Capitol Records

Posts Tagged ‘Capitol Records’

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

The Producers: Macca, Supersuckers, 0 for 4, and Life on Wilshire

by Tom Werman

One day a year or two on either side of 1995, I was sitting in my kitchen — something I found myself doing more and more during the mid-nineties – and the phone rang. I picked it up, and the man’s voice on the other end asked for me, told me his name (I can’t recall it), and said he was calling from Paul McCartney’s office in London. Assuming it was a ruse, but not positive that it was, I proceeded cautiously as the man explained that he was calling to check on my schedule to determine if I would be available to work with Paul during a certain portion of the following winter. Slightly amused, I considered saying “no, I’m afraid I’m busy,” but thought better of it, and assured the voice that I would definitely do what I had to do in order to make myself available. Before he wound up our conversation, I explained that I was delighted to receive the call, and of course I was excited by the prospect of possibly working with Paul, but could he please explain why he called me in particular, given the nature of the music I was known for producing. He replied that Paul always liked to explore all the options, thanked me for my time, and hung up.

I sat in stunned silence for a minute, wondering how he could have obtained my home number – it must be a practical joke of some sort – so I phoned Sandy Roberton, a producer’s manager who represented me for a couple of years during the nineties, and asked if he would mind checking this guy out for me. Minutes later, Sandy phoned back and confirmed that this man indeed did work for Paul in London. More stunned silence for me, reflecting on the fact that Paul McCartney actually knew who I was, and might have even spoken my name. (more…)

Tags: Capitol Records, CEMA, Cheap Trick, Columbia Records, Los Angeles, Music, music industry weasels, Paul McCartney, Record producer, Rock Star, Spinal Tap, Steve Lukather, Supersuckers, Tom Werman, underhanded shit, Ventura Boulevard
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Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

CD Review: “Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison”

by Jon Cummings

Purchase this CD (Amazon)

George Harrison was an intensely spiritual man, but the compilation gods have never been kind to him. His first best-of – actually a kiss-off from Apple/Capitol after he signed with Warner Bros. in 1976 – was downright insulting, with one LP side devoted not to his solo work, but to his Beatles songs. The Best of Dark Horse (1976-1989), compiled with Harrison’s participation and released in time to capitalize on the success of the Cloud 9 album and the Traveling Wilburys, was considerably more thorough in covering its timeframe; yet it failed to include the Apple hits. With Harrison now sadly gone, and his musical legacy split between two conglomerates that have not (yet) managed to merge, it long has seemed that newcomers to his music might never find a comprehensive sample of his best work in one package.

But lo, this week brings the new, “career-spanning” EMI comp Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison … and I’m sorry to say that the wait continues.

Of course, any reduction of a long career to a single, 19-track CD is bound to be full of holes. (Though it must be said, while we’re on the subject of single-disc solo-Beatles comps, that EMI did an excellent job with Lennon Legend and even did right by Ringo with the recent Photograph set.) But Let it Roll’s inclusions (and exclusions) seem so random, its sequencing so thoughtless, that one can only wonder whether the compilers gave any consideration to (or even had much knowledge of) the arc of George’s career. That’s a sweeping accusation, I know, and I’ll be suitably embarrassed if it turns out that George himself wrote the track listing on a napkin while lying on his deathbed, or perhaps put it in his will. (Such information might be in the album credits or in Warren Zanes’ liner notes, neither of which EMI saw fit to include with review copies of the CD.) (more…)

Tags: Apple Records, Capitol Records, CD Reviews, Concert for Bangladesh, EMI, George Harrison, Jon Cummings, Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison, The Beatles, Warner Bros. Records
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

CD Review: The Decemberists, “The Hazards of Love”

by Ken Shane

The Hazards of Love (Capitol Records), the fifth Decemberists album, is a romantic fairy tale, albeit one with some extremely dark passages, and a very sad ending. Musically, Colin Meloy wanted to explore the very real connection between British folk revival music and classic metal, and points to Sandy Denny’s performance on Led Zeppelin’s “The Battle of Evermore” as a point where the two came together. Meloy based his songs on old folk songs, and developed a narrative, and characters to be a part of it.

Lyrically, this very ambitious album tells the story of Margaret, who leaves the safety of her home for the dangers of the forest, where she is ravaged by a shape-shifting creature. The creature, first seen in the form of a fawn, becomes her lover, William. Pregnant, she returns to the forest to seek out William because “the wanting comes in waves.” William, who was either saved or stolen as a baby, depending on who’s telling the story, begs his mother The Queen, to grant him one more night in human form so that he may be with Margaret again.

On her return to the forest, Margaret is abducted by The Rake, who is a very bad guy. He rejoices over the fact that his wife died in childbirth, and proceeds to murder his remaining three children. He poisons his oldest daughter Charlotte, and then drowns her sister Dawn, before beating his son Isaiah to death and then burning his body for daring to resist him. As I said at the outset, dark. All of this is captured in “The Rake’s Song.”

William sets out to rescue his love, but can’t cross the wide river Annan. He pleads with the river to allow to cross, and in returns offers his life. At this point The Rake’s children return to take their revenge on their father, and William sets out to rescue Margaret, “The Wanting Comes In Waves (Reprise),” and succeeds, only to have them both drown when they try to cross the river again. Phew! (more…)

Tags: Battle of Evermore, Becky Stark, Capitol Records, CD Review, Colin Meloy, Ken Shane, Sandy Denny, Shara Worden
Posted in CD Reviews, Music | Comments

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Lost in the ’70s: Cheryl Ladd, “Think It Over”

by John C. Hughes

lit70s

Charlie’s Angels chanteuse Cheryl Ladd was known for two spectacular things: her acting and her singing.

What? What’d you think I was gonna say?

Anyhoo, Ladd got her start as a singer in the early ’70s, back when she was still known as Cheryl Stoppelmoor. In fact, after her first stage-name change to Cherie Moor, she sang as one of Josie’s Pussycats (covered previously in this column) on the Josie and the Pussycats album. A few lean years followed before she was cast as Kris Munroe (Jill’s little sister, of course!) on Charlie’s Angels in 1977, replacing Farrah Fawcett, who left after the first season. The show was wildly popular, so why shouldn’t Ladd try her hand at singing again?

Capitol Records bit (the same label that released Josie and the Pussycats, actually), and the creatively titled Cheryl Ladd was unleashed upon the world in 1978. Lead single “Think It Over” (download) was one of those songs I only heard on the radio during the first hour of American Top 40, aka the Most Awesome Hour of Radio as a Child, since it was the only place I could hear many songs my local Top 40 station wouldn’t play, like “Turning Japanese” by the Vapors or “Island of Lost Souls” by Blondie. “Think It Over” may have been a bigger hit elsewhere, but in Ohio Ladd’s singing career wasn’t greeted with the same enthusiasm as, say, the 3,000th play of Journey’s “Wheel in the Sky.” It did well enough to scrape the Top 40, though, and Ladd set out to flog the single on various variety shows.

Woo! All that hair flipping’s made me lightheaded. And hey, a Brenda Russell cameo! See ya in a few years when you write “Piano in the Dark” and “Get Here,” Brenda!

Cheryl Ladd failed to produce any more hits, but Ladd continued to release albums — one more for Capitol called Dance Forever in 1979, and two Japan-only releases in the early ’80s. Capitol put out a Best of Cheryl Ladd CD in Japan in ‘93, but really, why?

“Think It Over” peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.

Get Cheryl Ladd music at Amazon.

Tags: Billboard Hot 100, Brenda Russell, Capitol Records, Charlie's Angels, Cheryl Ladd, Fred Silverman, Jiggle, John C. Hughes, Kris Munroe, Lost In The '70s, Music, Singing
Posted in Lost in the '70s, Music | Comments