Welcome to the RPM Record Club Seven Day Soundtrack, week ending Friday 23rd September 2022. The allotment is starting to feel distinctly autumnal; last of the runner beans picked, pumpkins almost ripe and my finest marrow has been harvested ready for the flower and produce show this weekend; how exciting. Will this fine specimen attract the eyes of the judges and indeed be a horticultural winner?...I'll keep you posted next week. In the mean time, a warming dark malty brew and some winning sounds are in order...oh, and it seems to have become bonus track bonanza week!!...over to...

John -

"Hi Everyone, here are my choices for this week. Off to Deepdale Festival this weekend, so I'll keep it brief... maybe some highlights from the Festival next week."

Jayne -

"Thanks everyone for your music stimuli. Here’s my contribution for this week."

James -

"Here's this week's picks..."

Philip -

"I know this is a bit of a "first world problem" and very small beer compared to some of the current concerns about the state of the world, but has anybody else been having problems getting hold of the new music that interests them? Last week I wrote about the new Tami Neilson record, and now there seems to be a similar situation regarding Jim Lauderdale's new album, "Game Changer." First I was told the British release date had been put back a fortnight to 23rd September, and then the retailer was saying they were having supply problems....but this morning HMV have notified me that my order of "Game Changer" has been dispatched, showing a release date of 26th August! (The American release date?).......!???

So, to be going on with, here's a preview of one track on the new record."

"Best wishes and good health to one and all."

Alan -

"Back to the mid to late sixties with three psychedelic inflexed goodies this week."

Box Tops- 'Together' (7" single, b-side to 'Turn on a dream', released September 1969. Bell label) - "Although the top side's title promises a psychedelic offering, the real meat is here on this soul/psych crossover (copyright AJW) from the acid era's latter period which sees Alex Chilton providing the excellent vocals and lead guitarist Gary Talley smearing the whole track with some fine guitar work. However, by the time of the concurrent 'Dimensions' album, the band were becoming disillusioned with the treatment they routinely encountered from management, lawyers and promoters and it was no surprise when they disbanded in February 1970. This followed a particularly fraught UK tour which saw the band discover that, instead of respecting the rider agreement, the London promoter insisted they play the tour with the opening reggae act's 'toy drums', public address system amplifiers (instead of proper guitar amplifiers) and a keyboard with a broken speaker, so it was no surprise when the band pulled the whole tour and returned to the States. The album had provided a number 18 hit with 'Soul Deep' and 'Turn on a dream' peaked at number 58 but, despite the bands demise, Bell continued to release relatively successful (i.e. top 100) singles from unissued tracks during 1970 and this was followed with a management 'inspired' line up in 1972 which included none of the original line up and, furthermore, its members were never named on any label information. The few singles released did not achieve any success and the band was eventually consigned to history.... until the inevitable intermittent one offs and, in 2015, the two original surviving members, Bill Cunningham and Gary Talley, announced a reformation which has toured the US on several occasions."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOPB9R7zDqs

Spencer Davis Group- 'Time Seller' (7" single released July 1967. Fontana label) - "The loss of the Winwood brothers in April 1967 left Spencer with a successful brand name, a high placed single in the charts ('I'm a man') and only half a band. Plus, they had been signed to appear in the teen movie 'Here we go round the mulberry bush' based on Hunter Davis's best selling novel of 1965. Spencer immediately bought in another young prodigy on vocals, the tonsorily similar Eddie Hardin, and ex Les Fleur de Lys guitar wizard Phil Sawyer. They immediately went into the studio and recorded seven songs for the films soundtrack (although the newly formed, Winwood led, Traffic scored the title track) before recorded their debut album ('With their new face on') which, despite the inclusion of both this Top 30 single, and it's follow up 'Mr Second Class' (number 35), failed to sell. Hardin, and band mate Pete York plus Phil Sawyer all left following a couple more unsuccessful singles and were replaced by Ray Fenwick, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson but in February 1969, Spencer Davis put the 'Group' to rest for a while and relocated to San Francisco. He returned to the UK in 1973 and, in addition to reforming the 'Group' with new members, he became an executive at Island Records where he worked with Eddie and the Hot Rods, Robert Palmer and Bob Marley as well as promoting the burgeoning career of Steve Winwood. Much of his later life was spent in Germany and the USA and he passed away from pneumonia in Los Angeles on 19 October 2020 at the age of 81."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mldl1JSG-Gg

Creation- 'Nightmares' (originally 7" single b-side released July 1967. Polydor label. This from 'How does it feel to feel' compilation released 1982. Edsel label) - "Is it mod, or 'freakbeat or psychedelia? Who cares when the 'out of your body' (or should that be 'out of your mind?) experience is perfectly summed up below in the opening verse of this b-side to the balladic 'If I stay too long'. Placing a ballad on the top side at a time when the group were at the apex of their 'pop/art' phase and selling out gigs countrywide (including Doncasters staid Side Saddle chicken in a basket club!) when this monster lurked on the reverse seems to be a big mistake, although The 0h Sees liked it enough to cover it some time back. The band were reknowned for their internal disputes with members regularly, and sometime temporarily, leaving and (re) joining the line up and this is perhaps best exemplified by the time that, just as the band were entering the Top 50 with their debut 'Makin' Time', the group decided to sack their drummer Jack Jones (no.... the other Jack Jones) and replace him with Dave Preston. A mere three weeks later they sacked Preston and Jones rejoined!!! This was followed by the (temporary) dismissal of lead vocalist Kenny Pickett, just after 'Painter Man' had hit the Top 40 in the UK (and Top 10 in Germany), replacing him with bassist Bob Garner, whoses place was filled by Kim Gardner. This move seems really strange as Pickett had been the focal point for the group's early image, thanks to his on stage 'action painting' of either a plain white backdrop or, occasionally, a willing young lady from the audience. A bevy of classic singles followed, all successful on mainland Europe and these were followed by their lone album, 'We are the Paintermen' but, after further European tours and even more line up changes the band officially folded in February 1968, just after a major tour of the US had been negotiated. However, within weeks Jack Jones formed another Creation (or should the be 'created another...'?) which featured Kim Gardner and Kenny Pickett plus Ronnie Wood fresh from the Birds, which duly split following a European tour in June 1968. There have been several reformations since 1984 but the death of Pickett and Garner means that lead guitarist Eddie Phillips is the only original member involved. Such is the reputation of the band however, that when Alan McGee formed his record label in 1993 he named it after Creation and called the band into the studio to record a new album, 'Power Surge', which was followed by the release of a collection of unreleased 1987/8 tracks in 2004. Neither album captured the band in full flow and it was left to the compilers Edsel and Cherry Red to make their classic 1960's tracks available. Either 'How does it feel....' or 'Our music is red with purple flashes' should be in your collection if you love sixties mod era records."

'Nightmares' first verse:

" places, places moving ’round your mind

ideas come cruel, ideas come kind

lying in a state of constant confusion

and your brain has suffered an illusion"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuaLJefCn10

"Next week, maybe a selection of groups from my vinyl collection who were featured on 'Beat Club' in the mid sixties..."

Dave -

"Hi RPMers, hope you all had a good week . Look forward to your picks this week..."

Piers -

"This year has just rocketed by and autumn is upon us with lots of short days filled with grey skies. This year it seems to be leaving me rather weary. I couldn't shake off this enui even when blasted by the breezes whist wandering the beach in good company up at Titchwell. My time is measured out three tracks (or 4?) at a time.... But the autumnal roll of the seasons seems to have brought with it a greater degree of musical immersion.

Just one aspect of my listening this week... amongst lots of bluegrass mandolin courtesy of Sierra Hull, there have been Crockets Kentucky Mountaineers, a lot of Fairport's Liege and Lief, Rod Picot, an album that I didn't win in a raffle (!) by Tony Bayllis and some Bob Dylan which brought me to this....

I didn't discover Arthur Alexander until I heard the Beatles first album. After that, he was covered by just about everybody.

His originals used to get played on Pirate Radio stations particularly London and Caroline. Listening more recently, I have been surprised at just how much attention to detail the Beatles and the Stones paid on their covers. It sounds as if they were actually trying to get the sound of 'the room' into those recordings, but perhaps all recording studios were big dusty echoey boxes full of reverb back then!"

Jackie -

"A couple of tunes played at places I've been this week."

Nina -

"Here they are folks, no filler just killer 😄 (In my humble opinion).

3 tunes I heard this week that I liked & now am sharing."

Tim -

"Coincidentally, what Nina has just commented upon has also been nagging at my mind as well this week, both nationally and globally..."

'Til Next Time...