THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,378) Red Dirt — “Memories”
A timeless song and so ahead of its time, this jewel really gets under your skin. “Memories I have inside me driving me insane” Jim Carroll Band anybody?
Ian Shirley writes that from “a lost classic” LP, the song was “probably considered as [a] song[] fit for release as [a] single[] as [it has] a compelling commercial edge and benefit[s] from more extensive arrangements which the band augmented by what sounds like a mellotron and an organ that gives their powerful music more texture and depth”. (Record Collector, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/06/red-dirt-red-dirt-1970-uk-fantastic.html?m=1)
Shirley gives us some background:
[Red Dirt was a] blues band formed in East Yorkshire around 1968 comprised of Dave Richardson (vocals), Steve Howden (guitar), Kenny Giles (bass) and Steve Jackson (drums) who built up an impressive live reputation in clubs and venues in the North of England. They were subsequently signed to Morgan Bluetown, When released in 1970, on the Fontana label, their self-titled debut album sunk without trace and legend – or rumour – has it sold something like 100 copies. . . . [T]he band came together after drummer Steve Jackson approached Howden in a pub . . . . Howden was keen and Jackson’s friends Kenny Giles and Dave Richardson were drafted in on bass guitar and lead vocals. Richardson had worked with future Hull legend Mick Ronson as well as Michael Chapman. The band attracted the interest of Morgan Bluetown who signed them[, and it was] put into the studio with producer Geoff Gill. “We recorded the album in Morgan studios London,” recalls Howden . . . . “They booked us in from midnight onwards, to six in the morning and the album didn’t take that long, around twelve hours I think. . . . It was all very rushed and was only ever released in England”.
http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/06/red-dirt-red-dirt-1970-uk-fantastic.html?m=1
JazzRockSoul adds that:
They recorded a second Red Dirt album and morphed into Snake Eye for the concept album The Journey, both vaulted until the 2010s. . . . They initially called their band Wellington Boot before settling on Red Dirt. After 18 months on the local pub and club circuit, they booked a two-night graveyard session at Morgan Studios in North London. . . . Richardson wrote seven of the 12 tracks, including “Memories[.]”. . . Red Dirt was engineered by Mike Bobak [see #839, 1,053], then of the studio group Motherlight. Also in 1970, Howden partook in Fickle Pickle [see #586], a Gill-produced music-hall project fronted by Cliff Wade and arranged by (ex-Orange Bicycle) keyboardist Wil Malone [see #839, 1,053], also of Motherlight.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 900 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 