sign in sign up
<<
Home , Colpix Records, David Gates, Dorsey Burnette, Harpers Bizarre, Jac Holzman, James Burton

SD64 cover.qxp 06/01/2017 11:07 Page 1

LOST 1967 ALBUMS | BREADBREAD | FAIRPORTFAIRPORT CONVENTIONCONVENTION

WIN! Teufel headphones CURTISCURTIS MAYFIELDMAYFIELD FIRSTFIRST IMPRESSIONS:IMPRESSIONS: THETHE SOULSOUL OFOF CIVILCIVIL RIGHTSRIGHTS

MICHAEL CHAPMAN Messages from the North Country

ISSUE 64 • £4.95 MARKMARK SEBASTIANSEBASTIAN | MARGOMARGO GURYANGURYAN|TREMBLINGTREMBLING BELLSBELLS SD64 Contents.qxp 13/01/2017 13:51 Page 1

welcomecontents

Issue 64 February 2017 64 Howdy Shindiggers!

It’s taken a long time coming. Curtis Mayfield, believe it or not, is Features our first black cover star. Why it’s taken so long I don’t know. Laurie Styvers We’ve had insets of Sly & The Family Stone and Betty Davis, but US psych-folkie makes good in England Curtis is our first full cover. And deservedly so. 22 Shindig! is a magazine that can happily accommodate all manner Terry Dolan of garage, psych and progressive music, but also adores the lesser The remarkable story behind a lost classic celebrated areas of good old and of course the majesties 26 offered to us from black musicians, whether R&B, soul, funk or 1967 at 33rpm the myriad hybrids that crossed over in the early ’70s. Once again, 40 of the year’s essential overlooked long-players 40 Kris Needs delivers another of his epic histories. Part One of his Curtis Mayfield story focuses on the Chicago legend’s early years. Mark Sebastian Next issue we’ll pick up the story with the second half of his ‘Summer In The City’ co-writer and brother of John 48 career: the almighty solo years. This time last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of 1966. Bread Now it’s ’67’s turn. Half a century has passed since people wore A journey through the soft-rockers’ ’60s work 54 flowers in their hair, got turned on and embraced a short-lived era Star Trek of positivity and good vibes. 1967 was also the year that the album When The Enterprise collided with hippiedom became king. To celebrate we pick 40 favourites that rarely make 60 the Best Of Year polls but have undoubtedly been key purchases Curtis Mayfield for so many of us, usually many years after they were released. Do Part one of the genius’ story. The Impressions break out! let us know your personal picks. Plus our guide to the greatest Black Power anthems So, here we are, 50 years on from Pepper with mad men in seats 64 of power and politics reverting to the bigotry of bygone days. We still have the music though and vinyl is back with a vengeance, Regulars outselling downloads and CDs. There was even a segment about it on the news last week, filmed in Sister Ray. Much has changed, Shindiggin’ but buying LPs, the very thing that excited and drove the editors What’s hot on the Shindig! turntable 4 of this magazine as teenagers, is still the way that many of us seek Thoughts & Words solace: young and old. There’s something about music on vinyl and music writing in print that cannot be replaced. However vivid Your letters and emails 6 the image on our 4K TVs may be, the rapid speed of downloading It’s A Happening Thing and the general ease and convenience of today’s smartphones, The Damned, Flat Five, Trembling Bells, Paperhead tablets and laptops, nothing can compete with the tangible 8 qualities of analogue music and the smell and feel of paper. Happening Right Now Records and magazines are things to keep and cherish. Collecting The hottest new bands is good. It’s what we do. 18 Anyone for a nicely designed box/ring binder to store your Family Album huge – and expanding – stack of the ’dig! in? There’ll be lots of Leviathan’s scrapped 1969 Elektra outing 20 merch coming soon. Do let us know what you would consider spending your coffers on. 2017 is our year of expansion. Please Songbook support. Margo Guryan’s ‘Think Of Rain’ 24 Deep Cuts See you next month. 10 curios from Fairport Convention 30 Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills 20 Questions Editor-In-Chief Northern troubadour Michael Chapman 34 Reviews The best in reissues, new releases, books and live shows 77 Vinyl Art Czar’s psych-prog Holy Grail 96 Prize Crossword Win new Move CD/DVD set! 97

1 3 SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:42 Page 24

For many, BREAD defined the LA soft-pop sound of the early ’70s. Their blend of gossamer-light ballads and tough rock moves may have been incongruous but it propelled the group into the realms of rock superstardom, much to their discomfort, and led to their ultimate collapse.

Freshly baked. Bread’s first photo session, summer 1969. L-R: , , drummer , James Griffin SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:42 Page 25

But before all of this the group’s main protagonists – James Griffin, Robb Royer and, in particular, David Gates – had spent the best part of a decade cutting a swathe through the LA pop scene, contributing to, and appearing alongside, some of the biggest names in the business. BEEN TOO LONG ON THE ROAD MALCOLM C SEARLES charts a course from the three musicians’ formative days in rock ’n’ roll and doo-wop to the eventual, inevitable birth of the group in the late ’60s SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:42 Page 26

“Utterly fresh and likeable, harmonising vocals that wove in, out and around each other; a softer, more considerate sound than the hard rock that was now everywhere” Jac Holzman, o many, the music of David Gates and Bread will be forever associated with that period of time, the early ’70s, when the oft-maligned soft-rock genre came into it’s own. Loggins & Messina, Lobo, Seals & Crofts, , Bread… they all dominated the US airwaves, and much of the pre-glam Brit era during the early part of the decade and for many of these artists destiny tells us that those heady, bell-bottomed days are all they will Tbe remembered for. ‘I’d Love You To Want Me’, ‘Summer Breeze’, ‘(They Long To Be) Close To You’, ‘Your Mama Don’t Dance’, ‘’…

However, in the case of David Gates and his Gary Alexander to form the wonderful, but drenched Boss Baroque (’66), both issued via fellow original Bread cohorts James Griffin and sadly ignored Joshua Fox. And then there was United Artists and both essential period pieces. Robb Royer (later expanded to include latter-day member (who drummer Mike Botts and Wrecking Crew replaced Royer during the summer of 1971) – ulsa-born David Gates had first keyboard/bass virtuoso Larry Knechtel), the hell, this man turned down the position of bass ventured into a recording studio way story has a far, far wider reach that, perhaps, player for Vegas-era Elvis! Let’s just say ‘Mr Tback in ’57 when, alongside fellow many have still to discover over 40 years later. Tambourine Man’, ‘Monday, Monday’, ‘Good Will Roger High School student Russell Even the sad loss of Griffin, Botts and Vibrations’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, Bridges (later rechristened once Knechtel in recent years hasn’t helped the ‘Up, Up And Away’, ‘MacArthur Park’, ‘Never he hit the LA studio circuit), he cut and band’s plight. My Love’, Streisand, , released his own composition, ‘Jo Baby’, a doo- All five musicians that passed through the Steppenwolf, , along with the wop-influenced tribute to his high school proverbial Bread rack (some of whom later original Shindig! TV series, and leave it at that. sweetheart issued under the banner of The formed a band they called Toast) had Or then again, maybe we should mention two Accents, on the local Perspective Sound label. experienced some form of musical success, of his own instrumental solo albums, the Driven by the recordings of , experimentation, or apprenticeship, years wailin’ In (’65) or the keyboard- , and Ricky before their combined talents lit up the ’70s Nelson, this tight knit group of native radio dials of FM stations coast to coast. The Oklahomans (later including of multi-talented David Gates had backed up “J u s t l i s t e n t o T h e Derek & The Dominoes and JJ Cale), gradually Chuck Berry, and began to swamp the studio time around the as a part of his local high school band, whilst Girlfriends’ powerpop state as they recorded and released a vast James ‘Jimmy’ Griffin had grown up across the number of low-budget singles during this Memphis street from Johnny and Dorsey recording of Gates’ ‘My intoxicating late ’50s era. However, having Burnette, and often jammed his pre-teen One And Only Jimmy been bitten by the bug, and realising the evenings away accompanied by one brother or limitations that the endless local frat-parties the other. Robb Royer played the “hoot” Boy’ and try not to and Tulsa nightclubs had to offer, there then nights around the folk clubs of mid-60s LA, followed a steady procession of beaten up whilst drummer Mike Botts spent his mid- compare it to the might Fords and Caddies, heading out of state teenage years playing his kit behind the likes of alongside Route 66, bound, where, jazz giants Wes Montgomery and Jimmy of Spector or Wilson in they were led to believe, opportunities were Smith, before joining up with folkies The rife… Travelers 3 and later with The Association’s their early ’60s prime” “The reason I moved to

David Gates in the mid-60s; some of his early performances, compositions and productions

56 SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:43 Page 27

LA from [was that] I’d gone about worked alongside him, or benefitted from his issued on in ’63, is everything as far in music as you can go in Tulsa,” Gates arranging or songwriting abilities, swiftly that early pop should be. A rattling drum later recalled in conversation with NetMusic. grew. And then some. Fifty-plus years later intro, layers of , bass and sax, all paired “There’s not much to do there, you know, and and we’re now looking at a list that off with a sweet sounding vocal trio, headed I wanted to go to LA where all the action was incorporated, initially, with up by former Ikette Carolyn Willis. So quite and try my hand as a musician and . their ’63 Top 3 Billboard smash ‘Popsicles And how on earth it stalled at #49 remains unclear. My main focus was really to become involved Icicles’, and then swiftly followed up by Indeed, even the avant-garde, poetically raw right in the middle of the music scene if I involvement with , , ramblings of & His Magic could possibly write songs. You know, the The Crickets, The Burnette Brothers, sheltered underneath Gates’ wing for movie and television industry were there, Las Ventures, Johnny Crawford, , The their ’66 sessions with A&M Records (check Vegas was close and Reno, Tahoe, that whole Crickets, , Glenn Yarborough, out their bluesy rendition of Gates’ circuit. So I had eyes to play some live , Jody Miller, The Lettermen, ‘Moonchild’ for starters), whilst a slew of performances, to get into the clubs, to write, Gary Lewis, The Astronauts, and, perhaps, Gates’ own recordings, often issued under produce, anything I could.” most famously, The Monkees and Herman’s pseudonyms such as Del Ashley (‘She Don’t He immediately set himself up with a Hermits, who both covered versions of Gates’ Cry’ – one of the finest hot-roddin’ auto number of fellow exiles and integrated himself upbeat ‘Saturdays’ Child’ during ’66 and ’67 anthems that never was), The Country Boys into the LA music community, hanging out at respectively (although both were preceded by (‘Okie Surfer’) and the anti-British pastiche by The Crossbow Club in the an earlier version from LA garage band The The Manchesters (‘I Don’t Come From with Bridges, James Burton and a young Glen Palace Guard, issued on Cameo/Parkway). And England’), also saw release in the wake of the Campbell, establishing himself as a regular at that just about scratches the surface. burgeoning LA music boom. However, not Pandora’s Box on Sunset Boulevard (as a An Australian compilation on the Rare everything he issued under his own name member of The Fencemen) and making Rockin’ Records label, David Gates: The Early added credibility to his repertoire, and there headway in the hectic session scene that was Years 1962-1967, successfully pulls together a were certainly a few clunkers en route. Neither beginning to take a firm foothold within the selection of these recordings and is thoroughly ’64’s ‘My Baby’s Gone Away’ nor the industry. In addition, being classically trained, recommended, highlighting his ability to write preceding ‘No-One Really Loves A Clown’ he had a greater advantage over many of his and craft the essential pop song within a two- offer up any substance, whilst the earlier sub- fellow players in that, as a reader and writer of minute time frame. Just listen to The Neil Sedaka soundalike, ‘The Happiest Man music (many of his peers couldn’t actually write Girlfriends’ powerpop recording of his ‘My Alive’, is another cloyingly vapid contribution notation) he could take the compositions of One And Only Jimmy Boy’ and try not to to the canon. Then again, on the positive side, others and put them down in black and white. compare it to the might of Spector or Wilson maybe his ’68 recording sessions for the film “A lot of could not put down in their early ’60s prime. Within the shallow soundtrack to Charro, arranging the title track on paper the songs they had written, and they grooves of this two minutes and 16 seconds, alongside the Tupelo-born star of the movie, couldn’t copyright them unless they did,” he would have topped it all. continued. “So I would take their songs, and their tapes, and go home and write out a lead “Royer had done the LA evertheless, it was with his ’67 sheet that they could then copyright. And I club circuit, performing production of a low-budget album also did some early arranging, you know, for Nfor a LA-based folk-rock quartet, The brass and strings and stuff, which enabled me Pleasure Fair, which was to shape his future. A to have enough income. There was nobody in at The Icehouse and finely tuned amalgamation of folk, pop and LA at that time, really, that had a feel for The Troubadour as a harmony, sitting comfortably alongside the country and rock ’n’ roll, who could read and whimsical melodies of The Association in write music. So I had this little niche of my member of Tim & style, with a Mamas & Papas male/female vocal own.” blend, this album, issued on Uni Records and Gradually, as his face and name became Robb, The We Three, housed in a Rubber Soul-esque sleeve, featured known around the vast city, and his abilities guitarist and fellow songwriter Robb Royer became all too evident, the work flowed in. The Inn Group, The amongst its line-up. But what makes the album Arranging, songwriting, producing, recording so damn interesting, more so than the – a real gun-for-hire. The list of artists who Rainy Day People…” combined factor of its ingredients, is the actual quality of the songs featured. There are no pretentious philosophies on show – it’s pure, simplistic enjoyment. , Neal Hefti, & McCartney, Graham

Robb Royer’s high school yearbook photo; early musical outings

57 SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:43 Page 28

Gouldman aside, the majority of the songs riffin, meanwhile, had headed out and would have been a great choice. He was a included are composed by the band members west to California, a protégée of very nice guy.” themselves and Robb Royer would later go on GJohnny and , and had However, with ailing sales hindering his solo to prove himself to be a songwriter of great immediately landed a recording contract with development, James seemingly settled on a standing, co-composing not only a number of upon his ’63 arrival in the behind-the-scenes career of songwriting and fine tunes for Bread, but he also went on to golden state. producing. His first songwriting partner was find a home for himself within the Nashville A number of unsuccessful, teen-driven Michael Zane Gordon, founding member of music community in more recent years, singles followed, sadly lost in the mists of all The Marketts (‘Out Of Limits’) and The writing huge hits for Mary Chapin Carpenter things Avalon, Rydell, Fabian and Vee, along Routers (‘Let’s Go (Pony)’) and together they and amongst with a debut album, Summer Holiday (titled churned out a vast number of compositions, others. after his cover version of Cliff ’s timeless taken into the studio by the likes of Brian With Royer writing alongside fellow band classic) and a couple of silver screen Hyland (‘Apologise’), (‘Brink Of members Timothy Hallinan (now a best-selling appearances, firstly with in the Disaster’), (‘Get The Message’), author) and Stephen Cohn (today, a classical ’64 beach-movie For Those Who Think Young, Sagittarius (‘Hotel Indiscreet’), Gary Lewis composer of great repute) the self-composed followed by a far higher profile outing (‘Main Street’), Harpers Bizarre (‘Jessie’), numbers stand equally proud amongst the alongside in the ’65 WWII Freddie Cannon (‘Run For The Sun’) and works of the more recognised tunesmiths. For movie None But The Brave (sadly, Griffin’s Rudy Vallee (with the wonderfully titled every ‘Things We Said Today’ there was a character was felled by a Japanese sniper a mere ‘Who Likes Good Pop Music?’). Yet, in spite of ‘Turnaway’, and for every ‘Come To The 30 minutes in). Such was his youthful ability this wealth of material, having met Royer Sunshine’ there was a ‘Morning Glory Days’, that he was even mooted at one point as a through a mutual friend, Gordon was all topped off with the dreamy vocals of potential replacement for Brian Wilson, and gradually moved aside and a new songwriting Michele Cochrane, the fourth member of the then , holding down the high partnership was formed in its place. unit. Despite reported differing opinions as to harmonies in ’ touring band What followed was the preliminary how the album should sound, on a production (having previously toured in support of the grounding for the success that was ultimately level, Royer and Gates seemingly hit it off, legendary Californians during their ’64 to come their way – a series of productions sailing on the warm coastal waters during days ‘Summer Safari’ tour). and releases from the various permutations that off, sharing musical influences and ideas, and, , Brian’s eventual the trio had to offer – starting with the eventually, coming together from the ashes of replacement, and the guy put in charge of songwriting and production credits on the The Pleasure Fair’s commercial failure with initially finding a suitable stand-in, recalled in semi-psychedelic Beethoven Soul album of ’67, Royer’s new songwriting partner, the conversation during 2009, “I contacted Jerry with the slightly disturbing lyrical Cincinnati-born, Memphis-bred James Griffin. Cole and Eddie Carter for Glen’s replacement connotations of the Griffin-Royer co- Both Royer and Griffin also had extensive but they were not available, (but) Jimmy composition ‘A Violent Crime’ nestled up musical heritage before the trio eventually Griffin was also a consideration of the band’s alongside the Elizabethan-esque united together in the studio so a partnership harpsichord/ of Griffin- with Gates, born out a musical love for harmony “Such was Griffin’s Gordon’s ‘Beggin’ Your Pardon, M’ Lady’ (and and songwriting, was inevitable. Prior to who said supermarionation was just for kids?). forming The Pleasure Fair, former Northridge youthful ability that he Then came an unsuccessful pitch for the title college student Royer had played the rounds of track of the movie, Candy, a the LA club circuit, performing on the tiny was even mooted at as combination of the various writing, stages of The Icehouse and Doug Weston’s production and arranging talents on the Troubadour amongst others, as a member of a potential replacement novelty single release, issued the following Tim & Robb, The We Three, The Inn Group year, by The Curtain Calls (‘Sock It To Me and The Rainy Day People, before eventually for Brian Wilson, and Sunshine’ / ‘Say What You See’) and the hazy, settling on The Pleasure Fair. He was also a part then Glen Campbell, in summer of love period pieces that adorned the of a talented group of writers that incorporated 45 RPM obscurity by The Morning Glories – future playwrights Michael Levesque and David The Beach Boys’ ‘Love-In’ / ‘You’re So Young’, the latter Kaufman (creators of ’71’s horror/biker-flick featuring some magical guitar meanderings Werewolves On Wheels), and together they touring band” from JJ Cale. worked on one of the earliest examples of the rock opera; an adventurous conceptual work, sadly unfinished in its original form, known as The Plastic Sibling.

James (then Jimmy) Griffin’s adventures in the early to mid-60s

58 SD64 Bread.qxp 11/01/2017 15:43 Page 29

Readers here may also be interested to note had recently signed. If all of the weight and familiar lilting acoustics and preciously soft that the instrumental track of the Griffin- focus was going to be given elsewhere, what high-harmonies (‘ At Me’ and an early Gordon tune, ‘You’re So Young’, also appeared chance would Gates, Griffin and Royer have, stab at ‘It Don’t Matter To Me’) but, at this on the collectible Leathercoated Minds album, despite their recognition within the industry stage, the emphasis was very much on a united A Trip Down The Sunset Strip, albeit re-titled as to date? After all, how could anyone else band. The Gates songwriting credits occupy ‘Sunset And Clark’ and erroneously crediting compete with the potential status that David equal space with those of the Griffin-Royer Cale as composer. This dark album, essentially Crosby, and were partnership, the production credits likewise. a rehash of some of the drug-culture hits of already harbouring? The circus surrounding Once the initial single release of ‘Dismal the day, most notably ‘Eight Miles High’, the Marrakesh Express was already on full Day’ had failed to achieve success as a ‘Kicks’, ‘Along Comes Mary’ and ‘Psychotic steam. standalone offering, the follow-up was the Reaction’, was performed by the re-grouped “Apple was a weird thing,” remembered funkier, riff-driven ‘Could I’, highlighted by Oklahoma crew that had ventured west at the Royer, during this author’s research for Bread: the rougher, aggressive vocal approach of start of the decade. Think Cale, Leon Russell, A Sweet Surrender. “Everybody in LA claimed James Griffin. Strangely, despite the quality, Jimmy Karstein, Roger Tillison… but there to represent Apple, but we’re not sure anybody both singles bombed and, indeed, the band was notably no David Gates in evidence. actually did! But Jac Holzman of Elektra and themselves could well have folded in light of And, so it was then, that during the early of Atlantic both made us the disappointing sales figures accumulated by winter of ’68 the trio of Gates, Griffin and offers.” the debut album (overshadowed, no doubt, by Royer also took their own combined musical With the ink still fresh on the page, and comparisons with the debut offering from that force into the Elektra Records recording with the winter of ’68 crossing over into ’69, other trio over on Atlantic), but Holzman held studios, armed with a handful of their own David Gates, James Griffin and Robb Royer faith in the project, and he gave them the green compositions, under the auspices of watching returned to the Elektra studios, located at 962 light to try again – but only after they earn label executive David Anderle. With former North La Cienega Boulevard, to begin work their dues as a performing entity, opting to Music Machine/Millennium sticksman, Ron on what would become their debut album. send them packing to the outlying reaches of Edgar, sitting behind the drums they laid down Viewing themselves as primarily a studio Washington state for a month, where they a number of demo recordings, all of which entity, with no plans for live performances, could hone their combined live sound to would be later re-recorded for inclusion on the they saw no need to add any permanent perfection amongst the musical hotbed of the following year’s debut album. ‘Dismal Day’ musicians to fill out the band and, once again, Seattle music scene. It was a decision that and ‘You Can’t Measure The Cost’, both from the drum stool was occupied by a seasoned clearly was to pay off, albeit one that was to the pen of David Gates, and ‘The Last Time’, a , and one that could clearly culminate in the band’s imminent trajectory Griffin-Royer collaboration, were all cut with hold his own in such circumstances. Step towards the safe, middle-of-the-road soft-rock a slick, polished production, even in demo forward former Spector , and that was to become David Gates’ specialty. form, and were immediately handed over to Domino-to-be . “God, it was like Regardless of the soulful experimentation label head Jac Holzman. “The demo was floating on a cloud playing with the guy,” says and the less commercial offerings that James couriered to me,” Holzman recalled in his Robb of Jim Gordon today. “He was Griffin and Robb Royer were together memoir, Follow The Music, “and I thought it fantastic.” bringing in to the band, and the initial concept was great – utterly fresh and likeable, The resulting album set the benchmark. to evenly spilt the credits 50/50 between the harmonising vocals that wove in, out and Issued during the late summer of ’69, two songwriting camps, once they arrived around each other; a softer, more considerate eponymously titled under the newly back in the warmer climes of Southern sound than the hard rock that was now christened band name of Bread (chosen after a California, and the next single was released, everywhere.” late drive down The Sunset Strip had seen ‘Make It With You’, a gentle acoustic ballad of While other labels were considering the them pull up behind a Barbara Ann Bakery pure wavering Gates elegance, the die had been potential that the trio were showing, with delivery truck) the resulting 12 tracks, cast. The band had found their sound. The both Columbia and Atlantic heading the including the three previously recorded demo Sound Of Bread… and, in the eyes and wallets queue, and the band themselves initially songs, newly re-recorded with Gordon on of those at Elektra Records, that was where the interested in signing with Apple, the still drums, ran the gamut of rock, pop, balladry big $$$$ was. unnamed group eventually opted to go with and soul – and notably showed little indication Holzman’s Elektra label, a decision partly made as to what was to become their trademark Bread: A Sweet Surrender by due to the priority that Atlantic was clearly sound. Sure, there are a couple of delightful Malcolm C Searles is giving to another trio of performers that they David Gates tunes full of delicate productions, published by Helter Skelter

59