THE WRECKING CREW #1
We start in 1964 Baltimore this week… and by the end of the
page, you’ll all be screaming this song title out loud.
The
Wrecking Crew – End My Misery
THE WRECKING CREW #2
The word “legendary” gets bandied about far too much in the
world of popular music, but the LA session musicians who made up The Wrecking
Crew surely deserve it for their contributions to some of the biggest hits of
the 60s. As well as being Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound band, they were also responsible
for the first two Monkees albums, many of Jimmy Webb’s biggest hits, and the
music on Pet Sounds. You could easily put together a box set of songs that the
Wrecking Crew contributed to, and it’d sound like the Greatest Hits of the 20th
Century, give or take a few. Counting among their number Glen Campbell, Leon
Russell, Hal Blaine and Carole Kaye, these guys were some of the most
accomplished performers of their generation – and they made every song they
played on sound like a million dollars. Even this one…
Richard
Harris – MacArthur Park (featuring The Wrecking Crew)
Iffypedia suggests that MacArthur Park effectively spelled
the beginning of the end for The Wrecking Crew, since its success meant that
radio stations started playing much longer records… so less singles became
hits. Additionally, “rock groups in the early to mid 1970s began to stipulate
in their recording contracts that they be allowed to play their own instruments
on records”… I mean, how dare they?
Is it fair to pit any of today’s other bands up against this
roster? I mean, were they even a band in the traditional sense? (Many of them
did go on tour in support of David Cassidy.) And Carole Kaye suggests they were never even known as The Wrecking Crew at the time – that the name was
invented by drummer Hal Blaine in his memoirs many years later.
As always, you will be the judges.
(Interestingly, discogs also lists another Wrecking Crew
from the late 90s / early 00s – who appear to be a similar ensemble of session
musicians responsible for the string section on songs by Gabrielle, Billie
Piper, Beth Orton, Ed Harcourt and others… but I can’t find out any more
information about them, or why & how they had the nerve to choose the name
they did.)
THE WRECKING CREW #3
A soulful Wrecking Crew from 1974 next, doing the Stax sound very
well.
The
Wrecking Crew - Bump And Boogie (Pt. 1)
THE WRECKIN' CREW #4
A very 80s WC next, emerging from Chicago in the
late 70s and sounding quite Prince-like on this, their debut single.
The
Wreckin’ Crew – Found The Groove
THE WRECKING CREW #5
A 1986 tribute record to the New Orleans Saints… a football
team, I presume, nothing to do with Joan of Arc.
The
Wrecking Crew – We’re The Saints
THE WRECKING CREW #6
Also in 1986, we find this synth-pop Wrecking Crew making
tiny waves in the UK. This was the B-side – good luck finding the A-side anywhere.
The
Wrecking Crew – Passion Play
WRECKING CREW #7
This hardcore punk band from Boston in the late 80s appear
at the top of the search list on discogs… so they must have something going for
them.
THE WRECKING CREW #8
Aussie hair metal Wreckers from 1992…
THE WRECKING CREW #9
Ready for a damn good thrashing? Virginia-based thrash metal
act, saying hello in 2000.
The
Wrecking Crew – Hello World
THE WRECKING CREW #10
Dutch metalheads from 2002… singing about an evil beast on
the streets of London in 1666.
THE WRECKING CREW #11
Canadian Wrecking Crew from 2002 who clearly need someone to
explain the adjective “Original” to them.
The
Original Wrecking Crew - Grassy Gross Groovin' Sound
THE WRECKING CREW #12
Hip hop Wrecking Crew from about ten years ago.
The
Wrecking Crew – Tell Me What You Want
WRECKING CREW #13
Philly-based rap collective with some old skool vibes, also
active during the last decade.
Wrecking
Crew – Wrecking Crew Theme
THE WRECKING CREW #14
And now, a Japanese metal band from 2017…
The
Wrecking Crew – Hard ‘n’ Heavy
WRECKINGCREW #15
Still in Japan, we close today with a J-Pop Wrecking Crew –
or WRECKingCreW, because their typewriter has shift problems.
