Motown, Oldies, 60's Rock'n'roll... lookin' for inspiration

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:41 pm

segaface wrote:Indeed, has anyone else ever played tamborine that well? Sheezus!

That's church technique. I've seen a bunch of folk that can play like that, especially in the South. It's pretty badass. I remember seeing a trumpet player that was playing with the Ellington Orchestra (under Mercer) grab a tambourine and play it like that on a few tunes. Sick.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

syrupcore · Post by **syrupcore** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:38 am

anything that says STAX or VOLT on the label. If you dont like it, I'll buy it.

evan · Post by **evan** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 11:11 am

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas's King & Queen is a really fun one, I'd grab that in a second. If you come across anything from Studio One, I'd probably take a second look at those as well, especially if you find something from the endless number of the vocal groups that were around then (The Melodians, The Paragons, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, etc.). And how about Esquivel records? Or if you're lucky, Serge Gainsbourg?

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:59 pm

This is all so great! Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have already picked up a couple of Supremes albums and one of The Four Tops. Still trying to track down the Chambers Brothers. Can't listen to anything yet because I don't have the record player set up.

As far as the Velvets go, I always found them intimidating from a listening standpoint. The mixes were all so weird. Vox would be totally buried on one song, all in the left channel on another, drums would sound like they were all made out of aluminum foil on a third... But now that I know they are out on reissue (and cheap, too!) I'll have to go digging.

I'm looking for a similar aesthetic, I guess, only a little more normal. I'm already weird enough. I'm kind of hoping that I can find some middle ground as far as production goes, where the gear I need is simple enough or obsolete enough to be relatively cheap, unique enough that imperfections don't stand out, and straightforward enough that I can pull it off in a low-tech environment.

And I really just like the sound of those old Motown recordings. Like Martha and the Vandellas.

I'm wondering if early Deep Purple might have anything for me...

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:44 pm

Man, older records that are amazing. So many. Here's a few that don't always get mentioned that are easy to find:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Traffic
Ventures
Cream
Ramsey Lewis
ANY Stax Volt stuff like above
Dusty Springfield
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood
Mason Williams

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:36 pm

Amen on the Creedence. I just got the Complete John Fogerty CD he just put out, and man, some of that old CCR stuff sounds absolutely amazing! I'm sure on that CD it's noise-reduced and remastered but still. Plus the songwriting is often really clever.

I've always liked the sax-through-guitar pedals stuff on Traffic songs, particularly the stuff on "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys." Most particularly that last note of the solo that is just this amazingly fucked-up chord that trails off into infinity. Man.

My dad used to play Ventures records to wake us up in the mornings when I was in high school. I love that stuff. I was over to see him tonight, and he was saying "we should play 'Walk, Dont Run'(he's a bass player)." Yeah, totally. Sign me up.

Check out "Dreams" by Gabor Szabo if you get the chance. Late '60s gypsy jazz, electric (most often acoustic guitar through a fender amp actually), piano, upright bass, percussion. Another record I've loved for thirty years. (Szabo wrote "Gypsy Queen" which is the instrumental back half of the Santana "Black Magic Woman" record.)

drmorbius · Post by **drmorbius** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:51 am

"Bernadette" for the bass line and esp. "Seven Rooms of Gloom" from The Four Tops-which has a lot of bizarre suspensions

"Reflections" is a great Supremes track, as are "Crying" and of course "Stop in the Name of Love", which I guess has been overplayed a bit, but is a genius piece of songwriting and arrangement. The sound of a double-tracked Diana Ross vocal is one of my pet sounds.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:39 am

TapeOpLarry wrote:Man, older records that are amazing. So many. Here's a few that don't always get mentioned that are easy to find:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Traffic
Ventures
Cream
Ramsey Lewis
ANY Stax Volt stuff like above
Dusty Springfield
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood
Mason Williams

OMG Larry we have similar taste..

CCR, yes!

Ventures in space and tellstar and so many others are awesome
Mason Wiliams..my favorite..I love the frst two..the MW phonograph record and MW ear show..fantabulous!

joeysimms · Post by **joeysimms** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:22 am

I believe Dick Glasser produced Mason Williams - completely underrated engineer, everything he touches is perfect adult spectorpop. he worked with Jack Nitzsche, too.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 11:46 am

Oh yeah, Psychedelic Soul era Temptations is another cool find. "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion", "Cloud 9", "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". AMazing stuff, very dif from the older Temps stuff.

I don't think the Creedence stuff has been too manhandled in mastering. The vinyl was very clean in the first place, little tape hiss, etc. John's productions were very focused and timeless - one of the reasons it holds up so well. My folks are friends with Doug Clifford, the drummer, and as kids we'd drop by to visit and play with his kids. He gave my mom all the records back in the day. Funny quote, when they first got on the radio my mom was talking to Doug. "Yeah, I think they played your band on the radio but I thought it was a black guy singing." Needless to say Doug was overjoyed at that!

Groovedog · Post by **Groovedog** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:20 am

Jeff Beck Yardbirds era---I just love the raw recordings of early psychadelic guitar sounds on "I'm a Man, "Shapes of Things", "Evil Hearted You", "Train Kept a Rollin'"........etc

hammertime · Post by **hammertime** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 4:53 pm

Curtis Mayfield did some pretty trippy shit -- some of it pretty dark and obscure. The Motown stuff, aside from the Temptations, is sometimes a bit slick and sing-songy, but there are some decent songs, I guess. I definitely prefer the Stax stuff like Wilson Picket. I was just watching Black Caesar, and was really blow away by James Brown's soundtrack. It seems like the some of the best music either went the way of obscurity, or got put in some B films or something.

howdini · Post by **howdini** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:37 pm

Pick up, if you can, "If I Could Only Remember My Name," David Crosby's 1st solo LP. There's a song on side 2, "Traction In the Rain," that is just one of the most amazing sounding recordings I've ever heard. The rest of the album is pretty good, but that track is just a mind-blowing example of what you can do with a studio. And it was recorded on what...an 8track deck?

-how

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 2:10 pm

I think I am going to try to track down some CCR. I seem to remember liking the production of what I heard on the radio. The Crosby album sounds good too. But at the moment I have my hands full with the Supremes and the Four Tops.

lanterns · Post by **lanterns** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:54 pm

what's a "record player", "vinyl", "180g"? what's the avg age on this board? i feel like i'm in "the vault".
give me some nu metal.

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