One&Done @ A&M: Evie Sands / Any Way That You Want Me -- SP 4239

[JOv2]

• Comments, questions, conjectures and stories are welcomed.
• Released in 1970

 

[Harry]

There were a number of more obscure A&M artists that I'd never explored and when intrigued enough, I'd seek them out and give them a chance, and some of them became favorites, like Roger Nichols, Robin Wilson, Renee Armand, Nick De Caro, Tracie, Michelle Phillips, England Dan and John Ford Coley, etc.

So one day, it was disclosed that RevOla Records in the UK had put Evie Sands' record, ANY WAY THAT YOU WANT ME out on CD. I ordered it blindly but don't listen to it much. Evie's voice sometimes has a rough quality to it that isn't much to my liking. But she also has a more gentle side that reminds me a little of Rita Coolidge. I need to give this one some more spins.

 

[Rudy]

Interesting that on her A&M album, she only composed one of the dozen tracks. She recorded for Cameo Parkway and Chess prior to A&M, and then became known more as a composer on later albums, retiring from performing in 1979 after her RCA album Suspended Animation (where all tracks are co-composed by Sands and Ben Weisman and/or Richard Germinaro). She rekindled her career in 1996 and has a current release, Get Out of Your Own Way, from April of 2021.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Evie Sands did an album called Estate of Mind in the '70s which was good - some of the songs (and the production I think) were done by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who were hot-shot producer/writers at that time. They did a lot of crossover pop/soul records, like the Four Tops and the Grass Roots, and they had a huge hit with Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy," which was kind of out of their realm but still a great tune.

Anyway, I had that Evie Sands album - it had one great tune, "One Thing on My Mind" that I still like to this day, along with "Love Makin' Love To You," which is more famous around these parts as an outtake from the Karen Carpenter solo album. Based on how much I liked Estate of Mind, I ordered up the A&M CD by Evie when it came out, but didn't like it too much. I think it was a one-play-and-done for me. I'm not sure where it ever wound up.... probably still in our house somewhere!

 

[Rudy]

I played a few tracks from her other albums, and in comparison the A&M wasn't all that well produced, to be honest. Very much of its time, and some tracks on it didn't age well in comparison to the others I heard on later albums, which lean a little more towards country rock. She has one or two scattered tracks on Cameo Parkway label compilations as well.

 

[AM Matt]

The song "Any Way That You Want Me" was done by The Troggs (with the late Reg Presley) in 1967 or 1968.

 

[JOv2]

So one day, it was disclosed that RevOla Records in the UK had put Evie Sands' record, ANY WAY THAT YOU WANT ME out on CD. I ordered it blindly but don't listen to it much.

Interesting that on her A&M album, she only composed one of the dozen tracks.

Based on how much I liked Estate of Mind, I ordered up the A&M CD by Evie when it came out, but didn't like it too much. I think it was a one-play-and-done for me.

Like with Harry, I was excited by the RevOla reissue given it was an A&M. That said, even though it was from 1970 I was still hoping it wouldn't have that sound...I recall auditioning a bit of it ages ago...and once the backing soul singer vocals switch was flipped ON, I was done with it. (Also, for all the brouhaha that she was a singer-songwriter, it was disappointing to see the LP essentially featured other writers.)

 

[LPJim]

Evie sang "Maybe Tomorrow" on the JOHN & MARY Soundtrack (SP 4230), and it's a bonus track on the CD reissue of SP 4239. There's no reissue of the soundtrack (mostly by Quincy Jones) as far as I know.

She continues to record and wrote most of the tunes on her latest release, GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY, from April of this year.

Ole Waylon's SP 4238 might be considered one & done on A&M, but he appears on the double album WHITE MANSIONS from 1978, plus three cuts from 45s that were not on an album: "Rave On," "Love Denied" and "Sing the Girls a Song, Bill."


JB

 

[rockdoctor]

The title song got a lot of airplay here and Sirius XM does play it now and then.

 

[JOv2]

Ole Waylon's SP 4238 might be considered one & done on A&M,

I ruled out Waylon's LP because he wasn't an A&M artist at the time of release and it was not contemporary material. (In fact anyone's 1964 pop recordings released in 1970 would have -- at that time in US/UK pop music -- sounded as old as the hills!)