LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

We follow up our recent release of Lesley Gore’s “Magic Colors - The Lost Album” with this expanded reissue of her fourth LP “Girl Talk”, recorded in 1964 with producer Quincy Jones.

The album’s original liner notes mourn the influx of “twanging guitars, psychedelic sounds and moaning voices” and hail Lesley for “singing in tune” and “pronouncing the lyrics of a song so they are understandable”; the USA was smack in the midst of Beatlemania at the time. Lesley Gore, like so many American artists navigating the music scene, had to contend with the British Invasion, but she managed to weather the changing climate and remain in the Top 20 from ‘It’s My Party’ in 1963 through to ‘California Nights’ in ‘67.

"Girl Talk” hinted of an artist moving beyond her teenybopper years and eager to expand her musical palette. Album opener ‘Hey Now’ was risky - far more feisty and rhythmic than her usual material. ‘Maybe I Know’ and ‘Look Of Love’, proved that teenage pop could be smart and gimmick-free, and established a relationship between Lesley and songwriter Ellie Greenwich, who penned the songs with her husband Jeff Barry. Ellie, along with singers Jean Thomas and Mikie Harris, were integral to the making of the album, providing its lush tones and girl group feel.

In addition to the 12 titles on the original album, our CD includes 13 hand-picked bonus tracks from the same timeframe, including three recorded in Hollywood with arranger Jack Nitzsche, and four others which first surfaced from the Mercury tape vaults in 1994.

The booklet features an essay by noted girl pop authority Sheila Burgel, based on a new interview with Lesley Gore conducted exclusively for this project.

track listing

1.    HEY NOW
2.    LIVE AND LEARN
3.    SAY GOODBYE
4.    LOOK OF LOVE
5.    YOU'VE COME BACK
6.    MAYBE I KNOW
7.    SOMETIMES I WISH I WERE A BOY
8.    LITTLE GIRL GO HOME
9.    I DIED INSIDE
10.    WONDER BOY
11.    MOVIN' AWAY
12.    IT'S JUST ABOUT THAT TIME
13.    CONSOLATION PRIZE
14.    AFTER HE TAKES ME HOME
15.    DON'T DENY IT
16.    I JUST DON'T KNOW IF I CAN
17.    THAT'S THE BOY
18.    WHAT'S A GIRL SUPPOSED TO DO
19.    I CANNOT HOPE FOR ANYONE
20.    I DON'T CARE
21.    YOU DIDN'T LOOK AROUND
22.    BABY THAT'S ME
23.    NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO
24.    WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU
25.    A GIRL IN LOVE