Odd A&M album names

[Rudy]

Most of A&M's early albums had recognizable album names. There are a few, though, which are awkward. To wit:

Chris Montez: The More I See You / Call Me. Was it really the album title? Or did the titles on the album cover stick out prominently enough that everyone started calling it by that name? IIRC, the LP's label said simply The More I See You.

Lucille Starr & Bob Regan: The Canadian Sweethearts. Was this, in fact, the name they recorded under, or the title of their album...or both? (Or was this name adopted as their duo name after this album, since the title could have been permanently linked to them?)

The Merry-Go-Round: You're A Very Lovely Woman - Live. This one's a real puzzler. This is actually another album where two of the album's prominent tracks are featured in large print on the cover (which again implies this could be the album title)...and what's more, there is a song on the album called "Live", but it's commonly mistaken as a "live" album!

Final thought: can you think of any A&M albums where the group name and album title are so obscure that you have no idea which one is the album title, and which is the artist or band name? (Many years ago, I had that issue with the Tamba 4 We And The Sea album: "We And The Sea" certainly could be used as a group name!)

-= N =-

 

[Brasil_Nut]

For years, I thought Bossa Rio was really called "Alegria" (for the album of the same name...)

Brasil_Nut

 

[Harry]

I've always had a problem with the "HERB ALPERT PRESENTS..." moniker. Were those words intended as part of the title of the album, or were the albums self/titled and just happen to have been "presented by" Herb Alpert? I know that around the world, it was common to call Brasil '66's first A&M album "MAIS QUE NADA". I have a Brazilian re-issue of the album that simply says SERGIO MENDES & BRASIL '66.

Similar things could be said about the first PETE JOLLY album, except I've not seen one without the HERB ALPERT PRESENTS.

And then there's the two different albums for two different labels simply called SERGIO MENDES. Now THAT's confusing. At least the Spanish language version got it right when it was named PICARDIA.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Rudy]

I would say that Herb Alpert Presents Xxxxxx Xxxxxx quailified as a valid album title, although it did appear somewhat redundant. Confusing, nonetheless. (Which is why I usually just abbreviate these as "H.A. Presents...".)

And then there's the two different albums for two different labels simply called SERGIO MENDES. Now THAT's confusing. At least the Spanish language version got it right when it was named PICARDIA.

Picardia was the rare tribute album to the captain of the NCC-1701D...?

-= N =-

 

[jimac51]

According to a crumbling catalog I've kept all these years,the label itself titled SP4115 as "The More I See You" and SP4132 as self-titled,"The Merry-Go-Round". The Canadian Sweethearts album was deleted by the time of this printing. One thing I always thought was confusing was that Phil Ochs "Pleasure of the Harbor"(SP4133) had a song titled "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" and soon after,(SP4139)Roger Nichols came out with his "Small Circle of Friends". I knew who Ochs was at the time but not Nichols and I thought there might have been a connection between the two albums. In retrospect, Phil Ochs may have been the anti-Roger Nichols. Mac

 

[Rudy]

According to a crumbling catalog I've kept all these years,the label itself titled SP4115 as "The More I See You" and SP4132 as self-titled,"The Merry-Go-Round".

OK, cool. I know the Montez wasn't self-titled because I have a DNM (damn near mint ) copy of it I bought for $12 about four years ago. (Mac--I don't know if you were around when I came up with the "BTS" grading for LPs...but if I tell you "beat to sh**", you'd get the general idea. )

I almost found out what the Merry-Go-Round LP was like, but just lost an auction for it about three hours ago. White label promo/stereo, no less. I'll keep looking. Bid within my price range and lost.

In retrospect, Phil Ochs may have been the anti-Roger Nichols. Mac

Ain't that the truth! Phil Ochs, the outspoken social commentator; Roger Nichols, the soft-spoken introvert.

-= N =-

 

[LPJim]

It would be hard to top the title/artist of CD 5349, a rap item from 1990:
FEMALE PREACHER by Overweight Pooch. The artist appears to be a rotund woman -- with apparent self-esteem issues.
JB

 

[Mr Bill]

In the IRS world we had:

Raise The Dragon / Deliverance
Magazine / Play
Alternative TV / Strange Kicks
Torch Song / Wish Thing
Let's Active / Cypress
Renaissance / Timeline

Any of these could easily be mixed up. FWIW, the name before the slash is the band name and the recording title is after the slash...

--Mr B
please visit my site: www.irscorner.com for everything IRS!

 

[W.B.]

(Many years ago, I had that issue with the Tamba 4 We And The Sea album: "We And The Sea" certainly could be used as a group name!)

-= N =-

I suppose that that description you gave could've also fit their album Samba Blim, as well.

 

[Rudy]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and their new recording, The Beatles. (Soundtrack to a movie about an invasion of 'hip' insects.)

Come to think of it, Rubber Soul would be a great name for a funk band. Hit meh! "But whats'n-ever I play, it's got to be funky!"

Styx: Equinox. Could also be confusing. How about Bad Company's song "Bad Company." Was it from their self-titled album, called Bad Company?

Did any customer of a 60's record store ever think that "Free" was a band name, and not the price of the album? Did The Who ever suffer an identity crisis?

Which one of you guys is Steely Dan? And by the way, "Which one's Pink? "

-= N =-
...visit my A&M related website...er...um...mmmm...uh, OK...

(Or would you rather go to the Playboy site to read one of the well-written articles, which is all we ever read it for......right???)

 

[W.B.]

One thing I always thought was confusing was that Phil Ochs "Pleasure of the Harbor"(SP4133) had a song titled "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" and soon after,(SP4139)Roger Nichols came out with his "Small Circle of Friends". I knew who Ochs was at the time but not Nichols and I thought there might have been a connection between the two albums. In retrospect, Phil Ochs may have been the anti-Roger Nichols. Mac

Ehhh . . . could be. There was a definite connection in which company released these disparate records, if nothing else.

Sounds similar to two 1972 singles, neither one of which was on A&M. In early 1972, a songwriter named Scott English put out a little tune called "Brandy" on the now-defunct Janus label, which made it to the very low reaches of the Hot 100 at the time. Some months later, a group called the Looking Glass hit #1 with something called "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" on Epic Records, apparently that subtitle was added to avoid confusion with the other "Brandy" -- which, ironically, would be retitled "Mandy" when Barry Manilow recorded it some two years after that, to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit!

 

[LPJim]

I'll bet none of these artists thought about how tricky it would be to run some of their names through search engines looking for a site and/or information.
Just put "Free" in any search engine and you'll pull up a gazillion items.
Of course, entering the phrase "The Who" might pull up a few million fewer items than entering "Who."
JB
wondering if the FBI will go after Anthrax fans who enter that band's name in search engines.

 

[W.B.]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and their new recording, The Beatles. (Soundtrack to a movie about an invasion of 'hip' insects.)

Come to think of it, Rubber Soul would be a great name for a funk band. Hit meh! "But whats'n-ever I play, it's got to be funky!"

Styx: Equinox. Could also be confusing. How about Bad Company's song "Bad Company." Was it from their self-titled album, called Bad Company?

And who could forget that famous album by Blood, Sweat & Tears, Johnny Cash? Not to mention a little-known song by The Cars called "Gary Numan."

Did any customer of a 60's record store ever think that "Free" was a band name, and not the price of the album? Did The Who ever suffer an identity crisis?

And was The Guess Who a distant cousin of The Who?

Which one of you guys is Steely Dan? And by the way, "Which one's Pink? "

I was gonna have asked the same thing about Procol Harum (who's Procol? who's Harum?). Or Rufus. Or Buffalo Springfield (relation to Dusty, perhaps?)

(Or would you rather go to the Playboy site to read one of the well-written articles, which is all we ever read it for......right???)

I have the original respective issues featuring the 1962 and 1986 Jackie Gleason interviews, for what it's worth.

But in all seriousness, there are a few other cases (besides A&M) where the album titles on the label don't match those on the covers. I once saw a copy of John Davidson's late 1967 LP John Davidson Sings Today's Themes of Love - A Kind of Hush (Columbia CL 2734/CS 9534) where the label listed the title as For Lovers in Love. Speaking of The Great One, Mr. Gleason's very last LP, Words of Love (Capitol ST-693, 1971), had some copies listing the title on the label as Jackie Gleason Sings for Lovers. And in a "future A&M connection of the time," Barry White's debut for 20th Century, I've Got So Much To Give (T-407, 1973), showed no mention whatsoever of the album title on the label, leading those looking thereat to believe that the LP title was eponymous -- just like that LP label of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (A&M LP 101) as featured in the LP label gallery. Wasn't that LP supposed to be called The Lonely Bull?

 

[Harry]

It all continues to this day. Do we yet know about the last Herb Alpert album? Is his group called "Colors", or is it "Herb Alpert & Colors", or is the album called "COLORS", or is it "HERB ALPERT & COLORS" by Herb Alpert? Or was the whole thing a tribute to the old A&M album by Claudine Longet called COLOURS?

Harry
...brought to you in living color, online...

 

[Rudy]

Is it "Colors" or "Colours"? Or does it matter to the 200-or-so people who bought it? (Half of them here, no doubt. )

Stars On 45 was always a weird concept--group? Album title? (And will today's and future kids even know what the term "45" even meant back then?)

-= N =-

 

[Mr Bill]

Don't forget the trio Tony Orlando & Dawn -- Tony is the guy, but which girl is Orlando and which is Dawn?

--Mr B

 

[Rudy]

Sounds more like the beginning of a detective novel.

Tony. Orlando. And dawn...breaking on the horizon, the gun still smoking in his hand. Tony wasn't usually a homicidal maniac during the month of April, but...

-= N =-

 

[LPJim]

Then there was Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. Lots of folks thought there were 4 in the group rather than actually 3 (with Joe Frank being one person).
JB

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and their new recording, The Beatles. (Soundtrack to a movie about an invasion of 'hip' insects.)

Come to think of it, Rubber Soul would be a great name for a funk band. Hit meh! "But whats'n-ever I play, it's got to be funky!"

Styx: Equinox. Could also be confusing. How about Bad Company's song "Bad Company." Was it from their self-titled album, called Bad Company?

This reminds me of when REM had the hit album Green, and somewhere in Illinois (I believe) was a band called Green, and they decided to release an album called REM just to get even.


Capt. Bacardi
...who should write a song called "Antonio Carlos Jobim"...

 

[Mr Bill]

This reminds me of when REM had the hit album Green, and somewhere in Illinois (I believe) was a band called Green, and they decided to release an album called REM just to get even.

Similarly, Nick Lowe, to "avenge" David Bowie's Low, did an album called Bowi (note the dropped "e" in both LP titles)...
--Mr B

 

[Tim Neely]

One of my favorite LP titles of all time, and not just on A&M, is the album by Spooky Tooth, You Broke My Heart ... So I Busted Your Jaw.

And yes, I was one of the people who thought the group was Hamilton, Joe, Frank, and Reynolds...

 

[snapcrotch]

There's a cheerful title by Melvin Van Peebles: 'As Serious As A Heart Attack' (SP-4326). Also perfect for gift-giving is his sunny 'Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death' (SP-4223). Definately gave one pause in the record shop.
On the London label, the British prog-rockers Caravan had a penchant for clever album titles:
If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (1971)
For Girls Who Grow Plump In the Night (1974)
Cunning Stunts (1975, on BTM)

At this point, I'd better call it quits before something blows in the Engine Room.

 

[Tim Neely]

Yet another A&M album title I enjoyed was by the British band Budgie:
If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules.

 

[W.B.]

How about Bad Company's song "Bad Company." Was it from their self-titled album, called Bad Company?

Oh, that's nothin' . . . Black Sabbath's very first LP had exactly that same scenario. Album title: Black Sabbath. And one of the tracks on that LP? "Black Sabbath."

 

[jfiedler17]

Then there was Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. Lots of folks thought there were 4 in the group rather than actually 3 (with Joe Frank being one person).
JB

And, if I remember correctly, as if THAT wasn't confusing enough, after Reynolds left the band and was replaced with a guy named Dennison, the band name still wasn't changed from Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds to Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Dennison for another four years. Go figure.

Speaking of confusing A&M album titles, I'm surprised no one's mentioned Phil Ochs' not-actually-a-compilation "Phil Ochs' Greatest Hits"!