For Hardyphiles Only: Francoise Hardy Sings In English, German, Italian in "All Over the World"

If you haven't heard the 1960s recordings of French singer-songwriter Francoise Hardy, this long-outta-print CD is NOT the place to start.

It is, however, quite rare, and fetches $150 and above when scarce copies can be found. It's really for completists and hard-core OCD-types, so that inflated price is quite a bummer. Hence, its appearance here...

Francoise Hardy wrote and sang a string of major French pop hits from 1962 onward. Her husky, fragile voice, combined with a stunning physical image, put her at the elite of world pop artistes throughout the 1960s.

To us American listeners, her songs have a hypnotic quality--perhaps because many of us aren't conversant in French.

Like many '60s acts, Hardy was asked to record in languages other than her native tongue. She achieved a respectable UK hit with the song "All Over The World," which serves as the apt title-track of this compilation.

It's a little disappointing to hear the words to some of her French gems in English. But her voice is striking, and these recordings haven't been heard by most of Hardy's modern fan-base.

My personal faves: the dopey-but-winning "Catch A Falling Star" and the title track.

For more information on Francoise Hardy, go HERE.

Here are a few videos of Francoise Hardy at her best, singing in her native tongue:








Click HERE for scans of the booklet 'n' tray art; click HERE for the musenick!

The 5 Royales -- Complete King Masters (Home Brew compilation, 51 trax)

Hey, only two months of inactivity! Well, you know by now not to expect constant postings here. But I hope today's post makes up for the long silence.

The 5 Royales are my favorite rhythm and blues group of the 1950s. They were, basically, the Beatles of R&B--a self-contained unit of great singers, with one of the most brilliant songwriters and guitarists in all of Afro-American music, Lowman Pauling as their one-man Lennon-McCartney-Harrison.

Not that the other 4 Royales were slouches--John Tanner, James Moore, Obadiah Carter and Eugene Tanner (with 6th Royale Otto Jeffries often in tow--he also managed the group) are superb vocalists, at home with silly novelty songs and the most passionate of soul ballads.

The Royales' recording career spanned 1948 to 1965. Their best work was done for Cincinatti, Ohio indie label King Records, from 1954 to 1960.

The 51 King masters have, surprisingly, never been collected in one place until I sat down and did it this weekend. Many of these tracks, at present, are out of print. I used the superb Ace CD I Know It's Hard But It's Fair and two long out-of-print sets, Rhino's 1994Monkey Hips and Rice: The 5 Royales Anthology and 2004's Don't Let It Be In Vain, from the Slouch Hat label.

The latter CD, which was discontinued within a year of its release, contained four tracks which have never otherwise been digitally remastered or reissued. Two of the best 5 Royales songs and performances--"Devil With the Rest" and the stunning minor-keyed masterpiece "Don't Let It Be In Vain," were found only on that rare-as-hen's-teeth disc.

Well, gang, all 51 tracks are here, arranged in the order of their release. I included the King matrix numbers on each track. King's matrix numbering hopped all over the place, so my hopes of arranging these in recording order was quickly dashed.

If anyone in Interwebs Land can figure this out, and put these tracks in the order the Royales recorded them, you will do the world a great service.

If you are unfamiliar with the songs of Lowman Pauling, you're in for a pleasant discovery. Pauling was among the most thoughtful and philosophical songwriters in R&B history. He basically provided the music its cornerstone transitions from post-war jump blues to the emotional overwhelm of '60s soul music.

You know at least one of his songs. "Dedicated To the One I Love" was a later hit for the black girl-group The Shirelles, and for LA folk-rockers the Mamas & Papas. The Royales' original version cuts all others to shreds. It contains a typical Lowman Pauling blend of heartfelt emotion and thoughts about human existence.

Just consider the line "Life can never be exactly like we want it to be." That's pure poetry, friends--and absolutely true. Another Paulingism that has become a sort of personal mantra is "After you did your best, the devil with the rest."

Pauling's melodies are among the best in all of R&B. And his guitar-work... mamma mia! Listen to "Think," the opening track on part 2 of this set. Lacerating, passionate, gripping, commanding!

"Think" was covered, in a bastardized version, by King label-mate James Brown. Brown's early recordings are heavily inspired by the Royales'. Ray Charles, in another curiously bastardized revision, covered the Royales' exuberant "Tell The Truth."

For some odd reason, when other artists have chosen 5 Royales songs to cover, they've mucked them up. No reason to trouble yourself with remakes, folks--it's all here for your listening pleasure. These songs will grow on you.

There are several non-Lowman Pauling songs on this set, including a few written by band members Otto Jeffries ("When I Get Like This," "I Need Your Lovin' Baby") and by R&B songwriters Henry Glover and the team of Charlie Singleton and Rose Marie McCoy.

Some of the uptempo novelty ditties aren't so hot, but even then, when written by Pauling, they transcend their fate. "Mohawk Squaw," a dumb-as-they-get novelty jumper, is rescued by some emotionally intense lyrics.

These guys, in the King period, could sing anything and make it sound great. They were so fortunate to have Pauling on deck. The Charlie Ferguson orchestra provides backing on most numbers. They hit a groove with the Royales and expertly supported the quintet/sextet's ace singing and Pauling's guitar antics.

Recommended reading on the Royales: Ed Ward's imaginative essay in the anthology book Stranded, which is the best piece I know of on the group, even though it is, as admitted by its author, almost 100% a work of fiction.

The Ace CDs, including a collection of the Royales' final recordings, Catch That Teardrop, are well worth acquiring. If you like this music, it'll sound even better on a CD.

Wellp, here you go... H E R E ' S Part One.

Part Two can be found R I G H T H E R E! No art or liners--just the music. (Don't worry, songs are titled.) Enjoy!

The Browns -- The Three Bells (disc 1 of 8)

Here are the earliest recordings of Jim Edward, Bonnie and Maxine Brown. This vocal trio emulated the line-up of The Carter Family, albeit with an emphasis on modern honky-tonk country and, later, unabashed crossover pop.

Their vocals are mesmerizing, and in their early RCA Victor recordings, they achieved a compelling blend of old and new. They go through a bland pop period with their biggest hit, "The Three Bells." The early '60s finds them returning to a folk-pop style, and they end their career with some distinguished recordings that fall more into the folk and country side.

This CD contains all their recordings for the Fabor label, then switches to their stunning early run with RCA Victor. Highlights of their early Victor sides are several songs written for them by Ira and Charlie Louvin.

"I Take The Chance," their Victor debut, is as good a "cheatin' song" as country has ever produced. It perfectly captures the moral dilemma of infidelity. Sure, it's a bit judgmental, but Ira Louvin always excelled as a writer when he threw some down-home sermonizin' into the mix.

"A Man With A Plan," on the other end,is among the most outrageously riqsue songs of 1950s country music. A paean to loose sex, cruising, rock 'n' roll and un-Christian behavior, it still packs a punch, heard 50-plus years after its creation.

Other Louvin-penned songs here are "The Last Thing I Want," "Just As Long As You Love Me" and "You Thought, I Thought." The Louvin Brothers memorably covered a Browns original, "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow," on their excellent covers LP, Ira and Charlie, in 1958.

In-between are several unusual songs from established Nashville writers. Felice and Boudleaux Bryant contribute the atmospheric, creepy "Getting Used To the Blues," a song that, like Don Gibson's "Give Myself a Party," is an ode to giving up on love.

Hugh Ashley, son of legendary old-time musician Clarence Ashley, wrote "Goo Goo Da Da," also covered by Bill Carlisle.

"I Guess I'm Crazy" is a cover of Werly Fairburn's 1955 Columbia recording, penned by its performer.

"Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" was co-written by Texas renegade songwriter-producer Jack Rhodes, who also wrote "A Satisfied Mind," "Woman Love," "Action Packed" and another Browns side, "Preview of the Blues."

"I'm In Heaven," heard here in two versions, is a nice song by (I think) Nashville cleffer Hod Pharis.

There are some duff novelty sides, especially amongst the pre-RCA sides (tracks 1-16), but the vocalizing is consistently fine, and the Chet Atkins-produced early RCA material is uniformly strong.

Hope you enjoy this! I'll try to post the other seven discs soon. Link info is in the comments section. Two files, each with 16 tracks. Second file has scan of tray card and booklet front.

Leroy Shields' Haunting Movie Music

This long-OOP album features impressive modern-day renditions of jaunty, haunting movie music that any Laurel and Hardy fan will fondly remember. These ear-worms from the Depression era will really, really get to you, if you at all dig this-type music.

Lynx in comments... enjoy!

Sheila Meets The Blue Ghost

Two pretty-good albums from Tommy Roe. The first has his lovable Buddy Holly homage, "Sheila"--a record so Holly-esque that a lot of people probably think it is by Buddy.

Atlanta-based Roe worked with fledgling producer Felton Jarvis on these two solid LPs. Jarvis would soon become an important producer with RCA Victor, where he worked with Elvis.

As early '60s pop-rock LPs go, these are surprisingly good. There are predictable covers (Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly) and several originals. An inspired performance is Roe's soulful version of the Falcons' "I Found A Love"-- blue-eyed soul before the genre even existed.

The second LP is a rare occurence of a record company making a crap album much better. British HMV decided that the sucky 2nd US LP, laden with unapt cover versions, was a loser. They rebuilt it around Roe's powerful hit "Everybody," beefed it up to 14 tracks, and included a slew of new original material.

There's enough good material here to hold your interest. See comments for linx to files!

Do What They Don't Say

This is a great comp of mid-'60s British beat group music. The British Beat genre is among the most misunderstood of the post-war era. A tremendous amount of musical creativity and energy distinguishes the genre at its best.

A thoughtful survey of 20 groups out of the hundreds and hundreds who never quite made it, even in the powerful wake of worldwide Beatlemania, this compilation showcases groups who achieved some small acclaim (Ian & The Zodiacs, The Zephyrs, The Wackers, The Pete Best Four) and recordings so great it's hard to believe they're unknown to most people.

Check out the powerful "Do What They Don't Say" by The Jynx, "If I Were The Only One" by The Imp-Acts, "Love In My Eyes" by Karl Stuart and The Profiles and "This Won't Happen To Me" by Ian & The Zodiacs.

Full scans of the booklet, liners and tray are in a seperate file. Check the comments for linx!

What Is MUSENICK?

Welcome to MUSENICK, while it lasts.

"Musenick" is a word invented by a great kid who's the son of a dear friend. Said child went through a period in which he referred to music as "musenick." He's passed onto calling it by its normal name, but "musenick" has stuck with me.

I've gotten a lot of great music from other blogs--now's the time to give back.

I'll post various albums here, of all different varieties. I'll try not to duplicate anything that I know is posted somewhere else.

Enjoy--and look in the Comments area for info on how to acquire the "musenick," free of charge!