CD Review: The dB's Like This (1984/2006)

Formed in 1978 in North Carolina by guitarist/songwriter Chris Stamey, bassist Gene Holder, and drummer Will Rigby, the dB’s stood at the forefront of the late 1970s/early ‘80s Piedmont “jangle-pop” movement that included Mitch Easter’s fondly-remembered band Let’s Active and producer and musician Don Dixon’s various projects. Peter Holsapple, a former bandmate of Stamey’s, hooked up with the trio later the same year and the band moved to NYC in search of fame and fortune.

Sadly, they couldn’t get a stateside record deal, instead signing with British imprint Albion for the release of two excellent pop/rock efforts: 1981’s Stands For Decibels and 1982’s Repercussion. Although both albums were critically acclaimed, they were ignored by the masses – much like Big Star’s first two albums, an obvious touchstone for the dB’s sound – and Stamey left the dB’s in ’83 to pursue a solo career.

With Holsapple fronting the band, the three remaining members recorded Like This in 1984. Influenced, perhaps, as much by the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield as by the British Invasion, the album added more of Holsapple and Rigby’s roots-rock sound to the pop formula, moving beyond Stamey’s art-rock maneuvers to deliver an ingratiating collection of songs. It’s no stretch of the imagination to say that Like This paved the way for folks like Matthew Sweet and Velvet Crush to follow, influencing contemporaries like R.E.M. and the Fleshtones as well.

Like This opens with the charming “Love Is For Lovers,” a spry song with great vocal harmonies and hook large enough to reel in any listener, a song prime for covering by the right artist. “Love Is For Lovers” sets the table for the feast to follow, songs like the beautifully bittersweet “Lonely Is (As Lonely Does),” which matches lofty vocals with lush, intricate instrumentation and mournful lyrics.

“Amplifier,” a tragic, dark-hued tale of love, loss and suicide sports clever lyrical gymnastics supported by a solid rhythm and snakelike guitar licks to pierce the wall of sound. “A Spy In The House Of Love” displays the boy’s Southern funk side, with a loping rhythm and Holsapple’s soulful vocals while the fierce, rocking “Rendezvous” features Holsapple’s nifty fretwork and some of Rigby’s best drumming, the rhythms hitting your ears like a tidal wave.

“White Train” documents a meeting with the devil, a story of sin and salvation and a heaven-bound soul with a twangy rockabilly soundtrack and fine harmonies from the trio. The Collectors’ Choice Music CD reissue of Like This offers bonus tracks in the form of “Darby Hall,” a Gothic tale with ethereal vocals and delicate instrumentation, and a largely disposable and unnecessary remix of “A Spy In The House Of Love” that robs the song of its original energy.

As written by history, the dB’s chose to release Like This and jump into a tour opening for R.E.M. rather than wait for their label, Bearsville, to sign a distribution deal with Warner Music. The label folded shortly after the album’s release, leaving the band high and dry and dooming the album to commercial obscurity.

Although they would later sign a deal with R.E.M.’s label, IRS Records, for their 1987 release The Sound Of Music, the dB’s would never get over their “cult band” status and broke up after their fourth album. With Like This finally restored on compact disc, pop/rock fans can rediscover this long-lost musical bridge between Big Star’s groundbreaking early 1970s albums and ‘90s-era popsters like Matthew Sweet, Jellyfish and the Posies. Enjoy! (Alt.Culture.Guide, 2006)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The dB's Like This

The Turtles 45RPM Vinyl Singles Collection

Here’s one you may have overlooked among the glut of recent vinyl releases and reissues. Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan have released (through FloEdCo/Manifesto Records) The Turtles 45RPM Vinyl Singles Collection, a box set of eight super-groovy 7” vinyl singles that revisit some of the band’s biggest hits of the late 1960s. Vinyl collectors and ‘60s pop enthusiasts alike can experience a bunch of great songs in their original format – 7” singles!

Kaylan and Volman (a/k/a “Flo and Eddie”) were the frontmen of the Turtles, a chart-topping outfit that mixed the melodic vocal harmonies of the Beatles with the pop sensibilities of the Monkees and the folkish charm and psychedelic roots of bands like the Lovin’ Spoonful. The band included a number of talented musicians through the years, including bassist/producer Chip Douglas (who also produced several Monkees’ hits) and drummer John Barbata (Jefferson Starship). The band’s first single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” would go Top Ten, jumping off a string of hits like “Happy Together” (#1), “She’d Rather Be With Me” (#3), and “Elenore” (#6), all of which are included in the box set.

Unlike some of their peers at the time, the Turtles were real musicians and artists, and sometimes those singles that didn’t or barely charted were as interesting and entertaining as the hits. “Outside Chance,” for instance, was written by the late Warren Zevon, the song an obscure effort worthy of rediscovery, while “Love In The City,” a non-album track produced by Ray Davies of the Kinks, was an experiment in rock and psych-pop from the band’s final album, Turtle Soup. The band was only together for five short years, circa 1965-1970, but they released 20 singles during that half-decade (I’m not counting the post-break up 45s released by White Whale, the band’s label, that had little or nothing to do with the band), the best of which are included in the vinyl box.

After the demise of the Turtles, Kaylan and Volman would join Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention (along with bassist Jim Pons) as “the Phlorescent Leech & Eddie” as they were unable to use their real names due to contractual conflict with their former record label. The pair would add their harmony vocals behind Marc Bolan on the T. Rex albums Electric Warrior and The Slider as well as on Bruce Springsteen’s hit “Hungry Heart,” and enjoyed a brief career as Flo & Eddie, releasing a handful of albums between 1972 and 1981.

The pair legally regained the use of the Turtles name in 1983, as well as the band’s master recordings, and have since released several albums and toured frequently as the Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. The Turtles’ legacy rests on these singles, however, songs that have influenced several generations of bands to follow. Autographed copies of The Turtles 45RPM Vinyl Singles Collection can be purchased on the Turtles website.

The Turtles 45RPM Vinyl Singles Collection full singles listing:

“It Ain’t Me Babe” (1965) b/w “You Don’t Have To Walk In The Rain” (1969)
“Let Me Be” (1965) b/w “Love in the City” (1969)
“You Baby” (1966)  b/w “You Know What I Mean” (1967)
“Happy Together” (1967) b/w “Grim Reaper of Love” (1965)
“She’d Rather Be With Me” (1967) b/w “Story of Rock and Roll” (1968)
“She’s My Girl” (1967) b/w “Can’t I Get To Know You Better” (1966)
“Elenore” (1968) b/w “Outside Chance” (1966) 
“You Showed Me” (1968) b/w “Sound Asleep” (1968)

JEM Records resurrected, the Bongos first up to bat!

The Bongos circa 1985, photo by Emil Schult, courtesy Wikipedia Commons

 

Music industry veteran Marty Scott, the founder of JEM Records, is getting back into the game. JEM made a name for itself during the arid 1970s, when rock 'n' roll fanatics such as the Reverend could read about bands from far-off foreign lands, but couldn't get our hands on the music. Scott and JEM stepped in, the importer/distributor bringing in hard-to-find albums from labels like Virgin (Mike Oldfield), EG Records (King Crimson), and WEA International for U.S. distribution. JEM's "homegrown" label, Passport Records, would be home to a lot of diverse and exciting music between 1973 and 1988, including the Good Rats, Synergy, Pezband, Nektar, and Anthony Phillips, among many others.

Scott's resurrected JEM imprint will launch with a release from Hoboken, New Jersey's favorite sons the Bongos, and the band's long-lost album Phantom Train. Recorded in 1986 and never released, Phantom Train was remixed by Bongos frontman Richard Barone and is scheduled for September release. The band itself will make a big announcement on July 31st, 2013 at Maxwell's in Hoboken as they perform for the last show to be held at the legendary venue. As for JEM Records, Scott plans on signing new artists to the label as well as licensing classic old sides for reissue, which is great news, indeed!