Los Bravos: "Black Is Black"

October 10, 1966 (1 week)

It was at the end of 1994 that a struggling boy band from Orlando, Florida made the bold decision to fly to Stockholm to work with a young producer and songwriter named Max Martin. Mind you, this may not have been the decision of AJ, Nick and the other three so much as it had been their record label and management calling the shots. (Needless to say, autonomy is not typically something boy bands and girl groups are given much of) Though by no means an overnight success, the Backstreet Boys eventually became huge and with their chart dominance came Max Martin as a hitmaker to the stars,

Americans are very precious when it comes to pop and rock. The invented it, they made it insanely commercial and they spread it around the world, so I guess it isn't any wonder why they tend to resent others trying to bring it back to them. Executives at Capitol Records in the States may not have even given The Beatles' "She Loves You" a single listen for all we know; just the fact that they were a British rock and roll group was evidently reason enough to turn them down. Then, when the British Invastion promptly hit, they set about trying to recreate it using their own songwriters, producers, engineers and studios. While The Beatles gave serious consideration to heading to Memphis to work with guitar ace Steve Cropper, do you think The Beach Boys or Byrds ever gave any thought to crossing the Atlantic in order to make an album at Abbey Road studios? (I am aware that there are exceptions but for the most part international musicians seek the United States rather than where the truly exciting music is coming from - which, to be fair, often is somewhere in the US)

Unburdened due to their country's lack of rock 'n' roll background, the Spanish quintet known as Los Bravos sought out the UK in order to make it with English language recordings. And, amazingly, they pulled it off (at least for a little while). While George Martin may not have been available or, if he had been, his services would have been prohibitively expensive, the band managed to link themselves up with Ivor Raymonde, a gentleman who had already made a name for himself as producer of many of Dusty Springfield's hits, including the sublime "I Only Want to Be with You".

Raymonde's stock in trade had been those lush but booming Dusty records, usually accompanied by a string section. Just as a good coach or manager in sport tailors his or her skills around the team rather than the other way around, Raymonde must have recognized that Los Bravos were a rock group who didn't need any superfluous backing. That said, there are credible reports that indicate that session musicians participated with minimal involvement from most of the band themselves. What can I say? If I producer isn't able to get much from the act their working with then they'll be more than happy to utilize others to fill in for them. The only concession made to orchestral beat music was German-born Mike Kogel's intonation that was not unlike Gene Pitney's.

Regardless of who appears on it, "Black Is Black" is an impressive breakthrough hit. True, it may sound a little formulaic (the intro eases the listener in with a simply rhythm section part, followed by a guitar, then an organ, by which point we are very much in sixties' garage rock territory) but the power and passion is hard to deny. While often lumped in with some of the darker songs from the era, it is melancholic but not wrist-slashingly so. It doesn't pretend to be a harbinger of doom in the era of flower power, it is merely a straightforward rocker to have on and enjoy and then forget all about until the next time you happen to encounter it.

Joe Meek was a mad experimental sonic genius and George Martin guided the biggest band in the world through the better part of a decade's worth of astonishing creativity. Yet, Swinging London failed to become a place where pop and rock stars flocked. Judging by the respectable results Los Bravos enjoyed, it's amazing more didn't go there to try something similar. A sixties version of Max Martin might not have materialized either way but it's tempting to ponder this particular — yet rarely discussed — pop music what if.

Score: 6

~~~~~

Can Con

I haven't been too impressed with Gordon Lightfoot's sixties' material thus far. It sounds more and more like he spent the bulk of the decade attempting to find his way. Good on him that he eventually did but that doesn't save some pretty grim recordings from prior to him finding it. Yet, "Spin, Spin" indicates that he was getting there. His voice is beginning to take on his familiar, oak-aged combination of weariness and optimism. It may not seem like Gord was in his element with a straight up pop song but he pulls it off rather well. It is said that he resented The Beatles for their omnipresence and the fact that their rise to prominence coincided with a decline in folk music but I wonder if the Fab Four had a subtle impact on his work at around this time. Not, mind you, by Gord moving towards the mainstream but by allowing their breeziness to infiltrate his sound. In any case, much better things were coming: "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" for one.