The Complete Phil Spector Sessions by The Paris Sisters @ ARTISTdirect.com

The Paris Sisters had been in show business for close to a decade and recorded for a number of labels with little commercial success when Lester Sill signed them to his Gregmark Records imprint in 1961 and put them into the studio with producer Phil Spector. Spector had yet to perfect the Wall of Sound production style that would make him rock's most iconic studio wunderkind, and the subdued but atmospheric approach of their first Gregmark single, "Be My Boy," is hardly representative of his best work, but it gave the Paris Sisters their first solid hit, and provided Spector the opportunity to hone a grandiose sound in the studio. Spector's collaboration with the Paris Sisters lasted for a mere five singles (a projected album collapsed under mysterious circumstances), and all ten tunes they recorded together (plus a stereo mix of "I Love How You Love Me") are collected on The Complete Phil Spector Sessions. In many respects, this material finds both artist and performer in unusual surroundings; rather than emphasizing the sunny harmonies of the Paris Sisters, Spector put Priscilla Paris' breathy vocals up front and moved her sisters Albeth and Sherrell deep into the background, and instead of the grand bombast of his work with the Ronettes or the Crystals, these Paris Sisters sides boasted a simpler and more spacious sound, though the delicate layers of keyboards and strings point towards the ambition of his later masterpieces. The Complete Phil Spector Sessions exists in a middle ground between the pop vocal styles of the '50s and the girl group sounds Spector would champion a few years later, but it certainly captures the virtues of both genres and chronicles a short-lived but inspired collaboration that worked despite its contradictions. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

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Red Tunic Troll

posted on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:51:38

Phil Spector sketches his future

Following his initial success with the Teddy Bears' 1958 "To Know Him is To Love Him," Phil Spector's mentor, Lester Sill, arranged for his protégé to apprentice with the legendary Leiber and Stoller in New York. Spector wrote songs, played guitar on various sessions, began producing, and made the acquaintance of the brilliant songwriters of the Brill Building. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Sill tasked him with producing the Paris Sisters for the newly formed Gregmark label. The San Francisco trio had been performing since they were children, and recording since 1953, but despite contracts with Decca and Imperial, they'd failed to break through. Spector's touch would soon change all that.

After four years without a studio date the group found their act radically reshaped by Spector, with their three part Andrews Sisters styled harmonies given over to the girl-group lead-and-backing vocals style. Priscilla Paris' breathy vocals, Spector's unusually restrained production and drowsy tempos gave many of the group's Gregmark singles a unique sound and emotional resonance. Their first side, Spector's "Be My Boy," merges love, hope and longing into the sort of idealized dream that Brian Wilson would emulate in early ballads with the Beach Boys. The Paris Sisters version completely trounces the overwrought original ("Be My Girl") that Spector had recorded as Ray Peterson's B-side to "Corrina, Corrina."

Even though Spector rebalanced the group's vocals, he refrained from modernizing them with a backbeat. Their second single, Barry Mann's "I Love How You Love Me," retained the dreamy lead vocal and languid tempo of the debut, but added a violin that gives the recording an extra voice. Topping out at #5, the Paris Sisters finally had a bona fide hit. The B-side (which was originally considered as the A-side), "All Through the Night," picks up the tempo and thickens the arrangement into a prototype of the Wall of Sound. It's catchy, and might have been a minor hit had it not been the flip of something as ephemerally perfect as "I Love How You Love Me."

Spector picked up additional material from Goffin & King ("He Knows I Love Him Too Much"), Doc Pomus ("What Am I To Do?") and another from Mann ("Let Me Be the One"), and though they all capture the fragile magic of Priscilla Paris' voice, none climbed back to the upper reaches of the charts. The group's fifth and final single for Gregmark paired Spector's "Yes – I Love You" with the group's own "Once Upon a While Ago," with neither side charting. Spector began producing a Paris Sisters album, but financial arguments between he and label owner Sill led to the tapes being "accidentally" erased.

Spector would perfect his wall of sound and move on to his greatest fame with the Crystals, Ronettes and others. The Paris Sisters made stops at MGM, Mercury and Reprise where they released singles and an album. Priscilla Paris cut a solo album, but the commercial magic of "I Love How You Love Me" was never recaptured. This collection includes all five of their Gregmark singles, both A- and B-sides, and a stereo remix of "I Love How You Love Me." The latter's an interesting curiosity (if just to realize that the session wasn't physically recorded single-track mono), but, unsurprisingly, it doesn't have nearly the overwhelming presence or balance of Spector's original single.

This is a fascinating early chapter in both the Phil Spector story and the '60s evolution of the girl-group. The only negative is the short 26'48 playing time, of which 2'12 is the stereo remix. But that's what Spector recorded with the group for Gregmark, so that's what you get. Now if someone could only find and restore the "mistakenly" erased album tapes! 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

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