This wasn't produced by Phil Spector. No, it was a Muscle Shoals in 1961 Alabama. Rick Hall was the producer and The Swampers were the studio musicians behind Alexander, all white, at a time when they could not sit and eat a sandwich at an Alabama deli together with Alexander. There's a lesson here of changes and divides.
For a taste of Phil Spector's influence here's Spanish Harlem from less than a year earlier. No doubt the sound of Ben E. King and Spector filtered down to Muscle Shoals. Spector was an apprentice for Leiber and Stoller in 1960 and their production of Save the Last Dance for Me could easily be considered the source material for You Better Move On, which is almost identical, but slower. Any of you hotshot mashup wizards out there could put a swinging mix of these three songs which all share compositional DNA.
Imitation works because it's a chemistry that works, prominent voice, opulent production, a swinging sound, hopeful and pleasant, something to make you think tomorrow is going to be better than today, something to make you buy the wine that costs $2 more and kiss your woman a little longer than normal.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
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