Thursday, March 14, 2013

Hits For Six - the chartbound sound

Today I received this groovy EP through the post, which has one of the most striking sleeves in the world of cover versions. The disc is called "Hits For Six", as emblazoned across the front, but that also seems to be the name of the label - although there is also a firm called Davjon mentioned on the back, confined to the small print. Here are some scans of the record and cover:






I haven't been able to find out much about this record, or "Hits For Six", or Davjon for that matter. My first thoughts were that this could be a side outlet for Avenue - four of the six songs can be heard on the same Avenue/Studio 33 LP, AVE10-009. But in fact these are different versions. "Dance To The Music" differs from the mfp version on "Super Hits", while "I Say A Little Prayer" matches neither the "Top of the Pops" recording nor the version on Fontana's "Sounds Like Hits".

So, where do we go from here? It seems these recordings are unique - unless someone out there can tell us otherwise. One of the more distinctive recordings, though not necessarily for the right reasons, is the version of "I Say A Little Prayer". The vocalist here is clearly classically trained, and delivers a technically good but soulless performance which sounds nothing like Aretha! Here it is - can anyone tell us anything about it?

I Say A Little Prayer Hits For Six.mp3

According to one online discography (UK45s) there was a second EP, numbered HS 102 - but I've never yet seen a copy. The sleevenotes to the above state that this is going to be a monthly release, so it is possible that more exist, but it seems that this "chartbound sound" didn't quite live up to its billing, and the series probably ended before the close of its first year. Still, it's a great little artefact from the late-1960s.

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