Satisfactions, "Daddy You Gotta Let Him In" c/w "Bring It All Down," Imperial 66170 (rel. 6/1966)
One of the most talented and adventurous arrangers in 1960s Los Angeles, Jack Nitzsche was forever in the shadow of the notorious Phil Spector. He was as much an architect of Spector "Wall of Sound" as Spector or anyone else, and on his infrequent forays into record producing, he showed his mastery of this dramatic, larger-than-life approach.
The Wall of Sound technique only existed within the smoke-discolored walls of recording studios. To replicate it in real life was a fool's errand. Producers like Spector, Joe Meek and George Martin created recordings that could not be replicated in-person. It was one of the prime elements to affect pop music from the 1960s on. The '50s performers recorded everything at once; some relied on session musicians and large orchestras, but many delivered the same sound on record as in-persion. By 1965, such groups were in a distinct minority.
The Wall of Sound technique only existed within the smoke-discolored walls of recording studios. To replicate it in real life was a fool's errand. Producers like Spector, Joe Meek and George Martin created recordings that could not be replicated in-person. It was one of the prime elements to affect pop music from the 1960s on. The '50s performers recorded everything at once; some relied on session musicians and large orchestras, but many delivered the same sound on record as in-persion. By 1965, such groups were in a distinct minority.
Nitzsche's productions of the mid-1960s resemble Spector's, but have a clarity of sound the better-known producer didn't care to create. Jack blended big with crisp, and his arrangements guaranteed an apt setting for whatever he recorded.
His wife, Gracia, was a beloved figure in the LA music scene. She mostly did background vocals without credit; you've heard her voice anytime you've played oldies radio for more than a few minutes. She seldom got the chance to lead a group or sing solo--a common fate for the city's legion of on-call studio vocalists. They might spend a workday doing jingles for shoes, breakfast cereals or car parts, then walk into a mainstream pop session and croon in the background; the day might be capped with a series of brief radio-station ID jingles delivered in a layer of complex harmony.
Gracia and Jack met at Capitol Records. He sought work and she was a receptionist. Gracia hadn't moved from her native Indiana to become a star; she first worked at a ranch tending animals. She saw in her soon-to-be-husband the potential for a great career in recorded music. She encouraged him to be bold, drop his boring day job and plunge into the music scene. She offered to support him financially until he got on his feet. This was the start of a long and loving relationship.
Before long, Gracia joined the talent pool of session singers, while Jack found work with various LA producers as an arranger. His collaboration with Phil Spector led to some of the greatest recordings of the early 1960s--the classic hits and misses of The Crystals, Ronettes, Righteous Brothers, Darlene Love and others. Both Nitzsches became seasoned figures in the recording scene. Gracia was adored by producers for her skill as a vocalist, her ability to to "head" arrangements on the fly and her flexibility. She soon became an honorary member of The Blossoms, LA's most prominent studio backup group. There, she sang alongside the legendary Darlene Love and her sisters.
When The Blossoms became a prominent group on the weekly pop music show Shindig!, its producers balked at having an ethnic-diverse group on TV sets coast-to-cast. Gracia was asked to abstain from any Shindig appearances. The Blossoms were popular with the show's viewers, and though they continued to record with Gracia off-camera, it was the beginning of the end.
Jack Nitzsche had his personal demons: drugs, booze and the desire to be in abusive relationships. He couldn't find the latter with the kind, loving Gracia, so he sought his masochism elsewhere. It damaged their marriage and family life, but both persevered in their professional world.
Jack was determined to make his wife a hit singer, and did a series of one-off singles to feature her. Today's record is a classic example. The Satisfactions, perhaps named after the recent Rolling Stones chart-topper, consisted of Gracia and the uncredited Blossoms. At the time. Jack was the producer and arranger of pensive pop-folk artist Bob Lind, who offered an unrecorded song for the group's B-side. For the A, Nitzsche found a melodrama worthy of New York group The Shangri-las.
"Daddy, You Gotta Let Him In" is the nightmare of any surburban dad. His daughter's dating a member of Hell's Angels. Said biker/outlaw is on the run and hurt and needs a place to hide out and rest. Gracia portrays the upset teenage daughter who pleads with her pops to let this leather-clad denizen inside their tidy suburban ranch home, where he may damage the furniture and ransack the liquor cabinet.
To a sound reminiscent of the Spector classics but delivered with greater clarity and fidelity, Nitzche makes ideal use of LA's famed "Wrecking Crew," with ubiquitous drummer Hal Blaine pounding the skins, among other beloved members of this studio-session A-lister group.
The results had hope for the pop charts: provocative song content, a big, bold production and a most appealing voice which delivered a plea for acceptance, love and hope. The single was lost in the shuffle of 1966, and not helped a whit by a dismissive Cash Box write-up:
His wife, Gracia, was a beloved figure in the LA music scene. She mostly did background vocals without credit; you've heard her voice anytime you've played oldies radio for more than a few minutes. She seldom got the chance to lead a group or sing solo--a common fate for the city's legion of on-call studio vocalists. They might spend a workday doing jingles for shoes, breakfast cereals or car parts, then walk into a mainstream pop session and croon in the background; the day might be capped with a series of brief radio-station ID jingles delivered in a layer of complex harmony.
Gracia and Jack met at Capitol Records. He sought work and she was a receptionist. Gracia hadn't moved from her native Indiana to become a star; she first worked at a ranch tending animals. She saw in her soon-to-be-husband the potential for a great career in recorded music. She encouraged him to be bold, drop his boring day job and plunge into the music scene. She offered to support him financially until he got on his feet. This was the start of a long and loving relationship.
Before long, Gracia joined the talent pool of session singers, while Jack found work with various LA producers as an arranger. His collaboration with Phil Spector led to some of the greatest recordings of the early 1960s--the classic hits and misses of The Crystals, Ronettes, Righteous Brothers, Darlene Love and others. Both Nitzsches became seasoned figures in the recording scene. Gracia was adored by producers for her skill as a vocalist, her ability to to "head" arrangements on the fly and her flexibility. She soon became an honorary member of The Blossoms, LA's most prominent studio backup group. There, she sang alongside the legendary Darlene Love and her sisters.
When The Blossoms became a prominent group on the weekly pop music show Shindig!, its producers balked at having an ethnic-diverse group on TV sets coast-to-cast. Gracia was asked to abstain from any Shindig appearances. The Blossoms were popular with the show's viewers, and though they continued to record with Gracia off-camera, it was the beginning of the end.
Jack Nitzsche had his personal demons: drugs, booze and the desire to be in abusive relationships. He couldn't find the latter with the kind, loving Gracia, so he sought his masochism elsewhere. It damaged their marriage and family life, but both persevered in their professional world.
Jack was determined to make his wife a hit singer, and did a series of one-off singles to feature her. Today's record is a classic example. The Satisfactions, perhaps named after the recent Rolling Stones chart-topper, consisted of Gracia and the uncredited Blossoms. At the time. Jack was the producer and arranger of pensive pop-folk artist Bob Lind, who offered an unrecorded song for the group's B-side. For the A, Nitzsche found a melodrama worthy of New York group The Shangri-las.
"Daddy, You Gotta Let Him In" is the nightmare of any surburban dad. His daughter's dating a member of Hell's Angels. Said biker/outlaw is on the run and hurt and needs a place to hide out and rest. Gracia portrays the upset teenage daughter who pleads with her pops to let this leather-clad denizen inside their tidy suburban ranch home, where he may damage the furniture and ransack the liquor cabinet.
To a sound reminiscent of the Spector classics but delivered with greater clarity and fidelity, Nitzche makes ideal use of LA's famed "Wrecking Crew," with ubiquitous drummer Hal Blaine pounding the skins, among other beloved members of this studio-session A-lister group.
The results had hope for the pop charts: provocative song content, a big, bold production and a most appealing voice which delivered a plea for acceptance, love and hope. The single was lost in the shuffle of 1966, and not helped a whit by a dismissive Cash Box write-up:
"Bring It All Down" is a typical Bob Lind song. It hangs on one note then takes unusual melodic turns while a blunt poetry makes up its lyrics. Jack takes a similar approach as used in his production for Lind: pensive strings, a cloudy bed of brass and reeds and spacious background vox.
All Bob Lind songs sound pretty much the same, but it's decent enough. Not the right material for this girl-group setting, but Bob and Jack were tight and it was a potential boost for the songwriter's career to get his songs recorded by others. As an example of Jack Nitzsche's distinct skill in the recording studio, it's most impressive, and Gracia's voice delivers a fine blend of hurt, curiosity and remembrance for the song's chapbook lyrics.
All Bob Lind songs sound pretty much the same, but it's decent enough. Not the right material for this girl-group setting, but Bob and Jack were tight and it was a potential boost for the songwriter's career to get his songs recorded by others. As an example of Jack Nitzsche's distinct skill in the recording studio, it's most impressive, and Gracia's voice delivers a fine blend of hurt, curiosity and remembrance for the song's chapbook lyrics.
A detailed piece on Gracia Nitzsche's work and life can be read here:
Tomorrow: found a week ago in a cluttered antique shop: a 1959 Japan-only single by military kids Ray Clauson and The Teen-Tones. They recorded several singles and an album for the Tokyo label Universal (no relation to the mega-corporate monster we know and loathe. As of this writing, it's the only known copy of this rarity. The B-side is a supremely eerie and affecting minor-keyed stripped down slice of midnight angst you must hear!
'The empty praise of parasites has taken you beyond yourself to fall.' Say what? "Bring It All Down" is a beautiful Gerry Marsden-meets-Dusty Springfield song but, OY!— such a downer. "Daddy You've Just Gotta..." should have been a girl group hit but it's maybe two years too late for that sound.? We teeners were looking at the Fab Four with stars in our eyes and couldn't hear much else.
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