left banke - walk away renee

Picked up the first lp (on vinyl natch) over the weekend. Even the lesser stuff on it is charming. It's a real crime that this and the other Left Banke material is so hard to get. I wonder why, when it seems like everyone and their dog is redoing 60s music, there hasn't been new reissue or at least an audiophile pressing of the debut. Rights holders: get yer ass in gear!

BTW, did that Michael Brown/Steve Martin reunion stuff that harveyw posted about upthread ever come out?

Pretty Ballerina and Walk Away Renee are near-perfect pop songs. Is the rest of this group's output worth investigating?

Those are the peaks, but there is much to love on the first album. Haven't heard the stray singles or the second album.

There's Gonna Be A Storm cd has practically everything and there is a lot to love imo.

"She May Call You Up Tonight" f'rinstance.

Actually, thanks to youtube, here's a couple of the strays:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeYzV74Il-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpB3LXxyXlw&feature=related

Man, "Desiree" is awesome.

totally

<3 tweethan threads :)

Oh my goodness... "there's Gonna Be a Storm" is possibly one of the GREATEST compilations ever. A least at this moment. On headphones. God, I love this band...

Nah. Guggit. It is one of the GREATEST compilations ever without a doubt. Godhead.

Er..."Fuggit".

Anybody heard this import? It's both albums in correct track order plus the stray tracks and a song not on There's Gonna Be A Storm. Never heard of the label but the reviews are uniformly positive and the it's a good deal cheaper on cd than Storm.

um
i will probably be banned

but I'm not sure I get the love for this song

the singing sounds kind of strained & off key or something

i'll listen some more tho

the slight straining in the vocals helps convey the tune. Please listen some more

Found that import I linked to a few posts up on Ebay for a lower price and got it in the mail today. Surprise surprise it's a bootleg with no liner notes or credits outside of the bare minimum. Sounds ok, no needledrops--I assume it was ripped from There's Gonna Be A Storm. Some of the stuff from the second lp sounds kinda muffled and some of the first album stuff is in mono instead of stereo with no explanation why.

Is it just me, or does "Pedestal" have serious early 70s Bowie thing goin' on? The ache in the vocals, wounded romanticism in the lyrics, Ronson-esque axe heroics...

this fuckin' song guys

Sundazed just revealed on Facebook today that they're doing a reissue of at least the first lp.

UPDATE: First AND Second lps, on hd vinyl & cd, possibly in May, no bonus tracks.

http://www.wpclipart.com/small_icons/misc_7/.cache/thumbs_up.png

And they're doing a reunion:

http://www.rockedition.com/news/the-left-banke-to-reunite/

:)

Shared by Sundazed on Facebook this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzaig_jlyt4

Cool. Did not know Doug Sahm was in The Left Banke

Sundazed Reissue Product Synergy.

Wait, now I looked at the actual personnel and I see that Mike Fornatale did the lead vocals, the same guy who filled in for The Monks. The guy is some kind of genius.

Remasters in June

I wonder why Sundazed didn't just reissue their albums as a twofer with the two non-album singles as bonus tracks, the way Mercury did with the oop single-disc There's Gonna Be a Storm collection. still, the liner notes and remastering job should be first-rate, so I'm not complaining too much.

Bob Irwin (or whomever it was posting for Sundazed on fbook, usually it's him) replied to a similar query back when they made the initial announcement that the rights holder stipulated that the discs would not have bonus tracks. I guess the stray songs are still a sore point to someone.

The bootleg of the two albums that I have & wrote about upthread has the extras from There's Gonna... plus the mysterious outtake "Foggy Waterfall". The same label (Red Cap) did another twofer comprising the Montage album* and the 80s Left Banke album plus the Montage rarities and the Left Banke Coke ads.

*Apparently the Sundazed edition of this went OOP recently.

Amazing acapella version from the Four Tops

http://youtu.be/bp0OHYnuuXs

OK, this is really awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SsJodqBURNA#!

Unable to resist calls for a reunion, founding members Tom Finn and George Cameron have reformed The Left Banke for their first live performances since 1970.

Didn't that already happen?

Don't know. I copied and pasted that from a Baltimore nightclub's website touting an upcoming appearance by the Left Banke. Perhaps they just copied it from an old press release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts5igrW5Hf4&feature=related

last march

Think forks or someone went. Believe the lead singer is the same ringer who sang at The Monks reunion. Guys got a great gig

Or, what I said in March

<3

Thanks. I shoulda read upthread first.

just found this
rough b+w version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seuwhZvXa6Y

& a Shadows Breaking Over My Head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQKx47otiIE

I forgot this song existed!

What's the classical melody this sounds a lot like? Something from Beethoven, maybe? I'm blanking.

I never figured it out, did you?

I meant to ask somebody but didn't get a chance yet.

My quick google search came up empty

this song is responsible for Belle and Sebastian

It's not really an exact copy, like "A Lover's Concerto" is, so it won't be on the intranetz, it's more that it's reminiscent of something.

D'oh, it's "Ode to Joy" I'm thinking of. Se me hizo una laguna.

this song is responsible for Belle and Sebastian

You heartless bastard you