THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (REISSUES AND BOOKS) By Michael McDowell

But Beautiful: In 1974, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard brought his colleagues from the Benny Goodman band into Toronto, Ontario's RCA Studios for a once in a lifetime four hour marathon that resulted in The Lost 1974 Sessions. Blitz Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell has the story below. (Click on image to enlarge).

CD REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES

THE LOST 1974 SESSIONS -
Peter Appleyard And The Jazz Giants
(Linus Entertainment)

All star session releases were somewhat commonplace in the 1970s. Often touted as summit meetings amongst various individuals whose accomplishments more often than not did not live up to the accolades afforded them, many such outings were often little more than exercises in bravado, with emphasis on self-indulgence at the expense of accessibility.

A definite exception to that rule is The Lost 1974 Sessions, a one-time gathering of some of the most renowned names in jazz, spearheaded by the Rockwood, Ontario vibraphonist, Peter Appleyard. A native of Lincolnshire County, East Midlands, Appleyard was on tour with the Benny Goodman band, when he got the inspiration to record his colleagues one night after a performance in Toronto, Ontario.

Among those colleagues were the immensely respected tenor saxophonist John Haley “Zoot” Sims, trombonist Urban Clifford “Urbie” Green, trumpeter Robert Leo “Bobby” Hackett, keyboardsman Henry “Hank” Jones, bassist Leroy Eliot “Slam” Stewart and drummer Melvin “Mel Lewis” Sokoloff. At Appleyard’s urging, they joined forces to produce the project at hand, which, in his words, represented the culmination of, “an amazing evening”.

Working largely within common ground due to time constraints (the album was completed in four hours on 14 September 1974 at Toronto’s RCA Studios), the Jazz Giants herein thankfully managed to downplay individual mission statements for the collective good. Happily, all concerned found it relatively easy to rally around such universally acclaimed fare as Henry Burr and Albert Campbell’s often covered October 1918 monster classic, After You’ve Gone (Pathe 20439), Carol Bruce’s 1941 standard, You Don’t Know What Love Is, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra’s April 1942 hit, Tangerine (Decca 4122), Larry Clinton and his Orchestra’s July 1938 single, You Go To My Head (Victor 25849), the Patrick Conway Band’s superb September 1917 release, Indiana (Victor 35645), Jack Hylton and his Orchestra’s February 1932 Dancing On The Ceiling (Victor 22912) and a medley of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington standards.

Sweetened with a generous amount of studio dialogue inbetween each track and more than twenty minutes worth of outtakes, The Lost 1974 Sessions soars where most superstar collaborations have failed, due largely to both the spontaneity of the project and the willingness of all concerned to perform at optimum level despite circumstances.

“Every soloist played superbly”, said Appleyard.

“I’ve never heard better solos from them”.

Most assuredly, The Lost 1974 Sessions is a one of a kind triumph that speaks well for the altruistic nature of both the participants and the genre at large. Indeed it is, in the words of the January 1948 Frank Sinatra staple that likewise graces this collection, But Beautiful.

WALK AWAY RENEE / PRETTY BALLERINA ; THE LEFT BANKE TOO -

The Left Banke (Sundazed)

In terms of sheer innovation and diversity, first generation garage rock excelled to the degree that a number of its most respected visionaries have seen the bulk of their respective catalogues remain in print for nearly a half century. The level of creativity within its circles was at an all time high during the mid 1960s, with most other genres following suit.

One of the most ambitious bands to make their mark with highly unique and divergent original material was the Left Banke. Formed in New York City in 1965, the Left Banke underwent several personnel changes (with guitarist Jeff Winfield and drummer Warren David-Schierhorst each weighing in briefly during the band’s growth and development stage) before settling on the line up of Carmelo Esteban Martin “Steve Martin” Caro (lead vocals), Rick Brand (lead guitar), Michael Brown (keyboards), Tom Finn (bass) and George Cameron (drums) for their February 1967 debut album for Mercury’s subsidiary Smash label, Walk Away Renee / Pretty Ballerina (Smash SRS67088).

Recorded over a span of several months in 1966 and produced by Brown’s father, Harry “Hash Brown” Lookofsky, the Left Banke’s debut album is a hallmark of the sub genre that came to be known as Baroque Rock. Equal parts classical, folk and psychedelic (with lush orchestration and lavish vocal harmonies), Walk Away Renee / Pretty Ballerina added the melancholy of Autumn label-era Beau Brummels into the mix and produced one of the most richly diverse debuts of its kind.

Indeed, the Walk Away Renee / Pretty Ballerina album offers far more than the two landmark singles that inspired its title. From the upbeat exuberance of Evening Gown and What Do You Know to the Baroque-a-delic pomp of I Haven’t Got The Nerve and Barterers And Their Wives (augmented by the straight ahead garage rock of Lazy Day), the Left Banke’s debut was an obvious inspiration to such like minded visionaries as the Baroques (whose lone album for Cadet is another of the genre’s definitive masterpieces) and Don Grady (whose 1967 The Children Of Saint Monica single with the Windupwatchband on Canterbury is a pinnacle of Baroque rock in its own right). Motown stalwarts the Four Tops (whose unwavering commitment to stylistic diversity was reflected in their first rate interpretations of highlights of the catalogs of the Monkees, Bobby Darin, Richard Harris and others) thought enough of the Left Banke to release their own interpretation of Walk Away Renee in 1968.

So committed were producer and band to maintaining the standard of excellence for which the Left Banke has come to be known, that the guitarist position (which had rapidly exchanged hands from drummer Cameron to Winfield to Brand) was upon occasion in that debut effort augmented by such respected session veterans as Hugh McCracken, Al Gorgoni and John Abbott. In turn, producer and virtuoso violinist Lookofsky ensured that the high standards of the mission statement would be maintained through the occasional use of strings and woodwinds, which were particularly effective in the two single A-sides.

Sadly, the dynamic tension that fueled that band in turn caused them to splinter in the wake of their debut album’s release. In the interim, Smash Records endeavored to sustain the momentum by retaining keyboardsman Brown, recruiting Credibility Gap co-founder Michael John McKean as guitarist, and the late singer/songwriter Bert Sommer as vocalist. The new version of the Left Banke released one single, Brown’s haunting Ivy, Ivy (Smash S-2089). Though that incarnation of the Left Banke was short lived, the flip side of that transitional single, Brown and Sommer’s And Suddenly nonetheless inspired a cover by the Cherry People in 1968 (Heritage HE-801). Sommer would of course go on to record the classic, We're All Playing In The Band single for Artie Kornfeld’s Eluthera Records in 1970. Tragically, Sommer passed away in Troy, New York from a respiratory ailment in July 1990 at age forty-one.

Despite the inevitable confusion and resultant legal action by other band members, the Left Banke managed to regroup before the end of 1967 around Cameron, Finn and Caro. Although he remained a part of the proceedings throughout the release of the band’s Desiree single (Smash S-2119), Brown was replaced on keyboards by Emmett Lake, who in turn was succeeded by Tom Feher. With Yonkers, New York native and Chain Reaction drummer Steven Victor Tallarico recruited as a backing vocalist for three tracks (Nice To See You, Dark Is The Bark and My Friend Today), the reinvigorated Left Banke recorded a reassuringly cohesive collection of tracks throughout the remainder of the year and into 1968. It is those sessions that comprised the band’s second album, The Left Banke Too (Smash SRS67113).

With their penchant for diversity continuing unabated, the Left Banke managed in their second album to defy circumstances and produce another collection of inventive and engaging original material. Despite production responsibilities changing hands from session to session between Brown, Artie Schroeck and the late Paul Leka, The Left Banke Too retains a reassuring level of cohesiveness, made even more remarkable by its late 1968 release date.

To be certain, The Left Banke Too has managed to sustain its reputation as a touchstone of the genre, as well as a source of inspiration in its own right. To wit, Feher’s opening track, Goodbye Holly was obviously a guiding light for the Bump, whose 1969 B-side, Sing Into The Wind echoes Feher’s work in both arrangement and execution. Likewise Finn’s miniature symphony, There’s Gonna Be A Storm, whose basic template surfaces at various points throughout the Beach Boys’ landmark 1972 Carl And The Passions - So Tough album (Brother 2MS 2083). In turn, the impact of Feher’s lavishly orchestrated Sing Little Bird Sing and the Broadway/vaudeville-inspired Bryant Hotel can be heard in the efforts of numerous like minded artists.

Given that the material featured in the Left Banke’s two albums for Smash has remained available in some configuration for the most part since their original release, the question has arisen as to what Sundazed Records brings to the table with this pair of verbatim reissues. Although the interim Ivy, Ivy / And Suddenly single is not included (nor are there any bonus tracks), Sundazed has nonetheless done the project justice with comprehensive essays, rare photographs, detailed session notes, and crisp remastering from first generation Smash tapes.

Although the Left Banke embarked upon a protracted sabbatical in 1969, the band has thankfully persevered. Caro, Brown, Finn and Cameron recorded a new single in 1971, released on Buddah under Caro’s Steve Martin alias. The band then joined forces with veteran multi-instrumentalist Les Fradkin as producer in 1972 for a session commissioned by Bell Records. The results remained unreleased for years, until one track from the Bell date, I Could Make It Last Forever was included by Fradkin on his 2006 solo CD, Goin’ Back. Caro, Cameron and Finn forged ahead into 1978, recording and releasing the acclaimed Queen Of Paradise single that year. Sadly, one time guitarist Winfield succumbed to pneumonia on 13 June 2009 at age sixty.

After again taking a hiatus from band activities, co-founders Finn and Cameron revived the Left Banke in March 2011, with new members Mike Fornatale (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Alves (guitar), Charly Cazalet (bass), Mickey Finn (keyboards), and Rick Reil (drums).

“Only in New York, with it's multicultural influences could the Left Banke have happened”, Finn has said.

Perhaps. But with the richly diverse talent immediately at its disposal, it is also logical to, in the words of guitarist Marvin Potocki’s contribution to the band’s second album, Give The Man A Hand (as well as a rousing ovation to all concerned) for a job well done.

PSYCHEDELIC GUITARS / WHAT'S HAPPENING? - The Mind Expanders

(Gear Fab)

Since its re-emergence in the 1990s after a brief tenure during the previous decade as a vinyl showcase for aspiring artists, Roger Maglio’s Gear Fab Records has firmly established itself as one of the world’s premier reissue labels. The ambitious Littleton, Colorado company has to date made nearly one hundred and sixty of the rarest of rock and roll albums readily available in the compact disc configuration. A select few of the key titles have also been rereleased on vinyl.

With its latest projects, Gear Fab has made a practical transition in format that will enable it to sustain its momentum. Since beginning its extensive reissue series, Gear Fab has opted for the traditional jewel case with inserts format to showcase its releases. This double length collection of two albums by the enigmatic studio band, the Mind Expanders represents the final such release prior to the increase of options in format, including both the Digipak (making its premiere with collections by Cosmic Michael and Evol) and the flat package with no spine (for their reissue of the 1969 Impala Syndrome album) options.

“We are really just starting to experiment with the different packaging”, said Maglio.

“We are doing more now with the Digipak, but still have a few releases in the traditional jewel box format. We did Impala Syndrome in the flat style because there were no pictures or real bios on the band. We thought it a waste to use full jewel cases. In any event, we probably won’t do the flat style much. Only on represses of older, slower titles, where we can save some money.”
 
This pair of Custom label instrumental albums from 1967 and 1968 marks the last Gear Fab collection to be released in the initial uninterrupted series of CDs in the jewel box with inserts format. Fittingly, it is also one of the most unique projects in the vaunted label’s vast catalog.

Along with such front runners as Spin-O-Rama, Grand Prix, Design, Sutton and Somerset, Custom Records was one of a number of so-called budget labels that flourished in the late 1950s and throughout most of the 1960s. While many such labels depended upon the early material or obscure outtakes of such established artists as Chuck Jackson, Tommy Roe, the Four Seasons, Bill Haley and the Comets and Gloria Lynne to highlight their respective catalogues, Custom primarily relied upon anonymous session musicians to improvise upon familiar fare, which would promptly be assigned a pertinent title and then incorporated into a thematic collection.

In that respect, Psychedelic Guitars is somewhat of an anomaly, given that the various improvisations therein neither feature guitars exclusively nor even remotely fall into the category of psychedelia. To wit, the album’s opener, Let’s Ride Again would be far more at home on a Dick Dale or Duane Eddy album. In turn, Take A Trip takes its cue from the basic Bo Diddley template, which serves largely to properly segue into Flowers, a track that owes more to Ray Charles’ Busted (ABC Paramount 45-10481) than it does flower power.

While only marginally psychedelic, the remainder of Psychedelic Guitars is nonetheless a similarly inspired collection of astutely executed improvisations. In particular, Love In comes full circle with respect to its professed affiliations in that its rather prominent guitar flourishes owe more to the fluke feedback of Marty Robbins’ adventurous Don’t Worry single (Columbia 4-41922) than to any Summer of Love staples. Of the remaining tracks, Coming On makes the greatest case for genre autonomy, owing much as it does to the Exports’ November 1964 monster classic, Car Hop (King 45-5917). The Garage Rock/Northern Soul hybrid, Unchained Soul, the saxophone-based rocker, Way Out, the Dale Hawkins-flavored Take Me Back and the slower tempo variation on the Everly Brothers’ cover of Little Richard’s Lucille (Specialty 598) that characterizes the title track round out the album.

By the time Custom began the sessions for the What’s Happening? album the following year, all concerned at least managed to demonstrate a greater understanding of the particulars of the genre. To that effect, Love Syndrome and Cul De Sac each sport a reasonable (though not overbearing) sampling of period sound effects, offset judiciously by the Hugo Montenegro-inspired Theme From (which in turn anticipated like minded endeavors by the Charles Randolph Greane Sounde by nearly a year) and the engaging Euphoria, with its astute juxtaposition of minors and pertinent time signature changes.

Those behind the Mind Expanders project even set a precedent of sorts with inventive interpretations of Karevo, Toropets, Pskov composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky’s A Night On Bald Mountain and a somewhat prophetic reinterpretation of Pictures At An Exhibition as Pictures At A Psychedelic Art Exhibition that predated the like minded effort by Emerson, Lake and Palmer by several years. Nonetheless, it is obvious that the loyalties of all concerned lie elsewhere, as the Duane Eddy/Bill Evans-like reinvention of Petula Clark’s Downtown (Warner Brothers 5494) as Downtown Trip and the celebration of the Packers’ monster classic 1965 instrumental, Hole In The Wall (Pure Soul Music 45-1107) as Mandala aptly underscore.

True to form, Gear Fab’s prolific schedule will continue unabated, with three highly anticipated new collections due for imminent release.

“Big Boy Pete: Cold Turkey, the Skeptics, and Homer featuring 19 tracks”, said Maglio.

“After that, we are taking a hiatus for the summer until the fall, when we will do another (budget label reissue) and some more stuff.”

In the meantime, Psychedelic Guitars / What’s Happening? stands as irrefutable proof of Gear Fab’s determination to fulfill a unique niche within the reissue spectrum. In the words of the Mind Expanders, theirs is an impressive and ongoing legacy with a Psychedelic Ripple.

BOOKS

FEVER: LITTLE WILLIE JOHN
A FAST LIFE, MYSTERIOUS DEATH
AND THE BIRTH OF SOUL -
Susan Whitall with Kevin John
(Titan Books)

Every once in a while (and with increasing rarity), a new recording comes along in which verse, chorus, bridge, arrangement, production and execution work together to create a moment of perfection. One such moment occurred in 1960 with the release of Sleep (King 45-5394); an ambitious re-write of the comparatively subdued (yet equally engaging) late December 1923 original rendition by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians (Victor 19172).

The artist in question behind that 1960 remake was Cullendale, Arkansas native, William Edward “Little Willie” John. A remarkably gifted vocalist and aspiring songwriter, John was for slightly more than a decade the premier artist on the late Syd Nathan’s Cincinnati, Ohio-based King label. He was also widely regarded amongst many of his like minded fellow musicians as the standard of excellence within the rhythm and blues genre. To be certain, the vocal gymnastics demonstrated by John in Sleep alone more than justified the accolades.

As is often the case with artists who are the recipients of such high praise, the pressure to live up to that level of seeming hyperbole can produce long range detrimental effects in that artist’s life and the lives of those around them. Regrettably, John was no exception, having passed away at the age of thirty.

As is also often the case with artists of significant influence who died prior to the advent of the internet age, John’s tale is one that was more often that not subject to conjecture as the result of a relative lack of credible documentation. Ultimately, gathering the pertinent data was not as much of a challenge in John’s case as that of someone like the great acoustic era visionary, Billy Murray or the blues legend, Robert Johnson. Given that Murray died in 1954 and Johnson in 1938, despite the valiant efforts of a number of musicologists, record collectors and academicians to tell their tales, neither artist has living relatives and colleagues to provide the necessary first hand information about their lives and legacies.

However, John’s circumstances were as such that the testimonies of the many surviving casual observers often contradicted one another. Indeed, the saga of Little Willie John was a tale that begged proper documentation.

It was also becoming increasingly apparent that in order for justice to be done to his legacy, it would have to be chronicled through a collaborative effort by representatives from the artist’s inner circle. Working with them would have to be a commentator who could approach the project with the requisite objectivity, without sacrificing their own enthusiasm for the subject matter.

That of course makes the pairing of veteran journalist Susan Whitall and Little Willie John’s son, Kevin John an ideal combination for this endeavor. A newspaper columnist with a variety of acclaimed book and sleeve note projects to her credit, Whitall is a rare example of an investigative reporter who adheres to the basic tenets of journalism by presenting a largely objective template, while nonetheless managing to convey her enthusiasm for the subject as a musicologist.

Concurrently, Kevin John combines his late father’s predilection for academia (the elder John was an honor student throughout his school years) with his obvious affinity for the subject matter itself. Kevin John has long envisioned this endeavor as a primary component of his personal mission statement, vowing to produce as accurate a portrayal as possible.

To that effect, Whitall and Kevin John have consulted a wide variety of sources. Among them are Little Willie John’s manager, Harry Balk and a plethora of recording artists, including Gladys Knight, Bobby Taylor, Mickey Baker, Little Richard, Mack Rice, Jimmy Scott, Bobby Lewis, Bettye LaVette, Riley “B.B.” King, Stevie Wonder, Sam and Dave’s Sam Moore, the Upsetters’ Charles Connor, the Midnighters’ Norman Thrasher and the late Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke and Four Tops front man, Levi Stubbs.

Family members also played a key role in the proceedings. First and foremost among them are Little Willie John’s widow, Darlynn John and his sister, renowned vocalist Mable John, whose May 1961 No Love / Looking For A Man single on Tamla 54040 is widely regarded as one of Northern Soul’s definitive classics. Little Willie John’s younger son, Keith also contributed extensively.

Without exception, all concerned paint a rather vivid picture of a supremely gifted artist who endured his share of industry-related challenges. Even so, all hasten to point out that Little Willie John was generous to a fault with his time, financial resources and talent.

That talent is evidenced in abundance throughout his vast catalog of Gospel and blues flavored King recordings. Highlights include his Talk To Me (King 596) and Little Willie John In Action (King 691) albums, as well as such top drawer singles as All Around The World (King 4818), No Regrets (King 5170) and the charismatic novelty romp, Mister Glenn (King 5628), plus his recently unearthed 1966 sessions for Capitol Records, which were recently issued on CD by the Kent label.

John’s recorded legacy also made a significant impact on other artists. Talk To Me was covered by both Sunny and the Sunglows and the Beach Boys. Leave My Kitten Alone was redone by the late, great Johnny Preston in 1960 and also found its way into the August 1964 sessions for the For Sale album by the Beatles. All Around The World resurfaced in the recorded legacies of both George Jones and Little Milton Campbell as Grits Ain’t Groceries. Southern California’s immensely respected rock and roll visionaries, the Blasters made John’s I’m Shakin’ a long time staple of their live set and a key component of their second album. Labelmate James Brown even recorded a tribute album in his honor. Finally, his signature track, the Eddie Cooley-coauthored Fever found new life through considerably diverse arrangements by Peggy Lee in 1958 and the McCoys in 1965.

Sadly, the pressures of such acclaim eventually led to Little Willie John’s premature downfall. In 1966, he attended a party after a live performance, where he was involved in an altercation. He was convicted on a manslaughter charge and sent to Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, where he passed away on 26 May 1968.

Despite those tragic circumstances, Little Willie John’s work has endured. Although John once sang (almost prophetically), Don’t Be Ashamed To Call My Name, thanks to the Inside Information gathered by Susan Whitall and Kevin John, it can be said with assurance that his story has at last been done justice.