Buying the albums sampled on “You Can All Join In”.
Today we continue with “Melanie Blue”‘s notes in the CD insert, for what will be the penultimate time.
“Undaunted, work began on the next single. The working title was “Oscar” and it explored the notion of playing the fool in life as if playing a part in a film … and winning an Oscar. The song’s arrangement called for a rock group to back them so Island heavies Spooky Tooth [see above] (formerly Art [see above] and the VIPs) were drafted into the sessions. Various “over the top” takes were put down – all too long for a single, running close to five minutes, but the group really got into the job in hand – steaming through the song with some marvellous guitar soloing from Luther Grosvenor [see above] and thunderous drumming. Another take featured some inspired organ playing courtesy Wynder K. Frog [see above]. An edited version of the guitar based version was issued as a single titled “Oh! What A Performance” which said as much about Spooky Tooth as the song’s sentiments.
“Chris Blackwell had initially seen Nirvana as a singles band and was becoming frustrated at their lack of chart success. His focus was shifting onto the bands that were selling singles, but it was obvious that Nirvana were an albums band, similar to The Moody Blues on Deram, Decca’s progressive label.”
Last edition of these notes, next time.
Tagged: Art, Chris Blackwell, Decca's progressive label, Deram, Luther Grosvenor, Spooky Tooth, The Moody Blues, the VIPs, Wynder K. Frog
Great Post 👍