Reissue CDs Weekly: Helen Shapiro – Face The Music The Complete Singles 1967-1984

What happens when there are no more hits to come? In addition, what happens a little further down the road, when the years of being on the charts are a thing of the past? In the case of Helen Shapiro, the questions are answered by the interesting compilation Face The Music: The Complete Singles 1967–1984, which is a collection of all of her pop singles during the time period covered by the title. The compilation consists of 25 tracks. Her contributions to jazz are not played.

These most recent songs were initially released by Charlie Gillett’s Oval label, and they ended up being her last singles altogether.
Helen Shapiro is the first female pop star to come down from the United Kingdom. In 1961, when she was only 14 years old, she achieved a high position on the charts with the song “Don’t Treat me Like a Child.” Next, the songs “You Don’t Know” and “Walking Back to Happiness” demonstrated that she had the ability to persevere. Lennon and McCartney presented her with their brand new Beatles song “Misery” in 1963, when they were in the middle of a tour where they were sharing costs. Shapiro was the one who was unaware that her EMI producer Norrie Paramor had declined the offer. Despite this, Lennon and McCartney placed her in a certain category. A rendition of “Fever” from the early years of 1964 was her final hit. From a fundamental standpoint, and in contrast to her near contemporary Dusty Springfield, there was evidence that suggested she was not suited for the world that existed after the Beatles.

Take a look at the music, Helen Shapiro.However, she possessed a voice that was unique, powerful, blues-influenced, and soulful. It was during the summer of 1964 that she collaborated with Dusty Springfield’s arranger Ivor Raymonde to create a stunning rendition of The Miracles’ song “Shop Around.” She also penned the song’s fantastic and melancholy B-side, “He Knows How to Love me.” That being said, she was actually designed to fit into the post-Beatles society. Despite this, time continued to pass.

However, there was a commitment to her that was made in the backroom of the music business. The album Face The Music begins with the incredible “Stop and You Will Become Aware,” a B-side from 1967 that went on to become a consistent favourite in the Northern Soul genre. As a British Sixties side, it is considered to be among the best. Even though her record label, EMI, held out a prime performance as a reverse, she continued to be an important figure.

Her most recent two singles for EMI, the record label she has been with from the beginning of her career, are the source of the first four tracks on Face The Music. Pye became her owner in the year 1968. She had worked with John Schroeder at EMI in the past, and he was currently employed with the label. In 1970, the Pye deal came to an end. The year 1975 marked her arrival at DJM, followed by Arista (1977 to 1978) and Oval (1983 to 1984). Jazz became the primary emphasis of her career; in 1975, she was the headlining act at Ronnie Scott’s, and pop music took a second seat.

Even after listening to Face The Music, it is clear that there is a lack of consistency in the tracks. Rather than being a best-of compilation, this album is a whole 45s compilation, thus there is no cherry-picking or varnishing. Two tracks later, the slightly New Orleans-tinged “Make me Belong to You” is her next A-side (with a banjo that is highly distracting), and it is on a line between Alan Price and what Sandie Shaw was being made to record about 1967. It is self-evident that “Stop and You Will Become Aware” is a fantastic song. It’s not a problem. In contrast, the song “The Way of the World,” which was written by the artist himself, is great in a Bacharach and Dionne Warwick kind of way.

1979’s “Face the Music” by Helen Shapiro FilmsAs we move forward, her first topside for Pye is a Euro-schlock/schlager ballad called “You’ll Get Me Loving You.” However, its follow-up, “Today Has Been Cancelled,” is a swinging pop song in the spirit of Sandie Shaw, albeit with a schlager tinge. “Take me For a While” (1969) is an excellent song, and “Take Down a Note Miss Smith” (1970), which is reminiscent of Bobbie Gentry, is also an excellent song. In addition, “Couldn’t You See,” “Waiting on the Shores of Nowhere,” “A Glass of Wine,” and “You’re a Love Child” (all of which were released in 1970) are powerful songs that colour their soul approach with country (Shapiro having recorded in Nashville in 1963). It appears that she should have been encouraged to write, and then she should have been taken to record at either the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio or the FAME. The latter would have been a voyage similar to the one that Lulu and her family went through in 1969. Helen Shapiro, depicted on the left, in the year 1979

That did not occur, as Shapiro was not signed to a record company in the year 1971. The singles that she created for DJM in 1975 are not without their moments, and the singles that she created for Arista in 1977 and 1978 are acceptable but not particularly noteworthy. A single that traces back to the feeling that she should have recorded in the southern states of the United States is her rendition of Allan Toussaint’s “Brickyard Blues” from 1984, which was released by Oval. This version is far more fascinating than the original.

The face The majority of the music that is heard is fantastic, but not all of it is absolutely wonderful. In spite of the fact that her hit years were behind her, Helen Shapiro continued to provide sophisticated singles that people should listen to.

Then there is the problem of what if. What would have happened if she had recorded her own songs in the United States, in a studio that was suitable for the job, with producers and players who were sympathetic? This is a question that will continue to go unanswered. In spite of this, Face The Music: The Complete Singles 1967–1984 indicates that the story might have been very different if artistic opportunities had been taken advantage of instead of being passed up.