Samantha Jones - Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine: The United Artists Recordings (2000) {Rec. 1964-1968}
Pop/Rock, Vocal, British Invasion | EAC Rip | FLAC, Tracks+CUE+LOG+Scans (JPEG) | 54:56 | 316,01 Mb
Label: RPM Records (UK) | Cat.# RPM 199 | Released: 2000-06-13 (Rec. 1964-1968)
Pop/Rock, Vocal, British Invasion | EAC Rip | FLAC, Tracks+CUE+LOG+Scans (JPEG) | 54:56 | 316,01 Mb
Label: RPM Records (UK) | Cat.# RPM 199 | Released: 2000-06-13 (Rec. 1964-1968)
This has 20 tracks from her 1964-68 stint with United Artists, concentrating on the ten or so singles she made during that era, with a few LP cuts, a previously unreleased 1964 version of "As Long As You're Happy" (more famous as done by Sandie Shaw), and a rare Ford Cars promotional single. Jones was an okay but not great singer. These sides, some of them anyway, are most noteworthy for the inventive pop/rock-soul-orchestral production, particularly those by Charles Blackwell, who also handled Francoise Hardy and P.J. Proby during the era. Her 1964 debut single, "It's All Because of You," is stunning and strange for the time with its ghostly echoing percussive rattles, ominous melody, and brilliant orchestration; it's like Cilla Black's "You're My World" with more ambition. Francoise Hardy fans should note that the 1965 cuts "Don't Come Any Closer" and "Just Call and I'll Be There" are the English originals of tunes subsequently covered by Hardy in French (as "Non Ce N'est Pas Un Reve," and "Le Temps Des Souvenirs" respectively).