A question for Mark A. Moore (re: Carnival of Sound)

[roll plymouth rock]

Hi Mark,

I know that you post and visit this board from time to time and was wondering if you could answer a couple questions for me. Ever since I heard Jan Berry's compositions for the Carnival of Sound project, I've been kind of obsessed with finding out more about this amazing project.

I am wondering if any album art was ever made for the album itself or the singles (Blowing My Mind, etc..). If so, which ones? I'm also curious to know what tracks from the project saw light of day as official releases (promo or otherwise) - I know that some of the songs (hawaii, love and hate 7/66 and 11/67, fan tan, only a boy, laurel and hardy, i know my mind) were booted on the 'legendary masked surfers rarities' fan club lp as I have that, any other lp's with tracks? And, did Jan ever put together any rough track listing for this album?

The one I'm using and have found to be most coherent is:
fan tan
carnival of sound
mullholland
blowing my mind
hawaii
stay
love and hate
laurel and hardy
only a boy
in the still of the night
i know my mind
girl, you're blowing my mind (45 version)

Is there any 'official' tracklisting?

Anyways, if Mark or anyone else can help me out with some info in regards to Jan Berry's activities in '66-'67 and his 'Carnival of Sound' project, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

[Mark A. Moore]

No official album art was created . . . though Dean Torrrence did design the label for the "Jan & Dean Label" recordings in '67 . . . most of which were acquired by Warner Bros. . . . and were eventually slated for inclusion on "Carnival of Sound" in '68.

"Only A Boy" is the "square peg" on "Carnival of Sound." Not only does it not fit thematically . . . but it was recorded by Jan before his auto accident in '66 . . . and it's the only Carnival era tune to feature Jan's lead vocals . . . though he arranged and produced the entire Carnival album with a series of collaborators.

Releases . . .

Hawaii / Tijuana (Jan & Dean Label) — Summer 1967

Fan Tan / Love & Hate (Jan & Dean Label) — Summer 1967

Only A Boy / Love & Hate (Warner Bros.) — December 1967

I Know My Mind / Laurel & Hardy (Warner Bros.) — Summer 1968

I have proven that certain "promo" copies of "Blowin My Mind," reportedly from the '60s, are a fraud  . . . as they erroneously credit a songwriter (Pierre Hunt) who released a tune by the same name in the '70s (and I have a copy of the Hunt version . . . not the same song).

My documentation (from Jan Berry's personal archive) correctly identifies the writers of "Blowin' My Mind" . . . one of whom was Jan Berry.

There are two acetates that exist for the album:

Fan Tan

Carnival of Sound

Hawaii

Laurel & Hardy

I Know My Mind

Blowin' My Mind

In the Still of the Night

Stay

Louisiana Man

Mulholland


A second acetate featured two more songs . . . "Love & Hate" and "Only A Boy."

I have extensive documentation on this project. A lot more is known about this album than is described by McParland, etc.

M.

[Rocker]

But Mark, weren't the "oldies" ("Stay", "In the still of the night") recorded after his accident to make him a little more comfortable working? Not unlike "15 Big Ones" for Brian ?


And btw "Hawaii" is one of the most awesome songs I know.

[Dutchie]

yea Hawai, when i first heard it blowed my mind. I didnt even realize it was Jan & Dean. It wasnt as i discovered many years later. It was Dean & friends. I have this album on cd in good quality. Never know why Warner never released it. It is better than save for an rainy day in my opinion.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I love "(Girl, You're) Blowin' My Mind". Whenever I listen to it, I'm thinking it could've been a hit single. I also think it would've been a great song for The Beach Boys to cover.

[Mark A. Moore]

I love "(Girl, You're) Blowin' My Mind". Whenever I listen to it, I'm thinking it could've been a hit single. I also think it would've been a great song for The Beach Boys to cover.

Yeah, this stuff is really strong from a compositional standpoint . . .

A good chunk of our Jan Berry / Jan & Dean Tribute Album will be "Carnival of Sound" material . . . as we're doing seven tracks from "Carnival" . . . using the original arrangements.

M.

[roll plymouth rock]

Awesome! Thanks for all this info. So the 'In The Still of the Night/Blowing My Mind' 45 that was supposedly pressed for use within the record label is fake? Phew...thanks for letting me know - I'll stop looking for it 

Any chance you could scan an image on the Jan & Dean label if you have the time...I'd love to check it out. Thanks for the acetate tracklisting, I assume those are Jan Berry's personal copies?

This info has spurred me to ask a couple more questions, I hope you don't mind. So the concept for "Carnival of Sound" basically came to fruitition AFTER his auto accident? Was LSD a major factor in his recovery or something? Did the non-release of 'Smile' and the failure of Curt Boettcher, Gary Usher and Gary Zekley's projects effect the decision not to release this material? I love the music from this period, but I still find it strange to wrap my head around the fact that there's an unreleased psychedelic Jan & Dean album out there - not to mention how great it is!

What sort of extensive documentation exists from the project? Anything that blew YOUR mind so to speak when going through the archives? How much time/effort/energy did Jan put/try to put into this album? I'm very curious to know...was there ever anything written about it (press or otherwise)??

And finally, I recognize some of the collaborators by ear, but I was wondering if you could give a breakdown of who features on each track. All at your leisure of course..

Thanks again for your willingness to share information regarding this fascinating project, its much appreciated. Also, I'd like to acknowledge your exciting tribute album and let you know that I am anticipating its completition. The mp3s have been great along the way and have revealed the amount of density and parts that make up a Jan Berry arrangement. I got into his arrangements after hearing Pop Symphony No. 1 - but its great to hear this Carnival of Sound stuff with clearer mixes, etc...really nice!

Thanks again,
Barnaby

[Mark A. Moore]

Barnaby,

Don't have time to answer everything here . . . but yeah, Jan spent a lot of time and money on the project.

The whole thing blows my mind . . . especially when you consider that Jan Berry (after being in a coma for a month, was back in the studio working on music, exactly one year to the month after his car accident . . . so that means April 1967.

But oh my . . . he wasn't the same anymore. Jan could barely speak in April of '67 . . . but he steadily improved. It's amazing what he accomplished with a stellar group of collaborators. He worked with some of the same arrangers he knew and worked with before the accident . . . Plus many of the same musicians, including Hal Blaine.

Also some new faces on vocals . . . like Tom Bahler (Monkees, Partridge Family, etc.  . . . Tom, by the way, will be performing on our tribute album) . . . John Bahler, Ron Hicklin, Stan Farber . . . plus cameos from Glen Campbell and Davy Jones, etc.

Just hang loose . . . and I'll give everyone a more in-depth introduction to "Carnival of Sound" in the next issue of Dumb Angel Magazine.

M.

[roll plymouth rock]

Just hang loose . . . and I'll give everyone a more in-depth introduction to "Carnival of Sound" in the next issue of Dumb Angel Magazine.

M.

Excellent. I can't wait - where can I get a copy?

And thanks so much for your insight.
B.

[Mark A. Moore]

Oops . . . I meant to post an example of the "Jan & Dean" Label:



M.