Phil Spector’s songs are sometimes thought of as being so pre-Beatles. The old man producer whose orchestrated post-Do-Wop creations couldn’t compete with the fresh, new Fab Four’s guitars.
But Spector was with the Beatles on the plane that brought them to America for the first time (ignoring George’s prior solo trip), and Spector is, in fact, two months younger than John Lennon. And without Brian Wilson’s admiration of Spector there most certainly wouldn’t have been the stunning Pet Sounds.
Who knows when it happened, but Spector almost certainly must have crossed the line from eccentricity to insanity. And now he’s on trial on suspicion of murder, only a week after his ex-wife Ronnie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, eighteen years after receiving the same honor himself.
Here are three Ronettes songs in glorious stereo, presented as a single track, encoded at 256 kbps. The Phil Spector Wall of Sound, taken from a British LP I bought used 25 years ago and have played dozens of times.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/Ronettes.mp3]
Hmm. Yeah, I guess so. That vacant look. He’s undoubtedly on tranquilizers. If convicted the accounts of the trial will probably say, “Spector stood silently without expression while the sentence was read by the foreman of the jury.” Of course. He’s drugged.
Speaking of aging rockers, doesn’t Phil here look like a nightmarish version of lovely Blythe Danner, mother of Gywenth Paltrow?
I couldn’t bring myself to use one of the photos of Spector at his last court appearance, looking so bizarre with that huge afro perm! Just TOO strange. He looks like an old woman, I think.
The blonde “Beatle Wig” makes him look twenty years younger. Or is that a “Johnny Ramone” piece? Only his hairdresser knows for sure.
This must be the only song using thunderclaps where the singer’s voice is more piercing than the thunderclaps!