Like Christie, Vanity Fare had two big hits in the early 1970s, but failed to sustain success. The two hits for Vanity Fare were " Early in the Morning" and "Hitchin' a Ride." Both reached the Top Ten in the singles charts in the U.S., Britain, and many other countries. Unlike Christie, which wrote all their songs, Vanity Fare relied on professional songwriters. In my opinion, this is a pretty good album. I'm surprised they didn't have more hits, because they picked good songs and played them well.
Although the band faded in popularity, they never disbanded. The band still exists today as I write this in 2025, although there have been many personnel changes.
Here's the Wikipedia entry:
Aside from the two big hits, which still get played on oldies stations, you may recognize some of the other songs. For instance, "Carpet Man" was written by Jimmy Webb and made famous by the 5th Dimension. "Well... Alright" is by Buddy Holly," "Hang on to a Dream" is by Tim Hardin, and "Keep the Customer Satisfied" is by Paul Simon. "I Live for the Sun" was a hit for the Sunrays in the U.S. in 1965. Vanity Fare actually had a minor hit with it in Britain in 1968 (reaching Number 20 in the charts), but nowhere else.
I just pointed out that for the Christie BBC album, DJ Brian Matthew outdid himself and talked over the music for every single song. That wasn't the case here, but it's very close: only one song was spared! So that's why so many songs have "[Edit]" in their titles. As usual, I used the UVR5 audio editing program to wipe the DJ talking while keeping the music.
This album is 57 minutes long.01 I Live for the Sun [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
02 Carpet Man [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
03 Highway of Dreams [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
04 Early in the Morning [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
05 Sunshine Help Me [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
06 Well... Alright [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
07 Hitchin' a Ride [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
08 Carolina's Coming Home [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
09 On Your Own [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
10 Hang on to a Dream [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
11 Megowd [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
12 Come Tomorrow [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
13 Keep the Customer Satisfied [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
14 Rock 'n' Roll Band [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
15 Better by Far [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
16 Stand [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
17 I'm in Love with the World (Vanity Fare)
18 Take It, Shake It, Break My Heart [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
19 Fast Running Out of World [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
20 Throw Your Weight Around [Edit] (Vanity Fare)
https://pixeldrain.com/u/yNXyAe6s
alternate:
https://bestfile.io/en/SvxFfhraDM8PM7j/file
The cover photo shows the band on the set of the Engelbert Humperdinck TV show in February 1970.
I've always liked Hitchin' A Ride, so this will be very interesting. Thanks so much, G.
ReplyDeleteThey have been doing the '60s circuit' for many years, any original members long gone. Saw them at a Butlin's 60s weekend in 2012, then they did 'the hits' (which were ok) and a Byrds trio of 'Turn, Turn, Turn', 'Feel a Whole Lot Better' and 'Eight Miles High' (one of the best bits of the weekend).
ReplyDelete