Best known for "Where Do You Go To My Lovely", which is a sad French or Italian-sounding song, the followup "Frozen Orange Juice" is a delightfully happy Spanish-sounding song, i.e. the exact opposite (lyrics of both songs reference the European nations listed above). It lopes along in 6/8 time with orchestral flourishes galore, particularly on strings, although horns, woodwinds and harp are also evident. Brilliant!
The best of the lesser-known "wall of sound" productions from ace producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s. Many people think it's Veronica singing, and indeed it does sound most like the Ronettes, although it's not quite as awe-inspiring as their strongest track "Baby I Love You". I do love the rising strings in the background on the way into the chorus. Lyrically, it's in the "He's A Rebel" vein.
available on CD - Phil Spector's Flips And Rarities
19 Jul 04 ·kwan_dk: Indeed a great song and a terriffic production. The only problem is that it's supposedly not produced by Spector, but by a young aspiring songwriter/producer named Jerry Riopelle who was assigned to Philles Records at the time. Riopelle himself has acknowledged this and other evidence seems to indicate he's right.
As for Veronica singin lead, it has been established that the girl in question was a singer called Charlotte O'Hara, as far as I recall...
So I'm watching the finale of Survivor: Marquesas (a year ago, in May '02) and on comes this ad for The Gap with, to my utter astonishment, the guitar intro to this 1967 classic. And better yet, they got the correct version! Meaning, the one with the gritty-sounding guitars (there have been a number of inferior versions released that were re-recorded, or at least remixed badly, or something). "I See The Rain" should be quite familiar to British readers but perhaps not to Americans. Anyway, I've always loved this song, and it's the aforementioned guitar sound that makes it stand out, although those harmonies in the chorus and a just-right unhurried tempo help make it one of my faves ...
from There's A Lot Of It About available on CD - The Definitive Collection (Castle Communications)
A dramatic arrangement of a often-covered song by a couple of guys whose names I see elsewhere on this site in several places. Lenny Waronker was the producer.
The band, from San Fran, was best known for its hit cover of Stephen Stills "Sit Down I Think I Love You", which is described as "a whirring music box" in the CD liner notes and indeed it blew away the dull original. "Me About You" meanwhile was covered by the Lovin' Spoonful among others.
available on CD - Sit Down It's The Mojo Men (Sundazed)
A gossamer light track with cello, glockenspiel and some other non-standard rock (?) instrumentation, by a classically-trained musician. The only song that it is heavier than is the Caravelles' 1963 hit "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry", which is probably the song it sounds most like as well, if I had to pick one. Quite gorgeous! But there was a re-recorded version that found its way onto the 1986 "Hope In A Darkened Heart" LP; it's NOT nearly as good as the original.
