Review: Del Shannon - Songwriter

Del Shannon

Most of us remember Del Shannon for his biggest hit songs, "Runaway", "Hats Off To Larry" and "Little Town Flirt". But as it turns out, that's like remembering Buddy Holly only for "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day". For most of us average music fans, there's quite a lot more of Del's music to be discovered, much like the later work of his peers such as Dion DiMucci, The Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson.

Del Shannon, whose birth name was Charles Westover, wasn't just another pop singer of the early 60's; he was a skilled songwriter who didn't have to rely on outside help, like the all-powerful publishing houses of the day would have preferred. Along with his own successes, Del wrote the song, "I Go To Pieces", that was a major international hit for Peter & Gordon in 1965. That said, Del was not beyond recording a song that struck his ear just right. In 1963, he became the first American to record a cover version of a song by The Beatles. Del's recording of "From Me to You" charted in the US just before The Beatles hit it big.

Fortunately, there's a new door through which Del Shannon's catalog of songs can be discovered. The title of a new Del Shannon tribute album, "Songwriter", seems to emphasize that the key ingredients to Del Shannon's recipe for success were two-fold. He wrote his own songs, and he constantly reinvented himself. On this fine compilation, you can hear new interpretations of Del's songs by excellent independent musicians such as Marshall Crenshaw, Frank Black, The Rubinoos, The Britannicas, Randy Bachman, The Drysdales, Carla Olson, Peter Case, Marti Jones, and noted producer Don Dixon, who also did the album's mastering.

Here's a video from The Britannicas for the song "I Got You". It may be more commonplace now, but back in the mid-2000's, The Britannicas were pioneers of the transcontinental cyber-band concept; a recording project by 3 multi-instrumentalists and songwriters in 3 separate parts of the world. The band members hail from the US, Australia and Sweden. About the song, the band says "Del seems like an enigma to us: known yet seemingly unknown, loved yet wholly unloved. His enormous body of music truly deserves to heard and appreciated. Long live Del."

It doesn't surprise me after hearing this track that, following the passing of Roy Orbison, it was reported that Tom Petty had suggested that Del be invited to join The Traveling Wilburys, but that was not to be.

Moving right along, here's Richard Snow, covering Del's "Over You". Richard is a singer-songwriter from Nottingham, UK who sings lead and harmonies, and plays 12 & 6 string guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and percussion. Regarding his recording, Richard says "I discovered Del Shannon by playing through my Mum’s old records when I was a small boy. Being born in the 70’s I didn’t hear of him at the height of his fame or even know what he looked like for years but I was knocked out by the sound of those few 45’s. So as a teenager I sought out ALL his records. 'Stranger In Town' backed with 'Over You' was always a big fave of mine. Both sides are so good I wasn’t sure for a long time which was the A side. I chose to record “Over You” because I think it’s such a beautiful song that is often over looked. I could never sing it as well as Del, but I hope everyone enjoys my spin on it."

Truth is, I could go on and on, all day, song by song, and still not fully convey not only how good this tribute is, but how good a songwriter Del Shannon was. You have to hear it all for yourself. There's so much good stuff on this album and I can't recommend it highly enough. You can get it on CD or Mp3 at Amazon. If you enjoy tribute albums half as much as I do, you'll be glad you did. Not only that, but you'll be supporting independent music, and that's always good to do.

Regarding the music of Del Shannon himself, there are several hits collections available. This one is very affordable and comprehensive. Del's 2 albums he did with Tom Petty are still in print, as is the 1968 soft pop/psychedelic oddity, "The Further Adventures of Charles Westover". 

Always You (Siempre Tu)

The mid-60's worldwide heyday of the British Invasion spawned countless Beatles, Stones and Yardbirds copycat bands. Long haired lookalikes and attempted soundalikes were popping up as fast as fans in their teens and twenties could buy instruments and make room in the garage.

Arguably, the first successful American cloning of the Liverpool sound came in 1965 with the hit song "Lies" by New Jersey pop pioneers, The Knickerbockers. But unknown to Americans, one of the biggest and most successful Fab Faux bands came from, of all places, Uruguay, in southeastern South America.

Like almost everywhere else, Rock 'n Roll was discovered by Uruguayan audiences with the arrival on the world stage of The Beatles and other British bands. So it wasn't long before a flock of local bands appeared in Montevideo, the capitol city and apparently, the Liverpool of Uruguay. These bands included Los Malditos, Los Mockers, Los Iracundos, Los Moonlights, and Los Shakers, who fast became the most popular act in the so-called Uruguayan Invasion of Argentina(!), which I had never heard of until recently.

Oddly, though their native language was a regional Italianized Spanish, most popular Uruguayan bands sang in English. Los Shakers obviously modeled themselves after The Beatles, having adopted similar haircuts and clothing, as you can see on their 1st album cover above. All you Beatleheads may find it interesting that the first single recorded by Los Shakers was "My Bonnie", in 1965! Over the next 2 years, Los Shakers made regular appearances on Latin American TV to promote their singles and were even featured in a movie; a low-rent musical revue entitled "Escala Musical".

Was this the Uruguayan T.A.M.I. Show?

Despite the appropriation of the Liverpool sound and style, these guys had to have some fairly well developed instrumental and vocal chops to be able to write and perform their songs as well as they did. I've also seen some online speculation that Los Shakers may have been the direct blueprint for the wonderful 1978 Beatles parody, "The Rutles". After hearing several Los Shakers tracks, I don't doubt that for a second. Rutles songwriters Neil Innes and Eric Idle could not have had a better source of inspiration.

Although Los Shakers racked up many 'Grandes Exitos', the first one I heard was the upbeat Pop of "Always You", or "Siempre Tu", from their 1968 attempt at a 'Sgt. Pepper' project entitled "La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto's Bar". Their record label, Odeon/EMI, hated it, wanting more single hits and not a knockoff concept album. The band then dissolved and EMI released the album anyway. So goes the music business.

This video isn't official at all, but makes good use of lots of band photos; more than I could show you otherwise. Here's Los Shakers with "Always You". Listen for the quick Beatlesque "Ooo" at 1:14. It's so fast, it sounds like an afterthought, and that's worth a chuckle.

Now, I could understand if some older music fans, on one side of 50 or the other, would have dug up the music of Los Shakers and anthologized it properly, or even assembled a tribute album, in order to resurrect the band's popularity, or at least, capitalize on their novelty value, so that we American music fans would discover them in a 'historical footnote' sort of way. But no. The first mention I ever heard about Los Shakers was through this astonishing cover version done by youthful Beatlemaniac, Nick Martellaro, who appears to be only about 20!

There's a bunch of Nick's Beatle cover videos on YouTube, where I found this clip, shot in his garage, of Nick covering "Always You" with all the Liverpudlian gusto his impressive guitar collection will allow. He doesn't miss the quick "Ooo" either. Nick's version has a fantastic "That Thing You Do" quality to it, and dare I say that if any band in the 60's had covered this song with this much energy, it would have been a nationwide American hit. British Invasion fans should crank this up and prepare to smile a lot.

I can't seem to find much info about him, but Nick Martellaro has some Mp3's available on Soundclick. I predict that if he stays at it, this young man will turn out some power pop dynamite over the next few years. Keep your ears open for him. And Nick, if you should see this article, nice work and keep going!

The music of Los Shakers can be easily and affordably found at Amazon. But now that you know some of their story, the bottom line on Los Shakers is this. Most of their original work is interesting as a knock-off novelty, but when they tried to equal The Fabs, as their atrocious cover of "Submarino Amarillo" demonstrates, they crossed a line that showed listeners how good the real deal was. Neither the band or their management could have honestly expected the game to go on for too long anyway. So, approach the music of Los Shakers with the knowledge that it's only gonna get so good.

And before I forget, you'll be happy to hear that the long out of print film, The Rutles, will finally have a Blu-Ray/DVD release on December 3! Those who remember it will be very happy to see it again. Those who've never had the pleasure are in for a real treat. All you need is cash!

Still Crazy After All These Years

I've recently been lucky enough to be involved in a new band project with a very good songwriter, whose musical influences run deep. Along with the wealth of original material, we've been working up a few select covers that compliment the original stuff. Usually the process is the opposite; figuring out where to pop in your original songs amidst the chaotic mess of various cover tunes, which often have little relevance to each other.

An early 60's promo shot of Artie & Paul.

When choosing which songs to cover, there are always some that might be good for the band, but turn out to be a lot more work than anticipated and wind up sounding either forced, tentative, or sloppy. There are others that you may feel very passionate about because the song means something special to you, but for one reason or another, the band just doesn't sound good playing it. The only solution to that is to park the song and let it go, although that's not easy. But, if you're lucky and have a good sense of where your original material lives, you will find songs that seem to fall right into your lap. In our case, the first one was Paul Simon's "Something So Right" from his 1973 album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon".

It got me thinking about Simon's extensive and eclectic body of work. Paul Simon was a sophisticated writer and arranger even at a young age. Even the earliest Simon & Garfunkel songs are far more advanced than the work of most of their musical peers of the day. In many ways, I remember them as the collegiate musical darlings of their time because that's the audience I observed being their most enthusiastic fans. They were also very popular with those who had been Folk fans during its golden era in the early 60's, but had their party disrupted by the British Invasion.

But as I was saying, Simon, like Joni Mitchell, was writing way above the level of his contemporaries, and continued to do so as the 60's collapsed with a weary, stoned sigh into the 70's. By mid-decade, Paul Simon had established himself as a solo artist to be reckoned with. Using popular media vehicles like "Saturday Night Live", which was as hip as it got in those days, Simon endeared himself to a newly broadened audience. By the time Simon released "Still Crazy After All These Years" in 1975, he could do no wrong on the Pop charts, but his records still held enough musically interesting challenges that no one ever accused him of selling out.

Here's an interesting video clip of Simon during an appearance on Dick Cavett's show, presenting "Still Crazy After All These Years" in very rough draft form. The middle bridge section had not even been written yet! I can't imagine any currently popular musician going onto a national talk show and playing an unfinished new song. I would guess that it's just not possible, what with all the gear they'd have to schlep along with them. Such were the times.

Some time later, when the song was completed and the album had been released, Simon again performed "Still Crazy..." on national television. This time, it was on "Saturday Night Live". It was near Thanksgiving and as a joke, Simon sang the song while, reluctantly, wearing a turkey costume. The video clip of this performance appears to have been removed from YouTube. I'm not terribly surprised.

One thing I really enjoy about researching new material for this blog is the unexpected discovery of talented performers whose work I was not aware of. Such is the case with The Shadowboxers, hailing from Atlanta, Ga. This is no plastic teenybopper boy band. These guys are ALL about the vocals. They also have a genuine, soulful sound and aren't shy about using a horn section where needed. It's so refreshing to hear a new band that can really sing and play their own instruments well. As one reviewer wrote about their album "Red Room", "This CD is an absolute winner. Moving vocals with beautiful harmonies go hand-in-hand with accomplished musicianship. The album almost seems like it should be from a more seasoned group that has honed their craft for a decade or two." Every other review seems to correlate those sentiments.

You can hear more of The Shadowboxers on a fine session they did for Daytrotter. They've also demonstrated their fondness for the songs and musicians that influenced them by posting a series of cover videos on their YouTube channel. Here's The Shadowboxers with their arrangement of "Still Crazy After All These Years". I'm sure Paul Simon would be very pleased to hear this.

While you can certainly find The Shadowboxers music on Amazon, I will recommend that you visit their website, where you can find the "Red Room" album in assorted configurations. Yes, that means there's vinyl. When you buy direct from the artist, they get paid for their work, which allows them to keep making music for all of us to enjoy. Please join us in supporting independent musicians.

Of course, you can also find the entire musical catalog of Paul Simon at Amazon, along with the complete recordings of Simon & Garfunkel, which are a must for any self-respecting music library.

Perfect Day

Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson, earlier this year.

A former co-worker once said that the three things that sell books, music and movies in America are sex, death and anger. I've yet to see him proved wrong.

In light of the recent passing of Lou Reed, I've been seeing quite a lot of well deserved tributes and accolades being thrown his way, the best of these being the heartfelt note written by his wife, Laurie Anderson. Nonetheless, and I hate to say this, but so many of these acknowledgements have come off as somewhat contrived.

Now, I both understand and welcome those who may be late to the party, but grow to appreciate the work of any artist or musician long after the fact because, for instance, they weren't yet alive at the time of the music's release, or were just too young for it. That's not only completely fine, but also accounts for most of us. But if something like that is the case for you, then please don't pretend that you've been a hardcore lifelong fan all along. That rings false and smacks of status-seeking hipsterism. Even the few serious Lou fans I've known that owned a copy of Reed's notoriously abrasive "Metal Machine Music" album could not honestly say they endured a continuous front-to-back listen, and even they weren't ever going on about how profoundly Lou's music had impacted their life. So when I hear things like that, it sounds disingenuous at the least. If all the people who are now saying how Lou's music meant so much to them had been buying his records all along, then both Lou and his legacy would have been much better off.

I also find it interesting that according to the online media data tracked by the analytics company, Musicmetric, Reed jumped from adding around 1,500 Facebook fans this year to adding a whopping 37,864 just on the Monday following his departure! What newcomers now expect from his Facebook page is not clear.

In the early 1970's, I was in junior high and already heavily into the music of the day, although neither myself or my friends had yet paid much notice to Reed's work in The Velvet Underground. I can tell you with certainty that if we had heard them at that time, all of us would have hated their music. The Velvets would prove to be an acquired taste. In fact, it wasn't until decades later that we all figured out that without The Velvet Underground, the Indie Rock explosion of the 90's would never have been possible.

Like many others, our first dose of Lou came later in the form of "Walk On The Wild Side", the first single from his 1972 album "Transformer". It was one of those songs that became a hit almost in spite of itself. While the song had a unique and hypnotic sound, the lyrics were far beyond what even progressive FM radio was willing to promote, despite the worldwide success of The Kinks' tale of transvestism, "Lola", from 2 years earlier. A heavily edited version finally took hold at radio. But "Walk On The Wild Side" wasn't the only thing the album had going for it. Not by a long shot.

Mick Ronson and Lou Reed, 1972

By 1972, the world had seemingly gone mad for David Bowie and all things even distantly related to him. Bowie had often cited both Reed and The Velvet Underground as profound influences. Given that the two were on the same record label, RCA, it was inevitable that they would work together. Indeed, "Transformer" was produced by both David Bowie and Bowie's guitarist and arranger, Mick Ronson. Bowie had referenced The Velvet Underground in the cover notes for his album "Hunky Dory" and regularly performed the VU songs "White Light/White Heat" and "I'm Waiting For The Man" at his concerts. Bowie even began recording "White Light/White Heat" for inclusion on his covers album, "Pin-Ups", but it was never completed. Ronson ended up using the backing track and finishing the recording for his solo album, "Play Don't Worry", in 1974. Although Bowie's attachment to the project was the draw, Ronson played the major role in the recording of "Transformer", serving as the co-producer and primary session musician, contributing guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals, and notably contributing the lush string arrangement for the favorite Lou Reed song of many, "Perfect Day".

The lovely & talented Duran Duran, in the early 80's.

Fast forward to the mid-1980's. Technology had taken great leaps and a sharply digital edge began to dominate the production sounds of the Pop charts. The resurgence of Dance music was a cyclical dismissal of the simplistic lessons of late 70's Punk, and another enormous wave of British bands had overtaken the world's airwaves, record stores and televisions. Chief among these was Duran Duran, named after the villain from Roger Vadim's French science-fiction film, "Barbarella", Dr. Durand Durand. The band was easily one of the most successful of the 1980's, largely due to their heavy rotation in the MTV-driven video revolution. Since then, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100, achieving sales of over 100 million records.

The cover art for "Thank You".

In 1995, the band released their inevitable cover album, entitled "Thank You", which included their version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". In a video interview provided with the album's press kit, Reed himself said he considered Duran Duran's recording to be the best cover ever done of one of his songs. Whether Lou was sincere or just being kind and/or grateful, I don't know, but the Duransters certainly acquitted themselves well enough. At least on this track they did. Most album length cover projects should have been 5-7 song EP's, and this is one of those. Often, albums like this are simply too much of a good thing, which is far better than an overdose of one bad idea after another.

Here's Duran2 with Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". We hope you somehow manage to have one of your own.

Surprisingly, the entire album catalog of Duran Duran remains in print. This catalog includes several different attempts at a definitive collection, of which only one succeeds, and it is both worthy and capable of plugging the Duran-a-rama vacancy in your music library.

I'm certain there's been a bit of a run on albums from Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground as of late, but that is certainly not any indication or inference that those recordings are going out of print and are never to return. Quite the contrary. That is an urban myth the record companies want you to believe so the post-mortem buying frenzy will continue. You longtime Velvet fans probably have everything already, but for our newer or more casual listeners, I will recommend the so-called "banana album", or this excellent 2 disc anthology.

Lou Reed himself, however, is one of those rare performers whose work has not been well served by 'best-of' collections. So, while "Transformer" is a very good document of the glittery early 70's, as is the fabled live album, "Rock & Roll Animal", my recommendation for a definitive Lou Reed album is the gritty 1989 masterwork, "New York". In the opinion of many, Lou was never better than on this one, and I concur.

Across The Universe

The only digital video of "Let It Be" is this long gone 12" Laserdisc.

Rife with tension, boredom, and outside distractions, the sessions that were eventually collated into the album and film "Let It Be" should have, by all rights, been The Beatles' swan song. The bond that The Beatles had nurtured through their teens, and over the previous decade as a band, was at a breaking point. The fact that an album and a movie were assembled from that chaotic mess is something of a miracle, surviving even Phil Spector's unwelcome meddling with the music by slathering on layers of choral and orchestral syrup. Thankfully, the subsequent miracle of George Martin being able to put Humpty together again for the final hurrah, "Abbey Road", still lay ahead.

Despite the 'revisionist history' talk at the time, I was very glad when Paul McCartney oversaw the 2003 release of "Let It Be: Naked", a new edition of "Let It Be", which presented the album as originally envisioned, prior to the addition of Spector's production excesses. The removal of the sonic sugar coating revealed that there were not just some solid songs there, but those songs were made far better by this simpler incarnation, which proved an excellent application of the famed 'less is more' theory.

From "Let It Be: Naked", here is John Lennon's "Across The Universe", presented as The Beatles intended. No strings, no choir, no effects, no chirping birds, and no Yoko. Enjoy!

"Across The Universe" has been covered numerous times over the years with the expected mixed results. Most of them, particularly David Bowie's rendition on his 1975 "Young Americans" album, are much too heavy handed; crushing the delicate filigree of the lyric under musical bombast and vocal overkill that is more of an unwitting tribute to Spector's production than Lennon's songwriting.

Some good friends of ours have, for the last 13 years, sponsored a series of house concerts in their home. They feature nationally touring Folk and Americana songwriters who come to their house and do an acoustic concert in the living room! Some are names you may know and many are not, but every show we've attended has been excellent. An important distinction is that the artist gets 100% of the proceeds from admission and CD sales. The house makes nothing. It's not a business; it's very much a labor of love. I rather enjoy not knowing what sort of musical surprise awaits us at any given performance. Plus, the sound quality is superior, and the volume is very comfortable. If you've not heard of, or attended a house concert, do so at your earliest opportunity! You'll wonder what took you so long to try it.

Kagey Parrish & Laura Wortman: The Honey Dewdrops

One recent house concert featured the Virginia-based duo of Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish, who perform under the name The Honey Dewdrops. With a blend of new Americana and traditional folk music, they create inspired songs that are rooted in the experience and lives of real people. The songs they write shine with energy and emotion through intimate performances with a handful of acoustic instruments and tightly layered harmonies.

When playing live, The Honey Dewdrops focus on dynamically blending the sounds of instruments and voices by singing and playing into a single microphone. There is a 'high lonesome' quality to the way their voices blend that is familiar, yet the mixture is unique. Their music covers the ground between hand crafted folk songs, Appalachian fiddle tunes, and spirituals. In their own way, the duo fills up a room with sound and feeling that lingers long after the show is over.

Go buy this CD right now! You'll love it.

Unusually for musicians of their genre, Kagey and Laura also happen to be enthusiastic fans of The Beatles, incorporating at least one of their songs into each performance. They also seem to have discovered the band in the same way that many of us have. During a recent conversation, Kagey told me, "We have both been lifelong Beatles fans. We got into music by listening to them at a young age and collecting all the records. It was like a gateway drug; from there we were introduced to a lot of the Rock music of the 60's." When asked about what other music influenced and helped them form their own music, Kagey replied, "After the Beatles, the music that we both loved was acoustic music ranging from old-time, blues, bluegrass, and singer-songwriters. There is something profound and honest about folk music that draws us into the stories about and for people. There's also something magnetic about acoustic instruments, unplugged and without effects and amps. This is how we found the acoustic duet harmony singing format. We think it's a really powerful way to play music." I agree completely, as their method has a way of drawing the listener in, and it's a very inviting and comfortable place to be; like a favorite old flannel shirt.

You'll notice in this video, shot for them very recently by some friends, that although the mike is front and center, their instruments are indeed unplugged, so what you hear was captured by that single microphone. The Honey Dewdrops recently played a festival in Baltimore, where they performed 5 Beatles songs: "All I've Got To Do", "Lovely Rita" (both of which they played at the house concert I attended), "Something", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and the song they perform for you here, "Across The Universe". They also learned the entire "Please Please Me" album, front to back, and performed it live in August and September of last year! I'll bet that took some work.

Here are The Honey Dewdrops with their lovely version of "Across The Universe". Enjoy!

Merchandise sales make it possible for independent artists like The Honey Dewdrops to continue writing and recording new music for us to enjoy, and also finances their road trips so they can come to our towns and play for us. The artist is getting paid and recovering costs when you buy their music, and that feels good to know. With that in mind, I encourage you to visit The Honey Dewdrops website, where you can read more about them, listen to and purchase their music, and then go to one of their concerts when they are in your area. Their CD's can also be found on iTunes, CD Baby, and Bandcamp. It's good stuff, people!

As much as they were revolutionary in their time, The Beatles are now rarely the first to do anything. Although the 2009 remasters of The Beatles' entire catalog of albums were much needed, the availability of their films has been patchy, at best.  "The Beatles Anthology" successfully made the jump from VHS to DVD in 2003, but that's 10 years back, so it could stand a remastering for Blu-Ray. So far, only "Help!", "Yellow Submarine" and "Magical Mystery Tour", which underwent a sorely needed full restoration, are available in the US on Blu-Ray. "A Hard Days Night" was given a very good, yet short of definitive DVD release back in 2002. A good deal of material that rightly should have been included was passed over, but the print looks good. Oddly, it's on Blu-Ray only in Canada.

The film version of "Let It Be" last saw official release on VHS, Beta and Laserdisc in the 80's. Bootleg DVD's can easily be found online, but they're terrible. I suspect the film elements may be in less than desirable condition by now, so a full-on restoration may be needed in order to release the film in a definitive way. This sounds like the perfect project for Criterion, a top shelf purveyor of cinema classics, but I do have to wonder if Paul and Ringo have any interest in participating. Here's hoping that happens before we're all too old to remember how to operate the video player. Heck, I'm still waiting for an official release of The Beatles' TV cartoon series, and their Christmas recordings, done for their fan club from 1963 through 1969. I'm told they're in the pipeline, but... we'll see.

Kool Kovers would like to extend a hearty "Thank You!" to Kagey and Laura of The Honey Dewdrops for their participation in the writing of this feature. Go see them play and buy their music!