Phil Spector Presents...

I think it was the rock journalist Charles Shaar Murray who said that there is more music from the sixties available to buy now than there had been in the sixties. This is undoubtedly true as so much that was never released at the time becomes available on CD or via downloads; as back catalogue that was never re-pressed is remastered and re-released on CD; and as locally released singles on tiny labels are gathered onto comprehensive compilations. In the sixties, the market for recordings made in the fifties or even a few years earlier than the present was tiny, compared to the 'legacy' market that exists today.

The six original albums all produced by Phil Spector included in this 7CD box set (a compilation of instrumental B-sides makes up the seventh), released today, have never been on CD before, despite his being one of the most important producers of that decade, and despite the Ronettes album being one of the greatest albums ever made, so I was excited to receive it on the day of its release. The albums are beautifully presented in stiff cardboard replica sleeves and there is an extensive booklet.

Phil Spector was deeply affected by the suicide of his Russian immigrant father in his childhood, and the inscription on his gravestone inspired his first hit, To Know Him Is To Love Him, by the Teddy Bears. The failure of his marriage to Ronnie Spector, the lead singer in the Ronettes, has been oft documented, and he largely withdrew from public life for some years after a near-fatal car accident in 1974. More recently, of course, he was imprisoned after the fatal shooting of the actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. These recordings from the first half of the 1960s probably represent the most successful and happiest period of his life. Certainly, one would never guess from listening to them as to the demons that troubled his personal life.

L.
1.11.2011

Blip #552
Consecutive Blip #000
Day #586

Lens: Pentax 16-45mm

Saturday 29 October 2011: Zoo Trip #17: Bristol Zoo (backblip)

Albums series

1 year ago: Bristol Zoo Gardens