modcentric recommends!

These days, fans of 60s girlgroup obscuria needn't depend on vinyls alone, when there's so many compilations and reissues out there! Whether or not they are readily available at your nearest music megastore is another story. But then, there is always eBay and Amazon. I know that there are blogs a-plenty with free downloads of full compilations (out of print or otherwise), but I honestly believe that sometimes it's worth shelling out for girl group compilations, if only for the liner notes! =)

Two girl bands from awesome cds I have in my collection!

Daughters of Eve


An all-girl garage band from Chicago! This article from Spectropop tells it best. This track is taken off Ace Records' high recommended comp, 'Girls With Guitars'. I love almost all the girl group compilations Ace Records put out. Their liner notes are always second to none! If you like 'Girls in The Garage', 'Girls With Guitars' is worth tracking down.

Daughter of Eve - Help The Boy

Cake

A recent cd purchase that I have no regrets about - 'More of Cake'. "Three sassy NYC girls wrote baroque folk, psychedelic madrigals and blue-eyed soul with rock attitude." This cd puts together Cake's only two LPs in a gorgeous package with lots of photos in the liner notes. Its a mix of psychedelia, R&B, and pop sensibility. They even have an 'official' Myspace page, here!

Cake - World Of Dreams

Youtube Finds!

The Cake performing 'You Can Have Him', 1968

Olivia Newton-John!

Olivia Newton-John was 18 when she cut her first solo single, the very stomping and garagey "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" for Decca Records in England in 1966. She had an even earlier start to show business however, as she had formed an all-girl band, Sol Four, at aged 15 and soon was a regular on Australian television and radio shows. She got her first recording break after moving to England. Jackie DeShannon had flown to England looking for singers for her songs, and decided that her song "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" would go to Olivia.

Olivia Newton-John - Till You Say You'll Be Mine

An interesting article on the early recordings of Olivia Newton-John and Karen Carpenter, here.
Olivia's Wiki page, here.
You can download the B side to this single, "For Ever", at the More Than Physical blog, here.

Mama Guitar!

Cai Mi Mi, a Taiwanese singer, was a bright star in the late Sixties. In 1968, she led The Five Petal Group (an authentic girl band who apparently played all their own instruments!). Mama Guitar was their biggest hit, and the group won instant fame when appeared on a popular television variety show singing the song. Interestingly, the original singer of this song was supposed to be Teresa Teng, but as she was overseas, Mi Mi and The Five Petals had the opportunity to record it.

Cai Mi Mi and The Five Petal Group - Mama Guitar

Pretty Lotus!

Lotus Liew was Miss Singapore/Universe 2nd Runner Up in 1967. I love random vinyl finds like this! Especially when they are cheap to boot. This is by far being the most rocking track on her EP release.

Lotus Liew - The Lonely One

And if you're really keen, I've noticed that this same EP has been showing up in eBay lately.

Malay Pop Yeh Yeh 2

Helen Velu scored a hit with this song at the age of 15. Google sleuthing reveals some interesting trivia on Helen Velu (from this message board): "Apart from her famous Malay number Kereta Lembu, she also managed to record an English LP with the title Songs For My Mother. After her divorce from Adnan Othman, Helen Velu later married an Arab businessman." FYI "Kereta Lembu" means bullock cart.

Helen Velu - Kereta Lembu

Abstract from an article on Helen Velu, here. (I haven't tried subscribing to access the full article).

Shirley Nair and The Silver Strings!

During Singapore's band craze of the 60s, "super bands" sprouted, featuring tie-ups of popular bands with well-known vocalists. For instance, besides recording on their own, The Thunderbirds also backed several vocalists in their recording career - Heather, Alan & Doug Lyford, and even Susan Lim (of The Crescendos)! The Quests is another example that springs easily to mind. I'm sure these attractive combinations worked well for the record-buying public!

This release features vocalist Shirley Nair, backed by The Silver Strings. Prior to joining The Quests, Vernon Cornelius was once a vocalist with the Silver Strings, though this line-up did not release any recordings.

Shirley Nair & The Silver Strings - If You Ever Go

An article on Shirley Nair, announcing her teaming up with the Silver Strings.

Introducing Mona!

Not much is known about Mona, except she recorded at Kinetex Studios, a Singaporean record studio frequented by bands such as Naomi and The Boys. I suppose it pays to examine each record purchase carefully - at first glance in the record store, I wouldn't have given this sleeveless and dusty vinyl a second look had I not recognised the recording studio as local. And thanks to Joseph Pereira's extensive record sleeve collection, we know how she looks like. According to him, the backing band is probably The Brown Boys.

Mona - Hanky Panky