Disc of the day
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
Features Disc of the day
Ben E. King
Don’t Play That Song
(London, 1962)
Ben's third solo album. What's not to like?
The badinage between Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in the brand new MOJO had us thumbing through the record shelves to reacquaint ourselves with the astonishing catalogue of this prolific and consistent team of songwriter/producers. Weaving through an improbably varied roster, we lit on this 1962 album. A former Drifters' lead singer blessed with a wonderful baritone rivalled in soul circles only by Levi Stubbs, Ben E. King was also a talented songwriter in his own right back in the day, when albums weren't recorded as albums but were collections of hits with assorted B-sides, covers and material that didn't quite cut it on 45. Still, this third solo album drips with class from Stan Applebaum's sophisticated charts and song credits for Leiber, Stoller, Ahmet Ertegun, Phil Spector, Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman, Gerry Goffin and Carole King to the baion beat that gave distinctive Latin American sway to their productions at this time. Perhaps the session of October 27, 1960 best epitomises how times have changed. First they taped Leiber & Spector's Spanish Harlem, so good it was in the shops and the charts by January. Then they recorded Pomus & Spector's First Taste Of Love, a smaller hit, and Young Boy Blues, and still had time left before the end of the session. Did Ben have any work in progress? Only a song he was reworking for The Drifters. They ran it through, Leiber & Stoller suggested some changes and the take was nailed before the end of the session. And that's how Stand By Me was made. Apologies for sounding so sour but in 2009, despite unimaginable advances in technology, it's impossible to conceive of two classic songs as durable and inspiring as Spanish Harlem and Stand By Me being committed to tape in four months let alone four hours. Other favourites here: the title track, a fairly blatant rewriting of Stand By Me (but everyone from Holland-Dozier-Holland to Lennon & McCartney recognised the sense in recycling a good idea) and On The Horizon, a hot, hazy incantation as Ben, like Odysseus on his wanderings gazing at a passing vessel, dreams of golden ships, love and rescue.
Geoff Brown
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 27/02/2009
Further Listening
The Coasters – The Very Best Of… (Rhino, 2005)
The Drifters – The Definitive (WEA, 2003)
Various – The Red Bird Story (Charly, 2005)
Previous Disc of the day
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Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
6:00 AM GMT 20/11/2009
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-
Isley Brothers - The Brothers: Isley
The Cincinnati siblings bed into their heavy period.
6:00 AM GMT 18/11/2009
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Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land
The trumpeter's most soulful excursion entrances MOJO messageboarder.
6:00 AM GMT 16/11/2009
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it is a very good piece of music
Posted by danielle at 11:42 AM GMT 11/03/2009 Report Abuse
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