Hey gang:
There was yet another GREAT PBS Music
Special that ran this weekend and will continue to run periodically for the next
few weeks on PBS Nationwide, you need to check it out!
It's 60's POP, ROCK &
SOUL (My Music)
Another T.J. Lubinsky incredible line-up
of artists. It was hosted by Peter Noone (Herman Hermits) and Davy Jones
(Monkees).
Here's the line-up of the two hour
special, and a few thoughts ...
Daydream Believer - Davy Jones - Great
rendition of the Monkees Hit and the "My Music Orchestra" backed up beautifully as they
did on every song.
Kicks - Paul Revere & The Raiders
- Sounded great, however the only original member was Paul Revere, (who had to
have plastic surgery), I've known him for years and never have seen him look so
young! :-)
Turn Around, Look At Me - Vogues
- Original members, and they sounded like the old days.
Somebody to Love / White Rabbit -
Jefferson Starship - Original members Marty Balin and Paul Kantner and some
woman that was a pretty good sound alike for Grace Slick. I know Grace has NOT
aged well, but still heard that her voice was top notch. Why they didn't include
her I have no idea, unless she is not doing well physically?
Mr Tambourine Man - Roger McGuinn - This
is the BEST I've heard Roger sound, PERIOD!!! He was backed up by the house
band, but his Rickenbacker 12 string was louder than I've heard it in years, it
was ROCKIN'!!! He was perfect, note for note on the RIC and again, his vocals
were superb. Sounded just like the original. Of course, I was impressed! Just
too bad they didn't include at least one more tune, ala "Turn, Turn, Turn" or
"My Back Pages".
Louie Louie - The Kingsman - It was the
original group. (I did an extensive interview with them a few years ago while
they were promoting their autobiography which was extremely interesting). The
song itself sounded good, BUT THEY CHANGED THE LYRICS!!!! Hello??? It was
not even close to the original lyrics and that was a real letdown for
me!
When A Man Love A Woman - Percy Sledge
- Percy looked and sounded good, but like Michael Strahan, still hasn't fixed
his teeth :-)
A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy - This
was one of the highlights for me, I have never heard them sing this song live,
and their guitar work and vocals were impeccable!
Devil With A Blue Dress (Good Golly Miss
Molly) - Mitch Ryder - No Detroit Wheels, but the backup band did him right,
sounded good!
Hawaii Five-O - Ventures - Excellent
rendition, with video from the original TV Show starring Jack Lord.
Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles - No Smokey
Robinson, but still good.
Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd - Why they
included this tune is beyond me, it was good in it's day but only reached #28 on
the charts in '66!
I'm Into Something Good / I'm Henry VIII I
Am / There's A Kind Of Hush - Herman's Hermits -Peter Noone was indeed the star
of the entire show. I've seen them perform live nearly every year and they are
one of the BEST LIVE groups ever. His guitar player and back up singer Vance
Brescia, also steals the show ... he's got the looks of a '60's Hermits backup
singer and when added to Peter Noone, is an INCREDIBLE showman and
vocalist!
96 Tears - ? Mark & the Mysterians
- Another song, I don't know why was included in this line-up ...
HELLO?
This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis & The
Playboys - It looked to be the original band, and was refreshing to hear Gary
Lewis. I know he also performed a number of other tunes included on the DVD / CD
and some of them should have been included instead of the "96 Tears" and "Knock
on Wood"! (Just my opinion) BTW, great story about Gary being signed by Liberty
Records back in the day because he was Jerry's kid. And his voice was SOOOOO bad
he had to have six months of voice lessons before they would allow him to
record! (Of course this was NOT revealed on the show, just some inside
info).
Hey There Lonely Girl - Eddie Holman -
Great tune that went to #1 in 1970, and had everyone in the audience hugging and
kissing! Smooooooooch!
Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) - Steam
- Gary DeCarlo, the original singer was joined by every band member and back up
singer ... t was fun and brought back a lot of memories!
Classical Gas - Mason Williams - This was
the finale that all the credits rolled on, but was an incredible version,
especially with the orchestra backing him up.
All in all, I would give this show a B+
and recommend you watch it. If you've got kids or grandkids, this would be a
great music history lesson for them, especially for what was going on in the
'60's and early '70's, check it out, you won't be disappointed.
"Wild" Bill Cody
It IS a great show ... we've watched it a
couple of times now already and we HIGHLY recommend it to all our readers. To
comment on a few of your comments ...
Here is a case where the bonus DVD REALLY
makes this show complete ... a 7-DVD Set for a $150 donation ... yeah, kinda
steep ... but nearly ALL of these artists did MUCH longer sets than what they're
showing on TV. (Come on, Davy Jones hosting and only doing one song? That
doesn't seem right! But the DVD features four more Monkees tunes ... and some
extra Peter Noone material, too, including our recent "Today's Forgotten Hit"
feature "Listen People", which they showed during one of the pledge
breaks.)
Paul Revere and the Raiders performed a
full set ... much more music from them on the DVDs. They put on a GREAT show
and honestly, I've seen Paul Revere up close and personal recently ... he looks
FANTASTIC! (More on Paul Revere and the Raiders below ... and be sure to check
out Monday's Edition of Forgotten Hits for a very special, exclusive concert
offer!)
Kudos to The Miracles, too, who I thought
sounded GREAT without Smokey ... I wasn't expecting that!
Grace Slick officially retired a few years
ago and said she wouldn't perform ANY of these songs anymore ... she felt that
she was just getting too old to do it and wanted to take life easy and relax. I
don't know much about the new girl but she definitely can sing. I thought she
did a GREAT job on both of these Jefferson Airplane classics. Ditto on Roger
McGuinn ... Roger has done a number of these PBS shows and this was by far one
of his very best performances.
Stealing the show for us was Eddie Holman
... man, that guy can sing ... and still hit ALL the high notes. He sounded
INCREDIBLE!!! (On that same note, I didn't quite get the inclusion of Eddie
Floyd ... or Percy Sledge either for that matter ... NO comparison to what Eddie
showed us.)
Another favorite was Chad and Jeremy ...
they were spot on and looked and sounded great! (Honestly, they look EXACTLY
the same, only older. The DVD also features "Yesterday's Gone", one of MY
personal favorites. The short clip of this tune that they showed during the
break sounded outstanding.)
I'm thinking that in all they years The
Ventures have been performing it, "Hawaii Five-O" NEVER sounded so full and
vibrant as it did with this "house band" ... a full orchestra and horn section,
complimented with vintage television footage made this one of the highlights,
too. (Frannie and I are hooked on the new series ... one of the few reboots to
actually connect and make it with a new audience.)
Speaking of great instrumentals, Mason
Williams sounded great, too, backed by the "My Music" orchestra. "Classical
Gas" sounded as good as it ever has ... and, now that he's aged, Mason actually
LOOKS like a classical composer, especially with the way he's wearing his
hair!
You're always hit-or-miss with Gary Lewis
... (I doubt that ANY of those Playboys were originals but who knows!) ... but I
think he sounded pretty good on "This Diamond Ring". Several other of their
selections appear on the DVD set and I'm curious to hear how they sound on
those.
One of the big to-do's was the reuniting
of The Vogues for this program ... and they sounded FANTASTIC. (Almost a little
TOO fantastic ... I wonder how much they were "vocally enhanced" in the editing
process!) They only performed "Turn Around, Look At Me" on the program ... but
several other of their hits also appear on the DVD set.
I also really enjoyed Gary DeCarlo and all
the back-up singers doing "Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye", a song I typically
turn off the radio now due to oversaturation ... but it sure sounded good live
in concert.
As for The Kingsmen. Mitch Ryder and ? and
the Mysterians, they also sounded good but didn't add much to the overall flavor
of the show. (Although watching ? prance around the stage in what appeared to
be his sister's outfit WAS kind of funny to watch!)
All-in-all, a GREAT concert.
PBS is also running "All-Time Great
Duets", featuring videos of some EXCELLENT pairings, including Marvin Gaye and
Tammi Terrell, Elton John and Kiki Dee, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, Joe
Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, etc, etc, etc.
Nice to see some of these vintage clips again. And the whole thing is hosted by
a guy who knows a thing or two about singing duets, Kenny Loggins! (We saw his
former partner Jim Messina in concert last weekend!) Catch this one, too, if
you can. (Last Sunday they ran these two programs AGAINST each other here in
Chicago ... which made for a WHOLE lot of channel-surfing, trying to catch our
favorite bits of each!)
And, thanks to this latest pledge drive
(seriously, is it ever NOT pledge time???), we also saw a John Sebastian-hosted
tribute to The Folk Music Era ... and a GREAT live concert by Paul Simon. And,
by the time you read this, the Buddy Holly "Listen To Me" All-Star Tribute will
have started, too! Some REALLY good
'60's music on PBS this month ... again, check your local listings!
(kk)
I asked FH Reader Mike Bush to share a few of HIS
comments on this program, too.
