Phil's Spectre Vol.2: Another Wall of Soundalikes

The concept is fairly clear from the title of this, a sequel to the earlier Wall Of Soundalikes compilation put together by those benign record obsessives at Ace. Phil Spector was the creator of the trademark Wall Of Sound, and had a huge influence on his peers. Some tried to emulate his sound and success, often hiring the same studio (Gold Star in Hollywood) and engineer (Larry Levine or Stan Ross) that he used, and employing musicians who included members of his Wrecking Crew mafia; others adapted some of his techniques and many innovations to their own hallmark sounds. On this second collection several of the tracks also show how many singers tried to sound like Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, the Righteous Brothers, and did a pretty good job of it. Nite Owl, the Righteous Brothers track chosen here, predates their spell on the Philles label and shows that they were no strangers to Gold Star or to the Spector Wall Of Sound themselves. Particular highlights include I'm Nobody's Baby Now by Reperata and the Delrons (the single of which Reperata is most proud) and Ruby and the Romantics' Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore, in its reverberating UK single edit mix.
Some of Spector's sidemen are involved in these productions and songs, including Nino Tempo, Jeff Barry, Jerry Riopelle, Pete Andreoli, Vincent Poncia, Jack Nitzsche and Leon Russell. Surprisingly, though, there are no examples of the songwrting teams of Greenwich/Barry, Mann/Weil or Goffin and King. The collection includes some of the artists found on Phil's Spectre: the Righteous Brothers, Nino Tempo and April Stevens, the Beach Boys, Clydie King and Kane and Abel (an earlier version of the same song found on its predecessor), as well as a further couple of instances of Motown borrowing from the Spector box of tricks, this time involving Mary Wells and the Four Tops. Neither the Beach Boys or Mary Wells tracks were released at the time, though not for reasons concerning quality control. However, overall, it seems reasonable to suppose from this that their may never be a Phil's Spectre III, though Ace are welcome to prove me wrong. I wonder if they might transfer some of their energies to licensing and releasing some of the many Phil Spector productions, including whole albums, never made available on CD?
There are some tantalising moments. The producer of the Bonnets' track says they were named after their lead singer, Bonnie, without revealing whether this could be Bonnie O'Hara, who sang the Spector-linked Home Of The Brave by Bonnie and the Treasures. We know Jack Nitzsche's wife Gracia sang in the Satisfactions (so named because he played piano on the Stones' song) but not whether hers is the lead vocal. There seem to be no line-up details available for several of the groups included, which is unfortunate as some pieces of several puzzles might have been found in the process.
As one of the tracks is produced by Abner Spector it is worth pointing out that he and Lona Spector from Tuff Records etcetera, and who produced the Jaynetts' Sally Go Round The Roses, have no connection with Phil Spector. Their appearance on composer credits without a first name has fooled some collectors and critics.
All the tracks are monaural apart from those by the Righteous Brothers, the Beach Boys, Nino Tempo and April Stevens, the Four Tops and Joe South. Unlike a previous reviewer I can detect no stereophony in the Clydie King track, though, as with all the tracks, the sound is crystal clear; also, worryingly, some of the tracks seem to be a few seconds shorter than on previous, other label re-issues.
Recommended if you loved the first Phil's Spectre.

This CD is just as enjoyable as the first collection. There are a few tracks I didn't care much for (mainly by the male vocalists), but the ladies sound superb. And the booklet is also fun. Hearing Connie Stevens (when will her singles ever make it to CD...come on Warner Bros. wake up!), The Bonettes, and Clydie King alone are worth the price. The re-mastering is wonderful, as ACE UK do a superb job each time. Let's band together and get more Clydie available. She has a beautiful sound. If you like the Connie tune, "A Girl Never Knows"...check out her 45, "Little Miss Understood"/"There Goes Your Guy" (if you can find it), it's an even better Spector soundalike set!!! Grab this one up!

Ace's second volume of singles inspired (but not actually produced) by Phil Spector continues to document the impact that the "tycoon of teen" had on popular music. Not only did Spector dominate the charts with miniature symphonies by The Ronettes, Crystals and others, but his innovative "Wall of Sound" production techniques became the backbone of a whole generation of music. Spector's genius was passed directly to collaborators like Nino Tempo, Jack Nitzsche, and Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, by transitivity through the studio (Gold Star) where he worked and the engineer (Larry Levine) who tended his sessions. Even more broadly, the impact of his hit records spawned a thousand imitators.

Volume two repeats a few of the artists found on volume one, including The Righteous Brothers, Nino Tempo and The Beach Boys. The latter's unreleased-at-the-time "I Do" is a wonderful synthesis of Spector's shifting-wall of rhythm with Brian Wilson's falsetto-driven vocals. Also providing connection to volume one is a pre-"Motown Sound" side from the legendary Detroit label, featuring Mary Wells in a setting that would have done The Crystals proud.

More intriguing are the obscure singles from virtual unknowns who were treated to full Spector-styled orchestrations and arrangements. The Bonettes were a pick-up foursome of L.A. session singers whose Goldstar session (with Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine beating the skins) is as much an ode to The Ronettes as their group name. Goldstar's sound - particularly its echo chamber - was so unique that even a whitebread pop singer like Noreen Corcoran could seem Spectorian. Dobie Gray, best known for his hit singles "The 'In' Crowd" and "Drift Away," received the Goldstar/Wrecking Crew treatment for the rare "No Room to Cry."

Spector's collaborators could also sprinkle the magic dust without benefit of the studio or specific musicians, as was the case for the Jeff Barry-penned "I'm Nobody's Baby Now." The production's deep percussion and string arrangement are the perfect backing for Reparata & The Delrons, pitting Spector-like sophistication against Shangri-La's styled drama. Another Spector collaborator, Wrecking Crew pianist Leon Russell, provided a Righteous Brothers styled arrangement for The Knickerbockers' "Wishful Thinking."

Artists who'd later cut their own figures also had their hands in early Spectorian works. The pre-Bread David Gates produced a Connie Stevens side written by the pre-Grass Roots/Turtles Barri & Sloan, and the legendary Al Kooper produced several Spector-styled folk-rock and girlfroup sides, including Eight Feet's percussive "Bobby's Come a Long Way."

While many producers were content simply to borrow Spector's production techniques, others lifted his song ideas. Timmy & The Persianettes' "Timmy Boy" and The Victorians' "Climb Every Mountain" were among the more obscure in a surprisingly deep genre of songs to copy the formula of Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans' "Zip A-Dee Doo-Dah." Less copied is Ike & Tina's "River Deep - Mountain High," but that's exactly what Joe South did with his swamp-styled "Don't You Be Ashamed."

Perhaps the most impressive of all is Kane & Abel's "Break Down and Cry," produced in 3 hours in a Chicago studio with high-school string players and pick-up background singers. Magically, the studio engineer duplicated Spector's wall of musicians by having the small combo overdub their own recording a few times. The result sounds amazingly like a Spector recording of The Righteous Brothers - and a good one at that!

There's much more here, and each production has a story to tell in both its origins, and its relation to and reflection of Phil Spector. Sound quality is generally excellent throughout. Song notes and interviews are top-notch, as are the label and photo reproductions. A must have for any fan of Spector's work. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

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