16 Jul 03 ·konsu: Claudine Longet did a great version of "God Only Knows" on her Let's Spend The Night Together LP from 1972 (BR-15001). Although her version is not what i'd call jazzy, more like meadow-flower California country? Nick Decaro arranged a lot of her 60's albums. 17 Jul 03 ·bobbyspacetroup: I've actually been looking for that LP. It seems to be one of the less common Claudine records... Thanks for the recommendation! 15 Mar 04 ·konsu: I was recently introduced to Four King Cousins version of "God only Knows", also an A&M product from 1967... It's more faithful vocally to the original arrangement, only it's four girls doing the harmonies! 16 Mar 04 ·Mike: James Warren (of The Korgis and Stackridge) has recorded a version of "Caroline, No" which I'd be very interested to hear. 28 Apr 07 ·artlongjr: I have this 45 by Nick DeCaro. What's weird is I heard
it before I heard the Beach Boys original, which I first listened to in 1996.
I came to Callier's music via arranger/producer Charles Stepney and delicado's recommendation of a Stepney-produced Ramsey Lewis track -- "Julia".
Well, Callier's "Ordinary Joe" (produced by Stepney) is a great track which I listen to over and over.
Of all the tracks I've recommended, this is probably the only one I would recommend by virtue of lyrical content alone: "Now politicians all try to speech you / Mad color watchers all try to teach you / Very few will really try to reach you / If you're lost in a stack / That's OK, come on back." Great stuff.
Thankfully the musical content is also very good. Kind of a pop-jazz style tightly arranged from Stepney. I say tightly, but it never really comes across that way. It really has a pretty breezy and organic sound.
Also, look for an earlier version on Callier's "First Light" which is a bit more mellow, but at least as good as the Stepney-produced version. Maybe better in some ways...
from Occasional Rain (Cadet), available on CD (Universal)
16 Jul 03 ·konsu: Brilliant! I love his What Color Is Love LP too.
available on CD - Shake Sauvage (Crippled Dick Hot Wax)
21 Oct 03 ·heinmukk: this one's great for sure. and check out the other songs on shake sauvage. especially francis lai - i don't know why. and the songs from georges garvarentz. who is this guy? great stuff.
One of the best tracks from probably the best album in MGM's "21 Channel Sound" series.
Recorded by a Japanese orchestra in Tokyo, the styles range from big-band latin to more exotica-styled pieces. This track belongs to the latter. Each track is dedicated to a building in modern Tokyo giving this album a fun travelogue quality.
From the liner notes:
THE OKURA. Adjacent to the American Embassy, this hotel is just minutes away from the night club and shopping area. It advertises air-conditioned rooms -- all with bath -- and such extra features as a Japanese garden and Turkish bath. [...]
06 Jan 06 ·physlics66: Thanks for the advice! I just got this album today and wasn't expecting it to be so great. I'll check The Okura out next. 06 Jan 06 ·physlics66: Sorry for the double post but I just listened to the song and it is EXACTLY the type of thing I've been looking for! Thanks! 15 Mar 11 ·pastinaca: The Tokyo Boys lp is simply a reissue of an earlier Japanese lp 'More Echoes of Japan' by the Tokyo Cuban Boys. the titles have been changed and you can guess why they dropped the 'Cuban' on a Japanese travelogue lp.
The sound on the MGM release is much better than on the Japanese King original.
Another of my favorite Morricone tracks. It's a long one at over 8 minutes. As is often the case (with Morricone especially), it's so hard for me to describe the mood of this song -- warm, sexy, yet heartbreakingly sad.
