Post by gremashlo on Jun 29, 2010 7:54:16 GMT -5
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...(I've talked at length about this song before, but thought it fit here)
By 1965, Jan Berry was ready to make some changes. He had made great leaps as a producer and he felt stifled by his relationship with Liberty Records and his partner, Dean Torrence. Liberty and Torrence wanted to keep producing the same old "feel good beach party" that had made them successful, while Jan felt (and as history has shown rightfully so) that popular music was on the cusp of a revolutionary evolution., and it was swim with the sharks or be fed to them.
So, he went to the studio, and announced that their next single was to be...a cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood".
Jan fully intended to use the recording as an ultimatum--either it got released, or he would leave Liberty (and Torrence, whom he actually had replaced in several recordings) and sell it to the highest bidder. Then came the accident.
With Jan critically injured (and never able to truly recover), Torrence and Liberty decided to release "Popsicle", a silly album track already almost three years old, while sneaking out "Wood" as the flipside. Of course, "Popsicle" became a hit, but it was a last gasp, as the music world changed dramatically, just as Jan predicted.
Torrence has never denied that he hated the recording, as it didn't fit their image, and that it made no sense that a successful group try to record someone else's old material. That's too bad, because Dean is the power behind the song, as his falsetto dominates the track. Also, none other than Glen Campbell played the Rickenbacker 12-string sitar imitation. The only drawback is Jan's usual flat singing--but, that was always a Jan and Dean trademark, anyway.
I wonder what direction Jan intended to pursue after this single--was he going solo? Did he realize his own major limitations as a singer, and intend on going on as a producer? Did he realize that this song would be considered a "joke" on albums such as the "Golden Throats" series?
By 1965, Jan Berry was ready to make some changes. He had made great leaps as a producer and he felt stifled by his relationship with Liberty Records and his partner, Dean Torrence. Liberty and Torrence wanted to keep producing the same old "feel good beach party" that had made them successful, while Jan felt (and as history has shown rightfully so) that popular music was on the cusp of a revolutionary evolution., and it was swim with the sharks or be fed to them.
So, he went to the studio, and announced that their next single was to be...a cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood".
Jan fully intended to use the recording as an ultimatum--either it got released, or he would leave Liberty (and Torrence, whom he actually had replaced in several recordings) and sell it to the highest bidder. Then came the accident.
With Jan critically injured (and never able to truly recover), Torrence and Liberty decided to release "Popsicle", a silly album track already almost three years old, while sneaking out "Wood" as the flipside. Of course, "Popsicle" became a hit, but it was a last gasp, as the music world changed dramatically, just as Jan predicted.
Torrence has never denied that he hated the recording, as it didn't fit their image, and that it made no sense that a successful group try to record someone else's old material. That's too bad, because Dean is the power behind the song, as his falsetto dominates the track. Also, none other than Glen Campbell played the Rickenbacker 12-string sitar imitation. The only drawback is Jan's usual flat singing--but, that was always a Jan and Dean trademark, anyway.
I wonder what direction Jan intended to pursue after this single--was he going solo? Did he realize his own major limitations as a singer, and intend on going on as a producer? Did he realize that this song would be considered a "joke" on albums such as the "Golden Throats" series?
