A near-complete anthology of this important singer-songwriter's mid-60s recordings for the Dunhill label. As well as writing hits for numerous 60s chart names, Sloan is an accomplished artist in his own right. This CD gat... more »hers together the contents of his two Dunhill albums (minus two tracks that he asked to be excluded) and a number of sides that have only previously appeared on 45s. Among the highlights are Sloan's own versions of his hit songs Take Me For What I'm Worth (the Searchers), Eve Of Destruction (Barry McGuire), I Found A Girl (Jan and Dean) and Melody For You (the Grass Roots). Great sleeve notes from Tim Forster are matched by an incredible selection of period photographs, many of which have never been published before. This CD has the blessing of P F Sloan. It's hoped that he will be touring again soon to support its release.« less
A near-complete anthology of this important singer-songwriter's mid-60s recordings for the Dunhill label. As well as writing hits for numerous 60s chart names, Sloan is an accomplished artist in his own right. This CD gathers together the contents of his two Dunhill albums (minus two tracks that he asked to be excluded) and a number of sides that have only previously appeared on 45s. Among the highlights are Sloan's own versions of his hit songs Take Me For What I'm Worth (the Searchers), Eve Of Destruction (Barry McGuire), I Found A Girl (Jan and Dean) and Melody For You (the Grass Roots). Great sleeve notes from Tim Forster are matched by an incredible selection of period photographs, many of which have never been published before. This CD has the blessing of P F Sloan. It's hoped that he will be touring again soon to support its release.
CD Reviews
What a treasure! Dunhill material in best quality yet!
Michael I. Griffiths | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | 06/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here is the P. F. Sloan Dunhill material in the best quality yet! This really is a top-notch CD with wonderful packaging to boot. Tim Forster wrote the superb liner notes and supplied a bunch of previously unpublished photos of Sloan and Steve Barri in the studio and P. F. in various other locales. These photos are worth the price of admission alone, but there's still more, including scans of album cover art, sheet music. record labels and picture sleeves from around the globe!
The sound is so much better than the only other CD release of most of this material - the long out of print P. F. Sloan Anthology on One Way from 1993. Everything here is from the original recording sources and the improvement is dramatic. For one thing, I've never heard the bass guitar on these tracks as well as I do here, especially on the stereo tracks from the Twelve More Times album. The sound is now so very clear and present. This clarity has helped me appreciate other things on the recordings as well, for example, the piano on "From A Distance". I don't think I ever really appreciated how cool this piano part is before. It has a jazzy Floyd Kramerish feel to it that really makes this great 'shoulda-been-a-hit' song even greater.
To top things off are five non-LP single tracks that make an absolutely brilliant finish to this release. The first three, "City Women", "A Melody For You", "Sunflower, Sunflower" [another 'woulda-coulda-shoulda-been-a-hit'] are in newly created first time ever stereo mixes by Andrew Sandoval - with help from Bill Inglot, that have a depth that makes the tracks come alive. The last two tracks, "Karma [Study Of Divinations]" and "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth" are in mono from the original single masters. I've never heard either song sound as good.
This will suffice until the Deluxe multi-disc verson I'm dreaming of, which will have the two missing tracks plus everything in mono and stereo mixes for completists like me.
What a treasure!
- Mike Griffiths"
Excellence! C'est tres bon!
Shell Proskow | Canada | 07/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Superb from start to finish! The wait for the reissue of these two solo albums plus the single gems included was certainly worth it. Every song is a great listening experience which leaves you wanting more. The incredible talent and creativity of PF Sloan is evident and what one can't help but notice is the amazing versatility this artist possesses.
The outstanding packaging sets the stage for excellent sound and some of the best songs to ever come out of the 60's. Songs that will take you back you to an era, but the timeless beauty of much of this singer/songwriter's work will bring you to the present where you will definitely enjoy hearing these tunes over and over again.
"
Indispensable
Todd J. Newman | Minneapolis, MN | 06/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A must-have reissue of P.F. Sloan's first two 60's lps + his great non-lp 45 sides from the 60's. A couple of songs from the lps have been left off due to cd space constraints, but with the blessing of the artist. I think Phil Sloan was the greatest songwriter of the 60's (he's still great these days, too) and it's with great excitement that I heard about this release. I find it hard to believe that these amazing songs have been out of print since the mid-sixties, but at least they're available now. I think the tape restoration/mastering is really good on these--everything sounds great to me. Every song is a flat-out winner on this cd--if you haven't heard these songs, you're in for a very pleasant surprise. For me, hearing Phil Sloan's songs has been a real life-changer and a huge inspiration. I hope the same thing awaits you...."
Sheer Brilliance!
GLORIA LIM | San Francisco, CA USA | 07/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sheer brilliance from this very special musical genius!!!!
Every one of these songs is like a sparkling, shining diamond of the highest caliber, set in an impeccable, elegant background of platinum. The gorgeous arrangement of the liner notes, the wonderful write up by Tim Forster which provides a detailed background and history of the artist, and the large display of rare pictures all serve well in supporting the main event...a magical array of priceless music!
This package of P.F. Sloan's first two albums and 45's was put together lovingly by all involved, and the meticulous remastering of the songs allows the listener to hear details of some of the songs which were not audible in previous compilation releases, and to hear some songs for the first time since originally released.
My very own personal favorite song on this release is "A Melody for You." For the first time ever, I can hear Mr. Sloan humming toward the end of the song! Having listened to a compilation version of it for the last five years, I never had the pleasure of hearing his wonderful voice at this point in the song until now.
This release is a must have for all P.F. Sloan fans, an incredible addition to their collections, and a great introduction for future fans to this beautiful artist's works."
A P.F. flier
Robert S. Estes | Santa Rosa, Ca | 09/07/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"P.F. Sloan, teenage songwriter,hooked up with Steve Barri, master of melody, and they wrote terrific genre pop hits like surf "Summer Means Fun", "Tell 'em I'm Surfin" and great rock songs, "Secret Agent Man", Turtles "Let Me Be".
P.F. got signed to upstart Dunhill Records as a writer and began composing songs of the life and times of the 60's. Hits kept a'comin', most importantly the anthem, "Eve of Destruction". Barry McGuire had the #1 hit and it allowed P.F. to record his songs on his own.
This CD is a complilation of P.F.'s first two LPs, hard to find on vinyl, esp. rare on CD. Fingered pointed as a Dylan pretenter to the folk throne, P. F. was in a long line of lingering losers in that lyric race. This CD shows P.F. as a singular voice, with an ability to set a place and time. He had the prestige but not the performance to get a top 40 hit on his own.
It is important to note that Dunhill Records had a distinct sound. Mamas and Papas, Grass Roots, and others on the label all had that same guitars mid range, bass back, drum filled, vocals clear and immediate.Dunhill had a signature of artists and songs that started out slow, built up to a half cresendo,Fake out! back to soft then hard, then slow fade. (Some historians might wanna criss/cross Nirvana). These songs from P.F.'s 1966 LPs show that he was in the forefront of that sound. The first several songs are in pristine Mono, the rest in the Dunhill stereo separation. True 1960's HiFi!
There is a comprehensive booklet that comes with CD. It is Rock history at its quirky best and recommended. Supreme songwriter Jimmy Webb wrote a song about P.F., that's how important his story is to some.
Uhmm, the songs..
Maybe 15 out of the 27 are worth a second listen. Maybe 10 out of those, a third. Still, "Eve Of Destruction", "Let Me Be", "Sins of a Family", and "On Top of a Fence" are worth the purchase.
Track Listings (27) - Disc #1