BEST OF 67: HERE ARE THE RESULTS!

Em primeiro lugar o vosso amigo Rato quer agradecer a todos os que contribuiram para que estas tabelas pudessem ser feitas. Sem as pessoas que, pacientemente, escolheram os seus favoritos e fizeram assim as suas listas pessoais tal não teria sido possível. Um muito obrigado, portanto!
1967 foi, ninguém hoje o duvida, um ano chave na música popular anglo-americana. A filosofia emergente do “Flower Power” levou grande parte da juventude a libertar-se das teias da sociedade convencional e a fazer o que muito bem lhe dava na gana, assumindo novos comportamentos e ideias. Inevitavelmente, tal explosão nos usos e costumes da época seria feita também através da música. E que música, como a seguir se irá recordar.
Começando pelos albuns, houve 34 votantes e foram referidos 161 títulos diferentes, dos quais 25 não foram aceites por terem sido editados em outros anos, ou por não conterem música anglo-americana ou simplesmente por se tratar de coletâneas e não de albuns originais (todas estas premissas tinham sido definidas à partida).
Dos 136 albuns restantes aqui fica a classificação final dos 50 mais votados:
First of all, your friend Rato wants to thank everyone who made these charts possible. Without the people who paciently have chosen their favourites and thus made their personal lists, such would not be possible. So, a many thanks to you!
1967 was, no doubt about, a key-year in the anglo-american music. The underlying philosophy of “Flower Power” made a lot of the youth drop out and leave convencional society and do their own thing, wherever and whenever they wanted. Inevitably, such explosion in the customs of the time would also reach the music. And what a music, like we’re going to remember now.
Starting with the albums, there was 34 voting people, who have mentioned 161 different titles; 25 of them were not accepted because they were released in other years, or because they didn’t contained anglo-american music or simply because they were compilations and not originals (all these premises were early defined).
From the 136 remained albums, here are the 50 most voted:

50º (25 pontos)

Ten Years After (Ten Years After)

49º (26 pontos):

The World We Knew (Frank Sinatra)
48º (27 pontos):

Claudine (Claudine Longet)
The Monkees (Monkees)
46º (28 pontos):

Alice's Restaurant (Arlo Guthrie)
Da Capo (Love)
44º (29 pontos):

Big Brother & The Holding Company (Big Brother & The Holding Company)
Vanilla Fudge (Vanilla Fudge)
42º (30 pontos):

Aretha Arrives (Aretha Franklin)
How Great Thou Art (Elvis Presley)
40º (35 pontos):

Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)
39º (36 pontos):

Deliver (Mamas And Papas)
The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (Incredible String Band)
37º (38 pontos):

Trini Lopez In London (Trini Lopez)
36º (39 pontos):

Ninth (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass)
35º (41 pontos):

Happy Together (Turtles)
34º (50 pontos):

The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack (Nice)

33º (54 pontos):

More Of The Monkees (Monkees)
32º (55 pontos):

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (Franck Sinatra)
Joan (Joan Baez)
30º (57 pontos):

Love Me, Please Love Me (Sandie Shaw)
29º (58 pontos):

Sunshine Superman (Donovan)
28º (68 pontos):

Smiley Smile (Beach Boys)
27º (76 pontos):

Album 1700 (Peter Paul & Mary)
Mellow Yellow (Donovan)
25º (78 pontos):

Axis: Bold As Love (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
24º (85 pontos):

Electric Music For The Mind And Body (Country Joe & The Fish)
23º (87 pontos):

The Look Of Love (Claudine Longet)
22º (88 pontos):

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Aretha Franklin)
21º (103 pontos):

Something Else By The Kinks (Kinks)
20º (113 pontos):

Buffalo Springfield Again (Buffalo Springfield)
19º (114 pontos):

The Who Sell Out (Who)
18º (115 pontos):

Between The Buttons (Rolling Stones)
17º (128 pontos):

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (Pink Floyd)
16º (134 pontos):

The Songs Of (Leonard Cohen)
15º (156 pontos):

1st (Bee Gees)
14º (158 pontos):

Younger Than Yesterday (Byrds)
13º (159 pontos):

The Velvet Undergroung And Nico (Velvet Underground)
12º (174 pontos):

Procol Harum (Procol Harum)

11º (175 pontos):

Disraeli Gears (Cream)

...and now...

-THE TOP 10-
10º (178 pontos):

John Wesley Harding (Bob Dylan)
9º (180 pontos):

A Gift From A Flower To A Garden (Donovan)

8º (201 pontos):

Strange Days (Doors)
7º (205 pontos):

Their Satanic Majesties Request (Rolling Stones)

6º (206 pontos):

Surrealistic Pillow (Jefferson Airplane)
5º (214 pontos):

The Doors (Doors)

4º (215 pontos):

Forever Changes (Love)
3º (310 pontos):

Are You Experienced (Jimi Hendrix Experience)

2º (317 pontos):

Days Of Future Passed (Moody Blues)
1º (500 pontos):

SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND(Beatles)

Se o “Sgt. Pepper’s” foi logo desde o início um vencedor antecipado, já para os dois lugares imediatos do pódio a luta foi extremamente renhida, acabando os Moody Blues por assegurar o segundo posto com uma diferença mínima de 7 pontos. De qualquer modo, esta trilogia eleita pelos amigos do Rato liderou sempre o pelotão da frente, não havendo qualquer dúvida de que são os albuns mais apreciados. Comparativamente com as tabelas dos albuns mais vendidos em todo o mundo, os albuns dos Beatles e do Hendrix também figuram no trio da frente, sendo no entanto o 2º lugar ocupado pelo album de estreia dos Doors (aqui em 5º lugar), com o album dos Moody Blues a ocupar o 16º lugar.
If “Sgt. Pepper’s” was from the beginning an antecipate winner, the fight for the next two podium places was extremely fierce, ending the Moody Blues to confirm the second position with just a 7 points advantage. Anyway, this trilogy elected by Rato’s friends was always leading the race, and there is no doubt they are the most appreciated albums. Looking to the best selling album charts in the world, you can realize that the Beatles and Hendrix’s albums are also among the first three, being the second place the Doors debut (here on fifth), with the Moody Blues album placed on 16th.

E agora passemos aos TEMAS: 31 votantes e 359 títulos diferentes referidos, 58 dos quais não aceites por terem sido editados noutros anos ou por não se tratar de música anglo-americana.
Aqui fica a classificação final dos 100 temas mais votados:

And now let's see the SONGS: 31 voting people and 359 different titles mentioned, with 58 not being accepted because they have been released in other year or because they are not anglo-american music.

Here it is the final list of of the most voted 100 songs:

100º (58 points):

Strange Brew (Cream)
99º (59 points):

- Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)

- Bernadette (Four Tops)

- How Can I Be Sure (Young Rascals)

- So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star (Byrds)

- Soul Man (Sam And Dave)
94º (61 points):

Magic Hollow (Beau Brummels)
93º (63 points):

If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin)
92º (64 points):

Sisters Of Mercy (Leonard Cohen)
91º (65 points):

- Holiday (Bee Gees)

- Yesterday's Papers (Rolling Stones)
89º (66 points):

- People Are Strange (Doors)

- Sweet Soul Music (Arthur Conley)

- Up Up And Away (Fifth Dimension)
86º (67 points):

Venus In Furs (Velvet Underground)
85º (68 points):

Back Street Girl (Rolling Stones)
84º (69 points):

I Say A Little Prayer (Dionne Warwick)
83º (70 points):

2000 Light Years From Home (Rolling Stones)
82º (71 points):

Daydream (Lovin' Spoonful)
81º (72 points):

- Baby I Need Your Lovin' (Johnny Rivers)

- The Look Of Love (Dusty Springfield)
79º (73 points):

- (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin)

- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles)
77º (75 points):

- I Am The Walrus (Beatles)

- You're A Big Boy Now (Lovin' Spoonful)
75º (77 points):

- Georgy Girl (Seekers)

- We Love You (Rolling Stones)
73º (82 points):

Groovin' (Young Rascals)
72º (83 points):

- Break On Through (To The Other Side) (Doors)

- Itchycoo Park (Small Faces)
70º (85 points):

I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James & The Shondells)
69º (87 points):

Windy (Association)
68º (88 points):

- Ha! Ha! Said The Clown (Manfred Mann)

- Zabadak! (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich)
66º (90 points):

Can't take my eyes off you (Frankie Valli)
65º (93 points):

Try A Little Tenderness (Otis Redding)
64º (94 points):

Puppet On A String (Sandie Shaw)
63º (96 points):

Release Me (Engelbert Humperdinck)
62º (97 points):

- Baby Now That I've Found You (Foundations)

- Somethin' Stupid (Frank & Nancy Sinatra)
60º (99 points):

Incense And Peppermints (Strawberry Alarm Clock)
59º (100 points):

Master Jack (Four Jacks And A Jill)
58º (102 points):

Silence Is Golden (Square Set)
57º (103 points):

Paper Sun (Traffic)
56º (106 points):

I'm A Man (Spencer Davis Group)
55º (107 points):

Wear Your Love Like Heaven (Donovan)
54º (109 points):

- I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Gladys Knight & The Pips)

- San Franciscan Nights (Eric Burdon & The Animals)
52º (115 points):

Hello Goodbye (Beatles)
51º (117 points):

(It Looks Like) I'll Never Fall In Love Again (Tom Jones)
50º (118 points):

Alone Again Or (Love)
49º (120 points):

When I'm Sixty-Four (Beatles)
48º (121 points):

Carrie Anne (Hollies)
47º (126 points):

Heroes And Villains (Beach Boys)
46º (139 points):

To Love Somebody (Bee Gees)
45º (144 points):

There Is A Mountain (Donovan)
44º (145 points):

All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
43º (150 points):

Death Of A Clown (Dave Davies)
42º (164 points):

See Emily Play (Pink Floyd)
41º (166 points):

The End (Doors)
40º (172 points):

Arnold Layne (Pink Floyd)
39º (173 points):

Don't Sleep In The Subway (Petula Clark)
38º (176 points):

Phantasmagoria In Two (Tim Buckley)
37º (182 points):

- Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)

- My Back Pages (Byrds)
35º (194 points):

Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
34º (197 points):

I Can See For Miles (Who)
33º (198 points):

The Happening (Supremes)
32º (199 points):

Silence Is Golden (Tremeloes)
31º (208 points):

To Sir With Love (Lulu)
30º (211 points):

Sunshine Of Your Love (Cream)
29º (219 points):

She's A Rainbow (Rolling Stones)
28º (222 points):

Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond)
27º (223 points):

There's A Kind Of Hush (Herman's Hermits)
26º (231 points):

Massachusetts (Bee Gees)
25º (238 points):

For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
24º (250 points):

The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
23º (256 points):

Rain And Tears (Aphrodite's Child)
22º (262 points):

The Letter (Box Tops)
21º (267 points):

Happy Together (Turtles)
20º (275 points):

Waterloo Sunset (Kinks)
19º (277 points):

Dedicated To The One I Love (Mamas And Papas)
18º (283 points):

I Dig Rock And Roll Music (Peter Paul & Mary)
17º (294 points):

Let's Spend The Night Together (Rolling Stones)
16º (308 points):

All You Need Is Love (Beatles)
15º (311 points):

Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
14º (315 points)

Let's Live For Today (Grass Roots)
13º (336 points):

White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
12º (340 points):

San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear...) (Scott McKenzie)

11º (342 points):

Ruby Tuesday (Rolling Stones)

...and now...
- THE TOP 10 -

10º (352 points):

Never My Love (Association)

9º (356 points):

Penny Lane (Beatles)

8º (403 points):

Respect (Aretha Franklin)
7º (415 points):

Light My Fire (Doors)

6º (425 points):

I'm A Believer (Monkees)

5º (456 points):

Somebody To Love (Jefferson Airplane)

4º (477 points):

Strawberry Fields Forever (Beatles)

3º (483 points):

A Day In The Life (Beatles)

2º (505 points):

Nights In White Satin (Moody Blues)

1º (672 points):

A WHITER SHADE OF PALE (Procol Harum)

Tal como nos albuns, o tema vencedor do ano de 1967 é o mesmo que lidera as tabelas dos singles mais vendidos em todo o mundo. Algo, portanto, que se mantém inalterável há 40 anos. Quando apareceu pela 1ª vez no Reino Unido, em Junho de 1967, e apesar de uma letra um tanto ou quanto incompreensível (um conjunto de frases abstractas tiradas de um poema de Keith Reid sobre o relacionamento de dois adolescentes, o que de certa maneira se enquadrava bem no psicadelismo da altura), “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” alcançou de imediato o topo das tabelas inglesas, onde se manteve durante 5 semanas consecutivas (nas tabelas americanas não foi além do Top5).

The same way as in the albums, the winner song of 1967 os the same which leads the best singles charts around the world. Something that doesn’t change from 40 years ago. When it appeared for the first time in England, in June of 1967, and even if the words were more or less incomprehensible (the lyrics came from a poem by Keith Reid, and were a collection of abstract phrases about boy/girl relationships using sailing metaphors. They sound very profound, but were actually a spoof of psychedelic lyrics popular in songs at the time), “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” quickly reached the Top of the english charts, where it stayed 5 weeks in a row (on the american charts it stopped at number 5).
Relativamente aos nomes citados, os Beatles são como se previa os grandes vencedores com 15 temas e um total de 2236 pontos. Aqui fica a lista do Top 10:

In what concerns the artists ensemble, The Beatles are the great winners with 15 songs and a total of 2236 points. Here’s the final Top 10 list:

1. Beatles: 2236 pontos (15 temas)
2. Rolling Stones: 1342 pontos (13 temas)
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience: 875 pontos (7 temas)
4. Doors: 841 pontos (7 temas)
5. Jefferson Airplane: 792 pontos (2 temas)
6. Procol Harum: 725 pontos (3 temas)
7. Monkees: 606 pontos (6 temas)
8. Bee Gees: 533 pontos (6 temas)
9. Aretha Franklin: 509 pontos (4 temas)
10. Velvet Underground: 279 pontos (9 temas)

Tal como o prometido, os 40 temas mais votados irão agora ser reunidos num duplo CD, para comemorar esta primeira grande votação do Blog do Rato. Logo que esse CD esteja pronto, os respectivos links serão remetidos via email a todos os participantes.
Espero que daqui a um ano estejamos todos juntos outra vez a eleger os melhores de 1968.
As promised, the 40 most voted songs will now be assembled in a double CD, to celebrate this first great election of Rato’s Blog. The moment that CD will be ready, the respective links will be send by email to all the participants.

I hope that one year from now we’ll be together again, voting for the best of 1968.

CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS 2

CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS 1

WALLPAPER: "HAPPY NEW YEAR"

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STACCATOS FIRST

The Staccatos (remember the hit "Cry To Me"?) were another famous South Africa R&B band from the late sixties. And this is their exciting first album, from 1965.

Fernanda Maria:"De Loucura em Loucura"

Edição Original em LP Alvorada

LP-S-98.3 (1973)

Dado que a coleção “Variações do Fado” teve uma inusitada aceitação entre muitos dos frequentadores do Blog do Rato (quer nacionais quer, estranhamente, estrangeiros), não queria saír de 2007 sem um regresso mais ao fado. Como também me têm pedido albuns originais coleccionáveis, julgo que este LP vai de encontro a muitos desses desejos.

Trata-se de um dos melhores trabalhos de Fernanda Maria, uma das duas fadistas mais queridas aqui do Rato (a outra é a Tereza Tarouca, da qual e infelizmente não possuo qualquer album de originais), gravado em 1973, no auge da carreira da fadista, a viver então uns esplenderosos 36 anos e ainda um dos principais atractivos do Bairro Alto, na casa típica “Lisboa à Noite”, onde actuava também o saudoso Manuel de Almeida.

Com acompanhamento de Jaime Santos à guitarra, Martinho de Assunção à viola e Raúl Silva no baixo, esta dúzia de pérolas liberta um som magnífico, forte e profundo, no seu estéreo bem equilibrado e preciso. Um som bem característico dos discos em vinil que infelizmente é hoje em dia muito difícil de ser imitado. O que evidentemente tem também o condão de realçar a belissima voz da fadista, uma voz que aperta o coração e traz a tristeza que faz entrar em fermentação o amor.

THE JOHNNY KIDD ANTHOLOGY

Originally a rock & roll band, The Pirates' greatest days were perhaps behind them when the beat boom began. Formed in 1958 when rock & roll was still in its first flush of youth in Britain, they enjoyed several hit records including the classic "Shakin' All Over", which was written by Kidd and was a British # 1 in 1960. They managed to sustain a seven-year career without ever releasing an album.
Kidd was a fine R&B singer and one of the few credible British pre-Beatles answers to American rock singers and in The Pirates he had one of the toughest-sounding groups in England. Born Fred Heath, Kidd was an uncompromising rocker from Willesden who avoided covering US hits and scored with original material. By the late 50s his skiffle group had evolved into a Gene Vincent-inspired rock group.
Kidd's stage act saw him wearing an eye-patch and wielding a cutlass, while his Pirates sported colourful swashbuckling gear and played in front of a galleon backdrop. The band endured a couple of barren years between 1960-62 when the music they played was at odds with the public taste for teen ballads, but had something of an Indian summer in 1963 as beat music was gaining in popularity. In 1964 Green left to join Billy J. Kramer's band, the Dakotas and was replaced by John Weider.
After the hits dried up the band continued working - predominantly on the Northern cabaret circuit - with various line-up changes. Kidd was in fact on his seventh group of Pirates when he was killed in a car accident near Manchester on October 7 1966. He was only 27.

JUCA AO VIVO OU MORTO

CARAMBA! LOS MACHUCAMBOS!

Original released on LP Decca PFS 4089 (1966)

One of the best albums of the original trio

"Pobre mendigo, queres uma mulher nua.......... mas só tens a lua para dormir contigo"

Edição Original em LP Zip Zip COM 104 L (1970)

Esta re-postagem é dedicada ao Luís, filho do José Almada, que ontem aqui deixou um comentário. E também no blog do meu amigo YéYé o qual, como qualquer bom jornalista que se preza, tratou logo de chegar à fala com o autor de "Mendigos". Sugiro aos interessados a leitura do post que o Luís Tita colocou hoje no seu blog.

Entretanto, aqui fica de novo este album, com arranjos e direcção de Pedro Osório, onde José Almada canta e toca viola, além de assinar todas as músicas das canções. Estão também incluídos os dois temas inéditos que apareceram no EP "Mendigos", editado nesse mesmo ano de 70, com supervisão de Thilo Krassman.

Na altura, José Almada disse que a sua maior desilusão era o facto de os mendigos não poderem comprar o disco dos Mendigos...

SAN REMO EN ESPAÑOL

CLUB INTERNATIONAL 2

EDIÇÃO ORIGINAL EM LP Gallotone

GALP 1053 (SOUTH AFRICA, 195?)

Curioso album do Quinteto de Archie Silansky que no final da década de 50 fazia as delícias dos apreciadores de música para dar um pézinho de dança.

Aqui é uma dúzia de medleys distribuídos por outros tantos países que deste modo se viam representados por algumas das suas melodias mais típicas. GRANDE orquestra, GRANDE som, GRANDE disco! Mais uma relíquia que aqui o vosso amigo Rato foi descobrir no baú dos tesouros esquecidos. E se algum sócio deste CLube 2 tiver entrada no outro Club, o primeiro, é favor trazer-nos a respectiva ficha de inscrição.

JUCA CHAVES AO VIVO, 1972

Nasceu no Rio e estudou em São Paulo, se interessando desde cedo por música e poesia. Estudou arranjo, contraponto, piano e teoria musical com renomados professores e na adolescência formou um grupo denominado Seresteiros de São Paulo. Desde os 18 anos fazia sátiras à situação política e econômica do Brasil, por meio de trovas e canções. Começou a fazer sucesso ao mesmo tempo em que estourava a bossa nova, no final dos anos 50, cantando num estilo meio paródico ao de João Gilberto. Sem nunca filiar-se ao movimento, compôs sátiras de sucesso utilizando seus fundamentos, como "Nasal Sensual", "Caixinha, Obrigado" e "Presidente Bossa Nova" (caricaturando/ exaltando o estilo de Juscelino Kubitschek). Auto-exila-se em Lisboa em 1962, onde continuou atuando com seu estilo caricatural de crítica satírica, tendo problemas com a censura, indo dessa vez para a Itália, onde viveu por cinco anos. Voltou ao Brasil em 1969, montando o espetáculo solo "Circo Sdruws". Nos anos 70 seu espetáculo "Vá Tomar Caju" viajou por todo o Brasil e apresentou programas de televisão. Outros êxitos de sua carreira são "Por Quem Sonha Ana Maria?", "Trenzinho Elétrico", "Take Me Back To Piauí", "Dona Maria Tereza" e "Brasil Já Vai à Guerra". Mantendo uma postura independente e combativa em relação não só ao meio político mas também ao mercado fonográfico (montou sua própria gravadora independente, a Sdruws Records e brigou pela numeração dos discos nos anos 80), continua se apresentando em espetáculos pelo país, em que canta modinhas, trovas e serestas, acompanhado pelo violão ou alaúde. (in CliqueMusic)

TRINI IN LONDON

Original Released on LP Reprise R-6238 (1967)

TRINI LOPEZ and LONDON go together like MINI SKIRTS and BIRDS. They're naturals. London, now the Crown City of What's Happening, is being immortalized by groups, by boutiques, by films, by everything this side of sliced bread, which is next. It's little wonder that Trini's most electrically alive LP was plugged and perfomed two miles deep in Chelsea.

Trini had been in London filming his costarring role in "The Dirty Dozen". He'd also been America's most dashing export to London since World War II. A natural night-lifer, Trini took on London bigger than anyone since Catherine of Anjou. He took London, turned it upside down, and shook out all its goodness-with-a-twist-of-rye.

Part of any such wild times in London had to be a wild new album. Trini's longtime collaborater in the record world, producer-arranger Don Costa, jetted over to London (who takes a boat?) to set up the sessions.

Anyone who suspects that London musicians balance teacups on their guitars will quickly undergo a blown mind after sampling this session. The rhythm, the drive, the excitement in "Trini Lopez in London" more than equals any of his domestic product.

Maybe it was a refreshing surrounding that did it. Maybe Trini, like the rest of London, was just a little bit more switched on.

Whatever happened... it happened.

(Original liner notes)

LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' XMAS!!!

REVIEWING SANDIE

ORIGINAL RELEASED ON LP PYE SPL 18323 (1969/12)

In December of 1969, right at the end of the most remarkable decade ever for recorded music, Pye Records released this fifth Sandie Shaw studio album proper Reviewing the Situation. This was an album that seemingly ran so counter to all that Sandie had released before or has happily celebrated it as her defining album producing debut.The album sported an in-vogue gatefold sleeve with psychedelic cover design (by Clifford Richards) featuring kaleidoscopic dedications ‘to the people who have, by their presence or ability influenced pop in the last decade’. This statement, printed on the inside of the gatefold, could equally be applied to the music.Kicking off with an upbeat version of Lionel Bart’s “Reviewing the Situation” from the hit musical Oliver!, Sandie next gives us her seductive take on Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”. A jangling “Mama Roux” is followed by a plaintive reading of The Bee Gees “Sun in my Eyes” and with a cabaret fuelled reading of Rufus Thomas’ 1963 hit “Walking the Dog” which closes side one.

A lounge-club favourite, a Latin jazz-lite recording of The Beatles’ debut single “Love Me Do” slides effortlessly into a quintessentially Shaw vocal on Donovan’s “Oh Gosh”. Next up, and astonishing if you contrast with the oom-path and kazoo of the “Think it All Over” single released only weeks earlier, is a gutsy take of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones’ “Your Time is Gonna Come” – giving Sandie Shaw the honour of being first known artist to cover a Led Zeppelin song.Downbeat again for “Coconut Grove” then to the closing the original album with a part genius / part insane (isn’t it always?) extended work out of The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”.“Frank Mills” (from Hair) and a beautiful a cappella version of Paul McCartney’s “Junk”, two previously unreleased tracks recorded around the same time as the album sessions, are included as bonus tracks.

A long lens judgement of Reviewing the Situation would be as a kind of historical ‘all back to mine’ album compiled and perfomed by the artist; a tantalising glimpse into 1969’s private musical world of Sandie Shaw. Which is exactly why this album, for all its apparent contradictions, is so vital. (Tris Penna)

CRVENI KORALJI

The band Crveni Koralji (The Red Corals) was formed in 1962. First name of the band was Crveni Djavoli (Red Devils). They were inspired by Cliff Richard and The Shadows. In the beginning they played mostly covers, but "Rekla si: volimo se" - first song they wrote was a big hit. Almost 100000 copies of the single were sold (there were about 120000 record players in that time in ex-Yugoslavia). They received about 10000 letters from their fans every month.
In summer of 1964 they have first tour around ex-Yugoslavia and become one of the most popular bands in that time. They won many awards on music festivals and they were nominated for the best band of ex Yugoslavia in music magazine "Ritam" for 3 times.
They were also support band to The Shadows when they were touring Yugoslavia. In july 1966 they won first price of International Beat Festival and among Yugoslav and Italian bands in Zagreb. In the same year they toured Germany. On their records from late 60's we can hear strong influence of early Byrds sound. They also recorded many songs for radio and TV - among others great cover of "Gloria".

Tracks:
1. Shadoogie
2. We Say Yeah
3. Napuljska Gitara
4. Dolazak (Y' Arriva)
5. Johnny Guitar
6. Rekla Si, Volimo Se
7. Perfidia
8. Dok Je Drugi Ljubi (Then He Kissed Me)
9. Maštanje (Don't Talk To Him)
10. Zambesi
11. Mona Lisa
12. Guitar Tango
13. Otidi Od Nje (You Better Move On)
14. Tema Mladih Ljubavnika (Theme For Young Lovers)
15. Da Sam Drvosjeca (If I Were A Carpenter)
16. Zvjezdana Noc (Cozy)

Relíquia descoberta no blog "Music News"

Obrigado, Orlando, e Feliz Natal!

MARTY GOLD: "MOOG PLAYS THE BEATLES"

Original Released as LP AVCO Embassy AVE 33003

(US,1969)

As Marty Gold's opus Moog Plays the Beatles promises on the cover - "Startling Sound Excitement! The Moog Synthesizer, plus the Beatles greatest hits!" The excitement, clearly, is still with us... Great instrumental versions of twelve Lennon & McCartney's classics can be found in this album.

Gold was assisted by Walter Sear, Moog's assistant for many years. The album uses conventional electric instruments, with the Moog played over the top. "I wanted to create a musically valid electronic album", he says on the cover. The great sleeve has two strange clay figures and distorted lettering, acheived by laying a plastic sheet over the type and photographing the results.

NOTE: Like always, American puritanism made its move and the front cover appeared with a tag over the parts of the little figures (not even dolls had the right to be sexual...). So, if you're curious to see the uncensored cover, just go here.

"TWIST et CHANTE"

Et pour tous les passionés de Sylvie

voici son deuxième album.

SIX CHRISTMAS CARDS YOU CAN USE

WALLPAPER:"A Special Christmas To You!"

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WALLPAPER: "Happy Christmas!!!"

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WALLPAPER: "The Fall of Santa"

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WALLPAPER: "Pink Christmas"

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WALLPAPER:"600 strip naked on Switzerland"

A GLOBAL WARNING PROTEST!

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Without clothes, the human body is vulnerable, exposed, its life or death at the whim of the elements. Global warming is stripping away our glaciers and leaving our entire planet vulnerable to extreme weather, floods, sea-level rise, global decreases in carrying capacity and agricultural production, fresh water shortages, disease and mass human dislocations.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the world only has eight years remaining to take the urgent action needed to curb catastrophic climate change. Without swift action, the damage could become irreversible. Never before has humanity been forced to grapple with such an immense environmental crisis.

Climate change now requires fast and courageous political decisions to radically cut green-house gas emissions and stabilise global warming. Governments around the world must know that the people they represent expect and demand them to take action.

Known around the world for his installations, Spencer Tunick wants people to know that global climate change is not an abstract issue, but a hazardous threat which affects us all.

"I want my images to go more than skin-deep. I want the viewers to feel the vulnerability of their existence and how it relates closely to the sensitivity of the world's glaciers", he said.

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VIENS DANSER LE TWIST!!!

Et avant les fêtes de Nöel voici de nouveau l'anthologie des Chats, laquelle votre ami souris vous avez donné il y a deux ans: ce sont 30 chansons qui représentent le meilleur de la première formule du groupe (1961/1962) avant que Dick Rivers s'en aille en été 62 pour embrasser une carrière en solo (il serait remplacé par Mike Shanon, jusqu' à la fin de la bande en 64), et qui démontre, s'il était nécessaire, l'importance de ce groupe mythique et légendaire du rock français du débout des années 60. Et bien, madames et monsieurs, les garçons et les filles, viens tous twister avec Jean-Claude Roboly (John Rob), Gérard Roboly (James Fawler), Gérard Jacquemus (Jack Regard), William Taïeb (Willy Lewis) et, naturellement, Hervé Forneri (Dick Rivers)

HERB ALPERT'S NINTH

Original released as A&M LP 134/SP 4134,

December 1967

Arranged by Herb Alpert
Engineered by Larry Levine
Recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios
Album Design by Corporate Head
Art Director: Tom Wilkes
Produced by Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss

This was the very first album that in the late sixties has introduced me to the swingin' Herb Alpert and to the excitement of the Tijuana Brass sounds. Since then I've bought all the great albums of the band, but this was my first one. And the sentence «there's no love like the first one» applies here too: I felt wonderfully happy when I received a couple of days ago this special deluxe packaging cd with a meticulously remastered sound. I think the trully Tijuana's lovers should buy the re-issues of all those fantastic albums that are being available again.
Issued in December 1967, Herb Alpert's Ninth reached the #4 spot on the Pop Albums chart, spending a total of 18 weeks in the Top 40. "A Banda" was a Top 40 Pop hit, and "Carmen" and "The Happening" both made the AC Top 5.
The cover art of Herb Alpert's Ninth is hilarious - a bust of grim old Beethoven wearing a Herb Alpert sweatshirt, a parody of the pop icon fad going around at the time and maybe a comment on the rock world's newfound pretensions in the wake of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper. In any case, Herb Alpert's Ninth does introduce some highbrow pretensions of sorts to Alpert's Ameriachi sound - some very subtly applied strands of strings on several numbers and a madcap, multi-sectioned fantasy of tunes from Bizet's "Carmen" that is full of in-jokes from the opera and the TJB's hits. Alpert is also quite aware of the brave new world around him; he does a spare, lazy, yet entirely novel-sounding cover version of Sgt. Pepper's "With a Little Help from My Friends" and gives the Supremes' "The Happening" a bouncy workout. There is also a touching memorial to the late Ervan Coleman ("Bud") and another underrated contribution from the Alpert songwriting team, Sol Lake's swinging "Cowboys and Indians." The TJB still churns out the Latin American rhythms, but sometimes with a shade less exuberance. (Richard S. Ginell in AllMusic)

«Introducing the first Brasil '66 record, I became aware of the incredible music coming out of that country. A handful of Brazilian artists were pushing the envelope. "A Banda" was one of the songs that lent itself to the TJB sound. That was our first but certainly not our last attempt at recording the extraordinary and innovative music of Brazil» (Herb Alpert)

"WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS"

HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS:
"WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS"
Original released as A&M LP 110, April 1965

Arranged by Herb Alpert
Engineered by Larry Levine
Recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios
Album Design by Corporate Head
Produced by Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss

One more classic album from Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, this time the one with that cover. Even today I don't know what I like the best: if the great music if the gorgeous lady on the cover. By the way, her name was Dolores Erickson, she was three-months pregnant and wasn't really covered in whipped cream (she wore a far less salacious gown of shaving cream). But that did not stop the image from becoming as famous as any of Alpert's previous chart-topping hits. As Esquire magazine put it in a 1989 tribute to the cover, «Here is what lust looked like in 1966». Indeed, its risqué invitation to sexual fantasy made it a must-have for intergenerational ogling by '60s fathers and sons. On first thought the Tijuana Brass audience skewed more toward parents than rock 'n' roll kids, but the tongue-wagging cover of Whipped Cream & Other Delights helped make it official: There were no prerequisites when it came to being a fan of the Tijuana Brass. As Whipped Cream's original notes put it, «The teens were there, but so were the hippies and the squares, the little old ladies and the screen starlets, the celebrities and those who make them celebrities.»
Building on the commercial success of the first three Brass records, Whipped Cream & Other Delights spent a total of 141 weeks in the Top 40 (and 61 weeks in the Top 10). Beginning in November of 1965, Whipped Cream clung to #1 for eight weeks straight. The cover, of course, was only part of the story. The music inside confirmed that Alpert's earlier Tijuana adventures weren't novelty flukes, but the baby steps of the '60s most important, and most successful, instrumental pop arranger.

Singing the facts of Love

Original Released on LP Reprise RS-6202 (1966/01)

"How should I sing this?"

"Like a 16 year old girl who's been dating a 40 year old man, but it's all over now."

She looks good, dresses good, lives good, eats, drinks, loves, breathes, dances, sings, cries good. Five foot three and tiger eyes. A mouth made for lollipops or kisses, stingers or melting smiles. Ninety-five pounds of affection.

She's been there already. Barely in her twenties, she looks younger. That look, like Lolita Humbert, like Daisy Clover. The power to exalt, or to destroy, wanting only the former, but unafraid to invoke the latter if the time comes.

The eyes that see through, know more, look longer. Unafraid to pull on the boots again, toss off a burnt out thing with a casual "So long, babe", and get.

A young fragile living thing, on its own in a wondrous-wicked-woundup-wasted-wild-worried-wisedup-warmbodied world. On her own. Earning her daily crepes and Cokes by singing the facts of love. Her voice tells as much as her songs. No faked up grandure, her voice is like it is: a little tired, little put down, a lot loving.

No one is born sophisticated. It's a place you have to crawl to, crawling out of hayseed country, over miles of unsanded pavement, past trouble, past corners and forks with no auto club signs to point you, till you get there and you wake up wiser.

She's arrived. She sings you about the long crawl. And makes you have to listen. She's there.

Stan Cornyn (original LP liner notes)

IT'S HIP! IT'S ZACHARIAS!

Hip (hip), n. 1. the part of the human body surrounding and including the joint formed by each thigh bone and the pelvis; especially, the fleshy part of the upper thigh; haunch.

Depending on your outlook, you either have hips (in the conventional anatomic sense) or you are hip (in the present-day verb sense) or you’re flexible and lucky enough to have what amounts to hip hips, ie. the best of both worlds. If at that point you’ve managed to categorize yourself and you’ve landed in the second or third pigeon hole, you are enjoying the very delightful company of Helmut Zacharias, a German virtuoso violinist-composer-arranger-conductor who most definitely has hip hips.
What made Helmut hip? It began in Berlin forty-nine years ago when he was born on January 27th which is Beethoven’s birthday and a very hip beginning. Helmut grew and grew under the tutelage of his father, a symphony violinist and composer and his mother, a concert singer, until, at the age of three he could play a pretty mean violin. By the time he reached sixteen, Helmut had joined the nationally famous Berlin Chamber Orchestra. At nineteen he discovered jazz and much like today’s young pop music heads, became deeply involved with his new love, composing and arranging even in the most out-of-the-way moments.
In 1950 Zacharias became famous for his technique of over-dubbing (recording, then rerecording the same piece over the original). Thus were born the »Magic Violins«, the absolute and end sound of their day. Two years later came the Zacharias hit »Lilacs in the Rain« which reached the top of almost every country’s music chart. So far, so hip.

But today Zacharias has achieved the ultimate degree of – you can guess – hipness. He has developed »Talking Violins«. And you should hear what they say! Things like Come on Baby, light my fire and I can’t get no satisfaction, I can get no girly action. That’s just how hip Helmut got. He takes his fantastic musical genius and plunges it deep into the worlds of Rock, Soul and Swinging Hip. He creates dinner music for the hip-over-thirties with Bill Medley’s Brown Eyed Woman, Otis Redding’s Respect, The Stone’s Satisfaction, Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man, Aretha Franklin’s The House That Jack Built, Dionne Warwick’s I Say A Little Prayer and another half truckload of the most contemporary, most hip music you can hear on the radio today.
Helmut’s been hip ever since he was born on Beethoven’s birthday almost fifty years ago… but it’s just now on this album that we’re finding out exactly how hip!
(original linernotes of the 1969 release)

JET BLACK'S (1962 - 1966)

Já que nos encontramos numa época festiva, Rato Records resolveu distribuir alguns presentes através do re-upload de alguns posts antigos que têm tido várias solicitações para esse efeito.

Aqui vai o primeiro, para o António G (Toninho),

com os votos de um Feliz Natal.

Portanto, quem quiser ter acesso a links que já não estejam disponíveis há muito tempo, é aproveitar esta espécie de discos pedidos, enquanto o espírito natalício do Rato dura.

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Grupo brasileiro constituído por:

Gato: guitarra e teclado

Orestes: guitarra

José Paulo: baixo

Jurandi: bateria

Ernestico: saxofone

Formado na Cidade de São Paulo em 1961. Inicialmente, seu nome era The Vampires, porém, logo foi modificado para o atual em homenagem ao grupo inglês Shadows, dos quais um dos maiores sucessos foi o tema"Jet Black". Além dos Shadows, outra influência do grupo foi a do conjunto norte-americano The Ventures. Ambos tinham como repertório básico rocks e twists instrumentais feitos para bailes. Em 1962, assinaram com a Chantecler e lançaram seu primeiro disco, um 78 rpm, no qual fizeram dois covers dos Shadows: "Apache" e "Kon-Tiki". Com o sucesso da estréia, a gravadora investiu no grupo com o lançamento de dois LPs. O primeiro, lançado ainda no mesmo ano, foi "Hully Gully", e o segundo foi gravado no ano seguinte, "Twist - The Jet Blacks again". Ao longo da década de 1960 foi um dos grupos mais requisitados para shows e gravações de intérpretes como Celly Campelo, Ronnie Cord (que acompanhou na gravação do sucesso "Rua Augusta"), Roberto Carlos, Sérgio Reis e outros astros da Jovem Guarda. Em 1965, passaram a fazer gravações vocais e lançaram o LP "Jet Blacks", no qual se destacaria a regravação do clássico do rock norte-americano "Suzie Q", de Dale Hawkins. Ainda no mesmo ano, gravaram aquele que seria seu maior sucesso: "Tema para jovens enamorados", versão para "Theme for young lovers", lançado em compacto que incluía também "Suzie Q". A partir de 1968, o guitarrista Gato saiu e foi substituído por Guilherme Dotta. Com o declínio da Jovem Guarda, no final dos anos sessenta, o grupo entrou em crise apresentando várias formações, sempre em torno de Jurandi. Na década de 1970, caíram no ostracismo e encerraram as suas atividades, somente retomadas no início da década seguinte, com a revitalização do rock no Brasil. Em 1982, os remanescentes do grupo, Jurandi e Guilherme, assinaram com a Som Livre e lançaram o LP "Rides again", com novas versões para sucessos da década de 1960. Em 1998, Douglas Dotta, filho de Guilherme, retomou o trabalho do grupo. Participaram das comemorações referentes aos 30 anos da Jovem Guarda, regravando "Apache" para a caixa de CDs "30 anos da Jovem Guarda", lançada pela PolyGram, em 1995.

(in Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música Popular Brasileira)

HAPPY XMAS FOR ALL RATO'S FRIENDS!!!

WALLPAPER: "Santa's mistress"

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CHANSONS IMMORTELLES 2

WALLPAPER: "Les Champs Elysées, Paris"

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Photograph by Francisco Hidalgo (éditions agep)

CHANSONS IMMORTELLES 1

EP Columbia SLEM 2203 (PT, 1964)

DANIEL BACELAR

"Um Mundo Sem Amor"

Notas: Quarto EP de Daniel Bacelar (terceiro a solo) gravado em 1964 para a Valentim de Carvalho, no qual, à semelhança do anterior (editado excepcionalmente pela Alvorada), é acompanhado pelo grupo The Gentlemen. O disco inclui “Um Mundo Sem Amor”, a versão portuguesa de “A World Without Love”, da autoria de Paul McCartney e oferecida por este a Peter Asher (irmão mais velho de Jane Asher, a então namorada de Paul) que a celebrizou através do Duo Peter & Gordon (nº1 nas tabelas inglesas em Abril de 1964).

A interpretação do nosso Daniel Bacelar é das melhores versões que conheço (e conheço umas dezenas largas), tendo a vantagem de adornar a canção com o doce sotaque da língua portuguesa (já muitos estrangeiros me têm falado, para meu espanto, da “doçura” da nossa língua, eu que pensava que para eles nós soávamos a russo ou coisa parecida). Incompreensivelmente esta magnífica versão ficou de fora da coletânea “All You Need Is Lisboa” que a VC editou há três anos atrás. Talvez que um dia destes apareça nos escaparates um 2º volume de versões portuguesas de temas dos Beatles e que esta negligência seja reparada. Até lá podem escutá-la no último volume das Nostalgias do Rato.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

RITA PAVONE & PAUL ANKA IN GERMAN

Original Released in LP RCA-VICTOR LSP 10011 (1964)

Um grande disco yéyé!

EP Columbia SLEM 2313 (PT, 1968)

DUO OURO NEGRO

"Pata Pata"

EP Columbia SLEM 2103 (PT, 1961)

OURO NEGRO

"Garota"

RATO'S NOSTALGIA COLLECTION 45

EP PHILIPS 437.380 BE (FR, 1967)

JOHNNY HALLYDAY

"San Francisco"

EP RCA-VICTOR 87.071 (FR, 1968)

SYLVIE VARTAN

"Baby Capone"

EP Vogue EPL 8401 (FR, 1965)

ANTOINE

"La Guerre"

EP DISC AZ EP 1024 (FR, 1966)

MICHEL POLNAREFF

"La Poupée Qui Fait Non"

POLNAREFF 66

Michel Polnareff (né le 3 juillet 1944 à Nérac) c'est l’un des seuls artistes français, avec Gainsbourg, à avoir su imposer un style novateur et anglo-saxon. Mélodiste et musicien hors pair, ce « prince de la pop française » est aussi un mythe de par son apparence et son mystère. Ses œuvres ont fait preuve d’une originalité et d’une richesse rares dans le monde de la musique. Il demeure aujourd’hui l’unique artiste capable de s’absenter plus de dix ans de son pays et revenir y faire un triomphe.

Michel Polnareff a passé toute son enfance dans la musique. Son père Léo Poll a écrit pour Edith Piaf et Mouloudji. Polnareff commence le piano à 5 ans et reçoit à 11 ans et demi le premier prix de solfège au conservatoire de Paris. À 20 ans, il quitte le cocon familial, la faute à un père trop autoritaire et trop violent. Il s’installe sur les marches du sacré cœur avec une guitare qu’il a achetée chez Beuscher avec ses économies. Ses premières notes seront celles de “La poupée qui fait non”. Il appartient à un groupe de beatnik (mouvement pacifiste) et fait la manche en reprenant les standards rock de l’époque. En 1965, il remporte un concours de rock "Disco Revue" à la Locomotive, club alors branché. Le premier prix est un contrat avec Barclay. Polnareff refuse… Nous comprendrons plus tard qu’en fait, Michel n’a pas envie de devenir célèbre. Il préfère écrire pour les autres alors il va tout faire pour qu’aucun accord avec une maison de disque ne soit possible.
Gérard Woog, son ami d’enfance, insiste pour le présenter à Lucien Morisse, patron d’Europe 1 et futur manager. Michel accepte de signer sur le label AZ à condition d’enregistrer à Londres avec Jimmy Page à la guitare et John Paul Jones à la basse (futurs Led Zeppelin). À son grand étonnement, la maison de disque accepte. “La poupée qui fait non” sort le 26 mai 1966 et connaîtra un véritable triomphe. Elle fut reprise par beaucoup d’artistes, y compris Jimi Hendrix.
Polnareff ne laisse personne indifférent. Son style anglo-saxon (tout comme Gainsbourg ou Dutronc), ses mélodies exceptionnelles tournant parfois même à la symphonie classique (telle "Ame câline"), son look androgyne (qui n’arrêtera plus d’évoluer) ou encore ses textes (prônant la liberté sexuelle avant l’heure) constituent un ensemble qui fera de lui un véritable mythe. La presse ne le lâche plus et le considère comme une preuve de la décadence à cause de son look jugé efféminé (point commun avec Bowie) et de ses textes qui choquent; "L'amour avec toi" est d'ailleurs supprimé d'antenne avant 22h. Une invitation à la débauche dans cette France gaullienne. Malgré tout cela, Polnareff est reconnu par beaucoup. Charles Trenet est de ceux-là.
Il reçoit de nombreux prix quelques mois après et enchaîne les tubes…de la complainte “Love me please love me" au gothique "Bal des Laze" en passant par l’existentiel "Sous quelle étoile suis-je-né ?" ou encore l’électrique et revanchard “Roi des fourmis”. Tout ce qu’il touche se transforme en or. Il est non seulement capable de composer de superbes mélodies et d’être souvent l’auteur (ou le co-auteur) de ses textes mais aussi d’arranger ses musiques de manière assez originale et complexe tout en utilisant des procédés “curieux” afin d’obtenir un son qui lui convienne. On se souviendra notamment du système de quadriphonie pour le disque “Polnareff’s” (aussi utilisé par les Beatles ou Gainsbourg par exemple) mais aussi du lasso pour enregistrer les chœurs de “On ira tous au paradis” ou encore des coups de pieds de micro dans le mur afin d’accentuer le son de batterie de “Holidays”. La musique et le son des mots constituent sa seule priorité. Il utilise d’ailleurs de nombreux instruments venus d’Angleterre tels que les orgues mellotron si chers aux Moody Blues.
Polnareff devient célèbre dans toute l'Europe et obtient de nombreuses récompenses à l'étranger. Les critiques Anglais, pourtant très sévères envers la musique française, voient en lui un artiste susceptible de les intéresser.

En 1967, il monte pour la première fois à l'Olympia. Il continue d'enchaîner les tubes comme "Dans la maison vide" ou "Tous les bateaux..". En 1970, il revient à l'Olympia et entame une tournée. Sur scène, il est novateur. Mi-concert, mi-spectacle, les musiciens sont encastrés sur une scène verticale et de nombreux automates envahissent la scène. L’ambiance est baroque et mystérieuse, il le seul en France à vouloir présenter autre chose sur scène qu’« un simple chanteur devant un micro ».

Toujours en 1970, il répond à toutes les critiques sur son apparence et son mode de vie avec la chanson "Je suis un homme". Agressé lors d'un concert, il annule les autres dates de sa tournée dont un concert symphonique au Palais des sports. Il est déprimé; la mort de Lucien Morisse en 1971, celui qui l'a lancé, et une crise sentimentale vont être la cause d'une nouvelle dépression. En 1971, il refait une tournée et ensuite va rejoindre Johnny Hallyday au Palais des sports en tant que pianiste pour son show, histoire de s’amuser un peu en reprenant quelques standards du rock. C'est lors de ce concert qu'il va apparaître avec son nouveau look; il porte désormais de grosses lunettes noires à montures blanches ainsi que de longs cheveux blonds et ondulés. Il gardera cette apparence et ces lunettes si particulières qui sont devenus une marque de fabrique. En 1971, il compose la bande originale du film "Ca n'arrive qu'aux autres" de Nadine Trintignant et du film "La folie des grandeurs" de Gérard Oury avec Louis De Funès et Yves Montand. Il fait alors l’unanimité en tant que compositeur de musiques de films. Le thème très “Morriconien” de “la folie des grandeurs” est par ailleurs resté dans toutes les têtes.
Cette année est aussi celle de son disque “Polnareff’s”, considéré par beaucoup comme son chef-d’œuvre, à classer à côté du fabuleux “Melody Nelson” de Serge Gainsbourg. Mélangeant chansons et instrumentaux, ce court album (35 min) est d’une richesse rare. Enregistré à Abbey Road avec un système de quadriphonie, les orchestres sont dirigés par A. King, B. Sheperd, ou par Polnareff lui-même. Mêlant jazz (Né dans un ice cream), pop (le désert n’est plus en Afrique) et soul (Hey you woman), “Polnareff’s” est une claque. L’instrumental “Voyages” avec sa basse jazzy (tenue par Herbie Flower, bassiste de Lou Reed) annonce de suite la couleur et la ballade larmoyante “À midi à minuit” clôt le disque en beauté. Fou de son et de nouvelles technologies, il utilise des orgues tels que le moog sur l’instrumental “Computer’s dream”.

En 1972, il écrit "La mouche", "Holydays" et "On ira tous au paradis". C'est aussi l'année du concert "Polnarévolution" à l'Olympia. Les 6.000 affiches de ce concert vont d'ailleurs faire scandale car Polnareff avait décidé de montrer ses fesses histoire de mettre une pointe d'originalité. Le tribunal correctionnel le condamnera à payer 10 francs par affiche...motif: attentat à la pudeur. Ce concert était une fois de plus une innovation. C’était tout d’abord le premier concert Français à bénéficier du son 5.1. Les musiciens et les instruments étaient tous habillés de paillettes argentées et de nombreux effets venaient égayer le concert. L’introduction était assez osée puisqu’une danseuse déguisée en Polnareff arrivait de dos et baissait son pantalon (en référence à l’affiche).
En mars 1973, Polnareff crée un spectacle de nouvelles chansons nommé "Polnarêve". Il fera l’objet d’un disque contenant entre autres le très mélancolique “l’homme qui pleurait des larmes de verre”. L’arrangeur fétiche de Gainsbourg, J.C Vannier, sera de la partie. Revenant d'une tournée internationale, en été 1973, il découvre que son déficit bancaire se calcule en millions de francs; il a été escroqué par son homme d'affaires. Sa mère décède au même moment et Polnareff, déprimé, doit faire une nouvelle cure de sommeil avant de s'exiler aux USA à bord du paquebot "France". Il finit par s'installer à Los Angeles. (Pour en savoir plus vas à Wikipédia)

EP RCA VICTOR 86.022 (FR, 1963)

SYLVIE VARTAN

"Sylvie A Nashville"

EP DISC AZ EP 1053 (FR, 1966)

MICHEL POLNAREFF

"Love Me Please Love Me"

EP VOGUE EPL 8291 (PT, 1964)

FRANÇOISE HARDY

"Je Veux Qu'il Revienne"

SYLVIE VARTAN: SON PREMIER 33 TOURS

Parce que moi j'ai deux amours,

après La Françoise voici La Sylvie!

Twenty and seven years without him

«I was with Sean in the kitchen with the bread. I kept thinking, 'well, I ought to be inspired to write about Sean'. I was going through a bit of that, and when I finally gave up on thinking about weiting a song about him, of course, the song came to me.»

«Sometimes you wonder, I mean, really wonder. I know we make our own reality and we always have a choice. But how much is preordained? Is there always a fork in the road. and are there two preordained paths that are equally preordained? There could be hundreds of paths where one could go this way or that way - there's a choice and it's very strange sometimes...»

"Why Don't We Sing This All Together?"

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Rato Records invites you to (re)discover this unique album in all the Stones' discography, which many critics have turned down when it was released. Now, four decades later, it finally achieves the place it deserves in music landmarks. So, my friends, let's go to Citadel, in another land, and in another time, a time that is 2000 light years from home.

HAVE A NICE JOURNEY!

A product of the Stones’ annus horribilis, Their Satanic Majesties Request seems to have been initially conceived as a blissed-out summer soundtrack of beatific flower power songs such as “Dandelion”, “She’s a Rainbow” and the possibly mythical “English Summer”.
Just after the release of Between The Buttons LP, in late January, 1967, the Stones begun the recording of new songs for the next album to come. However, the process would be a long and sporadic one, broken up by court appearances and jail terms in which the band’s members were involved.

Mick Jagger, along with his then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, went with The Beatles (plus Pattie Boyd and Jane Asher) to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Bangor, North Wales, on the 25th August. Two months earlier, on the 25th June, both Mick and Marianne were also present (with Brian Jones) in the worldwide broadcast of “All You Need Is Love”, recorded at EMI studios, London, as part of the first live international program “Our World”, seen in 24 countries by 400 million people.

On the 1st June The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s…, which caused a very great impact in the world of music. Once more everyone wanted to follow The Beatles’ example and Decca, The Stones’ label, was no exception; and so they begun to think about the answer the Stones should provide. The result would be Their Satanic Majesties Request, named ‘cause of the words on the inside of a British passport, “Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State requests and requires…” (the album was originally to be called “Cosmic Christmas”. The Stones even cut a track named “We wish you a cosmic joke”). In South Africa the album was released as “The Stones Are Rolling” because of the word Satanic.

They even engaged Michael Cooper, the designer/photographer of Sgt. Pepper’s… cover, to do the Majesties graphics. Initial releases of the album featured a three-dimensional picture of the band on the front of the gatefold cover (looking closely one can see the heads of the Beatles’ members). Later editions replaced the glued-on 3-dimensional image with a standard photo. Other trivia about the album’s artwork was the maze on the inside cover, which cannot be completed – one can never arrive at the “It’s Here” in the centre.

«It might best be described as a kind of show, a voyage into the beyond, an abstract musical experience to capture the new dimension in music the Stones and Decca Records have come up with», said Leslie Perrin on Decca press release. Mick Jagger was just more straight on his commentary: «It’s just another album. It’s different from the others we’ve done and it’s different from the next we will do. But it’s still just an album. The work on this album is not a landmark or a milestone or anything pretentious like that. All we have tried to do is make an album we like, with some sounds that haven’t been done before».

Released in December 8 in the UK (and in the following day in America), Their Satanic Majesties Request was not well-received by the critics, although it sold many copies, easily going gold, and reaching #3 in the UK (#2 in the US). In America two singles were extracted from the album: “On another land / The lantern”, issued one week earlier, on the 2nd December (London 45-907) and “She’s a rainbow / 2000 light years from home” issued on the 23th December (London 45-906). No singles were released on the UK, but these last two songs were recorded by BBC Television for the Top of the Pops show, which aired on the 21th December as a promotion for the album.

In retrospect this is a unique and creative contribution by the Stones, far from the prior albums of the band. Maybe it’s the reason why it has been labeled like a “strange” album since then and unfairly undervalued. Indeed, very few rock albums reflects so well the experimental and psychedelic moods of that era, with its inventive arrangements, which incorporated some African rhythms, mellotrons and full orchestration. Never before or since the Stones take so many chances in the studio. In 1968 the Stones would go back to the basics, and never wander down these paths again, making this all the more of a fascinating anomaly in the group’s discography.

Much of Satanic Majesties was the brain child of Brian Jones, who could play almost any instrument. Brian wanted to showcase what The Rolling Stones where about, and what they could do. For those of you who weren’t there, Brian was the one who actually put all of this together, but kids gravitate to the lead singer as the leader, and over time Mick did take on that role, forcing Brian out, but not before the completion of Their Satanic Majesties Request.

Brian wanted to take the initial Blues concept of the Stones and give it a fresh vision, and the psychedelic music and times offered that option. There is still a heavy blues influence to be felt in this record, but it’s the way these simple cords are challenged and tied together that makes it an outstanding product of it’s time. Looking just a couple of years ahead to 1969 and the rise of Led Zeppelin, you will find that John Paul Jones along with Brian was an arranger of these sessions. And we all know what a great band Led Zeppelin came to be.

All members of the group were using a wide variety of drugs during these days, as were most of us, and the feeling those drugs induced, along with the intermixing of the culture from India, played a great part in the times and tone of this record, wich explore the downside of the acid experienjce, with mounting paranoia and suffocating claustrophobia replacing the Fabs’ pastoral idyllism and cosmic buffoon naivety. This was one album on which a splendor time for all could not be guaranteed.

With the back-to-basics brilliance of Beggar’s Banquet («after Satanic Majesties we wanted to make a Stones album», remarked a caustic Keith Richards) just around the corner, the Stones’ brief dalliance with acid rock was soon forgotten, though a new generation of psych enthusiasts and rock-crit revisionists have latterly elevated Their Satanic Majesties Request to the position of flawed masterpiece.

The Rolling Stones' London/ABKCO catalog was reissued in August of 2002, packaged in digipacks with restored album artwork, remastered, and released as hybrid discs that contain both CD and Super Audio CD layers. The remastering — performed with Direct Stream Digital (DSD) encoding — is a drastic improvement, leaping out of the speaker yet still sounding like the original albums. This is noticeable on the standard CD layer but is considerably more pronounced on the SACD layer, which is shockingly realistic in its detail and presence yet is still faithful to the original mixes; Keith Richards' revved-up acoustic guitar on "Street Fighting Man" still sends the machine into overdrive, for instance. It just sounds like he's in the room with you. Even if you've never considered yourself an audiophile, have never heard the differences between standard and gold-plated CDs, you will hear the difference with SACD, even on a cheap stereo system without a high-end amplifier or speakers.

STONES DO OUTRO MUNDO

Their Satanic Majesties Request, 40 anos depois

Their Satanic Majesties Request é um disco maldito.
Em Dezembro de 1967, quando o album foi dado a ouvir ao mundo, uma terrível maldição catalogou-o como pálida resposta a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, aclamada obra dos Beatles editada uns meses antes. E os Rolling Stones foram acusados de todas as desgraças da humanidade.

Condenou-se o capricho de uma capa psicadélica em 3-D de produção caríssima, milhares de horas de estúdio consumidas em LSD, e o desvio da crueza e frontalidade de "Satisfaction" ou "Get Off of My Cloud" a favor de uma aparente falta de direcção musical. O crítico-historiador Nik Cohn sentenciou o fim dos Stones, considerando a obra das coisas mais maçudas da História do Rock, e o próprio Keith Richards, anos mais tarde, referiu-se ao LP como «a load of crap».

Obviamente, tratou-se de uma condenação injusta. Enquanto Sgt. Pepper’s foi a banda sonora da cultura Hippie, do movimento Peace and Love, e do Verão do Amor californiano, esbanjando optimismo, cor, e perfeição musical, Their Satanic, em todo o seu esplendor caótico, assinalou oportunamente o início da ressaca de uma época também ela com o seu quê de decepcionante.

Verdade seja dita, o disco é uma verdadeira carta fora do baralho no rico e extenso historial discográfico dos Rolling Stones. E se Aftermath (1966) e Between The Buttons (1967), tal como os singles "Paint It Black" ou "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow", já indiciavam uma viragem para um universo sonoro mais Pop-experimental-ou-psicadélico e eminentemente britânico, Their Satanic revela-nos uns Stones que nunca mais tivemos a oportunidade de ouvir. Uns Stones perdidos no tempo. Uns Stones do outro mundo.

Gravado durante o famigerado annus horribilis da banda, de prisões por posse de droga e outros fait-divers traumáticos, Their Satanic registou para a posteridade uma excelente colecção de canções pseudo-cósmicas, ornamentadas por melodias e arranjos absolutamente brilhantes. A música americana, fonte do som original da banda, está completamente ausente do disco, porém, é impossível escapar ao apelo futurista de "2000 Light Years From Home", "The Lantern", "Gomper", ou "2000 Man". Depois, o disco ainda inclui a rara, e bem sucedida, incursão de Bill Wyman na composição e interpretação vocal, "In Another Land", e a barroca orquestração de John Paul Jones – futuro membro dos Led Zeppelin – no clássico "She’s a Rainbow".

Hoje, podemos constatar como em 67 os Stones estavam bem mais próximos das visões vanguardistas de Syd Barrett do que das viagens místicas dos Beatles. Aliás, não será por acaso que Their Satanic é considerado o álbum psicadélido que mais influenciou os Punks, Pós-Punks, Góticos, Indies e afins. "Citadel", uma das canções seminais do album, soa como um anúncio das décadas seguintes!
Para os Vinyl Junkies como eu, aconselho sempre que oiçam a versão original mono do disco, na sua versão americana (London) ou inglesa (Decca). Certos sons tornam-se surpreendentemente presentes, e o som geral do disco apresenta-se notoriamente mais denso.
Quanto ao objecto em si, é maravilhoso. Dos mais desejados no submundo do vinil. Segundo a bíblia da Record Collector, o Rare Record Price Guide, existe uma edição promocional do LP (Decca TXL/TXS 103 – 1967) cuja capa é forrada a seda. Nunca vi tal Pedra de Roseta, mas pagaria para ver. As cópias são avaliadas por uma quantia tão obscena que me escuso de revelar.

Entretanto, na foto de Michael Cooper em 3-D é possível decifrar por entre a vegetação, aos pés da banda, as cabeças dos Fab Four. E ao abrir-se a capa em dois, descobre-se uma interessante profusão de elementos cujo motivo central é um labirinto que não vai dar a lado nenhum.

Sou fã do Their Satanic desde os 13 anos de idade. Comprei a minha primeira cópia na Compasso de Campo de Ourique. Era uma pobre reedição portuguesa desprovida do esplendor da foto em 3-D. Somente anos depois, numa discoteca madrilena junto à Gran Via, experimentei a suprema felicidade de adquirir uma cópia original.
Para sempre gravada na minha memória estará a noite de 10 de Junho de 1990 quando a Urban Jungle Tour passou por Lisboa. Foi a primeira vez dos Stones em Portugal. E não imaginam o meu espanto ao ouvir "2000 Light Years From Home" ao vivo, no palco de Alvalade. Também a minha adolescência foi resgatada naquele instante.
Their Satanic Majesties Request está de parabéns. Sobreviveu 40 anos. Tal como eu próprio. E enquanto a minha vida for conduzida por discos assim, a felicidade não terá fim. Mesmo que seja apenas por um momento. Satânico, claro…

Pedro de Freitas Branco

Rio de Janeiro, 7 de Dezembro de 2007

EP COLUMBIA SLEM 2325 (PT, 1968)

QUARTETO 1111

"Dona Vitória"

Notas: Terceiro EP do Quarteto 1111, com a inovadora capa circular e com um contexto de críticas mordazes ao regime num modo mais directo do que até então era costume no grupo

O vinil português mais valioso?

Edição Original em LP Guilda da Música / Sassetti

DP 025 (Dezembro de 1973)

Os Petrus Castrus, com vida pública entre 1971 e 79, foram um dos raros grupos do rock português de 70 que chegaram a gravar álbuns e a gozar alguma visibilidade no seu tempo. Pedro Castro, o líder histórico do grupo, não tem explicação para o facto de "Mestre" (álbum de estreia, de 1973) se ter transformado no mais raro e caro dos álbuns de música portuguesa no circuito de coleccionismo internacional. «Cheguei a ver o disco a 500 euros», disse ao DN sobre a edição em vinil, original, lançada pela Sassetti. O disco, agora, regressa aos escaparates na sua primeira edição em CD. «Há tempos fiz uma incursão na Internet, e apercebi-me que há coleccionadores fanáticos que pagam estas somas por este disco, em vinil», exclama o músico. E de facto assim é. Em feiras do disco, à escala internacional, "Mestre" é um dos discos portugueses mais disputados, juntamente com outras raridades como "Dez Mil Anos Depois Entre Vénus e Marte", de José Cid ou "Ascensão e Queda", também dos Petrus Castrus, ambos de 1978. Este último teve já edição em CD, assegurada por um editor sul-coreano. «Não tínhamos a menor ideia onde gravitávamos, mas existe um conjunto de admiradores, que nunca foi sequer fomentado», sublinha Pedro Castro.

"Mestre" surge em CD pela primeira vez, devolvendo aos escaparates das discotecas um dos raros álbuns de rock do Portugal de inícios de 70. «O Nuno Rodrigues [da CNM e que, em 1978, foi produtor de "Ascensão e Queda"] tem a trabalhar com ele o João Carlos Calixto, um estudioso da música, que lhe falou dos Petrus Castrus», relata. Fizeram-se os contactos. «Por sorte, eu tinha as fitas magnéticas originais e a reedição não teve de ser picada do vinil», acrescenta. «Ouvir de novo isto, revigorou-me», confessa. «Havia aqui, do ponto de vista plástico, um conjunto de intenções interessantes, e que sobreviveram ao tempo. O próprio José Fortes [técnico que remasterizou a edição] disse que ouviu este disco com um agrado que não estava à espera».

«Isto, na altura, foi o resultado do trabalho de miúdos sonhadores, mas com uma força anímica brutal», explica. Os Petrus Castrus eram uma banda "irreverente" e, de certa forma, "diferente", como descreve o seu mentor. Foram alvo de atenção da censura antes de 1974, mas o próprio Pedro Castro, em pessoa, foi ao CNI e voltou com a autorização de edição nas mãos. O pós-25 de Abril também não foi fácil, lembrando o músico que, na altura, os "baladeiros" eram quem tinha visibilidade e prioridade. A reedição de "Mestre" devolve o nome, esquecido, às atenções.

EP A VOZ DO DONO 7LEM 3178 (PT, 1966)

QUINTETO ACADÉMICO

"Reach Out I'll Be There"

EP RCA VICTOR TP 540 (PT, 1971)

MÁRIO PIÇARRA

"Calçada de Carriche"

THE ZOMBIES: "ODESSEY AND ORACLE"

Original Released on LP CBS D-63280

(1968, APRIL 19)

Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after the Zombies signed to the CBS label, and was only the second album they had released since 1965. As their first LP, Begin Here, was a collection of singles, Odessey can be regarded as the only true Zombies album. While their first album included several cover versions, Odessey consisted entirely of original compositions by the group's two main songwriters, Rod Argent and Chris White.
The famous misspelling of "odyssey" in the title was the result of a mistake by the designer of the LP cover, Terry Quirk (who was the flatmate of bass player Chris White). The group began work on the album in June 1967. Some songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where earlier in the year the Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd recorded The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This was the first time Abbey Road would be used for an independently produced (non-EMI) release.

By the time the recording was finished, in late 1967, the Zombies were effectively disbanded, due to lack of financial success. Odessey and Oracle was released in the UK in April 1968 and in the United States in June. The single "Time of the Season" became a surprise hit in early 1969, and Columbia Records (in the United States) re-released Odessey in February, with a different album cover that severely cropped the original illustration.

The gap in time between the UK and US record release dates owes to the Zombies having not prepared a stereo mix initially, a condition the American label insisted on. At the urging of Al Kooper and Columbia/Epic/Date records, Argent and White spent their accrued royalties to book studio time and remix the album for stereo specifically for that US release. However, the one song "This Will Be Our Year" was not mixed into stereo in 1969 owing to a "missing" horn overdub not on the original multitrack tape.
Since its release the LP has come to be regarded as one of the greatest of all pop albums, with indelible melodies, complex harmonies, and an air of nostalgia and longing that makes it comparable to such albums as Love's Forever Changes and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
In 2002, Rolling Stone placed Odessey in 80th place on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

TRAPEZE 1970

Original Released on LP Threshold TH-2 (1970)

Trapeze was the first act signed by the Moody Blues to their newly-founded Threshold Records label, and remain the most substantial talent — along with Nicky James — ever to pass through that company's roster, apart from the Moodies themselves. Those listeners who only know the subsequent albums by Trapeze may be surprised by this debut effort, the sole recording left behind by the original five-piece version of the band. With Moody Blues bassist John Lodge producing a lineup that included ex-Montanas lead singer John Jones and guitarist/keyboardist Terry Rowley, alongside singer/guitarist Mel Galley, bassist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Dave Holland, late of Finders Keepers, the sounds here don't closely resemble the hard-rocking work of the subsequent trio — there are lush choruses, psychedelic interludes, and hook-laden romantic ballads scattered throughout this record.

Yet that trio, of Hughes, Galley, and Holland, is pumping out high-energy music within the context of psychedelic pop/rock throughout this album, which comes off as a much higher-wattage alternative to the Moody Blues. And in some respects, this album also closely resembles the better moments on those three early Deep Purple albums (the ones with Rod Evans on lead vocals), when they were essentially a hard-rock outfit still playing pop/rock — the results aren't bad and, in fact, are quite catchy at times, but it's clear that three of these musicians are holding back to one degree or another in these surroundings.

Galley's high-energy leads and power chords, and Hughes's already larger-than-life bass are the dominant sounds about sixty percent of the time, overpowering much around them, with songs like the Galley/Jones-composed "Fairytale" and Hughes-authored "Am I" pointing the way to their future sound — and even on Rowley's rock ballad "Send Me No More Letters", Holland is playing drums about as hard as the music will permit. The core trio does find a good compromise with Rowley and Jones' more lyrical, psychedelic pop sensibilities, and Trapeze probably could have held this sound together longer than they did, but for Jones's and Rowley's departure. But it's also clear that there was another band trying to break out from within the sound of this lineup, which happened later in the year when Trapeze was reduced to a trio. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

RATO'S NOSTALGIA COLLECTION 44

WALLPAPER: "MELANIE 71"

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