Aquarius Rising

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Pop Open sixties group - revealed and reviewed...

TRACK ONE: Lyme & Cybelle - "Follow Me" - the most "sixties-ish" track in the group, full of sonic touchstones, but the eager vocal interplay is what makes it. Probably my winner since I'd already heard...

TRACK TWO: Gloria Jones - "Tainted Love" - Monster Northern Soul stomper dramatises a crisis point to tremendous effect - horn builds really well used. There's a darker undertow which maybe someone could bring out in a cover version or something.

TRACK THREE: Terry Callier - "Johnny Be Gay If You Can Be" - amazing atmosphere and use of space but it doesn't really keep my attention over all five minutes - would have got a vote in a less strong group though, and still close between this and....

TRACK FOUR: Wilson Simonal - "Nem Vem Que Nao Tem" - also very big on atmosphere (and I wouldn't have immediately thought "sixties"), sly and slinky at the same time. Probably gets my second-place vote.

The poll is running until Monday lunchtime (my time) - so keep on voting!

[Poll #1064664]

And you can get the tracks here: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/10/pop-open-week-10/

Comments

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

It took me forever to work out where I know the Wilson Simonal song from. It was covered by Brigitte Bardot as "Tu veux ou tu veux pas".

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I've also just realised I've heard it on the City of God soundtrack. Thought it was vaguely familiar

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

*smacks forehead* OH! (Thanks for pointing that out!) Still counts as "haven't heard it" though.

[lisa-go-blind.livejournal.com]

Interesting note: the "Lyme" in Lyme & Cybelle is none other than Warren Zevon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon) of "Lawyers, Guns & Money" and "Werewolves Of London" fame.

[koganbot]

The Marion Jones is real good, and I had no idea it existed. Matter-of-fact street dance, ready passion. Unfortunately, my first-place vote's not gonna be enough to get it past all the disqualifications.

The Mr. Future Excitable Boy and Cybele made me break into a great smile the second I heard the opening guitar. I love that sharp-wired Sixties sound. Love the organ drama, too. The song itself isn't quite up to all this love. Dreamy half-plain folky voices, between confessional and doo-wop, sounds ramshackle but is hard to pull off. Basically, you have to be the Airplane or the Mamas to do it. Nice attempt, though.

I've no idea who Terry Callier is. Baritone folk. Can't get a social read on him. Could be a "legitimate" pop singer going into folk material, a Bobby Darin type, let's say, or a folkie going for well-enunciated pop clarity. Either way, there's a risk of passionlessness but the song shines through.

Wilson Simonal is equally unknown to me, as is most of his genre, which I'm not going to try to identify beyond "Latin rhythms." Smoothness and force with a party in the background that keeps threatening to break loose. I like this balance: sophisto '50s with '60s madness held tantalizingly in reserve, just waiting to blow everybody's cool. Second place.

Another excellent set.

[credoimprobus]

The Wilson Simonal could be classed as "exotica", I think. I could be wrong though!