More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: Chris Farlowe On Immediate

CHRIS FARLOWE-Paint It Black/You're So Good For Me US Immediate ZS7 5002 1967

Poor Chris Farlowe, after scoring a UK #1 with "Out Of Time" some Brainiac at Immediate records assumed he'd score a hat trick again (and again, and again) so they had him record versions of more Stone's tracks for A-sides. British 45's of "Ride On Baby and "Yesterday's Papers" all sank, as did a reading of  "Paint It Black". The previously mentioned tracks did not receive a US release, but "Paint It Black" did.  In fact the British version came out in July 1968 while today's specimen was issued in the US of A a full 9 months EARLIER in November of 1967 (not to be outdone it was reissued again by Immediate in the US the following year in September with a different flip side, still to no chart avail)!!

Farlowe's reading of "Paint It Black" never did much for me. Art Greenslade's strings add an odd "Fiddler On The Roof" vibe to it and let's be honest folks you don't fuck with the classics, unless of course you're Otis Redding, which Chris Farlowe was not. Next....

What makes this 45 good is that the US release is backed by the Oldham/Bell/Skinner/Rose (the latter two were better known as Immediate label mates Twice As Much) composition "You're So Good For Me". The track was previously used as a Twice As Much UK B-side the previous year in November and Farlowe's UK B-side to his Small Faces cover "My Way Of Giving" issued in January 1967. It's got a wonderful soulful delivery (and I swear I hear P.P. Arnold among the female backing vocals) and it moves along nicely in no small part to Art Greenslade's orchestration . The production was by none other than Mick Jagger!

Both sides are available in a host of places because Castle Communications, who own the Immediate back catalog, will license it's tracks to everyone.....and also because other dodgy companies were slinging the stuff prior to Castle acquiring the rights.

Hear "Paint It Black":

https://youtu.be/-CIqx9wIQQU

Hear "You're So Good For Me":

https://youtu.be/Ve5gNM-96VA

More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: The Eyes Of Blue

EYES OF BLUE-Up And Down/Heart Trouble US Deram 45-85001 1966

Future Welsh prog rockers The Eyes Of Blue made their debut in the UK in November 1966 (DM 106). It's US issue came a month later. The band were a suited and booted, razor sharp mod/r&b/blue eyed soul sextet who cut just two 45's for Deram before morphing into a heavier act and switching to Mercury.

Sadly the A-side of their debut "Up And Down" is dreadful, it sounds NOTHING like anything else the band did. The vibes at first lead you to believe it might be an uptempo soul number (in fact there's a hint of "Ain't No Soul..." to it) but then the vocals come in and it sounds like a football terrace chant doing a Freddie and The Dreamers tune. Next!

Luckily there is absolute redemption on the B-side. Props to the band for obscurity on their choice of material. They could have went the usual route and just covered a Stax or Motown number but in true mod style they dug deeper and went with "Heart Trouble" originally cut by The Parliament's on the flip of "That Was My Girl" (Golden World GW-46). The Eyes of Blue managed a hat trick by getting it released the same month as the original (November 1966). I'm not sure how that happened so we are indeed open to any information. Regardless The Eyes Of Blue's version was issued in the UK as Deram DM 106 on November 11, 1966.   With all of that out of the way I am going to commit mod sacrilege here by proffering the theory that this version surpasses the original. It's stronger, the vocals are more gutsy, the musical backing is fuller, the production is better and it's slightly more uptempo. The E.O.B. version eschews the falsetto backing vocals and strings of Ivory Joe Hunter's production and goes for goes with backing vocals slightly at a lower octave (giving it a feel not unlike The Action) and going heavy on the bass/drums/percussion with some tasty organ bits.   Curiously the Eyes Of Blue version omits a verse ("I'm draggin' water all through the house, I called the plumber to see if he could fix the leak...etc"). "Heart Trouble" become somewhat popular on the Northern Soul scene but the band's crowning glory in that genre would come with their next and final Deram 45 in February 1967 "Supermarket Full Of Cans".

"Up And Down" thankfully has not been reissued but "Heart Trouble" has seen a placing on a variety of compilations, among them Decca/Deram's "Northern Soul Scene" CD and Psychic Circle's "Fairtyales Can Come True Vol 4: We All Love The Human Race".

Avoid  "Up And Down":

https://youtu.be/9xtt__-8FdY

Hear "Heart Trouble":

https://youtu.be/S0xCBlvBV14

10 Groovy Small Faces Covers

The Small Faces are one of my favorite bands of all time. Unknown to many there was a host of cover versions of their material through out the 1960's, in fact many of them came from Australia and even the United States. Here's ten of them for your enjoyment:

1. P.P. ARNOLD-"(If You Think You're) Groovy" UK Immediate IM 061 1968
"(If You Think You're) Groovy" is without a doubt the most famous SF's track that they never recorded on their own. Long rumored to lie awaiting a release in the vaults, a SF's recording of the track has yet to surface. No bother as the backing track is the band complete with Ronnie Lane's distinct Harmony bass lines, Ian McLagan's electric piano, Kenny Jone's signature drum rolls and Steve Marriott's soulful backing vocals. "Groovy" is a classic track thanks to the production (care of Messr's Marriott and Lane), the brass (trumpeter Eddie Thornton and a few other former band mates from Georgie Fame's Blue Flames) and of course P.P. Arnold's vocals wailing in the ultimate put down song.

https://youtu.be/vMuE5hAADRs

2. INKASE-"Have You Ever Seen Me" Australia Sweet Peach SP-017 1970
Covered by The Stillroven in Minnesota (August 102, 1968) and Apostolic Intervention in the UK (Immediate IM 043, 1967) this spirited  Antipodean version was unearthed for the excellent "Downunder Nuggets" compilation a few years back and dates from 1970 where it was issued as a B-side to a 45 by Inkase. The misheard lyrics are a gas ("I've seen the lace..." , "I take a flowers, I take 'em to the laundry") but the delivery is excellent and far more powerful than any other versions out there to my ears.

https://youtu.be/WkU016vbTSA

3. CHRIS FARLOWE-"My Way Of Giving" UK Immediate IM 041 1967
Chris Farlowe beat the SF's release of this track by a few months (it would later emerge as an LP track on their untitled Immediate long player). Like his hit on the label "Out Of Time" , it was produced by Mick Jagger and orchestrated by Art Greenslade. It's interesting but suffers, in my estimation, of having too much going on in it. In a BBC radio interview at the time of it's release Farlowe stated that the Faces played on it (P.P. Arnold is also discernible in the backing vocals)..

https://youtu.be/_s2F80Nl7zE 

4. THE LA DE DA's-"Hey Girl"  New Zealand Phillips PF-338090 1966
Found on the flip of a blistering cover of John Mayall's "On Top Of The World" this pretty pedestrian version by New Zealand's La De Da's offers nothing new or interesting bar the cheesy combo organ in the background that's more prevalent in the mix than any keyboards on the original.

https://youtu.be/-o9rFqJ8Uy4

Scan c/o 45cat.com

5. THE VALENTINES-"I Can't Dance With You" Australia Clarion MCK-1773 1967
Best known as Bon Scott of AC/DC fame's first group The Valentines cut a host of covers and their debut 45 paired this with a version of Arthur Alexander's "Every Day I Have To Cry". It's spunky and reminds me of a US garage band by eschewing any attempts at copying Marriott's soulful belting on the original while retaining the SF's go-go organ.

https://youtu.be/HoXcphD4vQ0

6. TYMEPIECE-"Become Like You" Australia 45 Festival FK-3369 1969
Sydney, Australia's curiously named/spelled Tymepice (featuring members of The Black Diamonds) get kudos for not only tackling an LP track (from the band's 2nd LP) but they rocked it out a bit by adding some "la la la's" and a bit more balls to the delivery. Sadly I couldn't find a link on YouTube to back up my description.

Scan c/o 45cat.com

7. THE CHRIS SHAKESPEARE GLOBE SHOW-"Tin Soldier" UK Page One POF 113 1968
On the flip of yet another dreadful cover of the Fab's "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is this pumped up interesting reading of "Tin Soldier". The brass really reminds me of Amen Corner and it's worth checking out on that alone. Vocally it reminds a bit of Eric Burdon but it all works somehow. Curiously it was released in 8 countries!

https://youtu.be/iHbjCETFXd8

8. THE INCAS-"One Night Stand" UK Parlophone R 5551 1966
High marks for Britain's Inca's who not only chose an obscure track from the SF's untitled debut Decca LP but backed it up with a carbon copy of the Action's reading of "I'll Keep Holding On"! This interpretation of "One Night Stand" is nothing earth shattering but they get credit for their decent choice of SF's tracks to cover even if it differs very little from the original.

https://youtu.be/WxrxUXNVdfU

9. JOHNNY HALLYDAY-"Amen" LP track France "Riviere Ouvre Ton Lit" Phillips 844 971 BY 1969
Towards the end of 1968 the SF's with Peter Frampton in tow headed over to France to earn a few pounds backing Gallic icon Johnny Hallyday on an LP he was recording where they backed him on three Marriott/Lane compositions (the others being "News Report" and "What You Will", the latter of which later cropped up on the debut Humble Pie long player). The third track, "Amen" is an adaption of the '66 Decca outtake "That Man" that loses all the hazy psychedelia of the original and becomes a heavy rock dirge not unlike what Humble Pie would eventually veer towards, with French lyrics of course. It works, but just barely mainly because Hallyday is clearly out of his vocal range on this one.

https://youtu.be/r5hYWlDr21M

Scan c/o 45cat.com

10. THE CLEVEDONAIRES-"Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire" New Zealand Impact IR-1036 1968
New Zealand's Clevedonaires backed a 45 of their version of Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street" with this Ian McLagan penned track from the band's untitled 2nd LP. It doesn't stray far from the original version but the churchy organ and tight West Coast style harmonies make it one of my favorite SF's covers.

https://youtu.be/2XRAAoTWvE0

Small Faces US Debut 45

SMALL FACES-Whatcha Gonna Do About It/Whats A Matter Baby US Press 45 PRE 9794 1965

 Such was the power of all things from England in the USA that in October 1965 Press records issued the debut 45 by a new and unknown London quartet called the Small Faces. The band made their UK debut in August 1965 on Decca F 12208 (which eventually rose to # 14 there) just a few short months after forming with Steve Marriott (lead vocals, guitar), Ronnie Lane (bass), JImmy Winston (keyboards) and Kenny Jones (drums).

Classic David Wedgbury Decca promo photo

Debut 45's don't come much stronger than "Whatcha Gonna Do About It". Loosely based on Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love"  it was written by Ian Samwell (author of Cliff Richard's "Move It") and Brian Potter (later to write "Don't Pull Your Love", "One Tin Soldier" and many other hits). Propelled by Winston's Vox Continental organ and Steve Marriott's blisteringly raw vocals it has an air of aggression that reminds at times of an American garage punk record.

The flip side is a cover of Timi Yuro's June 1962 hit "What's A Matter Baby" (Liberty 55469). If not for Marriott's incredible vocal's it would be just another mid tempo r&b cover, but nonetheless it's worth a listen. Interestingly outside of this and a version of The Miracle's "You Really Got A Hold On Me" the band pretty much veered away from soulful ballads.

Both sides have been issued in a variety of places, the best being a deluxe edition of their untitled debut Decca LP.

Hear "Whatcha Gonna Do About It":

https://youtu.be/43Dc9BsHhDY

Hear "What's A Matter Baby":

https://youtu.be/mx0DkeDPd-M

Hear a Live BBC version of "Whatcha Gonna Do About It":

https://youtu.be/D_AVRGJr_7E