PIGSHIT
Discriminating consumers of only the best in rock ‘n’ pop have long revered Dennis Diken as drummer with those rightfully legendary Smithereens. Yet did you know that in between making Jersey beat, Dennis has penned some of my all-time favorite liner notes (The Beach Boys’ Lost and Found collection, for example), hosted some of my favorite radio shows over there on WFMU-FM, written on and about anything and everything from Otis Blackwell to Allen Funt, and even popped up recently in reverent celebration of Ringo Starr’s 69th birthday within the pages of USA Today ?
Now, having lived as I have in the New York City vicinity for nigh on twenty years, one cannot help but cross frequent musical paths with Dennis and his drums, accompanying Bill Lloyd one moment, Mary Weiss the next. But even all of the above totally failed to prepare me for the track which appeared circa 2001 in answer to my request for him to be part of a Gene Pitney tribute disc I was compiling: A wholly, perfectly roller-rink rendition of Only Love Can Break A Heart that featured Dennis on not only percussion, but vocals as well! Who knew?!!
I certainly didn’t. So an instant request for MORE! eventually brought several works-in-progress my way, each even more sonically love-breaking than the ones before. Still, there was so much else for Dennis to attend to, Smithereens primarily…
Until now – finally – comes an entire, full-length CD full of the man alongside co-writer/ vocalist/ instrumentalist Pete DiBella and producer Dave Amels. It’s called Late Music, and it is quite honestly one of the finest albums you or I will hear this, or any other year.
Nevertheless, having gotten a whole album from Dennis, I still needed to know a few things. Namely, click here for Gary's complete interview with Dennis.
So, should you ever find yourself longing for a 2009 High Llamas/Zombies record, wondering whatever became of those Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) - era Beach Boys, or just need to hear some real songs made by actual humans again, Bell Sound’s very own Late Music is the very first place I’d suggest you head.
Available right There at Cryptovision Records.
Dennis Diken website
ABBA has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I think the only criterion to be nominated is that 25 years should have passed since the release of the debut album. Which could explain nominates like LL Cool J and Donna Summer.
So hands up instead for The Stooges, Kiss and ABBA! Being young in Sweden in the 70s you couldn't avoid ABBA. They were everywhere – radio, TV, magazines, newspapers posters etc. At that time I found them to popular and selected instead to listen to Marc Bolan and David Bowie. Who was I fooling? Well they were at least not as popular in my class yet. But of course, I admired Benny Andersson's and Björn Ulvaeus songwriting even then, but as said you needn't to get their records you heard them everywhere especially as my sister had all their albums.
So when my good friend Franck Ducourant told me he was coming to Sweden this summer to see BAO (Benny Anderssons Orkester) I was a bit skeptical as the concept of these tours are “A concert with dance” and they bring along a dance floor. And there might also be a bit to much violins to my taste. But, I thought can Franck come up from Brussels for this I should go along. I was glad I did as we had a great time in Helsingborg and Sofiero Slott the 26th of June. Of course we got to hear some ABBA songs and even The Hep Stars Cadillac.
Benny's was a member of the Hep Stars during the 60s and became their main songwriter when they decided to try to write their own songs and not just do covers. I read Dan-Eric Landén & Carl Magnus Palm's book The Hep Stars – Cadillac Madness this summer and enjoyed it. It is in Swedish so I won't go to deep into it more than that it includes a great discography (with lots of pic sleeves in colour!) and 4 track CD with previously unreleased songs. The best song is the title song Someday Someone which you get twice, I specially like the “spinet version”. Massa's Mess I find as an unlikeable experiment and Rag Doll is OK, but Sven Hedlund is no Frankie Valli.
Here you have one of The Hep Stars best songs Sunny Girl from March 1966. Written by Benny Andersson. It was #1 at both Tio I Topp and Kvällstoppen in Sweden. The performance is from Beat Beat Beat, the 16th of December the same year.
PIGSHIT
Being eight years old in the Toronto suburbs of 1963, I was at the perfect age – and in the perfect place – to, yes, Meet the Beatles. Because by the time “those four youngsters from Liverpool” hit the Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 64, my friends and I had already spent the past six months familiarizing ourselves with John, Paul, George and Ringo’s initial A-sides via nearby mighty 1050 CHUM-AM Radio.
In other words then, the British Beat had no reason to invade Canada. It was invited.
Unlike with our big American neighbors you see, each of the Beatles’ earliest discs garnered automatic release on Captiol Records of Canada, beginning right at the beginning with Love Me Do in February of ’63 (the version with Ringo on drums, by the way!), and the Canadian Beatle Discography boasts many other rare slices of vintage vinyl totally unique to the genre, and as a result extremely collectable.
For example, the Canadian Beatlemania! album not only sported an identical cover and track line-up, but was released the very same week With the Beatles was in the UK (making it the first Beatle album released anywhere within North America), and its twelve-inch Capitol Canada follow-up, the Twist and Shout album – # 1 on the Canadian charts for ten weeks in early ’64 – was in fact the very first “big record” I ever had the pleasure to have owned.
And what a remarkable record it was: Fourteen action-packed tracks featuring all four – “count ‘em”! – of the band’s first UK 45 top-sides, plus a generous helping of Cavern-baked covers from their homeland debut album Please Please Me. Being too young then to know, and still too young to care if nary a Beatle wrote each and every note or lyric herein, Carole King’s Chains stacked so easily around Len/Mac’s similarly George Harri-sung Do You Want To Know A Secret, Bacharach and David’s Baby, It’s You seamlessly followed John and Paul’s P.S. I Love You on T & S Side 2, and the magnificent Arthur Alexander’s Anna (Go to Him), which kicked off this entire collection, continues to this day to hold more than its own against any Beatle composition you or even I could mention.
And while Lennon’s wholly larynx-bursting Twist and Shout completed the first Beatle album in Great Britain, the ever-inventive Canadian Capitol chose to close its namesake long-player with none other than – wait for it – She Loves You. Take that, Sir George Martin! (and tell Dave Dexter, Jr. the news.)
Meanwhile in the seven-inch division, Please Please Me actually hit the CFGP Top Forty in Grande Prairie, Alberta in April of ’63, while two of Capitol Canada’s most unique couplings, All My Loving/This Boy and Roll Over Beethoven/Please Mister Postman, sold sufficient (smuggled) copies to reach even the American Hot One Hundred a year later. Also, the U.S. Tollie label Twist and Shout/There’s a Place 45, which soared to Billboard # 2 in April of 1964, was an identically-formed Canadian Capitol Top Ten much, much earlier.
Plus, may I just add that every single one of the above-mentioned original deep-grooved, meticulously mastered Canadian (mono!) pressings put their U.S. and even U.K. counterparts – not to mention the latest CD incarnations, truth to tell – to total, unequivocal sonic shame. Really!
The moral of this absolutely Fab story then? Good music IS good music, and shall forever remain so, regardless of the size, format, packaging, advertising budget or even country-of-origin of the item in hand.
And of course, any discussion of the best in Torpedo Pop that doesn’t contain multiple uses of the word “Beatle” is a discussion I just must immediately bow out from.
P.S., and in closing: Is it only me, or is the Beatles Rock Band animation a tad cheesier than even that of the old Beatles cartoon series?
PIGSHIT
“He knew how to produce records very well. He had a very strong spirit for recording music. He was a great producer.”
When no less an authority on making records as Brian Wilson spoke those words, he was paying tribute not only to a dear friend and respected contemporary, but to a man whose contributions to the creation of American West Coast music is somehow seldom ever given their rightful place alongside the achievements of, say, Phil Spector or Wilson himself.
Brian was speaking, as he often does, of Jan Berry, whom as half of Jan and Dean was churning out hits back when those Beach Boys were still learning to blend voices in their parents’ Hawthorne, CA garage. But as a composer, arranger and vocalist, he did so much more to craft that California Sound the world continues to happily bask beneath a half century later.
In fact, such were the lengths he fearlessly went to translate his warp-speed imagination onto vinyl that he was driven to assemble what was to become world-renowned as The Wrecking Crew, that crack ensemble of session musicians, who soon went on to orchestrate some of the greatest records ever made.
Tragically however, at the absolute peak of his powers and fame in 1966 – and just as he was poised to create even more ambitious sounds that very year of Pet Sounds and Spector’s River Deep, Mountain High – Berry, like the protagonist of his own song Dead Man’s Curve, suffered severe injuries in a horrific car accident that left him in various stages of debilitation for the remainder of his life. Somehow though, he continued composing, recording, and even touring, all in a selfless attempt to share the magical sounds of summer now trapped fitfully inside his incapacitated mind.
Now, thanks to the Berry-knowledgeable team of producers Cameron Michael Parkes and Mark A. Moore, those sounds are finally being exhumed, replenished, and lovingly created anew across Encomium In Memoriam, a collection of fresh recordings mixed with vintage Jan and Dean session snippets that far transcends the slapdash retread ethos of your typical neighborhood-indie-band “tribute” album.
“We're proud of our guest artists,” Moore told me. “They lent their names and talent to the project in Jan's honor. That's especially relevant for the five people on our album who either sang or played on original Jan and Dean material in the 1960s. These are P. F. Sloan, Vic Diaz (Matadors), Jill Gibson (Mamas and Papas), Tom Bahler (Partridge Family, Monkees, etc.), and Mike Deasy (Wrecking Crew).
“Three other well-known contributors, David Marks (original member of the Beach Boys), Paul Johnson (Belairs, "Mr. Moto"), and Don Grady (The Yellow Balloon and "Robbie Douglas" on My Three Sons) were contemporaries of Jan.” In fact, may I just say I believe Grady’s recording of Fan Tan – one of seven recreations on Encomium of songs originally planned for Jan’s unreleased 1968 album Carnival Of Sound – transcends even the original recording.
“And Probyn Gregory, of Brian Wilson's current band, did a tremendous job on the brass parts (trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, and trombone),” Mark adds. In fact, whenever possible Jan Berry’s original scores – some never properly recorded four decades ago – have been utilized to ensure the authenticity, not to mention reflect the loving care and attention to detail, that all involved have loyally adhered to throughout.
Sadly, Jan Berry passed away on March 26, 2004 during the production of Encomium In Memoriam. It is the producers’ hopes, and mine as well, that listening to this collection will now inspire many to delve deeper into the Jan and Dean canon, where there are many many treasures patiently awaiting discovery.
Be it the surfside doo-wop of Jennie Lee and Baby Talk (birthed in Jan’s actual Bel Air garage between classes at University High), gems such as – deep breath now – The Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review and Timing Association (originally B-side to 1964’s Ride The Wild Surf, it somehow welds SoCal vocal calisthenics atop a Bach Christmas carol), the proto-Python humor filling that classic Jan And Dean Meet Batman album or the post-accident sessions Jan held alongside former manager Lou Adler in the early Seventies, it is a massive, yet utterly unique body of work that not only continues to pay testament to Berry’s multitude of abilities but, well heck… you can dance to it too!
Jan would have wanted it that way.
For more information about Encomium In Memoriam and Jan Berry, please visit
http://jananddean-janberry.com
PIGSHIT
You know what I was doing precisely forty-five years ago, February 9?
Sitting far too close in front of my family’s Zenith television, bouncing up and down to the hitherto-unheard – not to mention utterly unimaginable – sights and sounds of the Ed Sullivan Show, and four weird guys with Moe Howard haircuts in particular.
“At least they have nice suits,” my mother commented most back-handedly.
“That drummer certainly knows how to swing,” my father (an amateur big band stickman himself) admitted. “But gawd, what an awful noise!”
As for me, the very next afternoon after school I rushed home, draped one of my dad’s old tennis racquets around my neck, strung it to an up-ended cardboard box our new washing machine had just come in (yes, my very first “amp”) and have spent the rest of my life really trying only to be John Lennon screaming Twist And Shout, if we can get right down to the crux of the matter.
Indeed, for the past four decades there has sat a monolith of gigantic proportions behind, if not immovably atop, each and every group of musicians who dare call themselves a rock and roll band. And despite fervent if well-meaning cries of “phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust” (or concurrently, from my own hometown of Toronto, “no more Beatles, no more Stones, we just want the Viletones!”) the ubiquitous aura of Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr, alongside most everything they ever said or sung, remains. Why, “not liking the Beatles is like not liking the sun,'' Rolling Stone hath decreed.
Leave it to New Jersey’s one and only Smithereens to cut and drag Beatlemania, phony and otherwise, straight back down to hard, solid earth.
They did so brilliantly once already with Meet The Smithereens, a track-by-track recreation of Capitol USA’s first-ever Beatle LP. And now they’ve returned to the scene of the sublime with B-Sides The Beatles, a quaint ‘n’ quick twelve-track, twenty-eight-minute rip across the flipsides of She Loves You, Can’t Buy Me Love, and so many other gems from your elders’ 45 collections.
But let’s not forget – the Smithereens certainly haven’t – that the Lennon/McCartney creations seemingly thrown away on the backs of their initial global chart-toppers were far from second-rate in any way whatsoever. For example There’s A Place, John Lennon’s agoraphobic mirror to Brian Wilson’s In My Room, not to mention the seldom-heard and even less appreciated I’ll Get You, which Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, to cite but the two most obvious, have built entire careers around. Then Ask Me Why and I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, a pair of the most joyously buoyant pot-boilers never to escape the Brill Building, that mournfully uplifting slice of Mersey and Western I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, and even the long-thought-lost Hamburg instrumental Cry For A Shadow. Truly, as much today as in ’61, too cool for words.
“I think that I speak for the band when I say that this body of work is as valid and important as any from other chapters of the Beatles’ recording history,” claims long-time Smithereen drummist Dennis Diken. “We also chucked in Some Other Guy (the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller/Richie Barrett stomper that was a big part of any well-meaning Cavern Club combo’s repertoire) …just because! It's a great number that was important in the early days of the Beatles and tends to get overlooked.”
Similarly ignored, if that word can really be applied to anything Beatle, is Paul McCartney’s charmful P.S. I Love You. Issued alongside Love Me Do ‘way back in ’62, it’s especially notable for the fact that this, being one of the first songs ever professionally recorded by the band, featured not Ringo Starr, but studio musician Andy White on the drums.
Believe it or not, Andy today not only lives, and continues to play, right there in New Jersey, but was actually employed on B-Sides The Beatles to re-create his original part, rimshot-for-expert-rimshot. “We also cut a version of Love Me Do with Andy on drums and we plan to issue this sometime in the near future,” Dennis reveals. “He couldn't have been nicer and into the concept of what we were doing. It was a gas for me to shake maracas/tambourine as he played the drum kit on the songs.”
P.P.S.: A major part of all Beatle/Smithereen recordings has been Jersey’s own House of Vibes studio, and engineer (whilst moonlighting from none other than The Grip Weeds) Kurt Reil in particular. Without once letting anything too digital get in his way, Kurt has succeeded in capturing that early George Martin essence of boys-at-play.
“An important aspect of the early Beatles' music is that it was recorded quickly, on the run, in between tours and movies,” Kurt realizes. “The Smithereens wanted to capture that urgency in their own way, and so the sessions for B-Sides were scheduled at the same time we were recording their Live In Concert album at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, NJ.
“What we would do is record the basic tracks for B-Sides during the afternoon, knocking each song out in a few takes, then I'd pack up my computer and head off down the street to The Court Tavern. I'd hook up to our setup there and record the evening's show. We did this for four days, bouncing back and forth between the studio and club, and by Sunday we had all the basics for the album and four live shows to be reviewed. Then, once I'd completed editing and mixing the live CD, we got back into the B-Sides album, first adding vocals.
“The vocals were no easy feat: Pat DiNizio's voice is much lower than the Beatles voices, so the keys had to be adjusted, but that helped us in that it instantly put the songs into a Smithereens context. When it came to guitar overdubs and solos, Jim Babjak's approach to guitar is a bit heavier than the Fabs, and that toughened up the sound. When Jim plays, no matter which guitar or amp he uses, it sounds instantly like the Smithereens. It's in the fingers...”
“Overall it was a joyous process. I mean, how much better does it really get to be recording Beatles tunes with The Smithereens and getting paid for it? The pressure was on to make this something unique, an album that Beatles fans and Smithereens fans alike would want to listen to. But because I am a fan of both bands, I tried to please myself first and followed my instincts in hopes that others would feel the same way.”
Mission accomplished, I’d certainly say.
Then, to top it all, not only has noted Fab scholar Bruce Spizer supplied characteristically encyclopedic liner notes, but original Sixties graphic genius Jack Davis – yes, he of vintage MAD Magazine, I kid you not – has supplied the totally frug-worthy cover art to (Beatle) boot. I ask you: What more could any well-meaning Jerseybeat aficionado possibly still want?!!
So you too can, and should, get B-Sides The Beatles, and all things Smithereen, right there right now here.
Me? I long ago traded in that tennis racquet for a nice golden Tele. But I still “Twist And Shout” wherever and whenever possible, I’ll have each and every single one of you know.
The following reviews are now up on TorpedoPop.
THE WAISTCOATS - Stop Your Talking All The Time
JOE KANE - Some Soon Time After
THE GARES - EP
I remember getting a message a few years ago from Ian McNabb (ex Icicle Works) about a “House Tour” he was going to make. He was coming to play in your living room for a certain fee. I guess that offer was intended for the UK and not Sweden, well perhaps Sweden but then it would have been a bit expensive…
Now powerpop legends John Wicks and Paul Collins are doing something similar. For them it’s the US that gets the offer for this concept. At least to start with but maybe also later the UK organizer Rick Rossi informs me.
The press release about this follows with contact details if you are interested. And you should be if they come to your area. I have also included (with permission from John & Paul) the Records classic debut single Starry Eyes and Paul Collins' Working To Hard from the Nerves legendary debut EP. And don’t miss the videos on that section.
Times are changing, that is for sure, but you can still hear great live music the way it used to be in the good old days, and now you can hear it in the comfort of your own home. John Wicks and Paul Collins have teamed up to bring their music to you in the Living Room House Concert format.
Both John and Paul made their mark years ago in the burgeoning power pop scene of the late seventies and early eighties. On opposite sides of the pond, they created and formed bands of lasting impact and quality. John Wicks, founding member of The Records, will always be remembered for Starry Eyes, a classic among classics and Paul’s work with The Nerves and The Beat have stood the test of time with Power Pop hits like Hanging On The Telephone, Rock and Roll Girl, and Don’t Wait Up For Me.
Both John and Paul are active performers who are regularly out there tearing it up on stages in this country and abroad. After exchanging emails from coast to coast they finally met up at one of John’s live shows in Spain. A friendship developed and now for the first time they have joined forces to make their music available to you in this intimate and informal setting. Both artists are superlative songwriters and the acoustic guitar is their instrument of choice to create with.
This is not a watered down version of what you would see if they were performing with a band behind them, and they both do, this is an up close and personal look at two performers who love music and have dedicated the major part of their lives to it. These two gentlemen have seen and done a lot, as performers they love to share, so stories would abound of all their exploits over the years coupled with an evening of fantastic songs.
If you’d like to see John Wicks and Paul Collins perform in YOUR living room, email Rick Rossi with your location, date you would like to have the event, and phone number where you can be reached. Every serious inquiry will receive a response with available dates and applicable performance fees.
For additional information regarding John and Paul's 2009 Living Room Concert Tour, please go here.
Third single released in November 1970 [Apple 31]
Second single released in December 1969 [Apple 20].
Debut single released in November 1968 [Apple 5].
