Spooky Tooth appreciation thread
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Topic: Spooky Tooth appreciation thread
Posted By: Certif1ed
Subject: Spooky Tooth appreciation thread
Date Posted: January 06 2008 at 16:40
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I expect this to disappear without trace in a few days, but I'm disappointed with the huge number of Beatles, Queen, Deep Purple, Led Zep and similar threads in here - let's go for some unsung Proto Proggers!
Spooky Tooth's second album, imaginatively entitled "Spooky Two" predates Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, yet sounds very similar to all 3. The sound is a bit like Traffic, but more heavily riff-based, and a little more diverse. Any fan of any of the aforementioned bands should own this album.
"It's all About" is an amazing psyche-rock album, with flavours of pure Prog in the swirling Hammonds and powerful melodies - and their cover of "I Am The Walrus" on "The Last Puff" is heavy and just brilliant - if a little Vanilla Fudge in its inspiration.
Then there's "Ceremony", the album they did with electronics guru Pierre Henry - with 4 such incredible albums in their catalogue, this band deserves more recognition!
Here's some YouTube goodness;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcVXYXg5fyQ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcVXYXg5fyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORSWQCVdhI&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORSWQCVdhI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-PNdOLrjZo&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-PNdOLrjZo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGxRstWAZBc&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGxRstWAZBc&feature=related
Here's a well-known Spooky Tooth cover that the band in question got into a lot of trouble over...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVApYOPJPec&feature=related - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVApYOPJPec&feature=related
 ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Replies:
Posted By: jimmy_row
Date Posted: January 06 2008 at 17:48
Great band, but I still don't have Spooky Two yet . I was surpised when I first saw that "Better By You Better Than Me", made famous by Judas Priest of course, was written by Gary Wright - the same guy responsible for "Dream Weaver" *yuck* IMO the original version of BBYBTM is better, I really love Mike Harrison's vocals, so full of grit and soul.
edit: ...just checked out the youtube clips - interesting to see them doing The Weight, I've always loved that song and Spooky Tooth seem to do it justice. That Was Only Yesterday is also a good one...I can remember hearing it on the radio for a long time and thinking it was Joe Cocker...damn Harrison was such a good singer! ------------- Signature Writers Guild on strike |
Posted By: Intruder
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 04:29
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The Tooth! I was so stuck on the second album back in the day....alas, I've never upgraded any ST albums to CD...and the Best Of CD is sitting in the cut out bin at my local used shop....but since Hangman Hang My Head isn't on it, I've given in a miss.
I'd say the second album and The Last Puff are my faves....the latter has a mean cover of I Am the Walrus....Mike Harrison really deserves more attention. ------------- I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there..... |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 06:17
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The cover of "I am the Walrus" is one of the very best Beatles covers out there. Simply brilliant.
-------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 07:51
Aha - somebody else out there likes Spooky Tooth; great band, great Hammond playing, especially I Am The Walrus & Sunshine Help Me; not flashy playing, but bloody effective  ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 09:42
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All is not lost, Cert. I love 'Spooky Two' and have posted many, many times how much I love it. It's by far their peak, though, IMHO- none of their other albums are bad per se, but they don't quite match up to that one. 'Spooky Two' sounds like a cross between The Band and Traffic, IMHO, also harking forth to that Uriah Heep/Atomic Rooster Hammond attack. |
Posted By: glass house
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 16:08
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Salmacis mentioned Spooky Two a long time ago, after that I was hooked on that album. I especially like the vocals by Mike Harrison. And the songs are great. The first three songs are really really good. Although Evil Woman is a good song, I'm not too fond of the high vocals there. Must admit I don't know the other stuff by them.
Good call Cert
 . |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 16:30
| I only have Spooky Two, which is sensational! Other albums didn't get really raving reviews, so I never tried out another album. I'm not sure if that was a wise decision. |
Posted By: jammun
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 22:04
| Spooky Two is one of my all-time favorite albums. The guitar solo on "Evil Woman" alone is worth the price of admission. I used to have LP's of Spooky Two, Ceremony and The Last Puff, but only Spooky Two is still in the collection. Not sure what happened to the others. I also have a greatist hits CD that has a good chunk of Spooky Two on it, as well as a few songs from their other albums. For the uninitiated, it's a cheap way to become acquainted with the band. |
Posted By: glass house
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 05:30
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In a book published by a leading Dutch pop/rock magazine Spooky Tooth songs were described as: Slow, at times almost dragging songs, with autumn-like melancholic lyrics and with a, at that time, unprecedented rough edge.
Translating that was not easy, but I think it sums it up quite nice.
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 15:33
The riff to "Evil Woman" is strikingly similar to "Sweet Leaf" by Sabbath...  ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
glass house wrote:Posted By: glass house
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 16:03
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The riff to "Evil Woman" is strikingly similar to "Sweet Leaf" by Sabbath... [/QUOTE]
It is, yeah.
And they are still touring, they are coming to a town near where i live at the 17th of february. I wonder if Mike still has got a good voice?
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Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: January 09 2008 at 13:44
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My favorite ST singer is Mike Harrison, but my favorite album is The Mirror. One of my bandmates is a Spooky Tooth nut, and he has their reunion concert DVD which they filmed to celebrate the memory of their old bass player, and I find it to be a good DVD with a band in shape and Mike Harrison still good at vocals, but I must admit that Gary Wright is quite embarassing to watch in his awful red outfit and that God forsaken (and out of place) 80's strap-on keyboard, which allowed him to play only with his right hand... ------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: January 09 2008 at 17:23
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Is anyone familiar with "Ceremony"?
It's the only one of the 1960s-early 1970s albums I've never heard. ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |