THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,713) The Riot Squad — “I Wanna Talk About My Baby”
Here is “a superb piece of smooth blue-eyed soul, closer to Georgie Fame [see #103, 169, 634, 695, 721, 1,044] than to the Animals”. (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-riot-squad-mn0001344667#biography) Closer to Georgie Fame? This is “the most accurate imitation of mid-’60s Georgie Fame ever done” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/go-go-train-doin-the-mod%21-vol-1-mw0000721274), “a picture perfect reproduction of Georgie Fame’s then current sound – almost to the point of plagiarism. Still, a great track”. (So Many Records, So Little Time, http://www.somanyrecordssolittletime.com/?p=236) Wilthomer raves that it is “a mellow but groovy little track with touches of jazzy sax, a groovy little organ solo and vocals obviously influenced by Georgie Fame’s Mose Allison meets King Pleasure vocal style. Atmospheric and cool as hell, this to me exemplifies British 60’s “mod jazz”. (https://anorakthing.blogspot.com/2011/02/riot-squad.html)
Ron Ryan, the singer, tells us that:
I was the bloke who started [the Riot Squad] and discovered a young unknown drummer ‘Mitch Mitchell’ (who is drumming on this). I did not want to record [the song], but our Manager (Larry Page) insisted that we did, so for a laugh I borrowed a friend of mine’s voice (Georgie Fame) and sung it like he would have done it. . . .
I know Georgie, and when I recorded the song I hated it, still do, so I ‘borrowed’ Georgie’s voice to record it!! When I saw him next I told him what I did, he did not believe me, but a few days later he heard it on the radio and told me that he thought it was him singing, and we had a big laugh about it.”
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Bruce Eder has told us the story of the Riot Squad Mark II (see #1,461). Here is his telling of the story of the band Mark I:
Their story began in 1964 when producer Larry Page decided to put together a group whose sound would be a more pop-focused brand of British Invasion-style rock from that of his one big success of the time, the Kinks. The resulting lineup included Graham Bonney (aka Graham Bradley) (guitar/vocals), Ron Ryan (guitar/vocals), Mark Stevens (organ), Mike Martin (bass), Bob Evans (saxophone), and John Mitchell (later better known as Mitch Mitchell (drums). They were all young, from 17 to 22, but had surprisingly extensive experience as session musicians, and each was proficient on more than one instrument . . . . Page was going to call them simply “Riot,” but Evans proposed and he accepted the alternative of Riot Squad. The irony was that once he had them assembled and they began working together, they plunged in exactly the opposite direction from what Page had intended — the sextet discovered that they shared a natural affinity for and ability with the bluesier, more R&B-inflected side of British rock & roll. They roared into 1965 with a debut single, “Anytime” b/w “Jump,” a double-sided soul shouter that got great reviews . . . . A follow-up single eight weeks later, “I Wanna Talk About My Baby” b/w “Gonna Make You Mine,” got similar high praise and both earned considerable airplay without actually selling a lot of copies . . . . But by then the group was starting to build a reputation as a live act and their shows were pulling serious crowds. Things started to go wrong just as they were looking up — the band’s hopes were hinged on a tour with the Kinks and the Yardbirds, but when the Kinks had to pull out, owing to an injury to Ray Davies, everything else fell apart, as the Yardbirds’ commitment became shaky as well. . . . A third single, “Nevertheless” b/w “Not a Great Talker,” was also well reviewed and seemed to portend great possibilities. But amid these efforts to break through in the year 1965, there were already internal stresses threatening the group — Martin was the first to exit, followed by Ryan, who’d sung lead on the first two singles; and then Bonney, who’d sung lead on “Nevertheless,” decided to opt out in favor of a solo career. That seemed to mark the end for the group as a coherent, cohesive unit, and before that point even Larry Page had moved on to other projects and opportunities. Mitch Mitchell jumped to Gerogie Fame’s band the Blue Flames, and that seemed to be all for the band. But then saxman Bob Evans, recognizing that the group had a stage reputation and also that those positive reviews of the first records comprised something to build on, however small, decided to try and salvage something from the previous year of work. He assembled what was essentially the Riot Squad (Mark II) by recruiting a promising London-based outfit called the Chevrons.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-riot-squad-mn0001344667#biography
For those wanting to keep the Riot going, see the super-exhaustive: https://brunoceriotti.weebly.com/the-riot-squad.html.
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