PopTodd Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Billy Nicholls' stillborn 1968 album does indeed recall the Beach Boys' 1966-19 67 era, not just due to Nicholls' melodies and high, versatile vocals, but also the production of Andrew Oldham, an avowed fan of Phil Spector and Pet Sounds. Although very attractive, however, the songs and production do not have the depth and emotional resonance of Pet Sounds. This is not a knock; Nicholls was very young at the time, after all, and it's hard to match Brian Wilson, though Oldham pulled out a bunch of tricks with baroque keyboards, tasteful brass, and airy multi-part harmonies. As with the Oldham-produced cuts done by Del Shannon in the same era, the deftly elaborate L.A.-meets-London semi-Wall of Sound is more impressive than the pretty but often rather slight material. It's still a pleasurable listen, with the more acoustic and darker "Come Again" slightly foreshadowing the kind of sound Pete Townshend would employ on much of Who Came First, and "Girl from New York" (with Steve Marriott on lead guitar) going for a gutsier British rock vibe. The CD reissue (on the Immediate imprint, but actually put out by the British reissue label Sequel) includes mono single versions of "Would You Believe?" and "Daytime Girl" as bonus tracks. I'm not sure if we've mentioned this album in past threads (way back), but I was just thinking about this today. And there is no thread dedicated specifically to this bad boy. I have a 180g vinyl copy of this at home, in my crawl, waiting for a new stereo (which I just got) to be assembled, and my turntable attached! I remember being vaguely disappointed with the record, but am looking forward to hearing it again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Groovy album cover, but I've never heard of him. The thread title reminded me of the guy who filled in for Ringo when he got tonsillitis. Jimmy Nicol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Geez, I was way off. I was thinking of Paul Nicholas who played Cousin Kevin in Tommy (and played with Screaming Lord Sutch). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I dig this record... It's been a while since I gave it a spin, must dig it up tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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