Review: Lulu, “The Atco Sessions 1969-1972”

Muscle Shoals, Alabama is a long way from Glasgow, Scotland. But when Lulu took the trek in 1969, the “To Sir with Love” songbird proved that she could play with the big boys. Though neither New Routes nor its Miami-recorded, Dixie Flyers-assisted follow-up Melody Fair scaled the heights commercially, both projects proved the versatility of the vocal dynamo. In 2007, Rhino U.K. issued The Atco Sessions 1969-72 collecting both of Lulu’s lost southern soul forays in one deluxe 2-CD package. Upon its deletion from the catalogue, The Atco Sessions began fetching high coin. Real Gone Music has come to the rescue, however, with a reissue of the complete package (RGM-0268) that once again makes some of the finest music of Lulu’s career available at a reasonable price.

The ballad “To Sir with Love” established Lulu in the United States, remaining at No. 1 for five weeks and becoming the top single of 1967. (Ironically, it didn’t even chart in Lulu’s native United Kingdom.)   In addition to singing the Mark London/Don Black title theme, Lulu also appeared in the film. How to capitalize upon her newfound American success? After splitting with her longtime producer Mickie Most, Lulu signed to Atco in the States and headed to Muscle Shoals with the Atlantic Records trinity of Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin. This move into R&B might have been perceived as a left turn by her new American fans, but not those who had followed her career since 1965. Though Lulu won the U.K. the Eurovision song contest of 1969 with the lightweight “Boom Bang-a-Bang” – it tied with entries from Spain, France and the Netherlands – her first U.K. single hit was a cover of The Isley Brothers’ “Shout!” Subsequent tracks like Bert Berns’ bluesy “Here Comes the Night” and Goffin and King’s “I Can’t Hear You No More” were also essentially R&B recordings. Many of Lulu’s more overtly pop recordings – like her U.K. Top 10 hit of Neil Diamond’s “The Boat That I Row” – were so potent because of her soulful sound. Though her vocals were filled with youthful abandon, they also reflected an old soul.  Lulu had a great desire during this period to diversify her talents; though the production didn’t come to fruition, Lulu was even set to make her West End debut in a musical adaptation of Vanity Fair in the challenging role of the cunning Becky Sharp!

New Routes, released in February 1970, blended both pop and soul into a beguiling whole. The album featured Muscle Shoals’ take-no-prisoners rhythm section of Barry Beckett on keyboards, David Hood on bass, Roger Hawkins on drums, and Eddie Hinton, Jimmy Johnson, Cornell Dupree and a certain Duane Allman on guitar; horns and strings would flesh out the sound. Duane Allman’s scorching blues licks enhanced four tracks on New Routes, most notably “Dirty Old Man” from Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett, and Fran Robbins’ rockin’ n’ rollickin’ instructions to “Sweep Around Your Own Back Door.”

With Lulu in the midst of her rocky marriage to Maurice Gibb of Lulu’s Atco labelmates The Bee Gees, two songs on the LP bore the group’s imprimatur, including the whimsical “Marley Purt Drive” and Barry Gibb’s ballad “In the Morning.” Lulu cut loose with her throaty wail throughout the LP, particularly on “People in Love” from guitarist Eddie Hinton and Grady Smith and the lament “Is That You Love” from Jackie Avery and John Farris. Hinton co-wrote “Where’s Eddie” with Donnie Fritts; the same team penned “Breakfast in Bed” as recorded by Dusty Springfield on her now-legendary southern-soul excursion Dusty in Memphis. Lulu hit just the right note of desperation on their rueful, tense ballad.

Other moments ranged from the funky (a loose run through Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright”) to the reflective (“Mr. Bojangles”).   Jerry Jeff Walker first recorded his “Mr. Bojangles” for Atco; Lulu’s version of the song predates the more famous interpretations by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sammy Davis, Jr., among so many others. Her heartfelt reading of the song is low-key and stripped-down, free of horns, strings or other ornamentation.

A fellow Glasgow native, Jim Doris, provided two tracks: the passionate “After All (I Live My Life)” as well as the album’s biggest success – both artistically and commercially. The marriage of evocative lyrics with the dramatically-building melody of Doris’ “Oh Me, Oh My (I’m a Fool for You, Baby)” gained Lulu entrée into the U.S. Top 30 for the first time since “To Sir with Love.” The sensual, simmering track is the centerpiece of New Routes.

There’s more after the jump!

Release Round-Up: Week of July 1

Bob Marley,  Legend: 30th Anniversary Edition (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe)

The best-selling reggae album of all time is back with two unreleased studio rarities and, on Blu-ray, a new 5.1 surround mix.

CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Pink Floyd, The Division Bell: 20th Anniversary Edition (Parlophone)

The 20th anniversary of the last Pink Floyd album means an Immersion-level box set with a new 5.1 surround sound mix on Blu-ray and bonus vinyl pieces.

CD (2011 Discovery Edition): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
CD/BD/Vinyl box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Bon Jovi, New Jersey: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe)

The New Jersey rockers celebrate the 25th anniversary of their fourth album (and their 30th anniversary as a band) with an expanded edition of the record that gave us “Bad Medicine,” “I’ll Be There for You” and others. Rarities include a bonus disc of demos and a DVD of rare video content.

1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/1DVD Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Classic Albums Box / Frankie Valli, Selected Solo Works / Various Artists, Audio with a G: Sounds of a Jersey Boy – The Music of Bob Gaudio (Rhino)

Following up the release of the soundtrack to the Jersey Boys film last week, Rhino is releasing two box sets of The Four Seasons’ complete albums and most of Valli’s solo efforts (his Motown works are omitted), plus a compilation of the best of Four Seasons member/co-writer Bob Gaudio’s lengthy discography.

The Four Seasons: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Frankie Valli: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Bob Gaudio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Jayhawks, Sound of Lies / Smile / Rainy Day Music: Expanded Editions (American Recordings/UMe)

The alt-country group’s full studio discography from 1997 to 2003 is remastered and expanded on CD with rare and unreleased bonus tracks.

Sound of Lies: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Smile: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Rainy Day Music: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Jethro Tull, A Passion Play: An Extended Performance (Chrysalis/Rhino)

Jethro Tull’s sixth album, released in 1973, get the deluxe treatment with new stereo and surround mixes from Steven Wilson plus unreleased sessions and video content.

2CD/2DVD box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP (Wilson stereo mix of original album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Spanky & Our Gang, The Complete Mercury Singles / Lulu, The Atco Sessions 1969-1972 / Gal Costa, Gal Costa / Ronnie Dove, The Complete Original Chart Hits 1964-1969 / X, More Fun in the New World: Expanded & Remastered Edition / The New York Community Choir, Make Every Day Count: Expanded Edition / Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 17 — Boston Garden 9/25/91 (Real Gone Music)

The latest Real Gone slate features a little something for everyone, from harmonic ’60s pop (Spanky & Our Gang) to ’70s R&B (The New York Community Choir) to ’80s punk (X) – and some Grateful Dead, for good measure.

Spanky & Our Gang: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Lulu: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Gal Costa: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Ronnie Dove: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
X: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The New York Community Choir: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The Grateful Dead: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The The, Soul Mining: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Legacy)

The The’s breakthrough 1983 album plus seven bonus tracks, pressed on 180-gram vinyl. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery: 40th Anniversary Edition (U.S. Release) (Razor and Tie)

Reissued some time ago in the U.K., ELP’s show that never ends is a three-disc affair featuring the remastered album in stereo, and alternate album assembly plus a DVD of old and new stereo mixes. (Amazon U.S.)

Like To Get To Know Them: Real Gone’s July Features Spanky and Our Gang, Lulu, Peggy Lipton, Grateful Dead and More

Tuesday – July 1, that is – will never be the same, thanks to Real Gone Music’s slate spotlighting a quartet of famous sixties girls! But that’s not all. The label is also dipping its toes into tropicalia, anthologizing an unsung country-pop hero, going both punk and disco, and returning to the venerable Grateful Dead catalogue!

Complete Singles Collections have become a specialty of Real Gone’s, and the label continues with a new title featuring every Mercury single released by Spanky (McFarlane) and Our Gang – “Lazy Day,” “Like to Get to Know You,” and “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” among them! Spanky’s recordings were much more diverse than just those sunshine pop classics, with folk, jazz and rock influences – and Real Gone has them all. Oh me, oh my…If you ever wanted to hear Duane Allman and Lulu on the same track, you’ll have the chance with the 2-CD reissue of Lulu: The Atco Sessions 1962-1972! This set, originally released by Rhino’s UK imprint and now a pricey collectible, collects every one of the smoldering soul sides such as “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)” recorded by Lulu with both the Muscle Shoals house band and The Dixie Flyers! Real Gone then goes to Rio with Gal Costa’s self-titled 1969 album for Philips, a key album in the Brazilian tropicalia movement featuring songs from Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben. Country and pop star Ronnie Dove’s chart career began with 1964’s “Say You,” and continued with such hits as “Right or Wrong,” “My Babe,” and “Cry.” In 1965 alone he charted five singles, yet Dove’s output has been largely overlooked on CD. Real Gone rectifies this with a new disc featuring all 21 of the pop hits he notched during the ’60s on a single CD, many remastered from newly available tape sources. Fast-forward to the 1970s for an R&B journey courtesy The New York Community Choir’s 1978 RCA album featuring the hit disco floor-filler “Make Every Day Count.” Continuing to the 1980s, Real Gone has an expanded edition of X’s fourth album, More Fun in the New World, produced by The Doors’ Ray Manzarek. The label then arrives in the 1990s with its latest volume of Dick’s Picks. This entry in the series of live Grateful Dead concert recordings restores to print a 3-CD set taken from a 1991 show at the Boston Garden.

Last but not least, Real Gone has a groovy treat with the American CD debut of Mod Squad star Peggy Lipton’s 1968 self-titled Ode Records release in a first-time expanded edition! Produced by Lou Adler, arranged by Marty Paich and featuring the famed Wrecking Crew, Peggy Lipton: The Complete Ode Recordings reveals the striking beauty as a songwriter of great depth, performing her own evocative compositions alongside those of Carole King and Laura Nyro. I’m thrilled to announce here that I’ve written new liner notes for this lost slice of ornate Southern California pop, which also features five bonus tracks including a previously unreleased recording of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher’s “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” and rare singles penned by Laura Nyro, Donovan, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jimmy Webb!

After the jump, we have Real Gone’s press release with full information on every title plus pre-order links and more!