You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
I would like you to dance - Birthday!
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance - Birthday!
I would like you to dance - Birthday!
Dance!
I would like you to dance - Birthday!
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance - Birthday!
I would like you to dance - Birthday!
Dance!
You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday!
[from the lyrics of "Happy Birthday"]
It's time for another post concerning a record included in the impressive ECHK / S-ECHK series published in Southeast Asia by EMI / Columbia starting from the second half of the '60s up to the early '70s.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to discover much information about Pietro Attila and The Warlocks, but as usual I'd like to share them with you. Most of the details were sourced from the description of this clip on YouTube and the booklet included in the "Steam Kodok" CD compilation... Here we go:
Pietro D'Angelo was born in Sicily, Italy, sometime during the late '30s. He spent the first part of his life in his native island mastering the tenor saxophone; here he got married and also had a daughter. During the late '50s / early '60s he moved to Hong Kong and made his base there.
Later he adopted the stage name Pietro Attila and his charactheristic 'bald dome and pony tail' look. He came to Singapore in 1968 with a foreign edition of The Warlocks and they did gigs in local clubs.
At some point, the group went back home but Pietro stayed and formed a new edition of The Warlocks comprising mainly Asian musicians. They got signed by EMI and in 1969 they released an album, "Something In the Air", and an untitled EP of exclusive tracks, which is the subject of this post. A single with two cuts taken from the album ("Something In the Air" and "Dizzy") was also released the same year.
Subsequently, the group changed again. In the early '70s, drummer Lim Wee Guan performed with Pietro and The Warlocks for six months at the New Latin Quarter nightspot in the Akasaka district in Tokyo after The Quests split. Thereafter he moved on with them to Guam for another six months.
«After The Quests broke up, I was still playing with other groups. I was with this group called The Black and White Rainbow which had Robert Suriya on lead. After that, they joined up with Pietro and The Warlocks and then they asked me whether I could travel and I thought why not, I had nothing on so I joined Pietro with Robert and Colin Rozario. So we went to Japan, we stayed there for about six months, then from there we went to Guam. After that, I found the music was getting too commercial and I wasn't getting anywhere so I came back. The group later broke up and Pietro left Singapore. I think it was about 1973.»
A rare picture of Pietro Attila and The Warlocks in the early '70s, from left: Robert Suriya, Colin Rozario, Pietro, Lim Wee Guan and Steve Bala
Here's the track list for this 7" EP:
01. Happy Birthday (2:47)
02. This Guy Is In Love With You (3:17)
03. Beggin' (2:47)
04. Turn Around, Look at Me (3:11)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in November 2018 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the original item.
Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.
The "Pietro and The Warlocks" EP was released by EMI /Columbia in Singapore sometime in 1969 with cat. number ECHK 625. I assume that this was the group's debut release and that their album entitled "Something In the Air" - which will be the subject of another post in the future - was released months later. Of course it could also be the other way round, who knows...
Also, in this post I always refer to the group as Pietro Attila and The Warlocks, as they are credited on their LP release, but their name is spelled as the simpler Pietro and The Warlocks both on this EP and their "Something In the Air b/w Dizzy" 7" single excerpted from the album...
Anyway, the EP comes in a colourful cover that portrays the group in stylish suits and medallions on the front, while on the back an emphasys is given on Pietro, who seems to hold the band in his hand giving the impression of a caring but authoritarian leader.
Side 1 opens with a wild rendition of The Beatles' "Birthday" which is re-entitled as the more popular "Happy Birthday". The original version, which is no less full of energy, was recorded in September 1968 and was included on the remarkable White Album a few months later.
A cover of the popular Bacharach-David song "This Guy Is In Love With You" follows. The original was recorded by trumpeter Herb Alpert in early 1968. In this recording Pietro Attila's English pronunciation is not exactly perfect and clearly shows some limits...
If you have any other useful information about Pietro Attila and The Warlocks 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!
«Joe Carlton, Command Records president, is moving on several roots to advance the field of electronic pop music. He is proposing to guitar companies that they manufacture a guitar synthesizer which, he believes, will be the perfect device for electronic rock. On another level, he is working with key chains such as E. J. Korvette, Sears, Roebuck, Whitefront and others to establish a separate category for electronic music, with separate browsers and racks. Carlton added: "We have plans for a synthesizer which will go beyond Moog. The present Moog synthesizer, both monophonic and polyphonic, is based on a keyboard instrument approach... But the biggest contribution of the rock musicians derives from their guitar rather than keyboard technique... Use of a guitar synthesizer would be superior to the present method of taking a hard rock performance on conventional guitar and putting it through the keyboard synthesizer." Carlton, who has produced such hits as "Moog: The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman" and the single "The Minotaur", says that this music, because it is new and futuristic, appeals to all young and old and black and white. He added, "As electronic music comes to the fore, as it becomes more familiar, people will recognize its artistic values." He pointed out that the sounds of Stravinsky, Charles Ives and other pioneers were initially attacked but today they are celebrated. "This is the beginning of the world of electronic music," he said.»
[from "Carlton's Electronic Pop Music Campaign on Move", Billboard, August 9, 1969]
Richard "Dick" Hyman (born March 8, 1927, New York City) is an American Jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer, best known for his versatility with Jazz piano styles. Over a 50-year career, he has functioned as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and, increasingly, as a composer. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in well over 100 albums recorded under his own name and many more in support of other artists. [1]
Hyman's career is pretty intimidating in its achievements and scope. He has scored, arranged and/or performend for Broadway, movies, television and live radio, and he's recorded in every format, from 78s to CD-ROMs. He's got a whole gamut of music genres covered, from Jazz and Blues to Classical to Pop and Electronic Psychedelia. Hyman is exceptionally renowned as a professional musician, and was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1995. His articulate and wry anecdotes, commentary on the business, and techniques of making music have been published along with sheet music in a series of books. [2]
Beginning in the mid-1950s he started recording with his own name for MGM. His cover of "Moritat", on harpsichord with his trio, sold over a million copies in 1956 and was the most successful recording of the tune until Bobby Darindid it as "Mack the Knife". He was the musical director of The Arthur Godfrey Show from 1958 to 1961. He was an early staple of Enoch Light's Command label, for which he recorded light classical, swinging harpsichord, funky organ, and "now sound" combo albums. He also demonstrated his continuing interest in new keyboard instruments, releasing two of the earliest Moog albums. Hyman has stayed in demand as much as any musician around, working for TV, scoring film soundtracks for Woody Allen, and, more recently, as a Jazz pianist and organist. [3]
So, here comes the last chapter in Hyman's Electronic / Experimental triptych. The 1963 masterpiece "Moon Gas", credited to him and Mary Mayo, was covered on Stereo Candies both in mono and stereo some time ago. More recently it was the turn of the seminal "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman", an album of original compositions and improvisations recorded in late 1968 using mainly the Moog Modular. Now it's time for "The Age of Electronicus", his second - and last - Moog album on Command Records. More of Hyman's recorded output will be featured on these pages in the future, now let's take care of this primordial little jewel of Electronic Pop Music.
"The Age of Electronicus" outer gatefold reconstruction
"The Age of Electronicus" inner gatefold reconstruction
The following liner notes, written by Dick Hyman and entitled "Working with the Moog Synthesizer", are included in the inner gatefold of "The Age of Electronicus". They give a hint about how the album was made - basically by recording one different sound at a time on a multitrack reel-to-reel system that you can see pictured on the inner gatefold of the album, probably an Ampex AG440-B - and the way he approached this work.
«It is a lot of work; it is painstaking, repetitive, and even frustrating work. And yet the results, when they come off, are a kind of music, very much worth all that effort. I began working with the Moog Synthesizer when Joe Carlton, the head of Command Records, assigned me to produce the album prior to this one, "Electric Eclectics". Walter Sear, the expert programmer with whom I work, initiated me into the electronic intricacies of Synthesizer sound, and gradually I learned some of the things that the Synthesizer can do.
The Moog Synthesizer is a new instrument and, like many new things, it is somewhat misunderstood. I think of it as a super-organ which offers the player vast new possibilities in tone production, and which at the same time requires him to organize his thoughts in a serial way, as opposed to creating an entire performance at one sitting. In other words, it is not all done at once. Successive lines of tones are recorded in conjunction with a multi-track recorder. The Synthesizer is not analogous to a player piano, nor will it make up its own arrangements. It is very much a played device, and the programming which is involved relates to the production of individual tones (their timbre, duration, attack, decay, etc.). It is the arranger-composer, not the Synthesizer, who groups these tones into the desired musical organization exactly as he would do if he were playing a conventional instrument or writing a score.
Another common misunderstanding about the Synthesizer is the notion that it is a perfect substitute for all instruments and types of orchestras which have preceded it in musical history. The Synthesizer is not about to replace any of these instruments or orchestras. It is not nearly as efficient, although it can do some pretty imitations. An orchestra sounds more like on orchestra than a Synthesizer can, and a lot more quickly and economically too. But when the Synthesizer is used to create its own thing, the new aural events are remarkable for both the player-arranger and the listener. The new sounds (unlike those which any orchestral instrument can produce), the unexpected alterations of the old sounds, the convenience of being able to play them on a keyboard and have them recorded directly on a multi-track recorder — these are the factors which encouraged an imaginative and programmatic approach to the arrangements in the present album.»
"The electronic soul of Command", reconstruction of a double-page spread advert originally published on the August 9, 1969 issue of Billboard
"The Age of Electronicus" contains the following tracks:
01. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (2:48)
02. Give It Up or Turn It Loose (3:13)
03. Blackbird (3:12)
04. Aquarius (2:49)
05. Green Onions (7:53)
06. Kolumbo (7:42)
07. Time Is Tight (3:08)
08. Alfie (3:44)
09. Both Sides Now (3:04)
All tracks were remastered in October 2018 from the original vinyl records, except "Give It Up or Turn It Loose", "Kolumbo" and "Time Is Tight" which were remastered from the expanded CD version of Hyman's "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman". They 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 links.
Dick Hyman, circa late '60s / early '70s
Here's the complete credits and personnel list of the album:
Dick Hyman - Moog Modular synthesizer, Baldwin electric harpsichord, Lowrey organ, Maestro Rhythmaster unit, Echoplex tape delay unit, triangle
Coming just months after the successful "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman", "The Age of Electronicus" was released by Command-ABC Records in August 1969 with catalogue number 946-S. The album was also released as a Reel-To-Reel stereo tape with catalogue number X 946, and was preceded by a 7" single containing two of its most favourable tracks, namely the covers of the well-known "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The M.G.'s and "Aquarius" by The 5th Dimension.
When the LP was released, the previous "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman" was still in the Billboard Top 100 LP Chart. Surprisingly, "The Age of Electronicus" failed to repeat the success experienced by its predecessor, even though everything was apparently made to enhance its accessibility and Pop charm.
Coming in a colourful gatefold cover, "The Age of Electronicus" was released as part of an Electronic Pop Music series which, as you can see from the Command Records advert featured in this post, also included Walter Sear / The Copper Plated Integrated Circuit's "Plugged In Pop" and Richard Hayman's "Genuine Electric Latin Love Machine". Both these albums will be investigated at a later date here on Stereo Candies.
The main difference between Hyman's two Moog albums is that "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman" is entirely made of original compositions and improvisations created by Hyman himself, while "The Age of Electronicus" is mostly based on the re-elaboration of successful Pop tunes with the only exception of "Kolumbo", a more experimental track someway similar to the now legendary "The Minotaur", also by Hyman: that was the track which got picked up by radio stations months earlier and was fundamental to the success of the previous album, becoming the very first single featuring a Moog synthesizer to chart.
Another significative difference between the albums is that the tracks on "The Age of Electronicus" don't feature any regular instrument except Billy LaVorgna's great drumming on selected tracks: most of the sounds are generated by the Moog and a few other devices as detailed on the album credits and the liner notes that follow.
The album only spent 11 weeks in the Billboard Top 200 LP Chart - peaking at #110 - and the poor performance of the "Green Onions b/w Aquarius" single, which peaked at #126, didn't help the LP to reach the success I think it deserved. Furthermore, by the time "The Age of Aquarius" was released, record shops were also offering many other Moog albums and, despite the hype and curiosity surrounding the all-new electronic instrument, without the help of another groundbreaking single the record failed to make a difference.
Hyman's memories about the recording of "The Age of Electronicus" and "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman" are available in a great piece written by Thom Holme for the Bob Moog Foundation website. Pictures of a Moog Modular system very similar to the one used on these albums are available here.
The following track-by-track commentary is a slightly edited version of the original liner notes included in the inner gatefold of the album.
"Green Onions / Aquarius" single, Side A
Side 1 opens with "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", originally by The Beatles. The song features a not-quite piccolo sound, a sort-of bass clarinet sound, and a spitting-tobacco kind of sound in which the timbre changes as an individual tone is sustained. A Baldwin electronic harpsichord provides the plectrum effect. The rhythm section, recorded after the Synthesizer tracks were completed, is composed of Billy LaVorgna on drums and the arranger on triangle. The by-play among the three 'horns' is the result of recording each line separately on the multi-track recorder and is particularly effective here in giving the impression of the kind of playful communication three musicians might have with each other.
"Give It Up or Turn It Loose" is an experiment in Electronic Soul, specifically that of James Brown, whose recording is the basic model for this arrangement. The excitement of James Brown's singing and dancing is expressed electronically by the Synthesizer in swooshes, sweeps, and explosions of what engineers call, ironically, 'white noise'. Live drums play along with the Maestro Rhythmaster, a metronome-like mechanical drum device.
"Blackbird" is arranged as an electronic orchestration of the Beatles' recording. The Synthesizer elaborates on the original sparse elements and dwells unexpectedly on a section of bird calls. The sound of the Baldwin electronic harpsichord was fed through the Synthesizer to provide the moving tenths.
"Aquarius" demonstrates the Synthesizer's impression of how the Inhabitants of Saturn might perform the hit song from the musical "Hair". It should be emphasized that the inhabitants of Saturn are an extremely smooth-skinned race, but they do their best. Bill LaVorgna, however, who is quite hirsute, is added on drums. The arranger plays electronic harpsichord and Lowrey organ in addition.
"Green Onions" takes as its premise the classic recording by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and goes on from there. The organ-like sound of the first soloist becomes unexpectedly slippery as the Synthesizer's portamento possibilities are explored. The second and third soloists join in until a feeling of New Year's Eve in Times Square reaches us. After some frantic polyphony, we return to Booker T. in Memphis. (Lowrey organ, drums and electronic harpsichord added).
"Green Onions / Aquarius" single, Side B
Side 2 starts with "Kolumbo", an original number created by Dick Hyman. This track was performed simultaneously on the Synthesizer and the Maestro Rhythmaster, the mechanical drum device, the tones of which were fed through an Echoplex tape reverberation unit. Not only the duration and the frequency of reverberation but the fundamental rhythms were altered during the improvised performance, so that there is an effect of a battery of African drummers following an improvising soloist. The listener can provide his own scenario of what seems to be a musical battle, as a second soloist abruptly materializes, challenging the first man. At the end, the original soloist states a brief epilogue, packs up his horn, and splits.
"Time Is Tight", a song by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, begins with a banjo-like effect obtained by running the sound of the electronic harpsichord through the tape reverberation unit. The Synthesizer states the melody by means of a sine wave programmed to develop an increasingly wide vibrato. (There is a resemblance to a certain type of girl singer who used to work with the big bands). The other 'soloist' is expressed by use of a pulse wave programmed to incorporate a gradual timbral change. Live drums are added.
In "Alfie" the melody undulates over a shifting landscape as the two moons of Mars inscrutably look down. The title translates into Martian as, "What's it all about, Alpha Centauri?" This is my favourite track from the album, it took hours of work to properly clean it from but it was worth every single second!
"Both Sides Now", the Joni Mitchell song, developed into a program piece which postulates what might happen if a bagpiper wandered into an orchestral performance of some characteristic nineteenth century music. The Synthesizer constructs a cartoon symphony, playfully adding to its impression of standard instrumentation a honky-tonk piano (actually the electronic harpsichord). "After an elaborate exposition", as Deems Taylor would have explained, "the main theme returns in a grand Wagnerian finale, our undaunted bagpiper skirling above the orchestral tutti". As mentioned here, this is Hyman's favourite track from the album.
"Strobo / Lay, Lady, Lay" promotional single, Side A
My remaster of "The Age of Electronicus" also includes three bonus tracks:
"Green Onions (Single Edit, Stereo Version)", as the title implies, is an edit of the longer version originally included on the album. In brief, the structure of this edit is the same that was released as a single but uses a stereo mix instead of the mono mix.
"Strobo (Simulated Stereo Version)" and "Lay, Lady, Lay (Simulated Stereo Version)" are enhanced versions of the tracks that originally appeared on the "Strobo / Lay, Lady, Lady" promotional single released in late 1969, which I have already featured here months ago. Basically, I tweaked the Eq of the left and right channels of the mono versions and used the subtle differences between them to assign different pan positions to groups of frequencies achieving a pseudo-stereo effect. This is the first time I experiment with such possibilities, so I would be quite pleased to know what you think about the result.
Here's what I wrote about these two tracks in the original post:
"Strobo" is an original number written by Hyman himself. In a similar fashion to the hit "The Minotaur", recorded in late 1968, the track is built on the top of a dense rhythm played by the Maestro Rhythm Unit, probably feeded through an Echoplex. Some people describe this music as Proto-Techno and others even catch a glimpse of Drum 'n' Bass in its skittering beat. Whatever your view on the subject is, "Strobo" was pretty ahead of its time and its shrill keyboard lines undeniably have a futuristic charm.
"Lay, Lady, Lay" is an instrumental version of the song written by Bob Dylan which was released months earlier on his "Nashville Skyline" album. Hyman replaces the original vocal lines with the Moog, giving the song a very strong imprint. The acoustic rhythm section in the background adds to the value of this cover, creating a somewhat pleasant alienating effect. As much as I enjoy "Strobo", I must admit that this piece induces me in a compulsive state, and I can't help to press the repeat button again and again...
"Strobo / Lay, Lady, Lay" promotional single, Side B
The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered album, enjoy!
More information about Dick Hyman, "The Age of Electronicus" and the Moog Modular synthesizer is available here:
If you have any other useful information about Dick Hyman and "Moog - The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman" - 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!
In my loneliness
when you're gone and I'm all by myself
I need your caress
I just think of you
and the thought of you holding me near
makes my loneliness soon disappear
Though you're far away
I have only to close my eyes and you are back to stay
I just close my eyes
and the sadness that missing you brings
soon is gone and this heart of mine sings
Yes I love you so
and that for me is all I need to know
I will wait for you
till the sun falls from out of the sky
for what else can I do
I will wait for you
meditating how sweet life will be
when you come back to me
[from the lyrics of "Meditation"]
Barbara Tamiko Ferguson was born in 1945, one of ten children, in Kyle, West Virginia, USA.
So exotic in her features, ethnically she might be described as multi-racial: her father was an African-American and her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Arma Dalton - who used to live in Charleston - was partly of Japanese descent. Mrs. Dalton's parents, now deceased, were nisei. Because of her Japanese background, Mrs. Dalton at one time lived in a federal internment camp on the West Coast during World War II.
«My mother married a white man of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and on my maternal grandfather's side there is Cherokee Indian blood. So, racially at least I'm really mixed up. Like the rest of my family I consider myself a Negro.»[1]
The extreme versatility of Tamiko's singing is readily appreciated in considering her own musical background. She was raised in Detroit and, while working as a secretary,she auditioned for a talent agency and made her professional debut in 1961 at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit, a room that earlier showcased such talents as Johnnie Ray and Della Reese:
«I got that job strictly on nerve, I decided one day I wanted to be a singer. Though my repertoire consisted of only one song, "Goody, Goody", I got an audition through an agent with Maurice King, who led the orchestra at the Flame Show Bar. I was hired on the spot for a one-week engagement, but stayed six months.»[1]
During that first six-month engagement, she expanded her repertoire considerably under Maurice King's
guidance and improved her showmanship. She developed a style of her own, though she never learned to read music. She describes such style as "jazz-bop", which is a unique styling compounded of pop songs on a jazz base:
«I depend on my ear, I think God gave me a gift for music which I express through my voice. When I first started out, I used to get so scared my knees would knock. The more I sing the more confident I feel, but I still get a
little nervous on an opening night.»[1]
She began her recording career on the Checker label in 1963; her first release, credited simply as Timiko, was the happy-go-lucky song "Is It a Sin?" written by Richard "Popcorn" Wylie backed with "The Boy For Me" written by Robert Bateman on the flip side.
By 1964, Timiko became Tamiko and she relocated to the Atco Records imprint releasing the single "Don't Laugh If I Cry at Your Party" backed with "Rhapsody". Both tracks were also released in France as side A of a 7" split EP coupled with two songs by Angela Martin on side B.
Tamiko Jones as pictured on the cover of the French 7" split EP shared with Angela Martin, circa 1963-64
In July 1966 she briefly moved to the Golden World label and released her third single offering "I'm Spellbound" on side A and "Am I Glad Now" on side B. The single was produced by Gene Redd who wrote the tunes along with Rose Marie McCoy, Jimmy Crosby and a certain Mike Jones.
During the same year Tamiko also appeared as an extra in a few movies, namely "Penelope", "You're a Big Boy Now" and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying":
«Acting is a very exciting and stimulating outlet for my artistic energies. I love to act and want to become an expert at it. My greatest ambition is to appear in a Broadway musical. But singing is my main love. I'll never give that up, because it gives me a chance to express myself fully and freely.»[1]
Anyway, let's take a step back: after the six months at the Flame Show Bar, Tamiko began touring the East Coast and Midwest, including stints on the Playboy circuit, the Catskill Mountains and the Carribean area, before getting her first national exposure on the Tonight Show in 1965. Later she performed on the Johnny Carson Show several times as well as on the Merv Griffin and Joey Bishop programs...
Tamiko Jones, publicity shot for the "A Man and a Woman" single, 1966
Tamiko's career saw some elevation when she signed with Atlantic in late 1966. She teamed up with label mate Herbie Mann and released a single offering "A Man and a Woman", the theme song from the film of the same name composed by Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh, backed with "Sidewinder", a composition by Lee Morgan which has become a jazz standard nowadays.
Many different versions of "A Man and a Woman" were recorded around this time by different artists, but only the Jones / Mann rendition made the best-selling charts.
«The first Herbie Mann / Tamiko Jones collaboration was a brilliant rendition of the attractive title tune from the French movie "A Man and a Woman". That recording, released in the fall of 1966, helped make "A Man and a Woman" one of the most popular movie themes of the year. The union of Herbie Mann and Tamiko Jones started almost fortuitously at the Atlantic Recording Studios in New York. Herbie heard Tamiko singing in the studio one afternoon and was so taken by her warm, sensuous jazz-pop styling that he stayed throughout her entire rehearsal. When it was over he asked if she would like to record with him.»[2]
Tamiko Jones, press / publicity photo, circa 1966-67
The album was recorded in Rio de Janeiro during three sessions between September and December 1966, and was published by Atlantic in February 1967. It consists of ten songs with musical backgrounds provided by both the Cannonball Adderley Trio and Herbie Mann's Band, mostly arranged by Joe Zawinul and Jimmy Wisner.
One more single was culled from the album, with side A offering a cover of The Beatles' "Day Tripper" paired on the flip side with "A Good Thing (Is Hard To Come By)", a Tamiko's own composition.
By the way, "A Mann and a Woman" was re-released on CD in Japan sometimes in late 2013, and at the time of writing it is still available on major retailers as an import at a fair decent price, don't let it escape you!
Tamiko Jones on the cover of Jet magazine, March 1967
A few months after the successful release of "A Mann and a Woman", Tamiko was signed by Jimmy Wisner's new label December Records. As far as I know, the label didn't last long and its output consisted mostly of the Tamiko Jones releases and a few more items...
The first Tamiko's single on the label was released in September, and offered her rendition of "You Only Live Twice", the theme song to the James Bond movie of the same name, coupled with a cover of Aretha Franklin's "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream".
Another single followed towards the end of the year; Side A featured a cover of the Bacharach-David tune "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", originally performed by Dionne Warwick, while Side B offered the exclusive "Pearl", a song written by Tamiko herself and Wisner.
Two more singles were released as promotional items but were not distributed to the public; the first one included "Live For Life", an English adptation of the song originally written by Francis Lai for the soundtrack of the French movie "Vivre pour vivre", coupled with "You Only Live Twice" on the flip side, while the second featured "Someone To Light Up My Life" and "Where Do I Go From Here".
Smartly arranged with a Bossa Nova flavour, probably as an attempt to repeat the exploit of "A Mann and a Woman", the "Tamiko" album was released on December Records in February 1968.
With Ed McMhon and Joey Bishop, 1967
Sources:
[1] from a feature/interview published on "Jet" magazine, March 1967
[2] from the "A Mann and a Woman" LP liner notes written by Bob Rolontz, 1967
[3] from the "I'll Be Anything For You" LP liner notes written by Peter J. Levinson, 1968
"Tamiko" contains the following tracks:
01. Someone To Light Up My Life (2:48)
02. You Only Live Twice (2:49)
03. The Folks Who Live On the Hill (2:58)
04. Only Yesterday (2:40)
05. Meditation (3:43)
06. Don't Go Breaking My Heart (3:02)
07. Where Do I Go From Here (2:41)
08. Don't Let Me Lose This Dream (2:33)
09. How Can I Leave You (2:07)
10. Live For Life (2:47)
11. That's Life (3:05)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in July 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include restored and printable PDF artwork.
As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download links.
"You Only Live Twice" is the theme song to the 1967 James Bond movie of the same name. Music was written by veteran James Bond composerJohn Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The original version is considered to be one of the best James Bond theme songs, and has become one of Nancy Sinatra's best known hits. The song has been extensively covered by other artists and Tamiko's version is particularly sweet to my ears; unsurprisingly it was choose as the album's first single.
"Only Yesterday" is an original composition by Jimmy Wisner, producer and arranger of the album - as well as owner of December Records - and already made its apparition just one year earlier on the "A Mann and a Woman" album... I guess that the reason for including it here again is just connected with royalties, but anyway... In my opinion this more lively version is superior to the original, and maybe the author was just trying to popularise it.
Side A ends with my favourite number of the album, "Meditation" ("Meditação" in Portuguese), which was composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Newton Mendonça. With English lyrics by Norman Gimbel, it was successfully included on the "Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim" album in 1967. If I had to choose a track to represent the album, then I would not hesitate for a second: this is pure class!
Side B starts with Tamiko's beautiful rendition of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"; this Bacharach-David song was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick for her 1965 album "Here I Am". According to AllMusic, it is "one of Burt Bacharach's most subtle, effervescent grooves ever". The song was aptly choose as the second single excerpted from the album; it was backed with "Pearl", an exclusive number which I truly hope to present here sometimes in the future as soon as I find a decent copy.
"Where Do I Go From Here" is another song penned by Jimmy Wisner which, according to my search, seems to have been recorded exclusively by Tamiko and no other singer... As the lesser-known track on the album, along with "How Can I Leave You", it manage just fine to keep quality high and a generally relaxed atmosphere.
"Don't Let Me Loose This Dream" was written by Aretha Franklin and Ted White, her first husband and manager. The song was originally included on Aretha's 1967 masterpiece "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You". This is the most lively piece on "Tamiko" for sure; it feature an uptempo rhythm and it even includes a saxophone solo... It was included on the flip side of the "You Only Live Twice" single. Here'a link to the original for your reference.
"How Can I Leave You" is a song by American drummer, percussionist and vibraphonist George Devens; as a musician he has been featured on countless releases from the early '60s on, and his incomplete credit list is quite impressive. His small contribution to this album should not be left unnoticed.
"Live For Live" was written by French composer Francis Lai as the main theme for the 1967 movie "Vivre pour vivre". Originally an instrumental, it was given English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.
"Tamiko" ends with a cover of the popular "That's Life", a song written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon whose most famous version was recorded by Frank Sinatra for his 1966 album of the same name.
Tamiko Jones as she appears on the cover of "Tamiko", circa late 1967
Here's the few credits printed on the back sleeve of "Tamiko":
A Jimmy Wisner production.
Arranged and conducted by Jimmy Wisner, except "Someone To Light Up My Life", "Only Yesterday", "Meditation", "Where Do I Go From Here" and "That's Life" arranged and conducted by Pete Dino.
Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York City.
Engineers: Harry Yarmarck and Phil Macey
Photos and design: Mark Roth
The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album; for this purpose I chose my favourite tracks: "You Only Live Twice", "Meditation", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream", enjoy!
More information about Tamiko Jones is available here:
If you have any other useful information about the Tamiko Jones and "Tamiko" - 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!
