A little more than a year ago, I declared I’d done my “final” K-tel collection review:
That turned out to be premature.
As I recently looked through my albums, I realized I’d left out a few K-tel sets I own. The reason they weren’t reviewed to begin with was that I didn’t buy them (or, rather, my mom didn’t do so) when I was a kid. I picked them up as an adult as various shops and sales.
Early 1974’s “Dynamic Sound” was one such purchase…
(…Actually, two…)
I’d somehow forgotten I already owned the collection, and picked it up a second time.
It’s possible I got the second copy when I absorbed my cousin Georgie’s record collection after he passed away. Whatever the origins, I have two copies of this very, very curious collection.
What makes it so curious?
For starters, it’s low on U.S. Top 40 hits. Six of the 22 tracks failed to be counted down by Casey Kasem.
Heck, the Helen Reddy track, “One Way Ticket?”
It never even made the Hot 100.
It was her first minor chart hit in Australia five years earlier.
In addition, moreso than any other K-tel release, it’s a stylistic hodgepodge.
- From the R&B side of pop, there’s not only the hot Gladys Knight and the Pips track “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination…”
…But also songs from:
- Ronnie Dyson
- The Moments
- The Stylistics
- First Choice
- The Chi-Lites
- James Brown’s “The Payback (Part I)”
- And the Love Unlimited Orchestra’s No. 1 instrumental “Love’s Theme.”
Should be a great pick-up for soul fans, right?
Well… if they like teeny-bop pop, too:
Not only is there the sublime DeFranco Family hit “Heartbeat – It’s a Lovebeat” (criminally edited here) but also solo tracks from both Donny Osmond (“A Million to One”) and Marie Osmond (“Paper Roses”).
And the concluding track from Dawn featuring Tony Orlando:
“Who’s in the Strawberry Patch With Sally?”
It can’t be considered anything other than childish.
- And then, there are the country-pop sounds of Tom T. Hall’s “I Love:”
(complete with his acknowledging loving “bourbon in a glass … and grass” – although you won’t hear that line on Spotify)
- Dobie Gray’s “Loving Arms…”
- and “Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do).”
The latter was recorded by Barbara Amesbury, an artist known in 1974 as Bill Amesbury prior to transitioning.
I don’t know how to characterize Mocedades’ “Eres Tu,” the Incredible Bongo Band’s remake of “Bongo Rock,” Wednesday’s remake of “Last Kiss,” or the Five Man Electrical Band’s “Werewolf,” except to note they all have a home on “Dynamic Sound.”
I had never heard the Gray track (it peaked at No. 61 in Billboard) or the Five Man Electrical Band song (it peaked at 64).
The Amesbury track, which also missed the Top 40 nationally, went to No. 11 on Chicago’s WCFL, where I heard it.
Several K-tel albums have Canadian versions, on which artists from our northern neighbor sub out for U.S. tracks.
As best as I can tell, the Canadian and U.S. versions of “Dynamic Sound” are the same.
That makes sense: Amesbury, the DeFranco Family, Wednesday and the Five Man Electrical Band are all originally from Canada.
Ultimately, despite the clash of styles, there’s more than enough to recommend.
I’m an utter fan of the Knight and Love Unlimited Orchestra songs, and both “Heartbeat – It’s a Lovebeat” and Looking Glass’ “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne” are among my favorites from 1973.
Top-shelf:
- “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination”
- “Heartbeat – It’s a Lovebeat”
- Dyson’s “One Man Band (Plays All Alone)
- The Stylistics’ “I’m Stone in Love With You”
- The Chi-Lites’ “Stoned Out of My Mind”
- “Love’s Theme”
- “The Payback (Part I)”
- “Bongo Rock”
- “Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne”
Decent:
- Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Let It Ride“
- The Moments’ “Sexy Mama“
- First Choice’s “Smarty Pants”
- Mocedades’ “Eres Tu”
- “Last Kiss”
- “I Love”
- “Loving Arms”
- “Werewolf”
- “Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)”
Yuck:
- “Who’s in the Strawberry Patch With Sally”
- “A Million to One”
Question marks:
- Because it was first a hit for Anita Bryant, “Paper Roses” makes me a bit queasy. But honestly, it was a better record than anything Marie Osmond’s brothers were putting out around that time.
- And “One Way Ticket” sounds completely out of place, which makes sense given the track’s age at that time.
If you want the full versions as opposed to what K-tel edited for the collection, here’s a Spotify set:
On YouTube, you can find the Moments:
Amesbury:
and Reddy tracks.
Which tracks do you love? And which do you hate?
Let the author know that you liked their article with a “Green Thumb” Upvote!
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
