About

A music geek in my mid-30s, I was blown away when I came across the throbbing, otherworldly ‘little symphonies’ within the Back to Mono box in the early 00s. Since then I’ve treasured Phil Spector’s wall of sound, eventually branching out into exploring the wealth of soundalike records that follow his path.

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I’ve looked high and low for a place online that offered personal musings on this type of music. The Spectropop message board used to feature a lot of interesting discussions but it has since sadly gone quiet.

Apart from the odd threads on online forums or Facebook pages there doesn’t seem to be an online site that consistently offers in-depth writing on Spector’s forays in the studio and music borne out of his approach. I hope to fill that gap with my blog. I’m no über Spector-expert like Phil Chapman, Mick Patrick or Kingsley Abbott, but I know what I like and have my opinions. I’ll try my best to let them form this blog.

Comments, feedback & ideas for topics highly welcomed!

Reach me via cuecastanets(((@))))gmail.com

18 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi,
    A blog on the Spector Sound is always welcomed.
    Just wanted to tell you that I have all the Philately issues. I can send you a photocopy of N°5.
    Best
    Frank

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  5. I’ve just found your blog…excellent stuff here. i think you may have cost me at least three CDs I need to get already! Nice to see a couple of my favourite Scottish bands featured.

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  8. Love the site and posts… maybe this might be the subject of a future posting…. the sax solo in Darlene Love’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and A Fine Fine Boy appear to be the same – creative editing?

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      1. Could be… but I think Phil overdubbed one or the other, albeit there is a slight speed variation. In a lot of ways they are “sister” songs in that they came from Jeff and Ellie and were both written and recorded at roughly the same time.

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  9. Hi, just wondering if you ever did get the six issues of P.S.A.S. that you mentioned before? I still have the originals (very worn and fragile by now I’m afraid!) that Paul Dunford & Steve Percival issued way back when. They were great guys doing all that work. If I recall correctly, it was Paul who sent me “Phil Spector’s Christmas Album” when it came out on Apple in 1972. I will never forget the thrill when it arrived. I just couldn’t believe that I had this album at long last. Thanks Paul!! – All the best, Paul (English)

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  10. I came onto this site hoping it might be some sort of fan club that I could join.

    What I really would like to do is to get hold of a list/schedule of every record Phil was involved with.

    is that possible, can someone tell me, please?

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    1. Hi Tony. I’d advise you to seek out the various books on Spector. More often than not, they have a discography at the end. Almost all of them have a few mistakes, but the more books you attain, the clearer the picture of his releases, you’ll get.

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  11. Hi. Was interested to read about the PSAS and newsletters/magazines during the 70’s and 80’s. I was a member and still have my membership cards and Xmas cards they sent out as well as the newsletters. There was a wealth of information and it pointed me to many Spector records I was not aware of to help build my collection. Did you manage to get copies of the 1982 newsletters prior to the start of Philately. Regards Barry

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    1. Hi Barry. Glad to have stop by here. As a matter of fact, I still don’t have the PSAS newsletters from 1982 and until the start of Philately. If you have these, and would be willing to photocopy them for me, I’d really appreciate it. You can contact me privately via the contact adress above in the blog’s ‘About’ section.

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Musings on Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and similar music…