Doris Troy | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | 11 September 1970 |
Recorded | September 1969–spring 1970 |
Studio | Trident and Olympic Sound, London |
Genre | Rock, soul, gospel |
Length | 41:38 |
Label | Apple |
Producer | Doris Troy, George Harrison |
Singles from Doris Troy | |
|
Doris Troy is an album released in 1970 on the Beatles' Apple Records label by American soul singer Doris Troy. It features songs written by Troy and a number of the participants on the sessions, including George Harrison, Stephen Stills, Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr. Through the extended period of recording, the album became an all-star collaborative effort, typical of many Apple projects during 1968–70, although it was Troy's only album on the Beatles' label. Other guest musicians included Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton and members of the Delaney & Bonnie Friends band. Like the Harrison-produced single "Ain't That Cute", Doris Troy failed to chart in Britain or America on release.
The album was reissued in 1992 and 2010 with bonus tracks such as Troy's version of the Beatles' hit song "Get Back".
After having a one-off international hit with her song "Just One Look" in 1963, Doris Troy increasingly looked to Britain for continued success as a solo artist. [1] Her brand of soul music was revered there throughout the 1960s [2] and had produced hits for bands such as the Hollies and the Small Faces. [3] [4] Troy settled in London in 1969 [5] and became a sought-after vocal arranger, [1] most notably contributing the gospel-inflected chorus to the Rolling Stones' song "You Can't Always Get What You Want". [6] [7] In the early summer of 1969, at the invitation of singer Madeline Bell, Troy attended the overdub sessions for Billy Preston's first album on Apple Records, That's the Way God Planned It . [7] [8] On meeting Preston's producer, George Harrison, Troy was surprised to learn that he was a fan of her work, [7] and following the sessions, Harrison offered her a recording contract with Apple. [8] [9]
Having experienced fleeting success on Atlantic Records in America, Troy was more demanding than new label-mates such as Preston, [10] and she in fact signed three contracts with Apple: as an artist, a songwriter, and a producer. [7] [11] She was given her own office at Apple's headquarters, with a piano installed [7] – a provision that encouraged songwriting collaborations with Beatles Harrison and Ringo Starr, and with other visitors to the band's premises at 3 Savile Row. [1]
Some of Troy's material was routined and developed at Harrison's home in Surrey, with input from Preston, [11] whose non-album single "All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give It to You)" Troy co-wrote during this period. [12] Other songs that Troy would record for her album came about later, in the recording studio, [11] a process that Harrison admitted, in a March 1970 BBC Radio 1 interview, [13] was a "good exercise" after the more regimented approach he was used to with the Beatles. [7] Although he would only receive a production credit for "Ain't That Cute", Harrison co-produced all of Troy's Apple sessions. [7] [8] [12] Other songs recorded for Doris Troy include "Hurry", co-written with "Just One Look" collaborator Greg Carroll and originally recorded years before while Troy was signed to Atlantic; "You Tore Me Up Inside", one of two tracks written with New York guitarist Ray Schinnery; and "I've Got to Be Strong", Troy's rewrite of Apple artist Jackie Lomax's "You've Got to Be Strong". [7]
Sources give the starting date of the Doris Troy sessions variously as June, [7] September [11] October [12] and November 1969. [14] Harrison biographer Simon Leng's claim of early autumn ties in with Harrison's commitments to completing That's the Way God Planned It and the Beatles' Abbey Road ; [11] recording for the Troy album continued alongside Harrison's many other projects at the time – including session work on Leon Russell's eponymous solo album and the Plastic Ono Band single "Instant Karma!", producing Preston's Encouraging Words and recordings by Jackie Lomax and Radha Krishna Temple (London), and undertaking a brief tour with Delaney & Bonnie. [15] [16] [17] Through these activities, other associates of Harrison offered to contribute to Troy's album, which, in Leng's words, soon "[mutated] into an all-star affair" [11] with an emphasis on spontaneous collaboration. [1] [7] Peter Frampton recalls turning up at Trident Studios as a 19-year-old for an early session for "Ain't That Cute" in October. [18] In November, just before their European tour, Delaney & Bonnie arrived in London from the United States and immediately participated in Troy's session for the song "So Far", co-written by bassist Klaus Voormann. [19] Stephen Stills was also in London, soon to record his first solo album there, and contributed to a number of tracks, [8] including Troy's R&B rendition of his 1967 Buffalo Springfield composition "Special Care". [7]
Originally intended as a standalone single, [7] "Ain't That Cute", backed with a cover of "Vaya Con Dios", was released in February 1970. [20] It failed to chart in Britain or America, but the A-side was later voted 1970's Soul Record of the Year by readers of Melody Maker . [3] With the Beatles having broken up in April that year, Harrison completed mixing on Troy's album on 7 June, [21] early on in the sessions for his All Things Must Pass triple album. [22]
Doris Troy was released on 11 September 1970 in the United Kingdom (with Apple catalogue number SAPCOR 13) and 9 November in the United States (as Apple ST 3371). [14] The album cover featured a photo taken by Beatles aide Mal Evans, showing Troy seated at a piano. [23] Harrison and Troy's arrangement of the gospel traditional "Jacob's Ladder" was issued as an advance single, [24] with her "fiery" cover of the Beatles' "Get Back" on the B-side. [3]
Like Billy Preston's concurrently released Encouraging Words, Troy's album suffered from a lack of promotion under Allen Klein's control of Apple Records. [8] Despite receiving good reviews from several music critics, [25] [26] Doris Troy failed to make any commercial impact. [1] [27]
The album was issued on CD in July 1992, [28] with five bonus tracks, including the two 1970 B-sides and Troy's version of "All That I've Got". [29] In August that year, David Nathan wrote in Billboard that due to this reissue and Troy's starring role in the popular musical Mama, I Want to Sing! , her musical career was "enjoying a major revival". [30] Troy helped promote the reissue; she referred to the relevance of some of the song lyrics in the 1990s, with regard to racial tensions within America, and recalled of the project's blending of musical genres and cultures: "Doing that album was a reminder that 'soul' didn't have a color." [28]
In October 2010, Doris Troy was reissued in remastered form, as part of another campaign by Apple to re-release its full catalogue. [31] [32] Also included in the Apple Box Set, this CD added an alternative take of "All That I've Got" as a sixth bonus track. [31] In addition, "Ain't That Cute" appeared on an accompanying two-CD compilation, Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records . [33] [34] Both this song [27] and "You Tore Me Up Inside" subsequently appeared on Troy's 2011 career retrospective I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology. [35]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [25] |
Billboard | "Vital Reissue" [36] |
Blues & Soul | (favourable) [37] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [38] |
Mojo | [39] |
Record Collector | [40] |
Tom Hull | B+ ( ) [41] |
In his review of Troy's 1972 album The Rainbow Testament, Joe Viglione of AllMusic describes Doris Troy as her "critically acclaimed album on Apple". [42] Beatles author Bruce Spizer views the singer's Apple output as "first rate" and singles out "Ain't That Cute" as "a great gospel-style R&B rocker". [12] Reviewing the 1992 CD, Billboard described the album as an "unjustly neglected gem" and "[a] 14-carat soul nugget", while also praising its "smokingest track, the stormy 'Ain't That Cute'". [36] Record Collector 's reviewer wrote that Troy's "self-titled riot of gospel, soul and rock epitomised Apple's fusion of musical cultures". [40]
Also writing for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger finds Troy "in great voice" on the album but bemoans the "pedestrian" quality of much of the material, adding: "[T]he heavy rock/soul arrangements often have an over-beefy, early-'70s super-session feel. It works best when Troy puts the brakes on the hard rock to deliver emotional, slower soul tunes." [25] Simon Leng similarly views some of the tracks' "period heaviness" as regrettable while opining that the "power and panache" of Troy's singing "transcends any rock overkill". [11] Leng identifies "So Far" as the "songwriting highlight" and, with regard to George Harrison's career, "Jacob's Ladder" as the "pivotal" track – "an unlikely companion piece to the 'Hare Krishna Mantra' and a pointer to 'My Sweet Lord'". [43]
David Nathan, an authority on soul music, [44] and a friend of Troy's during (and long after) her brief stint on Apple, [45] regards Doris Troy as "certainly her most personal work", and concludes: "In that sense you could say that it is her best album. It is so reflective of who she was at the time." [7] In his preview of Apple Records' 2010 reissues, for Rolling Stone , David Fricke lists Doris Troy among his top five non-Beatle Apple albums, describing it as "Strong but shy of classic". [46] Sharon Davis of Blues & Soul writes that "from the opening track 'Ain't That Cute' … American born Doris' distinctive R&B vocals settled easily into this pot pourie of musical styles", which "crossed mid tempo, high melody, into rock and red-blooded gospel". Davis rates the album "a must for true soul fans". [37]
Less impressed, Ed Ward of The Austin Chronicle views Harrison's collaborations with Troy and Preston as betraying an "uneasy tension between black American gospel and the attempts of some of the Brits to play backup – the Dixie Flyers they weren't". [47] David Cavanagh of Uncut considers Doris Troy to have been "in many ways a typical Apple LP: some raunchy soul, some heavy friends, and nothing too remarkable". [48]
Writing for the reissues review site The Second Disc, Joe Marchese groups Troy's album with Apple releases by Preston and Lomax, under the term "Harrison's Soulful Trio". Marchese describes Doris Troy as "a rollicking party album" and, with reference to the track "You Give Me Joy Joy", he concludes: "joy – sing[ular]ly or doubly – is assuredly what this album will bring to any classic soul fan." [31]
Side one
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Ain't That Cute" (George Harrison, Doris Troy) | 3:48 |
2. | "Special Care" (Stephen Stills) | 2:54 |
3. | "Give Me Back My Dynamite" (Harrison, Troy) | 4:53 |
4. | "You Tore Me Up Inside" (Troy, Ray Schinnery) | 2:27 |
5. | "Games People Play" (Joe South) | 3:06 |
6. | "Gonna Get My Baby Back" (Harrison, Richard Starkey, Troy, Stills) | 2:17 |
7. | "I've Got to Be Strong" (Jackie Lomax, Troy) | 2:33 |
Side two
Tracks 1–13 as per original release with the following bonus tracks:
Tracks 1–18 as per 1992 reissue with the following bonus tracks:
Additional, unspecified contributions from the following musicians:
All Things Must Pass is the third studio album by English rock musician George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes the hit singles "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life", as well as songs such as "Isn't It a Pity" and the title track that had been overlooked for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. The album reflects the influence of Harrison's musical activities with artists such as Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends and Billy Preston during 1968–70, and his growth as an artist beyond his supporting role to former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. All Things Must Pass introduced Harrison's signature slide guitar sound and the spiritual themes present throughout his subsequent solo work. The original vinyl release consisted of two LPs of songs and a third disc of informal jams titled Apple Jam. Several commentators interpret Barry Feinstein's album cover photo, showing Harrison surrounded by four garden gnomes, as a statement on his independence from the Beatles.
Extra Texture (Read All About It) is the sixth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released on 22 September 1975. It was Harrison's final album under his contract with Apple Records and EMI, and the last studio album issued by Apple. The release came nine months after his troubled 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar and the poorly received Dark Horse album.
The discography of English singer-songwriter and former member of the Beatles, George Harrison consists of 12 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, 35 singles, two video albums and four box sets. Harrison's first solo releases – the Wonderwall Music film soundtrack (1968) and Electronic Sound (1969) – were almost entirely instrumental works, issued during the last two years of the Beatles' career. Following the band's break-up in April 1970, Harrison continued to produce recordings by his fellow Apple Records acts, notably former bandmate Ringo Starr. He recorded and collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Gary Wright.
"Photograph" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the lead single from his 1973 album Ringo. Starr co-wrote it with George Harrison, his former bandmate from the Beatles. Although they collaborated on other songs, it is the only one officially credited to the pair. A signature tune for Starr as a solo artist, "Photograph" was an international hit, topping singles charts in the United States, Canada and Australia, and receiving gold disc certification for US sales of 1 million. Music critics have similarly received the song favourably; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic considers it to be "among the very best post-Beatles songs by any of the Fab Four".
Encouraging Words is the fifth studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston, released in September 1970 on Apple Records. It was the last of Preston's two albums for the Beatles' Apple label, after which he moved to A&M Records. The album was co-produced by George Harrison and Preston. Harrison's songs "All Things Must Pass" and "My Sweet Lord" were issued here for the first time, two months before his own recordings appeared on his triple album All Things Must Pass.
"You" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the opening track of his 1975 album Extra Texture . It was also the album's lead single, becoming a top 20 hit in America and reaching number 9 in Canada. A 45-second instrumental portion of the song, titled "A Bit More of You", appears on Extra Texture also, opening side two of the original LP format. Harrison wrote "You" in 1970 as a song for Ronnie Spector, formerly of the Ronettes, and wife of Harrison's All Things Must Pass co-producer Phil Spector. The composition reflects Harrison's admiration for 1960s American soul/R&B, particularly Motown.
"Sour Milk Sea" is a song written by George Harrison and released by English rock singer Jackie Lomax as his debut single on the Beatles' Apple record label in August 1968. Harrison wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India and gave it to Lomax to help launch Apple Records. Lomax's recording is a rarity among non-Beatles songs since it features three members of the band – Harrison, who also produced the track, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Performed in the hard rock style, the song also includes musical contributions from Eric Clapton and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. It was the first of many Harrison productions for artists signed to the Beatles' record label.
"World of Stone" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released in 1975 on Extra Texture , his final album for Apple Records. It was also issued as the B-side of the album's lead single, "You". Harrison wrote the song in 1973 but recorded it two years later, following the unfavourable critical reception afforded his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar and the Dark Horse album. Due to its context on release, commentators view "World of Stone" as a plea from Harrison for tolerance from these detractors. According to some of his biographers, the lyrics reflect Harrison's doubts regarding his devotion to a spiritual path – an apparent crisis of faith that followed his often-unwelcome spiritual pronouncements during the tour, and which permeated his work throughout 1975.
"Early 1970" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.
"I Dig Love" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. A paean to free love, it marks a departure from the more profound, spiritually oriented subject matter of much of that album. Musically, the song reflects Harrison's early experimentation with slide guitar, a technique that he was introduced to while touring with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends in December 1969.
"Māya Love" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1974 album Dark Horse. The song originated as a slide guitar tune, to which Harrison later added lyrics relating to the illusory nature of love – maya being a Sanskrit term for "illusion", or "that which is not". Harrison's biographers consider the lyrical theme to be reflective of his failed marriage to Pattie Boyd, who left him for his friend Eric Clapton shortly before the words were written. Harrison recorded the song at his home, Friar Park, on the eve of his North American tour with Ravi Shankar, which took place in November and December 1974. The recording features Harrison's slide guitar extensively and contributions from four musicians who formed the nucleus of his tour band: Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Willie Weeks and Andy Newmark. Reviewers note the track as an example of its parent album's more diverse musical genres, namely funk and rhythm and blues, compared with the more traditional rock orientation of Harrison's earlier solo work.
"Can't Stop Thinking About You" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1975 on his final album for Apple Records, Extra Texture . A love song in the style of a soul/R&B ballad, it was written by Harrison in December 1973, towards the end of his marriage to Pattie Boyd and while he was having an affair with Maureen Starkey, the wife of his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr. Having first considered the song for his 1974 release Dark Horse, Harrison recorded "Can't Stop Thinking About You" in Los Angeles in May 1975 for his so-called "soul album", Extra Texture. Some authors view its inclusion on the latter release as an obvious attempt by Harrison to commercialise the album, in response to the harsh critical reception afforded Dark Horse and his 1974 North American tour.
"You and Me (Babe)" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released as the final track on his 1973 album Ringo. Starr's fellow ex-Beatle George Harrison wrote the song along with Mal Evans, the Beatles' longtime aide and a personal assistant to Starr during the making of Ringo. The track serves as a farewell from Starr to his audience in the manner of a show-closing finale, by lyrically referring to the completion of the album. During the extended fadeout, Starr delivers a spoken message in which he thanks the musicians and studio personnel who helped with the recording of Ringo – among them, Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and his producer, Richard Perry.
"So Sad" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison that was released on his 1974 album Dark Horse. Harrison originally recorded the song for his previous album, Living in the Material World, before giving it to Alvin Lee, the guitarist and singer with Ten Years After. Lee recorded it – as "So Sad " – with gospel singer Mylon LeFevre for their 1973 album On the Road to Freedom. The latter recording includes contributions from Harrison and marked the first of several collaborations between him and Lee.
"Sing One for the Lord" is a song by American soul musician Billy Preston that was released in September 1970 on his Apple Records album Encouraging Words. It was written by George Harrison and Preston. Although the pair frequently collaborated as recording artists from 1969 onwards, it is their only formal songwriting collaboration. The song is in the gospel style and was written in praise of the two musicians' respective deities.
Is This What You Want? is the debut album by English rock and soul singer Jackie Lomax, released in 1969 on the Beatles' Apple record label. It was produced by George Harrison and features contributions from Harrison's Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The album includes Lomax's debut single for Apple, the Harrison-written "Sour Milk Sea". The US version added "New Day", which was produced by Lomax and released as a non-album single in Britain.
Apple Jam is the third LP included in English rock musician George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It consists of four instrumental jams, three of which were recorded during the album sessions, and "It's Johnny's Birthday", a 30th birthday tribute to John Lennon. The disc was Apple Records' way of placating record buyers for the high retail price of All Things Must Pass, which was one of the first triple albums in rock history. It was given a dedicated design by Tom Wilkes, with a logo depicting a jam jar and apple leaves.
"That's the Way God Planned It" is a song by American musician Billy Preston and the title track to his 1969 album of the same name. Issued as a single, the song was Preston's first release on the Beatles' Apple record label, following his guest role on the band's "Get Back" single. The lyrics to "That's the Way God Planned It" partly reflect the long musical apprenticeship Preston had served since childhood, mentored by artists such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, while musically the track combines the gospel tradition with rock. Produced by George Harrison in London, the recording also features contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker and Doris Troy. Having been edited down to three minutes for its single release, the full version appeared on the album, as "That's the Way God Planned It ".
"All That I've Got (I'm Gonna Give It to You)" is a song by American soul musician Billy Preston that was released in January 1970 as his third single on Apple Records. It was written by Preston and his fellow Apple artist Doris Troy and produced by George Harrison. In the United States, the single missed the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 108. According to Harrison, the song was Preston's musical response to criticism that he had abandoned his black soul roots by embracing rock music.
Brother is the debut album by the American pop-rock duo Lon & Derrek Van Eaton. It was released on the Beatles' Apple record label in September 1972 in the United States and February 1973 in Britain. It includes the single "Sweet Music", produced by George Harrison, and was otherwise produced by Klaus Voormann, a friend and longtime associate of the Beatles. On release, the album received favorable reviews from music critics but failed to achieve commercial success. Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden hailed it as a "staggeringly impressive first album".