Keep Your Claws To Yourself

I hope everyone is doing well, in Sheltering-In-Place land, and that you're all staying six feet away from your computer screens. 

As always recently, I have updated another month of previously broken links. In this case, that means the fine month of July, 2013. You remember that time, don't you - back when we had a real President? Those were the days. 

That glorious month, I offered a Gene Marshall tribute to Canada, a pair of great Rod Rogers numbers on Film City, a Cara Stewart special on the tiny "Puget Sound" label, and a Tin Pan Alley post featuring a couple of sides that were sent to me by a correspondent. That last post, a celebration of the fact that my previous hosting site had come back to life, also included a bonus, one of my absolute favorite records ever made (a non song-poem). Fixing that page gave me the opportunity to re-listen to that wonderful record about a half-dozen more times. It's gotta be in my all time top 250. 

And here, as has also been the case recently, is yet another ad from Brian

On to this weeks offering: 

I will immediately admit, as I did with a previous offering on "Pacer Records" that I have no proof that this was a song-poem label. If it wasn't, it's fairly clear to me that it's the next thing over, a vanity project. As I said previously, the owner and proprietor of Pacer, songwriter Opal Skaggs), did write at least one song submitted to a song-poem label, and another performer on Pacer also had releases on what were undoubtedly song-poem labels.

That would be good enough for me to decide to share this record, as long as it was worth sharing. And the quality if up to snuff: I think this is an excellent song and record. It's got a fantastic title, too: "You'll Never Get Your Claws In Me". And the sound is one not too far removed from the late '50's sound of Fable Records, another outfit where there is often a lack of clarity about whether we're listening to a song-poem, a vanity release, or an attempt to make a hit record.

That sound, which holds a deep appeal to me, is sort of a modified western swing (here with barely any percussion, which is an interesting difference), with some really nice guitar playing, and an excellent vocalist in one Patty Sigler. The lyrics are really effective, too. The difference between this record and the Fable records is that a variety of online sources (including copyright information) indicate beyond a doubt that this record came out around 1967-68, which is pretty far out of date for this sound (a hallmark of song-poems).

Anyway, whatever it is, I think it's eminently worth hearing, so by all means, please hear it!

Download: Patty Sigler - You'll Never Get Your Claws In Me
Play:

On the flip side, we have a slightly slower number, the backing of which puts me in mind of some Carl Perkins records, as well as the early Beatles BBC renderings of the same. (Again, performances from ages before this release.) It's called "Some Day He Will Pay", and while I don't think it's quite as strong as "Claws", it again has really good lyrics, a fine harmonized vocal and that stellar backing sound. Still really nice.

Download: Patty Sigler - Some Day He Will Pay
Play:

Next time, I'll be back with a no-doubt-about-it song-poem. In the meantime, tell me what you think this one is!