Tony Jackson Group (New Cd!)

[miguel]

I guess you all know by now, but just in case, 'Castle' has just released in Great Britain the complete recordings of Tony Jackson, after he was 'invited' to leave The Searchers in July 1964. The Cd (which comes with a great booklet) includes all the output of Tony Jackson and the Vibrations and The Tony Jackson Group, from 1964 to 1967. There are alternate takes, new found tracks, the portuguese EP (1966) and even the alternate version of 'Stage Door', recorded with Andrew Loog Oldham at the board!
It´s a great Cd, and Tony is just fabulous, what a great voice he had!

[royclough]

Yes it is a welcome release, back in the early 90's a little known label did release all TJ's tracks but this release has 4 additional tracks, two are alternate versions, one a unreleased song and rather oddly a instrumental version of "We can work it out" which is in my view, though conjecture, basically Paul Francis predominately probably on Piano.

[admin]

Thanks Miguel. Tony Jackson did have a most distinctive voice.

His voice, as his personality, was edgy and had a captivating quality that made me want to hear more. He was quite a talent to be sure.

To my way of thinking, Tony created a certain tension that allowed The Searchers to be more dynamic than they were after his departure. While this tension may have been the source of considerable stress for other band members, it did allow for some intense competition and great performances.

[tim]

I think the tension was basically between Tony and Chris. They appear to have been total opposites, in every way, and also appeared to be in competition to be recognised as the group's leader. It's a great pity Tony left, but then again, we might never have got "When You Walk In The Room" and "Each Time".

[royclough]

Valid point Tim, of course we would not have got Frank Allen also who has been a valuable part of the group now for 40 years.

Purely from an analytical viewpoint though, after TJ left they only made the top ten twice and only made the top twenty 5 times in total

They would have had more vocal options, though I believe FA joining has been a factor in the longevity of the band.

[admin]

Tim: I agree, it was too bad that Tony left. And you are spot on about the differences between Tony and Chris. Curtis' more gentle presentation was at the other end of the spectrum compared to Tony's "rock and roller" personality. As Tony reminded me on one occasion, "I'm a rebel with a cause."

We have seen a number of examples in which one member of a group balances another resulting in a performance of composition that falls somewhere in between. The most classic example would be Lennon and McCartney. This "bringing together of the poles" or dimensional extremes certainly worked for The Searchers in the beginning.

The later conflict between Pender and The Searchers did not seem to be as open as the Curtis-Jackson feud and did not lead to a positive musical outcome.

Roy, good observation about the Jackson "top twenty" factor. And let's not forget the great success of "Love Potion Number 9" in the US, after Tony's departure.

I am reminded of Tony's gentler side, however, when he sang "Stage Door" which is a favourite of mine.

Also Roy, I quite agree that Frank Allen's professionalism and talent was certainly a stabilizer for the group.

[royclough]

Just actually read the sleeve notes for TJ new release and of course Martin Raymond was the keyboard player not Paul Francis who was the Drummer. Tim Viney is credited on the sleeve notes also, the article by Peter Dogget is very good,with regard to the track We Can Work It Out,he implies that it was a backing track but the vocal was never put down, as the record company felt it was not a good idea to cover a Beatles song.

[tim]

I supplied some of the cuttings used, including the one from DISC carrying interviews from Frank and Tony.

[royclough]

Yes I found the cutting about Frank Allen slightly odd on a Tony Jackson CD. Some good quotes from John McNally though.

[admin]

The Tony Jackson Group had some great recordings as can be heard on the CD. It is a shame that they were destined to tour rather than to record other releases. I especially liked some of the lead guitar work on this compilation of their releases. But most of all, it was Tony's voice that made the group. Very distinctive with a rough edge, it still appeals to me decades later.

I hope to find out more about Tony through my research on the Iron Door Club.

[denistd]

Hi Guys, Denis Thompson, I was the bass player that took over from Tony when he decided to stop playing bass in the band. The answer about the track of "we can work it" out is simple. We were in the studio to do stage door, at a break Paul Raymond started messing around on piano with number, me and Paul Francis went over to him and started playing with him, no knowledge that everything was still miked. When we were called to get back to Stage door, that's what we did, did not know it was recorded until the album was released sometime in the nineties. We never worked with Andrew Loog Oldham, he and Tony were bitter enemies, he got the tape and did a remix of it, we never knew there were two versions. The EP made in Prtugal was another off thge cuff type thing, we played and sang at the same time and the whole thing took an hour maybe, note there is a guitar snafoo made by Rocker in Shake which he also sang.

[admin]

Denis: Thanks for these details and welcome to the Forum.