ROMA.- Durante los últimos tres años, Lou Reed se ha levantado de madrugada. Y, a orillas del Hudson, amparado por el silencio y la soledad, ha disparado una y otra vez sus cámaras de fotos sobre la ciudad. Parte de ese resultado son las 55 instantáneas de la Gran Manzana que ahora por primera vez se exponen en Europa, concretamente en Italia, en la galería de arte contemporáneo Uno Su Nove de Roma. (http://www.unosunove.com/ )

Eclipse Reissues

Various

Eclipse

July 24th 2006

1. THE PEDDLERS: ‘SUITE LONDON’  
2. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: ‘COMPLETE A&B SIDES:  1963-1970’
3. ‘GIRLS ARE AT IT AGAIN: UK BEAT GIRLS 1964-1969’  
4. CHRIS MONTEZ: ‘CALL ME: THE A&M YEARS’

 ‘Eclipse’: A brand new old fashioned record label headed by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs launches…

After the success of their compilation The Trip last year, Wiggs and Stanley decided to take matters into their own hands, and Universal Music Catalogue happily gave them an imprint that lay dormant in the vaults – ECLIPSE – for the much-loved pop duo to raid the far corners of the company’s archives. And that's a big old archive – at their fingertips they have the listings for Philips, Decca, A&M, Island, Polydor, Mercury, ABC, Dunhill, MCA and many more. They will work alongside the catalogue department to produce individual works of stunning musical beauty.

ECLIPSE will not be wilfully obscurant. It will make yesterday relevant to today. Some of the label's biggest names will be featured, and their music will be reconvened in a clean fashion. ECLIPSE will take pleasure in shining a light into the clammy cellars of Universal's West Hampstead tape library to see what kind of lost soul, folk, beat and baroque rock and pop it can find, Sometimes the releases feature a hit act who has barely made it onto CD and other times an album has been feted by crate diggers and specialist magazines alike but missed a digital transfer.

The first of Eclipse’s releases come in the form of offerings from Dusty Springfield, The Peddlers, Chris Montez and a damn fine UK Beat Girls compilation.

1. THE PEDDLERS: ‘SUITE LONDON’  

The Peddlers were labelled - somewhat unfairly - as a middle of the road outfit, possibly because Roy Phillips blues-drenched voice and the trio’s line-up came off with a sophisticated jazz edge. Also their 1968 CBS album ‘Three In A Cell’ was for many years a charity shop staple, suggesting that its popularity at the time had been followed by exile into the world of the unfashionable. But it was ‘Suite London’ which showcased a style of atmospherics on the slow tracks that saw their version of Alan Lerner’s ‘On A Clear Day’ being sampled by freak funk outfit and London club pioneers Sandals for their 1992 single ‘Nothing’. However it was the strange combination of The Peddlers with The London Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded as their final album with the band’s original line-up, that was the true find.

Whilst ‘Suite London’ is quite clearly a homage to London, this is not strictly a concept album: certain tracks evoke and pay obvious homage to the great city, whereas the rest of the album builds up a cinematic atmosphere. ‘I Have Seen’, a five minute epic of strings, electric piano, organ, drums and bass, is just one of the album's high spots. That the Zero 7 – who after all are considered to be an electronic dance act - version of this should sound almost exactly the same as the original is a testament to how ahead of its time this band were. Eclipse’s Peddlers package doesn’t end there however, as they have gathered up 6 tracks that appeared as singles whilst the band were back at Philips.

Track Listing:

1. This Strange Affair
2. Raining In London
3. Sequence Of Thought
4. Did She
5. In Juxtaposition
6. Under London Lights
7. River Lives
8. I Have Seen
9. Impressions
10. A Year And A Day
11. This Strange Affair
12. A Year And A Day
13. Manah
14. Have You Ever Been To Georgia
15. Back Alley Jane
    

2. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: ‘COMPLETE A&B SIDES:  1963-1970’

A vision in monochrome, eyes sooty with mascara, hair piled up to perfection, and a sequinned dress so glamorous that it suggests we could barely inhabit the same planet: the high contrast photo that adorned the cover of Dusty Springfield's Greatest Hits was iconic. In it's so-sharp black and white, there was much mystique - it was as much about what you couldn't see - which is exactly as it should be. These days Dusty is a gay icon, seemingly celebrated for her troubles and insecurities as much as she is for her records. For those who like pop music to have myth and legend, the ability to take you over the rooftops and out of your skin, the run of 45s on this compilation is all you really need to know about Dusty Springfield.

After all, she was a perfectionist. While contemporaries cranked out two, even three albums  year, Dusty would agonise over each one and only released five during the sixties. As for singles... the unerring quality of the b-sides says it all. It's easy to say that they were good enough for other people's a-sides, because frequently they were. No rush-released covers of Those Were The Days, or half-baked songs with the manager's name in the credits, not for Dusty. Time has proved her instincts right. From the moment she heard The Exciters' Tell Him on a '63 New York trip and dissolved The Springfields, to her prescient recordings in Philadelphia seven years later, Dusty never let udown. Her quality control and other-worldly talent has leant the songs on this compilation timelessness. They will never grow old. Viva La Springfield!

Tracklisting:

CD1:

1. I Only Want To Be With You
2. Stay Awhile
3. I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myslef
4. Losing You
5. Your Hiurtin’ Kind Of Love
6. In The Middle Of Nowhere
7. Some Of Your Lovin’
8. Little By Little
9. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
10. Goin’ Back
11. All I See Is You
12. I’ll Try Anything
13. Give Me Time
14. What’sl It Gonna Be
15. I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
16. I Will Come TO You
17. Son Of A Preacher Man
18. Am I The Same Girl
19. A Brand New Me
20. Morning Please Don’t Come
21. How Can I Be Sure

CD2:

1. Once Upon A Time
2. Something Special
3. My Colouring Book
4. Summer Is Over
5. Don’t Say It Baby
6. Baby Don’t You Know
7. I’ll Love You For A While
8. If It Hadn’t Been For You
9. Every Ounce Of Strength
10. I’m Gonna Leave You
11. Go Ahead On
12. The Corrupt Ones
13. The Look Of Love
14. Smalltown Girl
15. No Stranger Am I
16. The colour Of Your Eyes
17. Just A Little Lovin’
18. Earthbound Gypsy
19. Bad Case Of The Blues
20. Spooky
     

3. ‘GIRLS ARE AT IT AGAIN: UK BEAT GIRLS 1964-1969’  

The Brit girl emerged at the tail end of America’s pop renaissance and on the brink of a British beat boom, sweetly situated between the Ronettes and the Rolling Stones, and in the care of producers and writers who thrived on pop’s endless possibilities. Up until 1963, female singers had to make do with Brenda Lee hand-me-downs and obvious American standards. Even Helen Shapiro, EMI’s proud bastion of the 1961 teenage girl, still exemplified the adult vision of pop. It would take an influx of self-contained boy bands and fanatical producers to overthrow the old guard and redefine the music biz in British terms—with American pop as a point of reference rather than the template.

Once England found its edge, the productions—whether homemade or American-ripped—bore a distinctive U.K. sound. Producers and writers raised on America’s vast palette of pop showed a determination to outdo their U.S. competition and found willing guinea pigs in scores of singing schoolgirls. Together they breathed new life into female pop, spiking the Tin Pan Alley formula with folk, beat, and boundless Britpop dreams. Quality was always high, and the hunger for a hit audible on every release.

Come 1964, one could barely keep track of the legions of girls waiting to get on tape. Girl pop reproduced at a frightening rate, but without a Brian Epstein or Andrew Loog Oldham to whisk you from the coat check counter to Friday night appearances on Ready, Steady, Go!, there was no thanking your lucking stars for many of these gals. The pop charts were swift and unjust, barring even the most fabulous of 45s from a fair shot.  Thus the no-name Brit girl quickly settled back into her civilian life,

It is driven and dedicated girl pop collectors who slaughtered the Brit girl inferiority myth and prompted reissue labels to revisit the vaults for the rare masters. Following the Here Come The Girls and Dream Babes compilations, Girls Are At It Again drives the Brit Girl argument even further, with its all access pass to the Polydor, Philips, Fontana, and Mercury labels where lives the overlooked artifacts from Tracy Rogers, Claire Francis, and Diane Lancaster. As those of us who have ventured beyond Cilla and Sandie well know, so much of the good stuff hails from these lesser-known ladies.

Tracklisting:

1. Tracy Rogers - Back With You Baby
2. Bimbi Worrick- Long Time Comin'
3. Claire Francis  - But I Don't Care
4. Karol Keyes - Can't You Hear The Music
5. Diana Dors - So Little Time
6. Carolines - Love Made A Fool Of MeAngela Deen
7. Gotta Hand It To The Boy
8. Angela Deen - Gotta Hand It To The Boy
9. Caravelles - You Are Here
10. Jenny Wren - Chasing My Dream All Over Town
11. Lesley Dawson - Run For Shelter
12. Linda Kendrick - When Your Love Is Warm
13. Lesley Duncan - See That Guy
14. Diane Lancaster - How I Need Him
15. Michelle  - Sally Fool
16. Carrolls - Surrender Your Love
17. Kiki Dee - Miracles
18. Tracy Rogers - Baby
19. Lori Balmer - Four Faces West
20. Danielle - I'm Gonna Marry The Boy
21. Pattie Lane - Paper Dreams

4. CHRIS MONTEZ: ‘CALL ME: THE A&M YEARS’

Chris Montez, born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez in Hawthorne, California to Mexican parents, is best known in the UK for his classic 1962 rocker Let’s Dance. Previously unknown on these shores, he had already established a successful touring career in the USA - inspired and influenced by Ritchie Valens (who he had met for 15 minutes as a young teenager), by the age of 17 he was a true Chicano rock pioneer. He toured alongside Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson in 1960 and had his first single She’s My Rockin’ Baby.

Following the massive success of Let’s Dance in the UK, Some Kinda Fun hit the Top Ten at the end of January 1963. This coincided with a UK tour in which Chris headlined over a popular young English group called The Beatles. His press officer for the tour was the even younger Andrew Loog Oldham. Fond memories remain of this tour as Chris recalls: “Paul and George had disappeared for a day or two and when they
returned I asked them where they’d been. They explained to me that they were finishing their first album and played me the tracks several times. I guess I would have been one of the first to hear them”. It wasn’t always so harmonious, after having various drinkable liquids poured on his head, Chris and John Lennon had a small debate, broken up amicably by fellow tour member Tommy Roe. Chris’s beloved jacket also provided the inspiration for the collarless Beatles suits. If only he’d thought about patenting them!

Many of the songs on this compilation, despite being standards, were unknown to Chris, but most were perfected in just a few takes. Songs which would seem
alien to his vocal style became his trademark. In total, Chris Montez recorded four albums for A&M records between 1966 and '69. There is a large helping of standards, from the day and much earlier, played in a rhythmic lounge-jazz bossa style by seasoned west coast studio musicians. Handclaps were de rigeur, and as laid back as Chris's vocals. The blend of styles was new, and the A&M recording quality excellent, still sounding fresh today.

Tracklisting:

1. Call Me
2. The More I See You
3. Foolin Around
4. The Very Though Of You
5. Time After Time
6. There Will Never BE Another You
7. Where Are You Now
8. Because Of You
9. The Face I Love
10. Our Day Will Come
11. Going Out Of My Head
12. Elena
13. The Shadow Of Your Smile
14. Once  Loved
15. Fly Me TO The Moon
16. Keep Talkin’
17. Love s Here To Stay
18. Little White Lies
19. Just Friends
20. I Will Wait For You
21. I’m Glad There Is You
22. The End Of A Love Affair

Beyond these initial four releases are untold riches. Expect regular batches of four at a time. The artwork will always be beautiful, the notes neat and informative, from real music lovers and the best pop writers around, for real music lovers everywhere.

Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs are, of course, two thirds of national treasures and observers of the most intimate urban truths, Saint Etienne. A prolific pairing if ever there was one: as well as having released their 7th album ‘Tales From Turnpike House’ in 2005, Bob and Pete have otherwise been particularly busy making a name for themselves in the worlds of journalism (Bob) and film (both) in recent years.  Enjoy the fruits of Bob and Pete’s most recent labours with the launch of this wonderful record label, the perfect outlet for their by-all-accounts encyclopaedic knowledge of all things great and good, musically speaking.

For press enquiries contact:

Ruth Clarke                     ruth@bestest.co.uk              020 7608 4596