Thursday, July 14, 2016

That Was the Year That Was

From the just released -- on the wonderfully monikered Team Mensch label -- album Guilt By Association Volume 4: 1966, please enjoy the incredibly great Mike Viola (yes, the guy who sang lead on "That Thing You Do") and his truly remarkable cover of Dusty Springfield's hit "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me."




As you may have guessed, the album itself consists of covers of songs originally released in that seminal pop music year, and like most tribute albums it's, shall we say, inconsistent. On the basis of the Viola track, however, I think we're going to have to face up to the fact that the guy is one of the best singers alive and deserves to be a household name.

The album doesn't seem to be available via Amazon yet, but you can find out more about Team Mensch over HERE.

You're welcome.

7 comments:

John K said...

I've always felt that 1966 was the last gasp for the 2 1/2-3 minute pop single. By 1967 albums began to take over and the mood of songs took on a more serious tone.

Anonymous said...

This is too, uh... Casio. Nice smooth voice but lacks the passion of original. Colin Blunstone meets the Beach Boys, kinda.

Re: John K's premise, I don't agree about the last gasp bit. Album sales may have overtaken singles in 1967, but c'mon. "Happy Together," "Friday On My Mind," "Groovin'" "California Nights," "On a Carousel," "The Letter," "Carrie-Anne," "Daydream Believer," "Hello Goodbye," "Brown-Eyed Girl," Incense and Peppermints," "Hi Ho Silver Lining," "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Waterloo Sunset," "Heroes and Villains," "Pictures of Lily," "Dandelion," "I Can See For Miles," "Itchycoo Park," "Different Drum," "Flowers In the Rain," "Kentucky Woman," "I Second That Emotion," "Summer Rain," "Nobody But Me," "There's a Kind of Hush," all happened and AM was still king.

Besides, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" has about as serious a tone as a love song could get. I like and respect Viola's work but there's no blood on the floor.

VR

Billy B said...

Reminiscent of Dusty. Dude pulls it off. Interesting.

Anonymous said...

Somebody has way too much time on her hands.

Ken J Xenozar said...

Love Mike. He is a one of those collaborators that you need to follow. He leaves powerpop magic with whoever he works with. I just wish he would put out more of his original work. Loved "Lurch" and "Electro De Perfecto". And following Mike around, I discovered Tim Christensen.

jef said...

You can check out the entire 'Guilt By Association Volume 4: 1966' release on Spotify desktop. :)

Alzo said...

Simon Napier-Bell co-wrote the lyrics and put them to an old Italian tune. If you ever see his books, grab them. He's a cool, wise and funny man.