Hurricane Smith - Don't Let It Die (@320)

 

Hurricane Smith - Don't Let It Die

 

Norman 'Hurricane' Smith was a bit of a late bloomer in the pop music business and was the ripe old age of 49 years old when his debut album "Don't Let It Die" came out in 1972 on EMI/Columbia records. He had, however, been behind the scenes for many years previously. Having lied about his age and being granted an apprenticeship by EMI, he worked his way up the ranks, from tea boy to engineer to producer, working on some big, BIG recordings in the process, including the first six Beatles albums,  the first four by Pink Floyd and the Pretty Things' "S.F. Sorrow". Smith also worked with Barclay James Harvest, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Kevin Ayers, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas and Manfred Mann.

Being around such talent obviously rubbed off on Smith during the 1960's and it was then that he started to dabble with songwriting, possibly taking John Lennon seriously when he joked that the Beatles were short of songs during the Help! sessions, prompting him to write "Don't Let It Die". There's a clear Gilbert O'Sullivan influence in Smith's recordings, as well as the Beatles, mainly of the Paul McCartney Music Hall variety and if that's your bag, and you don't mind the heavily orchestrated arrangements, you'll love this album.

Hurricane wasn't hip and he never pretended to be so. Instead he stuck to what he was great at, writing and producing some real nice pop tunes that your gran would like, full of nostalgia and sentimentality. But in an odd way, it works and I find myself coming back to his first album for repeated listens.

In the liner notes for the album, Smith comes over as a pretty decent, humble kind of bloke, appreciative of the people in the business who have helped him and not afraid to poke fun at himself. The back of the LP sleeve also proudly states that Smith won a couple of Ivor Novello Awards (Best Song and Lyric) for "Don't Let It Die" in 1971-72...and there are pictures of them on there too, in case you don't believe him!

Smith died in 2008 aged 85. The previous year he released his memoir "John Lennon Called Me Normal" and attended Beatlefest in where he was interviewed, sharing stories about his time as an engineer for the Beatles. There's a clip of him talking about "She Loves You" taken from the Beatles Stories DVD here.

 

Tracklist:

 

1. Auntie Vi's

2. Wonderful Lily

3. Cherry

4. My Mother Was Her Name

5. Many Happy Returns

6. Theme From An Unmade Silent Movie

7. That Girl

8. Back in the country

9. Grannie's Dixie Duo

10. Journey Thru' Dawn

11. Don't let it die

12. Oh Babe, What Would You Say?

13. Getting To Know You

14. Who Was It

15. Take Suki Home

16. The Writer Sings His Songs

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