Hitchin' A Ride

During a recent conversation with a friend regarding some of the so-called 'soft pop' vocal groups of the 1960's and early '70's like The Association and The Free Design, the oft-heard lament of "nobody sounds like that anymore" came up. Well, maybe someone does and that someone is The Explorers Club.

I have to say right up front that their album, "Grand Hotel", has become one of my favorites over the last year. Don't let the worn, retro cover art fool you, it's a 2012 release. Happily, the band has progressed from doing stunningly accurate recreations of The Beach Boys post-surf, cars 'n girls sound on their first album, "Freedom Wind", which was absolutely great in lots of ways but also potentially a trap that could have impeded the band's artistic progress.

Explorers Club founder Jason Brewer says this about his hopes for the album. “We really want this record to make a lot of people smile; to inject some positivity into the world. Let’s stop making things so serious and introspective and get away on a musical vacation so we can bring a little bit of joy to people.” To illustrate Brewer's point, here's an early mix of "Run Run Run". I do hear a bit of the 5th Dimension in the intro. It sets the mood nicely.

During his college years, when Brewer and a friend found themselves in an Atlanta studio with plans to record their tune "Forever", he thought, "Wouldn’t it be fun to make something that sounded like Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Bones Howe and all those great ’60s producers? At the time, I was into ’90s groups like Apples in Stereo, who were doing ’60s-type stuff, but it was all so lo-fi."

Posting "Forever" online, Brewer got significant and encouraging feedback, which led to him seeking and finding the like-minded musicians who would comprise The Explorers Club. Regarding the band name, Brewer says "I was a big fan of that Wes Anderson film 'The Life Aquatic' and there’s a scene in it where Bill Murray goes into a bar feeling all depressed, thinking, 'My life is a mess. What am I gonna do?' and my thought, seeing 'Explorers Club' written on the wall, was 'That sure is a cool name for a band!'" The handle suitably described what listeners heard on "Freedom Wind"; a dozen fresh songs that evoke the bracing spirit of classic pop-rock, performed by a young band with a distinct personality and an inexhaustible supply of singing, playing and arranging chops.

The Explorers Club

Recording of what was to become "Grand Hotel" commenced in 2009, but the album’s conception and considerable birth pains preceded it by several months. "After we toured behind 'Freedom Wind' and got a good response," explains Brewer, "I went to our label at the time and said, 'I have a concept for the next record. I want it to be like a musical vacation, a kind of travelogue, like you’re checking into a hotel that’s filled with all these interesting activities, feelings and emotions.'" The label picked up the travel brochure but never really got on board for the trip Brewer had planned. A modest recording budget was allotted, which went fast. Sessions bogged down as "Grand Hotel" turned into a band-financed venture. The Explorers Club finally purchased the in-progress project from the label, then contacted respected music industry veteran Marc Nathan (already a big fan of "Freedom Wind"), who suggested fixes to songs, helped tighten the album’s programming and put the band together with mixing engineer Mark Linett, best known for his work on The Beach Boys "Smile Sessions" and "Pet Sounds" reissues.

Now complete and ready for release, "Grand Hotel" was issued by Rock Ridge Music in February 2012. To prepare for its arrival, fans were treated to three downloadable EP “suites” (designated “Californian,” “Carolinian,” and “New Yorker”), each bundled with a pair of early demo mix versions of songs from the album and 3 lively covers of pop classics! The EP's are still available, but only from iTunes.

First, there's a cover of the Burt Bacharach classic, "Walk On By" from the Californian EP. Next, there's the Classics IV hit, "Stormy", from The Carolinian EP. Lastly, from the New Yorker EP, we change gears to "Hitchin' A Ride", the 1970 Vanity Fare pop hit, which we present here! I think they nailed it.

Seriously, "Grand Hotel" is a Grammy-worthy stunner. It's a great leap forward from the already impressive "Freedom Wind" album and it indicates that The Explorers Club have the imagination and abilities to go just about wherever they please and take the rest of us along for the ride. Ready to check in? Do so at The Explorers Club website, where you can buy direct from from the band (yes, they have vinyl!) or there's the usual Amazon method. Either way, you'll be glad you did.

The Twist

This song is a "Kover Klassic" if there ever was one. "The Twist" is one of the very first rock 'n roll records I ever remember hearing. My parents had this single, but I think I played it more than they did. They would have been around the age of 40 at that time, so I'm guessing my Dad got it for a party they were having. This picture sleeve is the one I remember from the 1962 re-release.

In September of 1960, Chubby Checker had his biggest success ever when his recording of "The Twist" hit #1 on the national Billboard Charts. Fifteen months later, Parkway Records re-released the record. By January of 1962, it was on the top of the charts again! This feat has been duplicated only one other time, by Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".

A 78rpm copy of The Twist from 1956

In 1958, Philadelphia TV personality, Dick Clark heard Hank Ballard’s original version of "The Twist" that had appeared on the B-side of Hank Ballard’s single “Teardrops On Your Letter”. Ballard’s version of "The Twist" had become a major hit on the airwaves two years earlier. Ballard had been inspired to write the song after noticing the twisty moves of his background singers.

Chubby Checker & Dick Clark, 1960

Clark also noticed how the Philly kids on his show danced in a unique way to Ballard’s song. Although Clark liked the song and was intrigued by the dance move, Clark felt that Ballard’s band, The Midnighters, were a bit too mature and inappropriate for Clark’s younger audience, and for their parents in particular. Clark then approached Philadelphia’s Cameo/Parkway record label and asked that they record a new version of The Twist using an artist more palatable to the younger generation. The label hired session singer and part-time chicken plucker(!) Ernest Evans (who was renamed Chubby Checker by Clark as a riff on Fats Domino's name), to remake the song applying his own personal style to the song. Evans had already demonstrated his talent for copying other artists on another minor hit of his, 1959’s "The Class". However, the Chubby Checker remake sounded so close to the original that according to the New York Times, "even Mr. Hank Ballard thought it was his own version the first time he heard it on the radio."

So now, you be the judge! Here's the original recording by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. Everybody twist!

Now, here's the Chubby Checker version. There are subtle differences in the groove on this one. It's more of a straight 4 feel and swings less than Ballard's take. Fairly sure a female backing vocal part was added too.

There's a really great Hank Ballard "Best of" disc out there that was part of Rhino's excellent King Master Series of great R&B artists like Little Willie John, Roy Brown, The 5 Royales, Wynonie Harris and others. King Records was an indie label out of Cincinnati in the '50's that may have served as the model for Atlantic Records in the '60's. Treat yourself to a few of the King Masters at Amazon and put the roll back in your rock!

Chubby Checker's original recording of "The Twist" was only recently made available again due to 2 things: the passing of legendary music business shark, Allen Klein, and the long overdue licensing by Klein's company, ABKCO, of the master recordings of the Cameo/Parkway labels, which ABKCO owned. All Chubby Checker recordings of "The Twist" that you've heard on the radio or seen in stores all these years have been remakes! You can now have the real deal. For those of you interested in Philadelphia rock 'n roll history, the Cameo/Parkway Greatest Hits disc is a must! Even if you're not a Philly kid, it's still great stuff. There's a sweet Cameo/Parkway box set that's still out there too, if you've gotta have it all. 

Indiana Wants Me

Here's a rare radio station DJ copy in red vinyl!

They don't make hit records happen like this anymore. Singer-songwriter R. Dean Taylor already had co-writing credits with Motown including such hits as "Love Child" and "I'm Living In Shame" by the Supremes, "All I Need" by the Temptations, "I'll Turn To Stone" by the Four Tops, and "Just Look What You've Done" by Brenda Holloway. Not a bad start.

In 1970, Taylor recorded his song "Indiana Wants Me" for Motown's new Rare Earth subsidiary label. The song tells of a fugitive on the run who is approaching the end of the line. Taylor felt it could be a hit record, so he went to Motown Vice President, Barney Ayles and asked him if he could put some serious promotion behind this record. Ayles knew it was getting some airplay in Detroit & Ontario and the record was getting positive feedback, so he agreed to hire an independent promotion man, Al Valente, to go out with Taylor on a promo tour to radio stations, large and small, in the Michigan area. Soon enough, more stations began playing the single. "Indiana Wants Me" eventually became a million-seller and climbed to #1 in Canada and #5 on the US charts, making R. Dean Taylor the first white artist in the history of Motown to do so.

A typical K-Tel album

Fast forward to 1992. Chicago based Pravda Records has the notion to produce a tribute album that focused on the K-Tel collections from the 1970's. Those K-Tel records were of notoriously poor quality but were certainly budget-friendly and usually featured loud graphics with a subtle title like "20 Super Fantastic Mega Hit Explosions!!" or something else equally silly. Nonetheless, these records sold like candy to kids with allowance to burn. Pravda's idea was to have a variety of modern indie rock bands update the 70's pop of their youth.

As it is with most tribute albums, this is almost always a hit & miss proposition. There's gonna be some pleasant surprises and there's gonna be a dud or two. That's very much the deal with Pravda's three(!) K-Tel themed releases. There's a few tracks I could feature here (and may do so later), but I happen to really like this one by the sarcastically named Frampton Brothers from beautiful downtown Pittsburgh, Pa. (No relation to the more well-known Peter, I'm certain.) They absolutely attack the song, putting some much needed hair on the arrangement. Doing away with the dated siren & bullhorn effects from Taylor's original, this band replaces them with some smokin' guitar work. It makes a world of difference.

Here's "Indiana Wants Me" by the Frampton Brothers. Turn it up good 'n loud.

The Pravda cd's are long out of print but are still available at Amazon. The Frampton Brothers put out 3 cd's on small indie labels, all of them now defunct. R. Dean Taylor's original version can be found on Volume 3 in Rhino's ginormous Have A Nice Day series. 25 cd's in all, superior mastering throughout, lots of rarities, very highly recommended.

Rock 'n Roll All Nite

Ok, so you've had the brilliant notion that you're gonna cover a song by cartoon rock monsters, Kiss. And not just any Kiss song. You're covering THE Kiss song; the Kiss anthem of all anthems, "Rock & Roll All Nite". What are you gonna do? More importantly, how are you gonna do it? (Why is another thing, but..)

This much we know. You CAN NOT do this song any bigger or better than Kiss did it, so don't try. It's a long way to fall. Doing a completely straight cover that simply mimics the original Kiss recording without trying to out-big them is simply pointless. The only thing you can do is what any decent musician would do (besides run away) and that is to completely deconstruct the song, so it doesn't sound like Kiss at all. And what better place to do that than on a band-authorized, label-commissioned Kiss tribute album?

The regrettably titled album, "Kiss My Ass" was released in June of 1994. It contains mostly pedestrian versions of Kiss tunes by performers of the day such as Lenny Kravitz, Anthrax, Gin Blossoms, Extreme and even country music cottage industry, Garth Brooks, who turns in a fetid take of "Hard Luck Woman". If they'd gotten Rod Stewart, for whom the song was originally written, then that might have been more interesting. But no.

And then, there's Toad The Wet Sprocket.

Yes, Toad The Wet Sprocket, who took their name from a Monty Python comedy sketch called "Rock Notes", in which a journalist delivers a nonsensical music news report. (More on this later.) The men from Toad do a fine job of reinventing this arena rock pounder into a waltzy acoustic number that invites, rather than demands, a singalong during the chorus. Nice job, fellas.

Ok, just for a refresher, here's the original 1975 studio cut of  "Rock 'n Roll All Nite" from Kiss.

Now, check out this sublime cover version by Toad The Wet Sprocket. 

At the time, I had a strong feeling that Toad was one of those bands that would one day release a most excellent best-of or greatest hits CD. I was not wrong. Get all that and more Toad as well at Amazon. 

And if you just gotta have more Kiss albums, they're at Amazon too. Cheap.

Before I forget, Eric Idle, the performer of the Python sketch, reflected on the band's name in an interview: "I once wrote a sketch about rock musicians and I was trying to think of a name that would be so silly that nobody would ever use it, or dream it could ever be used. So I wrote the words "Toad the Wet Sprocket". And a few years later, I was driving along the freeway in L.A., and a song came on the radio, and the DJ said, "...that was by Toad the Wet Sprocket", and I nearly drove off the freeway!"

Which proves that you can name a band just about anything at all.

Rusty Cage

To put it simply, this is one of the best rebuilds of a song I've ever heard. The musical arrangement is an almost total deconstruction. It's also a powerful demonstration of how changing the vocal delivery from a howling yell to barely sung speech can sound far more serious and threatening. And no one was ever more up for that task than the Man in Black, Johnny Cash.

In 1996, Cash and producer Rick Rubin enlisted Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to provide the backbone for Cash's American Recordings album, "Unchained", which eventually won a Grammy that year for Best Country Album. As producer, Rubin was heavily involved in reviewing and presenting to Cash, the many songs that might be suitable for Cash to record. One of them was a scorcher by Seattle grungemeisters, Soundgarden, called "Rusty Cage"

Soundgarden

Although I've already inferred that there's a huge musical difference between these two recordings, the key is in the vocal. Soundgarden's Chris Cornell sounds like he's about to bust a lung. But by putting his famous rumbling baritone to full use, Cash sounds like a very dangerous man. I can see why Rubin suggested this one for Cash. To Cornell's credit, this lyric sounds custom written for Cash, especially the lines after the mid-song tempo change, which read, "When the forest burns along the road, like God's eyes in my headlights; when the dogs are looking for their bones and it's raining ice picks on your steel shores, I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run." That's one powerful lyric and Cash's delivery makes it sound like the voice of a mountain.

So, for a point of reference, here's Soundgarden's original grunge/metal version of "Rusty Cage". Yes, it's loud. Go for it.

 

 Now, listen to Cash's stripped to the bones version. Keep the volume cranked and buckle in.

So, if your music collection is short on Cash, get yourself over to Amazon & make things right.

They have a lot of Soundgarden there too, if you are so inclined.

Everlasting Love

I well remember hearing the 1967 original version of "Everlasting Love" by Robert Knight for the first time through the 4" speaker of the tube powered GE tabletop AM radio that I got from my grandmother. This is one of those songs that has a lot of drama created by musical tension. It's got the same feel as the intro to "Reach Out" by the Four Tops, which may have inspired the intro to this tune. I'll bet this record was cut live with everyone in the same room, like they often did back then. Without ProTools.

"Everlasting Love" made its next appearance on the charts with a discofied version by Carl Carlton in 1974. You may also remember Carlton as the perpetrator of the 1982 hit, "She's a Bad Mama-Jama". The song has since reached the U.S. Top 40 twice more, with more moderate success for remakes by Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet (#32 in 1981) and Gloria Estefan (#27 in 1995). Thus, "Everlasting Love" is one of two songs (the other being "The Way You Do the Things You Do") to become a Top 40 hit in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

But there's one other excellent version that didn't chart at all.

In 1988, U2 released a concert documentary film, "Rattle & Hum", along with an accompanying soundtrack album. As the band had done previously, for each single that was released from the album, there were 2 or 3 spare tracks included that were recorded during the album sessions, but not included on the album proper. These popular B-sides helped sell the singles. One of the extra tracks on the cd single for "All I Want Is You" is a scorching take of "Everlasting Love" that by all rights, should have been on the album and in the film, but was not used, for whatever reason.

Obviously, this should be played at an appropriate volume. Enjoy!

 

There is a metric ton of career-spanning recordings from U2 available at Amazon. Most commonly available recordings of "Everlasting Love" by Robert Knight are re-recordings that have little of the majesty of the original, which is only on the Rising Sons label shown above. The Mp3 file you heard on this post was ripped from very clean vinyl. Clean copies of the original single are out there and affordable. Just don't get stuck with a lame remake.

Ooh Child

The original 1970 single

I've always loved this record by The 5 Stairsteps. It was the only visit to the Top 40 for them, but with its positive, encouraging lyric and lightly funky groove, it was a winner, reaching #8 on the national Billboard chart in the spring of 1970. This is just a great single, top to bottom. Every part is perfectly written & played. Nicely produced & engineered too. The song has also been sampled often and used in many TV series and movies, including a crucial scene in 1991's "Boyz N The Hood".

Here's the 5 Stairsteps original. This is from an excellent master, so you can really hear what the individual instruments are playing. The rhythm section is just smokin'! They didn't need (or have) any stinkin' ProTools.

I've heard quite a few cover versions of this song over the years. Most of them try so hard to duplicate the original feel that they forget to relax, so it often sounds forced. Some of the better recent attempts by The Posies and The Wondermints were great, but even they fell short by not really doing anything too different with the arrangement. It is possible for a cover to fail by loving the original too much.

Beth Orton

It wasn't until a friend reminded me of the 2003 version by Beth Orton, an award winning British singer-songwriter known for her blend of folk & electronica, that some new ground was broken. Her album, "The Other Side Of Daybreak", opens with a sparse, acoustic take of "Ooh Child" and for once, I was able to hear the song differently.

Where as the original had a sunny feel and a soothing yet smiley vocal performance of a lyric intended to console a young child, Orton's performance is a bracing reminder that adults with adult feelings need encouragement too, but not in a overly chipper way that is off-putting to a person going through something unpleasant. Orton's vocal sounds like someone who has crawled into a dark space with someone to meet them where they are and help them regroup. Same lyric, just a very different delivery and it makes all the difference. Now, turn the lights down a bit, take a deep breath and listen to Beth Orton sing your troubles away.

You can check out all of Beth Orton's albums at Amazon. "The Other Side Of Daybreak" is available used for as little as one lousy cent.

The original "Ooh Child" by The 5 Stairsteps can be found in many places and formats in wildly varying quality. The version you heard here is from the excellent 20+ disc reissue series, "Soul Hits of the 70's: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!", issued by Rhino in the early 90's. Bet you can't get just one!

And, just in case you really want a big box of bubblegum, check out the 3 CD label comp, The Buddah Box, available used for a reasonable fee.