That Joe Meek has been called the UK’s answer to Phil Spector is understandable. Both were producers who worked in the 1960s, and both favored sound effects and employed innovative techniques. Both also committed murders and came to sad ends.
But there were important differences between the two. Though Meek scored several major British and American hits, such as the Honeycombs’ “Have I the Right?” and the Tornados’ “Telstar,” he was not as commercially successful as Spector. Moreover, his work is arguably less formulaic than Spector’s and even more experimental and diverse. You can usually spot the American producer’s trademark Wall of Sound a few seconds into one of his so-called “little symphonies for the kids.” But Meek dabbled in a wide variety of styles, including pop, rock, surf music, psychedelia, and more, and his handiwork yielded more disparate results.
He may also have been more prolific than Spector; at least it seems so in retrospect, now that England’s Cherry Red label has been digging into the vaults and releasing box sets in a series called Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes. (The name reflects the fact that the producer stored the tapes in tea chests.) The record company acquired nearly 2,000 reels containing over 4,000 hours of music – virtually all of it untouched for more than 50 years. Previous releases from the series have included two three-CD multi-artist anthologies, Do the Strum: Girl Groups and Pop Chanteuses (1960–1966) and From Taboo to Telstar—1962: A Year in the Life of 304 Holloway Road. (The title references the address of the producer’s home studio.) Another collection, called Please Stay, focuses solely on the Cryin’ Shames, a Meek-produced group whose discography is far more impressive than its minimal commercial impact would suggest.
Now we have another Meek compendium, this one called Too Far Out: Beat, Mod & R&B from 304 Holloway Road (1963–1966). All but two of the 88 tracks on the three-CD, four-hour anthology come from the Tea Chest archives. Like its predecessors, this collection incorporates a well-illustrated booklet that includes biographical information about all its nearly four-dozen featured artists.
Though the clamshell-boxed set includes a few minor British hits, such as the Cryin’ Shames’ “Please Stay” and a couple of familiar group names, this is not primarily a collection of chart tunes. Far from it. The selections in the compendium – all of which have been restored and newly mastered – consist mostly of obscurities. Many are previously unreleased songs or alternate takes of little-known tunes, and others aren’t known even a little. A song called “Land of Shame” is credited to “Unknown Group #1,” while an audition tape of a cover of Ray Charles’s “What’d I Say” is performed by “Unknown Group #2,” and two other numbers are the work of “Unknown Group #3.”
Inevitably, perhaps, in an anthology this large and diverse, the program is uneven. It embraces silly novelties like “Jack the Ripper,” by Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages, and forgettable covers such as the Syndicats’ reading of Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” and a high-octane but unsatisfying reading of “Singing the Blues” by Jason Eddie & the Centremen.
Tracks you’ll likely want to hear multiple times predominate, however. They include the caffeinated “She’s Too Way Out,” by Tony Dangerfield & the Thrills, with a piano that sounds a bit like Jerry Lee Lewis; and the Dowlands’ “Someone Must Be Feeling Sad,” which could be mistaken for an overlooked Everly Brothers standout. Noteworthy, too, are three tracks from the Riot Squad: a soulful cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um,” as well as “I Take It That We’re Through” and “Who’s Fooling Who,” which combine assertive vocals with punchy garage-rock instrumentation.
Also excellent are a brassy, well-sung cover of Ray Davies’s “Something Better Beginning” by the Honeycombs and a reading of Allen Toussaint’s “A Certain Girl” by the Checkmates (not to be confused with the identically named American group that had a hit with the Spector-produced “Black Pearl”). That the Blue Rondos’ catchy “Little Baby,” “What Can I Do,” and “Don’t Want Your Loving No More” weren’t commercially successful is almost worthy of inclusion in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, as all are on par with many of the British Invasion numbers that scored big in the States. The Beat Boys’ “A Little Loving,” from 1964, also sounds as good as lots of hits from that year.
Also Noteworthy
Eric Schmitt, Wait for the Night. After hearing this pensive and affecting latest album from folk singer/songwriter Eric Schmitt, you won’t be surprised to learn that besides making music, he teaches English at Louisiana State University. There’s a literary quality to the 11 songs on this entirely self-penned and largely acoustic album.
Playing guitars, piano, harmonica, and lap steel, Schmitt garners backup from his multi-instrumentalist co-producer, Clay Parker, and players who add bass, drums, pedal steel, cello, violin, and mandolin. With a voice that recalls Neil Young in his folkier moments, the singer seems to come out of the same world that produced artists like Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker.
Serious themes characterize some of Schmitt’s vignettes, such as the midtempo “One of These Days,” about a mismatched couple who seem destined to split; and the title cut, about a man who spends nearly every night trying to forget the woman who has left him. Others are lighter, such as “Fool’s Paradise,” in which the protagonist orders a drink while waiting for his tardy date and winds up kissing a woman who turns out to be the date’s mother. Whether somber or lighthearted, Schmitt’s songs virtually all mark him as a major talent.
Jimmy Jones, Good Timin’: The Singles Collection 1956-62. Rock and roll and R&B singer Jimmy Jones just slightly avoided the “one-hit wonder” label by scoring two top five smashes. First came December 1959’s “Handy Man,” which he co-wrote and which subsequently also produced hits for Del Shannon and James Taylor. Then, four months later, he struck more gold with “Good Timin’.” However, that was pretty much the end of the 15 minutes of fame for Jones, who died in 2012 at age 82, though he influenced other artists, such as Shannon, and continued to record for many years.
This 31-track anthology suggests that the singer deserves more attention than he has received. While the pair of early gospel numbers that open the program showcase a strong but not particularly distinctive deep voice, Jones quickly moves into doo wop and rock territory and begins employing a spectacular falsetto. On numbers like “With All My Heart,” he bears comparison to the great Clyde McPhatter, while the two hits and many of the other tunes here prove more redolent of the also-great Jackie Wilson.
Jeff Burger’s website, byjeffburger.com, contains five decades’ worth of music reviews, interviews, and commentary. His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters.
