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VP001 | Released: 8th June, 2007
I've Got News for You is the debut release from Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys. It features 15 tracks – mostly original pieces capturing different moods of Jazz, Blues, Jump and old time rock’n’roll music. A very special feature of the CD is the sound of legendary honkin & screamin tenor sax man, Big Jay McNeely, who is heard on two tracks.
CD $25.00 (AUD) + shipping
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McNeely topped the R&B charts in 1949 with his raucous one-note honking on The Deacon’s Hop. His follow-up, Wild Wig, also hit big for the saxist notorious for his acrobatic stage presence.
He’s the type of guy that appeals to the VPs and one of the first players we all started to listen to. Our tenor sax man, Tim Forster wrote a song: The Day Big Jay Came to Town as a tribute to the man, and we contacted Big Jay to let him know we did a tribute to him”
The song The Day Big Jay Came to Town attempts to capture the excitement a small American town in the 50s may have felt anticipating the arrival of Big Jay McNeely. The excitement felt by the teenagers is mirrored by nervousness of the [white] parents- who have heard about the effects this musician has been having on kids everywhere. “There was lightning in the sky, thunder all around as four coloured horses rode into town”– pokes fun at the parents who see this is an apocolyptic event. He is likened to the ‘Pied Piper’ who leads the kids away from their parents by honkin his horn.
A famous photo of Big Jay McNeely by Bob Willoughby
While visiting the US, I had the incredible fortune to play a gig with him. Afterwards I somewhat-jokingly asked if he would play on the album. He said it wouldn’t be a problem. We didn’t think it would happen but here he is on two tracks – it’s fantastic.”
The VPs laid their tracks down in Australia, and Big Jay, who had recently turned 80, recorded his section in Los Angeles USA.
This album features ten original tracks combined with old favourites including two classics from the era; I Don’t Know Why I Love You But I Do and Ray Charles’ It Should’ve Been Me.
This CD is a mix of mainstream jazz and a smattering of original sounds including blues and jump – it’s designed to be entertaining, to make you want to play it over and over”
The CD was recorded it at Couch Studios in North Fremantle under the watchful eye of Ben Franz (bass player for The Waifs and the VPs) with Peter Grandison (Shanghai Twang studios) assisting with the recording and mixing.
