Pardon me if this has been discussed before but I just received and gave a listen to the John Phillips/Glimmer Twins new release of the ORIGINAL 10 track mix down tape from Jan 78 recently discovered. At first I thought how much different could it be from "Pay Pack and Follow" from a few years back but was I wrong! Besides the xtra tracks which really isnt the big selling point here,its like listening to a different album. With the basic band including Mick Taylor,Keith and Ronnie on bass so much for the notion that this lineup wouldnt work live with MT and Ron trading off bass duties(although I dont believe Taylors health would allow a world tour!) Now you can hear Taylors beautiful fills and slide work paired with Rons distinctive lead style bass patterns! Keiths harmony vocals on "Oh Virginia" is as good as ANY harmonizing hes done with Mick over the years. And of course Micks vocals on "She'sJust 14" knocks me out(we all know the story behind THAT one). Get This IMMEDIATELY even if you have the previous release,you will not regret it! Oh,yeah Keith plays a pretty mean rythm guitar too.

what exactly is the name of the release, please and thank you?
a link to it on some vendor's site would be great (assuming you're talking about an official release, that is!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-10-19 17:11 by with sssoul.

Sure with sssoul. Its called"Pussycat" artist John Phillips. a friend sent me mine-theres plenty of vendors on AMAZON I believe. Phoenix Productions(which I believe released the 2001 version). Varese Sarabande Records. Theres two site given on the back of the cd. www.VareseVintage.com amd also www.papajohnphillips.com but it is definately a official release.

thanks - i checked amazon for "Papa John's Pussycat" and came up with nothing,
then i tried just "Pussycat" and came up with about six miles of irrelevant stuff.
here's the Phillips site "news" link: [papajohnphillips.com]
and here it is on the label's site: [www.varesesarabande.com]

eureka - here it is on amazon.co.uk after all: [www.amazon.co.uk]
and on the US amazon: [www.amazon.com]

glad you found it! I highly recommend it.

I think the cover shows him in front of one touristy joint on Seventh Avenue near Times Square in NYC.
I could be mistaken, don't know if it's even still there,...
Lots of sex places in NYC closed down.

On a Varese site (that I can't find now) it listed the next John Phillips release to be highlights from Space, his off-Broadway Show with Andy Warhol that bombed in 1975.

>On a Varese site (that I can't find now) it listed the next John Phillips release to be highlights from Space, his off-Broadway Show with Andy Warhol that bombed in 1975.


Very interesting, as it's a largely-unknown work. The title of the show was "Man On The Moon" and it didn't make it into '75 -- it closed after 5 nights in Dec. '74 (perhaps the Varese site got it wrong?). It was the end of Warhol's long working relationship w/Paul Morrissey. Poster here:

[www.warholstars.org]

Yeah, I guess they did, they had it as 1975. Maybe John recorded some tracks that year, I'm not sure. I've read his book (the greatest rock autobiography I've ever read) but don't remember any recording dates in 1975 besides those with Michelle Phillips.

Are that pictures of Mick and Keith in the background on the cover (under "LIVE" and "NITE!") ?

Quote
Koen
Are that pictures of Mick and Keith in the background on the cover (under "LIVE" and "NITE!") ?

Looks to be. But who's the guy in the middle??? The drummer....

JumpingKentFlash

Its Papa John.

so i like pay, pack & follow just fine....still don't quite understand what's different here...different mixes? what's the compelling reason to get this if i already have the first one?

Quote
T&A
so i like pay, pack & follow just fine....still don't quite understand what's different here...different mixes? what's the compelling reason to get this if i already have the first one?

From allmusic.com:

Review by Travis Drageset & Al Campbell
The Mamas & the Papas' founding member, John Phillips, released his second solo effort 20 years after the fact. The result of a series of recording sessions that span the years 1976-1977 was begun while Phillips was in England scoring the soundtrack for the David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Produced by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, the set is a mixed bag of space pop, blues, and psychedelic ditties. Richard's always engaging guitar work can be heard on every tune while Jagger sings backup on four of the nine tracks. Also present are the Stones' Mick Taylor and Ron Wood. So it's not surprising that the set has a distinct '70s-era Rolling Stones flavor. Phillips' gift for catchy, melodic pop is in evidence, though, particularly on the jaded "Sunset Boulevard" and the starry-eyed "Wilderness of Love." These tracks first came to light in 2001 as Pay Pack & Follow, which Phillips had remixed before he passed away earlier that year. Seven years later, in 2008, Varese Sarabande reissued this date as Pussycat, using the masters from the 1978 mixes which were rediscovered in 2003. Along with the original intended running order of the LP, five previously unreleased bonus outtakes from The Man Who Fell to Earth are included.

thanks. so the mixes are different...but so much better and compelling to buy again? that's what i don't understand. they sounded fine on pay, pack and follow....i don't recall anyone complaining....i certainly didn't.

They're not just remixed, in some cases the songs have overdubs that were not included on the earlier release or bootleg copies. Other songs have never surfaced before. Whether or not you need to buy it depends on how much you like John Phillips it is still very much his album despite the Stones connection. In the US, you can preview every track on iTunes. "Oh, Virginia" is very different with Keith very much to the fore. It sounds a bit rockier and less countrified than before. Not better or worse, just different.

thanks, RD. i will be sure to find a used copy or cutout bin one for $1 or so in the near future.... ;-)

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>This is the long-lost album that John Phillips recorded as the first solo artist signed to Rolling Stones Records in 1976.


? Wasn't Bill Wyman a solo artist? How about Howlin' Wolf?

Bill Wyman was in fact a Rolling Stone. They did sign solo artist Peter Tosh and, in 1980, Jim Carroll - don't recall the story, but didn't Carroll move over to Atco when E McGrath was no longer running RS records?
Just got "Pussycat" and its MUCH better - more organic and "Stonesier" than Pay Pack & Follow" (despite, alas, the classic KR/Phillips foto on the back of the latter).
Outtake material includes outtakes from Phillips' sounddtrack to "Man Who Fell To Earth" (which featured Mick Taylor guitar), but havent got to that stuff yet.

Wasnt the first "non Stones" act to be signed and released on RSR Kracker? Their first and only release "Kracker Brand" in 1973 bombed immediately!

Was Kracker actually released? I recall articles in which that band was said to be a RS signing, but never saw any lp and I was buying anything RS related by the mid 70s. The Howlin Wolf London set I understand was issued on RS in some EU countries (?) but in the US it was on Chess.

According to "The Rolling Stones Album" by Geoffrey Giulano(1993 Viking Penguin) pp114 which shows the complete album and from which I took the info it was but I guess it really depends on the accuracy of the book. Thats the only info I have.

I found a listing for this promo copy (out of stock) w/RS Records catalog #:

[eil.com]

KRACKER Kracker Brand (Rare 1973 German Rolling Stones label 10-track promotional vinyl LP produced by Jimmy Miller and featuring Bobby Keyes, custom printed white title labels, full colour gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows negligible wear and the vinyl is MINT with pristine labels free from spindle wear - a fabulous copy! COC49102).

Tracklisting / Additional Info:

1. For A Little Love
2. I'm So Glad I Found You
3. Memories
4. Wake Up, People
5. Mary Cool
6. A Song For Polly
7. Travel Agent
8. I Got To Move On
9. But Not For Me
10. Funky, Funky Living


Availability: Currently Unavailable - You can request the next copy of this item
Year of Release: 1973

*BUT* on ebay I found this copy, which is for sale:

[cgi.ebay.com]

I have the Kracker album some where. Never looked at the labels to see if it was a promo or shop release.