Review – Bobby Hatfield, The Other Brother

****½ (4½ stars out of 6)

Confession: when I first fell head over heels in love with the wall of sound in the early 00s, it was by way of the Righteous Brothers. Being a die-hard soul fan, it took me a little longer to warm to the other parts of the Philles catalog. However, those glorious, soulful vocals by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield?… Pure bliss! I was hooked rightaway. To this day, ‘Just Once in my Life’ is probably my favourite Spector production.

When singing together these guys were incredible but they could also pack a punch on their own as plenty of tracks on the various Righteous Brothers albums prove.

Allegedly, Bobby Hatfield was frustrated by the immediate attention bestowed to Bill Medley by Spector on follow-ups to ‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling’, but luckily Hatfield was given quite a few opportunities to shine amid shimmering, echo-soaked backing tracks. ‘I Love You (for Sentimental Reasons)’ and ‘Ebb Tide’ have always been especially dear to me, even more so than the iconic ‘Unchained Melody.’ (and let’s skip the discussion of who really produced that gem!)

“Dammit Bobby. This is your final chance, or I’ll have Bill sing it!”

It’s about time Bobby Hatfield got his proper due and what better company to do his musical legacy justice than the fine folks at UK label Ace Records? They have just released a superb compilation with the apt title ‘The Other Brother’ that is a must-buy for any Cue Castanets reader.

The compilation displays the high standard we’ve come to expect from Ace projects; well-chosen tracks – including never before released recordings, beautiful cover artwork and very informative liner notes as well as top-notch sound quality. Believe me, ordering this release is a no-brainer. Your ears will thank you!

There can be no doubt that Bobby was an extraordinary singer who made the most of the songs he was given, even though the material at hand on occasion was of lesser quality. There are a few instances of this on the disc but it doesn’t mar the overall listening experience. Bobby could obviously inject life and drama into even the most mediocre songs.

Having said that, there is an overload of great recordings on ‘The Other Brother’, none the least a smattering of previously unreleased songs of high quality which makes one wonder why they never saw the light of day. I’m especially fond of Bobby’s velvet-soft take on ‘Crying in the Chapel.’

Of particular interest for Spector connoisseurs is a hitherto unreleased version of ‘Paradise’; here reimagined as a mid-tempo soul song with a James Jamerson-type bass line, punchy horns and strings that bring forth a bit of the grandeur we know from the Spector-produced version with the Ronettes. Even though Bobby and the uncredited mystery producer involved do not achieve the same level of sophistication as the Tycoon of Teen, theirs is still a very good version – and one that’s very refreshing to hear after having played the Ronettes track to death.

Besides this song and a few other nice, unreleased recordings, Bobby also turns in a fine version of ‘See that Girl’, which of course graced side 2 of the ‘Just Once in my Life’ Philles album by the Righteous Brothers.

Outside of recording as a Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield wasn’t really that prolific. Eventually only issuing one album, the soulful ‘Messin’ in Muscle Shoals’ from 1971, his career was dogged by lukewarm reception to singles that were meant to test the waters for album projects.

A planned solo album for 1969 fell on the wayside after slow ’45 sales which is a shame; two of the songs for planned inclusion on this scrapped album is on ‘The Other Brother’, but it’s a shame that Ace hasn’t included strong cuts like ‘My Prayer’ and ‘Answer Me’ since they showcase Bobby at his best.

On the other hand, the whole ‘Messin’ in Muscle Shoals’ album is included – if you like southern soul, this album is right up your alley. You could argue that some of these later songs could have been left off to make room for more 60s Hatfield-leads like the Righteous Brothers take on ‘I Believe’ or the sublime ‘Answer Me’, but that’s all a matter of taste.

Personally, I was glad to have ‘Hang-Ups’ as the collection’s lead off track since it’s probably my favorite solo Hatfield recording and thus makes for the perfect opener. When released as a single it was paired with the groovy ‘Soul Café’ which is also a welcome inclusion on the disc.

All in all, this is a great and long overdue set highlighting different parts of Bobby’s career. Tip of the hat to compiler Tony Rounce and the rest of the team at Ace for continuously documenting the best pop of the 60s with care and affection.

You can order your own copy and listen to sound samples here:

https://acerecords.co.uk/the-other-brother-a-solo-anthology-1965-1970

Brother Bobby Gets his Due

All Cue Castanets readers should definately make a mental note of April the 28th because this date sees the release of what looks like a really interesting Bobby Hatfield compilation by UK label Ace Records.

The lovingly compiled and brilliantly annotated compilations from Ace Records have of course for decades been god-sends for all fans of classic 60s music, none the least those who crave the heavy thump of the Wall of Sound. We have Ace and its knowledgeable compilers like Mick Patrick and Tony Rounce to thank for must-buy sets like the Phil’s Spectre series, the three Jack Nitszche volumes and an on going songwriters series covering a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the Brill Building scene.

The three volumes in the Phil’s Spectre series.

Turns out that Ace has turned its attention to legendary blue eyed soulster Bobby Hatfield whose incredible pipes intertwined with Bill Medley’s on some of Spector’s most majestic productions. In my book, the singles and assorted album tracks Spector cut with the Righteous Brothers are at the pinnacle of the Wall of Sound.

‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling’, ‘Just Once in my Life’, ‘Hung on You’, ‘Ebb Tide’, White Cliffs of Dover’… Pure magic. Wearing your emotions on your vocal sleeve amid an abyss of echo and over-the-top backing has never sounded so good before or since. And yet, even though Bobby Hatfield’s stellar performance catapulted the Righteous Brothers take of ‘Unchained Melody’ to evergreen status, Bobby has arguably been somewhat overshadowed by his deeper-voiced brother. (and according to legend; Spector didn’t even produce the session despite the credit)

Bill Medley sang on the majority of the duo’s hits, at least during their mid-to-late 60s hey day, and he also had the more succesful solo career. At one point, Bobby Hatfield even had to team up with Medley-soundalike Jimmy Walker to continue recording and touring under the Righteous Brothers name.

But Bobby could hold his own – his voice was truly otherworldly when he sang in his upper register or sugarcoated songs with an effortless falsetto – case in point; check out the Righteous Brothers version of ‘I Believe.’

It is very satisfying to see that Ace has decided to put the spotlight firmly on Bobby’s cache of songs, both released and unreleased. The aptly titled ‘The Other Brother – a Solo Anthology 1965-70’ looks like a mouth-watering collection, not only highlighting the best and most interesting releases from Bobby’s struggling solo career,… but also treating listeners to some gems that never saw the light of day.

It’ll be interesting to hear the newly unearthed tracks, none the least an unreleased version of the Ronettes classic that is ‘Paradise.’ I can’t wait to hear how Bobby tackled this fantastic song and to hear the extent of the production, whether it follows the style and arrangement of the then unreleased Ronettes version or perhaps represents a grittier, more soulful take.

‘The Other Brother – a Solo Anthology 1965-70’ is out on Ace Records on April 28th: https://acerecords.co.uk/the-other-brother-a-solo-anthology-1965-1970

A Tease for a New Release

A little more than a week ago I was in London to see Brian Wilson and his band perform the iconic Pet Sounds album from start to finish at the Palladium Theatre. Allegedly, this will be the last European tour by the former Beach Boys leader.

As always, the Brian Wilson band, made up of stellar musicians as it is, really did the music justice and the venue was beyond beautiful. But truth be told, I found Brian Wilson’s performance quite depressing. He’s in his early 70s now and it shows by way of his voice and (lack of) energy and enthusiasm on stage.

I truly love the man and his music and have seen him live several times but based on the concert in London now may be a good time to call it a day. I hope Brian withdraws from the road with grace at some point instead of touring endlessly from now on, coming closer to a Chuck Berry-type situation. On the other hand, other fans have praised the same show I saw online so what do I know? It will be interesting to see how Brian goes about his career in the future.

Even though what should have been the highlight on my trip turned into a bit of a dissapointment, the trip was memorable for another reason. I got to meet up with two of the finest Spector experts out there; Phil Chapman, whose late 60s Spector fan club I have previously written about, and Mick Patrick whose work on compilations by Ace Records should be mandatory listening material for every Cue Castanets reader.

It was very interesting to finally meet up with these two knowledgeable gentlemen and talk about all things Spector over pasta at an Italian restaurant. Always intriguing to compare notes on favorite Spector productions, muse about what may or may not be collecting dust within the Spector tape vault and talk about Spector sound-alikes. What can I say? It was a great evening!

Mick was kind enough to bring along two recent vinyl releases from Ace Records for me and while typing this blog post I’m listening to the Knickerbockers’ carbon-copy Righteous Brothers version of ‘Wishful Thinking’ off the Phil’s Spectre vinyl edition. I wrote about this release a few months ago and as of writing it’s just about to hit the streets.

In short; this is an extract from Mick’s pioneering trilogy of Phil’s Spectre compilations that came out during the 00s, chock-full of bombastic Wall of Sound imitations. As such, if you have the CDs you’ll know each song on here but obviously, it’s very satisfying to hear them via the format they were recorded for back in the day.

Typically for Ace, the packaging is superb with extensive inner sleeve liner notes, cool photos and label scans and a nice cover with a red/yellow colour coordination that harkens back to the first Phil’s Spectre release. As if that wasn’t enough, the vinyl itself comes in beautiful orange – I’m guessing later print runs will just be regular vinyl.

I was quick to let Mick know how much his compilations, especially the Phil’s Spectre series, have meant to me through the years – almost as much as Spector’s own body of work. I’ve always been intrigued by soundalike discs and the study of what makes a planned soundalike production fall into place and sound convincing. So the mere concept of Phil’s Spectre has always been dear to me.

When I got heavily into Spector’s music at the very start of the 00s I craved for more Wall of Sound once I had traced down every production with a Spector production credit. Therefore, the trio of Phil’s Spectre discs was a god send for me and kept my flame burning during the following years.

The three volumes in the Phil’s Spectre series.

Since the release of the third installment in the series I’ve crossed my fingers that Ace would give Mick the go ahead for a 4^th volume. And without making any promises, Mick indicated that there have been talks about re-activating the series once again. Let’s hope this will happen because there are many, many fantastic sound-alikes out there just begging for being lovingly compiled on a Phil’s Spectre disc.

Something that could be very interesting – even though it will probably never happen – would be for the series to go past the 60s and venture into other decades. Heck, you could easily make a killer Phil’s Spectre disc only made up of 70s Spector sound-alikes. The 70s was ripe with adulation for the Wall of Sound which I’ve previously written about here:

That 70s Wall of Sound

Another idea could be for a disc comprising modern sound-alikes of which there are many great examples; you can check my personal picks here from my ongoing series of modern Spector sound-alikes:

https://cuecastanets.wordpress.com/category/modern-spector-soundalikes/

But in all honesty, the 60s of course was the decade where the most convincing, authentic Spectoresque sounds where put to vinyl so you won’t hear me complaining if a possible continuation of the series will have its focus stricktly on that decade. I just hope that some day, in the not too distant future, I will study liner notes on a new Phil’s Spectre compilation while wonderful monophonic masterpieces blast from the speakers.

Lovely sounds on this disc. Just look at Brian’s face for proof. He’s on the cover of another recent Ace vinyl edition of the label’s Here Today comp that collects interesting covers of Brian Wilson songs.

 

Noreen Corcoran has just purred ‘Why Can’t a Boy and Girl Just Stay in Love’ as the last track on side 2 of Phil’s Spectre – the vinyl edition. Excuse me while I get up and drop the needle on side 1 once Again…

Phil’s Spectre on your turntable

In many of my posts I’ve referred to the holy trinity of Spector soundalike compilations, Phil’s Spectre vol. 1, 2 and 3 put out by legendary UK reissue label Ace Records during the 00s. All three volumes are indespensable and revelatory in that they show how far-reaching the Wall of Sound was in terms of aspiring producers, engineers and artists to go for a similar approach with the cream of the crop ending up on these fine compilations.

The three volumes in the Phil’s Spectre series.

Some obvious choices couldn’t be included due to licensing problems but suffice to say, the majority of the very best 60s soundalikes can be enjoyed on the comps. Now, if only Ace would put out a 4th volume? Or even continue into the 70s, – a decade ripe with blatant Spector imitation. See my blog post about this here: https://cuecastanets.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/that-70s-wall-of-sound/

Oh well, we can dream, can’t we?

In the meantime it would appear as if Ace is gathering choice cuts from all three volumes for a special vinyl release under the ‘Phil’s Spectre’ moniker. A few days ago, the label let it be known via their Facebook page that they had a new LP underway in March followed by this nice-looking cover sporting the familiar image of Spector at the Gold Star console.

No info or track listing yet on the Ace Records website but my guess is that this is basically just a ‘Best of’ Phil’s Spectre-type of release. Not that this isn’t way cool in itself though! Vinyl was the medium these tracks were made for so it’s great to see that the format’s resurgence can lead to something like this.

Let’s hope Ace shifts a lot of copies and may look into releasing more Spector-relevant material on vinyl or otherwise.

Would-be Spectors # 3 – Jack Nitzsche

What can I write about Jack ‘Specs’ Nitzsche that hasn’t already been chronicled elsewhere? A legendary songwriter, producer and artist in his own right, Nitzsche’s first major claim to fame was his arranging skills, expertly put to use on a string of iconic Spector productions.

When Spector relocated his recording activities from New York to Los Angeles, the then-emerging new Mecca for pop, Nitzsche was quickly enlisted as arranger for his first LA session in 1962, the recording of ‘He’s a Rebel.’

Spector not only got the most talented up-and-coming arranger in town at his side, he also gained access to Nitzsche’s invaluable contacts, bringing together a veritable ‘who’s who’ of LA’s best session musicians. These dynamic, versatile players were later dubbed the Wrecking Crew and proved ready, willing and able to help Spector experiment and challenge conventional recording practices. He had missed that kind of support in New York where session musicians often made a fuzz when the soon-to-be ‘Tycoon of Teen’ tried to coerce them into unorthodox session takes.

60s session; Darlene Love, Phil Spector & Jack Nitzsche.

With Nitzsche as his right-hand man, Spector’s work took on gargantuan, cavernous proportions by each release. The duo worked together on so many classic recordings. The list goes on and on. I like this quote from legendary LA scenester Rodney Bingenheimer who visited the ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ session with Brian Wilson in 1966: “Jack and Phil were very tight. They were like co-pilots on the Concorde from a flight from France.” Well said!

Spector and Nitzsche really brought out the best in each other. As much as the Wall of Sound has often been attributed to the famed Gold Star studios echo chamber, you simply cannot underestimate Jack Nitzsche’s importance in the equation. Spector did create beautiful art with other arrangers, i.e. Arnold Goland, Gene Page and Perry Botkin Jr., but Nitzsche remained his preferred arranger – the one who understood his approach best. Always to be trusted to arrange those sweet, sweeping and highly beautiful strings that graced many a Philles release.

It is no surprise then that Nitzsche made the most out of his first-hand crash course in the Wall of Sound. There is a plethora of fantastic singles spread out among a myriad of labels. If a record company back then wanted a big sounding Wall of Sound production, hiring ‘Specs’ was your best bet. Not only did you get the master’s favorite arranger, you also got the same studio environment (Gold Star) and session musicians (the Wrecking Crew). More often than not, the results were prime examples of perfect Wall of Sound that could give even Spector a run for his money.

Jack to the left at a 60s session.

Labelling Nitzsche a mere Spector-clone though would be an insult. Unlike Spector, Nitzsche proved much more versatile and productive, moving with the times and amassing an impressive body of work through the 60s and beyond that proves he was well attuned to the shifting fads in the music business.

Where Spector often only hinted at the influence of, say, Motown or the emerging Folk-Rock sounds of the day, Nitzsche cleverly mixed his Wall of Sound background with the latest hot sound and got some great results. It’s no wonder that UK reissue label Ace Records have issued three great Nitzsche compilations that perfectly supplement their three ‘Phil’s Spectre’ 60s Wall of Sound soundalike compilations.

For anyone wanting to delve deeper into the Nitzsche legend, look no further than the online treasure trove of UK fan Martin Roberts. His Nitzsche website is filled to the brim with articles, interviews, reviews, news etc. Sadly, it seems as if he has abandoned the project in recent years but the range of info still on there is both impressive and overwhelming: http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/

Anthony Reichardt, whose fantastic youtube channel I’ve mentioned before, also has an extensive Nitzsche playlist you could check out. There are many songs on there not found on the three essential Ace Records Nitzsche compilations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0EB49B00F49C58DF

And not only that, but it also seems that a Nitzsche documentary is in the early planning stages. I hope this project will come to life as it would make for a nice supplement to the Wrecking Crew documentary: http://century67.com/untitled-jack-nitzsche-documentary

Finally, as I always do on the subject of would-be Spectors, here are my three personal picks showing Nitzsche at what he does best.

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Songs to seek out:

Hale & the Hushabyes – ‘Yes Sir, That’s my Baby’ (1964) – Stately string-soaked rendition of the old Irving Berlin standard with a giant chorus rumored to feature, among others, Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher, Jackie De Shannon and Darlene Love. According to Nitzsche, needing a bass singer, he went to the Gold Star lobby and grabbed some black guy no-one knew who was sitting there. Minutes later he sang the distinctive bass part in the song! The strings featured from ca. the 1 minute mark are achingly beautiful.

PJ Proby – ‘I Can’t Make It Alone’ (1966) – PJ Proby turns in his typical flamboyant vocal performance on this majestic blue-eyed soul ballad. The dense mono mix of the original single has Proby duetting with himself in frenetic Righteous Brothers-fashion.

The Satisfactions – ‘Daddy, You Gotta Let Him In’ (1966) – Take a dose of ‘Then He Kissed Me’, a pinch of Shangri-Las type teen drama, add some Gold Star echo and bring to a boil. Voila! The perfect Wall of Sound stomper about a Hell’s Angels member hiding out at his girlfriend’s home.

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Would-be Spectors # 2 – Jerry Riopelle

It’s time again to focus on one of the would-be Spectors that worked LA studios in the 60s, feverishly trying to nail the Wall of Sound. A good choice for the topic would be the often overlooked Jerry Riopelle.

Jerry was a very talented jack-of-all-trades – singer, songwriter, musician, producer – you name it! He could do it all. Yet he remains somewhat of a shadowy figure, mostly remembered today by hardcore fans of Phil Spector due to his involvement in some superb soundalike records. It’s even difficult to find a 60s photo of him online. This low-res image of him hanging out with Phil Spector and Jack Nitzsche is the best I could do.

Jack, Phil & Jerry. Mid-60s.

The Phil Spector Appreciation Society had an interview with Jerry in the Philately fanzine in 1984. Luckily for us, that interview is featured at the Spectropop website. So rather than me going on with a long post on Jerry’s adventures with the Wall of Sound, why not read his own detailed account?

http://www.spectropop.com/HOTB/HOTBpart3.htm

Suffice to say, Jerry’s position as Phil Spector’s protégée during the mid-60s gave him an unprecedented inner view on what made the wall come together in the studio. But even before he found himself under ‘Uncle Phil’s’ wing, he had the basic formula worked out. According to legend, when Spector’s preferred engineer Larry Levine played him Clydie King’s 1965 Riopelle-produced single ‘The Thrill is Gone’, the ‘Tycoon of Teen’ took notice and immediately decided to snap up the young producer for Philles Records.

In 1965 Riopelle produced some fantastic sides for Clydie King. ‘The Thrill is Gone’ is majestic and one can understand why Spector was impressed when he heard it. I personally think that ‘Missin’ my Baby’ from the same year betters it. What a lush, beautiful production! Both songs can be found on Ace Records’ must-have Phil’s Spectre comps, vol. 1 and 2.

Clydie King.

The crowning achievement for Riopelle though remains ‘Home of the Brave’ by Bonnie & the Treasures. Phil Spector released it on his Phi-Dan imprint in 1965. All sorts of rumors have surrounded this track ever since. One has it that it was actually Ronnie Spector who sang the lead. A ridiculous claim since you can easily hear it’s not her. It has since been established that it was session singer Charlotte O’Hara (Charlotte Ann Matheny) who took the lead.

Another rumor has it that it was Phil Spector who in reality produced this iconic single. Riopelle disputes that claim and has both a label production credit and his former successful Wall of Sound productions as evidence. I imagine that the rumor formed when Phil Spector personally took action and got behind the single very aggressively when a rival version by singer Jodi Miller hit the charts.

Here then, in all it’s muddy Gold Star echo glory, is the epic ‘Home of the Brave’:

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Songs to seek out:

Clydie King – ‘The Thrill is Gone’ (1965) & ‘Missin’ my Baby’ (1965) – You can’t go wrong with these two Wall of Sound classics.

Bonnie & the Treasures – ‘Home of the Brave’ (1965) – is this the pinnacle of the Spector soundalikes? I am of the opinion that Spector couldn’t have done this one better.

Bonnie – ‘Close Your Eyes’ (1966) – this fab production has a melody to die for. Charlotte O’Hara steps up to the mike for another great lead vocal.

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Where to find 60s Spector soundalikes?

My guess is that since you’ve taken the time to read some of the posts here, you probably already know quite a bit about the Wall of Sound. I assume you’re well aware that as a 60s musical phenomenon the Wall of Sound wasn’t limited to the releases on Phil Spector’s Philles Records.

It’s basic music business instinct to jump on the bandwagon, whenever something catches on and sets the Top 40 on fire. So it’s no surprise that once Phil Spector had major hits under his belt, numerous imitators copied his distinctive style hoping to garner quick sales.

But there’s also another element. Besides the remarkable success Spector had with his Philles label, he was also greatly admired by his producer contemporaries or those who was just trying to carve out a place for themselves in the record business. Dubbed the ‘Tycoon of Teen’ early on, Phil Spector proved that you could have great success following your instincts and personal quirks rather than producing records the conventional way. He literally broke every rule in the book, – meters going in the red, singles running over the advised length for radio airplay, string arrangements more suitable for Wagner than pop etc.

That so many copied Spector during the 60s wasn’t only down to the prospect of having hits. It was also a case of testing yourself to see if you had it in you to follow in his footsteps. And who knows? Perhaps even beat him at his own game. I can imagine that when a producer heard the Wall of Sound back then, it was like having Spector slap you in the face with a glove and challenge you to a no-holds-barred, echo-chamber-crunching duel! Look at Brian Wilson for god’s sake. Literally shaking, he had to pull over his car when he first heard ‘Be my Baby’ blaring from the car radio!

Brian and many others took up the challenge and rose to the occasion with fantastic results. The British specialist re-issue label Ace Records has issued a fantastic serious of CDs during the 00s called ‘Phil’ Spectre’. Over three volumes they have compiled some of the best 60s Spector soundalikes. If you don’t own these compilations already, go buy them immediately. They are as essential as some of Phil Spector’s best work. Highly recommended! And that also goes for other Ace Records compilations focusing on the work of Spector’s favourite arranger Jack ‘Specs’ Nitzsche or the Brill Building songwriting duos whose best songs often got the Wall of Sound treatment. Spectorphiles worldwide have a lot to thank Ace Records for.

Sadly, the label has indicated that we have probably seen the last volume in the series. They are difficult to compile since the most appropriate songs for inclusion are spread over a myriad of obscure labels. You can imagine how that results in a licensing nightmare.

So what do you do if you have a craving for obscure attempts at the Wall of Sound but aren’t willing to spend years and a fortune rummaging through old boxes for dusty 45s? Enter Anthony Reichardt.

Anthony has a truly mindblowing collection of singles that show how sparks flew all over when Spector’s sonic call to arms made the US music scene reverberate. Best of all, Anthony graciously offers all fans the chance to listen in via his incredible Youtube channel. You can literally spend hours there browsing through his playlists and checking out interesting videos, – it’s the Youtube equivalent of walking into a record shop and discovering a box  in the far corner labeled ‘Obscure Spector Sounds.’

The amount of great work on those playlists is mindboggling. We’re talking at least 10 potential ‘Phil’s Spectre’ volumes here. Anthony’s videos are beautifully compiled and almost all feature all the info on the artist, label, studio etc he has been able to locate.

Anthony’s Youtube profile

http://www.youtube.com/user/reichardtaj

Here’s an embed of his Gold Star playlist. Do check it out. And don’t forgot his other playlists focusing on Gene Page, Jack Nitzsche, Teddy Randazzo and  Bob Crewe among others.

Anthony Reichardt’s Gold Star Studios playlist

Anthony also has a page on Facebook that’s a must to follow

Gold Star Recording Studios & the ‘Wall of Sound’

https://www.facebook.com/goldstarrecordingstudios