Review #489: Back to Mono (1958–1969), Phil Spector and Various Artists
#489: Back to Mono (1958–1969), Phil Spector and Various Artists
Of course, our final lengthy compilation album is Phil freaking Spector. He’s been haunting this list, not only in the albums he produced but in his daunting influence over the music industry. RS is really kicking me in the shins here.
Let’s be fair, here: Spector had a rough start to life. In 1949, when he was just ten, his father committed suicide. Ten years later, Spector founded the band The Teddy Bears (HA), and their first single was named after the epitaph on his father’s gravestone: “To Know Him Is to Love Him.” His career with the Teddies was short-lived, and he pivoted to producing, soon starting a record label of his own. Philles Records was co-owned by Lester Sill, until Spector bought Sill out, making him the youngest CEO of a US-based label at age 21. Philles lasted for only around eight years — in 1969, after failing to negotiate a deal with A&M Records, he quietly retreated from the public eye — after marrying Veronica Bennett, AKA Ronnie Spector, AKA the frontwoman of the Ronettes. More on that later.
It was a little bit jarring to read about Spector’s horrific crimes while listening to three hours of sticky sweet love songs. The Ronettes were probably the crown jewel of Philles Records — “Be My Baby” is about as sexy as Sixties songs get. Bennett’s voice is elastic and beautiful, as she sings wistful love songs that are heartbreaking in retrospect like “I Wonder.” But she also can sing like a bratty teenage girl — see “Keep On Dancing,” where she declares I can see you wanna steal my guy/ And it’s kind of fun to watch you try. Before Spector decided to sideline her, Bennett even had her own solo career, billed as simply Veronica — see “So Young,” which the Beach Boys would later cover.
Then there’s the Crystals, who sung what would become Spector’s most controversial song: “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss),” co-written by none other than Carole King. (It’s notable that she has come to publicly disavow the song.) They eventually discontinued it, but the Crystals themselves bounced back with “Then He Kissed Me.” Spector and the Crystals eventually had some tension, since the group felt he abandoned them to mostly work with the Ronettes and Darlene Love. But they were just as talented, and just as fun to listen to. See also “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Heartbreaker” for some of the Crystals’ best. (Fun fact, a member of the Crystals’ is the mother of one-half of Mobb Deep.)
His final girl group included a man — Bobby Sheen, who fronted Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans. Well, technically fronted. Sheen sings lead on “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” but hardly anything else. That’s because one of his backup singers was Darlene Love, who Spector quickly realized was the star. She quickly took over, singing lead on songs like “Not Too Young to Get Married,” and eventually was billed by herself — see “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry.” (This compilation album is 95% love songs.)
Another famous group Spector managed was the Righteous Brothers, for whom the term “blue-eyed soul” was named. They sang “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” (later sung by Sam Cooke) and most famously “Unchained Melody.” And then of course there was Ike & Tina Turner, who have a compilation album of their own that we’ve seen already. For a deeper cut that sounds so Phil Spector it hurts, check out “Save the Last Dance for Me.” There are other acts on here — see Curtis Lee (“Pretty Little Angel Eyes”), the Paris Sisters (“I Love How You Love Me”) and the Alley Cats (“Puddin’ n’ Tain”). But there were only a handful of groups that Spector poured most of his time, energy, and money into.
The final thirteen songs are all lifted straight from Spector’s Christmas album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector — which happened to be released on the day that JFK was assassinated. Honestly, it’s a staggering collection. I immediately recognized nearly all of them — from the Ronettes “Frosty the Snowman” and “Sleigh Ride” (Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a-ding-dong-ding!) to the Crystals’ definitive take on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” But Darlene Love wasn’t dubbed the Queen of Christmas for nothing. Her versions of “Marshmallow World” and “Winter Wonderland” can’t be touched. And the only person who does “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” as well as her is Mariah.
The only song I didn’t like was “Silent Night,” where Phil Spector simply thanks us for listening. I got chills hearing his voice from beyond the grave, which sounded so warm and well-meaning.
Spector might have helped catapult bands like the Ronettes to fame, but his second wife Bennett revealed back in 1990 that he was a nightmare to know personally. In her memoir, Bennett claimed that Spector held her captive and sabotaged her career. Their adopted sons corroborated her story, adding that he imprisoned them as well, and sexually abused them. Bennett divorced Spector in 1974, but he had it out for her for years to come — in 1994, when the Ronettes were up for consideration for induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he wrote a letter arguing that they didn’t deserve it. They were eventually nominated in 2007, and he spoke out against that, too — notably, while he was on trial for murder. I’m sorry, but what an utter piece of shit.
And then in 2003, long after the peak of his career, Spector shot actress Lana Clarkson in the face. Clarkson was famous for her sci-fi B-movies, and also had a bit role in Scarface. His first trial had a hung jury, but he was finally convicted in 2009 — though not before he got married a third time. Some people. In 2021, Spector died in prison of complications from COVID-19. Several media outlets got in hot water for their hagiographical obituary headlines — the BBC got in trouble for referring to Spector as “talented but flawed.” RS’s blurb for this album doesn’t even mention the fact that Spector was horrible, just unilaterally praises him.
Well, I’m not here to unilaterally praise murderers. Spector was reclusive, and prolific, and innovative. His Wall of Sound technique changed music production forever. He deserved to die in prison, but I still love his Christmas album.
Yet Another Unfun Fact: Dee Dee Ramone claimed that Spector pulled a gun on him once.
