Henry Mancini
The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini
1965
RCA 3356
*** noteworthy
While Hank is of course the man (“Peter Gunn,” “Pink Panther,” “Moon River”….), unless you’re a huge fan of commercial orchestra music, you might as well leave most of his albums in the bin at the thrift store where you found them, but if you’re a fan of Latin lounge, this one is worth grabbing.
Connie Smith
S/T
1965
RCA 3341
Produced by Bob Ferguson
***** Good Shit
While some of her female contemporaries might be more well known, Connie could easily stand next to any of them, as this debut album surely shows.
Bill Anderson is credited on nearly half of the selections, the other songs credited to a variety of other songwriters: Betty Sue Perry, William B. Morgan, Baker Knight, Hank Cochran, and Willie Nelson. All of the cuts are good, and the majority are great.
Ferguson’s production is a wonderful balance of just enough but not too much, and the same can be said about the band’s contributions. Smith’s beautiful voice is wisely the center of all the songs, but the involvement of others help make this such a classic. She’s the statue, and the others rise her up and provide the lighting to accent her beauty. This is a work of art built to last.
.
Any respectable fan of hillbilly music, should give this set a spin. If you’re looking for a place to begin with this artist, you just found it.
— winch (author of Junk Like That and Kalamazoo: Growing Up Sideways in the 1970s)
Good Shit *****
First U.S. release by this folk guitarist from Scotland, half of the selections from Bert Jansch(1965), the others from It Don’t Bother Me (1965), this collection alternating between vocal cuts and acoustic guitar solos, the latter especially strong but the vocal cuts powerful as well, some of them strong enough to put a chill to your bones.
The cautionary tale “Needle of Death,” is as poignant as any drug song, ranks up there with Lou Reed’s song about the same subject matter, this one in sharp contrast to the celebratory drug songs of the 60s. Other highlights include the traveling tales “Running From Home” and “Rambling’s Gonna Be the Death of Me.”
While the selections come from two albums, they fit together like cars in a freight train, the instrumentals chiming like chains, the sequencing creating a musical journey, a train ride through various landscapes, occasionally slowing down to gaze at people along the way.
This clearly influenced much of the music that followed, not just folk singers but rock artists as well. It puts most of the competition to shame.
— winch
While the Kinks were always more original than most British bands, this set really sees them focusing on their own songs and their own sound, what made them so interesting from the start. The covers weren’t needed, but the entire set is enjoyable, and the strong cuts are great. While there’s a sprinkling of social commentary in the collection, most of the songs focus on girls. Most of the best pop songs are about girls.
A melancholy runs through several cuts, and this not only foreshadows some of their classic songs in the years to come, it’s easy to hear the influence this music had on other bands in the years and decades that followed. This band also knew how to rock, instead of just offering watered-down versions of American R&B like too many other British Invasion bands. The Kinks clearly came from the garage.
Rating: ***** (Good Shit)
— winch
Released March 1965, August in the US,
reached #60 in the US, #3 in the UK.
One could say this was the Kinks’ version of Rubber Soul, but of course the opposite would be more accurate as this came eight months before Rubber Soul.
— winch
http://www.eight-track.com/Eight_Track_Publishing.php
http://www.amazon.com/Winch/e/B00MGBTVLU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1424322302&sr=8-1
s e l e c t i v e
“Say It Again” (Simpson/Ashford/Armstead)
“That’s No Way To Treat a Girl” (Elgin/Millrose/Bruno/Sping)
Marie Knight (New York) Musicor (1106) 1965
“I Can Never Go Home Anymore” (George Morton)
The Shangri-Las (Queens) Redbird 1965
“Take a Look Around You” (B. Jerome, M. Aiese)
Reparata and the Delrons RCA Victor (47-8721) 1965
“Downtown” (Tony Hatch)
“(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me”
(Bacharach/David)
“Girl Don’t Come” (Chris Andrews)
“Baby I Need Your Lovin’” (Holland/Dozier)
“Gotta See My Baby Every Day” (Chris Andrews)
Sandie Shaw (England) Sandie Shaw Reprise (6166) 1965
“What’d I Say” (Ray Charles)
Three Blonde Mice Atco (6353B) 1965
“Darling Baby” (Holland/Dozier/Holland)
“Put Yourself In My Place” (Holland/Dozier/Holland)
The Elgins (Detroit) V.I.P. (25029) 1965
“Yes, I’m Ready” (B. Mason)
Barbara Mason (Philadelphia) Arctic (105A) 1965
“A Lover’s Concerto” (Linzer/Randell)
The Toys (New York) DynoVoice (209A) 1965
Parrot 1005
Released June 1965, reached #54 in U.S.
(Apparently, most of the members didn’t perform on the album, and this was mostly producer Bert Berns with Van Morrison, backed with session musicians–including a young Jimmy Page.) — winch
1965
Sounds Good 