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!

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!

Downliners Sect - Glendora

Downliners Sect are one of those bands that didn't make too much of a blip on the radar in their day but have become legends long after their demise as music freaks and record collectors (like us) seek out their rare and unique set of releases. The London band mined the same field of American R&B as The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things, but somehow it all sounds different when the Sect set upon a song. Sometimes ragged, sometimes charming, sometimes awkward, sometimes brilliant, sometimes sick. The band was Don Craine, Keith Grant, Johnny Sutton, Terry Gibson and occasionally Ray Sone.

We feature today the band's 10th UK release. It's not a cover of an American R&B number. Nope. It's American alright, but not R&B. The song was more of a novelty crooners ballad originally. The song is Glendora, and it tells the tale of a man who fell madly in love with a mannequin, only to have his heart broken just as the mannequin itself gets broken.  The song was first released by American singer Jack Lewis in 1956 which was promptly covered by Perry Como. UK singer, Glen Mason covered the number the same year for release in the UK. It's probably his version that caught the attention of The Sect.

The Sect, as they so often did, went about the song in a very different way. Their June 1966 release for Columbia Records is a scorching rocker of the first order. Fuzz guitar, gut-bucket vocals, pounding bass and some great female backing vocals that would have made Joe Meek proud. It all makes this version of Glendora one of the all-time great UK releases from the era.

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

The Kinks - She's Got Everything

Here is a peculiar single from The Kinks. The single Days/She's Got Everything was released in the Summer of 1968 both in the UK (on Pye Records) and the US on Reprise Records as a desperation move by management. The previous single, Wonderboy, had bombed and Ray Davies had not yet completed his work for the album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. Days is an unlikely candidate for an A-Side, for sure. A good track, but more of an album track than a lead single. But it is the Flip-Side we are looking at today (of course we are).

The Flip-Side of the single was a song recorded more than two years prior, in the Spring of '66. The Ray Davies composition, She's Got Everything, was recorded during the sessions for the album Face To Face. Why the tremendous She's Got Everything was left off that fine album is up for debate. Some have said it was too dated for 1966. It was certainly dated (in a good way) by the time it saw the official release in June of '68. Rock at the time was getting hard and heavy and She's Got Everything is light and poppy. doot do-do, doot do-do-do. Thank goodness Ray decided to reach into the way-back machine for this one.

On a side note, I just picked this one up on a road-trip through Kentucky. Who woulda thunk?

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

Jet Harris - Main Title Theme from Man With The Golden Arm

[originally published 4/13/10]

Yeeha! From Nineteen Sixty fricken Two, we have Jet Harris performing this killer baritone guitar song, Main Title Theme (The Man With The Golden Arm). Yep, baby's got back. Jet Harris, as you may know, was the bassist for the formative instrumental band, The Shadows. In April of '62 he embarked on a solo career. This song, Main Title Theme (The Man With The Golden Arm), was his second single, released in August of '62 for Decca Records.

Car accidents and searching for the answer in the bottom of a bottle led to his immediate obscurity. But here we have Jet, his drumming companion and former Shadow, Tony Meehan, and a host of studio musicians laying down one groovy number. Enjoy.

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

The Creation - Hey Joe

Today's foray into the world of Hey Joe takes us across the pond for the first time.  Chas Chandler, bassist for The Animals, saw promise in this new song everyone was playing, and he took particular interest in a version by folk artist Tim Rose after seeing him perform in New York. Rose recorded a slower version that went out on the Columbia label in May, 1966, and Chas was looking for someone to take it further. As it happened stars were aligning for Chas when he met a virtually unknown R&B guitarist who had been gigging in the NY scene and they both hustled back to the UK on September 23, 1966. Apparently among the first acts Chas and his find, one Jimi Hendrix, saw was the pop-art band The Creation.

Now, at this point, its pure conjecture what transpired when Hendrix listened to the Creation that night, or whether he had any further interaction with the band, but in late 1966, he went into De Lane Lea studio - the same studio where The Animals House of The Rising Sun was recorded - and laid down his first single for Track Records, Hey Joe backed with Stone Free. This single saw release on December 16, 1966, quickly climbed the charts, and, in so doing, inscribed Hey Joe into the firmament of Rock. We wonder about Hendrix's exposure to The Creation because around this same time The Creation also laid down their exquisite version, today's Hey Joe, replete with the same intro and similar solo and lyrics. But note: Their version was released only on LP in September '67 in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and France.

Despite the later release, I'm of the mind that Hendrix took cues from The Creation and not the other way around. Why, for example, would The Creation copy a well-known version that soon hit the charts and would stay on for 11 weeks, peaking at number 6? Doesn't seem like them. Why would the innovative and brilliant Eddie Phillips simply copy a lead? (Although I suppose the opposite question should be posed: Why would Hendrix do the same?) Why also, if they were working off the Hendrix version, would The Creation insert the middle monologue section and create the very cool dramatic ending? Those additions seem to me the kind of thing that arise when you aren't even aware of another hit version of a song. One thing seems clear: Both versions are derivative of the Tim Rose Hey Joe with the slower tempo, similar lyrics ("I shot her!") and the moody choral back-up vocals.

Check out a very cool live recording of Tim Rose doing his Hey Joe:



Enjoy and until next time, see you on the Flip-side!