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BAD FRIDAY!
Peluché,
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The Windmill, Brixton
Good Friday, 14th April 2017
3pm till late

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Album Review

Mary Weiss
Dangerous Game Norton Records

Article written by Ged M - Mar 27, 2007

Other than one-off performances in 1977 and 1989, Mary Weiss has been out of the spotlight since her last appearance with the Shangri-Las in 1968. Thirty years later she�s back, accompanied by The Reigning Sound. It�s pretty much what you�d expect from a Shangri-La fronting a garage band: the earthy New York growl and street-tough attitude are not much changed from those classic Red Bird singles while the backing of the Reigning Sound is sympathetically 60s-tinged without sounding any way forced or retro. Released on Brooklyn�s Norton Records, the record delivers the thrill of hearing new songs from a Shangri-La with the comforting familiarity of that girl-group-garage-rock�n�roll sound.

�Heaven Only Knows� � the only original that they revisit - reminds the listener of the tunes of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the sound of heartbroken teen America that characterised the best Shangri-Las sides. There are echoes of that sound on �Don�t Come Back� - �My best friend said that you�re a jerk/ I just want to make it work� - but the Ramones-like backing makes you aware that you�re in New York but it�s a long way from 1964. The other songs are either melodramatic tearjerkers or pop with a sharpened stiletto. Greg Cartwright of the Reigning Sound wrote nine of the 14 tracks and shares songwriting duties with the Real Kids, whose �Tell Me What You Want Me To Do� is classic sneering New York garage rock. Only �Cry About The Radio� doesn�t work, the grumpy tones of �kids don�t know shit/ they wanna hit/ I don�t write hits� being the only misfire on the album. Credit to the musicians who accompany Mary perfectly, especially Dave Amels who adds piano, organ, harmonium, celeste - in fact a whole gospelly colour scheme - to most of the tracks.

Reading the excellent Norton Records site, you�re struck by the fact that everyone involved is doing this for the right reasons: Mary Weiss, having been prevented from recording for years by contractual obligations, has rediscovered her voice while label and musicians both are fans of the Shangri-Las, whose iconic status seems to grow as the decades recede. It�s a record of pure, primal pleasure and Big Apple cool, keeping the faith of 30 years.

Links:
http://www.nortonrecords.com