Janus Records: Cheer

Our final look at Janus Records takes us back to spring 1972 where the band Potliquor nearly had a hit from their album “Levee Blues” that was released the previous December. This Southern rock band never had the success of its contemporaries, and perhaps their label choice may have played a part in that dilemma. If the band had been on Capricorn or on one of the majors, I believe they may have had a shot – but unfortunately, that didn’t happen until 1979 when their final album was released on Capitol. By then, it was too late.

The closest Potliquor came to renown was the release of the single “Cheer.” It did get some action and I remember hearing it on the radio; however, it stalled at the #65 position on the Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks never to rise from its ashes as did the legendary phoenix.

Although not a memorable hit, Les Wallace’s lead guitar really wails and the entire song is punctuated by a fantastic horn section. Keyboardist George Ratzlaff wrote the song and sang lead on what is probably their best known single. While Potliquor released four albums between 1970 and 1979, they are relegated to the back lot of rock ‘n roll along with others who were eclipsed by more famous acts of their time.

Janus Records: Midnight Sun

Guitarist Harvey Mandel played with one of the classic versions of the blues band Canned Heat and even auditioned as Mick Taylor’s replacement for The Rolling Stones. While it was Ron Wood who was selected to fill the guitarist’s role, Mandel was able to contribute his talents to two cuts on their “Black and Blue” album. Neither his work with Canned Heat nor his short term with The Stones contributed to my initial knowledge of Mandel’s talents; I became familiar with his work on John Mayall’s “Back to the Roots” album from 1971.

I bought “Back to the Roots” as a cutout in late 1972 and for a number of years it was one of my favorite albums. In 1973, I was scouring the cutout singles at F.W. Woolworth in the Eastland Shopping Center and I picked up a single on Janus Records with a familiar name – Harvey Mandel. Being that I knew him from John Mayall’s band, I took a chance on buying it.

The “A” side was “Baby Batter” – the title cut to his fourth solo album. Released in 1970, “Baby Batter” was an instrumental as was its flip, “Midnight Sun,” and all of the other cuts on the album. I preferred the single’s “B” side, and at 6:15 it was a long cut for a single. Neither side charted. In Billboard’s review of the album, they announced that “This LP is very strongly jazz oriented, but the jazz structures break down (or perhaps build upon) progressive rock concepts with musical touches of blues and rock.” Whatever the heck that means.

By April ’71, Billboard reported that the album was breaking in Pittsburgh and perhaps that is the reason that the local stores were carrying the single. The album was re-released twice. Initially, it was rebranded as “Electric Progress” and later it was reissued with the original title with a new cover.

Although Mandel’s first stint with Canned Heat only lasted a year, he rejoined the group from 1996 through 1999 and again beginning in 2008 and continuing as the band’s guitarist through the present. “Midnight Sun” fulfils double duty today – it’s part of our Fourth Week Label Feature and our Friday Flipside all rolled into one.

Janus Records: Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)

Since we are in the midst of our Fourth Week Special that features recordings on the Janus Record label, I could not find a song dealing with thankfulness to be appropriate with the American Thanksgiving holiday. Although there were several songs released by Janus that fit this theme, none are available on YouTube. With that quandary, I’ve decided to revert to our typical Thursday Repeats and Threepeats special.

In 1966, Donovan’s “Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)” was released on the Hickory label in the US. A product of Pye Records in Britain, the label didn’t have an American outlet and Pye contracted initially with Hickory and later Epic Records to release the early Donovan recordings.

By 1969, Pye had invested in Janus Records and the label became their de facto American arm. When the contract with Hickory expired in 1970, the Hickory recordings reverted to Janus and the new label re-released several of the Hickory singles and a compilation of the Hickory material as “Donovan P. Leitch.” In addition, Janus repacked Donovan’s further 1965-66 material into 1971’s “Hear Me Now” before Pye sold their interest in Janus to GRT. After that, Pye contracted with Bell Records to further repackage the early Donovan material.

So for the short window of 1970-1971, Janus had the rights to all of Donovan’s early material. Of these releases, Janus reissued the “Hey Gyp” single in 1970. Like the 1966 Hickory release, the 1970 reissue failed to chart. Unlike Donovan’s later recordings with Epic, the 1965-66 material on Hickory and later Janus were sparsely produced. “Hey Gyp” and the other recordings from this era only featured Donovan on guitar, harmonica, and vocals with no other supporting musicians.

The “Gyp” in the song was inspired by Donovan’s best friend and road manager Gypsy Dave Mills. Part of the song’s failure to chart may be due to the title of the song. Neither “Hey Gyp” nor the parenthetical title of “(Dig the Slowness)” appeared in the lyrics. Titling the song “Just Give Me Some of Your Love” may have made all of the difference in the single’s sales and airplay – during both of its runs.

Janus Records: Another Night

It’s Wednesday, and you know what day it is – “it’s hump day!” I know, I hate that commercial as well; but today, we celebrate Wednesday with our fourth example from Janus Records and the UK prog rock band “Camel.”

Today’s featured song “Another Night” was credited to all four members of the band, and it was sung by Andrew Latimer who also played guitar and flute. Unfortunately, “Another Night,” the single from their fourth album “Moonmadness,” failed to chart upon its release.

Janus, the band’s US record label, also took the liberty of using an alternate cover for the 1976 album “Moonmadness.” Apparently they felt that a band named Camel should have a camel on the album. The UK issue had no discernible camel image on the cover, so Janus put a camel on the moon in a space suit. Despite a small loyal following, Camel never caught on in America.

Janus Records: She Loves To Be In Love

The UK band Charlie had a better reputation in the US for their album covers than for their hits on American radio. Their albums sported pictures of beautiful women, and although the band was better known on album radio than in the mainstream music scene, they produced some great music – even if most folks are not familiar with their name.

Charlie released two albums and four singles for Janus Records during their run with the label before it went into receivership. They had actually recorded a third album (“Fight Dirty”) for Janus that was subsequently released on Arista who had purchased the Janus catalog, but did not totally support the band in their efforts.

Charlie’s highest charting single on Janus did not become a Top 40 hit although this 1978 release had the potential for doing so as it has a great hook and good production. “She Loves to be in Love,” although getting some Top 40 play, only charted at #54 in the US.

Suffering from numerous problems that, as the band’s official web site dictates, were worthy of Spinal Tap, the band folded in 1987. In 2009, the band reformed and released “Kitchens of Distinction” which began as a solo project for lead vocalist and guitarist Terry Thomas.

Janus Records: Year Of The Cat

It’s not often that I can point to a specific point in time when I first heard a particular song, but I remember when I was introduced to Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat.” It was a Sunday evening in February 1977 and I was driving on WV Route 10 through Salt Rock, WV. I had just purchased a new Chevy Vega and it came equipped with an FM radio – my first car with such a luxury. I was listening that evening to WKEE-FM in nearby Huntington, WV and “Year of the Cat” came across the airwaves. I was so mesmerized by the song that I pulled off the highway to hear it in its entirety.

It took Al Stewart 10 years to make “Year of the Cat,” as he had devised the melody in 1966 for an abandoned song he started called “Foot of the Stage” that he had began writing after seeing a performance by comedian Tony Hancock. The original idea was scrapped and Stewart used the tune for a new song he recorded in early 1976. The title was inspired by the Vietnamese zodiac sign of the cat, which corresponds with the Chinese zodiac sign of the rabbit. Peter Wood, who supplied the piano arrangement, is credited as the song’s coauthor.

Released on Janus Records in late 1976, the song climbed to the #8 position on both the Hot 100 and the AC charts by March 1977. Although it is over 35 years old; the tune, its arrangement, and the suburb production of Alan Parsons is every bit as fresh sounding in 2013 as it was in 1977.

The “Year of the Cat” has three successive leads that featured Peter White on acoustic guitar, Tim Renwick on electric lead guitar, and Phil Kenzie on alto saxophone. In addition to its chart performance, “Year of the Cat” was used in two movies: “Radiofreccia” and “Running with Scissors.” In addition, you have to love a song that references Peter Lorre, Bogart, and patchouli.

Janus Records: Baby Take Me In Your Arms

It has been a hectic day for me, and so this post is extremely late. It’s the fourth week of November and this month I have Janus Records as our featured label for this week. Named after the Roman god of beginnings, Janus Records was founded in 1969 as a joint effort of GRT Records in the US and Pye Records of the UK.

At the time, Pye had no outlet in the US – so they often had to contract with American labels in order to get recordings released stateside. It was a perfect arrangement, as Pye officially had an American voice. By 1971, GRT Records assumed total control of Janus and ran the label until it folded in 1979.

This week should prove interesting as I’ve already featured many of the better known songs released on Janus, so we are going deep into their catalog – some of which were originally released on Pye in the UK.

One of the better known singles on Janus was a release by Pye recording artist Geoff Turton – who recorded under the name of Jefferson. His third single, and his first on Janus, was released in November 1969. “Baby Take Me in your Arms” was not only successful for Jefferson, it was the first Top 40 hit on the Janus label. Although it failed to chart in his native land, it peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 at #23.