Marvin, Welch & Farrar

[Iain Purdon]

the Beach Boys meet Frankenstein

I think Hank did say this, but only about one song Lord How It's Hurting, which provides a joke ending. Same idea as Her Majesty on the Beatles' "Abbey Road" LP.

[Fenderman]

The two albums by M, W & F are superb but the 1973 M&F album seems a little strange, the whole album has an air of gloom around it. Hank later said it was the worst album he ever made, he said it was like the Beach Boys meet Frankenstein!

I remember the "Beach Boys meet Frankenstein" quote and the comment about them losing direction, but I have never heard the "worst album he ever made" quote. The only album I knew Hank really hated was the Shads "Live in Japan" album.

Do you have a source for the M&F worst album quote?

Thanks,

Andrew

P.S. For what it's worth it's my favourite Hank album!

I'm sure i read it in a Record Collector article on the M, W & F albums, by Rob Bradford, it was a very long time ago now.
Don't get me wrong, it has a couple of great tracks like Skin Deep and So hard to live with but i just couldn't get into it.

[iefje]

The two albums by M, W & F are superb but the 1973 M&F album seems a little strange, the whole album has an air of gloom around it. Hank later said it was the worst album he ever made, he said it was like the Beach Boys meet Frankenstein!

Hank (and maybe also Bruce) also made that remark about their very first single as The Drifters "Feelin' Fine"/"Don't Be A Fool (With Love)", which I think wasn't bad. Quite exciting really.

[Monty]

I think they tend to over react if a record fails to sell well and I NEVER take what artists say very seriously, alot is 'PR' speak and sometimes over time they completely contradict themselves !

'Hank Marvin & John Farrar' (1973) was a pretty good album if a bit directionless tho' the songs themselves were all quite good with a few gems in; 'So Hard To Live With', 'Skin Deep', 'Music Makes My Day' and 'Love Oh Love' - tho' it had a far more 'Americanised Rock / singer/songwriter approach than we were accustomed to and minus Bruce (bar the one track) the group unity of the two M W & F albums was absent

- the vocal M & F album it was quickly eclipsed in 1973 by The Shads triumphant (artistic if not commercial) return with 'Rockin' With Curly Leads' (my own all time fav Shads album...and I know one of Brian Bennett's fav Shads albums too) and maybe that was another reason Hank came to look down upon it as an album ?

I would FAR sooner listen to that 1973 'M & F' vocal album any day than any of those ghastly Polydor covers albums full of '80's Pop musak' and more hits they later got stuck with recording...!

[drakula63]

Yeah, the M&F album is much better than people give it credit for being. 'Nobody Cares' is one of the most haunting songs they ever wrote.

My mum bought me 'Live at the Paris Olympia' in the late Seventies from Boots record department (!). Apparently, the guy behind the counter said to her 'that is one of the best albums they ever made.' She told me that when she returned.

I am inclined to agree.

[Monty]

The Full Concert CD version (if it was the full set) which added extra tracks to the original vinyl 'Live in Paris' LP was really great - true 'Dance On' sounded a bit strange with John Farrar playing a 'counter melody' behind Hank's guitar which was not to all Shads fans taste, but their harmony lead guitarwork (even on 'Apache') was impressive - and had echoes of a few such tracks Hank & Bruce played in harmony on the very first Shads album in 1961 which impressed Cliff (per his linear notes)

they took 'Flingel Bunt' in a more adventurous direction, and the electrified 'Guitar Tango' was an interesting contrast too, while 'Sleepwalk' on harmony lead guitars sounded great - notable how a number of tracks from the very first Shads album - including 'Shadoogie' & the perennial 'Nivram' - were featured, plus a number of early Jet Harris & Tony Meehan era singles too

M W & F were represented by a few fine vocal tracks (with the Rock & Roll vocal medley too) plus 'Turn Around And Touch Me' (then the latest EMI single) was included in a nice live version - 'Honorable Puff Puff' clearly went down a storm with the Paris audience !

Tony Clarke (The Moody Blues & Sky producer) originally mixed the set.

The original EMI 'Live in Paris' 1975 LP was of course later twinned with "Live in Japan' 1969 in a fine budget priced MFP double set (an underrated release with the non UK Japan set finally getting a UK release)

I particularly rate that 'Full Concert Version' CD of the 'Live in Paris' album (a set that always brings home to me how much they lost, both instrumentally and vocally, when John Farrar later departed)

[iefje]

The Full Concert CD version (if it was the full set) which added extra tracks to the original vinyl 'Live in Paris' LP was really great - true 'Dance On' sounded a bit strange with John Farrar playing a 'counter melody' behind Hank's guitar which was not to all Shads fans taste, but their harmony lead guitarwork (even on 'Apache') was impressive - and had echoes of a few such tracks Hank & Bruce played in harmony on the very first Shads album in 1961 which impressed Cliff (per his linear notes)

they took 'Flingel Bunt' in a more adventurous direction, and the electrified 'Guitar Tango' was an interesting contrast too, while 'Sleepwalk' on harmony lead guitars sounded great - notable how a number of tracks from the very first Shads album - including 'Shadoogie' & the perennial 'Nivram' - were featured, plus a number of early Jet Harris & Tony Meehan era singles too

M W & F were represented by a few fine vocal tracks (with the Rock & Roll vocal medley too) plus 'Turn Around And Touch Me' (then the latest EMI single) was included in a nice live version - 'Honorable Puff Puff' clearly went down a storm with the Paris audience !

Tony Clarke (The Moody Blues & Sky producer) originally mixed the set.

The original EMI 'Live in Paris' 1975 LP was of course later twinned with "Live in Japan' 1969 in a fine budget priced MFP double set (an underrated release with the non UK Japan set finally getting a UK release)

I particularly rate that 'Full Concert Version' CD of the 'Live in Paris' album (a set that always brings home to me how much they lost, both instrumentally and vocally, when John Farrar later departed)

I have all three versions of the album: the original 14-track 1975 UK vinyl album, the 25-track 1992 UK CD issue and the 41-track 2002 French double CD issue. "The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt" on the 1992 UK CD is actually different at the end, in that Hank's down-slide flourish is edited out. It is actually present again on the 2002 French double CD, as well as all of the dialogue which was present on the 1975 UK vinyl album, additional (audience recorded) dialogue and the Marvin, Welch & Farrar studio recordings of "Black Eyes" and "Silvery Rain". The double CD also features the 1969 Japanese album "'Live' In Japan".