"Talk Talk" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Music Machine | ||||
from the album (Turn On) The Music Machine | ||||
B-side | "Come on In" | |||
Released | November 1966 | |||
Recorded | August 1966 | |||
Studio | RCA, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 1:56 | |||
Label | Original Sound | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sean Bonniwell | |||
Producer(s) | Brian Ross | |||
The Music Machine singles chronology | ||||
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"Talk Talk" is the debut single of American garage rock band the Music Machine. It was released in November 1966, and produced the band's only Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 . [5] The song was included on their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine .
The Music Machine was practicing the song before any interest from record producers. Sean Bonniwell strived to perfect the sound he had been experimenting with in preparation for a record deal. The band regularly played at an American Legion bowling alley in Los Angeles. Bonniwell was originally involved in the folk rock scene, but he wanted to create a harder sound or as he stated "something completely unique". [6] To create his designed sound, Bonniwell had the band tune their instruments from the typical E to Eb, creating a heavy effect (a technique later used by heavy metal bands, e.g., Metallica). Bassist, Keith Olsen, utilized a fuzz box to produce the song's signature bassline, which was backed by Mark Landon's wiry guitar playing. This new way of playing caught the attention of record producer Brian Ross, who brought them into studios to record a single. [7]
Recording in RCA Recording Studios took only three hours at the expense of US$150. The song took two takes and the planned A-side, "Come on In", in only one. "Come on In" was later replaced by "Talk Talk" when record producers deemed it suitable for an A-side release. The "Talk Talk" track clocked at one minute and 56 seconds, yet still compiled four distinctive rhythm changes. [8] Engineer, Paul Buff, innovated the recording by using a ten-track recording machine when most recording artists only had a four-track. Keyboardist, Doug Rhodes, played the farfisa organ, which had its sound sliced and separated numerous times. The Music Machine was soon signed to the Original Sound label to release the single. "Talk Talk" became a hit upon its release when it eventually charted at number 15 on the national charts, remaining on the charts for 12 weeks, and also reached top ten in several L.A. charts. A.M. Radio constantly played the song due to its short track length, giving it added exposure. While touring, the song became a favorite among the band's fans, so the composition was regularly extended. The track was subsequently released on December 31, 1966 as the opening to the group's debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine. [6] [9]
"Talk Talk" has been circulated through several albums, compilations, and reissues since its initial release. [10]
Aside from the initial chart success of the song, "Talk Talk" is still praised as a garage rock classic. Richie Unterberger praised Bonniwell's composition for its experimentation and raw sound. Unterberger described the song as "the most radical single to be heard on Top 40 radio in late 1966. Against a succession of grinding two-note fuzz riffs and key changes that rose and rose until it hit the ceiling, Bonniwell sprewed and growled a rally cry to social alienation with a mixture of sarcasm, self-pity, and paranoia". [8]
David Fricke of Rolling Stone was equally satisfied with the band's song. He declared the band "created a breathlessly compact garage rock: hog-snort guitar distortion, machine gun drumming and paranoid growling despair, shaved and hardened by geometric precision. And although he was in his mid-twenties, Bonniwell nailed in his lyrics the hapless rage of white high school males with similar rigor". [11]
Chart (1966) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Top 100 [12] | 4 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 15 |
"Talk Talk" | ||||
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Single by Alice Cooper | ||||
from the album Flush the Fashion | ||||
B-side | "Dance Yourself to Death" | |||
Released | September 1980 [14] | |||
Recorded | 1979–1980 | |||
Studio | Cherokee (Hollywood) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:08 | |||
Label | Warner Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sean Bonniwell | |||
Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker | |||
Alice Cooper singles chronology | ||||
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In 1980, "Talk Talk" was covered by American rock musician Alice Cooper in new wave and heavy metal form. It was released as the second single from his fifth solo studio album Flush the Fashion , but failed to chart. [17]
Classic Rock writer Peter Thomas Webb and Adam Ranger praised the cover as "a bristling nugget of an opener".
Andy Herrin, also of Classic Rock was less impressed, and called it his least favorite song on the album. He claimed it's "just not direct enough for me." [15]
Credits are adapted from the Flush the Fashion liner notes. [18]
Musicians
Garage rock is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional.
The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." Their most successful material was by songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, though the group also penned their own songs. Incorporating psychedelia and elements of embryonic electronic rock, the band's sound was marked by innovative recording techniques with fuzz-toned guitars and oscillating sound effects. In addition, guitarist Ken Williams' and singer James Lowe's concept of "free-form garage music" provided the band with a richer sonic palette and exploratory lyrical structure than many of their contemporaries.
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Released in the United Kingdom in June 1968 by Track Records and in the United States in September 1968 through Atlantic, the album was an international success, propelled by the transatlantic hit single "Fire". It was the only album released during the Crazy World's original incarnation.
The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and the Yardbirds took the Chicago blues and gave it an English interpretation. We've taken the English version of the Blues and re-added a Chicago touch," to which rock critic Richie Unterberger commented: "The Shadows of Knight's self-description was fairly accurate."
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books.
The Chocolate Watchband is an American garage rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Altos, California. The band went through several lineup changes during its existence. Combining psychedelic and garage rock components, their sound was marked by David Aguilar's lead vocals, songwriting, as well as proto-punk musical arrangements. The band's rebellious musical posture made them one of the harder-edged groups of the period with many critics labeling them as America's answer to the Rolling Stones.
The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.
Thomas Harvey "Sean" Bonniwell was an American singer-songwriter/guitarist, who was known as the creative force behind the 1960s garage rock band, The Music Machine.
Flush the Fashion is the fifth solo studio album by American singer Alice Cooper, released on April 28, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles with producer Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen and the Cars. Musically, the album was a drastic change of style for Cooper, leaning towards a new wave influence. The lead single "Clones " peaked at No. 40 on the U.S. Billboard Top 40. Clocking in at 28 minutes, Flush the Fashion has the shortest running time of any of Cooper's albums.
Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Byrds, released on June 21, 1965, by Columbia Records. The album is characterized by the Byrds' signature sound of Jim McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and the band's complex harmony singing. The material on the album mostly consists of cover versions of folk songs, primarily composed by Bob Dylan, and originals written or co-written by singer Gene Clark. Along with the Dylan-penned single of the same name, Mr. Tambourine Man established the band as an internationally successful act and is widely regarded by critics as representing the first effective American challenge to the chart dominance of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands during the mid-1960s.
"No Matter What" is a song originally recorded by Badfinger for their album No Dice in 1970, written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by Mal Evans.
The Electric Prunes, sometimes referred to as I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), is the 1967 debut album by the American garage rock band, the Electric Prunes, released on Reprise Records. The first track, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", was a hit and became the band's signature tune. The album also contains another notable psychedelic rock composition, "Get Me to the World on Time". The album was listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Radio One is a live album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was released posthumously in November 1988 by Rykodisc and compiles tracks recorded between February and December 1967 for broadcasts by BBC Radio. The album peaked at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart while it charted at number 119 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. After Hendrix's family gained control of his legacy, Radio One was supplanted by the more comprehensive BBC Sessions in 1998.
The Other Half was an American psychedelic garage rock band, based in San Francisco, and active in the mid-to-late 1960s. The band gained interest after one of the Nuggets compilations in the 1980s included their single, "Mr. Pharmacist".
"You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators, written by Roky Erickson, and released as the group's debut single on Contact Records in 1966. It was reissued nationally on International Artists, in May 1966. Musically inspired by traditional jug band and R&B music, combined with the group's own experimentation, "You're Gonna Miss Me" with its Stacy Sutherland and Tommy Hall-penned B-side "Tried to Hide" was influential in developing psychedelic rock and garage rock, and was one of the earlier rock compositions to use the electric jug. Accordingly, critics often cite "You're Gonna Miss Me" as a bona fide garage rock song and a classic of the counterculture era.
Close is a solo album by American rock musician Sean Bonniwell, credited under the moniker T. S. Bonniwell, who had been the creative force behind the innovative garage rock band The Music Machine. The album was released on August 4, 1969, by Capitol Records. It marked a total departure from Bonniwell's rebellious protopunk period with The Music Machine, to a soft rock crooning style. In addition, the album blended folk rock and orchestrated influences, and was inspired by Bonniwell's stints in the pre-Music Machine groups, the Wayfarers and the Ragamuffins, along with his desire to be more poetically inclined. The song,"Where Am I to Go", was released as a single ahead of the album, but failed to chart. Like its attendant single, Close was also somewhat commercially unsuccessful, and was the last recording by Bonniwell for the next 20 years.
"The People in Me" is a song by the American garage rock band the Music Machine, written by Sean Bonniwell, and first released as a track on their debut studio album (Turn On) The Music Machine in December 1966 on Original Sound Records.
Ignition is a compilation album by the American garage rock band, The Music Machine, and was released on June 27, 2000 on Sundazed Records. It includes an assortment of rare singles, outtakes, and previously unreleased material spanning from when the group went under the moniker, the Raggamuffins, in 1965, to their disbandment in 1969. The Raggamuffins were a folk rock trio led by Sean Bonniwell, and the prototype group that developed an experimental hard-edge sound, before recruiting two additional members and becoming the Music Machine. By 1969, all the original members, except Bonniwell, departed the group, which was then known as the Bonniwell Music Machine. Though the band would no longer produce hits, such as "Talk Talk" and "The People In Me", it was Bonniwell's most ambitious recording period as he incorporated elements of psychedelia and pop rock into the group's music.
The Bonniwell Music Machine is the second and final album by the American garage rock band The Music Machine, recorded under the renamed moniker The Bonniwell Music Machine, and released on Warner Bros. Records on February 10, 1968. As with their debut LP, the album again saw the band blending garage and psychedelic rock influences, albeit with a greater emphasis on psychedelia than on their previous album release. Prior to completing its recording, all of the group's original members, except for its creative force, Sean Bonniwell, departed, though they would still appear on some of the album's tracks.
(Turn On) The Music Machine is the debut studio album by the American garage rock band The Music Machine, released on Original Sound Records on December 31, 1966. It arrived just months after the group's hit single, "Talk Talk", propelled to number 15 on the national charts. Although the album was hastily recorded to capitalize on the Music Machine's popularity, (Turn On) The Music Machine became a moderate hit on the Billboard Top LPs chart, and is hailed today as a classic garage rock album. Another single, "The People in Me" was also released in support of the album.
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