, his songs, as well as the others in the band, became still, observational, but with a savage sense of humor. Here in his early works, it's more of a reflection that has traces of sadness and romantic disappointment. Gouldman wrote the hits, but I feel he left an enormous amount of DNA of his personality and thoughts in these commercial works.

Tony Hazzard - "Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard Vinyl, LP, Reissue, 1969/2016 (You Are The Cosmos)

I have favorite songs that I can't get enough of:  "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" and "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown."   Both were recorded by the Jimmy Page era of The Yardbirds, as well as Manfred Mann who actually had the hit with "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown."   My life goal is to get every recorded version of "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown." It's interesting to note that two blues related bands of that time recorded the most pop of the pop song possible at that time.  And I know there are Yardbirds fans who must that song and "Goodnight Sweet Josephine," but I love them to bits because they are provocative in the sense that its throw-a-way pop song, but brilliant at the same time.  The author of those two songs is Tony Hazzard, a songwriter from Liverpool.  

"Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard" is an interesting album, not only due that he wrote two perfect pop songs, but also he was one of the last songwriters whose existence is to write songs for other artists.  1969 is pretty late in the game for the pure pop songwriter when artists like Manfred Mann and Yardbirds were also writing their own material, and one presumes that the producer or record company made these bands take on Hazzard's professional material.  Also, The Yardbirds and Manfred Mann were slowly fading to of course change to Led Zeppelin and Manfred Mann Chapter Three.  Still, it was the last dying grasp that these bands recorded the Tony Hazzard songs. 

If one needs to compare Hazzard with another singer-songwriter it would have to be Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame, but also a very prominent commercial songwriter for a lot of beat bands during the early 60s, including The Yardbirds, The Hollies, and Herman's Hermits.  I don't know Hazzard's history, but I feel that he was the last 'echo' of that type of British songwriter such as Gouldman. 

Listening to Hazzard's record is odd, and it must have been odder to hear it when the album was originally released in 1969 when things got heavy, yet, this is an album of consistent pop songwriting techniques.  Clearly an album by a man who knows how to put a song together.  One thing that stands out in the recording is the 12-string acoustic guitar which is very strong in the mix.  There is psychedelic phrasing of the electric guitar - which may be a nod to the Jimmy Page touch, and in fact, maybe Page is on this album?   My obsession with British music is very much my interest, and Tony Hazzard fascinates me within that's context.   For those who love British pop, I do suggest checking this album out.  

Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (Atlantic)

I bought the first Led Zeppelin I think very close to the day of its original release.   My educated guess, because I have no memory of the details, I must have heard "Good Times Bad Times"

 on the FM radio, and that's a type of record I have always liked.  Over time I learned to hate Led Zeppelin.  The funny thing is I 'm a huge fan of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones' studio work of the 1960s.  I love what Jones did with Immediate recordings, as well as Herman's Hermits.  And Page's work on Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" (if that is him?) is superb.   He also played guitar on John Barry's "Goldfinger."  How great is that?  And to this day, I think his best work is when he was an overly busy studio musician.  Still, there is something about Led Zeppelin that I can't fully dismiss. 

There are a lot of practical reasons for disliking Led Zeppelin.  Their horrible behavior toward groupies and people who work in the theaters, as well as them ripping off songwriters left and right - including the great song "Dazed and Confused," which is an amazing record. Jake Holmes wrote it, and when you hear the original compared to the Zep's version, it's outrageous that Page took songwriting credit on that song.   The truth is, Led Zeppelin is more in the lines of The Cramps, with respect how they re-arrange other material to suit their aesthetic.  And Jimmy Page is a brilliant arranger.  I also suspect Jones did a lot of the arranging as well, but it seems he's pushed aside with respect to crediting his arrangement work.  Nevertheless, that's Led Zeppelin in a nutshell, and one shouldn't dwell on the negativity of the situation.

What I do like about this album is that Page and company arranged these songs in a very textural and sonically powerful presence, especially when one puts up the volume.  Led Zeppelin is not about originality, but the way they present their (or whoever wrote the damn) songs in a manner that is magical.  The band is basically a trio, plus singer, but the big sound is the drumming of John Bonham who is a great drummer, and the layers of Page's guitars.  It's a joy to closely listen to his multiple layering of guitar sounds.  Page is technically a fantastic guitar player, but his genius is that he can think and play his instrument as if it was the lead player in a Wagner or operatic piece.  There are the riffs, but his playing is very subtle as well as being over-the-top. He knows how to balance the two and make it spectacular for that song, or album.   

Robert Plant has a voice.  A really good voice, but I don't think he's a great singer. He knows how to bend the notes, and play his voice as a fellow instrument with Page's guitar, but his delivery is always flat to me.  I think now, he is a much better singer as he got older, but as a teenager, a powerful voice but with no taste.  Led Zeppelin is very much a teenager's aesthetic.  Re-listening to this album after 39 years doesn't take me back to my youth, but now, I can appreciate the way the puzzle was put together, and Jimmy Page and band were very good in making this album as a statement at the time. I like it when "You Shook Me"goes right into "Dazed and Confused" and the same goes of the blending of "You're Time is Gonna Come" into the instrumental "Black Mountain Side, " which he originally recorded for The Yardbirds.   To me, Led Zeppelin is not a great album, but a work that is very much suited to its original era.  Skillful music that is tasteful, yet never went far enough.