I bought this record about a year ago, probably mistaking it for the Almond Marzipan single after hours of flicking through piles of 45's. "In The Morning" b/w "Silver" is a great pop double sider and turns up very often, making me suspect it was a minor hit. Cheap too! Someone has made the effort to make a video on Youtube adding the a-side over black and white footage of a band that doesn't look like the Bitter Almond that appear on the German single's picture sleeve.
I've spent the last few days trying to find some info on Bitter Almond and got absolutely nowhere. Usually Google gives a few clues, but this time absolutely zilch! There was another single by a band called Bitter Almond, "Loving Each Other" b/w "We Need Someone". I've heard the latter song on Lost Jukebox Vol.178 and while it's an ace song, I'm not sure it is the same band. The German label states that it is a USA production but it sounds pure British to my ears. The songwriting is credited to A. Blake and B. Kretzchmar, whether they were member of the band is anyone's guess. Both sides were arranged by Tony Cox, who appears to be a bit of a freelance arranger, working with Barry Ryan, Toast, Jonathan King, Mick Softley and Yes for various record labels. The producer is down as Alfalfa, whose name has turned up just once, as a producer for a Phil Pickett single from 1971.
Bitter Almond (1970) Recognise any of these guys?
And that's about it! No real info this time but if anyone knows anything about Bitter Almond, who they were, what they did before/after please get in touch and update this post.
Norman 'Hurricane' Smith was a bit of a late bloomer in the pop music business and was the ripe old age of 49 years old when his debut album "Don't Let It Die" came out in 1972 on EMI/Columbia records. He had, however, been behind the scenes for many years previously. Having lied about his age and being granted an apprenticeship by EMI, he worked his way up the ranks, from tea boy to engineer to producer, working on some big, BIG recordings in the process, including the first six Beatles albums, the first four by Pink Floyd and the Pretty Things' "S.F. Sorrow". Smith also worked with Barclay James Harvest, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Kevin Ayers, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas and Manfred Mann.
Being around such talent obviously rubbed off on Smith during the 1960's and it was then that he started to dabble with songwriting, possibly taking John Lennon seriously when he joked that the Beatles were short of songs during the Help! sessions, prompting him to write "Don't Let It Die". There's a clear Gilbert O'Sullivan influence in Smith's recordings, as well as the Beatles, mainly of the Paul McCartney Music Hall variety and if that's your bag, and you don't mind the heavily orchestrated arrangements, you'll love this album.
Hurricane wasn't hip and he never pretended to be so. Instead he stuck to what he was great at, writing and producing some real nice pop tunes that your gran would like, full of nostalgia and sentimentality. But in an odd way, it works and I find myself coming back to his first album for repeated listens.
In the liner notes for the album, Smith comes over as a pretty decent, humble kind of bloke, appreciative of the people in the business who have helped him and not afraid to poke fun at himself. The back of the LP sleeve also proudly states that Smith won a couple of Ivor Novello Awards (Best Song and Lyric) for "Don't Let It Die" in 1971-72...and there are pictures of them on there too, in case you don't believe him!
Smith died in 2008 aged 85. The previous year he released his memoir "John Lennon Called Me Normal" and attended Beatlefest in where he was interviewed, sharing stories about his time as an engineer for the Beatles. There's a clip of him talking about "She Loves You" taken from the Beatles Stories DVD here.
I'll leave the last words to Hurricane Smith with his explanation of "Auntie Vi's", my favourite track on the album... "I got the idea for this song by looking back to my days as a young boy who hated being dressed up in a black velvet suit, to be taken out to Sunday tea. I don't infact have an Auntie Vi, but I think that Mother was probably a little too fat and furry! I hope you will forgive me making this point of philosophy in this song, but I never did agree with the upbringing of a child on the basis of a child being seen and not heard, because I think this could lead to an inhibited adult later on" Lyrics
Hurricane Smith - Auntie Vi's (Smith)
We all went round to Auntie Vi's for tea Mum and Dad, Jimmy Lad and Me And Mother had the usual things to say That we should please be good today She's all dressed up like a Persian Cat When he's looking very fluffy but he's much too fat and furry And dear old Dad in his best cravat Couldn't go anywhere without his old brown hat, that derby Bought in 1892 And after family greetings had begun Couldn't miss the big wet kiss to come And after jelly, cream and strawberry flan We all just sat and grown up chat I couldn't understand La da da da, La da da da Da da da da da da da da La da da da, La da da da Da da da da da da da da I know there's much to be grateful for But going out to tea is such a great big bore on Sunday, boring Sunday But I mustn't complain not a single word Good little boys are only seen not heard on Sunday Mothers' day of rest The smoky open fire and old perfume Special treat, once a week from ??? I couldn't wait 'til mother finally said "Time for us to catch the bus and home in time for bed!"
I first heard Phil Cordell on the first volume of the Fading Yellow compilation series. "Red Lady", for me, was the stand out track on the CD and I proceeded to play it to death. Around that time I remember being disappointed that there was no accompanying LP from this era. I've been digging a little deeper into the musical career of Phil Cordell and recently discovered the Dan The Banjo Man album, which has some really great tunes and a couple of weeks ago took a chance on a single which he recorded in 1974 for Motown's Californian sub-label, Mowest. I knew I'd be happy with my purchase because I already loved the Neil Sedaka version of "Laughter In The Rain", but the Cordell version, despite a cheesy saxophone solo (not a fave instrument of mine!) absolutely pisses all over the original. The b-side is also a winner. "If I Don't Get All The Luck" a pure pop masterpiece, reminiscent of Honeybus, in particular Colin Hare whom Cordell's vocals uncannily resemble. There's even some of that trademark slide guitar on here too.
By 1974, Phil Cordell had been in the music business for over a decade. He cut his teeth playing guitar in Enfield band Steve Douglas & The Challengers around 1963 who allegedly made some recordings in Joe Meek's legendary studio as The Prophets, although none of these are known to exist. The band would evolve into Tuesday's Children and released three singles with five of the six sides written by Cordell, the most interesting being "Strange Light From The East", a song favoured by UK psych collectors which shows an early glimpse at his unique song-writing style. Cordell split from Tuesday's Children before they turned into heavy rock act Czar and released his first solo single, the aforementioned "Red Lady" in 1969. The single failed to chart and was followed by another flop record under the pseudonym of Beachcomber. "Surfin' Soul" was Cordell's first foray into guitar instrumental territory.
1971 saw another name change, this time as Springwater and the release of "I Will Return" on Polydor records, a surprising and unlikely hit record, which caught the attention of the radio stations and record buying public who sent the multi tracked slide guitar instrumental into the the UK Charts for twelve weeks, peaking at number five. The record was also a hit in Europe and made number one spot in Switzerland. A Springwater album followed, consisting of similar instrumental tracks, which I have heard and have to admit doesn't do much for me, really. A couple more singles followed on Polydor, trying but failing to repeat the success of "I Will Return".
In July 1973, a single under his own name appeared on the Mowest label. "Close To You" b/w "Londonderry", both great pop ballads also featuring the welcome return of Cordell's pleasing vocals. Shortly after in August 1973 came another surprise hit "Dan The Banjo Man", as Dan The Banjo Man for Rare Earth records, a number one hit in the German charts thanks to it being used in an advert for orange juice! It was around this time that Cordell seemed to be leading a schizophrenic music career, releasing records, successfully, in a novelty instrumental style and in another, less successful more serious singer-songwriter style and I'm sure his heart would have been in the latter, but you've got to do what you've got to do to pay the bills.
An album of songs with vocals under the name of Phil Cordell entitled "Born Again" eventually hit the record stores sometime in 1977. A very polished production and consistently good all the way through and sounding like a cross between Pilot and ELO with a hint of West Coast AOR, well worth checking out. The album can be found tagged on the end of a CD reissue of the Springwater album on the Angel Air label.
Sadly Phil Cordell passed away in 2007. His legacy lays in these ace recordings from the 1960's & 1970's. It was nice to read the comments on the YouTube videos and see how people are fond of his songs.
...Anyway, that's enough of me yakking. Enjoy...
I've added a discography of solo Phil Cordell releases taken from various websites but put together as a complete list here for the first time. If you see any errors or anything I might have missed off, please let me know and I'll correct it. Thanks.
The Euclid Beach Band were a bit like The Beach Boys own Rutles in a way. By trying to parody our fave Californians they actually struck gold with this tune about a band wanting to impress the girls on the beach but failing to do so because of the lack of waves! It became a regional hit and was the most played record on Cleveland radio in 1978 but failed to chart nationally.
The song and resulting album is well worthy of your ear holes and will please fans of the later work by the Beach Boys. They were produced by none other than Eric Carmen, who had written his fair share of Beach Boys style songs with the Raspberries. Members of the EBB had previously backed Carmen on his first solo LP.
Here's a rare video of an old news report about the single...
The Iveys - No Escaping Your Love Mungo Jerry - My Girl And Me White Witch - You'r The One Darien Spirit - It Isn't What You Know Chad & Jeremy - Good Morning Sunrise Steepy Rojo - My Yesterdays Morning - Easy Keeper Stained Glass - Mediocre Me Canterbury Music Festival - Mr. Snail Turner & Kirwan of Wexford - Warts 'n All Watts - Betsy Ballou Dan The Banjo Man - The Locomotion Mark Wirtz - Feeling Better The Robbs - Next Time You See Me Buckwheat - Pure Buckwheat Honey
Here's a great obscure record which follows on nicely from my last post about Claggers. Most likely another studio creation by Kaplan Kaye who is credited as songwriter and producer (and it's definitely him singing) for this one off single on Dick James' Jam record label under the name of Watts.
The first few bars that kick off "Girl You Make It Easy" will have you thinking that you're listening to some psychedelic/prog/glam hybrid thanks to some tasty synth action and eery backwards echo on the vocals, much like Umber Rag by Claggers. It quickly shifts into a killer piano pop tune, exactly the sort of sound that Macca was going for (six months later, I might add!) with Wings on the Band On The Run LP. This song won me over instantly when I heard it on the Mixed Up Minds Vol.6 and desperately had to get a copy of my own so I could write about it on this blog.
A vinyl copy of the single was easy to track down, I got mine on eBay for the bargain price of £5, which is surprising really considering that the B-side is also a great track. "Betsy Ballou" is prime power pop of the Badfinger variety. You could stick it anywhere on Magic Christian Music and it wouldn't sound out of place, and the vocals sound uncannily like Tom Evans. I've got it earmarked for the next Bite It Deep mix volume 15.
So what we have here is a killer double sider, still cheap and easy to get hold of. What are you waiting for?
Chumley's Laughing Gear by Claggers is an obscure little pop album which appears to have slipped under the radar of both the Tapestry Of Delights and Galactic Ramble, neither is it listed in the Record Collector Price Guide 2014. I bought a copy of the LP a few months back on the strength of the outstanding single "Someone" b/w "Umber Rag" (which can be heard on BID Vol.13 if you're interested).
When the record arrived in the post the first thing that struck me was the hideous and slightly euro proggish sleeve which depicts the band as Jack in the boxes, but to be fair, they probably didn't have a huge budget for artwork, or promotion for that matter hence the album bombing and being virtually ignored ever since.
It turns out that Claggers were not really a proper band but more of a studio creation of four backroom boys working for DJM records at the time and on the back of the LP under their names where you would normally see what instruments the members play you instead get their day job titles: Stuart Epps (Record Producer), Kaplan Kaye (A and R Man), Clive Franks (Chief Recording Engineer) and Jeff Titmus (Recording Engineer), smaller print indicates their musician roles as Vocalist, Pianist/Vocalist, Guitarist and Drummer respectively. They're also joined by Caleb Quaye on a few tracks and it was him who you have to thank for their dodgy name!
L-R Clive Franks, Stuart Epps, Kaplan Kaye, Jeff Titmus
The album was recorded during studio downtime, unbeknownst to Dick James who one day caught the band in the act and luckily for them, liked what he heard. Rightly so as there are some remarkably well written pop songs on the record, which unsurprisingly sounds quite like Elton John in places. "Eric Is Calling" is a dead ringer for "Bad Side Of The Moon" and that's not a bad thing! The album is not a masterpiece by any means but I'm honouring it in this blog as it seems to have been cold shouldered by collectors despite a handful of ace tunes to it's name...and here's one of them...dig!!!
