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| From | "David Bash" <bashpop@earthlink.net> |
| Subject | Bergen White "For Women Only" |
| Date | Fri, 12 Mar 2004 09:46:49 -0800 |
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Yesterday I got a copy of a new reissue on Rev-ola, "For Women Only" by
Bergen White.
For those of you who've never heard of Bergen White, he was a songwriter and
arranger based in Nashville who'd done background vocals on several sides
for the Hit Records label (Anyone remember Hit Records? They were a budget
label who released cover versions of songs which were currently on the
charts, all done by studio cats under noms de plum that sounded like the
bands they were apeing-e.g. The Mummies for The Zombies), and then releasing
some 45s under his own name.
For Women Only was originally released on the SSS label in 1970, and had the
kind of schmaltzy cover art that destined it both for obscurity and the easy
listening bins. But what a magnificent album it is; try to imagine what a
David Gates solo album might have sounded like had it been recorded in 1969!
In other words, beautiful but with enough cool musical flourishes to make it
kinda hip (interestingly, a couple of the songs on the album were penned by
Gates).
The album came to the attention of both myself and Steve Stanley (who some
of you know from his work as a graphic artist and liner note writer) a few
years ago, but it took a long time for us to find actual copies. After we
did find copies we'd joke about the album being released on CD, but once
Steve got involved with Revola, the joke became a reality.
Sorry to sound so mawkish about this album, but I guarantee that if you like
this kind of soft-pop you need to get this reissue, which includes several
pre-album tracks as a bonus as well as very thorough and informative liner
notes by Mr. Stanley.
--
Pop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David
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