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SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND

"Simon Dupree" was vocalist Derek Shulman, one of a trio of brothers (Ray and Phil being the other two) from Portsmouth, England, who started out in music as R&B fanatics and first formed a group in 1964. Their musical interests can be glimpsed by the choices that the Shulman brothers made between 1964 and 1965 in naming their bands, which included the Howling Wolves and the Road Runners. Those names aside, their repertoire was focused a lot more on the songs of Wilson Pickett, Don Covay, and Otis Redding than on the Wolf or Bo Diddley. "Simon Dupree & the Big Sound" came about in the course of their search for a flashy name. Then, in October of 1967, the group's management and record label decided to try moving Simon Dupree & the Big Sound in the direction of psychedelia. It's entirely possible that they were looking at the huge sales and international recognition suddenly accruing to the Moody Blues, an R&B-turned-psychedelic outfit who had gone from near-oblivion to scoring a pair of hit albums and singles with their new sound. The result was "Kites," a song recorded in the early fall of 1967 at Abbey Road. The bandmembers were unhappy with the new song and the sound they were being asked to create, but they tried to make the best of it -- they experimented with a Mellotron for the first time, and used it pretty much as impressively as the Moody Blues did. The melody was Asian-sounding, and the presence of actress Jackie Chan reciting some poetry over the music didn't detract from the single's "Eastern" sound. "Kites" wasn't R&B, but it was the right song at the right time, and it made the British Top Ten, a major commercial breakthrough for the group.

"WITHOUT RESERVATIONS"

1967    LP     TOWER RECORDS     ST 5097    STEREO

PRINTED IN USA     ORIGINAL PRESSING

SINGLE SLEEVE

THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

NOTES: "Day Time, Night Time already" recorded by Manfred Mann as" Each And Every Day"

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Barcode: none

LABEL: TOWER  - 'DULL ORANGE' LABEL w/BLACK&WHITE LOGO at LEFT - BLACK TEXT

Catalog on cover: ST 5097  

Catalog on labels: ST-5097 

Matrix / Runout (Side A, Etched): ST-1-5097   S-1616

Matrix / Runout (Side B, Etched): ST-2-5097   S-1617

On labels: Mfd. in U.S.A.

On back cover: Notes & Tracklist

Printed in U.S.A(circled)     Manufactured by Capitol....................Jacksonville, Ill.     6

tracklisting

Side A: 60 MINUTES OF YOUR LOVE - LOVE - GET OFF MY BACK

THERE'S A LITTLE PICTURE PLAYHOUSE - DAY TIME, NIGHT TIME

Side B: I SEE THE LIGHT - WHAT IS SOUL - TEACHER TEACHER - AMEN - RESERVATIONS

grading

RECORD EX but (please, read above description)

SLEEVE VG+ but (please, see pictures and read above description)

Simon Dupree & the Big Sound's sole LP was, oddly, recorded and released prior to their one big British hit, the psychedelic pop single "Kites." It's in much more of a blue-eyed soul vein than "Kites" (or some of their other subsequent work), with hints of ska and pop, though its brassy American-styled soul-with-organ that carries the day. As far as such British acts went, Simon Dupree & the Big Sound were neither the best nor the worst; they were pretty driving and soulful, actually, but not too innovative or creative. Too, this kind of blue-eyed soul was just starting to pass out of fashion in the U.K. by the time it came out in 1967, though the LP did edge into the British Top 40. Still, this has some pretty fair soul-rock cuts, like their version of the Five Americans' "I See the Light," their cover of a young Albert Hammond's "Reservations," and "Love," a pretty cool exuberant number penned by Jackie Edwards, who'd written hits for the Spencer Davis Group. Some of their original tunes and attempts at heavier, more serious soul, however, are more plodding and not nearly as inviting...(AllMusic)