P.J. PROBY/I AM P.J. PROBY LBY 1235 (-64) UK MONO

American singer, songwriter and actor - born James Marcus Smith in Houston 1938. After releasing a few unsuccessful 45:s in US early sixties he moved to Britain and got a breakthrough there, managing five top ten singles and a couple of big-selling EP:s 1964-65. But his controversial live show, including him splitting his tight pants on stage, scandalized the British press and public and following media bans lowered the sales considerably. However the English reacted, pants-split wasn't a problem in Scandinavia where he stayed on the lists and toured through the sixties and in to the seventies. While there he also dated the outrageous Swedish female vocalist Lena Junoff (thought I'd mention that since I've posted her story earlier - check Johnny Bode's album "Bordellmammas Dotter"). It's fun to think this debute LP was released at the same time as the British invasion, where UK artists flooded US with the UK version of American pop, rock and blues. This guy went the opposite direction, recorded an album in contemporary American pop/rock style for the English market and it became quite successful, managing top 20 and some on the list. A cover album blending rock'n'roll with slow movers - from James Brown to Doris Day - mixing peeled-off with orchestrated. Even if backing and arrangements are typical for its time and not very exciting, it's the vocals that spice things up and make it raise above average. Unlike most other anglo-saxon male pop singers at the time his voice is far from fastidious, instead unbridled in a good way showing a wide range - from falsetto to sincerely dark - and big heart on his sleeve. He's working hard to get it out which makes it personal. So even if the genre as such may be considered dated today there's enough feeling revealed to make it worth while. Favorite tracks "Whatever Will Be Will Be" (Que Sera Sera), "I'll Go Crazy" and "Just Call And I'll Be There". This release was UK only and never reissued, also on reel-to-reel (TA-LBY 1235). The US 1965 version "Somewhere" with alternate sleeve design (Liberty LRP 3406/LST 7406) had six cuts in common and was reissued all over the world - including England (Sunset SLS 50404) - in the seventies and eighties on vinyl. 1994 EU CD on C-Five Records (C5HCD 605) coupled this with his second eponymous album. Premiere UK had label as shown here with "Recording First Published 1964" and laminated flip-back cover with "rice-paper" Emitex inner. (MÖRS*) (XLÄ*)