The Marbles - s/t

A late-'60s duo that had numerous connections to the Bee Gees, the Marbles consisted of two cousins, Graham Bonnett and Trevor Gordon. Gordon had played with the Bee Gees early on, and Bonnett was actually a distant cousin of the Gibbs. The Bee Gees mentored the group, produced them, and contributed songs, including the band's lone British Hit "Only One Woman." Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood signed them and got them their record deal. They did a few singles in the '60s and their album finally came out in 1970, by which time they had either broken up or were on the verge. Some of the songs on the album had already been recorded by the Bee Gees ("To Love Somebody," "I Can't See Nobody") and are not improved on by the Marbles. From where I sit, the group's main problem was Bonnett's over-the-top soul-man aspirations; all his hyper-emoting just makes him sound like a Tom Jones wannabe. However, Gordon has a perfectly fine voice, and the songs where he sings lead are quite good. Occasionally, Bonnett is able to reign himself in as well, but not often. It's no surprise that Bonnett went on to be the singer not only for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, but for gruesome hard-rock chestbeaters like Alcatrazz and the Michael Schencker Group. While the album is highly orchestrated pop, there's very little psych to the sound; a cover of Bacharach's "A House is Not a Home" and a misguided take on "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" are the nadir. Nevertheless, there are some excellent moments here, mostly provided by Gordon, that make the balance about even. Whether or not that makes it worthwhile depends on how big a '60s pop obsessive you are.

The Carl "Sherlock" Holmes Investigation - Investigation No. 1

Carl Holmes was a Philly soul singer/guitarist who recorded singles in the '60s for a variety of labels, large and small, under the name Carl & the Commanders, with whom a young Jimi Hendrix briefly performed. This early-'70s album is a bit more on the "rare groove side," and is split pretty evenly between harmony-laden Philly Soul and driving funk with occasional jazzy and/or Latin touches. There's a surprisingly effective R&B treatment of Burt Bacharach's "Close to You." Holmes, by the way, is gotten up in a rather "groovy" looking hepcat outfit on the cover and the word "psychedelic" is thrown around in the liner notes, but that's something of a red herring. Aside from "Close to You," all the songs are credited to someone named Len Woods, who isn't credited anywhere else as producer or player. The "original" tunes lift liberally from other folks' material, particularly from the Allen Toussaint-penned Lee Dorsey New Orleans R&B classic "Everything I Do Gon' Be Funky" and even Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Subtle these appropriations are not, but it's a pretty loose, funky record overall, on the indie soul label C.R.S.

been a bit busy, so I haven't blogged much recently, but here's a quick word about an odd relic:

Celia & the Mutations - You Better Believe Me/Round and Around

This is a slice of first generation British punk mostly known for the secretive presence of the Stranglers, who first came upon Celia Gollin singing camp cabaret in an English pub, or so I've read. Under the pseudonym of "the Mutations" they backed her up on two 45's in 1977, when the full glory of UK punk was in bloom. Accordingly, both of the tracks here are pretty bare-bones, hard-edged, straight-down-the-middle affairs, albeit with Gollin's singing lending a slight pop-edge. In fact, it's considerably punkier than the Stranglers' own contemporaneous work. I don't even detect the distinctive Doorsy presence of organist Dave Greenfield on here. The yobbish background vocals (and the songwriting credits) remove any lingering doubts as to the personnel here, though. PS - this was the second of the Celia/Mutations 45's, the first was a cover of the old Tommy James hit "Mony Mony," long before erstwhile punk Billy Idol ever got his hooks into it.