Regal Zonophone 2
2 fabulous songwriters,who had written many pop hits of the mid to late 60s for MANY bands and acts,but had little or no success as artists in their own right.
The decision is made for them to release albums of their own,which seems to be a sensible thing,after all both have wrote numerous hits,but strangely enough the Graham Gouldman Thing was a US only release by RCA America in late 68.
Maybe it's not surprising that someone like myself,sees a very similar situation,with both being very succesful songwriters,and both issue albums with a similar concept,emphasising the bands who had big hits with their songs,and then it was time for both to attempt to have hits off their own,so of course both artists and their albums deserve a mention in different posts of their own,but the similarity has my OCD putting them together in this one post,so i hope noone minds that!!
THE GRAHAM GOULDMAN THING(68)
His album was a splendid mix of his songs covered by others and new songs which are full of fabulous arrangements by John Paul Jones,which i've saw described as chamber pop,and i certainly get that description as the string sections are rather lovely,i suppose one could describe them as baroque pop if one was inclined.
Graham Gouldman has a very English but pleasant and agreeable voice which suits the arrangements perfectly.
"Bus Stop"which was a hit for The Hollies is transformed from a fab beat number to a gorgeous string laden (ala Eleanor Rigby) fabulous piece of sophisticated songwriting and arrangements.This is repeated throughout the album of the songs which had been released by others,but Graham Gouldman with John Paul Jones,definitely puts his own stamp on his own songs.
"Behind The Door"has a rather eerie feel in places,and slight dark psychedelic overtones,while new songs like the following:
"The Impossible Years"is a brilliant piece of songwriting,an absolute classic in my book,and a real highlight of this fine wee jewel of an album,with its swirling and plucked strings adding to the overall atmosphere of this at times melancholic sounding song.
"Pawnbroker"has a Spanish sounding guitar running all over the place,and is omnipresent till the end.
"Who Are They"has a slight Byrdsian influence,with its folk rock like vibes.
"My Father"is beautiful,again with the string quartet,acoustic strumming,and Graham Gouldmans pleasing vocals make this a worthy highlight.
Other known songs like the following:
"No Milk Today"which was a very catchy,melodic pop song,and no matter who recorded it,it would be enjoyable,but again it's transformed into Grahams own thing,replete with those gorgeous string arrangements,magic!!
"Upstairs Downstairs"is another ultra commercial slab of pop,covered by Hermans Hermits,but Mr Gouldman,JPJ,Clem Cattini,John and Eddie Kramer keep to the facsimile of that version,but with added panache,strings,reed and wind instrumentation.
"For Your Love"does miss the harpsichord which made this number by The Yardbirds so different and exotic sounding at the time,Grahams own version i feel is inferior to THAT version,but again its a good song,no matter its arrangement.
"Pamela Pamela" was personally never a favourite of mine,but it IS a very commercial piece of fluff,and was the type of pop music that was a certainty to make a splash,but i just think Graham Gouldman created better songs than this.
For me the magnum opus is the instrumental titled"Chestnut",what a groovy tune,with its brilliant guitar runs,groovy funky drums and organ moves,this could quite easily fill any late 60s discotheque dance floor,it even has a mellotron laced part in it,this is Graham Gouldman a go-go.Brilliant stuff!!!
Ufortunately it did nothing commercially,and id not even receive a UK release,totally bewildering to me.
TONY HAZZARD SINGS TONY HAZZARD(69)
It seems this album was a bunch of demos that Tony spruced up,with the assistance of:
Roger McKew-Guitar
Colin Wood-Piano and flute
Tat Meager-Drums
Davy Clague-Bass
Richard Barnes-backing vocals......and also support from The Hollies Tony Hicks.
It seems this was the musicians he used for his demos at the time,and those demos are said to be like finished tracks,so a little spruce up was all the 12 tracks chosen to be the album needed.There were other tracks that could've quite easily been chosen,so it makes you wonder how much writing and demos Tony was doing,i would so love for ALL the demos to see an archival release!!Maybe asking for too much!!
This album is just an absolute delight from start to finish,full of ultra catchy pop nuggets,with some dayglo fairydust sprinkled liberally throughout,it's a psychedelic era period pop extravaganza.This couldn't have been made at any other time,as it has THAT period sound and vibe.
Highlights for me are:
The Sound Of The Candymans Trumpet-Tony called this an acid type song,but was amazed when Cliff Richard recorded it as part of that years eurovision song contest candidates,never heard Cliffs version,but this is a fabulous piece of lysergic pop,just like Tony hinted at,with its piccolo trumpet to the fore,the same bloke David Mason played on Beatles Penny Lane.
Brown Eyed Girl-A flute laced major catchy slab of pop excellence,one thing i've noticed about his songs,the backing vocal arrangements are excellent,and rather exciting and very effective at filling the sound of of each song.
Me,The Peaceful Heart-Slightly different vibe to this one,certainly not as commercial as most of the other songs,this has a more complex arrangement with bongos,acoustic guitar and flute in the mix,but what a wonderful song.
Hello It's Me-Again those backing vocals fill out the sound,but also add a sunshine pop like ambience,with a burst of fuzzed guitar opening the song,and the strumming of acoustic guitar and steady drumming,along with flutes and some sound effects,matched with the pleasant vocals of Tony,this is a top notch piece of pop music.
Hello World-What an absolutely delightful sprightly song,with a beautiful chorus with splnedid vocal arrangements,as Englidsh sounding as you can get.It's just ANOTHER example of how articulate and beautifully contructed and arranged English pop music had become during the psych era.
Ha Ha Said The Clown-Covered by the likes of Manfred Mann and Page era Yardbirds,but for me this IS the version to top them,what an extraordinary commercial and catch and melodic song,strident in its pace,and those handclaps are just so glam like,years before glam.
Hey Mrs Housewife-Covered by the no longer Swinging Blue Jeans,whos version is excellent,but so is this original,replete with kazoo......just marvellous.
Fade Away Maureen-This is possibly his most dayglo moment,this is a stupendous morcel of psych inspired pop music,maybe lysergic pop if you will,again those handclaps are used very effectively,this IS a masterclass of pop writing in a paisley patterned filled brain.
This WHOLE album is top notch from start to finish,not a weak song to be had.
CD REISSUES.
Thanks to Cherry Red records through their imprint Revola Records both albums got cd reissues in 2007,with Hazzard having 4 bonus tracks,all well worthy of being added to any 60s pop collection.Both cds feature their story and background of each album,along with some photos etc,both are essential for any 60s uk pop and psych enthusiast.
TONY HAZZARD-DEMONSTRATION
Tony Hazzard self released the Sings Tony Hazzard album recently as "Demonstration",with additions and the removal of some numbers,i've not been lucky enough to have got this version as yet,has anyone heard it or bought it?Any comments?It seems the original title for Sings Tony Hazzard was to be "Demonstration"as it was an album full of spruced up demos,but CBS decided on the title Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard.
Two great pop LPs with period flavours. Another couple I would file next to them are the John Bromley LP and the US only Mike Hurst LP called Home.
About Tony Hazzard, it does seem to have a parallel with Gouldman, many good songs that led other artists to success, but I like that transition from more pop sounds to these baroque songs that I like so much. For me his best song is "The princess and the soldier" that his friend Richard Barners interpreted wonderfully.
On Bandcamp is the Demonstration album with two tracks not included on their 1969 Lp
That Mike Hurst 1970 album"Home"album is a baroque pop delight,or certainly a chamber pop influenced beauty ......its a rather little known,or even unknown album to many who are late 60s/early 70s uk pop lovers,i bought a cd with another of his albums"In My Time"from 1971 on it issued by Angel Air,the musicians on "Home"are impressive,with Rod Argent,Big Jim Sullivan,Herbie Flowers,Jon Lord,Tubby Hayes,John Paul Jones and marvellous strings and things arrange by Phil Dennys...,mostly self written songs by Mike Hurst,with only 1 cover,the Buffalo Springfield"Hung Upside Down"which was writtemn by Stephen Stills!!
A worthy mention Mr Secret,and an album that MUST be heard by many on here.If not already done so.
I think the Tony Hazzard Sings album is one of the best underappreciated 60’s pop albums. It plays like a Greatest Hits. The Graham Gouldman album is fine as well. “Fade Away Maureen” on the Tony Hazzard album is so great. It beats the Cherry Smash version imho.
Thanks for the recommendations. I've listened to both albums and thoroughly enjoyed them. And I agree the Tony Hazzard is a near masterpiece.