Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: "Get Away"

September 12, 1966 (1 week)

So what was I saying before? Georgie Fame is a genius? Someone who is long overdue a critical re-appraisal? Criminally underrated? No, none of those.

Well, how about rubbish then? Someone who didn't deserve even the tiniest fraction of their success? Tunes that have aged about as well as an English sitcom about a racist old grouch who lives next door to some darkies? No, those don't ring a bell either.

Oh, I know! The jury is out on Georgie Fame! Turns out, it still is.

The last time he came up, I wondered if the singer with the most made-up sounding name in showbusiness would gradually ditch jazzy lounge pop in favour of something more commercial. The opening bars of "Get Away" seem to confirm my suspicions though as the song progresses the horns and a very mid-sixties organ creep in to maybe give his jazz bona fides a boost. The result probably ought to be a hybrid but somehow ends up as competent but unremarkable British R&B.

As opposed to "Yeh, Yeh", "Get Away" was an original composition (though it was credited to one 'Clive Powell' who was not in fact a gentlemanly banker from Surrey but was Fame's real name). Yet, it sounds far less fluid than its predecessor. Fame hadn't been entirely convincing as a suave vocalist but he gave it his all on his first major hit. The same cannot be said for this one though. As Tom Ewing notes in his brief review, Fame "sounds awfully bored" — and who can blame him? I'm pretty bored listening to it.

There is still one more Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames (shouldn't leave them out!) number one to go but my impressions aren't favourable and I'm confident in saying he was already on the decline — and he hadn't really got off to the hottest start to begin with. Whether they were up to the challenge of pulling themselves up is something I can get to in the months ahead but I'm not terribly confident. Maybe "rubbish", "didn't deserve [their] success" and "aged badly" aren't quite so far off after-all.

Score: 4

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: "Yeh, Yeh"

March 1, 1965 (1 week)

Until recently I would have assumed that Georgie Fame is one of those individuals who was known by all in the UK but was unknown anywhere else. Not unlike, say, Malcolm Muggeridge or Delia Smith, his name didn't seem to travel beyond the British Isles. (As a longtime Anglophile I only knew of such individuals due to my teenage obsession with the Adrian Mole books) Turns out, I was dead wrong on this one. The former Clive Powell had a trio of number ones in the UK, which all topped the Canadian charts as well. (Fame seems to have been the ultimate sink or swim artist: he only had one other entry on the RPM Top 40 while he never had another Top 10 hit beyond his big three in his homeland)

So, Georgie Fame was something of a known entity in his day but was he any good? Well, the jury's still out on that one. While I fancy myself a jazz fan, I'm no purist. I admire when pop and rock acts dip their toes in improv music or jazz-influenced styles. Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan: all big favourites of mine. Eighties' sophisti-pop admittedly has much to answer for but groups like The Style Council, Swing Out Sister and Matt Bianco could swing when called for. I even dig some of that so-called acid jazz from the nineties, even if little of it sounds especially jazzy — and, indeed, not all that acidic.

"Yeh, Yeh" is a throwback to mid-sixties' bossa nova as well those classy European film soundtracks of the era. It had originally appeared on the live album At Newport '63 by the vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan with stellar backing from tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and flugelhornist Clark Terry. In this incarnation, it is more or less standard vocal jazz, albeit performed with customary effortless cool from one of the era's sadly forgotten groups.

Needless to say, Georgie Fame wasn't up to the task the way Dave Lambert, Joe Hendricks and Yolande Bavan were. And with all due respect, the Blue Flames were not in the same league as the likes of Hawkins or Terry. Fame sounds like he's enjoying himself but he also sounds rushed, as though the pressure was on to somehow cut a six minute jazz tune by more than half for a pop 45. That said, if one goes into it without prior knowledge of the original version of "Yeh, Yeh" then it's enjoyable enough. Nothing to get too thrilled about but acceptable all the same. If a pop star is going to do jazz then they'd better do it well but being passable will do.

As I mentioned above, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames will be appearing again in this space before long so we'll see if (a) he managed to get the hang of this jazz-pop stuff, (b) he somehow or other got worse at it or (c) he gave up and decided just to be another British invasion beat act. I'm not going to spoil the surprise so I'll be on a Fame embargo for a little while which won't be hard since I barely knew who he was until just recently.

Score: 5