Innocents, "Oh, How I Miss My Baby"/"You're Never Satisfied," Reprise R 30,125 (rel. Nov 1962)
The Innocents were three friends from Sun Valley, California who, inspired by the onset of rock 'n' roll, sang together and had ambitions of stardom in pop music. Led by the husky, affecting voice of James West, the group's fine-honed harmonies and careful ensemble singing so impressed producer/future pop star Herb Alpert that he signed them to his Andex Records label in their first incarnation as The Echoes.
That name, no surprise, was in use by other groups at the time; the three lads switched to The Innocents, after a car club they had joined. They made a single with producer-songwriter-kooks Kim Fowley and Gary Paxton for Trans-World Records. "Tick Tock" was a minor pop hit, and led to another small label, Indigo, signing them. The label teamed them with teen pop singer Kathy Young for her big pop hit "A Thousand Stars" while giving them solo hits in "Honest I Do" and "Gee Whiz."
Indigo released six singles and an album, seen in the marquee above. Late 1962 saw the trio as free agents. Frank Sinatra's new imprint Reprise Records signed them for a one-single, let's-see-what-happens basis. That's the record we'll hear today.
As often happens in pop music, the less successful a group or performer becomes, the better their records get. Reprise went all in with The Innocents. Producer Nick Venet and an uncredited arranger created a more crisp and robust pop sound for the trio. (Their Indigo singles tend towards a hall-closet murkiness that's appealing in its own right.)
A song from New York, co-penned by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber (mis-spelled 'Kobler' on the record's label), gave the guys something solid. "Oh, How I Miss My Baby" opens with a capella harmonies; then James West's gripping voice sings a passionate lead on a slow-crawl song about a guy who has obvious issues with insecurity. When his darling's away (doing regular, non-threatening real-life things), he begins to panic.
The arrangement grows to include zany strings, marimbas and the ever-present orchestral triangle ting-tinging away. The arrangement gives the three voices an intimate setting; their voices are mixed front-and-center, with the other elements seperated with grace by whomever arranged this side. Bonus points for a cold stop executed with feeling and solid harmony by this talented trio!
Reprise singles had hit-or-miss success in getting reviews. Cash Box ignored the record; Billboard gave both sides three stars (equivalent of a B grade) but didn't describe what made them appealing. No one heard this record, save devoted fans of the group who might have asked about it at their neighborhood record department.
"You're Never Satisfied," like several other 1962 pop singles, sounds much like the soon-to-come Liverpool beat-group sound. It's decorated with arrangement touches the UK groups would tend to avoid, and the Southern Californian slur of the three singers is a far piece from Liverpool or Manchester, but...
It's a driving uptempo item with its verse ending in a prolonged minor chord and a bridge that predicts that of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in its forceful repetition of a percussive phrase.
The song was co-written by John Winfield, Jr., whose fab 1966 solo single can be heard HERE, and James Macklin. These youths had their ears to the ground and picked up something that would soon be a staple of pop music. It fascinates me to hear the subtle changes in vernacular music; record by record, song by song, something different enters the mix. It seldom hits all at once (as The Beatles or Elvis did); it creeps into existing patterns and mutates in a slow process of trial and error.
While this recording is very much 1962 pop music, it peers into a future that it can't imagine. The results are compelling, and bolstered by the three voices' superb harmonies and by James West's appealing lead.
The Innocents made two more singles, for Decca and Warner Brothers, and called it a day in 1964. James West became a prominent antiques dealer in Hollywood; another Innocent became an LA session player. Their recordings would be discovered and praised in later years--which did the group no good while they were together, but must have been pleasing for the three Innocents to realize; what they'd done did matter to someone.
Tomorrow: surf instrumental group The Chantays go garage with a pair of moody vocals as 'The Leaping Ferns' on a scarce early 1964 release on the X-P-A-N-D-E-D Sound label.
Wish there had been some drums on "Oh How I Miss My Baby" to give it a bit of oomph. Reminded me of the slow burn of the Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl." "You're Never Satisfied" reminded me of Freddie Cannon's "Palisades Park" with that (Farfisa?) organ thread. Should have been an A-side hit! Thanks for that link to Winfield's release. Forgot how much I liked those two Hollies-ish beat songs.
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