PHILLIP GOODHAND-TAIT & THE STORMSVILLE SHAKERS 1965 & 1966 / Ricky-Tick ... 40 years on Much in the vein of soulmates such as Georgie Fame, Zoot Money, Geno Washington or Thunderbirds-era Chris Farlowe, The Stormsville Shakers were “storming” the venues throughout the mid’60s with the same brand of horn-section powered rhythm’n’soul, while bubbling under the lower ends of charts ... or not. After almost hitting the big time with the Chris Andrews’ penned ‘Long love love’, which we all know Sandie Shaw surpassed them with, it was only The Love Affair’s versions of his songs ‘Gone are the songs of yesterday’ and ‘Bringing on back the good times’ that secured the songwriting status Phillip Goodhand-Tait is known for these days. The first half of the CD captures them at their swinging ‘60s best, featuring 11 unreleased demos (some of them later re-recorded for some of their 6 single sides), as well as 3 live recordings. Mostly, it’s blue-eyed soul stompers that they’re delivering, with ‘No problem’ being a prime example of a hit single that never was, while ‘There you go’ and ‘It’s a lie’ both prove that they were also capable of getting as melodic as possible within the Mersey context. As the title suggests, the second half happens “40 years on”, though there’s a few tracks (‘Burning rain’, ‘R.C.T.(Random chaos theory)’, ‘Walk through the storm’) showing that it’s almost as if they’ve never even stopped. Garwood Pickjon PHILLIP GOODHAND-TAIT & THE STORMSVILLE SHAKERS 1965 & 1966 / Ricky-Tick ... 40 years on
Fulvio Adile
JUKEBOX MAGAZINE (FRANCE) Musiques & Passions L’Argus des collectionneurs de disques.www.jukeboxmag.com STORMSVILLE SHAKERS Le nom Stormsville Shakers évoque d’emblée Ian Jelfs qui en est le soliste avant de s’établir en France, membre d’Alice et compagnon de Valérie Lagrange. On se souvient aussi de deux albums sur lesquels Larry Williams est accompagné par le groupe. Et les collectionneurs apprécient ce EP avec un morceau en français, « L’Amour Se Lisait Dans Ses Yeux » paroles d’Evy. Cependant, l’histoire de ce combo pop-rock-R&B du Surrey est mal connue. Phillip Goodhand-Tait (né en 1945, claviers) en est le créateur (1961) avec Ivor Shackleton (guitare), Kirk Riddle (basse) et Paul Demers (batterie). Le nom s’inspire d’un 33 tour de Johnny & The Hurricanes, « Stormsville ». Deux saxos les renforcent en 1964 d’ouˋ leur collaboration avec « Larry Williams Show » (Decca) et « On Stage » (Sue). La discographie des Stormsville Shakers débute avec le super 45 tours hexagonal (Odéon, 1966). En Angleterre, « I’m Gonna Put Some Hurt On You » (Parlophone 05/66) connaît un succès modéré mais « No Problem » et « Can’t Take Love » passent inaperçus. La batterie est confiée à Alan Bunn puis à Dick Forcey. David Sherrington, saxo à demeure, est épaulé par Mel Collins, Tony Hurley ou Peter Greg McGregor (qui a également beaucoup joué en France). Quatorze morceaux de cette période occupent la première partie du CD, y compris des maquettes (dont « Long Live Love », avant Sandie Shaw) et les trois morceaux en anglais du EP. Influencé par la vogue psychédélique, le groupe devient Circus (1967) le temps de deux simples. Phillip Goodhand-Tait continue comme compositeur, pour Love Affair, Roger Daltrey, etc. Doté d’une voix intéressante, il poursuit une carrière solo en demi-teinte avant de travailler dans la vidéo. Une reformation a lieu avec Ivor Shackleton (guitare), Kirk Riddle (basse), David Sherrington et Greg McGregor (saxo). L’album « Ricky-Tick…40 years on » est enregistré (2005) avec Mel Collins au saxo. Le résultat (10 titres) est entendu en seconde partie du CD. On peut lui préférer la première. Jean-William Thoury.
GOOD TIMES (Music from the 60s to the 80s) PHILLIP GOODHAND-TAIT & THE STORMSVILLE SHAKERS Fast vergessen, aber stark: Goodhand-Tait, der unterbewertete Klasse-Sänger, Pianist und Komponist (u.a.hits für Love Affair) aus Hull mit seiner schroffen R & B-Combo. Bekannt wurden sie damals als Begleiter auf zwei LPs des durchreisenden Larry “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” Williams. Hier gibt es 14 tracks von 1965/66 – Demos und live -, sie erinnern stark an Cliff Bennett und dessen Rebel Rousers mit viel Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll und Schwitz-Bläsern. Angehängt sind zehn kaum schwächere Tracks vom Band-Jubiläum 2005, bei dem u.a. Mel Collins mitwirkte. Ein elender Jammer, weshalb vor allem die-ser exzellenten Stimme kein größerer Erfolg beschieden war. Und höchste Zeit, dass auch das Originalmaterial endlich wieder zugänglich gemacht wird. Empfehlung für Fans des UK-60s-R&B.
Phillip
Goodhand-Tait & the Stormsville Shakers Well here's a piece of history. Phillip Goodhand-Tait and a reunion of his old Rhythm & Blues band from the '60s. The PR sheet tells us; "40 years in the making...and still shaking". Mr.G-T
scored a good many hit songs and has been a long serving songwriter
in the world of music and here does some for himself and his band with
a full line-up including saxes, brass on top of the usuual 4 piece,
and they can swing! Second track maybe sums up some feelings "Back
in the asylum", where he tells us:...."back in the asylum
with a crazy little song. A comeback for the cynical, to where the narcissus
belong. I'm back in the asylum tonight". Burning rain is a song
of pollution, "I want my records back" is one on break ups
(written by Angaleena Presley! with additional words by G-T), and "R.C.T.
(Random, chaos theory)" will make you laugh. A tight album this,
neat songs, big band feel in places and it swings. The story of Ricky
Tick clubs is explained in the notes and reminds us of the level at
which this outfit used to play (Georgie Fame and his Blue Flames, Zoot
Money and the Big Roll Band, Chris Farlowe and his Thunderbirds and
all,) in their 'heydays' back in the '60s. Well here is an up to date
sounding of this outfit that will not disappoint.
Oldie-Markt 05/08 Mai Phillip Goodhand-Tait & The Stormsville Shakers. Kein rockmusiker, der in den70er JahrenErfolg hatte, kam aus dem luftleeren Raum. Der Mann, der sich als poppiger Sänger und Songschreiber in den 70ern einen guten Namen machte, spielte in den 60ern mit nder band, die hier groß aufgelistet wurde. Sowohl die Singles, die man 1965/66 aufnahm als auch eine Reunion 40 Jahre danach bekommt man hier und das bringt Beat auf der einen und rockigen Beat mit einer kräftigen Spur Pop auf der enderen Seite. Das ist durchaus gut. Phillip Goodhand-Tait & the Stormsville Shakers. A small chain of Ricky-Tick clubs in the South of England were a 1960s breeding ground for the developing British R&B scene, featuring visiting blues artists and rough 'n' ready young enthusiastic musicians. The Stormsville Shakers were a regular at these and other clubs until their leader moved on to pastures new and a successful career as a singer/songwriter (remember "Bringin' on back the good times"?) Well, 40 years later, they've got together again for a polished horn-driven set of originals. Don't expect any raw blues, this is very pop-ish, albeit soulful with, naturally, some well-written songs. Alan Empson - Juke Blues magazine. Issue 60
The two CDs arrived yesterday and I have to say they're both worth every cracker! The 1965-1966 CD of The Stormsville Shakers is very much a lost classic album Brit R&B / Soul. This cool middleground of Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers and Zoot Money's Big Roll Band. Good Stuff. Michael MacDonald - Australia
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Il nome di Phillip Goodhand-Tait è sicuramente misconosciuto ai più, e ciò nonostante egli sia sempre stato un grande compositore R&B…ed un compositore di un certo successo, potremmo anche aggiungere. Il fatto è che, come spesso succede nello spietato mondo del music business, Phillip ha raggiunto una qualche notorietà solo al tramonto del suo gruppo principale, gli Phillip Goodhand-Tait & The Stormsville Shakers, appunto, che ha avuto una doppia grande sfortuna: la prima, quella di essere uscito fuori quando era all’apice il tipico suono di Liverpool, che era molto più orecchiabile e meno intricato del classico R&B che loro offrivano all’epoca, con quel caratteristico incrocio di piano, chitarre e sassofoni; la seconda, di non avere mai avuto quell’appeal commerciale di carattere extra-musicale che, per una band, è sempre necessario. Non è quindi strano che mr.Goodhand-Tait abbia conosciuto per la prima volta dei lauti guadagni per merito dei Love Affair, un gruppo in tutto e per tutto simile agli Stormsville Shakers ma con ben altra presenza scenica, che nel 1967 decise di registrare una loro cover come B-side per un singolo. A quel punto fu ben chiaro per Phillip che la sua strada avrebbe dovuto essere quella di compositore, come in effetti fu, e solo nel 2003, a distanza di circa 35 anni dallo split, i The Stormsville Shakers tornarono sulle scene con gran parte della formazione originale per una lunga serie di concerti e per registrare un disco nuovo, “Ricky-Tick…40 Years On”, originariamente pubblicato nel 2005 ed adesso ristampato assieme ad una lunga serie di registrazioni rare, demo o live che risalgono proprio alla metà degli anni sessanta. E’ davvero incredibile come, a distanza di 35 anni, i brani nuovi siano in tutto e per tutto sulla stessa linea di quelli vecchi, a testimonianza dell’immortalità di un genere e di un compositore che, se avesse avuto più fortuna, avrebbe visto il proprio nome scritto a chiare lettere nel libro della storia della musica.