🎵 AotW AOTW: Paul Williams HERE COMES INSPIRATION (SP 3606)

[LPJim]

Paul Williams
HERE COMES INSPIRATION
A&M SP-3606

SIDE ONE
Nilsson Sings Newman 0:53/ You & Me Against the World 3:42/ You Know Me 3:32/ Born to Fly* 3:02/ That's What Friends Are For* 3:57/ Rainy Days and Mondays** 3:36.

SIDE TWO
Inspiration 3:07/ If We Could Still Be Friends* 2:59/ What Would They Say* 2:39/ Driftwood* 3:40/ In the Beginning*** 3:34/ Dream Away**** 4:22.

All songs by Paul Williams and Ken Asher except *Paul Williams, **Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, ***Paul Williams and Ron Davies, **** Paul Williams and Johnny Williams.

All songs published by Almo Music ASCAP except "In the Beginning" (Irving Music BMI)

Produced by Kenny Asher for Hobbitron Productions/ Recorded and Mixed by Tommy Vicari/ Assistant Engineer: Linda Tyler/ Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman.

Piano - Kenny Asher/ Guitar - Art Munson/ Drums - Gary Mallaber/ Bass - Leland Sklar & David Parlato/ Organ - Dave Garland/ Background Singers - Stan Farber, Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin, Gene Morford/

Cornet - Warren Luening/ Trombone - Dick Nash/ Clarinet - Tom Scott/ Banjo and Ukelele - Al Henddrickson/ Violin - Gerald Vinci (1st) & Nathan Ross (2nd)/ Viola - Samuel Boghossian/ Cello - Edgar Lustgarten/

Violins - Marhsall Sosson, Gerald Vinci, Arnold Belnick, Irving Geller, Sheldon Sanov, Marilyn Baker, William Henderson, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Nathan Ross, George Kast, Jerome Reisler/ Violas - Garth Nuttycombe, Allen Harshman, Samuel Boghossian/

Cellos - Douglas Davies, Raymond Kelley, Frederick Saykora, Edgar Lustgarten/ Double Bass - Buell Neidlinger, Richard Feves, Oscar Meza/
Flugel Horn - Marvin Stamm & Chuck Findley/ Trumpets - Warren Luening & Conte Candoli/ Harmonica - Tom Morgan/

French Horn - Alan Robinson/ Percussion - Victor Feldman, Alan Estes, Gary Coleman/ Piccolo - Charles Harrington & Don Menza/ 12-String Guitar - John Morell/ Bass - Ernest McDaniel/

Arranged and Conducted by Kenny Asher/ "Dream Away" conducted by John Williams/ "If We Could Still Be Friends" arranged by George Tipton/ Recorded at A&M Studios, Hollywood/ Remixed at Sound Labs, Hollywood/

Art Direction - Roland Young/ Design - Junie Osaki/ Photography - Suzanne Ayers/ Special Thanks to Ron Davies who played guitar on "In The Beginning."

This album is dedicated with the greatest respect and affection to Michael Jackson.

SP 3606 entered the Billboard Top 200 on 3-2-74, charted for 10 weeks and peaked at # 165, according to Whitburn's "Top Pop Albums."


JB

 

[Dave]

Uninspiring! Though important songs like "You And Me Against The World" and "Rainy Days & Mondays" made it to Paul's Classics (Best Of Paul Williams) set...

I like the Kick-Off track and "In The Beginning" is good, and so is "Dream Away"--though that one gets a little too "Far Out There..." "What Would They Say" is the Theme from THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE which starred John Travolta and which he also did a version of...

...This album is dedicated with the greatest respect and affection to Michael Jackson...

...And I'm sure The King Of Pop thanks you, too!!!


Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

FWIW, the dedication has nothing to do with THAT Michael Jackson, but to the MJ who produced Paul's first two A&M albums.

I didn't like this one much either. It needs more uptempo songs -- the best moments on LIFE GOES ON were the fast songs like the title track and "Out In The Country." This one is full of treacly ballads. He should have learned his lesson about covering Carpenters hits -- it just doesn't fly! And B.J. Thomas' version of "That's What Friends Are For" is miles ahead of Paul's. Ultimately this is a slicked-up demo record and that's about it.

 

[Dave]

The main chorus, ...Isn't that what friends are for... might have been a better title for this song, just to avoid confusion with the Burt Bacharach song, "That's What Friends Are For", which came out years later...

Rita Coolidge also did it, and so did Jack Jones... Funny thing about the Jack Jones version, as it was featured on an album, Harbor, which he did in the early-'70's, on which appeared a pre-Doobie Brothers Michael McDonald, who sang and played keyboards on the album... Jones did a Michael McDonald-written "Fools In Love" and I think out of the collaboration was Jack getting Michael a lot of work in the Music Biz while, of course Michael helped Mr. Jones continue a career on RCA he just started and released a couple more albums on afterwards, including The Full Life, on which McDonald also appeared...

Paul Williams would later write "The Theme From LOVE BOAT", which Jack Jones also recorded and of course, sang for the TV Series...


Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

The main chorus, ...Isn't that what friends are for... might have been a better title for this song, just to avoid confusion with the Burt Bacharach song, "That's What Friends Are For", which came out years later...

Uh, yeah...Paul could have said, "I better use the exact phrase for a title, so just in case Burt Bacharach writes a song about friends ten years from now it won't be confusing."

 

[Mike]

Just the other day on a whim I picked up Hellen Reddy’s, All-Time Greatest Hits. One of the songs on the CD was “You and Me Against The World”. I vaguely remembered the tune, and as I listened to it I was really moved by the melody and especially the lyrics. I had no idea who wrote it, and then today I see this album of the week, and there it is. I should have known Paul Williams, had a hand in crafting such a meaningful song. And, Hellen Reddy does a fine job of singing it, too!

 

[Harry]

There's a mono single version of "You And Me Against The World" by Helen Reddy that eliminates the child's voice. Apparently the label thought that "adult" stations didn't want to be playing songs with kids' voices in them.

Harry

 

[Dave]

I think when I hear Helen Reddy's version to this day, I hear the "Tell me again, Mommy..." that starts the song and the "I Love You, Mommy!" that ends it... Helen's daughter, Traci, I think--though I think she, even THEN, seemed too old to be using the term, "Mommy..."

...The main chorus, ...Isn't that what friends are for... might have been a better title for this song, just to avoid confusion with the Burt Bacharach song, "That's What Friends Are For", which came out years later...

"...Er, did I really write that?"

OK, but the Burt Bacharach Song is what I think of everytime I see the title! Sorry!--must be that "Oh-Eee-Oh", Paul gets from "A Little Help From His Friends", who you also hear on "Inspiration"... ...Eight-To-Fivin' is Just Survivin'... :goofygrin:

Sorry my copy of this has been too long absent to give this my better "Song-By-Song Review"... But, none-the-less, it was a Last Gasp by our 'A&M Musical Odd-Job Man', who would next give us Phantom Of The Paradise!!


Dave

 

[Dave]

Paul's "Dream Away" was actually covered by Frank Sinatra and it's said to have been from the Motion-Picture, THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING, a '70's-styled Western, starring Burt Reynolds... Though I don't think either Paul's version (...he wrote the lyrics, with music written by his brother, John, a noted film composer, who arranged & conducted) or Frank's version appears on the actual Soundtrack Album--not that it would fit in with material that is mostly Film Score/Orchestrations--(Where's The Connection...?!) Sinatra, of course, covered it on a 1973 album, said to have been a "comeback" for his singing career, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, which featured songs by SESAME STREET song composer, Joe Raposo, (who wrote "Sing" for The Carpenters and also author of Kermit The Frog's "It's Not Easy Being Green") writer of the album's "There Used To Be A Ballpark" and "Winners", which segues into Kris Kristofferson's "Nobody Wins", making this a bit of a "concept album", before Sinatra recorded his Triology: Past, Present & Future 3-Record-Set, years later...

"In The Beginning" has good acoustic guitar work by A&M label-mate Ron Davies, (Yes, HIM, not any Davies of Kinks-fame, otherwise you'd have seen "Courtesy of Reprise Records...") who also co-wrote, and it's a wonder the two haven't expanded their musical talents even more as a duo beyond this brief collaboration...



Dave

...with a 'Brief-Resurrection' to make an "appendage" on a Long-Forgotten, Past-AOTW...!!