The voice of the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society, established in 1971. This blog aims to act as a focal point for web based information and the results of our on going research.
It was October 2006 when I launched this blog and started to uncover the past stories of the Four Seasons, and as George Ingram once said “all good things come to an end”.
But after more than 4 years, it is time to move on and so I am passing the blogging role over to Ken Charmer, Lynn Boleyn, Ray Nichol and George Ingram to continue to develop our ‘magazine in cyberspace’ and keep fans entertained and connected.
I’ll continue to develop my epic story of the Four Seasons …’The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons’ and in this my final blog post I am able to include the final 2 Chapters.
Which draws the fall of the group to it’s conclusion.
But I hear you say “they never ended”. Yes, even today there is a Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons appearing on stage and we have been entertained very well by the ‘employees’ Bob and Frankie recruited since 1982 to keep his oldies show going. But as far as being an original and creative team - that died when the NEW Four Seasons that we were promised were unceremoniously ‘sacked’.
The full aftermath hasn’t destroyed the music but perhaps diminished its quality since. But that is for you to decide as you read our conclusions.
But as I go searching in the Motown vaults to get the unreleased out check out and subscribe to our new blog….’That ‘Four Seasons’ Sound’ and take care….we need you all to survive long enough to hear the rest of the Motown and Philips unreleased come out on CD. Thanks for all your support and comments. Casey Chameleon
PS This blog remains as an archive of our work so revisit any of our past articles and any comments will be passed to the team at ‘That ‘Four Seasons’ Sound’
The unreleased Motown tracks were a real treat to research and we will return to the subject as the year unfolds when we hopefully get more info from the ‘Artists Cards’ at Motown Universal to compare with the newly acquired Tape Index. After all the excitement of hearing some of these (even if in a poor sound quality), we have to admit that this is something that is as rare as it gets for fans. But we can guarantee that we will continue the fight to get them released and to try to get some more appetisers.
As I looked at the very last track listed on the last multi-track master tape (P2678) I spotted a very prophetic and significant song….the last recording at Motown. The title ‘Future Years’ reminded me that it was time to get back to the ‘bread and butter’ work of researching and commenting on the Four Seasons sound and the groups full body of work in the ‘Analogue Age’. Jersey Boys and the greatest hits compilations may make one think that the Four Seasons Story is complete but our continuing research is showing that this is far from true.
And the focus is now on the future fans and leaving them a fitting legacy as the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society turns its focus to ‘succession planning’. The aim is to ensure the ‘true sound’ and the ‘real story’ of the group is not dominated or supplanted by the ‘Jersey Boys’ show and that what we grew up enjoying can be appreciated by future generations particularly ‘dedicated’ fans and the family’s and friends of former Four Seasons. Nothing less than would be expected by fans of The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones or any other ‘iconic’ group of the 60s.
Our plans are progressing to take our research to a new platform to ensure the Four Seasons UK Appreciation Society can be around in 50 years. Read Ken’s challenging essay here …..“Is 60s music about to go over the ‘generation’ precipice?”to appreciate the questions facing all ‘Baby Boomers’ and their music collections.
Ken was also telling me that we may soon have the excitement and hopefully definitive opener in the ‘Battle Of The Biographies’ as Bob Crewe, is working hard with his co-writer. The breaking news is that he is recovering well from his near fatal fall and…. “His co-writer Steven Whitney is actively moving along with Bob's memoirs and it looks like it's gonna hit big.” according to a very reliable source.
And with Charlie Calello actively seeking a publisher for his biography we can hope one hits the book shops before next Christmas..
So now our catchphrase will be the words of the legendary Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock in Star Trek. ‘Live Long and Prosper”….and eventually you will get to hear the Motown unreleased. and read the ‘real’ story of how Bob Crewe created the success of the Four Seasons by tapping into and maximizing everyone’s talent. We’ve shown this ourselves in our research over the last 15 years so we have every confidence his book (and our future articles) will prove it.
Casey Chameleon
(Ken would like to thank Lynn Boleyn and Eric Charge for the Four Seasons photographs and recognise the copyright of others re the other illustrative images)
Thanks for all the great comments in support of our campaign to get the Motown Unreleased researched, finished and released.
But do the fans have any entitlement to ask for these. The Four Seasons Partnership might answer…NO!! It is our work and we don’t believe it is good enough ! And our blog posts showed not everyone likes the Four Seasons….and why should they.?
As "ian pryke" commented on the Motown Treasures e-group…..
"Why all the fuss over The Four Seasons? They had some hits in the 60's, Let's face it, they weren't the Four Tops or The Tempts. They had an extremely annoying falsetto lead in Valli. At no stage did he even come close to Eddie Kendricks.[I mean, has anyone actually played a ‘best of’ by them all the way thru in one sitting?] Their connection with The Mafia is not unique in the music industry of the time. The stage show Jersey Boys has been a success everywhere. Saw it, ....Ho-Hum, So again, why all the fuss?”
Maybe this is an extreme view but it was one I had to respond too…..
“If you can't appreciate the Four Seasons then you don't get the 60s. Motown may be your bag and you are entitled to stay just there but try to broaden the musical horizon. Many Motown acts were second rate and I would never put them down or put the Four Seasons ahead of the Temptations or the Tops as Top US groups. They were ‘not so smart’, aged singers (apart from Bob Gaudio) and owed so much to Bob Crewe and Charlie Calello. But they created some pop classics. The reason for my/our interest in the Motown Unreleased is that we have been lied to( by MU and The Partnership) and deprived of great music they recorded at Motown.. We have a right to feel aggrieved. I suppose next you'll be saying that the 'Chameleon' album is a 'c#@p' album and 'The Night' is over-rated ....Oh well, to each their own!!”
And Eric Charge was quick to jump to the defense of the Four Seasons sound…” I remember taking my copy of EDIZIONE D'ORO to school and having the other kids being blown away by two albums' worth of fantastic pop hits. I suppose the Seasons spoilt me because not a living soul could make records that classy in Britain (with the possible exception of Dusty).” But then EDIZIONE D'ORO is a whole new subject we will return to later this year.
And another reason to ask for these Motown recordings is that they represent covers or perhaps the originals of some very good and well loved songs and we still haven’t heard the Four Seasons interpretation of these songs. Just sample these and think how the group may have performed them..
A You Tube check on our list was quite revealing.......
Multi-track tape P2389 contains a recording of ‘Star’ from 1973 . Could it be the same song that ‘Stealers Wheel' took into the charts in 1974 and how would the Seasons have interpreted it?
Then there is the Bob Crewe produced version of 'I Won’t Last A Day Without You' which some think may have The Four Seasons on backing vocals. Perhaps but 2 Track reel T3912 suggests that perhaps Valli and Darin used the same backing track.
Then there is ‘Wigs and Lashes’(Reel P2113) which the Miracles performed on their 1973 ‘’Renaisance’ album which is re-mixed below
Looking further.......you notice Multi-track Reel P2203 and ‘Torn Between Two Lovers’. Wikipedia tells us of this song…"Torn Between Two Lovers" is the title of a pop song written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell. It was inspired by Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel, Dr. Zhivago, which featured a man in love with two women. Yarrow originally intended the song to be sung by a man. It was recorded by St. Paul, Minnesota-born singer Mary MacGregor in 1976, and was a number-one single on the U.S. pop chart in February 1977 and the easy listening chart in the final week of 1976 and first week of 1977. The song inspired the title of a television movie aired in 1979, starring Lee Remick, George Peppard, and Joseph Bologna, in which the song is played. “ Perhaps Frankie Valli’s version is the definitive ‘male’ orientated vocal.even if the lyric doesn't appeal to everyone.
And finally....... the well known song from 1954 that dozens of artists have covered ‘That’s All I Want From You’ was released in 1968 with a ‘harmony/Seasons style sound’ Perhaps the version on reel P2111 features a similar treatment.?
It has been a good start to 2011 for Four Seasons fans and just to finish off January with a flourish we can celebrate the release of another Seasons gem thanks to ‘TheCrewezer’. Once again we return to the late 1973 Bob Crewe produced sessions to find another Bob Crewe – Kenny Nolan penned song that is a superb example of Bob’s appreciation of the Four Seasons sound. Another romantic ballad that would have graced the excellent ‘Close-Up’ album. And ‘Lovers’ is one that would have been a potential single if it had fitted the ‘strategic direction’ for Valli and the group. But they would from 1975 embark on a path of separation of identity which would never happen.! We know now that this was the plan even as the ‘Who Loves You’ album was being recorded. Both would fail to achieve separate successful musical identities as our story of ‘The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons” Chapters 5 to 9 describes. But what we are left with is this superb vocal by Valli with once again an anthemic Four Seasons.
Motown Universal are now licensing tracks to companies with a reputation for collectors sets, most notably ACE Records of London, who have recently announced a CD of unreleased tracks from the early sixties by the Motown group The Contours this year. Would they be interested in these unreleased masters? Perhaps if someone close to Valli or Gaudio was able and prepared to act as Exec Producer in the review of the masters with Motown’s or ACE’s sound engineers perhaps a project could be instigated. Although Motown are the copyright holders they wont proceed without agreement with the performer ! However, as Bob Gaudio probably produced very few of the ‘list’ he has little to gain from their release. And we all know who controls the Four Seasons Partnership.
For now you can Review the full list of unreleased tracks here as we finally publish all we had at December 2010. It now remains for Motown Universal, The Partnership or some kind soul to tell us more. But now the mis-information is exposed. But hey….who cares?? Jersey Boys, it appears, is all that matters. Of at least 68 tracks recorded (and there is rumour of more) only 22 to 25 have been released(some being alternative versions). Just 32 % of the session work…and as you can see from fan attendance at one of the sessions and this demo the work was generally completed.
We will continue to urge Motown Universal to share information with us re the sessions and masters and to seek to find every title listed (and maybe some more)…..and get confirmation of the ones that are complete. As for the Four Seasons Partnership….well their position does them little credit and becomes more untenable and lacking in any form of ‘compassion’ towards their rightly labeled ‘loyal and supportive fans’. Will they change their stance or be known forever for suppressing these ‘works of art’?
More information we believe will surface and we will keep you posted. But it now seems impossible to complete our story of the group because without this music it is impossible to judge the Motown period and the real story of their music. OK Bob Gaudio might say, just believe ‘Jersey Boys’…erm…I don’t think so!!!
Another day …….another ‘unreleased’ Four Seasons track, this time a bit of fun by Bob Crewe and The Four Seasons on a session that Lee Shapiro attended with Gerry Polci on vocal background, along with Joe Long.
A song provisionally called ‘(You’ve Got to) Make Your Tomorrow Tonight’(writers unknown) is given the Wonder Who treatment with Frankie doing his ‘Rose Murphy’ voice on an entertaining track. But it rightly raises the question as to the Partnership’s argument that tracks were done for demo purposes and never intended for release….they may argue that this demonstrates that……but the question must be raised as to why not? It is a great fun track not dissimilar to any of the 60s Wonder Who releases.
It is certainly no worse than those earlier ‘Wonder Who’ songs and simply a catchy ‘tongue in cheek’ effort. Crewe was famous for trying the ‘bizarre’ and this certainly is a surprise in 1973!!
It is another track which it appears was from the sessions for the ‘Inside Out’ album provisionally ‘slated for release’ in August 1973 by Motown as MW 788 . Sessions appear to have run through the fall and possibly into 1974. The song ‘Inside Out’ is a BMI listed title by Bob Crewe but may be connected with the released track ‘Inside You’ (Crewe – Gaudio) as an alternative title.
Can this man salvage the ‘lost’ Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons tracks from the Motown Universal vaults? Or will an intransigent Four Seasons Partnership continue to deprive fans of these gems? Are they right to do so and maintain these are not ‘fit for purpose’….or release?. As the tracks emerge we can debate the relevant positions.
Hymn To Her, caused quite a reaction amongst fans and thanks for your comments. Firstly, it is clear to me these are recorded from demos.....but I have had so many discussions with Jean Thomas (former ‘Rag Doll’)on the relative qualities of 'demos' (and she did thousands) that I believe the term is misleading in suggesting they are inferior or incomplete. We have information that shows these tracks are stored as 16 track multi-tracks and as 2 track stereo mix-downs which indicates to us that a degree of completeness was achieved.
We will continue to encourage Motown Universal to ‘rescue’ the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons lost tracks and alternative versions like this original version of ‘Hickory’ which Bob Crew enthusiast ‘TheCrewezer’ has uploaded to You Tube. This version has an extra verse and falsetto bridge. It also contained a horns fault but we understand that was easily corrected. However Lee Shapiro tells us that this is recorded in the wrong key…so maybe the Four Seasons Partnership were right in saying….” tracks were not even in the proper key and they were never intended for commercial release”
Maybe the mastering engineers at Motown couldn’t fix this version adequately for inclusion on the ‘Motown Years’ 2 CD set whereas the alternative version of ‘Charisma’ did make it. It is not surprising that after a few listens I got to prefer this longer version.
You can judge for yourselves if this is a version you would like in your collection. And would the rest of the unreleased cassette tape finds be worthy ‘acquisitions’ if released ‘officially’ on CD by Motown Universal or one of their ‘licencees’.? We will see what else can be ‘salvaged’ from tape. Whether these can also be salvaged from the Motown vault we can’t say but Charles Calello is supportive of a CD issue as he told us….”I think what you are doing, assembling the past, is a really good idea because eventually, when they all die, the old tracks will be released or if not destroyed”
Better now if someone can manage it!!
The second Part of our ‘Seasons’ Wiki-leaks’ articles (here) covers the problems of the Motown vaults, the record keeping and the state of the masters. We await news if other tracks have been salvaged from cassette and will be back soon with more information of what might be found based on the ‘Motown unreleased lists’.
Since The Four Seasons left Motown in 1974 and the subsequent release of the ‘Inside You’ album (Motown M6-852S1) in September 1975, fans have questioned whether any other tracks remained left in the vaults.
Rumour and myth have circulated since and it is amazing that no definitive answers have been found. But now in what is to me a ‘shocking’ disclosure we can prove that the answer is YES completed masters do exist and with examples and research we show all fans the potential which has been wasted. Until now that is, when we wonder, perhaps, if the success of Jersey Boys has created a climate in which anything is possible.?
In our articles we will explain the history of rumour and mis-information, describe the difficulties with Motown Universal’s record keeping and vault masters and tell you what MAY and what DOES exist based on today’s information.
We’ll also examine the possibilities of future research and release for what are clearly ‘lost gems’.
2011 is going to be a great year for Four Seasons fans with lots of music releases and news and to start our theme of Motown retrospective articles a tribute via 3 of our favourite Jersey Boys from the London cast who really did the play proud with their performances. Now as a trio Glen, Stephen and Philip do justice to a great Motown track by the Four Seasons.
So with people buying ‘Kindles’ and ‘I-Pads’ for Christmas we thought a SPECIAL CHRISTMAS Newsletter Nr 54 with our latest articles would keep you all happy over the Christmas Holidays……..
First of all we have our penultimate Chapter in The Rise and Fall of The NEW Four Seasons as we review the ‘Aftermath’ of the events of Chapter 8 and Frankie and Bob’s attempts to re-establish the group sound and identity. It covers 1978 to 1982 and mixes tragedy with industry decline as the changing membership of the group worked tirelessly to entertain us in the UK and USA.
Charles Calello’s son singer/songwriter Charles Jnr – stage name ‘D’Simone’ has recorded a great single of his own with his Dad doing production and his sister the video which can be seen and heard on You Tube
And finally a Christmas card from our friends THE HIT MEN
John Paiva is starting a Christmas Four Seasons Tribute Band and he sent us this photo of them!! He said …”I wish you all a wonderful Christmas time and a super slide into the New Year. 2011...... HERE WE COME!!” Lynn Boleyn, Ray Nichol, George Ingram, Ken Charmer and I also add ourselves to this wish from John.And special ‘Seasons Greetings’ to all, from me Casey and the gang (The gang? – our ‘music detectives’ – a band of little helpers just like Santa has, who seek out and send me ‘Seasonal’ goodies to use in this blog and our articles- hey guys and gals….you know who you are !!)
And as Lee Shapiro tells us…”Just got booked at Harrah's Casino in Phoenix, AZ. Things are beginning to happen.”
And for fans of the current line-up of American legend Frankie Valli and his young-fit-dancing Seasons they have a NEW CD coming out next year of Frank Sinatra standards done accapela ...supposedly sounds like the Hi-Los. If it is as good as this it will be great. Of course we bet Frankie is trying to sound as good as this lead singer!.
And news of unreleased tracks at Motown continues to surface so watch out for our update in the New Year.
But as we all prepare ourselves for the holiday, sadly we heard tragic news from Charles Calello….”I just found out that Bob Crewe had a terrible accident. He fell down a flight of stairs at this brothers house and broke his back. I'll try to get more info for you ASAP.”
Obviously our thoughts and best wishes go out to Bob and his family and we hope he makes a full recovery.
Casey Chameleon
PS And watch out for Chapter 9 of The Rise and Fall of The NEW Four Seasons in the next week