I’ve not been too well but even so I was amazed when I visited here earlier today to discover it is over a month since I last posted. I have not written anything elsewhere either, a sure sign that as usual I’ve been even less well than I thought I was.
While I was away a lovely woman called Cathy from "Cathy's Ressurection Corner" followed up my request to visit and make suggestions that might improve this blog. She mentions extra spacing between paragraphs so I will be a day or two sorting that out before I get back to posting here properly. In the meantime I’d like to share with you this review I wrote to put on the Amazon as I returned to “the world” at the weekend.
The Very Best Of “The Rubettes”.
Spectrum Records: Compilation 1998: Cat No. 554 331-2.
What a gem this is. As a “record collector”, I keep an eye out for these compilations so I can replace vinyl lost, mislaid, or guiltily left behind, during my youth. To this end I have just catalogued and listened to four “best of’s” from the 60’s and 70’s. The others all fitted the usual pattern, the two or three hits from “back then” shinning through some fairly murky other tracks which serve to prove why those particular bands or artists ran out of steam, and then: THIS!!!!!
Now I must confess I was never a “fan” of the Rubettes and never owned any of their stuff, (The early Seventies were the years of marriage and new children for me so record buying had to stop. My “nights out” comprised working behind the bar of my local (the now defunct Beehive in Wallingford) where Mike, the Landlords son and I would drink away our wages once the punters had left.): the Rubettes were however, one of the few bands who caused me to put some of my beer money into the jukebox so I could hear clearly what the punters had been paying to listen to.
The tracks that impressed strongly enough for me to seek the band out thirty five years on are all on here, “Sugar Baby Love”, “I Can Do It”, and “Juke Box Jive” are all juke box classics, so imprinted from those Beehive nights that I have often found myself singing them during the intervening years. I decided they belonged in my collection about a year ago but doubted (very unfairly it seems) the wisdom of forking out for a whole cd for the sake of three tracks when the collection needs so many others. Consequently I have scoured many “Seventies Hits” type cd’s and ended up with three original takes of Sugar Baby but only re-recorded versions of the others. (Only is not supposed to be a put down here, the re-incarnations of this band are brilliant but when you know the original so well the “ambience” is not the same and the instrumentation cannot possibly be identical).
Anyway, while I have been cataloguing these “re-incarnations” the tunes have been haunting me to such a degree that I finally decided that buying an “originals” cd would be worth it regardless of the quality of the unheard tracks. At least I could check out if I remembered those other tracks authentically or whether I was just being a music snob. Boy am I glad I did this.
I remember that at the time of its release we had “Sugar Baby Love parts 1 and 2”, my three previous copies are all of part 2. I had hoped to find the slightly more up tempo part 1 on here and although that is not the case I think I now know the reason why so I can stop searching. From the notes, I learn (as is so often the case with “oldies”), of early personnel changes while the track was in the pipeline so I assume there might be contractual issues with the unmentioned Part 1. Apart from that original slight disappointment, everything else about this cd was pure joy.
Firstly: recognising that apart from the three tracks I had set out to “collect”, I have some recollection of each of the first nine tracks. The other six were also part of the soundtrack of my early twenties: car radio: Top of the Pops, etc: but if you were aware of the size of my song library you might be as impressed as I am that these hardly listened to tracks have stuck in my mind. Absolute quality both lyrically and musically, as for the rest, well, I am gobsmacked.
This cd opens with six simply brilliant examples of what “Glam Rock”, as a music Genre, rather than a costume drama, was all about. Although these tracks have all enthused me to revisit the band, “Juke Box Jive” in particular wonderfully illustrates the complete sound of the era, driving guitars and versatile pounding drumming (the Glitter Band used two drummers to get the same effect) supporting brilliantly harmonised powerful singing, all coming together and screaming “I bet you can’t keep your feet still”. No, I cannot, even when it stops.
But hold, I have yet to share the real “discoveries” I made here.
Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington wrote all the tracks named above. These two master songwriters of the Glam Rock Genre, were up there with Roy Wood: “Angel Fingers” and “See My Baby Jive”: the songs Chapman and Chinn wrote for mud: and Shephard and Rossal’s songs for The Glitter Band once their “Leader” had departed.
The real song writing jewels on here however belong to two members of the band, namely Alan Williams and John Richardson. Arthur Davis, writer of the “sleeve notes”, seems to imply that it was the desire of the band to leave Bickerton and Waddington that led to a decline in their popularity, this clearly was not the case. “You’re The Reason Why”: “Under One Roof”: and “Baby I Know”: (all written by Alan Williams and John Richardson) were all hits during 1976 and 1977: meanwhile rock genius Roy Wood failed to chart with an “original” after 1973 along with “Sweet”: Mud and Glitter Band faded from 1975
“Baby I know” is one of those lost gems of my past, a tune I have hummed for thirty years wherever music is discussed, begging in desperation, “one of you must know it”. I sort of remembered the title, but as soon as the music began, I felt that thrill of recognition and anticipation. This, (along with the aforementioned tracks) is a classic of the early seventies, prematurely consigned to the dustbin marked “obsolete”. The bullies of punk, and it’s supporters, (perhaps I should say bandwagon jumpers), among radio, TV, and the music press, telling us we didn’t need melodies or meaningful lyrics any longer: and that we were somehow deficient if we did: as they censored what we listened to. It was this media led change in public taste that saw the premature end of this band (and others) in the U.K (though not on the continent), and not the change of writers implied through the notes.
“Under one roof” provides beautiful, poetical insights to the experiences of those courageous enough to be openly Gay in the Seventies. As I was reminded of its qualities, and those of “You’re the reason why”, while, for the first time properly hearing “Kid Runaway”, I was aware that if they were released now these would be recognised as masterpieces of “Country Cross Over”, on a par with the three minute storytelling of Willie Nelson, Jim Webb, Don McLean and Ralph McTell. “Baby I know” also fits this category.
I could enthuse over all of the other tracks on here but if you still need convincing how vocally accomplished this band were shut your eyes and listen to “I’m just dreaming”. I defy you not to hear the surf breaking in the background as Beach Boy style harmonies, complete with subtle Mike Love style bass tones, wash over you. I have always remembered the Rubettes as a good band: I was wrong, they were a great band: buy this, and knock a few punk compilations onto the floor as you do so.
Brian.
While I was away a lovely woman called Cathy from "Cathy's Ressurection Corner" followed up my request to visit and make suggestions that might improve this blog. She mentions extra spacing between paragraphs so I will be a day or two sorting that out before I get back to posting here properly. In the meantime I’d like to share with you this review I wrote to put on the Amazon as I returned to “the world” at the weekend.
The Very Best Of “The Rubettes”.
Spectrum Records: Compilation 1998: Cat No. 554 331-2.
What a gem this is. As a “record collector”, I keep an eye out for these compilations so I can replace vinyl lost, mislaid, or guiltily left behind, during my youth. To this end I have just catalogued and listened to four “best of’s” from the 60’s and 70’s. The others all fitted the usual pattern, the two or three hits from “back then” shinning through some fairly murky other tracks which serve to prove why those particular bands or artists ran out of steam, and then: THIS!!!!!
Now I must confess I was never a “fan” of the Rubettes and never owned any of their stuff, (The early Seventies were the years of marriage and new children for me so record buying had to stop. My “nights out” comprised working behind the bar of my local (the now defunct Beehive in Wallingford) where Mike, the Landlords son and I would drink away our wages once the punters had left.): the Rubettes were however, one of the few bands who caused me to put some of my beer money into the jukebox so I could hear clearly what the punters had been paying to listen to.
The tracks that impressed strongly enough for me to seek the band out thirty five years on are all on here, “Sugar Baby Love”, “I Can Do It”, and “Juke Box Jive” are all juke box classics, so imprinted from those Beehive nights that I have often found myself singing them during the intervening years. I decided they belonged in my collection about a year ago but doubted (very unfairly it seems) the wisdom of forking out for a whole cd for the sake of three tracks when the collection needs so many others. Consequently I have scoured many “Seventies Hits” type cd’s and ended up with three original takes of Sugar Baby but only re-recorded versions of the others. (Only is not supposed to be a put down here, the re-incarnations of this band are brilliant but when you know the original so well the “ambience” is not the same and the instrumentation cannot possibly be identical).
Anyway, while I have been cataloguing these “re-incarnations” the tunes have been haunting me to such a degree that I finally decided that buying an “originals” cd would be worth it regardless of the quality of the unheard tracks. At least I could check out if I remembered those other tracks authentically or whether I was just being a music snob. Boy am I glad I did this.
I remember that at the time of its release we had “Sugar Baby Love parts 1 and 2”, my three previous copies are all of part 2. I had hoped to find the slightly more up tempo part 1 on here and although that is not the case I think I now know the reason why so I can stop searching. From the notes, I learn (as is so often the case with “oldies”), of early personnel changes while the track was in the pipeline so I assume there might be contractual issues with the unmentioned Part 1. Apart from that original slight disappointment, everything else about this cd was pure joy.
Firstly: recognising that apart from the three tracks I had set out to “collect”, I have some recollection of each of the first nine tracks. The other six were also part of the soundtrack of my early twenties: car radio: Top of the Pops, etc: but if you were aware of the size of my song library you might be as impressed as I am that these hardly listened to tracks have stuck in my mind. Absolute quality both lyrically and musically, as for the rest, well, I am gobsmacked.
This cd opens with six simply brilliant examples of what “Glam Rock”, as a music Genre, rather than a costume drama, was all about. Although these tracks have all enthused me to revisit the band, “Juke Box Jive” in particular wonderfully illustrates the complete sound of the era, driving guitars and versatile pounding drumming (the Glitter Band used two drummers to get the same effect) supporting brilliantly harmonised powerful singing, all coming together and screaming “I bet you can’t keep your feet still”. No, I cannot, even when it stops.
But hold, I have yet to share the real “discoveries” I made here.
Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington wrote all the tracks named above. These two master songwriters of the Glam Rock Genre, were up there with Roy Wood: “Angel Fingers” and “See My Baby Jive”: the songs Chapman and Chinn wrote for mud: and Shephard and Rossal’s songs for The Glitter Band once their “Leader” had departed.
The real song writing jewels on here however belong to two members of the band, namely Alan Williams and John Richardson. Arthur Davis, writer of the “sleeve notes”, seems to imply that it was the desire of the band to leave Bickerton and Waddington that led to a decline in their popularity, this clearly was not the case. “You’re The Reason Why”: “Under One Roof”: and “Baby I Know”: (all written by Alan Williams and John Richardson) were all hits during 1976 and 1977: meanwhile rock genius Roy Wood failed to chart with an “original” after 1973 along with “Sweet”: Mud and Glitter Band faded from 1975
“Baby I know” is one of those lost gems of my past, a tune I have hummed for thirty years wherever music is discussed, begging in desperation, “one of you must know it”. I sort of remembered the title, but as soon as the music began, I felt that thrill of recognition and anticipation. This, (along with the aforementioned tracks) is a classic of the early seventies, prematurely consigned to the dustbin marked “obsolete”. The bullies of punk, and it’s supporters, (perhaps I should say bandwagon jumpers), among radio, TV, and the music press, telling us we didn’t need melodies or meaningful lyrics any longer: and that we were somehow deficient if we did: as they censored what we listened to. It was this media led change in public taste that saw the premature end of this band (and others) in the U.K (though not on the continent), and not the change of writers implied through the notes.
“Under one roof” provides beautiful, poetical insights to the experiences of those courageous enough to be openly Gay in the Seventies. As I was reminded of its qualities, and those of “You’re the reason why”, while, for the first time properly hearing “Kid Runaway”, I was aware that if they were released now these would be recognised as masterpieces of “Country Cross Over”, on a par with the three minute storytelling of Willie Nelson, Jim Webb, Don McLean and Ralph McTell. “Baby I know” also fits this category.
I could enthuse over all of the other tracks on here but if you still need convincing how vocally accomplished this band were shut your eyes and listen to “I’m just dreaming”. I defy you not to hear the surf breaking in the background as Beach Boy style harmonies, complete with subtle Mike Love style bass tones, wash over you. I have always remembered the Rubettes as a good band: I was wrong, they were a great band: buy this, and knock a few punk compilations onto the floor as you do so.
Brian.
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