Talk About...Pop Music. Bop-Bop Shoo-Wop

I have gotten more mileage from this boxed than just about anything in my collection. I bring this up now, almost 8 years to the day of its first release, because last night I decided to listen to Jules Shear's 2004 covers record "Sayin' Hello To The Folks," a record that seemed to sneak out onto the shelves and just as quietly slink back into oblivion.

Here is Mark Deming's review of the Jules record:

Some singer/songwriters are artists who truly excel as both composers and performers (Richard Thompson and Nick Lowe, for instance), and others are folks who sing primarily to create a vehicle for their own material (Kris Kristofferson being a prime example). Jules Shear tends to fit into the latter category; while he's by no means a bad vocalist, his reedy, heart-worn instrument doesn't have a tremendous amount of range, and it's not unfair to say that if his songwriting skills were on a par with, say, Eddie Money, his recordings would not enjoy the cult following he has today (and his publishing statements wouldn't be much to write home about). So what is Jules Shear doing making an album of other people's tunes? That's the lingering question behind Sayin' Hello to the Folks, in which Shear lends his voice to a dozen of his favorite songs. Shear's tastes are nothing if not eclectic; not many folks would cover Woody Guthrie and Joe Tex on the same album, let alone the Dave Clark Five, Procol Harum, James Brown, and Bob Dylan, and as a top-shelf songwriter he sure knows a great song when he hears one. He does a truly lovely job with Roger Miller's "Husbands and Wives," Brian Wilson's "Guess I'm Dumb," and Todd Rundgren's "Be Nice to Me," and his arrangements are subtle, concise, and effective. But while one doesn't for a moment doubt Shear's fondness for vintage soul, he sounds just a bit silly on "It Ain't Gonna Work" and "Ain't That a Groove" (though his Chris Kenner cover, "Something You Got," is just goofy enough that it works). Sayin' Hello to the Folks is fun, and Shear sounds like he was having a fine time making it, but for the most part it points to his limits as an interpretive vocalist rather than his strengths, which means he'd be best off bringing along a stack of his own songs next time he enters the studio. 

I don't disagree with anything Deming has to say except I love the record and while Jules may sound a bit silly on said Joe Tex number, it works. It's more charming than silly. I highly recommend this collection if you're a fan of Jules Shear and somehow missed this release.  (The original Joe Tex tune is the Song Of The Day, by the way.)

Are you still with me? Or did I lose you with the Ray Stevens post?

One of the songs Jules covers is "Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)" by The Cinderellas, a great piece of pop music, that prior to his cover, I had never heard before. A year later, the "Girl Group Sounds" hat box is released and there it is, The Cinderellas original.  Now, there really isn't one lemon on this 4 CD set. We're talking 119 songs and each of them something to behold. All of them, wonderful examples of how to make a record. But this track just blows my mind, as does the track "I Never Dreamed" by The Cookies, who by the way, are also The Cinderellas.

Are you still with me? (The Cookies also recorded as The Cinderellas, a common practice back then. The Chiffons' "Sweet Talking Guy" and The Four Pennies "When The Boy's Happy?" Both The Chiffons. But I digress.)

What's my point, other than trying to really distract you from Ray Stevens?

Listen to the Cookies and The Cinderellas below and it will be like a musical Silkwood shower from my faux pas of yesterday. And while you're at it, check out the other 117 tunes and the Jules album, as well.