John Gregory : Six Million Dollar Man

The problem with John Gregory, aside from his having two first names, is that there are a lot of them out there. There are all sorts of John Gregorys and a bunch of them are musicians. But the John Gregory I'm talking about is the British composer and arranger from the 60's and 70's who also recorded albums under the pseudonym "Chaquito". And man, could this guy arrange the heck out of a tune.

Like most 70's cop and action TV themes, Oliver Nelson's theme for The Six Million Dollar Man is a tiny little gem of orchestral funk.  It's great listening in its own right (especially if the six million dollar sound effects are included). John takes this already fabulous tune and cranks the knob to eleven to create a rip-roaring brass-fueled musical adventure.

It starts with these crazy horn runs that swing back and forth between the speakers. Then the backbeat starts and the horns go to work on the main theme, but the flutes and other winds are still flurrying around the stereo spectrum. This little, almost disconcerting motif continues throughout the entire tune. Somewhere in the middle the band drops out and we get a nice drum and bongo solo. Then the band jumps back in and hits the theme again with even more gusto than before, if such a thing is possible.

It's a whirlwind of a piece and if you're lucky you can find it on John's 1976 release on Pye Records, The Detectives, which is, as it sounds, an entire record of funkified brass-driven detective themes. Yes, this album is awesome, and you should own it. I don't actually have the vinyl, but I do have Six Million Dollar TV Themes which is a compilation that includes this album, plus other cop show themes from other albums, almost all of which are just as awesome. Definitely worth grabbing.

[You can listen to John Gregory's "Six Million Dollar Man" by navigating to the post "Song090" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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The Last Shadow Puppets : My Mistakes Were Made for You

The Last Shadow Puppets is a side project of Arctic Monkeys' front man Alex Turner and Miles Kane of The Rascals. It's a bit of a departure from the pop-punk stylings of the Monkeys, concentrating instead on the bombastic orchestral pop of the late 60's, early 70's, like Shirley Bassey, Scott Walker and early David Bowie.

It's a great album, yet another in a long line of fantastic albums from 2008. The songs are expertly crafted and wonderfully orchestrated, with swooping strings and punching horns. Plus, there's Alex's nifty little South Yorkshire accent, which is endearingly strong, coming through in spades on every song.

With so many great songs, it's tough to choose, but I went with "My Mistakes Were Made for You", because I think it embodies most of what the band claims they were shooting for. The lyrics are dark and moody, there's a groovy little backbeat, and the horns add just a touch of class while the soaring strings expertly propel the drama.  Actually, it reminds me a little of "The Windmills of Your Mind" by Michel Legrand or something from a John Barry soundtrack, both of which are fine things to be reminded of.

You can find "My Mistakes Were Made for You" on The Last Shadow Puppets' excellent freshman release, The Age of the Understatement.  What's really amazing, given the depth and grandeur of the music is that these guys were like 22 years old.  It's one thing to put out a great rock album.  It's another to put together such a phenomenally orchestrated masterpiece.

[You can listen to The Last Shadow Puppets' "My Mistakes Were Made for You" by navigating to the post "Song074" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Scott Walker : Jackie

God love Jacques Brel, because he really needs it. Every song is drenched in that bitter Gallic sense of cynicism and bile, shot through with the gaudy spangle of the Moulin Rouge. But it's so good. In "Jackie", as he fantasizes about the splendor that would accompany his meteoric rise to the top of the charts as a famous rock star, he writes about getting drunk, owning a bordello, smoking opium, queers, virgins and singing to the ladies in heaven with a giant flowing beard; you know, all that rock star stuff. Ironically, he had a couple of hits here in the states with "Ne me quitte pas" and "Seasons in the Sun", though I have no idea if he ever bought the whorehouse.

Scott Walker was a big hit in the UK, first with the Walker Brothers, then as a solo artist. The brothers had a minor hit here in the states with a Bacharach tune, but other than that, they never disturbed the charts. "Jackie" hit #20 in the UK, which I assume means it got a lot of airplay, which considering the lyrical content, I find amazing. Also, it's no mystery as to why it never got played over here. Scott loved Jacques Brel, and sang three of his songs on each of his first three solo LPs.

Anyway, this piece is a pretty typical Walker/Brel workout. The tune kicks in right away with the strings, horns and other orchestral trappings, as well as a martial beat that runs constantly throughout. Scott dives right in with his beautiful deep baritone, singing with the perfect mixture of glory and scorn, fluffed up with just a touch of reverb. The song drives forward relentlessly, with the orchestra pounding away and Scott just singing his heart out.

I love this song. I want to start a band just so I could cover this song. I like it so much, I'd be willing to sing it at a karaoke joint. (Note: Not really.) The orchestration is superb, the lyrics are astounding, and Scott's delivery is just top notch.

You can find this tune on Scott Walker's 1968 release, Scott 2. Oddly enough, it doesn't look like there are any compilations out there.

[You can listen to Scott Walker's "Jackie" by navigating to the post "Song048" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Ted Heath & His Music : Light My Fire

There are a lot of covers of "Light My Fire" out there. Just a ton. It's one of those songs that somehow became an easy listening staple, and every pop orchestra that ever tackled a rock song managed to cover it.

Actually, I know why. It turns out, the bands aren't covering the Doors, they're covering José Feliciano's Grammy-award winning cover from 1969. Usually you can tell, because they include José's little three-on-two breakdown at the end, as they do on this version.

The songs starts out soft, with some acoustic guitar, vibes and bongos. After a bit, the rest of the band comes in, nice and easy, but like Ike & Tina, Ted takes the beginning nice and easy, but ends the song nice and rough.

Well, as rough as you can get with this crowd.

The horn work is great, and there's not one, but two bongo solos, with another acoustic guitar break halfway through. Also, there's a little bit of organ to spice it up at the end. The arrangement is just impeccable; there's a little bit of everything to make you happy.

"Light My Fire" is off Ted's 1970's release, The Big Ones, which includes excellent covers of "Spinning Wheel" and "Nights in White Satin" among others. The record came out on the Phase 4 Stereo label. There are a number of excellent records on this label & they are distinctly recognizable by the big 4 on the cover. You can't really go wrong with one of these.

[You can listen to Ted Heath & His Music's "Light My Fire" by navigating to the post "Song036" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Jack Jones : Wives and Lovers

My wife and I have started watching Mad Men (season one: don't spoil it!), and we've often wondered how 'true-to-life' the characters are. Were folks really that blunt back then about their feelings towards women and minorities? Burt Bacharach, or probably more accurately Hal David, don't really chime in on the second count, but this song clearly weighs in on the first.

The lyrics are quaint, although somewhat chauvinist in their delivery. I mean, the song opens with "Hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your make-up," and goes on to exhort us that wives should always be lovers too, because, you know, there are "girls at the office, and men will always be men." The whole song is directed at the lady of the house, assuming, I suppose, that the man is king of the house and beyond reproach and whatnot. Either that, or he's just a hopeless cause.

This Grammy-award winning version is crooned by Jack Jones, who also sang the theme to "The Love Boat", among, I'm sure, more stellar offerings. The music is nice but standard swinging pop orchestra with horns and strings. The song was originally from his 1963 outing fittingly titled Wives and Lovers, but I found my copy on my Burt Bacharach box set, The Look of Love.

[You can listen to Jack Jones' "Wives and Lovers" by navigating to the post "Song015" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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