203 Hello Neil Diamond - Cracklin Rosie

Chart  entered : 7  November  1970

Chart  peak : 3

Number  of  hits : 14

As  an  artist  Neil  has  had  a  surprisingly  modest  haul  of  hits  to  say  he's  been  around  for  so  long.

Neil  Diamond  was  born  Neil  Diamond  - Noah  Kaminsky  was  merely  a  stage  name  he  once  toyed  with - in  Brooklyn  in  1941. He  took  up  fencing  as  a  youth  and  made  the  1960  national  championships. He  had  ambitions  to  go  into  medical  research  but  got  a  lucrative  songwriting  deal  before  he  graduated  from  New  York  University.

He  first  recorded  in  1962 as  part  of  a  duo  Neil  and  Jack  with  a  high  school  friend  Jack Peter. He  wrote  their  first  single  "You  Are  My  Love  At  Last"  which  was  released  in  March 1962. It  sounds  like  the  theme  to  an  epic  Western  with  its  stirring  strings  and  was  a  confident  though  unsuccessful  start  for  the  young  singer. The  follow-up  was  "I'm  Afraid"  which  sounds  like  an  amateur  attempt  to  sound  like  the  Everly  Brothers; the  strained  vocals  an  clumsy  production  make  it  an  uncomfortable  listen.

Neil  and  Jack  went  their  separate  ways  and  Neil  signed  for  Columbia  as  a  solo  artist  in 1963.  He  put  out  the  single  "At  Night"  in  July  1963  which  he  later  described  as  "me  trying  to  be  Neil  Sedaka.... and  not  even  coming  close". In  fairness  it's  a  reasonable  stab  at  Brill  Building  pop  with  melodic  similarities  to  Blue  Moon  and  a  nice  mariachi  trumpet  in  the  instrumental  break  but  his  voice  isn't  really  suited  to  the  material.

Columbia  were  not  interested  in  extending  the  contract  and  Neil  disappeared  into  the  Brill Building  to  work  on  his  songs. His  first  hit  as  a  writer  came  two  years  later  with  Jay  and the Americans' Sunday  And  Me.  This  renewed  interest  in  him  as  a  performer  and  he  got  a deal  with  Bang  Records  in  1966.

His  first  single  release  for  them  was  the  classic  "Solitary  Man", surprisingly  under-appreciated in  the  UK  where  it  wasn't  a  hit  for  anyone until  Finnish  rockers  HIM  took  it  to  number  9  in  2004. Starting  with  a  descending  guitar  jangle  Neil  sets  up  his  stoic  loner  persona  with  a  tale  of  betrayal  and  doubt,  told  with  devastating  terseness - "Me  and  Sue, that  died  too" - and  the  realisation  that  the  ideal  relationship  might  never  happen  for  him . Neil's  morose  tones  are  underscored  by  sympathetic  brass, at first  upbeat  and  jaunty  as  he  contemplates  happiness  then  sad  and  slow  to  match  current  reality. It  was  his first  US  hit  peaking  at  55  first  time  round  then  21  when  reissued  in  1970.

After  that  the  loosely-structured  good  time  groove  of  "Cherry  Cherry"  seems  like  a  disappointment  although  it  was  a  much  bigger  hit  ( number  6 ).  It's  still  an  effective  pop  record  with  its  Latino  breaks  effectively  the  chorus  and  Neil  growling  the  sexual  come -ons  in  the  lyric. His  first  album  "The  Feel  Of  Neil  Diamond "  came  out  shortly  afterwards  and  made  a  minor  impression  on  the  charts.  Half  the  songs  are  undistinguished  covers  but  "Love  To  Love"  ( later  covered  by  The  Monkees )  is  pretty  good  , better  than  "Oh  No  No"  which  was  issued  as  a  third  single  under  the  title  "I  Got  The  Feelin"  and  is  a  routine  sub-Righteous  Brothers  big  ballad.  Nevertheless  it  got  to  number  16. The  B-side  was  "The  Boat  That  I  Row", a  big  UK  hit  when  covered  by  Lulu  the  following  year.

In  February  1967  he  chalked  up  another  hit  ( number  18  ) with  the  early  Stones  R & B  groove  of  "You  Got  To  Me"  then  two  months  later  unleashed  his  next  classic , "Girl, You'll Be  A  Woman  Soon",  a  dark  ballad  about  fighting  against  parental  disapproval  ( her's )  that  inverts  the  usual  form  by  having  urgent  verses  followed  by  a  slow  and  doom-laden  chorus. It  reached  number  10  and  was  his  first  single  to  make  an  impact  in  Europe  when  it  reached  the  Top  30  in  Holland. Covers  have  ranged  from  excellent  ( Urge  Overkill )  to  clueless  ( Cliff  Richard ).

The  entirely  self-written  album "Just  For  You"  is  virtually  a  compilation  as  it  features  "Solitary  Man"  and  "Cherry  Cherry"  again  and  most  of  the  other  tracks  were  subsequently  released  as  singles. It  peaked  at  80  in  the  US. "Thank  The  Lord  For  The  Night  Time" from  July  1967  sounds  like  it  was  deliberately  written  with  The  Monkees  in  mind  with  an  uptempo  rhythm  very  similar  to  I'm  A  Believer.  It  reached  number  13. In  October  he  released  the  original  "Kentucky  Woman"  ( number  22 )  a  pleasant  country  pop  number  that  gives  few  clues  as  to  why  Deep  Purple  thought  it   suitable  to  cover.

By  1968  Neil  was  in  dispute  with  Bang , wanting  to  record  more  ambitious  material  and  the  label  , knowing  that  he  may  not  be  theirs  for  much  longer  began  to  release  singles  willy-nilly. First  there  was  his  ordinary  cover  of  "New  Orleans" from  the  first  album ( number  51 )  then  the  morose  original   of   "Red  Red  Wine"  ( minus  any  reggae  stylings )  from  the  second ( number  62 ).

Neil  found  a  loophole  in  his  contract  that  allowed  hin  to  sign  for  Uni  Records  who  released  "Brooklyn  Roads "  in  May  1968.  This  auto-biographical  account  of  his  childhood , attractively  bathed  in  strings  by  Artie  Schroeck   isn't  willfully  uncommercial  but  doesn't  have  a  recognisable  chorus  and  peaked  at  58. He  pushed  the  envelope  a  bit  further  with  "Two-Bit  Manchild  "  with  its  Day  Tripper  -like  central  riff , queasy  organ  and  Neil's  yelping  delivery  of  the  lyric  of  unfocused  defiance. It  got  to  number  66. Neil's  remarkably  consistent  ability  to  hit  the  middle  reaches  of  the  chart  continued  with  the  pleasant  "Sunday  Sun",  enlivened  by  female  harmonies  , which   reached  68  ( its  performance  might  have  been  compromised  by  Bang  releasing  "Shilo"  from  the  second  album  at  the  same  time ).

The  three  singles  ( and  two  of  their  B-sides )  all  appeared  on  the  album  "Velvet  Gloves  And  Spit" released  in  October  1968  . With  so  much  previously  released  material  on  it  and  a  scanty  running  time  of   just  over  27  minutes  it's  perhaps  unsurprising  that  it  failed  to  chart. The  new  material  ranges  from  the  brilliant  "A  Modern-Day  Version  Of  Love"  to  the  irredeemably  stupid  "Pot  Smoker's  Song"  which  has  to  be  the  musical  low  point  of  his  career.

In  January  1969  he  produced  a  bigger  hit  single  ( number  22 )  with  "Brother  Love's  Travelling  Salvation  Show"  , an  appropriately  gospel-flavoured   account  of  the  fervour  kicked  up  by  a  travelling  preacher  with  a  big  chorus. It  became  the  title  track  of  his  next  LP  ( although,  when  his  next  single  "Sweet  Caroline"  made  number  4  it  was  quickly  added  and  the  LP  reissued  under  that  title )  which  reached  number  80. A  certain  blandness  is  already  creeping  into  his  music  and apart  from  the  single  only  the  Elvis-covered  ballad  "And  The  Grass  Won't  Pay  No  Mind"  and  the  annoying  country  novelty "You're  So  Sweet  Horseflies  Keep  Hanging  Around  Your  Face"  stand  out.

The   success  of  "Sweet  Caroline ",  inspired  by  a  magazine  photo  of  President  Kennedy's  daughter  with  its  big  singalong  chorus   only  accelerated  the  trend. That's  not  to  diss  the  single  which  is  a  fine  piece  of  pop  with  a  brilliant  arrangement  by  Charles  Calello  but  the  brooding  songwriter  of  the  mid-sixties  would  only  be  fitfully  glimpsed  now  ( his  best  song  of  the  seventies,  "I  Am  I  Said"   sounds  like  a  requiem  for  his  old  self )  as  the  performer  took  centre  stage. That  said  his  next  single  "Holly  Holy", a  slow  building  spiritual  epic  with  clear  gospel  influences  is  pretty  good  and  reached  number  6.

Another  album  quickly  followed  before  the  decade  closed  although  "Touching  You  Touching  Me"   is  filled  out  with  covers ; I  sometimes  think  it  would  be  easier  to  list  those  who  didn't  cover  "Everybody's  Talkin".  Neil's  higher  profile  was  indicated  by  it  reaching  number  30 .It  does  contain  a  gem  in  "And  The Singer  Sings  His  Song"  though  the  choice  for  a  second  single  fell  on  his  cover  of  Buffy  Saint-Marie 's  "Until  It's  Time  For  You  To  Go"  which  is  creditable  but  only  reached  number  53  because  Bang  again  released  "Shilo"  and  this  time  it  reached  number  24. Neil's  response  was  to  re-record  the  song  himself , add  it  to  "Velvet  Glove  And  Split"  and  reissue  it  under  the  new  title.

He  then  turned  his  attention  to  his  next  album  "Tap  Root  Manuscript"  the  second  side  of  which  would  be  a  20  minute  suite  of  songs  inspired  by  Africa. The  song  "Soolamain"  ( meaning  "welcome"  )   proved  so  popular  when  performed  live  it  became  his  next  single  ,  the  unusual  percussion  and  exotic  title  not  preventing  it  reach  number  30  in  the  charts. Bang  got  in  the  way  again  by  re- releasing  "Solitary  Man"  but  this  didn't  prevent  "Cracklin  Rosie" from  becoming  his  first  US  number  one.

I  wonder  how  many  people  called  Rose  who  love  this  song  realise  it's  an  ode  to  cheap  liquor  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  train-jumping  hobo  whose  lifestyle  prevents  him  from  enjoying  physical  comforts  hence  she's  "a  poor  man's  lady"  and  "store  bought  woman". However  Neil  disguises  the  rather  sad  subject  matter  with  a  bright  and  bouncy  country  rock  arrangement  and  those  two  dramatic  pauses  -"Play  it  now, play  it  now !"  - which   suggest  a  big  chorus  is  coming  but  actually  just  re-boot  the  song  from  the  beginning.It  is  one  of  his  most  memorable  songs  and  finally  broke  him  in  the  UK  where  it  remains  his  biggest  hit.

      

202 Hello New Seekers - What Have They Done To My Song Ma

Chart  entered : 17  October 1970

Chart  peak : 44

Number  of  hits : 14

After  waving  goodbye  to  Judith  Durham  and  the  boys  a  couple  of  years  earlier  we  now had to  confront  their   bastard  offspring. The  New  Seekers'  hit  run  started  and  ended  within  the  seventies  and  they  are  possibly  the  biggest  victim's  of  Lena's  Fog  with  none  of  their  hits getting  radio  play  any  more.

The  New  Seekers  were  the  brainchild  of  "old"  Seeker   Keith  Potger  who  put  together  a  line  up,  in  collaboration  with  his  friend  David  Joseph, of  new  faces  to  carry  on   the  harmony  pop  tradition  of  the  original  band. The   first  recruit  was  young  actor   and  guitarist  Laurie  Heath  who  answered  an  advert  placed  in  The  Stage. He  suggested  his  friend  Chris  Barrington  for  the  bass. Marty  Kristian  kept  an  Australian  flavour  ( though  German-born ) as  the  third  man; Joseph  knew  him  from  Australian  TV.  The  two  girls  were  Eve  Graham , a  Scottish  singer   and  Sally  Graham  ( no  relation )  from  the  Young  Generation  Dancers.

Marty  was  a  reasonably  successful  solo  star  in  Australia  in  the  late  sixties  with  three  moderate  hits  showcasing  a  light  but  adaptable  voice  on  folk  rock  ( Bobby  Darin's  "We  Didn't  Ask  To  Be  Brought  Here" )  and  beat  pop  ( Crispian  St  Peters's  "I'll  Give  You  Love" ). When  his  own  song  the  flamenco-flavoured "The  Innkeeper's  Daughter"  failed  to  chart  he  packed  up  for  England  and  was  about  to  go  into  Hair  when  he  got  the call  from  Joseph.

Eve  Graham  was  the  oldest  member. in  fact  a  few  months   older  than  Judith  Durham,  and   the  most  musically  experienced. She  had  been  singing  for  most  of  the  sixties, first  up  in Scotland  then  down  in  London  with  the  Cyril  Stapleton  Band. In  1966  she  joined  a  band called  The  Track   who  released  a  version  of  "Why  Do  Fools  Fall  In  Love". They  mutated into  The  Nocturnes. At  that  point  one  of  their  singers  Sandra  Stevens ( later  to  turn  up  in Brotherhood  of  Man )  left  and  was  replaced  by  18-year old  Mancunian  Lyn  Paul.  The Nocturnes   were  a  popular  live  act  who  flitted  between  soul  and  pop. I've  only  heard  three  of their  five  singles  , a  slow  Mavis  Staple  cover  "Why ( Am  I  Treated  So  Bad ) " really  badly produced, a  Jimmy  Webb  cover , "Carpet  Man"  and  their  ambitious  final  single  "Montage"   from  November  1968  where  Lyn   seems  to  be  aiming  for  a  new  canine  audience  in  the chorus.

Just  before  joining  the  New  Seekers  Eve  recorded  an  overblown  duet  with  singer  Roger  Cooke  , "Smiling  Through  My  Tears "  released  in  June  1969. It's  a  great  vocal  performance  but  just  too  bombastic  to  be  a  comfortable  listen.

Unfortunately  I  haven't  heard  their  first  single  "Meet  My  Lord" ( released  in  October  1969 )  nor  anything  from  their  eponymous  first  album  ( released  in  January  1970 ). Potger  produced  them  and  appeared  on  stage  with  them  but  didn't  want  to  be  on  the  recordings.  Neither  were  hits   and  after  an  Australian  tour in  the  spring  of  1970  Potger  proposed  to change  the  band's  approach   and  join  it  himself. This  wasn't  to  the  liking  of  Laurie, Chris  and  Sally  who  quit  to  form  their  own  band  Milkwood  on  the  eve  of  a  summer  tour. Replacements  had  to  be  found  quickly  so  Eve  suggested  Lyn  would  be  an  ideal  replacement  for  Sally. The  guys  were  replaced  by  Peter Doyle  who had  been  a  star  in  Australia  since  the  age  of  9  latterly  in  a  Walker  Brothers - style  trio  the  Virgil  Brothers  and  Paul  Layton  an  Englishman  who  was    primarily  an  actor  but  had  recently  released  a  single  "Mister Mister"  the  producer  of  which  alerted  him  to  the  New  Seekers  gig. He  became the  bassist  which  led  to  him  often  looking  a  goon  on  TV  when  the  other  guys  had  acoustic  guitars  and  he  had  to pose  with  an  unplugged  electric  bass.

The  band  were  caught  in  a  somewhat  awkward  situation  with  this, their  second  single  which  had  been recorded  by  the  original  line up  and  they  had  to  do  promotional  work  for  a  track  on  which  most  of  them  didn't  feature. "What  Have  They  Done  To  My  Song  Ma"  was written  by  rising  star  Melanie  Safka  as  a  hippie  whinge  about artistic  interference.  The  New   Seekers  shorten  it, beef  up  the  vaudeville  elements  in  the  original  and  Eve  provides  a  smoother  vocal  cutting  out  the  close-to-irritating  vibrato  and  building  up  to  a  mighty  shout  in  the  final  chorus. The  Americans  liked  it  more  than  us  placing  it  at  number  14.

201 Hello Carpenters - ( They Long To Be ) Close To You

Chart  entered : 5  September  1970

Chart  peak : 6

Number  of  hits : 19

One  of  the  decade's  defining  acts  now  make  their  appearance; all  the  songs  people  remember them  for  were  released  in  the  1970s.

The  Carpenter  siblings  were  born  in  Connecticut , Richard in  1946, Karen  in  1950. In  1963  the  family  moved  to  California. The  following  year  Richard  enrolled  at  California  State  College  where  he , already  an  accomplished  pianist, started  hanging  around  with  other  musicians. At  the  same  time  Karen  was  learning  to  play  the  drums  whilst  at  school. Towards  the  end  of  1965  they  started  a  jazz  trio  with  bassist  Wes  Jacobs  , the  Richard  Carpenter  Trio. The  following  year  they  won  the  Hollywood  Bowl  Battle  of  the  Bands  as  an  instrumental  act  and  were  signed  by  RCA  although  their  recordings  were  not  released  until  1991. Later  in  1966  Karen  was  heard  singing  by  producer  Joe  Osborn  who  immediately  signed  her  to  his  Magic  Lamp  label  for  the  single " I'll  Be  Yours"  

Although it's  credited  to  Karen  it  is  effectively  the  first  Carpenters  single  as  Richard  wrote  the song  and  plays the  keyboards  on  it. It's  very  much  in  the  girl  group  mode  with  Karen  pitching  somewhere  between  Lesley  Gore  and  Mary  Weiss  of  The  Shangri-las  although  the  melody  veers  off  in  some  strange  directions, aided  by  Karen's  irregular  timekeeping  on  the  skins. Osborn  only  had  the  funds  for  500  copies, making  it  an  expensive  item  to  purchase  today  and  his  label  soon  collapsed  but  his  studio  continued  to  be  available  to  them  for  making  demos.

While  continuing  with  the  Trio, in  1967  Karen  and  Richard  also  formed  a  six  piece  vocal  group Spectrum  with  some  other  students  including  their  long-term  collaborator  John  Bettis. They touted  demos  around  and  performed  live  but  no  one  was  interested  and  Spectrum  only  lasted  a  year. The  Trio  lasted  long  enough  to  make  a  TV  appearance  on  Your  All  American  College  Show  talent  contest   although  they  had  to  find  a  substitute  bassist  for  Wes  who'd  already  left  for  the  Detroit  Symphony  Orchestra. They  performed  a  pretty  horrible  jazz  version  of  "Dancing  In  The  Streets"  out  of  time  with  each  other. Karen's  drum  solo  is  actually  more  impressive  than  her  singing.

They  actually  won  the  prize  on  offer  but  it  didn't  "break" them. The  turning  point  was  Herb  Alpert  hearing  their  demo  and  signing  them  to  A & M  in  April  1969.  Their  debut  album  "Offering"  was  released  in  October  1969. It  was  largely  made  up  of  songs  Richard  had  written  during  the Spectrum  period  and  has  its  moments  although  it's  irredeemably  blighted  by  Richard's  decision  to  sing  lead  on  half  the  tracks. Whatever  his  talents  as  a  musician  and  composer  he's  an  abysmal  singer  ; "Get  Together"  is  the  worst  offender where  he  sounds  like  he's  got  a  peg  on  his  nose. Karen's  talent   isn't  yet  fully  formed  and  some  of  the  arrangements  are  over-florid. Their  cover  of  "Ticket  To  Ride"  which  replaces  Lennon's  sneaking  admiration  for  the  girl's  pluck  with  Karen's  utter  desolation  at  being  deserted  was  chosen  as  a  single  and  reached  number  54  in the  US. Despite  this  the  album  failed; a  year  later  it  was  reissued  as  "Ticket To  Ride" and  made  a   relatively  modest  showing   ( 150 in  the  US; 20  in  the  UK ). Since  2007  it  has  been  out  of  print. making  it  hard  to  get  hold  of  for  anyone  wanting  the  complete  set; I  don't  know  if  Richard  has  some  involvement  in  that.

Rather  than  release  another  single  from  the  LP   they  pressed  on  with  a  new  recording.  Herb  Alpert  had  been  recording  another  Bacharach-David  song  "They  Long To Be Close  To  You"  after  his  success  with  This  Guy's  In  Love  With  You  but  wasn't  happy  with  the  results  and  suggested  to  Richard  they  might  be  able  to  do  something  with  it. It  had  been  recorded  before  by  singing  actor  Richard  Chamberlain, Dionne  Warwick  and  Bacharach  himself  but  never  to  the  latter's  satisfaction.

Bacharach  has  always  said  that  Richard  nailed  the  arrangement  with  that  simple  jazz  piano hook before  Karen  pours  aural  honey  on  Hal  David's  ode  to  a  golden  Adonis. Then  you  have the  wistful  trumpet  solo  ( not  played  by  Alpert )  and  that   glorious  pause   before  the "Waaahhh"  chorus  lays  waste  to  any  resistance  to  its  easy  charms .  It  got  to  number  one  in  the  US  and  broke  them  all  over  the  world.

200 Hello Ozzy Osbourne* - Paranoid

(* as  part of  Black  Sabbath )

Chart  entered : 29  August  1970

Chart  peak : 4 ( 14  on   reissue )

Number  of  hits : 17  ( including  3  as  part  of  Black  Sabbath )

Note : Black  Sabbath  have  been  stuck  on  9  hits  since  1992 . If  they  do  manage  another before we  get  to  Ozzy's  solo  debut  this  post  will  be  re-written  to  cover  the  group  as  a  whole.

Ozzy's  real  first  name  is  John. He  was  born  in  Birmingham  to  a  working  class  family   in 1948. He  did  poorly  at  school  tried  out  at  various  manual  jobs   then  spent  time  in  prison  for burglary  after  his  father  refused  to  pay  his  fine. He first  hooked  up with  Geezer Butler  in 1967 then  Tony  Iommi  and  Bill  Ward  the  following  year. After  a  number  of  name  changes  they settled  on  Black  Sabbath  after  noting  a  cinema  queue  for  the  Boris  Karloff  film  of  the  same  name.

The  quartet  first  played  as  Black  Sabbath  in  Workington  in  August  1969. They  did  a  session  for  John  Peel's  Top  Gear  and  were  signed  in  November. They  released  their  first  single "Evil  Woman"  a  cover  of  a  recent  US  hit  by  the  band  Crow, in  January  1970. None  of  them  had  made  a  record  before  so  in  that  sense  they're  the  first  "new"  band  of  the  seventies. "Evil  Woman" lays  down  the  Sabbath  template  of   granite  hard  riffing, economical  soloing, occult  subject  matter ( though  in  this  case  someone  else's ) , a  sense  of  dread  and  oppression  unleavened  by  much  melody  and  of  course  Ozzy's  diseased  wail  of  a  voice. Like  Screaming  Lord  Sutch  before  him,  Ozzy  can't  sing  in  the normal  sense  of  the word  but  he  understood  that  in  rock  you  don't  need  to  be  a  great  singer, you  can  get  away  with  a  theatrical  sneer  if  you're  loud  enough. It  wasn't  a  hit.

The  quickly-recorded  debut  album  "Black  Sabbath"  came  out  the  following  month. It's  been  widely  touted  as  the  first  metal  album, the  blues  rock  of  Cream  mutated  into  something  different  but  as  the  product  of  provincial  and  proletarian  outsiders  it  wasn't  well  received   by  the  critics  at  the  time.  Nevertheless  it  was  a  substantial  hit  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. I'm  not  really  a  fan  of  their  music, preferring  to  get  my  doom  and  gloom  from  Joy  Division  at  the  other  end  of  the  decade,  and  Side  Two  degenerates  into  an  uninteresting  jam  but  I  can  see  why  a  significant  number  of  rock  fans  preferred  it  to   say  Atom  Heart  Mother  or  Tales  from  Topographic  Oceans.  There  were  certainly  plenty  of  Sabbath  fans  around  while  I  was  growing  up , both  at  school  and  in  the  neighbourhood.

"Paranoid"  was  their  next  recording  and  I've  covered  it  before  Radioactive .

  

199 Goodbye Al Martino - Spanish Eyes

Chart  entered : 22  August  1970

Chart  peak : 49  (  5  on  reissue  in  1973 )

So  now  the  original  chart  champ  bows  out. Al  had  looked  to  have  shot  his  bolt  in  1955  when  his  version  of  "The  Man  From  Laramie"  was  trounced  by  Jimmy  Young's  but  two  very  minor  hits  in  1960  and  1963  extended  his  run  ( and  get  him  over  the  line  for  here ). The  seven  years  that  then  elapsed  to  this  one  were  possibly  a  ( soon-to-be-broken ) record   at  the  time. In  the  American  charts  it  was  a  different  story  and  he  had  hits  throughout  the  sixties  although  they  were  getting  smaller  towards  the  end  of  the  decade.

"Spanish  Eyes"  was  actually  released  in  1966  and  was  a  number  15  hit  in  the  US at  the  time  . Why  it  took  five  years  to  cross  the  ocean  I  don't  know . Perhaps  exposure  to  Deep  Purple  and  the  even  more  terrifying  hairies  who  come  up  next  sent  mums  and  grans  to  the  shops  for  something  reassuring.  I  suspect  its  resurgence  in  1973  might  have  had  something  to  do  with  him  appearing  in  The  Godfather.  It's  a  poignant  one  for  me  because  when  it  appeared  in  the  charts  in  '73  my  mum  took  pains  to  explain  to  me  how  dead  people  could  have  hit  records. I  don't  know  who  she  was  confusing  him  with  because,  not  only  was  Al  very  much  not  dead  at  the  time,  he  actually  outlasted  her  by  seven  and  a  half  years.

The  song  started  out  as  an  instrumental  by  easy-listening  colossus  Bert  Kaempfert   called  "Moon  Over  Naples". The  English  lyrics  Al  used  were  written  by  Eddie  Snyder. It  became  an  easy-listening  standard  at  once ;  Andy  Williams, Elvis  ( sad to  say )  and  Engelbert  recorded  it  shortly afterwards.  Al  acknowledges  the  passage  of  time  with  a  mid-Sixties  pop  production  and Kaempfert's  mild  melody  allows  him  little  scope  for  the  semi-operatic  bawling  that  makes  his  debut  hit  so  indigestible.It  says  nothing  about  1970  except  the  point  made  earlier   but  it  was  a  graceful  way  to  go.

Al   followed  it  up  with  the  single  "I  Love  You  And  You  Love  Me"  in   November  1973  which  sounds  very  similar, just  slowed  down  a  bit . Then  in  April  1974  it  was  a  version  of  The  Carpenters' "I Won't  Last  A  Day  Without  You" , a  song  which  does  lend  itself  to  an  older  person's  interpretation  and  Al  does  it full  justice. after  a  re-release  of  "Here  In  My  Heart" . In  1975  he   covered  the  1964  Eurovision  winner  Gigliola  Cinquenti's  "To The  Door  Of  The  Sun"  half  in  English  , half  in  Italian  giving  him  his  biggest  hit  in  the  US  for years. I  find  it  quite  bizarre; Peter  Matz's arrangement  with  its  ominous  bassline  during  the  verses  sounds  like  a  Bond  theme  up  to  the   chorus  when  it  descends  into  the  usual  corn.

It  was  followed  up  by  an  horrendous  version  of  "Volare"  which  grafts  the  song  on  to  a  backing  track  that  sounds  very  similar  to  The  Hustle.  Al's  clueless  vocal  sounds  like  he  can't  believe  what  he's  doing  either.  It's  hard  to  credit  that  this  atrocity  was  a  hit  everywhere  but  here  including  getting  to  number  one  in  Italy  and  Belgium. " Sing  My  Love  Song"  the  following  year  was  a  cover  of  a  Dutch  Euro-hit  by  the  instantly  forgettable  Jackpot. Al  merely  substitutes  his  manly  tones  for  the  wimpy  original. Both  versions  sound  like  a  bad  Abba  rip-off.

In  1978  he  released  "The  Next  Hundred  Years " which  is  just  terrible; Al  sounds  like  Ron  Atkinson  tackling  a  song  the  Dooleys  would  have  rejected  as  too  saccharin. It's  staggering  that  it  got  to  49  in  the  US, his  last  hit  there. It  seems  as  though  his  last  vinyl  single  was  "Now  That  I've  Found  You" in  April  1979,  an   MOR  ballad  of  no  great  distinction   but  relatively  painless.

In   1982  he  stopped  recording  for  over  a  decade  after  the  release  of  the  album "All  Of  Me"  and  disappeared  into  private  life  until  called  back  for  a  brief  appearance  in  the  much-loved  Godfather  3.  In  1993  he  went  into  partnership  with  Dieter  Bohlen  of  eighties  Euro-horrors  Modern  Talking  for  the  album  "The Voice  To  Your  Heart"  which  could  very  well  be  the  worst  record  ever  made. "Lady  Rosalita"  sounds  like  they  exhumed  David  Whitfield  for  a  karaoke  session  with  Stock  Aitken  and  Waterman. If  that  sounds  like  your  bag  check  it  out.

There's  not  much  more  to  add. He  made  a  couple  more  acting  appearances  in  1997  and  2006. He  released  a  creaky  covers  album  "Come  Share  The  Wine"  in 2006. He  looked   in  good  shape  in  TV  appearances  and  sounded  in  decent  voice  promoting  it  at  79  but  three  years  later  he  died  at  home  in  California.

198 Hello The Chairmen Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time

Chart  entered :  22 August  1970

Chart  peak : 3

Number  of  hits : 10

This  lot  are  the  last  group  whose  hit  career  was  largely  "before my  time"  and  consequently  the  last  for  some  time  that  I  don't  know much  about.

The  band  was  formed  around  General  Norman  Johnson ( apparently  his  real  name )  who  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1943. He  formed  his  first  band  The  Humdingers  at  12  who  were  apparently  recorded  by  Atlantic  but  the  results  were  never  released. In  1961  they  became  The  Showmen, perhaps  at  the  behest  of  their  label  Minit  and  immediately  had  a  hit  in  the  US  with  General's  song "It  Will  Stand". This  rock  and  roll   meets  doo-wop  hybrid  stands  out  for  its  unusual  crabbed  rhythm  matching  the glottal  stops  in  General's  already  recognisable  singing  style. It  reached  number  61  when  first  released  and  80  on  reissue  3  years  later. That  proved  to  be  their  high  point  though  their  other  singles  ( all  written  by  Johnson ) are  not  without  merit.

1962's   follow-up   "The  Wrong  Girl"  has  General, if  it  is  him , sounding  a  lot  like  Ben  E King  though  the  pulsing  bassline  which  has  made  it  a  Northern  Soul  favourite  makes  it  unlike  anything  The  Drifters  recorded. There  is  a  promo  film  in  which  the  band  members  have  a   very  small  part,  lurking  uncomfortably  to  the  sides  while  some  groovy  white  chicks  do  their  thing  centre  stage . "I  Love  You  Can't  You  See"  is  a  doo  wop  song  with  a  relentless  one-note  guitar  riff  pulling  it  slightly  out  of  kilter. "True  Fine  Mama"  works  some  New  Orleans  jazz  into  their  music.  Minit   were  rewarded  for  their  patience  when  their  final  single  "39-21-46 ", a  paean  to  teenage  lust  , was  a  hit  in  March 1963.   It's  another  doo  wop  number  revved  up  by  an  insistent  rhythm  guitar.

They  re-surfaced  at  the  back  end  of  the  year  with  "Valley  Of  Love" on  Airecords  which  sounds  like Jackie  Wilson  trying  to  do  R  & B  with  a  Wurlitzer  organ. Apart  from  the  successful  re-release  of  "It  Will  Stand"  there  was  an  eighteen  month  gap  to  the  next  single  "In  Paradise"  on  Swan  which  sounds  very  like  The  Drifters  and  is  another  Northern  Soul  favourite. "You're  Everything"  is  more  straight  up  Motown-esque  R  &  B with  The  Four  Tops  as  the  more  obvious  inspiration. 1966's  "The  Honey  House"  was  a  co-write  with  Leon  Huff  and  is  a  relatively  crude  and  badly-produced  Motown-y  stomper. It  was  their  last  for  Swan. Two  more  one-off  singles  followed . 1967's  "Take  It  Baby"  is  in  the  same  vein  and  I  haven't  heard  "Action"  their  only  cover  from  1968. The  band  had  palpably  run  out  of  steam  and  there  was  little  opposition  to  General  taking  up  Holand  Dozier  and  Holland's  invitation  to  form  a  band  for  their  new  label  Invictus.

General  was  allowed  to  pick  his  own  sidemen. He  brought  over  Danny  Woods  who  had  latterly  been  in  The  Showmen  but  not  from  the  start   and  then   Eddie  Custis  and  Harrison  Kennedy.  
Danny  had  a  solo  single  out  in  1968  "I  Want  To  Thank  You"  which  is  a  very  convincing  Marvin  Gaye  impersonation  that  more  than  justifies  hi  place  in  the  line  up. Eddie  was  a  31  year  old  Philadelphian  who'd  been  in  the  doo  wop  group  The  Fabulaires  . They  put  out   the  song  " While  Walking "  in  1957,  not  a  hit  but  much  sought  after  when  the  Four Seasons  revived  the  style. Eddie  recorded  a  solo  single  "Let  It  Live"  ( written  by  Van  McCoy  )  in  1961  to  little  effect  then  became  a  respected  session  singer  working  with  Lee  Andrews  and  Huey  "Piano"  Smith. By  contrast  Harrison  was  a  22-year  old  Canadian  who'd  caught  the  eye  in   a  production  of  Hair.

Lena's  take  on  the  single  is  here  Chairmen  on  the  grounds  that  it was  an  NME  number  two  , a  policy  which  unfortunately  stymies  anyone  who  might  have  thought  of  following  on  with  number  three  hits. It's  not  like  the  song  won't  come  around  again  for  her  anyway.

197 Hello Deep Purple - Black Night

Chart  entered : 15  August  1970

Chart  peak : 2

Number  of  hits : 13   ( Deep  Purple's  3  live  EPs  have  been  counted  in  this  total  because  each   one   is  comprised  mainly  of  songs  that  were  not  previous  hits )

We've  touched  on  this  lot  in  previous  posts  and   will  be  mentioning  them  in  future  ones  but  here  is  their  entrance  in  the  singles  charts, the  first  real  heavy  rock   ( they  were  always  too  bluesy,  and  Jon  Lord's  organ  too  prominent , to  be  "metal")  to  make  an  appearance.Deep  Purple's  is  probably  the  most   famous  of  Pete  Frame's  Rock  Family  Trees. It  would  take  a  long,  long  time  to  cover  everything   these  five  guys  did  before  coming  to  this  point so  there  will  be  some  compression  here.

As  you  may  remember  from  the  Goodbye  post  on  The  Searchers, Deep  Purple  eventually  emerged  from  a  proposal  by  their  ex-drummer  Chris  Curtis  to  keyboard  player  Jon  Lord , who  he  met  at  a  party,   for  a  group  called  Roundabout   where  they  would  be  the  core  members  in  a  revolving  cast  of  players. Apart  from  his  expectation  of  a  key  part  in  it,  that  turned  out   to  be  a  good  prediction  of  the  band's  history. Curtis's  fatal  error  was  to  move  in  with  Lord  and  give  him  an  indication  of  what  life  in  a  band  with  him  would  be  like.

Jon  Lord  came  from  Leicester  and  was  a  classically  trained  pianist. After  working  in  a  solicitor's  office  in  the  late  1950s  he  moved  to  London  to  study  drama  with  the  intention  to  become  an  actor. At  nights  he  played  with  a  jazz  group  the  Bill  Ashton  Combo   and  then  Red  Bludd's  Bluesicians. He  also  started  doing  session  work  and  is  on  The  Kinks' You  Really  Got  Me .  In  1963  Jon  left  the  Bluesicians  along  with  singer  Art  Wood  ( brother  of  Ron )  and  drummer  Red  Dunnage  to  form  the  Art  Wood  Combo, later  The  Artwoods.

The  Artwoods  were  a  tight  R &  B  outfit  , like  Them  with  a  heavier  organ  sound, and  are  still  well  remembered  on  the  mod  scene  by  people  who  don't  have  the  slightest  interest  in  Deep  Purple. Art  Wood  could  get  pretty  close  to  Van  Morrison's  snarl. For  a  hitless  band  they  had  a  surprisingly  long  recording  career  ( 1964  to  1967 ) , Decca  cutting  them  plenty  of  slack  because  they  were  a  popular  live  act  and  Parlophone  and  Fontana  giving  them  a  further  chance  each. All  their  singles - "Sweet  Mary", "Oh  My  Love", "Goodbye  Sisters" "I  Take  What  I  Want" "I  Feel  Good" and  "What  Shall  I  Do"  - are  worth  a  listen  but  they  lack  a  certain  pop  nous  that  would  have  seen  them  in  the  charts. After  a  rather  desperate  name  change  to  "St  Valentine's  Day  Massacre" for  a   ( not  bad  ) version  of  "Brother  Can  You  Spare  A  Dime"  , all  to  try  and  cash  in  on  Bonnie  and  Clyde's  popularity  they  split  up  at  the  end  of  1967. Jon  accepted  the  invite  to  tour  as  a  Flowerpot  Man  but  doesn't  feature  on  any  of  their  recordings. He also  formed  a  very  short-lived  combo  "Santa  Barbara  Machine  Head  " with  Ron  Wood   who  recorded  a  handful  of  tracks  for  Immediate  which  were  released  on  a  sampler  album  in  1968.

Much  more  important  were  the  talks  he  was  having  with  aspiring  rock  manager  Tony  Edwards  and guitarist  Ritchie  Blackmore  about  setting  up  the  group  initially  suggested  by  Chris  Curtis. Although  four  years  younger  than  Jon,  Ritchie  had  a  longer   recording  career  having  been  spotted  as  a  teenage  guitar  prodigy  by  Screaming  Lord  Sutch  and  then   drafted  into one  of  Joe  Meek's  house  bands,  The  Outlaws,  originally  set  up  to   back  Mike  Berry  in  1960. Ritchie  joined  them  early  in  1963, in  time  to  play ( not  very  noticeably )  on  Berry's  number  36  hit  "My  Little  Baby" . As  well  as  playing  on  singles  by  some  of  Meek's   other acts  including  Heinz, John  Leyton  and  Glenda  Collins,  The  Outlaws  were  allowed  to  make  their  own  records  though  their  two  hits  came  before  Ritchie  joined.

Ritchie's  debut  single  with  the  band  was  inauspicious ; "Poppin  Medley"  was  an  uninspired  medley  of  recent  hits,  including  Telstar ,  stretched  across  both  sides  of  the  record. For  brand  protection  it  was  released  under  the  name  "The  Chaps"  and  promptly  sank  without  trace. He  appeared  on  four  more  singles  with  The  Outlaws  in  1963-4. "The  Return  Of  The  Outlaws"  is  Telstar  with  Ritchie's  guitar  replacing  the  clavioline  and  gunshots  instead  of  space  noises. "That  Set  The  Wild  West  Free"  is  a  jaunty  country  rock  number  with  Chas  Hodges  before  he  discovered  he  was  a  Cockney  doing  the  vocal. "Law  And  Order"  is  an  attractive  guitar  instrumental  which  they  got  to  perform  in  the  film  Live  It  Up.  His  final  single  with  them  was  a  version  of  Little  Richard's  "Keep  A  Knockin"  which   is  surprisingly  heavy  for  its  time.  In  1964  Ritchie  moved  over  to  Heinz's  band  The  Wild  Boys  playing  on  his  last  hit  "Digging  My  Potatoes" and  the  Dylan  cover "Don't Think Twice It's  Alright". In  March  1965  he   released  a  solo  single  "Getaway"  ( a  co-write  with  Hodges )  a   raucous  instrumental  surprisingly  dominated  by  brass  and  piano. He  moved  on  to  Neil  Christian  and  the  Crusaders  though  soon  moved  on  again , back  into  Screaming  Lord  Sutch's  band  in  time  to  play  on  their  last  single  for  Meek  ,"The  Train  Kept  A  Rollin'". Ritchie  continued  doing  session  work  for  Meek  almost  to  the  end   although  he  was  in  Hamburg  with  his  girlfriend  when  Meek  died.  The  call  from  Tony  Edwards  came  soon  after.

Jon  Lord  brought  in  bassist  Nick  Simper  who  had  been  playing  with  him  in  the  Flowerpot  Men. Ritchie  invited  Bobby  Woodman  , an  experienced  drummer  from  Vince  Taylor  and  the  Playboys. They  had  auditions  for  a  singer  and  Rod  Evans  from  The  Maze  got  the  job.  Ritchie  had  seen  The Maze  play  in  Germany  and,  realising   that  Rod's  defection  would  probably  break  the  band  up, enquired  after  their  teenage  drummer  Ian  Paice.  They  arranged  an  impromptu  audition  while Woodman  went  out  for  cigarettes, not  the  last  time  Blackmore  and  Lord  would  be  cavalier  in  their treatment  of  bandmates.

Ian  had  been  playing  the  drums  in  his  father's  dance  band  at  the  age  of  10. His  first  post-school  band  were  called  The  Shindigs , not  the  same  outfit  who  recorded  a  couple  of  singles  for  Parlophone  in  1965. He  moved  on  in  1966  to  Rod's  band  The  MI5 . They  recorded  one  single  "You'll  Never  Stop  Me  Loving  You"  in  September 1966  before  changing  their  name  to  The  Maze. Their  first  single  "Hello  Stranger" is  a  blue-eyed  soul  number on  which  Ian's  cymbal-heavy  drumming  seems  a  bit  incongruous. The  band  got  a  better  reception  in  Europe  and  recorded  an  EP  in  France  headed  by  a  version  of  "Harlem  Shuffle"  which  gets  heavier  as  it  goes  along   and  certainly  gives  Ian  the  chance  to  show  off  his  skills. After  releasing  an  Italian  language  single  in  1967  they  returned  to  the  UK  to  release  "Catari  Catari"  in  December  1967, a  strange  hybrid  of  Scott  Walker  balladry, Four  Seasons  harmonies  and  hard  rock  rhythm  section. Its  failure  no  doubt  prompted  Rod's  interest  in  the  ad  Jon  and  Ritchie  placed  in  Melody  Maker.

With  all  seats  now  filled  Roundabout  went  on  tour  in  Scandinavia  after  which  they  decided  to change  their  name  to  "Deep Purple"  after  the  Nino Temple  and  April  Stevens  hit  which  Ritchie's mother  liked. Their  first  album  "Shades  Of  Deep  Purple"  was  released  in  the  US  in  July  1968. It's very  much  influenced  by  the  American  band  Vanilla  Fudge  , particularly  three  of  the  four  covers which  follow  their  template  of   slowing  a  song  down  and  including  improvisational  passages  although in  Purple's  case  these  were  more  likely  to  be  influenced  by  classical  music  than  the  blues.  Their   relatively  economical   version  of   Joe  South's "Hush"  was  a  big  hit  in  America  reaching  number  4   and  they  got  to  perform  it  at   Hugh  Hefner's  mansion  for  a  TV  special. The  album  reached  number 24  in  the  US  but  neither  single  nor  album  charted  in  the  UK  where  the  band  were  not  well received.  In  fact  nothing  released  by  this  line-up  made  an  impression  in  Britain.

The  band  were  under  great  pressure  from  the  American  label  to  record  more  material  for  a  large tour  starting  in  October  1968. Even  so,  the  second  LP  "The  Book  of  Taliesyn"  contains  one  less cover ( though  their  version  of  "River  Deep  Mountain  High"  is  over  10  minutes  long  and  doesn't  become  recognisable  until  4  minutes  in  )  than  their  debut. It's  stronger, with  more  ideas  and  a  more  polished  sound. "Shield" ,  a  doom-laden   psychedelic  epic  with  inventive  percussion  work  from  Ian  that  surprisingly  didn't  earn  him  a  writer's  credit  ,is  the  highlight. Two  of  the  covers "Kentucky  Woman " ( Neil  Diamond )  and  a  truncated  "River  Deep..." were  the  singles  reaching  38  and  53  respectively  in  the  US  charts; neither  were  even  released  in  the UK  and  the  album  was  released  six  months  after  it  hit  US  stores. The  album  got  to  number  54  in  the  US. John  Peel  was  still  supporting  the  band  and  they  performed  some  tracks  that  didn't make  the  cut  in  a  session  for  his   Top  Gear  programme   but  he  didn't  like  the  album  finding  it  "all  too  restrained somehow".

When  the  band  returned  to  England  at  the  beginning  of  1969  their  UK  label  Harvest  ( in  reality  EMI )  pressed  them  for  a  single  and  they  rather  reluctantly  came  up  with  "Emmaretta"  inspired  by  a  member  of  the  Hair  cast  that  Rod  was  trying  to  seduce. The  band  didn't  like  the  three  minute  format  and  Jon's  hardly  on  it  ; what's  most  notable  is  that  Ritchie's  playing  is  decidedly  funky, the    guitarist  taking  the  opportunity  to  try  on  a  different  hat.  It  was  only  a  hit  in  Australia  and  the  band  did  not  include  it  on  their  third  album  simply  called  "Deep  Purple". This  included  only  one  cover  Donovan's  "Lalena" , done  as  a  mournful  stoner  ballad  and  not  really  single  material. The  album  was  less  eclectic  than  its  predecessors  heading  in  a  more  hard  rock  direction  closer  to  how  they  sounded  on  stage.

The  lack of  a  hit  single  and  financial  problems  at  their  American  label  Tetragrammaton   led  to  the  album  peaking  at  a  disappointing  162  in  the  US charts  despite  another  tour  there. This  brought  tensions  in  the  band  to  a  head. Both  Jon  and  Ritchie  agreed  that  Rod's  vocal  style, firmly  rooted  in  sixties  pop,  was  not  suited  to  the  hard  rock  sound  they  were  pursuing. Ritchie  later  said  Rod  wanted  to  remain  in  America. Ritchie  also  felt  that  Nick  was  a  passenger  who  contributed  little  in  creative  terms; certainly  he  has  the  least  writing  credits  on  the  three  albums. Jon  acquiesced  in  the  bumping  of  his  friend  and  as  he  later  admitted  , shamefully  delegated  the  task  of  letting  them  know  to  their  manager. Apart  from  "Hush"  and  the  instrumental  "Wring  The  Neck"  from  the  second  LP
the  band  quickly  dropped  all  previous  material  from  the  live  set. Only  Kraftwerk  have  had  more  of  an  aversion  to  revisiting  ( in  their  case  people  even  hearing ) their  earliest  work. Rod  Evans  revived  some  of  it  in  his  disastrous  "Deep  Purple"  tour  of  1980 ; the  resulting  lawsuit  forced  him  out  of  the  music  business  altogether . Otherwise  fans  of  their  early  stuff  had  to  wait  until  2009  when, after  a  low-key  career  with  various  bands,  Nick  started  playing  sets  in  Europe  based  on  "The  Deep  Purple  Mark  One  Songbook"  with  his  band  Nasty  Habits.

Ritchie  hoped  to  persuade  Paul  Rodgers  or  Terry  Reid  to  join  the  band  but  neither  were interested. Attention  shifted  to  Ian  Gillan,   the  singer  with  Episode  Six  ( whose  drummer  Mick Underwood  had  been  in  the  Outlaws with  Ritchie ). He  had  been  a  candidate  when  the  band  first formed  but  scorned  Nick's  suggestion  of  an  audition. Ian  was  a  well-spoken  Londoner   who   decided  to  become  a  rock  singer  after  seeing  Elvis  films. His  first  band  The  Javelins  didn't  record while  his  second  band Wainwright's  Gentlemen  ( later  to  morph  into  another  band  we'll  be  covering  soon )  didn't  get  past  the  demo  stage  during  his  tenure. Impatient  for  success, Ian  accepted  the  invitation to  join  the  band  Episode  Six  in  April  1965  as  a  replacement  lead  singer  for  a  bloke  who  left  to  get  married.

Episode  Six  were  formed  a  year  earlier  from  a  merger  of  two  school-based  bands  and  included Welsh-born  bassist  Roger  Glover .  The  band  had  just  returned  from  a  short  German  tour  and  soon  had  a  record  deal  with  Pye. Like  The  Artwoods  they  had  a  substantial  recording  career  and  there  is  more  existing   footage  of  them  than  there  is  of  the  the  first  Purple  line-up. The  first  single  was  a  Hollies  cover  "Put  Yourself  In  My  Place"  in  January  1966  which  is  a  decent  Who-like  beat  number  carried  by  Roger's  heavy  bassline  ( he  wrote  the  B-side  as  well ). In  these  early  days  they  were  befriended   and  championed  by  then-pirate  jockey  Tony  Blackburn  who  would  sometimes  act  as  MC  at  their  concerts. Single  number  two  was  the  jaunty,  rather  vacuous "I  Hear  Trumpets  Blow" a  Tokens  cover.  In  the  summer  of  1966 , just  before  doing  a  package  tour  with  Dusty they  recorded  a  quick  cover  of  "Here  There  And  Everywhere"  which  is  OK  although  Roger  sounds  like  he's  driving  it  too  fast. In  November  they  tried  putting  their  female  keyboard  player  Sheila  Carter  out  front  with  an  orchestra  doing  Charles  Aznavour's  "I  Will  Warm  Your  Heart"  but  that  didn't  work.

In  1967  they  hitched  their  wagon  to  the  psychedelic  train  and  produced  their  best  single  to  date  "Love-Hate-Revenge" a  cover  of  a  US  hit  by  The  Del-Satins  about   using  a  voodoo  doll  to  wreak  revenge  on  an  errant  lover. They  work  in  some  acid-fried  guitar, crazy  Joe  Meek  ( who  died  on  the  day  of  its  release ) space  noises  in  the  middle  eight  and  some  jaw-dropping  harmonies  on  the  chorus. Perhaps  its  genuine  scariness  frightened  radio  away  but  it's  certainly  worth  investigating.  In  June  they  recorded  a  version  of  "Morning  Dew"  ( just  ahead  of  the  Human  Beanz  version : see  the  Hello  post  for  Dave  Edmunds )  which  was  a  hit  in  Lebanon  of  all  places. This  turned  out  to  be  a  poisoned   chalice  for  the  band  as  they  were  forced  to  do  a  Christmas  season  in  Beirut  as  a  result. In  October  they  released   "I  Can  See  Through  You"  the  first  A  side  written  by  a  group  member  ( Roger )  which  sounds  a  lot  like  The  Who  again  until  1:45  when  a  minute-long  prog  rock  jam  kicks  in  which  must  have  baffled  casual  listeners  in  1967. Its  adventurousness  was  not  rewarded.

By  1968  they  had  to  find  a  new  drummer  and  record  label. They  landed  on  MGM  and  released  "Little  One"  as  The  Episode. Its  loud, brash  production  ( by  ex-Springfield  Mike  Hurst ) makes  them  sound  a  bit  like  The  Sweet  in  their  prime  but  glam  wasn't  ready  to  happen  yet. They  did  a  lot  of  TV  to  promote  it  but  to  no  avail. The  new  drummer  was  a  limelight-hogger  who  had  to  go  and  was  replaced  by  Mick  Underwood. Ian  still  had  enough  faith  in  the  band  to  reject  Nick  Simper's  approach  and  the  band  resumed  operations  on  Chapter  One  records. The  next  single  "Lucky  Sunday"  written  by  Les  Vandyke  is  all  over  the  place  beginning  with  Sheila  singing  plainsong  and  taking  in  Glen  Campbell -ish  country  rock , late  Small  Faces  whimsy  and  arranger  Les  Reed's  MOR  brass  sounds  ( which  Ian  hated ). They  limped  into 1969  and  released  the  rather  desperate "Mozart  versus  the  Rest"  which  attempted  to  follow Love  Sculpture  into  the  charts  with  a  frantic  guitar  version  of  "Rondo  a  la  Turk". It  got  some  radio  support  but  the  public  decided  its  appetite  for  speeded  up  classical  pieces  was  sated  and  Episode  Six's  recording  career  was  over.

Ian  was  recruited  after  an  Episode  Six  gig  in  June  1969. Aware  of  their  need  for  a  new  bassist  and  perhaps  wary  of  going  in  alone  he  suggested  Roger  for  the  vacancy. Jon  and  Ritchie  were  not  convinced  that  Roger  offered  that  much  more  than  Nick  but  Ian  P  thought  they   would  work  well  together  as  a  rhythm  section   and  the  others  accepted  his  advice. Both  Ian  and  Roger  were  recruited  before  Rod  and  Nick  were  told  they  were  out.  Episode  Six  limped  on  for  another  five  years  in  some  form  but  even  Sheila's  brother  knew  they  were  finished  and  took  the  chance  to  quit  at  the  same  time.

The  new  guys  had  little  time  to  find  their  feet.  Harvest  again  wanted  a  new  single  and  they  quickly recorded  a  sombre  version  of  Cook  and  Greenaway's  quasi-religious  "Hallelujah". It's  OK  , Ritchie  plays  some  good  licks  and  Ian  lets  loose  a  couple  of  not  strictly  necessary  screams  to  justify  the  changes, but  it  has  the  feel  of  a  " this  will  do"  effort. The  band  then  had  another  commitment  they  had  to  honour  before  the  next  album,  playing  along  on  Jon  Lord's  pompous  "Concerto  for  Group  and  Orchestra"  with  the  Royal  Philharmonic  Orchestra  at  the  Albert  Hall  in  September. Having  inconveniently  sacked  their  chief  lyricist  Rod  Evans  before  he  had  written  anything  for  the  luckily small  vocal  portion  the  burden  was  passed  to  the  not  exactly  prolific  Ian  G  who  didn't  finish  them  until  hours  before  the  concert  and  they  were  basically  a  prolonged  whinge  about  having  to  do  it.
Amazingly  the  concert  was  a  huge  success. Ian  G  was  note  perfect , the  event  was  televised ,  the album  released  three  months  later  reached  number  26  in  the  UK  charts  and  the  group's  profile was  significantly  raised. But  there  was  a  cost  ; it  made  Jon  the  leader  of  the  band  in  the  public's  eyes  and  Ritchie  never  really  came  to  terms  with  that. The  difficult  behaviour  that  became  legendary    had  its  roots  in  that  frustration.

Anyhow  we're  up  to  "Black  Night"  and  Lena's  enthusiastic  take  is  here : Purple . One  thing  she doesn't  really  touch  on  is  how  casual  its  construction  was , the  product  of  playing  around  with someone  else's  riff  after  a  good  session  down  the  pub  with  the  lyrics  improvised  on  the  spot. When  you  consider  how  much  vinyl  was  expended  before  these  five  guys   reached  this  point   it's  almost  comical  that  such  a  happy  accident  would  hit  the  spot  but  that's  the  beauty  of  Pop.