Skip

Skip Artist: Skip Battin
Label: Collector's Choice
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 617742038729
EAN: 0617742038729
ASIN: B0000AQVEH


Release Date: 2003-10-07

Skip


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Tracks:

  1. Undercover Man
  2. Ballad Of Dick Clark
  3. Captain Video
  4. Central Park
  5. Four Legs Are Better Than Two
  6. Valentino
  7. Human Being Blues
  8. St. Louis Browns
  9. My Secret Life
  10. Cobras

Album Description

The cult classic 1972 solo album from Clyde "Skip" Battin, who went from scoring hits as early as 1959 as part of the duo Skip & Flip to being a member of the Byrds, New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Flying Burrito Brothers! He also became a chief collaborator with Kim Fowley (who contributes copious quotes to the notes we've included here), so he definitely ranks as one of the key, behind-the-scenes contributors to the whole L.A. country-rock scene. Speaking of Fowley, his fingerprints are all over this album as a lyricist and quasi-producer, and Byrds Roger McGuinn and Clarence White play on it, too. But Battin's love of old-time rock `n' roll and Tom Lehrer-esque satire are what make this record really unusual; throw some Byrds-like country-rock into the recipe and you've got one strange, intoxicating concoction. Includes Undercover Man; Ballad of Dick Clark; Captain Video; Central Park; Four Legs Are Better Than Two; Valentino; Human Being Blues; St. Louis Browns; My Secret Life, and Cobras. A Collectors' Choice Music exclusive!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Unsung for Too Long.......2003-10-25

This is the cult favorite, long, long out-of-print (30 years!) solo debut from Skip Battin, bassist for the later Byrds. The album is full of catchy melodies, wry lyrics, and an endearing charm that have been virtually unrecognized outside of a small group of Battin afficionados. I have always felt Skip was unfairly maligned during his time with the Byrds. Critics charged that his music - "novelty tunes" is the usual derisive label - was simply out of place on a Byrds album. How ironic that the "progressive" and allegedly open-minded music observers of that era wanted to pigeonhole the Byrds (long known for ingenuity and risk-taking) into a formulaic predictability.

This album features the contributions of Skip's legendary songwriting partner Kim Fowley and two of Skip's former Byrd mates: Roger McGuinn and the late, great, and sadly missed Clarence White, as well as Spanky MacFarlane from Spanky and Our Gang. The songs were a breath of fresh air when they came out in the early 70's and have held up very well indeed over the ensuing decades. St. Louis Browns - which received some FM airplay - is a fond (but wistful) remembrance of a beloved baseball team of youth. In The Ballad of Dick Clark, Skip (a member of 50's duo Skip and Flip) pays homage to many of his old confederates. In a bit of musical legerdemain Captain Video - a song about Roger McGuinn - features the guitarwork of the aforementioned leader of the Byrds, who apparently never knew the tune was about him. Undercover Man is a witty piece about the dangers of government surveillance. Valentino is an upbeat toe-tapper that lauds the legendary actor. Central Park is about an urban oasis that wasn't much of an oasis when Skip wrote the tune. These brief descriptions give some idea of the breadth of material on this very enjoyable record, and there are a number of others every bit as original.

Music Album:

  1. Capolinea
  2. Arkangel ~ John Wetton
  3. In Dub ~ Renegade Soundwave
  4. Ssssh/Cricklewood Green ~ Ten Years After
  5. Green Crystal Ties, Vol. 3: Gloria Meets 96 Tears ~ Various Artists
  6. Resolver ~ Veruca Salt
  7. Black Jacket Racket, Vol. 2 ~ Various Artists
  8. Songbird ~ Various Artists
  9. Be True to You
  10. Best of the 80's ~ Johnny Hates Jazz

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