The Phil Spector Sound

[Guest]

l could well be wrong here but didn't he have something to do with 'Hang On'-Wall Of Sound and possibly 'Kiss Me Now (Don't Kiss Me Later)'-Florence De Vore?

Edited August 10, 2010 by webbydublin

[Pete S]

l could well be wrong here but didn't he have something to do with 'Hang On'-Wall Of Sound and possibly 'Kiss Me Now (Don't Kiss Me Later)'-Florence De Vore?

Wall of Sound was just a fantastic Spector soundalike - Phi Dan was one of his labels though I don't think he worked on the Florence Devore record.

Best thing that he produced Northern-wise would have to be A Long Way To Be Happy by darlene Love.

Oh and of course what about RAT RACE!!!

[Mike]

post moved to box

[Sebastian]

"Stumble And Fall" by Darlene Love is fantastic in my opinion, and works in a northern soul context. Hard to find on original 45 though.

[Sebastian]

And how about:

Checkmates, Ltd - Never Should Have Lied - A&M

Slightly odd production, but nice punchy dancer.

[Supercorsa]

Best thing that he produced Northern-wise would have to be A Long Way To Be Happy by darlene Love.

Think this has been covered before, but my memory is not what it was . I've got it on a greatest hits CD, but did it ever get a vinyl release?

Edited August 10, 2010 by Supercorsa

[Amsterdam Russ]

Two on the Loma label feature Spector on the writing credits. There's Brenda Hall's version of The Ronette's unreleased 'Soldier Baby of Mine', which is pure Spector pop.

The second one is this little underrated gem from Artie Lewis...

artie lewis - ain't no good -

[Anoraks Corner]

And how about:

Checkmates, Ltd - Never Should Have Lied - A&M

Slightly odd production, but nice punchy dancer.

Agree with that one plus add their version of 'I Keep Forgettin' ', which has the typical full Spector production behind it.

Here they are in all their Japanese glory!

[Pete S]

Think this has been covered before, but my memory is not what it was . I've got it on a greatest hits CD, but did it ever get a vinyl release?

No it didn't, I read her autobioography and it was meant to be a single but was pulled for some reason and she was gutted.

(I got the autobiography from a little charity shop in the next village to this - and it was signed and dedicated by darlene Love!)

[Sebastian]

No it didn't, I read her autobioography and it was meant to be a single but was pulled for some reason and she was gutted.

But it did come out an official LP in 1976 with the confusing title "Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 6 - Rare Masters 2".

[Pete S]

But it did come out an official LP in 1976 with the confusing title "Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 6 - Rare Masters 2".

Yes it came out a few times on compilations, that album is the one I first started playing it off.

[Guest ruffsounds]

Did'nt he do some stuff for Atlantic before he became the Wall Of Sound man ??.

cheers Ralph

[Eddyw]

yes he did , voodoo voodoo - lavern baker - atlantic 2119

[Garethx]

I think the classic Wall Of Sound in its uptempo manifestation doesn't work well in a Northern Soul context because it's generally not based on Gospel / R&B rhythms and doesn't swing like soul music should. The Obrey Wilson 45s on Liberty are collected by Spector fans (despite not having PS's name on them) and were an attempt to copy the Sam Cooke hits of the day. Wilson was a tremendous vocalist but wasn't really heard at anything like his gospel best until well into the 1970s.

The ballads can fit well into the Big City Soul idea but in the main Spector didn't favour gospel-type lead voices and didn't let the voice dominate the track in the way that R&B producers tended to. There are some great WOS copies which have received plays, but these are not strictly speaking Spector records. Clydie King's "Missing My Baby" on Imperial and Malcolm Hayes "It's Not Easy" on Liberty are a couple of things which spring to mind. Spector thought enough of Jerry Riopelle's work on another Clydie King 45 "The Thrill Is Gone" / "If You Were a Man" to offer him a job as a staff writer and producer at Philles Records.

[Pete S]

I think the classic Wall Of Sound in its uptempo manifestation doesn't work well in a Northern Soul context because it's generally not based on Gospel / R&B rhythms and doesn't swing like soul music should. The Obrey Wilson 45s on Liberty are collected by Spector fans (despite not having PS's name on them) and were an attempt to copy the Sam Cooke hits of the day. Wilson was a tremendous vocalist but wasn't really heard at anything like his gospel best until well into the 1970s.

The ballads can fit well into the Big City Soul idea but in the main Spector didn't favour gospel-type lead voices and didn't let the voice dominate the track in the way that R&B producers tended to. There are some great WOS copies which have received plays, but these are not strictly speaking Spector records. Clydie King's "Missing My Baby" on Imperial and Malcolm Hayes "It's Not Easy" on Liberty are a couple of things which spring to mind. Spector thought enough of Jerry Riopelle's work on another Clydie King 45 "The Thrill Is Gone" / "If You Were a Man" to offer him a job as a staff writer and producer at Philles Records.

There are endless Wall Of Sound copies - most are as good as the real thing - how about The Knickerbockers "Wishful Thinking" for starters. Ace have put out 2 cd's worth of WOS copyists entitled "Phil's Spectre", great stuff.

[Sebastian]

I seem to remember the following cropping up on a few playlists as well:

Darlene Love - Lord, If You're A Woman - WARNER-SPECTOR

Kell Osborne - That's All Right Baby - TREY