Thursday, December 23, 2021

Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe. Deluxe Edition (@320)

 


Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe. Deluxe Edition

 

Would You Believe Review by Richie Unterberger.

 

Billy Nicholls' stillborn 1968 album does indeed recall the Beach Boys' 1966-19 67 era, not just due to Nicholls' melodies and high, versatile vocals, but also the production of Andrew Oldham, an avowed fan of Phil Spector and Pet Sounds. Although very attractive, however, the songs and production do not have the depth and emotional resonance of Pet Sounds. This is not a knock; Nicholls was very young at the time, after all, and it's hard to match Brian Wilson, though Oldham pulled out a bunch of tricks with baroque keyboards, tasteful brass, and airy multi-part harmonies. As with the Oldham-produced cuts done by Del Shannon in the same era, the deftly elaborate L.A.-meets-London semi-Wall of Sound is more impressive than the pretty but often rather slight material. It's still a pleasurable listen, with the more acoustic and darker "Come Again" slightly foreshadowing the kind of sound Pete Townshend would employ on much of Who Came First, and "Girl from New York" (with Steve Marriott on lead guitar) going for a gutsier British rock vibe. The CD reissue (on the Immediate imprint, but actually put out by the British reissue label Sequel) includes mono single versions of "Would You Believe?" and "Daytime Girl" as bonus tracks.

 

Tracklist:

 

CD 1: Original 1968 album:

 

1. Would You Believe

2. Come Again

3. Life Is Short

4. Feeling Easy

5. Daytime Girl

6. Daytime Girl (Coda)

7. London Social Degree

8. Portobello Road

9. Question Mark

10. Being Happy

11. Girl From New York

12. It Brings Me Down

13. Would You Believe - Mono Version - Bonus Track

14. Daytime Girl - Mono Version - Bonus Track

 

CD 2: Snapshot (60s Demo’s & Out-takes):

 

1. Would You Believe

2. Happiness Song

3. Cut And Come Again

4. Casey Jones

5. Always On My Mind

6. I'm To Blame

7. Feeling Easy

8. Back About 4

9. Umbrella Song

10. It Brings Me Down

11. Life Is Short

12. Haven't Any Money

13. Good Day Goodnight

14. Fortune Teller

15. London Social Degree

16. Now She's Mine

17. Being Happy

18. Love Is All Around

19. Walking Through The Park

20. Portobello Road

21. Rest Of My Life

22. It Brings Me Down

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2 comments:

  1. lemonflag24 Dec 2021, 00:02:00

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. lancasterguy28 Dec 2021, 15:53:00

    And thank you again, great album. I got my copy years ago when it was only available as a Japanese import, but missed this reissue so looking forward to hearing the bonus tracks

    ReplyDelete

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