Pancy Lau (Lau Fung Ping, 劉鳳屏 or 刘鳳屏, also referred to as Liu Feng Ping) was born sometimes in the late 40s / early 50s in a family of musicians; her father Lau Bak Lok (劉伯樂) - also known as Tin Ngai (天涯) - was a well-known Cantonese Opera Star. He was her very first music teacher, and guided her through the entertainment world.
Her career started when she was around 8 or 9 years old singing Cantonese Opera. As a teenager she transitioned to singing songs she enjoyed: Pop music. During the early 60s she participated two times in the Sing Tao Daily Singing Competition in Hong Kong with no significant results. In 1965 at last she won the Mandarin section of the 6th edition of the contest with the song "三年" (Three Years). Upon winning the competition, she became a resident singer at the prestigious Golden Crown Night Club (金冠).
Television Broadcasts Limited (電視廣播有限公司), commonly known as TVB, commenced broadcasting in Hong Kong on 19 November 1967. Pancy Lau was one of the first musical artists who participated in the popular show "歡樂今宵" (Enjoy Yourself Tonight), which was the longest running variety show in Hong Kong's television history.
In 1968 Fung Hang Records released her debut album entitled "My Heart Is Beating - 我的心蹦蹦跳". The album was the first in a long series of recordings that continued for more than fifteen years.
Following two EPs entitled "水長流" ("Water Flows Long") and "山前山後百花开" ("When the Flowers Bloom On Mount Qian Shan"), Pancy Lau's second album - the subject of this post - was finally published in late 1969.
Entitled "快回頭望一望" ("Quickly Take a Look Behind"), the record was a huge success with no less than four editions published - and sometimes also bootlegged - by different labels in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. At the time, a lot of popular music was coming from being featured on television or were theme songs from television drama series. The album, however, did not need any push from the media to become an instant hit, as it contained enough fresh material to estabilish itself as a modern classic.
快回頭望一望" ("Quickly Take a Look Behind") contains twelve songs - including the eight tracks already released on her previous EPs back in 1968-69: tracks 03, 05, 06 and 07 were released on FHEP 610, while tracks 02, 04, 08 and 10 were released on FHEP 611... Here's the complete track list:
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl release in July 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.
As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download link.
The music on tracks 01, 02, 04, 08, 09, 10, 11 and 12 is played by 太陽神樂隊 (The Apollo), an Hong Kong prolific studio band that reached a cult status in the region during the late 60s / early 70s. Their name has probably been borrowed from the Teisco / Kawai manufactured Apollo model guitar from that time period.
They recorded a lot of instrumental albums, a few of them for New Wave Record Co. (新風) and most of them for Life Records (麗風); they were also featured as a backing band on countless releases by popular singers like Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), Frances Yip (葉麗儀), Stella Chee (奚秀蘭) and Pancy Lau, of course.
Tracks 03, 05, 06 and 07 were probably recorded in an earlier session, and were arranged and conducted by Joseph Koo (顧嘉煇). Koo is a famous composer and arranger, and one of the most respected authors of Cantopop songs; he is considered the Godfather of Hong Kong pop music. During his career he has created more than 1.200 original compositions and many of them have become classics, including various themes of popular TV series.
In 1962, he composed his first hit (Mandarin Chinese) song "夢" (Dream) and later another hit song "郊道" (Country Road). In 1974, he wrote the first Cantonese TV theme song "啼笑姻緣" (Between Tears and Laughter), which became the actual first popular Cantopop song.
Here's what I discovered searching information about the songs included on this album; the translations of the song titles are approximate in most cases, but anyway...:
01. "快回頭望一望" (Quickly Take a Look Behind), the album title track, is one of Pancy Lau's signature songs. During the years it has been covered many times and has become a karaoke classic.
02. The original version of the sweet "山前山後百花开" (When the Flowers Bloom On Mount Qian Shan) was recorded in 1962 by 劉韻 (Liu Yun, available here). The song was also later covered by 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here) and 奚秀兰 (Stella Chee, here), among others.
03. "水長流" (Water Flows Long) originated from a 1959 Japanese song entitled "大川ながし" by 美空ひばり (Misora Hibari, available here). It was later translated into a Taiwanese song in 1967, "快樂的農家" and recorded by 陳芬蘭 (Chen Fen Lan, available here). The song was also recorded by 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng, available here), 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, here) and many others.
04. "送君" (Farewell) was originally performed in 1939 by singer / actress 周璇 (Zhou Xuan), one of China's seven great singing stars; you can listen and watch the original version here.
05. "不如不嫁了" (How About I Don't Get Married) seems to be an original composition and I wasn't able to find any other information about it, except the name of its authors: music by 曹嘈 and words by 馮美葆.
06. "我的心裡有個他" (There Is Somebody In My Heart) was adapted from a Japanese song recorded by 翁倩玉 (Judy Ongg, available here) in 1967; it was also recorded by 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng).
07. "姑娘的心意" (A Maiden's Heart) is another adaptation of a song imported from Japan. The original was popularized by 美空ひばり (Misora Hibari, available here - the song begins at about 2:00); the Mandarin version was also successfully performed by 張露 (Chang Loo).
08. "媽媽您在何方" (Mother, Where Are You?) is a very sad song adapted, once again, from a Japanese composition which was originally performed in 1952 by 美空ひばり (Misora Hibari, available here - the song begins at about 00:30). In early 2013 the song was used in a bizarre commercialperformed by Will Ferrell.
09. I guess that "爲甚麽" (Why?) is probably an original composition - and not one of the highlights of the album -, sorry but I wasn't able to find any relevant information about it...
11. I can't find anything about the closing numbers on the album; "處處吻" (Kissing Everywhere) is probably another original song that will remain a mistery, at least for me...
12. Well, the telephone bell on "討厭的電話鈴" (An Annoying Telephone Call) is really irritating! It would be great if someone could share any information about the origin of this song, so if you can help, please get in touch!
The following clips offers a preview of the remastered album, please enjoy my favourite tracks: "快回頭望一望" ("Quickly Take a Look Behind"), "我的心裡有個他" (There Is Somebody In My Heart), "姑娘的心意" (A Maiden's Heart) and "寂靜的夜" (The Silence of the Night)!
More information about Pancy Lau is available here:
I'm currently trying to compile a Pancy Lau exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.
All my posts dedicated to Pancy Lau on this blog are available here.
In the next months I will post more Hong Kong/Taiwan/Singapore/etc. Pop/Instrumental records released in the late-60s / mid-70s. As usual, I would like to provide information about these releases and their authors.
Unfortunately the Internet doesn't offer much information - written in English - about these artists and this is the reason why I need help: if you can translate from Chinese 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!
It's been difficult to obtain these vinyls, some are not in the best conditions and I'm currently working hard to properly master them. It seems that these artists and their music are poorly known in the West, of course it's a real pity because they made stunning releases: I'd like to share them with you with a proper presentation, hope that someone will be able to help.
Borrowing its name from Jacques Tricatel, a character portrayed by Louis de Funès in the 1976 movie "L'aile ou la cuisse" (The Wing and the Thigh) - this, in turn, ispired by Jacques Borel, father of the "Restoroute" restaurant chain - French label Tricatel was founded in 1996 by musician and producer Bertrand Burgalat.
Since its creation, the label has been focused on releasing music of a futuristic lounge, refined pop, downtempo easy-listening and retro-chic nature. Proudly independent, Tricatel payed homage to labels like The Compact Organisation and él Records, that have been a source of inspiration for Burgalat.
During the years the label has released music by April March, Eggstone, Count Indigo, The High Llamas, Etienne Charry and many other artists, including veteran composer André Popp, actress Valérie Lemercier, writers Michel Houellebecq and Jonathan Coe, and - of course - its founder and gran maestroBetrand Burgalat.
The label had an high profile in France and many of its releases received huge critical acclaims both there and abroad, sadly this was not matched by commercial success and sales. Coupled with distribution problems, Tricatel was forced to slow down its release schedule after a few years of frenetic activity.
Symphony, Alain Berbier and Patrice Casali "Lego-people" style
In 1999 Tricatel launched a succulent initiative in the form a vinyl-only series aptly named "Tricatel 25cm Club". Initially, these 10" releases were only available by post and had to be ordered directly from the label, but sometimes later they also received a wider distribution through independent music stores.
Most of these records were pressed on clear vinyl; probably published in a limited edition, it is unclear how many copies of each release exist... The third issue in this series was "M. Parvulesco" by Symphony.
Well, there's not much I can write about Symphony, the Internet offers only the most basic information about them: they are (...or were...) a duo from Toulouse, France, formed by Alain Berbier and Patrice Casali.
In addition to the "M. Parvulesco" 10" vinyl published in 2000, they released a CD album entitled "Do Not Kiss" and a CD-single, "Un Tapez Deux", in 2002. All of their output was released by Tricatel.
No picture of the band is available - if we exclude the poor rendering you can see above - and biographic details are nowhere to be found except this short statement: "Everyone of us can remember of what he was doing on 9/11. Alain and Patrice from Symphony do not. Fortunately the C.I.A. didn't find us yet, please keep in touch."
The last update on their MySpace page dates back to 2009: maybe the Agency found them at last...
The "M. Parvulesco" vinyl EP contains the following tracks:
01. M. Parvulesco (3:04)
02. Un Tapez Deux (3:37)
03. Boat On the River (7:07)
All tracks were remastered from the original 10" vinyl in June 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the original item.
Please have a look at the comments for the download links.
Here's a short review of "M. Parvulesco", the original page is available here.
«Whilst both the title track and "Un Tapez Deux" are both pleasant down tempo ditties, it's "Boat On the River" that stands out from the three on this vinyl. This is probably one of the finest pieces of chillout music that I have in my collection. It features wonderful strings, deep male spoken lyrics in French and, towards the end of the track, some really weird squiggle fx sounds that only make sense at 6 a.m. in the morning - a masterpiece!»
The following credits appear on the back cover of "M. Parvulesco":
Symphony: instruments and machines
Bertrand Burgalat: bass on "Un Tapez Deux" and "Boat On the River"
Peter von Poehl: additional guitar on "Un Tapez Deux" and "Boat On the River"
Produced by Symphony, "Un Tapez Deux" produced by Symphony and Bertrand Burgalat.
"M. Parvulesco" and "Boat On the River" recorded and mixed by Patrice Casati and Alain Barbier at Symphony Studio (Toulouse).
"Un Tapez Deux" recorded and mixed by Patrice Casati and Alain Barbier at Tricatel Studio (Paris).
Artwork: Manel
Mastering: Translab
These two videos offer a preview of the remastered EP, enjoy "M. Parvulesco" and "Boat On the River"!
More information about Tricatel and Symphony is available here:
If you have any other useful information about Tricatel and Symphony - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
«Geneviève Waite, an underground star on the Paris, London, Los Angeles and New York circuit has travelled with the speed of light since leaving her native South Africa at eighteen. She played the title role in the movie "Joanna" and since then has turned down movies to travel and have fun with friends like John Phillips, Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol. At last this elusive star has been in one place long enough to record an album of her "unfamiliar sounds" and as everyone always suspected, it's incredible. Geneviève and John collaborated on most of the songs and the result as you will hear is a happy one for music lovers everywhere. So here she is: "As hard to capture as a new thought the jiving, thriving, Miss Geneviève Waite." LET THE 70‘s BEGIN...»
[From the original liner notes of "Romance Is On the Rise"]
Geneviève Waite is a former actress, singer and model born 13 February 1948 in Cape Town, South Africa. She started out in her native Country and worked in Britain before coming to the U.S. in the early '70s.
As an actress she is best remembered for her starring role in "Joanna", a 1968 movie by Michael Sarne about a fanciful country girl that goes to London to follow a fashion design course and becomes the lover of the black owner of a night club... A true snapshot of the late '60s Swinging London! Sadly enough, Geneviève was declared persona non grata in South Africa after making this film because of her love scenes with black actor Calvin Lockhart.
On 31 January 1972 she married singer-songwriter John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. During the '70s the couple spent most of their marriage strung out on drugs and went through several detoxifications before finally divorcing in 1985 after giving birth to two children...
In 1973 the couple moved to New York City and Phillips started building a quirky album of breathy, neo-hipster torch songs around Geneviève's unusual voice, a sort of Betty Boop meets Marilyn Monroe mixture.
When the album was completed, Warner Brothers showed interest in distributing it but balked at Phillips's insistence that it be released on his own label, Paramour Records. Meanwhile, the couple also worked on an ill-fated musical entitled "Man On the Moon"; due to her commitment to that show, Geneviève's had to pass on the opportunity to star opposite David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell To Earth"...
With four songs co-wrote by Geneviève herself, and showcasing a cover-picture by Richard Avedon, "Romance Is On the Rise" was finally released in July 1974. The original vinyl has been out of print for ages... In 2004 the album was re-released on CD with four extra tracks, just to become a rarity whose price on the second-hand market is increasing by the minute.
Here's the whole story of "Romance Is On the Rise" as reported by Jeffrey Greenberga in the booklet that comes with the CD version of the album. It includes a long excerpt from Johh Phillips' autobiography, "Papa John", published in 1986 by Doubleday & Company:
«In 1978, British disc jockey Paul Gambaccini published a book, "Rock Critics' Choice, The Top 200 Albums", listing a ranking of the 200 "greatest rock albums of all time". The list was based on a 1977 survey of approximately 50 rock critics, reviewers and disc jockeys. Appearing at Number 98 on the list was "Romance Is On the Rise" by Geneviève Waite, which had been released a few years earlier, in 1974.
Reading the list now, the name Geneviève Waite sticks out like a sore thumb, situated as it is amidst the names of the artists you'd expect to find on such a list: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, The Who and so on. "Romance Is On the Rise" is today probably one of the least known and least heard titles on the list, having become a true cult classic and rare collectors' item.
American movie poster for "Joanna", 1968
Geneviève Waite was born in South Africa in 1948. She grew up in Cape Town, and studied science and psychology at Johannesburg University. After making one film in South Africa, she moved to London and took some modeling jobs.
In London, she auditioned for screenwriter and director Michael Sarne, who cast her in the title role of his 1968 film, "Joanna". The film was banned in South Africa because Geneviève took a black lover in the film, but the controversy turned it into a major London hit.
Geneviève became interested in the lead role of Sarne's next film, "Myra Breckinridge", but the part ultimately went to Raquel Welch. However, through Sarne's friendship with John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas (whom Sarne hired to write some musical numbers for "Myra Breckinridge"), John and Geneviève were introduced in 1969, and began what turned out to be a long and tumultuous relationship. John paid tribute to Geneviève in his song "Lady Genevieve" from the final LP by The Mamas and The Papas, "People Like Us", released in 1971.
Geneviève and John were married in 1972 at a Chinese restaurant in downtown L.A., with their guests including Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Michelle Phillips, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, and California Lieutenant Governor Jerry Brown.
John and Geneviève had two children together, a son, Tamerlane, and a daughter, the actress/model/singer-songwriter, Bijou Lilly. Geneviève and John moved from Los Angeles to New York around the end of 1973 and began work on her solo LP.
Geneviève Waite on Vogue, November 1970, original picture by Richard Avedon
The following excerpt from John Phillips' 1986 autobiography, "Papa John", provides his first-hand account of the making of "Romance Is On the Rise":
«Once in New York, our luck seemed to improve with the change of scenery and fresh contacts. We met an aggressive young businessman named Dan Broder at a party. He had just closed a lucrative deal, had some capital, and was looking to invest in a record industry venture. I mentioned to him my interest in going into the studio with Gen and recording a solo LP with her.
Through Broder, who seemed to be about thirty at the time, we met with a commercial lawyer named Bob Tucker and he helped set up a deal in which Broder would finance the LP for my own label, Paramour Records. Gen was thrilled.
We moved around the Upper East Side, living briefly in a townhouse owned by the dancer Edward Villella on East 68th Street, then in an apartment owned by the actor Richard Benjamin in the 70's. By spring, we settled into the unusually narrow Stanford White townhouse on East 77th that was owned by a member of the Rockefeller family at the time. We worked nonstop on the sessions.
Geneviève Waite on Vogue, December 1970, original picture by Richard Avedon
Broder soon learned it didn't take much to kiss $100,000 goodbye in the record business. At $175 or so per hour at Mediasound, it was costing $400 or $500 just for Gen and me to settle a fight over vocal or instrumental arrangements. Relations with Broder rapidly deteriorated as he saw the budget soar. On some sessions we had twenty-five musicians for a string orchestra fill.
We plodded on and finished the tracks. I was happy to get back into the studio, where I often spent the night toying around with sounds and mixes. We got a great sound from the band Elephant's Memory. Elephant's Memory was John Lennon's backing group on his 1972 LP "Sometime In New York City", but Phillips is wrong that Elephant's Memory is the band on Geneviève's album. However, Ken Asher, Rick Marotta and David Spinozza, who do contribute to Geneviève's album, perform on John Lennon's 1973 album "Mind Games", as part of the Plastic U.F.Ono Band.]
The songs showcased Gen's unique vocal sound - a breathy, delicate whisper that recalled Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to have the album distributed by a major label and for a while Mo Ostin, the president of Warner Bros., sounded interested. But Warners wouldn't let me release it on a Paramour specialty label.
Gen begged and pleaded with me, but I wouldn't give in and the label took a pass. I had pulled a power play and lost. Gen was crushed that I was so stubborn and had turned my demand for my own label into the deal-breaker with a major label.
Geneviève Waite and John Phillips
We had to make the rounds until we ended up settling for a distribution deal with the old bandleader Enoch Light and his little known Project 3 Records. This didn't exactly knock us out. Here we had music geared to the booming mid-seventies market of urban hipsters - the dressy, upscale, campy, gay, bi-, and straight lounge lizards of the disco revolution - and the man responsible for tapping that market was last heard on "I Want To Be Happy Cha Cha" in 1958 and the follow-up a year later, "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming", which carried Enoch Light and the Light Brigade to number ninety-nine on the pop charts.
But we spared no expense to put together a classy album and drew, it seemed, enough publicity to make it succeed. We made the scene on the party circuit all around town. Our names were always popping up in the gossip columns. Laura [John's daughter, actress and singer Laura Mackenzie Phillips, from his first marriage] came into town after wrapping her next film, "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins", in Arizona and ended up with her picture as an up-and-comer in one of the very first issues of People. Michelle [John's second wife, actress and singer Michelle Phillips] spent some time in New York with us and we all went out together. We worked on the demos in the studio and discussed doing her solo album. We fell in with the Warhol crowd at his Factory in Union Square, and people like Peter Beard, Paul Morrissey, Mick, Bianca, and Dick Cavett were crossing our path as we did Manhattan by night after the sessions.
In May, Michelle, Gen and I showed up as a trio at one of those "everybody's somebody" screening parties for Andy Warhol's "Frankenstein" at an Upper East Side cinema. Morrissey directed the film. The guest list mixed names like Kennedy, Lawford, Buckley, Yasmin Khan, Holly Woodlawn, Elliott Gould, Diane and Egon von Furstenberg, Andy Warhol and Monique Van Vooren, who starred in the 3-D horror spoof.
Geneviève Waite and John Phillips
There were four hundred people on hand and the New York Times reporter covering the event managed to spot us and ask me facetiously how I dared bring both a current and an ex- wife. "How do I dare not bring both of my wifes", I told her. A picture of me with my two dates made its way into People as well. It felt good to be back in the public eye and to be busy on a couple of new projects.
Gen and I also worked out a cabaret act and performed it many times over several months at Reno Sweeney's in the Village. We even went out and did it in the Hamptons one summer weekend and stayed at Lenny's place [Friend and business partner Len Holzer, the title character of the CD bonus track, "Mr. Blue"].
Lenny saw past the slick veneer, the witty repartee, and the
clever tunes and felt we were faking it. He knew I dreaded feeling so
exposed out there onstage. Audiences ate the show up, but close friends
who had known me in the sixties couldn't help but see that the spark was
gone.
Geneviève Waite and John Phillips
Like the album, we did the cabaret act to attract attention to Gen's unique and theatrical vocal style and improve our chances with backers. The gags were fast-paced and sardonic, in a mid-seventies Burns and Allen vein. "This is my wife and I love her", I'd say. "Yes," Gen would reply with her eyes bugging satirically, "I eat right, I keep fit, and I shoot Geritol every day." We did some of the album tunes and created others for the act.
One night director Nicolas Roeg came down to hear the show and afterward he told me he wanted to test Gen for a female lead in "The Man Who Fell To Earth", a movie he was about to shoot in London with David Bowie. I told him that Gen would be tied up with the Broadway show for months and unavailable. He didn't want to hear that, so we ended up in a shoving match and knocked over some tables and glasses. He left and got Candy Clark for the part. [John ended up creating the soundtrack for "The Man Who Fell To Earth", which includes "Love Is Coming Back".]
The cover of the "Romance Is On the Rise" album showed Gen from behind, bending over and looking back in silk shorts and shirt and glass shoes. It was shot by Richard Avedon, who had been our neighbor when we first came to New York and lived in Richard Benjamin's apartment. Gen and Paula Prentiss had become friends during "Move". Avedon's place was adjacent and he was good enough to shoot the cover for no fee.
Geneviève Waite on stage, unknown date and location
We spared no expense to make the artwork. The shot we used perfectly conveyed Gen's desire for a forties glamour-queen pinup look. Marsia Trinder designed the outfit for $700. Gen's glass shoes cost $400. The hearts in the picture cost $300. Newsweek and other major publications ran the sexy shot when the album came out in July.
There was enough PR and industry buzz, we hoped, for a sleeper hit. We got Gen's other friend from "Move", Elliott Gould, to be the ‘host' of a $5,000 bash at Le Club, at which we performed some of the album cuts.
The album barely sold ten thousand copies. It was so poorly distributed that record stores were calling us to find out where they could buy it. Harvey Goldberg, the album's young and talented engineer, personally delivered copies to DJs who were playing cuts at gay and straight discos. Broder at one point explored getting a 1-800 number to help sell it through a late-night TV ad campaign. The decision to walk away from Warners and go with a small distributor proved to be catastrophic. It killed any chances Gen's LP had of making it.
If we had scaled the records from rooftops in half a dozen major cities, we'd have had more effective distribution. Despite the first-class art, the support of all our friends, despite the publicity, class packaging, and some generous reviews in the music press, Romance immediately joined the Wolf King album in the $4 cult-record bins of America. [...referring to John's first solo album, "The Wolf King of LA".]»
Geneviève Waite, Michelle Phillips and John Phillips at Mama Cass Elliot funeral, July 31st 1974
"Romance Is On the Rise" shows off clearly the formidable producing, arranging and songwriting skills of John Phillips, best known for his work with The Mamas and The Papas.
The songs and bonus tracks on the album originate from a variety of sources, including a shelved solo album John cut for Columbia Records in 1972 with the Jazz Passengers, and an off-Broadway musical John and Geneviève created set in outer space, originally titled "Space" (it was renamed "Man On the Moon" before its opening when Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey, the avant-garde director of the Warhol films "Flesh", "Trash" and "Heat", took over production from Len Holzer; more information about this project are available here).
Holzer is the subject of the bonus track, "Mr. Blue". He was a real estate tycoon who produced the film "Gimme Shelter" with The Rolling Stones. John met Holzer through Geneviève and the Warhol crowd when Holzer was married to Baby Jane Holzer, one of Andy Warhol's main stars at the time. An alternate version of "Mr. Blue" can be heard on John's solo album "Pay Pack & Follow", produced by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, with Keith on guitar, Ron Wood on bass and Mick and Keith and Michelle and Mackenzie Phillips on backing vocals. (John Phillips, as a solo act, was the first signing to Rolling Stones Records in 1976, but what was supposed to have been the follow-up to his first solo album "Wolf King of LA" was shelved and not released until 2001).
The obvious infiuence of the Warhol crowd on John and Geneviève in 1974 surfaces again in the bonus track, "Femme Fatale", Geneviève's take on the Velvet Underground classic. The bonus tracks "Pink Gin and Lime" and "Saying Goodbye" were also penned by John, and these are the first recordings of the songs ever released.»
Geneviève Waite and John Phillips with their kids Tamerlane and Bijou in the early 80s
"Romance Is On the Rise" contains the following tracks:
01. Love Is Coming Back (2:27)
02. Transient Friends (2:47)
03. Times of Love (2:26)
04. Trashy Rumors (2:09)
05. Slumming On Park Avenue (2:32)
06. Biting My Nails (2:45)
07. Danny (3:04)
08. White Cadillac (2:58)
09. American Man On the Moon (2:27)
10. Girls (4:12)
Four additional tracks were included as a bonus on the 2004 CD reissue:
11. Mr. Blue (3:25)
12. Pink Gin and Lime (3:18)
13. Femme Fatale (3:22)
14. Saying Goodbye (4:19)
All tracks were remastered in June 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.
Here's the credits list of "Romance Is On the Rise":
Produced by John Phillips.
All songs composed by John Phillips, except "Slumming On Park Avenue" composed by Irving Berlin and "Femme Fatale" composed by Lou Reed.
Lyrics for "Love Is Coming Back", "Biting My Nails", "White Cadillac" and "Danny" by John Phillips with Geneviève Waite.
Lead Guitar: David Spinozza, courtesy of A&M Records; John Tropea
Acoustic Guitar: John Phillips courtesy of Columbia Records; "Dr." Eric Hord
Bass: Russell George; Andy Muson
Piano: Ken Asher
Drums: Rick Marotta
Orchestral Arrangements: John Phillips, David Spinozza and Ken Asher
Recording Engineer: Harvey Goldberg
Assistant Engineers: Bob Clearmountain, Alec Head and Godfrey Diamond
Mixing: John Phillips and Harvey Goldberg
Recording Location: Media Sound, New York
Mastering: Al Brown, A&R Recording, Inc., New York
Organization: Wendy Stark and Michael Mclean
Analog to digital transfer s from original source masters: Steve Rosenthal and Matt Boynton, The Blue Room, New York
Bonus tracks mixing from original multitrack tapes: Steve Rosenthal, assisted by Matt Boynton, The Magic Shop, New York
Mastering: Matt Boynton
Photographed by: Richard Avedon
Designed by: Ruth Ansel
Tinted by: Bob Bishop
Makeup and Hair Styled by: Ara Gallant
Fashions by: Marsia Trinder
Special thanks to Dan Broder.
The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album; here's some of my favourite tracks: "Times of Love", "White Cadillac", "American Man On the Moon" and "Mr. Blue", enjoy!
More information about Geneviève Waite and John Phillips is available here:
If you have any other useful information about Geneviève Waite and "Romance Is On the Rise" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - 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!
«...the "Wall of Sound" Adam Best created may well prove to be the most significant musical event of the '70s...»
[from the liner notes of "Wall of Sound"]
...well, that is - of course - an overstatement, an hyperbole used to create a strong impression in the people flipping through the vinyls stacked in record shops in those glorious days during the early '70s... But it's undeniable that the mysterious Adam Best - or anyone who has chosen to hide behind that name for some unknown reason - has crafted a little groovy record that can still make a good impression more than forty years later.
So, who was Adam Best? According to Mista Tibbz, «...there is strong suspicions of his relations to Music De Wolfe sound libraries due the similarity in certain library records and this one, but nothing is proved...».
Some people discussing in an Internet forum - here - link Adam Best to Barry Stoller, a composer of Library Music who is better known for the theme he created for "Match of the Day", the popular BBC's football television programme. It seems that Meatball's "Atomic Butterly" features a backing track identical to one of those contained on "Wall of Sound" with different solos over the top... Uhm, I would be quite curious to listen to that record...
Anyway, the only certainty I can offer is that the album liner notes mention veteran composer and director Harold Geller's involvement in the making of the record. Then we have the fact that the original six compositions on "Wall of Sound" - the other six are covers of famous tunes - are signed by Hugh Cortley and a certain Supran. Well, I guess I should write five originals and seven covers since one of the originals seems to be a plagiarism... More on this if you continue to read below.
I wasn't able to find anything relevant about Supran, but Cortley is often associated with Musi Silvio, another Library Music composer. Their tune entitled "Export" (...available here...) is very similar to the material contained on "Wall of Sound"; it is included on the album "New Generation" credited to The Laurence Stephen Orchestra...
Here's a complete transcription of the original liner notes that appear on the back cover of "Wall of Sound":
«Once in a while a person or group of people comes along with a style of music which surpasses anything done before. They are usually self-centred ruthless people - they don't get results unless they are - who know to the letter what they want, and nothing is allowed to stand in their way. Such a man is Adam Best. 24 year old Adam Best studied electronics at college, and music at the Royal Academy. He has been playing guitar, bass and drums on the pop scene for a number of years, but it was not until 14 months ago that he gave up playing in public to concentrate full-time on his own project. He was aided by one Harold Geller, one of London's most successful music directors and publishers, who recognised that his ideas were valid, and encouraged him to begin work on the new sound. Electronic music is not in itself new. People have been making musical sounds with electronics for years, but the great majority of it can hardly be called music, for it lacks - for want of a better word - soul. For the first time a musician entered the field, with the knowledge of electronics and the knowledge and ability of musician. The sound he has manufactured successfully fills the gap between vocal and instrumental music, based on the solid rhythm foundation played by Adam, augmented by section work by electronics. Just over a year ago Adam began work in a North London coal cellar to build by hand the machines he needed to complete his work. The things he required were not commercially manufactured so everything had to be designed and constructed by him. What little spare time was available was spent in discotheques up and down the country listening and learning from the types of music that were popular. The idea was to provide music that was danceable, and at the same time made pleasant listening. This was achieved by many hours of sessions between Harold Geller and Adam Best and many long involved telephone calls at all odd hours of the day and night when one would think of an idea which would immediately have to be put down in sound. They both laughingly refer to their nocturnal sound effects with neighbours thinking that a crime has been committed when they hear the weird noises emanating from their various houses in the still of the night. However, on reflection, they both feel that it was all very worthwhile. How well he succeeded can be gauged from the reactions of Philips Records. On hearing the first tracks played to them by Adam and Harold Geller, they immediately asked that they were given the opportunity to release all forthcoming material. The first complete Album "Wall of Sound" was presented to them in January, and was immediately scheduled for rush-release. Adam's dream had at last proved worthwhile. The first album is just the beginning for Adam; the sound can only get better. There are no limits on the medium, it is as much or as little as he chooses to make it, and the "Wall of Sound" Adam Best created may well prove to be the most significant musical event of the '70s.»
"Wall of Sound" contains the following tracks:
01. Wall of Sound (5:21)
02. I Can't Go On Without You (2:09)
03. I Guess I'll Always Love You (2:46)
04. Twenty Five Miles (3:09)
05. Lana's Past (2:32)
06. Gimme, Gimme Good Lovin' (1:57)
07. I'm a Man (3:06)
08. Walk Away Renée (2:39)
09. High In Grass (3:21)
10. When You're Young and In Love (2:33)
11. You Shouldn't Say (2:36)
12. Spread Out (3:02)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in May 2013 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.
So, let's explore this Funky / Easy Listening little gem... The album opens with the title track; clocking at over five minutes, "Wall of Sound" is the longest number and probably the coolest original composition too: sustained by forceful guitars and a raw rhythm section, keyboards (...Hammonds? Moogs?) are the undisputed leaders here, as on the rest of the record.
"I Can't Go On Without You" is another original composition, a short Easy Listening number with a more polished sound. It is followed by "I Guess I'll Always Love You", a cover of a 1966 Motown hit by The Isley Brothers which was also recorded by The Supremes. The Isleys' version was reissued in the U.K. in 1969 and became a hit there, hence probably the inclusion on this early 1970 album.
In 1968 "Twenty Five Miles" was a huge hit for Edwin Starr, who co-wrote the song along with Johnny Bristol and Harvey Fuqua. This instrumental version begins with a short break and keeps in line with the hectic nature of the original uptempo beat; one of the best tracks on the album.
"Lana's Past" is another original mellow tune written by the Cortley / Supran team that remains in an Easy Listening territory which doesn't add much to the album's recipe... Side One finishes with "Gimme, Gimme Good Lovin'", a cover of a 1969 hit by Crazy Elephant, a short-lived American Bubblegum Pop band.
Side Two opens with a great cover of "I'm a Man", a 1967 Hammond organ-driven Blues Rock single by The Spencer Davis Group written by Steve Winwood and Jimmy Miller. This song was sampled by DJ Format on his album "Music For the Mature B-Boy" in 2003. It is followed by the cover of another tune taken from the immense Motown catalogue: originally made popular by The Left Banke in 1966, "Walk Away Renée" became a hit for the Four Tops in 1968.
"High In Grass" is a track signed by Cortley / Supran which sound very similar - if not a plain plagiarism - to "Cold Sweat" by James Brown... "When You're Young and In Love" was written by Van McCoy and brought to success by Ruby & The Romantics in 1964, and later also by The Marvelettes in 1967; during the '70s it was covered by many other artists.
"You Shouldn't Say"
is another high-quality original composition; I'm quite sure that its
breakbeat has been sampled and used by someone during the '90s, probably
Beck or Imani Coppola, I will investigate and update the post at a later date if I'm successfull.
The
album ends with "Spread Out", an average track which doesn't affect the album as a whole: a nice combination of Funk / Soul and Easy Listening with some real standouts!
The only available picture of the mysterious Adam Best...
The following videos offer a preview of the remastered album: enjoy "Wall of Sound", "Twenty Five Miles", "I'm a Man" and "You Shouldn't Say"!
A few more information about "Wall of Sound" and related people is available here:
If you have any other useful information about Adam Best and "Wall of Sound" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
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