Search - Spell :: Seasons in the Sun

A different album

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rose McDowell was once a member of Strawberry Switchblade, who had a UK top five hit (Since yesterday) and a couple of minor UK hits including a cover of Jolene (Dolly Parton). Teaming up with Boyd Rice to form Spell, together they recorded this fairly mellow but slightly eerie album, which contains mostly (perhaps entirely) covers of other people's songs. Indeed, I discovered the album when doing a search by song title. When I saw what else was on the album, I took a chance on it. On first playing, I wasn't sure about it but it has grown on me with each play.



The set opens with Johnny remember me, which provided John Leyton with a British number one hit in 1961. John was more of an actor than a singer, but had a couple of big hits helped by his role in a TV series (including this one). His pop hits soon dried up and he focused on acting thereafter.



Down from Dover (about a jilted pregnant girl whose baby is eventually stillborn) is a very sad song that Dolly Parton wrote and recorded before she was famous. It originally appeared on an album (Fairest of them all) that is now among the hardest-to-find of all Dolly's albums. Dolly originally wrote it as a duet but ended up recording it as a solo. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood covered it as a duet and Spell have done likewise, though they have (curiously) changed the location from Dover to Denver. Dolly later re-recorded the song (again as a solo) for her album, Little sparrow, but her original recording occasionally appears on compilations (it can be found on the UK compilation Gold).



Terry, a morbid song about a suicidal motorcyclist, was first recorded by Twinkle, a teenaged pop star of the sixties who was hugely talented but never achieved the level of success that she might have done. Twinkle had a UK top five hit with Terry but after one other hit (Golden lights) that stalled outside the top twenty, faded into obscurity.



Seasons in the sun, another morbid song, began life as Le Moribond, a French song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. Translated into English by Rod McKuen, it may have lost a little in translation but is still quite potent. The Kingston Trio, one of America's leading folk groups, had some success with it in the early sixties but the song only became really popular when Terry Jacks (formerly of the Poppy Family) recorded it in 1974, more than a decade after the Kingston Trio. Terry's version (a UK number one hit) sounds quite cheerful if you didn't listen to the words, as the music was very upbeat. Since then, many other covers of the song have been recorded including one by Westlife, who returned the song to the UK charts. However, Spell's version is one of the more interesting versions of the song.



This little bird (written by John D Loudermilk) provided Marianne Faithfull with a UK top ten hit in 1965. A rival version bt the Nashville Teens (a British R+B group) became a minor UK hit.



Endless sleep, an American hit for its co-writer, Jody Reynolds, became a huge UK hit for Marty Wilde. A successful British rock'n'roll singer, he made another major contribution to pop music by fathering Kim Wilde.



Those are just a few of the songs on this intriguing but brilliant album."

Can You Spell Excellent

Robert E. Murena Jr. | Fairfield, CT United States | 01/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Boyd Rice and Rose McDowell showcase their musical genius in this collection of covers that is a true diversion from their usual genres. Using simple recording techniques the sound which might at times boarder on ametuerish is brilliant and dreamy.



The album opens up with a ballad "Johnny Remember Me" which is a '50's country song originally. What Boyd and Rose put into it makes it a work unto its own with a strong refrain. Of course the showcase song is "Seasons in the Sun". The original material was a favorite of mine as a child but listening to Boyd's version makes the song more emotive and holds a stronger message.



Overall the album is simply a dynamo. It has been over 10 years since its release and still is a favorite of mine. It is a great album for Boyd Rice and Rose McDowell fans as well as fans of singer/songwriters of the '70's. The album is extremely accessible - It does not feel like a cover album - and truly a joy to listen to.



Ted Murena"