Posts Tagged ‘Elektra Records’

The Producers: Rebuilding Elektra, Missing Whitney, and the Crüe

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blues[1]Our little cul de sac in Los Angeles was short and narrow, just off Laurel Canyon and just south of Ventura Boulevard. Except for the occasional airport trip when I would call for a town car to pick me up, limos were generally scarce in our neighborhood — so when a big black stretch limo pulled up at about 6:30 one weekday evening, the neighbors knew somebody of some note must be visiting. John and Judy Belushi, accompanied by their driver/assistant Smokey and Paul Cooper of Atlantic Records, came into the house, and we introduced everyone to our daughters Julia and Nina, who were then eight and five. We had some drinks and some hors d’oeuvres, and John was as hyperkinetic as anyone I had ever known, even when he was sitting down. Every minute he was doing something with his hands or jiggling his feet, talking nonstop or walking around looking at things in the living room. At one point, while fooling around with Nina , who was a very petite five-year-old, he literally tossed her over the back of the couch onto the floor – she wasn’t hurt, but she still hasn’t forgotten.

At dinner, John explained that he was on the wagon at the time, and that Smokey was along to make sure he didn’t drink and to “take the cocaine out of his nose.” After dinner, we repaired to my music room, where John proceeded to thumb through my 1500 vinyl albums, and we pulled out a bunch of records and started to compile a list of songs that he would enjoy doing. He danced with my sister, who was visiting us, and we had a pretty enjoyable evening. We agreed that I would meet with Dan Aykroyd in New York, and further discuss what might happen on the next record. Some days later, I met with Danny at the midtown office he shared with John (where one of the office decorations was the actual passenger door from a Chicago police cruiser). (more…)

Lost in the ’70s: The Quick

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Unknown to nearly everyone save the most devoted power-pop and glam aficionados, the Quick were managed by legendary Los Angeles scenester and Runaways cofounder Kim Fowley. Fowley also coproduced the Quick’s one and only LP, Mondo Deco (1976), alongside Earl Mankey, formerly of Sparks — quite notable, since at first listen the Quick come off as slavish imitators of the Mael Brothers.

While tunes like the gimmicky “Hi Lo” (download) definitely have a Sparks-like sound, complete with helium vocals from Danny Wilde, various time-signature changes, and prominent piano, the Quick was truly a glam-pop band at its core. Nowhere was that made more apparent than on the Beatles remake that kicks off Mondo Deco, “It Won’t Be Long” (download). In the Quick’s hands it becomes a theatrical stomper, as slashing guitars and call-and-response vocals take it beyond the basic four-four pop song it was intended to be.

It was difficult to imagine anyone thinking the Quick would take America by storm, especially when the source material, Sparks, were barely able to get arrested here. But perhaps if hook-filled tunes like “Hillary” (download) had been released as singles, the ill-fated quintet would’ve achieved some level of mainstream success. As it were, the Quick were destined to be cult favorites, with devotees clutching copies of the long-out-of-print debut close to their breasts, never to see it issued on CD.

The band did go on to record some demos for Elektra Records in 1977 that failed to ignite any interest; however, those demos did make it to CD as Untold Rock Stories in 2002. One of them, “Pretty Please Me,” was even covered by the Dickies and Redd Kross.

While the Quick never broke through, lead singer Danny Wilde would eventually find success, albeit nearly 15 years later, as the notably helium-free lead singer of the Rembrandts, most famous for recording the theme from TV’s Friends. I’m sure that payday was worth the wait. I’d love to see Mondo Deco be reissued on CD or even as an official digital release, but I’m not holding my breath. Until then, it’s definitely worth hunting down.

No singles charted.

Get The Quick music at Amazon or on The Quick

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