DAVID^ FARRELL/REDFER
NS/GET
TY^ IMAGESDel Shannonstruggled to No.94 on the singles chart.
For Total Commitment, the same pattern
followed – decent sales of the album, but the
single, a crackerjack cover of The Rolling
Stones’ Under My Thumb, only made it to
a disappointing No.128 in the US.
While Shannon was enjoying financial
success, his creative desires remained
unfulfilled, as the
public seemed
indifferent to the
singles he took great
pride in. Once again,
Tommy Boyce came
to the rescue, this
time with the song She, a moody Boyce and
Hart rocker cut recently by The Monkees
for their second album. Boyce suggested
Shannon cover the song and offered to
produce the session. With the addition of
Max Crook on the Musitron, the recording
was an exciting contemporary rocker with
a classic Del Shannon sound.
Liberty released She in late December
1966, but three weeks later, the album MoreOf The Monkees hit the shelves – with their
version of She as the opening track. With
The Monkees’ position as the hottest-selling
act in the US at the time, suddenly no one
cared about Del’s version.
When Shannon flew to the UK in
January 1967 for a two-month tour, the
disappointment over the single’s failurehadn’t fully hit. At a BBC appearance, he
met Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling
Stones’ manager and producer. Oldham
expressed his admiration for Shannon’s
version of Under My Thumb and followed
the compliment with an irresistible offer,
to record an album.
Shannon was overjoyed at the prospect
of cutting an LP that would stand alone
as a focused artistic statement with a starproducer. Unfortunately, Liberty were
sceptical of the end result, the album
Home & Away, and decided not to release
it (see boxout). Rather than focus on his
disappointment, Shannon was eager to try
again. Perhaps a focus on his songwriting
would provide the breakthrough he wanted
desperately. When Liberty suggested he
should take a stab
at the currently
popular psychedelic
sound, Shannon
embraced the idea,
eventually writing
(or co-writing)
10 of the 12 tracks that appeared on his
next album. Released in February 1968, The
Further Adventures of Charles Westover was
a pop-psych masterpiece. From the pop
charm of Thinkin’ It Over to the freakbeat
drive of Runnin’ On Back and the baroque
psychedelic swirl of Magical Music Box,
Shannon proved he was anything but a
has-been and more than capable of
adapting his style to contemporary trends.Following a BBC TV appearance,
Shannon had a pivotal meeting
with Andrew Loog Oldham
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CHARLES
WESTOVER PROVED DEL WAS ANYTHING
BUT A HAS-BEEN AND MORE THAN
CAPABLE OF ADAPTING HIS STYLE