Ian Green's Revelation - Groover's Grave/ Revelation

 

Two slices of instro-sophistication

Label: CBS

Year of Release: 1969

Ian Green is a British arranger who has occasionally been compared to David Axelrod. Both were actively recording at the same time and creating considered soul, jazz and easy listening hybrid interpretations of popular hits as well as recording original material.

CBS obviously hoped that Green would capture a youngish market who wanted lush instrumental music but didn't want to engage with the chocolate box arrangements so beloved of their parent's generation. While so much easy listening fare of the late sixties relied on being a soothing aperitif to anyone bloated on rock's excesses, Green's tracks frequently allowed themselves to be a bit more vibrant, fruity and powerful. 

Sadly, it came to nothing and this was the last of his 45s for the label, and is somewhat unusual in that both sides were composed by his wife Rosetta Hightower who we've met on this blog before. Despite it's promising title, "Groover's Grave" isn't as way-out or as groovy as you might think, and is actually a fairly jolly bit of work with lots of puffing flutes and pinging guitar strings. For my money, the flipside "Revelation" gives a strong impression of what set Green apart from his more popular peers.

Rosetta Hightower - The Walls Fell Down/ Captain's Army

Label: Philips

Year of Release: 1973

Now here's an obscurity. Rosetta Hightower was an American singer of some renown in the early sixties who hit big in the USA with the girl group The Orlons. Her solo career was perhaps less eventful, however, with numerous respected and beautiful sounding singles emerging - not least her fantastic cover of "Big Bird", of which I've been seeking out a copy for years - but very few crossing over to the mainstream.

This cover of The Bee Gees "The Walls Fell Down" is one example of a single so scarce that it almost never turns up for sale. It is, as you would expect, a soulful and gospel styled take on the Gibbs at their most melodramatic. Rosetta pours all her efforts into it and makes it sound as if it was always meant to sound this way, with a production and arrangement so lavish that it's almost a little bit frightening. 

Rosetta's recording career ploughed well into the eighties, and she based herself in England following her marriage to the musician Ian Green. She also delivered numerous notable session performances, not least singing backing vocals on John Lennon's "Power To The People". 

Sadly, she passed away in Clapham in 2014, aged seventy years of age.