The Larry Page Orchestra - Kinky Music ( 1965)

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In 1964 Larry Page had in the Kinks one of the hottest pop groups in England under his management, and in addition to that, their songwriter had just produced some great songs including two Top 10 hits. In order to gain further exposure for the songs Larry decided to record instrumental versions that would accentuate some of the melodies and bring the music to a wider audience. It worked in that they got covers of the songs by big bands and extensive radio play for the LPO. Today the album reaches another audience, those that enjoy the groovy swinging pop aura that instrumental music of the mid 60's generates.

An influential manager and producer during the British Invasion, Larry Page (born Lenny Davis) did a lot for the Kinks in their early career, although he was muscled out of the picture after their first couple of years of success. He had a lengthier relationship with the Troggs, whom he produced from 1966 to 1968 that yielded their big hits. Page also made some forgotten teen idol records as a singer in the pre-Beatles era, and issued an album of instrumental versions of Kinks songs under the name Larry Page Orchestra. Page made some records as a prospective teen idol in the late '50s, although his vocals and records weren't highly rated. Bruce Welch of the Shadows, in fact, described Page as "the worst singer I ever heard in my life." He got more attention for his blue-tinted hair than his music, and got into music on the business side, working for music publisher Eddie Kassner. He entered a complicated management arrangement with the Kinks whereby he shared management duties with two others (Robert Wace and Grenville Collins), also helping place their compositions with other artists. Page even got co-writing credits with Ray Davies for one early Kinks track, "Revenge." Page, however, was soon at odds with the other Kinks managers and with the Kinks' producer, Shel Talmy. Then there was bad feeling between him and the Kinks after a difficult 1965 tour of America, during which Page and Ray Davies had a big falling out. Page had produced some demos with the Kinks in the States, which engendered bad feelings between him and Talmy. The Kinks extracted themselves from their management deal with Page in favor of having Wace and Collins handle their affairs without assistance, but at great cost, with the ensuing legal battles dragging on until 1968. In the midst of this madness, Page had managed to organize an instrumental album of Kinks covers, Kinky Music, credited to the Larry Page Orchestra. This was of interest to collectors for the presence of a Dave Davies composition, "One Fine Day," that the Kinks never recorded, although a vocal version appeared by British singer Shel Naylor, another of Page's charges.

The Larry Page Orchestra* – Kinky Music (2006)

*This CD edition from the Japanese label Air Mail Archive includes a mono version of the original '65 album and a remastered stereo version. Year of issue -  2006.Comes in a CD-sized papersleeve album replica, with obi-strip 

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