Singles

Singles was a column in Disc and Music Echo music newspaper, where music journalists would review new singles of the week. It was previously called New Singles and may have changed name sometime between 1971 and 1972.

Links to Peel[]

In the Singles feature, published on 3rd July 1971 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles:

Shangri-Las: Leader Of The Pack (7") Kama Sutra ("To claim, as Johnnie Walker did recently on the radio, that the Shangri-Las' classic "Leader Of The Pack" is a "sick" record, is to miss the point entirely")
Count Prince Miller: Mule Train (7") Trojan ("The lyrics when distinguishable are often healthily erotic or sometimes strongly political. Such reggae records are, for me, the only ones worth hearing.")
Bob Dylan: Watching The River Flow (7") CBS ("It's a good record and the "B" side featuring only Bob's voice and piano, is "Spanish is the loving tongue,"and that's beautiful")
Mark Lindsay: Been Too Long On The Road (7") CBS ("Mark Lindsay when he was with Paul Revere and the Raiders, wrote and sang one of the great non-hits of all time. His "Him or me - what's it gonna be?" is still one of my favourite records and I play it frequently on my immeasurably boring "disco" gigs. Thinking back to that record it's difficult to take pap like this very seriously. The song is good - written by David Gates and taken from Bread's "On The Water" LP, the production is immaculate, and the performance is good and yet it all adds up to precisely nothing.")
T. Rex: Get It On (7") Fly ("T. Rex's "Get It On" is the first of Marc's records that hasn't been played on "Top Gear". This isn't because Marc has "sold out" (whatever hell that means) nor is it because we somehow disapprove of success - as some people have claimed. For four years "Top Gear" has been advocating T. Rex music and it would be absurd for us to turn away from it now that you're all listening. Marc's musical taste is very similar to mine - we both venerate Hendrix and James Burton, for example - but this is the first of his records that hasn't made me feel "Hey, I wish I'd done that." I can't really identify whatever it is that has triggered my uncertainty. "Get it on" doesn't have the instant impact of the previous two records and it does seem about a minute too long. It's still an above-average record produced with flair and imagination, but it lacks something of the T. rex I know and love.")
Gilbert O'Sullivan: We Will (7") MAM ("There seems to be a tendency with record companies/producers who uncover originals like Gilbert, and perhaps have rather unexpected hits with them, to dilute their talents on subsequent releases almost as though they were frightened by the very fact of their originality")
Nirvana: Pentecost Hotel (7") Philips ("If you're one of those perverse and foolish souls who has listened to "Top Gear" since 1967 you might just remember that we played Nirvana's Island recording of "Pentecost Hotel" a great deal. This record is still worth a listen and I still don't understand why it wasn't a vast hit. Now on Philips, there is a 1971 version and the Pig, who never heard the Island record thinks it's very good. It is too.")
Ray Charles: Boody Butt (7" - Boody Butt / Zig Zag) Tangerine ("This seems like a record that's waiting to happen too. It's virtually instrumental with a resemblance to current James Brown material. It's very well played, but is somehow inconclusive.")
Family: In My Own Time (7") Warner Bros. ("Now this is more like it")
Vanity Fair: Better By Far (7") DJM ("Your Tremeloes and Marmalade for example have recently made some beautiful records. Vanity Fair would seem to be operating in the same general area as these two groups but have yet to make a record that is truly memorable. I'm afraid "Better By Far" isn't. (Rather obvious that, but hard to resist).")
Archies: This Is Love (7") RCA ("I have no hesitation in telling you that this is hideous")

In the Singles feature, published on 25th March 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles:

Betty Wright: Clean Up Woman (7") Atlantic ("Short, spare and simple it's one of the best records I've ever heard.")
Bread: Everything I Own (7") Elektra ("This is, to my mind, a better single than the previous hit "Baby I'm A-Want You" was a fine record certainly but seemed slightly simpering")
Neil Reid: That's What I Want To Be (7") Decca ("The Pig and I (are whispering goodbye) are regular viewers of "Opportunity Knocks" and so are many millions of our fellow countrymen. We watch it more out of disbelief than anything else but also because it does furnish a strong argument that the musical policies of Radio 1 that we rail against all the time may be right after all. As you know Neil Reid won handsomely and frequently on the show and both his first single and LP have sold hugely.")
Piglets: Baby Love (7") Parlophone ("I should state that I actually like Jonathan King as a person. He's often damned as a cruel and pitiless exploiter but he's not that heartless - nor that cynical. He just believes that popular music is about having a good time and that if someone's going to be making a hatful of money out of it it might as well be J. King. This philosophy is outlined with breathtaking honesty on the "B" side of the Piglets record.")
Melanie: Ring The Living Bell (7") Buddah ("She writes strong melodies and her lyrics have veered away from the whimsy, that threatened to suffocate the songs to stronger, much more direct things.")
Carly Simon: Legend In Your Own Time (7" - Legend In Your Own Time / Julie Through The Glass) Elektra ("Who is it all about? James Taylor? Carly Simon has one hell of a fine voice which swoops, bends and warps around the lyrics - almost swamping the sense on occasion. That's only a small criticism of another excellent record which isn't as likely as the Bread and Melanie records to meet with rejoicing in the market place.")
Elvis Presley: Until It's Time For You To Go (7" - Until It's Time For You To Go / We Can Make The Morning) RCA ("Does Elvis listen to the lyrics of a song before he records? I can't believe that he does, because he grinds his way through this horror of a record with total insensitivity and renders Buffy Sainte-Marie's lovely song a violated and twisted ruin behind him")
Magni Flys Label: Maxi Singles ("A handsomely packaged set of maxi-singles - reissues of some immortal performances that should grace every home")
Alice Cooper: Be My Lover (7") Warner Bros. ("Sinister? Dangerous? Probably not but just a good stormer for hounding about to, with, by and from")

In the Singles feature, published on 1st April 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles:

Curved Air: Sarah's Concern (7") Warner Bros. ("Not likely to bound into the charts, I suspect")
Joan Baez: Song Of Bangladesh (7") (A&M) ("Let me establish immediately that I have never been keen on Joan Baez either in her days as Dylan's lady or during the period when her husband's imprisonment seemed to be the foundation on which work was based")
Bunch: When Will I Be Loved / Willie And The Hand Jive (7") Island ("It's all a bit too polite, so controlled - and too long. "When Will I Be Loved" is three minutes, ten seconds and "Willie" is 15 seconds longer. They'd both benefit from being two minutes long and looser")
Aretha Franklin: Day Dreaming (7" - Day Dreaming / I've Been Loving You Too Long) Atlantic ("This seems to be a week for records which, while they aren't by any means poor, aren't as good as they should be")
J. Geils Band: Looking For A Love (7") Atlantic ("This track from the "Morning After" LP just rolls and choogles along beautifully. My only small reservation concerns Peter Wolf's vocals which can sound strained and uncomfortable at times")
Jackson 5: Sugar Daddy (7") Tamla Motown ("It sounds as though they're being weaned away from the streets and being groomed for the Las Vegas circuit")
David Cassidy: Could It Be Forever (7" - Could It Be Forever / Cherish) Bell ("This record is achingly wholesome, clean and toothpaste-y")
Mungo Jerry: Open Up (7") Dawn ("For a start it doesn't sound much like Mungo Jerry - a bit John Lee Hooker-ish in spots actually and it's a somewhat mournful, overdrawn thing in comparison with earlier efforts. I hope it goes well but I have my doubts.")

In the Singles feature, published on 8th April 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles:

Temptations: Take A Look Around (7") Tamla Motown ("This one's a lot easier to come to terms with.")
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (7") United Artists ("Do we have a record of the week in this paper? Do we? Well, if we do this is it, even if we don't")
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg: La Decadanse (7") Philips (""La Decadanse" is son of "Je T'Aime" and is about as sexually arousing as the treaty of Dover of 1760")
Kenny Young: Rosalis (7") Warner Bros. ("...this is a good single although I suspect not a commercial success. You'll be doing yourself a disservice by ignoring it")
Mike McGear: Woman (7") Island ("This is something of a difficult record to review. It's a remarkably simple, even stark, production on a song which needs a lot of listen to take hold. It's ultimately a good record - even a very good one - but it's difficult to imagine that it will sell very well")

In the Singles feature, published on 29th April 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles: [1]

David Bowie: Starman (7") RCA ("Now this is magnificent - quite superb")
Edward Woodward: We'll Only Hurt Ourselves (7") Jam Jam ("Before I start let me establish that I consider this to be an above average record of its type - it's the reasons that I think it won't sell that may get me into trouble.")
Ruby Jones: 46th Street (7") Buddah ("I wish I had more information - in fact, any information at all - about Ruby Jones because this record is another small gem.")
Dr. John: Iko Iko (7") Atlantic ("I met Dr. John and he appeared to me to be just about the surliest person I've ever encountered. So disagreeable was he, in fact, that I have great difficulty in being objective about his record, but I will try, I will try... In all honesty it is rather tedious and is unlikely to set your pulses racing dangerously.")
Combined Supporters Clubs: We Are The Champions (7") B & C ("150 supporters from Official Supporters Clubs from the 1st to 4th Divisions from the North to the South of England - that's what the press release tells us. By the end of the season the Kop will be the only people entitled to sing this song and they could eat this lot for breakfast - but I mustn't be partisan.")
Dramatics: In The Rain (7") Stax ("Another beautiful record which may disappear into oblivion as everyone leaps for the Chicory Tip record and comparable devices.")
Neil Diamond: Song Sung Blue (7") UNI ("This is a jog-a-long, sing-a-long thing that lacks some of the drama and tension that is a feature of Neil Diamond's best records. The song itself is amiable, quite insidious really, but rather undistinguished.")
Gerry Marsden: Amo Credo (7") Phoenix ("Gerry Marsden has already made one invaluable contribution to our culture. His version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was adopted by the Kop and subsequently by the supporters of lesser teams as well. every match you see on TV has, at some point, a memory of Gerry and the Pacemakers and, with that in mind, I was really hoping that this would be a good record - and it is.")
Chicory Tip: What's Your Name? (7") CBS ("The Pig was singing the chorus over the washing-up after only two playings and she commentated, unsolicited, that "it's got exactly the same hit formula as 'Son Of Your Father'," and she's right.")

In the Singles feature, published on 6th May 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles: [2]

Fanny: Ain't That Peculiar (7") Reprise ("If there any justice this would be a Top Ten record but, as you must have observed, there isn't and it probably won't be.")
Heart: House Of Cards (7") RCA ("This sounds very much like Tony Blackburn singing under a pseudonym and if so puts me in a certain amount of difficulty")
Redbone: Niji Trance (7" - Niji Trance / Jerico) Epic ("They certainly play well but there's that indefinable plus factor missing that makes for excitement and conviction")
Commander Cody: Hot Rod Lincoln (7") Paramount ("I remember searching around the red-neck sections of Dallas, Texas, for the original version of this by Charlie Ryan. I finally found it in a very rough shop in a place called Farmer's Branch (in passing, the home of Michael Nesmith) and it was well worth the hunt. Charlie Ryan wrote it and a lot of other car/bike songs which sound very, very alike.")
Don McLean: Vincent (7") United Artists ("When I first heard this as an album track my reactions were less than positive but, upon repeated hearings, I like it very much indeed.")
T. Rex: Metal Guru (7") T. REX ("Like the best Beatles' records, you may find that you don't like it much at first - "They've blown it this time" - but in the end you realise that, like him or not, Marc has worked out exactly what it is that makes a record work.")
Strawbs: Here It Comes (7") A&M ("I'm not sure that it'll be a hit - the Strawbs are one of those groups who regularly release good singles of which everyone cries "this'll be the one" without being right. I'm afraid this record, good though it it, is unlikely to interrupt this melancholy sequence - I wish it would though.")
Stylistics: Betcha By Golly, Wow (7") Avco ("Ever since I saw the title in the American charts I've been looking forward to hearing this one. Inevitably it's not as good as I'd hoped but it's still O.K.")

In the Singles feature, published on 10th June 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles:

Elvis Presley: An American Trilogy (7") RCA Victor ("It's recorded "live" and he sounds a whole deal better than on his monstrous version of "Until It's Time For You To Go"")
Troggs: Everything's Funny (7") Pye ("I'd hope for something rather funkier though")
ZZ Top: Francene (7" - Francene / Down Brownie) ("The obvious thing to say is that it seems rather early to be doing "Brown Sugar" again. That would be hard fairly accurate but a bit unfair. But the truth is that the band does sound very much like the Stones and "Francene" is very reminiscent of "Brown Sugar" - right down to some of the little production details")
Jonathan King: It's A Tall Order For A Short Guy (7") UK ("There's some wholesome guitar between the verses and the conventional strings, brass and prominent bass. It's a fair enough record ...")
Flash: Small Beginnings (7" - Small Beginnings / Morning Haze) Sovereign ("I am sure that Flash are well fed up with people saying that they sound like Yes, but the truth of the matter is that they do")
Faust: So Far (7") Polydor ("A remarkable single which is unlikely to get many plays - or sales. A great pity")
American Spring: Good Time (7") United Artists ("The lyrics are ridiculous and most enjoyable. They sing about a boyfriend called Eddie. All boyfriends were called Eddie in those days. When I was going out with Donna from Garland, Texas, I was probably called Eddie myself")
Blackfoot Sue: Standing In The Road (7") Jam ("Parts of the tune reminded me of Edith Paif's Milord - which is an odd thing to be reminded of by a rock record")
Cher: Living In A House Divided (7") MCA ("It's repetitive, dull, to a degree beyond previous human experience")
Hawkwind: Silver Machine (7" - Silver Machine / Seven By Seven) Samurai ("The overall effect is that of a thunderous rock band recorded in a wind tunnel and I look forward to being able to play this on the radio")
Gilbert O'Sullivan: Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day (7" - Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day / But I'm Not) MAM ("A good record, inevitably a top ten record and that's O.K. If we got to live by the charts alone, then let's have Gilbert O'Sullivan in them")
Lovelace Watkins: Rain Falls Anywhere It Wants To (7") York ("His voice is husky and warm - my only reservation is that he seems more concerned with the potential sound of the words than with their meanings - a common fault among what are erroneously referred to as "quality" singers")

In the Singles feature, published on 12th August 1972 in the Disc and Music Echo, Peel reviewed the following singles: [3]

Rod Stewart: You Wear It Well (12") Mercury ("In my life there have been a mere handful of people who have achieved that kind of God-like status that means that in my eyes they can do no wrong. Liverpool F.C., of course, have been there always but musically it's been Frankie Laine, Lonnie Donegal, Duane Eddy, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Country Joe and the Fish - and now Rod Stewart and the Faces")
Olivia Newton John: Just A Little Too Much (7") Pye International ("This is a Johnny Burnette song and I suppose the record'll be a hit because Olivia Newton John is one of that select band of performers who seem to be able to plug their latest single on TV whenever they want to. Of course that doesn't mean that what they do is good but it does mean that they have access to our homes and can flog us a load of stuff in the absence of anything of worth")
Shag: Loop Di Love (7") UK ("More from Jonathan King. You may think I give the man more prominence in these reviews than he deserves and I would agree with you up to a point. The thing is that his records are at least interesting even if they are breaches of taste so gross that you wonder there's no law under which he can be brought to justice. This thing by Shag is a case in point.")
Clifford T. Ward: Carrie (7") Dandelion ("Once again my objective runs the gauntlet. I mean objectively. Dandelion has not had a hit record since Medicine Head's "Pictures In The Sky" and it certainly would be nice to get a bit of money dripping into the coffers to pay for a few of the projects I have up my sleeve.")
Rainbow Family: Travellin' Lady (7") President (" This single starts off heavy but soon shifts into the high, wordless singing of the commercial. The best thing about it is the guitar sound, which is extraordinary.")
Little Richard: Mockingbird Sally (7") Reprise ("I wanted really badly to like this single but I find myself uncertain about it. Certainly it's a great deal better than anything Little Richard has done for a long time.")
10CC: Donna (7") UK ("Initially it sounds a bit like something the latter day Mothers might have done but it has warmth - something the Mothers have never had")
B.J. Thomas: That's What Friends Are For (7") Wand ("Not that I liked the record a great deal but I do like the way it's made")

Singles

Links to Peel[]

See Also[]