SONGWRITER DEMO LP*15 CUTS*TANDYN ALMER*1960's "LISTEN"

$

316

 You're bidding for an LP of song demos by Tandyn Almer, credited with having written "ALONG CAME MARY" recorded by THE ASSOCIATION!

There are 15 songs, all written by Tandyn Almer. My research did not find that any of them have been recorded. This demo, shopping his songs was produced in the late 1960's. The songs vary and excerpts of all of them can be heard on the player above.

The LP plays well with several ticks and pops, but no skips.

The LP contains the following songs:
               SIDE ONE:

1. FIND YOURSELF
2. ANYTHING YOU WANT
3. ESCAPE
4. YOU TURN ME AROUND
5. ABOUT WHERE LOVE IS
6. EVERYTIME I TAKE YOU BACK TO ME
7. BRING YOUR OWNSELF DOWN
8. VICTIMS OF CHANCE

1. THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY
2. I GET HIGH
3. MENAGERIE
4. FACE DOWN IN THE MUD
5. SUNSET STRIP SOLILOQUE
6. WHERE WILL THEY GO
7. ALICE DESIGNS

TANDYN almer: Biography

A fascinating and enigmatic footnote to the West Coast pop scene of the late 1960s, pianist, composer and producer Tandyn Almer is best known for writing the Association's classic "Along Comes Mary."

Virtually nothing is known of Almer's origins and upbringing--in 1965, Associate Jules Alexander was hired by producer Curt Boettcher to play on a demo of "Along Comes Mary," and was so impressed by the song he asked if his group could record it officially.

Released in 1966, the single emerged as a blockbuster, defining the Association's pioneering harmony pop sound--it should have made Almer one of the hottest songwriters in Los Angeles, but he never again scored a major hit. That doesn't mean he was missing in action, however--any number of obscure psych-pop singles bear Almer's writing and production credit, among them the Paper Fortress' "Sleepy Hollow People," the Garden Club's "Little Girl Lost and Found," Pleasure's "Poor Old Organ Grinder" and Dennis Olivieri's full-length Come to the Party. He and Boettcher also teamed to write another Association song, "Message of Our Love," as well as Sagittarius' "Musty Dusty."

In 1969, Almer recorded his lone solo single, "Degeneration Gap," for Warner Bros.; he also recorded an LP of demos for Almo/Irving Publishing and even compiled a songbook, Along Comes Tandyn, including new and possibly never-recorded material including "I Get High," "Sunset Strip Soliloquy" and "Alice Designs." Though Almer was later credited alongside Brian Wilson as a co-writer on a handful of Beach Boys efforts, including "Sail On, Sailor," his most significant contribution to western culture may be the Tandyn Slave-Master, a waterpipe that was described in the headshop classic A Child's Garden of Grass as "the perfect bong." Almer's activities and whereabouts since the early 1970s remain a mystery. ~

Tandyn Almer worked in Music Production on the movie The Departed and the TV show Robert Zemeckis on Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century: In Pursuit of Happiness.

"Sail On, Sailor" was the final song recorded for the 1973 Beach Boys album Holland. The song was written over a period of two years by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, along with Van Dyke Parks (Brian's lyricist for Smile), then-Beach Boys manager Jack Rieley, Ray Kennedy, and Tandyn Almer.

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