Nov 25, 2024
Herman's Hermits - A Must to Avoid (1966)
A guilty pleasure from more innocent times. It's actually quite good.
She's nothin' but trouble Better cut out on the double
seen from United Kingdom
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seen from United States
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seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Finland
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Italy
Herman's Hermits - A Must to Avoid (1966)
A guilty pleasure from more innocent times. It's actually quite good.
She's nothin' but trouble Better cut out on the double
serendipitous inclusions ... message from other times...
P.F. Sloan (The Grass Roots) "Raised On Records" 1972 US Pop Rock,Soft Rock
Raised on Records was a reflection of its times, with P.F. Sloan entering a mellower singer/songwriter phase, in tune with trends of the early 1970s. It almost seems as if Sloan has been influenced by James Taylor, and to a much lesser extent other low-key performers of the ilk like Cat Stevens (not nearly so much in his songwriting as in the laidback production). Sloan's underrated singing is good, and his writing is fair, but the compositions don't have as much sting as those on his first albums. Post-mid-'60s Sloan tends to be best when the arrangements are sparsest and the melodies most bittersweet, which doesn't happen too often here, but peeks through on "The Night the Trains Broke Down," "Como," and "Midnight Girl." Remakes of his well-known mid-'60s songs "Let Me Be" and "Sins of a Family" would be a lot more impressive if they didn't have to suffer comparison with the originals (against which they fall short). By most singer/songwriter contrasts, this would be considered a respectable collection; by Sloan's own high standards, it's among his lesser releases.... by Richie Unterberger....~ A seminal figure in the evolution of West Coast pop, singer/songwriter P.F. Sloan composed and produced some of the most enduring records of the 1960s. While his solo efforts remain folk-rock cult classics, they were barely promoted by longtime label Dunhill, and his subsequent exit from the company was the start of a fall from grace that culminated in a three-decade absence from the studio. Born Philip Gary Schlein in New York City on September 18, 1945, he spent the lion's share of his adolescence in Los Angeles. While browsing the Sunset and Vine music store Wallich's Music City, the 12-year-old met Elvis Presley, who agreed to an impromptu introductory guitar lesson. Within a year Sloan signed to Aladdin Records, issuing his debut single, "All I Want Is Loving," to little notice. The Mart label effort "She's My Girl" met a similar fate, but in 1961 he resurfaced as a staff songwriter with Screen Gems, which teamed him with fellow composer Steve Barri under the supervision of producer Gary Usher. As the Fantastic Baggys, Sloan and Barri capitalized on the budding surf craze with "Tell 'Em I'm Surfin'." They also co-wrote the Round Robin hit "Kick That Little Foot, Sally Ann," and when Screen Gems exec Lou Adler broke ranks to found his own label, Dunhill, he brought Sloan and Barri with him to write and produce. Throughout the mid-'60s, the Sloan/Barri partnership proved a hitmaking force to rival the likes of Bacharach/David or Goffin/King. Smashes like Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man," the Turtles' "You Baby," and the Grass Roots' "Where Were You When I Needed You" were instrumental in defining the sound of Southern California rock & roll. Sloan's most influential composition was the Bob Dylan-inspired "Eve of Destruction," a number one hit for Barry McGuire in the fall of 1965. The song, which drew fire from conservatives and liberals alike, nevertheless became one of the defining protest anthems of the growing counterculture movement, and its success spurred Sloan to renew his own recording career in full. His comeback effort, "Sins of a Family," a bleak, poignant tale of teen prostitution, spent less than two weeks on the pop charts in late 1965, and the LP Songs of Our Times suffered backlash from a folk-rock community that dismissed Sloan as little more than a studio hack jumping on the latest commercial trend. Moreover, Dunhill execs blanched at the thought of losing their most successful songwriter, and spent virtually nothing on promoting his solo career. A 1966 follow-up set, Twelve More Times, fared no better, and a frustrated Sloan demanded release from his contract. Dunhill finally agreed, but forced him to sign away all songwriting royalties past, present, and future. Sloan's talent and integrity inspired fellow pop tunesmith Jimmy Webb to write a glowing tribute, "P.F. Sloan," but he remained persona non grata on the pop charts. His 1968 Atco debut, Measure of Pleasure, tanked, and he relocated to New York City, moving in with his parents and plotting his next move. Sloan did not resurface until 1972, releasing the much-maligned Raised on Records on the tiny Mums label. In the decade to follow, he battled depression and catatonia, finally resurfacing in 1985 with a handful of New York club dates. Sloan nevertheless resisted overtures to cut a new LP until 2006, teaming with producer Jon Tiven and guests including Lucinda Williams and Frank Black to record the Hightone release Sailover. He died of pancreatic cancer in November 2015. ~ Jason Ankeny....~ Released by the small Epic-distributed Mums label, "Raised On Records" (great title), found Sloan trying to find a niche in a rapidly changing music market. Judging by the eleven tracks, during his four year hiatus he'd been listening to lots of James Taylor which probably went a long way to explaining why the collection was heavy on singer/songwriter numbers (seven out of the eleven tracks). In spite of the extended layoff Sloan sounded in good voice and he didn't spare any expense in terms of support; the album listing an all-star cast of sessions players including Johnny Barbata, Barry Beckett, Hal Blaine, James Burton, and Larry Knechtel. Unfortunately with so many acoustic ballads, few of the new tracks made much of an impression. The overall impression was of a severely underpowered LP. Elsewhere the album included a pair of Sloan remakes ('Let Me Be' and 'Sins of a Family'), though neither was as good as the original. ...~ PF Sloan , born Philip Gary Schlein September 18, 1945 in New York , died November 15, 2015 in Los Angeles , California , was an American songwriter and singer. In the years 1964-1967 he stood behind a number of hit songs that reached placement with various artists on the Billboard Hot 100 . He was then employed at the record company Dunhill Records and co-wrote several of the songs with Steve Barri . His most successful song was " Eve of Destruction " in Barry McGuire's version. Other songs he had behind were among other things "A Must to Avoid" with Herman's Hermits , "You Baby" and "Let Me Be" with The Turtles , "Take Me For What I'm Worth" with The Searchers , "Where Were You When I Needed You "with The Grass Roots , and" Secret Agent Man "with Johnny Rivers. His only song to achieve success as he did under his own artist name was "The Sins of a Family", which reached 87 on the Billboard List in 1965. He released several singles and albums, but the successes remained for these own articles. His latest album was released in 2006 and featured new recordings of his best-known compositions, along with brand new songs. He left 2015 in the areas of cancer.....~ Singer/songwriter P.F. Sloan was born Philip Gary Schlein on September 18, 1945 in New York City. Phil grew up on Long Island before eventually moving with his family to West Hollywood, California in 1957. At age twelve Sloan landed a record contract with Aladdin Records and recorded the single "All I Want Is Loving." In 1963 Phil formed a fruitful partnership with his frequent collaborator Steve Barri; among the hit songs the duo wrote are "Kick That Little Foot, Sally Ann" by Round Robin, "You Baby" by The Turtles, "Where Were You When I Needed You" by The Grassroots, and "She's a Must to Avoid" by Herman's Hermits. In addition, Sloan and Barri formed the delightful surf-rock group The Fantastic Baggys and wrote, produced, and worked as session musicians for such artists as Jan & Dean. Phil achieved his greatest success and notoriety as a songwriter when he penned the powerful and controversial protest rock anthem "Eve of Destruction," which was a #1 hit for Barry McGuire in the fall of 1965. He created and played the guitar intro on the song "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas and wrote the song "Take Me for What I'm Worth" for The Searchers. Moreover, Sloan recorded several less successful solo albums in the mid to late 1960's. Acclaimed fellow songwriter Jimmy Webb wrote the glowing tribute song "P.F. Sloan" about Phil. Sloan's song "From a Distance" was a huge hit in Japan in 1970. Phil went into semi-retirement after his album "Raised on Records" flopped in 1972. Sloan played a handful of concerts in New York City in the mid-1980's. He recorded the belated comeback album "(Still on the) Eve of Destruction" in 1993. Phil released the follow-up album "Sailover" in 2006 and his last solo album "My Beethoven" in 2014. Sloan died at age 70 from pancreatic cancer on November 15, 2015 at his home in Los Angeles, California.....~ side 1) 1.) Let Me Be (P.F. Sloan) - 2:44 2.) The Way You Want It To Be (P.F. Sloan) - 4:06 3.) The Night the Trains Broke Down (P.F. Sloan) - 4:15 4.) The Moon Is Stone (P.F. Sloan) - 4:09 5.) Raised On Records (P.F. Sloan) - 4:00 (side 2) 1.) Springtime (P.F. Sloan) - 4:31 2.) Como (P.F. Sloan) - 3:08 3.) Sins of a Family (P.F. Sloan) - 3:29 4.) Turn On the Light (P.F. Sloan) - 3:00 5.) Midnight Girl (P.F. Sloan) - 3:00 6.) Somebody's Watching Me (P.F. Sloan) - 4:04
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Aparte de los consabidos éxitos “Where Were You When I Needed You”, “Let´s Live For Today” o “Midnight Confessions”, grandísimas canciones pop, The Grass Roots grabaron obras maestras de la psicodelia como “Feelings”, que tituló su tercer Long Play.
Extraída en single no se comió un rosco. Ni tan siquiera clasificó en USA, siendo una de las mejores cosas que grabaron jamás.
“All My Sorrows” del segundo álbum de The Searchers en 1963, versión del Kingston Trio. La influencia de la música folk estuvo en ellos desde el principio, en su LP de debut metieron “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” de Pete Seeger, cosa rara porque, que yo sepa, el merseybeat se nutría básicamente de rock and roll, r&b, y en menor medida de estándars Tin Pan Alley, pero no de folk. Los Beatles comenzaron a incluirlo una vez que descubrieron a Bob Dylan no antes, por lo que, en ese sentido, los Searchers iban por delante de los demás, por delante incluso del celebérrimo “The House Of The Rising Sun” de los Animals, grabada y editada en 1964 y considerada inicio del subgénero folk-rock.
En 1964, Mike Pender, John McNally, Chris Curtis y Tony Jackson, acometieron "What Have They Done To The Rain" de Malvina Reynolds (la de “Little Boxes”) y después tuvieron éxito con canciones folk-pop de Jackie DeShannon y con el “Take Me For What I´m Worth” de P.F. Sloan. Incluso llegaron a grabar en los sesenta la versión inglesa de “For What It´s Worth” de Buffalo Springfield (de cuyas mismas fuente bebían) pero no la llegaron a publicar. Curioso.
R.I.P. P.F. Sloan
P.F. Sloan, dead at 70.