{"id":27848,"date":"2024-07-25T05:30:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T09:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=27848"},"modified":"2024-07-22T17:12:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T21:12:28","slug":"45-r-p-m-singles-key-to-the-future-of-vinyl-releases-part-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/25\/45-r-p-m-singles-key-to-the-future-of-vinyl-releases-part-2-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"45 r.p.m. Singles: \u2018Key\u2019 to the Future of Vinyl Releases? (Part 2 of 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One<\/a>…<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"Pablo Solo \u2013 \u201cSlow Dancing\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s You, Lady\u201d b\/w \u201cYears\u201d and \u201cFruit Pur\u00e9e\u201d<\/b>
\nAn indie artist based in Barcelona, Spain, multi-instrumentalist Pablo Solo released his debut album, Alondras<\/i>, during the lockdown period of 2020. Inspired by the songwriting of American composer and producer John Simon (The Band, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Leonard Cohen and more), Solo recorded Simon\u2019s \u201cSlow Dancing.\u201d Simon heard it and was impressed; that fortuitous event led to Solo recording this four-song EP of his songs.<\/p>\n

With the aptly-named Solo on most of the instruments, \u201cSlow Dancing\u201d features a lead vocal shared with Anni B. Sweet. Solo\u2019s arrangement is reminiscent of early pre-Badfinger group The Iveys. His one-man-band approach is inspired by the pioneering efforts of Paul McCartney, Emitt Rhodes and Todd Rundgren. And the shimmering, uncluttered arrangements of \u201cIt\u2019s You, Lady\u201d and \u201cFruit Pur\u00e9e\u201d may remind listeners of early \u201870s releases from those artists. The brief yet upbeat \u201cTears\u201d leans in a slightly more rocking direction, but the tune\u2019s sweet melody keeps things in decidedly pure pop territory. Technically an EP, Solo\u2019s 45 is the first release in Think Like a Key\u2019s seven-inch series.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blossom Toes \u2013 \u201cPostcard\u201d b\/w \u201cEveryone\u2019s Leaving Me Now\u201d<\/b>
\nAn underrated group from England\u2019s late psychedelic\/early progressive era, Blossom Toes released a pair of highly-regarded (if little-heard) albums in 1967 and \u201869. Produced by Yardbirds manager Giorgio Gomelsky, Blossom Toes\u2019 two LPs were quite different from one another: the first, We Are Ever So Clean<\/i> showcases an ambitious baroque pop style and more than a hint of whimsy. The band\u2019s second album, If Only for a Moment<\/i> is a much darker and heavier affair. Live, the group was even more experimental; their performance at the Festival Actuel in Amougies, Belgium was a highlight of that event, especially when the band was joined onstage by guitarist (and unofficial festival emcee) Frank Zappa.<\/p>\n

Neither of the two tracks on the band\u2019s Think Like a Key single were featured on their albums. \u201cPostcard\u201d b\/w \u201cEveryone\u2019s Leaving Me Now\u201d was released in the UK in 1968 as a single; today, used copies of the original change hands for upward of $30. TLAK associate \u201cProfessor Stoned\u201d remastered the songs for this new release, housed in an attractive sleeve crafted by Piper Gates Design.<\/p>\n

\"\"Anji Cakebread \u2013 \u201cDear Computer\u201d b\/w \u201cSimple Song\u201d<\/b>
\nAn idiosyncratic yet catchy recording from 1978, \u201cDear Computer\u201d was the result of a collaboration between poet Cakebread and producer\/songwriter Tony Rockcliff. Described in UK magazine Record Mirror<\/i> at the time of its release as \u201cKraftwerk meets Lynsey De Paul,\u201d it\u2019s something of an electro-pop gem. Aficionados of the style may hear hints of like-minded artists Telex or the Flying Lizards. John Gilston \u2013 briefly a member of the mid-\u201970s lineup of the Incredible String Band \u2013 appears in the role of the titular computer.<\/p>\n

Houdaille recalls being approached by producer Rockliff about the song. \u201cHe told me, \u2018There\u2019s this song I produced, and a lot of people seem to like it; I get emails about it all the time.\u2019\u201d The song and its b-side would be the only releases from Cakebread, about whom little else is known. An original 1978 pressing of the UK-only single could set current-day collectors back more than $85 (plus shipping across the Atlantic).<\/p>\n

\"\"The Mirage \u2013 \u201cThe Wedding of Ramona Blair\u201d b\/w \u201cLazy Man\u201d<\/b>
\nSigned to CBS UK and then to Philips, this band from Hertfordshire (just north of London), The Mirage would release an album\u2019s worth of singles \u2013 but no album-proper \u2013 during their brief few years together. The group achieved a bit of notoriety \u2013 if comparatively few record sales \u2013 with their electric sitar-heavy 1966 cover of The Beatles\u2019 \u201cTomorrow Never Knows,\u201d an appealing slice of freakbeat. But the group is best known for \u201cThe Wedding of Ramona Blair,\u201d a bit of British pop-sike with cheery harmonies and tootling instruments. Occupying a sonic space between The Hollies and early Pink Floyd, the a-side would earn significant radio play in the UK, but not enough to qualify as a hit.<\/p>\n

Long unavailable in any form, the tune would be compiled on a 21st<\/sup> century CD release of The Mirage\u2019s work. But the 1967 single on Philips remains extraordinarily collectible, changing hands today for more than $200. Paired with its original b-side on this reissue remastered by Professor Stoned, it\u2019s the fourth in the Think Like a Key singles series.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Crazy World of Arthur Brown \u2013 \u201cDevil\u2019s Grip\u201d b\/w \u201cGive Him a Flower\u201d<\/b>
\nOne of rock\u2019s wildest figures, Arthur Brown came to international prominence with his incendiary 1968 hit single, \u201cFire.\u201d Leading the truth-in-labeling group The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the formidable vocalist-composer cut a memorable figure with his onstage antics, complete with face paint and flaming helmet.<\/p>\n

But months before the release of \u201cFire,\u201d Brown and his group debutedo n record with the September 1967 single \u201cDevil\u2019s Grip\u201d b\/w \u201cGive Him a Flower.\u201d Released on The Who\u2019s label Track Records and produced by the team of Who manager Kit Lambert and guitarist Pete Townshend, the single premiered the theatrical approach that would define the group\u2019s sound. With keyboardist Vincent Crane\u2019s spooky organ and Brown\u2019s near-operatic and menacing vocal performance, \u201cDevil\u2019s Grip\u201d is a chamber-of-horrors tune that presents a scarier \u2013 and much more over-the-top \u2013 rethink of the soul-jazz-influenced sound of acts like Brian Auger\u2019s Trinity. The flip is a strange and whimsical yet nearly singalong bit of jazz rock-meets-pop.<\/p>\n

Neither the debut single nor its b-side were included on the band\u2019s eponymous album on its 1968 release, though they would be appended to CD-era expanded releases. Think Like a Key\u2019s reissue is the record\u2019s first appearance on seven-inch since 1967.<\/p>\n

\"\"Andy Bown \u2013 \u201cTarot\u201d b\/w \u201cLulli Rides Again\u201d<\/b>
\nFronted by teenage guitarist and lead singer Peter Frampton, The Herd briefly achieved fame in the UK with a trio of singles released in 1967-68. By the end of \u201868, Frampton left to form Humble Pie; keyboardist Andy Bown left soon thereafter for a two-year stint leading the little-remembered Judas Jump. During that period Bown released a solo single. Produced and co-written by the keyboardist, \u201cTarot\u201d was the theme song to Ace of Wands<\/i>, a science fiction\/fantasy television program aimed at a young audience. The popular series ran for three seasons on Great Britain\u2019s ITV network; today the first two seasons are lost.<\/p>\n

But the supremely catchy, proto-progressive and mildly psychedelic theme song by Bown has endured. With a sound that was a few years ahead of its time, the song should have launched Bown\u2019s commercial fortunes. Remarkably, neither \u201cTarot\u201d nor either of his subsequent singles dented the charts. By 1973 Bown began playing on sessions for stalwart rockers Status Quo, joining as a full member in 1982 and remaining with the group to this day.<\/p>\n

Houdaille says that the Andy Bown single ended up on Think Like a Key thanks to his graphic designer. \u201cI signed Piper Gates up to develop a cohesive look for the [sleeves for the] series,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd in the middle of the project he said, \u2018What about this song?\u2019 I checked it out and immediately fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two more titles \u2013 singles from Garbo\u2019s Celluloid Heroes (\u201870s garage\/glam\/punk) and The Syn (late \u201860s group featuring future Yes founding members Peter Banks and Chris Squire) \u2013 were due around early April, with more releases to follow. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m hoping to do a good 12 by the end of the year,\u201d says Roger Houdaille. \u201cAnd then we\u2019ll see how the series is doing. If people are into it, we\u2019ll keep it going for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The above-mentioned singles and other titles are available at thinklikeakey.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One… Pablo Solo \u2013 \u201cSlow Dancing\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s You, Lady\u201d b\/w \u201cYears\u201d and \u201cFruit Pur\u00e9e\u201d An indie artist based in Barcelona, Spain, multi-instrumentalist Pablo Solo released his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,41,50,51,56,57,73],"tags":[5462,5459,3035,5458,5461,5460,5335],"class_list":["post-27848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electronica","category-interview","category-new-wave","category-pop","category-prog","category-psych","category-vinyl","tag-andy-bown","tag-anji-cakebread","tag-arthur-brown","tag-blossom-toes","tag-pablo-solo","tag-the-mirage","tag-think-like-a-key","cat-26-id","cat-41-id","cat-50-id","cat-51-id","cat-56-id","cat-57-id","cat-73-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27848"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27855,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27848\/revisions\/27855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}