The Peter Tork 1969/1970 Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sunset Sam, Jul 12, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Sunset Sam

    Sunset Sam Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Irvington, IN
    Yes, he is quite busy these days. :rolleyes:
     
  2. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    It's not a great mystery. Parsons could sing and write songs. Tork's abilities in both those areas were negligible at best. True, he was a talented multi-instrumentalist, but unless he wanted to be a session man those talents wouldn't lend themselves to success in the music business. Aside from hotshot guitar players, how many instrumentalists who can't sing or write songs can you name who have had any degree of solo success in the music biz? I can't think of one.

    He would have needed to hook up with a person or band who could sing and write songs he could play on, but I don't think he would have wanted to be a sideman for some unknown artist. I suspect he wanted to be a frontman though his talents didn't support that.
     
  3. Gordon Crisp

    Gordon Crisp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Keep in mind that Mike inherited A LOT of money around that time, which may have distracted him from music what with the managing it.
     
  4. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    For Pete's Sake is a pretty good 60's anthem for being a negligible tune.
    Had he actually paired with a rock & roller and written some tunes, whose to say that they might not have been brilliant?! Like Sammy Sunset sez, with all the musician pals he had, why didn't he surface in a super group?
    Peter was great when he paired with other people! The tune Words is fantastic with Mick & Pete swapping verses! His harmonies are great when he's blending in with someone else. Everyone is making him sound like a no-talent.
    Money had nothing to do with it, his focus was on running his business. He turned off musician and turned on the corporate biznezman. But as Sunset sam sez, you don't just lose interest. Apparently Mike can, his interests sure aren't there now.

    *Now we shall all pray together, "Lord, spare this world and all others where the sound and radio waves may travel to, from a very likely Rays sequel. Please pick up your hymnals and turn to page 42 and we'll all join in together and sing to the Lord in tribute to Michael Nesmith, "Thanks For The Ride.""*
     
  5. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I agree that For Pete's Sake is a good song. Long Title is not bad either. Beyond that, his songwriting output is sparse and unimpressive. Two okay songs does not a good songwriter make.

    And his voice is weak and has pitch problems. Sometimes he was able to use his weakness to great effect (ie his verse of Shades of Gray) but would you want to hear a whole album sung by him? I wouldn't.

    I would imagine super groups would have been reluctant to take him on because of his Monkees baggage and the likelihood he would not be content to remain in the background as a sideman, which is where his talents would have shone. I certainly can't see him with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, a group where the emphasis was on singing and songwriters. He would have come across like a fifth wheel next to those guys.
     
  6. NUNZI

    NUNZI Forum Resident

    Slightly off topic but since "Rays" has been mentioned, give it another chance, start with "There it is".
     
  7. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    I suspect he simply turned his creative energies away from music and towards video.
     
  8. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    I enjoy Rays, particularly as a driving album. Doesn't compare to much of his other output, but I am glad for its addition to the catalog.
     
  9. intv7

    intv7 Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    Also, end with "There It Is".
     
  10. mr_mjb1960

    mr_mjb1960 I'm a Tarrytowner 'Til I die!

    He'd did arrested for a pound of Hashish,tucked away on his Motorcycle..they caught him as he was crossing the Mexico Border..as Peter himself said,"Not a very swift move!" He was also a teacher at Pace University in Hawthorne in the mid-70's,too,BTW! Probably The Hippest teacher,by far!:righton:
     
  11. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Countless jazz musicians of course.
    In a more popular vein:

    Kenny G
    Grover Washington
    Herbie Hancock
    George Winston
    Ringo (certainly no better a singer or writer than Tork)
     
  12. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    All of these musicians would be considered jazz, or jazz crossover, except Ringo. (Kenny G is easy listening, George Winston new age, but possibly for the former, and certainly for the latter, informed by jazz).

    Only Ringo serves as an example of an instrumentalist with no real singing voice or writing chops who had a successful POP career as a solo artist. And Ringo's unique in that he could draw on waves of goodwill (and outside artistic contributions) from having been part of The Beatles. I somehow doubt John Lennon gave Peter Tork songs to record.
     
  13. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    Actually, I assembled a CDR with all of his 45, 80's demos and TV appearances. I love it! Granted it's not for most people, but I really do like it!
    Note: I did not mention the Stranger Things CD. It's terrible. THAT album was never made, just like Rays was never made.

    Since Ringo has been mentioned a few times in this thread, I CANNOT stomach his material. At all. Gimme 80's Tork anyday.
     
  14. mr_mjb1960

    mr_mjb1960 I'm a Tarrytowner 'Til I die!

    I've got his CD "Stranger Things Have Happened" and I LOVE IT! Plus,Peter signed it! HOW COOL IS DAT!:righton:
     
  15. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Money, Honey

     
  16. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    Well, the autograph is cool anyhow.
    Use the CD as a coaster. Or hang it your garden to keep the birds away.
     
  17. Sunset Sam

    Sunset Sam Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Irvington, IN
    "Instant Replay" sold more copies than "Greatest Hits", placed higher on both Billboard and Cashbox, and remained on the charts longer than "Greatest Hits" IIRC. It was a Top 40 album!

    And I really don't understand how having 3 LPs and 3 45s charting in the Top 100/Hot 100 in the U.S. (not to mention all these releases hitting the Top 40 in Australia and presumably in Japan) is considered not selling records. :rolleyes:

    They charted everything they released in 1969 in the U.S. and Australia, with moderate degrees of success state-side. I'm not comparing to '66 - '68....but on their own merits in '69, The Monkees still sold records and there were countless groups that would have loved to trade places with them.
     
  18. Sunset Sam

    Sunset Sam Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Irvington, IN
  19. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Yeah, obviously I should have stipulated rock-n-roll. Aside from Ringo, no rock-n-roll examples spring to mind.

    Ringo is an apt comparison to Tork, as their singing/songwriting talents are similar. Ringo is an exception to the rule about success despite lack of singing/songwriting ability, but that's because he was from the Beatles, the most popular band of all time, and because his solo career was propped up by original songs, arrangements, and performances by the other Beatles. And even given those factors, he was only able to sustain solo success for a brief three-year period (1971-74). Outside of that, his records have sold poorly for the rest of his solo career.
     
  20. mr.schneider

    mr.schneider Active Member

    Location:
    N. Beechwood Dr.
    I completely agree with all of this.
    This I wouldn't agree with at all.
    You don't get to do all this stuff if there isn't some interest in your popularity.
    Davy, Micky & Michael were everywhere in 1969! Look at the TV shows they were on: their own TV special (with a proposed follow-up), the Tonight Show, Joey Bishop, Happening '69, Laugh In!, Hollywood Squares, Johnny Cash Show, Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Jones was on Music Scene, Tom Jones, Happening '69, Tennessee Ernie Ford Special, major endorsements with Kool-Aid (countless commercials & print ads), syndication of their TV shows in 1969/70, et al. Their concerts got good revues. Granted some of their 1969 concerts were ill-attended, some were canceled, yet others were packed houses!
    Perhaps if Colgems had put some money behind The Monkees Present it might have charted much higher, but they lost most of the steam that they had in early 1969 as that's when TV aired most of those TV appearances. Evidence of this is in the sales of Instant Replay! Instant Replay sold better than Head did, even with 3 Monkees on the cover. So their exposure in early 1969, gave that album a nice push.

    *sigh*
    ... and then there was Pete...
    Even he made a solo appearance on Happening '69, reportedly performing a song called "Flower City" (is that right?). I don't believe this has ever been confirmed nor denied.
     
    Sunset Sam and Grand_Ennui like this.
  21. silvertrees

    silvertrees Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I know I'm in the minority when I say that I would love to see those demos(if they exist) released(no pun intended) as a Rhino Handmade edition. They could even throw in a few more takes of Lady's Baby to pad out the collection!

    Even though Tork wasn't a prolific writer, the songs that he penned during his Monkee years display an inimitable talent that unfortunately never blossomed. Such a waste that he didn't find an outlet for his musical abilities after he left the Monkees.

    Perhaps one day he'll finish his memoirs and potentially shed some light on his post-Monkee years.
     
  22. Sunset Sam

    Sunset Sam Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Irvington, IN
    I think Tork would be wise to follow Davy's lead with the "Just For The Record" series and put out a disc of his material. He had a lot of recordings in the '80s with The New Monks, The Peter Tork Group and possibly BRINCO....not to mention his '60s acetates and the demos with Release. I'm sure there must be some tapes from the '70s only he knows about (just like Davy had) that could be released as well. Heck....at least make a few bucks off of it....and with Monkees stuff there's always a market for it.

    Davy put out the cast recording of "Oliver!" taped from a radio broadcast in '65 last year....it sold out! Of course, I don't know how many copies he pressed, but still....he put it into a 2nd pressing.

    You listening, Peter? :)
     
  23. "R" Ed

    "R" Ed Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mercer County,NJ
    Sunset - Couldn't agree with you more. Don't forget when the series went back on TV on Saturday mornings, the ratings went through the roof. If the record company gave up on them, why bother dubbing in new song's onto quite a few episodes over the next couple of years? Granted the budget for them wasn't the same as it was in prime time two years prior, they did managed to continue to push the product (despite the small allocated budget afforded them).
     
  24. djbh35

    djbh35 New Member

    Location:
    Saskatoon, SK
    RELEASE 40 Years On

    I was intrigued to discover this post tonight...Briefly last year I considered putting together a RELEASE forty years later retrospective article; it never happened, and I only got as far as speaking with Reine Stewart on the phone (I had also spoken with RELEASE 'fourth' member Judy Mayhan in 2002). According to Stewart, RELEASE were supposed to go to Muscle Shoals as the backing band for Judy Mayhan's Atlantic Records solo album (a record deal brokered by Peter Tork). I can't remember who she told me had kaiboshed this plan, possibly Ahmet Ertegun, whom she described as a longtime friend. Anyways, she expressed this with regret -- said the album would have been much better with her, Tork and Riley Wildflower backing her up (the album is still worthy of a listen -- I have a copy somewhere: Judy Mayhan Moments)...She also told me that Riley Wildflower died many years ago, so a full RELEASE reunion is not a possibility.
    Tork had denied the existence of RELEASE demo tapes as early as a 1982 interview in Goldmine; he had said that there had been "attic tapes," I recall, but when I asked Reine about this, she said they didn't use the attic but the main room in the house. She had planned to speak with Peter about these tapes' whereabouts...
     
  25. Gizmondi

    Gizmondi New Member

    Location:
    Winchester, MA
    This could be Peter's sense of humor being lost on the interviewer. Peter's "attic tapes" being compared to Dylan's "basement tapes" made with The Band in 1967-1968.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine