The Kinks - Mindless Child of Motherhood

You may have heard of this group, The Kinks. They released a record or two in their day. And then some. In fact, they continued to release good quality records well past that of many of their contemporaries who began to buckle under the pressure of touring, taxes, unscrupulous managers and the unbearable heaviness of the impending 1970s. 

Mindless Child of Motherhood appeared as the Flip-Side of the certifiable hit Lola in these United States of America on Reprise Records in July of 1970. In the band's native UK, the Dave Davies composition was billed as The Kinks Featuring Dave Davies and was released on Pye Records as the Flip-Side to Drivin' which was released during the Summer of 1969. 

The terribly under appreciated little brother puts forth a wonderful vocal performance and I could make a strong argument that this song is better than the A-Side of the UK release. Mindless Child Of Motherhood feels exceptionally personal. And as such, often feels like we are seeing too much into the life of the singer. The listener a muted observer to the painful tragedy unfolding in front of them.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Spiritualized - Death Take Your Fiddle

Spiritualized hail from Rugby, England and is essentially one man, Jason Pierce. We feature today his 2008 release for Sanctuary Records, Death Take Your Fiddle from the brilliantly titled album, Songs In A&E. Enjoy all the free and open space in the song. 

The Cops N' Robbers - You'll Never Do It Baby

Back for a second day with The Cops N' Robbers out of the UK. As mentioned yesterday, The Cops N' Robbers, barely a blip on the scene in their heyday, are perhaps best known for composing and recording You'll Never Do It Baby, which was covered by other, more popular bands.

Here is the jazzy original in all it's funky glory. Composed by singer Brian Smith and band pianist Terry Fox, the number was only released on The Flip-Side of a French EP on Vogue Records in 1965. The composition is structurally different than other versions that followed. Specifically at the chorus (or is it a bridge?) . Where subsequent versions changed the chorus to a IV-I-IV-V structure, the original is a descending riff from the IV back to the I. Add in the fact that the dominant instrument is a piano, and you get all sorts of crispy, cool uniqueness here.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

The Sorrows - Take A Heart

The Sorrows hailed from Coventry, England and were fronted by Don Fardon. In 1965 they landed a recording contract with Picadilly Records and began releasing a number of very unique and cool records. Finding trouble distinguishing themselves from the other bands in the UK, The Sorrows relocated for a time to Italy. We feature today their third record, Take A Heart, released in the UK in August, 1965. The song was written by one Mickey Dallon.

As you can see from the scans, I also confess to having a record collecting problem. Yep, that's the UK version, as well as a rare US version and an even more rare, Mexican version of the record. All with the original company sleeves of course. It's off to Record Collector Anonymous for this Flip-Sider.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Downliners Sect - I'll Find Out

I've always wondered what those songs were on the other side of a record. I don't know what side of the record you call that. The...? At any rate, when one flips over Glendora, yesterday's featured song, you find this fine number. The original composition, I'll Find Out. Maybe I should look more at these particular sides of records. One could even do a whole blog about them!

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Four Just Men - That's My Baby/Things Will Never Be The Same

Back in August we did a nice little Tower Records Spotlight. One of those featured in that two week spotlight was a band called Just Four Men doing their song, There's Not One Thing. Read that post here. We're back today with the same band, but here they are called Four Just Men. This double sider was the Liverpool quartet's debut single, released in the UK in November of 1964 on Parlophone Records. In the states it was released in February of 1965 on Tower Records.

The A-Side was composed by singer Dimitrius Christopholus and guitarist John Kelman. That's My Baby has a wonderful and unique whining guitar riff throughout the song. It lifts the ballad to new levels. The Flip-Side, Things Will Never Be The Same was composed by Christopholus and Kelman and bassist, Lawrence Arendes. The break-neck speed song features more great guitar work from Kelman and a chord transition reminiscent of an early Everly Brothers song. This song would have been prime for a screaming lead, and clocking in at a quick 1:48, would seem they would have had time to stick one in there. Both sides are solid all the way through.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

The Montanas - That's When Happiness Began

The Montanas hailed from Wolverhampton, England and released a myriad of largely forgettable records in their lengthy career. We feature today, their best recording. In fact, in my opinion, their only release of note. The song in question is the Don and Dick Addrisi composed That's When Happiness Began which was their first release in the US and their second in their homeland. In the US it was released on Warner Brothers in November of 1966.

That's When Happiness Began was originally recorded by the Los Angeles garage band, The Grains of Sand and released earlier that year in the US. The Montanas picked it up and added a heavy dose of fuzz. You can compare the two releases back to back by clicking here.

The Montanas were Will Howard, Graham Crew, Ralph Oakley and John Jones.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!