This is a call to the Japanese readers of this blog, I know there's plenty of you out there, many thanks for your visits!
I need to translate a few pages from Japanese to English, they contain important information related to some posts I'm working on for the future, so I need help: if you can translate from Japanese to English please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!
I still love you, just like I did before
But before you smile and walk through the door, darling
I don't want to cry, no, I don't want to cry
No more, no, darling, no more, no more, do you hear me?
You come and go, just like the morning sun
But woman, I'm serious, and you're just having fun, darling
I don't want to cry, no, no, I don't want to cry
No more, no, darling, no more, no more, no more, no more
I said you're welcome to my lips
I said you're welcome, welcome to my arms
Yes, you're welcome to this old heart of mine
You're welcome to everything I have to offer you
So come on now, take it, take it, take it, take any part
Mama, I know I was wrong, can't you see I need you woman
So come on home, yeah, before you do, I'm gonna tell you
I don't want to cry, no, I don't want to cry
No more, no, darling, no more
Ain't gonna cry no more, ain't gonna cry no more
No, do you hear me?
I don't wan't to cry, no, I don't want to cry
I cry no more, I ain't crying no more, no, no
Girl I cry no more, no, no, no, no more
Don't wanna cry no more, don't wanna cry no more...
[from the lyrics of "I Don't Want To Cry"]
Dick Jensen was one of the first artists to sign with the now-legendary Philadelphia International Records label in 1971. Nowadays it seems that he had little in common with the other artists which made the label famous later on, but at the time - once you heard the power and soul in his vocal delivery - it all made perfect sense. And with the label main men Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff behind the scenes, it seemed as if Dick Jensen had finally found the perfect home for his energetic style of Soul.
Like many of the label's acts, Jensen received musical assistance from PIR's house band, the illustrious MFSB. The band on the recording sessions for his self-titled album featured Ronnie Baker (bass), Larry Washington (congas, bongos), Earl Young (drums), Lenny Pakula (organ), Leon Huff (piano), Vincent Montana (vibraphone) and guitarists Bobby Eli, Norman Harris, Roland Chambers and TJ Tindall. Backing vocals were provided by Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton.
Along with arrangements by Bobby Martin, Vince Montana and Norman Harris, and production by Bunny Sigler, Thom Bell and Gamble & Huff themselves (who also handled a majority of the songwriting) "Dick Jensen", released in February 1973, was as smooth and slick as anything else the label had released but was far more Pop-oriented.
Unfortunately, upon release, critics and Soul fans didn't know what to make of it. Jensen's talent was undeniable, but the album was not what they expected from the house that Gamble & Huff had built and the project itself was lost in the confusion... More information about the album are available here and here.
A signed Dick Jensen promotional picture, circa mid-70
Here's the track list for this 7" single:
01. I Don't Want To Cry (2:49)
02. Tamika (Come Back Later) (2:57)
Both tracks were remastered in June 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files; both formats include scans of the complete original artwork.
Please have a look at the comments for the download links.
Following the release of the "Dick Jensen" album, "I Don't Want To Cry / Tamika (Come Back Later)" was published in the U.K. sometimes in 1973 by Epic Records; the record comes in a company sleeve with catalogue number S EPC 1521.
"I Don't Want To Cry" was originally a hit for Chuck Jackson in 1961; the song was written by Jackson himself with Soul legend Luther Dixon. Jensen's version remains faithful to the original (which was arranged by Carole King) with the addition of the magical touch of the P.I.R. team. It swoops and soars thanks to Jensen's passionate delivery. You can listen to the original version of this song by clicking here.
Written by Gamble & Huff, "Tamika (Come Back Later)" features Jensen in Levi Stubbs mode, bellowing out the words as if his life depended on it. The song was arranged by bassist Ronnie Baker and is closer to a Motown Pop song than a Philly Soul record, hence probably its inclusion in this single for the British market. Here's the lyrics:
Tamika come back later
Tamika come back later
I've got another love in my corner
Who told you to come around here
without giving me some kind of warning?
Giving me some kind of warning
And who told you to knock on my door
when it's so early in the morning? It's so early in the morning
You should have known much better than that
You should have known it was over and back
Tamika come back later
Tamika come back later
I've got another love in my corner
You left me for the love of another
You filled my heart with so much sorrow
Filled it with so much sorrow
Now you tell me that you're really, really sorry but it's too late so come back tomorrow
Girl, you'd better come back tomorrow
You should have called before you came back
'cause it's a sin to see you cry
Tamika come back later
Tamika come back later
I've got another love in my corner...
Yes I do
Most of the text on this page was sourced from the "Dick Jensen" reissue liner notes written by Stephen SPAZ Schnee. The CD was released by Big Break Records in 2013 and is currently the only available Jensen album, I strongly encourage you to buy a copy of this great long forgotten masterpiece!
More information about Dick Jensen is available here:
I'm currently compiling a Dick Jensen biography, the first part of this work-in-progress covers the period 1942-1972 and is available here.
I'm also trying to compile a Dick Jensen exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.
Last but not least, I'm also trying to build a collection of Dick Jensen pictures and memorabilia, my work-in-progress is available here.
All my posts dedicated to Dick Jensen on this blog are available here.
I will post more Dick Jensen stuff in the next months, if you have
any other useful information about him and his releases or if you spot
any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
Sheep Records was a Swiss underground label specialized in Garage-Rock, Surf, Lounge and other Rock'n'Roll oddities. Run by Christian Müller from Zürich, along with friends Andi Frick and Andreas Egi, it was active from 1996 to 2004 and published about 30 releases, mostly on 7" vinyl singles.
In october 2006, after about two years of hiatus, all the contents of the now defunct Sheep Records website were deleted from the Internet, and replaced with a blank page announcing that "Der Kebab ist gegessen" ("The kebab is eaten"), a last goodbye and a reference to the label's cataloguing system that included the prefix "kebab" for vinyl releases and "gigot" for CD releases.
The seventeenth Sheep Records release was an EP by German band Los Banditos. This 7" is limited to 300 copies on blue vinyl and 200 copies on black vinyl, for a total of 500 copies; it was released in October 2000.
The short Sheep Records press-release presents the record with these words: «Los Banditos come with their very own style of East German 60's surf, lounge, and rock'n'roll music. Four amazing songs about the new girl in the club, electronically stirred cranes and Detective X.»...
Side A begins with the lively "Fuzzball", which includes a recurring German speech of unknown origin, and ends with "Die Neue vom Club" (The New One In the Club), a track that trickles Rockabilly from every pore.
On the second side we find "Kommissar X" (Commissioner X), obviously inpired by the series of crime novels and movies of the same name, and the enigmatic "Elektronisch gesteuerte Laufkräne" (Electronically Controlled Cranes, or something very similar), which is my favourite Los Banditos track so far.
Here's the track list and the personnel/credits list for this 7" EP as they appear on the back cover:
01. Fuzzball (3:08)
02. Die Neue vom Club (2:32)
03. Kommissar X (2:37)
04. Elektronisch gesteuerte Laufkräne (3:31)
Django B.B. Silbermann: bass Mr. 2000 Volt: guitar Jiri Buschnik: drums C. Rodriguez Flamingo: organ, electric piano Superjoe Paco Louise: DJ and special effects
All tracks composed and arranged by Los Banditos.
Artwork by Rolf Keller.
All tracks were remastered from vinyl in June 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files; both formats include scans of the complete original artwork.
Please have a look at the comments for the download links.
In 1996 the band was founded as a trio in Jena, Germany. The Banditos first specialized in Surf, but soon enough line up and musical competence were steadily broadened, so that four years later we're facing a five-headed gang that is still celebrating its music on a solid Surf base and is unmistakeably inspired by the East-German "Big Beat" bands of the early Sixties (yes, this term did exist already 40 years ago), but is integrating the sexy groove of the Sixties/Seventies Soul into its music, performing classical R'n'B vocal pieces and with the help of the DJ, who is a regular band member, creates an own version of Post Easy Listening Pop. This mixture is produced on original vintage GDR-equipment: Musima de Luxe guitar, Musima Billant 76 bass and Weltmeister T/O 200.5 organ.
The Banditos' live gigs turn out to be a challenge for your dancing as well as for your laughing abilities. Glamour is served in family packs and the prescribed combination of musical drugs, namely Sixties Beat, Surf, sound tracks of spy thrillers, Spaghetti Westerns and blue movies, Black Soul, Las Vegas Glamour, Shadows melodies and brave postmodern Pop makes even the death move. At the latest with their interpretations of "Je t’aime… moi non plus" and "Oh Tannenbaum" (whose melody is also the state hymn of Maryland) every hall goes wild.
But of course the Banditos are not only game for popular party tunes. In the first place elegance and understatement are dominant. In an adequate atmosphere it is not unlikely that an Los Banditos concert takes up to three hours. And there's not one moment of boredom included. Their own compositions, titled "Fremder Planet" (Unknown Planet), "Porno Uschi" (Porn Uschi), "Unbekannte wilde Frau" (Unknown Wild Woman) or "Zwischenfall im Orbit" (Incident In Space) don't have to hide behind their versions of classics or obscurities.
Self evidently, the Banditos are now all year around on tour, not only at home, but also in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Belgium and Danmark. Their divine "Sex" video clip ran several times on Viva; Arte broadcasted a complete concert and they have been hired to write the music for Karen Finleys thestre play "The Theory of Total Blame". Of course they appear also frequently in the radio, in fanzines and the press. Some samples? Spex: "Best Surf/Instrumental record of approximately the last 18 month." Flying Revolverblatt: "Fantastic Instrumental sound between Surf &Easy Listening." Ox: "The heroes of Trash Surf Beat… were the only ones who managed to make the 700 lethargic bastards move."
Los Banditos as a (temporarily) four-piece band sometimes in the 00s
The following clips offer a preview of the remastered single, enjoy "Fuzzball" and "Elektronisch gesteuerte Laufkräne"!
More information about Sheep Records and Los Banditos is available here:
The Sheep Records story will continue in the next months. All your inputs are more than welcome, if you want to get in touch please write to stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
