From 1965, it's Phil Spector(!) on The Merv Griffin Show(!!).
With guests Eartha Kitt(!!!), Wally Cox(!!!!) and a frighteningly young Richard Pryor(!!!!!) on the celebrity couch.
Okay, that is remarkable on so many levels of Sixties Time Capsule that I can't begin to enumerate them. But you'll know what I'm talking about after you see it in its 15-minute entirety.
BTW, I dug up that clip because of yesterday's discussion of an Adele record being annoyingly out of tune.
More specifically, because I seemed to recall seeing Spector on the Merv show in real time, when I was a teenager. And during which Merv specifically asked Spector what he thought about music critics saying his hit records had pitch problems.
That exchange doesn't happen in the above clip, but I'm sure I saw it somewhere/sometime, and I'll keep looking for it.
I should add that, as I recall, Spector's pissed-off reply in said clip (and I'm paraphrasing) was "Hey -- the people who play on my records are the greatest musicians in the world, and they don't play out of tune."
Yeah, right. The Wrecking Crew, obviously. Who DON'T play out of tune.
But which doesn't change the fact that, in the real world, a lot of Spector's unquestionably great records actually SOUND a little out of tune.
I mean, it's not a state secret.
FRIGHTENING TRUE POSTSCRIPT: I met Ronnie Spector at some press party in the 90s, and the next day, the guy who introduced us called me up and said "Hey -- Ronnie thought you were cute. She said you reminded her of Phil."
After watching that clip, I kinda get why.
Yipes.
12 comments:
Testing….testing….1. 2 3…..😎
If, for the sake of argument, we accept the idea that some of Spector's biggest hits might have been a little out of tune, then the question becomes "why?". One answer might be that ultimately his records, like so many in that era, were being "tailored", so to speak, to the strengths and limitations of AM radio sound. Maybe there was a feeling among some producers that if their records were, say, slightly faster, they would sound more exciting, have more immediate impact and, therefore, sell better. I mean, legend has it that Berry Gordy of Motown Records, who knew a thing or two about selling hits, wouldn't approve a 45 for release until he heard it on an AM radio set-up that he had in his office. He wanted to make sure it was appropriately mixed to sound good specifically in that medium because, at the time, that's where the money was.
Okay, I'll start
Steve, watched the entire 15 minutes -
The back and forth between Merv, Phil, Richard - Wasn't surprised about Phil and Richard being friends given their predilections. As an aside as a building contractor a friend of mine gave me a tour
of Ertha's house while she was on tour
rob
Forgetting the out-of-tune thing, which was IMHO probably an inevitable result of multiple overdubs (which in those days were often sound-on-sound, rather than multi-tracked) I just think Spector comes across as something beyond eccentric. Like -- genuinely weird. I mean, if I had met him back then, even if I wanted to work with him, I probably would have kept a very significant distance.
Phil's mantra
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Yes, he was genuinely weird.
And I miss the talk show format when there were several guests ... much more interesting and unpredictable.
BG - as far as talk shows go Letterman was the best, engaging interesting guests as well as bands that reflected his generations music, (mine). Who can forget Warren Zevons last public performance - "Keep Me In Your Heart"
rob
Made a mistake - Keep...was not played on the show - my bad
It’s Rock & Roll, it’s allowed to sound like whatever it sounds like as long as it’s good by our crazy Rock and Roll standards.
Out of tune. Who cares as long as I like it.
Out of tune. I care if I don’t like it.
Captain Al
PS No flutes!
:-). :-). ‘-). 😜
Phil Spector was on Merv's show lots of times. I had a TV with a wired remote control in my bedroom and used to flip between Carson, Merv and Les Crane when I was a kid. My parents knew I wasn't sleeping, but they weren't either. Guess who was having more fun. In California Merv came on a half-hour before the other two. He was on KTTV Channel 11 in LA. I didn't see this particular show. However, I do recall an appearance which also featured Chad & Jeremy and Rich Little. Another time he was on with Buddy Hackett. He behaved like the oddball that he was on every show. More than likely he was amping on something. But he was also a fuckin' sociopath. As much as he pulled his gun on people, it's a wonder he didn't kill someone a lot sooner. Not a very likeable dude and he never set out to be. That's what paranoid megalomaniacs do. Merv Griffin trying on the LSD glasses and attempting to be cool is amusing. So is Phil running around his estate at night wearing a Batman outfit. The Caped Crusader of Alhambra. The guy was crazier than a sack of rabid weasels.
Hey Steve, when you met Ronnie did she tell you about the glass coffin?
VR
My recollection of the Sixties is that occasionally a whole run of 45s would be pressed with their center hole slightly off. And that reference-quality turntables weren't widely available among the general public, so variable speed playback was not exactly a rare occurrence. I once flagged a 45 copy of "Strawberry Fields Forever" with a slightly offset hole after thinking the playback was somehow hinky. So the folks complaining about pitch problems probably weren't crazy, and as Spector probably didn't spend a lot of time listening to his released records on jukeboxes or home stereos, he was right to think they were crazy.
I know you're teasin' but I'm gonna take you to church anyway. The Church of Saint Andrew's Cross. Comprende? I’m gonna get your mind right. :- ) You think we don't need no stinking flutes? Well, get this. I'm the hippie chick who carried her flute with her everywhere she went. The love-ins in the park, the festivals, the Renaissance Faire's, the beach, the bedroom and the Peterbilt. So don't be a dipshit. Just think of all the countless Motown songs that have flute or piccolo - My Cherie Amour, Tears of a Clown, Reach Out, Rockin’ Robin, Stubborn Kind of Fellow and on and on and on … Then there’s Nights in White Satin – Moody Blues; Moondance; Everyone, Astral Weeks LP and so many more – Van Morrison. What would Isaac Hayes’ Shaft be without flute? Fuck, if we wanna talk California Dreamin’, check out Baby Huey’s version. It’s a flute extravaganza. Even Black Sabbath whipped out a flute for Solitude. What about well-produced Adult Contemporary songs like Lowdown - Boz Scaggs (love that Louie Shelton guitar solo); and Summer Breeze – Seals & Crofts. Then there’s Sweetwater a perennial opening act whose female lead vocalist had Grace Slick down. They had a flute player who took solos on most songs. Check out their Motherless Child and you’ll hear what I mean, I’d say Bowie’s Moonage Daydream but that’s a pennywhistle. Same with Jimi’s Bold As Love. Let’s not forget Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson. And There Ain’t No Pity In the Heart of the City. Yep, even Bobby Bland songs sometimes have flute moments. Along Comes Mary etc. etc. etc. ……
Now take your punishment like a man : - ) I might let you have some gruel to go with your Ken-L-Ration.
VR (Up, Up & Away – you guessed)
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