Christopher Milk (1971)

UNITED ARTISTS SP-66

SIDE 1:

1) HEY, HEAVYWEIGHT! (STEREO) (R. Oswald/J. Mendelsohn) (4:26)

RALPH OSWALD: Piano, xylophone, vocal; DONNIE ALVARADO: Guitar, vocal; JOHN MENDELSOHN: Lead vocal;

KIRK HENRY: Bass, vocal; TRES FELTMAN: Drums

Produced by JOHN MENDELSOHN

2) THERE'S A BROKEN HEART FOR EVERY ROCK AND ROLL STAR ON LAUREL CANYON BOULEVARD (R. Oswald/J.Mendelsohn) (2:36)

RALPH OSWALD: Electric guitar, saxophone, piano, lead vocal; KIRK HENRY: Bass, vocal; DONNIE ALVARADO: Acoustic guitar;

JOHN MENDELSOHN: Snare drum, vocal; TRES FELTMAN: Drums

Produced by JOHN GUESS

SIDE 2:

1) BASKET CASE (R. Oswald/J. Mendelsohn) (3:44)

RALPH OSWALD: Acoustic guitar, second lead vocal, harmonica; KIRK HENRY: Bass, vocal;

JOHN MENDELSOHN: Lead vocal, drums; STEPHEN FERGUSON: Piano

Produced by JOHN MENDELSOHN

2) TO YOU HE'S JUST A COP BUT TO ME HE'S MR. RIGHT [also listed as (TO YOU HE'S) JUST A COP] (J. Mendelsohn) (3:16)

RALPH OSWALD: Guitar, banjo, vocal; KIRK HENRY: Bass, vocal; DONNIE ALVARADO: Guitar (solo), vocal;

JOHN MENDELSOHN: Lead vocal; TRES FELTMAN: Drums

Produced by JOHN GUESS

3) HEY, HEAVYWEIGHT! (MONO) (R. Oswald/J. Mendelsohn) (3:00)

Affectionately referred to as "THE U.A. E.P.", this is where the recorded career of Christopher Milk properly begins. Co-produced by JOHN MENDELSOHN and JOHN GUESS (who would apparently go on to a fruitful producing/mixing career in the field of country music), there are many who consider this their finest moment. The packaging was beyond deluxe, featuring a gatefold sleeve (featuring fine photography from NORMAN SEEFF), a mini-poster (replete with glowing words of praise from RICHARD CROMELIN and BEN EDMONDS), and an inner sleeve featuring photos and factoids on the then-current version of the band. Ever since the birth of Christopher Milk in the dorms of UCLA at least two years prior, there were personnel changes aplenty. In fact, even by the time that this E.P. was released, drummer TRES FELTMAN was being replaced (by GEORGE DRAGOTTA, pictured above and in the accompanying photo) and MR. TWISTER was unceremoniously being shown the door. DONNIE ALVARADO would also come to part ways with the band before their next recorded effort, "Some People Will Drink Anything".

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Some People Will Drink Anything (1972)

WARNER BROS./REPRISE MS 2111

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SIDE 1:

1) TIGER (Ralph Oswald) (4:22)

2) LOCOMOTION (Gerry Goffin - Carole King) (2:28)

3) POOR BABY (John Mendelsohn) (3:39)

4) THE BABYSHOES BITTERSUITE: (Total Time - 6:10)

                                                                                    a. SAD SONGS THAT SHE INSPIRED (John Mendelsohn) (1:03)

                                                                                    b. DIMINISHED (John Mendelsohn) (1:23)

                                                                                    c. KIND LADY (Ralph Oswald- John Mendelsohn) (1:00)

                                                                                    d. YOUR RIGHTEOUS MAN (Ralph Oswald - John Mendelsohn) (2:44)

SIDE 2:

1) SMART ALEX (Ralph Oswald - John Mendelsohn) (3:03)

2) A SECOND HAND VIOLA (Ralph Oswald - John Mendelsohn) (3:28)

3) THE TOUGH KIDS (Ralph Oswald - John Mendelsohn) (2:15)

4) IN SEARCH OF R. CRUMB (Ralph Oswald - John Mendelsohn) (6:02)

JOHN MENDELSOHN: acrobatrix and keyboards; vocals

RALPH OSWALD: guitar, keyboards, woodwinds; vocals

KIRK HENRY: bass; vocals

GEORGE DRAGOTTA: drums

Produced by CHRIS THOMAS

As much as was promised by the Christopher Milk E.P. before it, the L.P. did not fail to honor those promises. "Some People Will Drink Anything" was a multi-faceted musical tour-de-force/farce that was, perhaps, too remarkable to be appreciated by the general public at the time of its release. However, many musicians of the era surely took notes, not the least of which was Grand Funk Railroad (and/or their producer at the time, Todd Rundgren), whose hitbound take on "The Locomotion" most assuredly copped Christopher Milk's stencil. It's perhaps befitting that our lads would pose "a la Fab Four" (see left), inasmuch as this was one of the first production duties that Chris Thomas (one of the Beatles' most reliable Abbey Road engineers) actively pursued. John recalls: "Discerning early on that I didn't give him much to work with, Chris resigned himself to vocals that would forever after embarrass me, and spent nights on end getting Surly Ralph to overdub guitar and keyboard parts while The Kiddo and I killed time playing pinball at a prole bar around the corner..." Nonetheless, you can hardly argue with the results, especially when one regards the very fine musical touches that Mr. Oswald provides throughout the entire 38 minutes and 30 seconds of musical terrain that this L.P. traverses. Though sales were not phenomenal, they must have been up to the label's expectations; after all, they even managed to outsell Roxy Music's debut and Sparks' sophomore LP efforts. Armed with a cautious confidence, they strode back into the studio to strike heart at the heart of the singles market -- which leads us to...

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"Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace" b/w "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

WARNER BROS./REPRISE REP 1164

A-SIDE:

SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE (Terry Reid) (2:58)

B-SIDE:

I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND (Lennon - McCartney) (2:22)

For all intents and purposes, the genesis of the swansong single was a bit of a tug-of-war. John recalls: "David Berson wangled us a small budget to try to record a hit single, the only thing that could keep his evil superiors from giving us the bum's rush. We did my glam rock genre exercise 'Dynamite'. The record company rolled its eyes and sais it didn't think so. We tried again, this time with Terry Reid's strangely catchy but chorus-less 'Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace'. I asked too much of Surly Ralph as a singer, suggesting that we modulate up twice rather than down. He wound up sounding like the guy from Yes on helium, distracting from his perfectly gorgeous bottle-neck guitar work." No matter; many would come to regard their version of "Speak Now.." as being nothing less than the definitive one -- and many would claim that this was their greatest recording. Despite the promotional efforts expended by the band to gain airplay, its failure to chart would bring the particular ambitions of Christopher Milk to a close. As if they were already sensing that this moment that could not be wasted, they chose a grand send-up of The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as the flip-side. Aping the then-ubiquitous vocal stylings of Bob Dylan and Leon Russell, this overamped piss-take was the ultimate declaration of independence from an industry that presented the square peg of Christopher Milk with the round (yet ill-fitting) hole of dismissal. In quoting the Macmillan Dictionary, Wikipedia interprets the meaning of "hallelujah" as "a word expressing happiness that a thing hoped or waited for has happened." For Christopher Milk, I offer a most sincere "Hallellujah" -- and hope that, with time, more shall come to appreciate the "happiness" as I have.